2015

Infinity Theatre’s ‘Dames at Sea’ Sails into The Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway

Annapolis’ Infinity Theatre Company (Anna Roberts Ostroff & Alan Ostroff) and Perry Street Theatricals (Martin Platt & David Elliott) are proud to announce that the first Broadway production of DAMES...

Richard Seff Predicts The Tony Awards: Best Play and Musical and Play and Musical Performances

Many scribes have been offering opinions on who might win the Tony Awards this coming Sunday, June 7th, and for those of you who haven’t yet made up your minds, I offer my own thoughts on this year’s...

‘Their Metal Will Be More Than Tested’: Landless Theatre Company Announces Development of ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Symphonic Metal Version)’

The Landless Theatre Company announces development of its second work of “Metal Theatre” for production in Summer, 2016: The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Symphonic Metal Version. The production follows...

UPDATED 6/1/15: Magic Time!: ‘I’m an Improviser by Trade’: A Q&A With Matthew R. Wilson, Director of Faction of Fools’ ‘Our Town’

Updated 6/1/5: Before seeing Faction of Fools’ Commedia dell’arte interpretation of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in full production (I’d previously seen it in a workshop), I was skeptical whether the...

‘happiness (and other reasons to die)’ at The Welders

You might think a suicide pact among losers who meet on line would not be a terribly good premise for a warmhearted comedy—much less a noir one à la Martin McDonaugh. You might assume there’s not a...

‘Adriana Lecouvreur’ at Riverbend Opera Company at the Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center

Big things do come in small packages. This old adage was proven correctly with the Riverbend Opera Company’s performance of Adriana Lecouvreur at the Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center. The opera,...

Kool & the Gang and Chaka Khan at Wolf Trap

Oh what a night – there’s a party goin’ on! Chaka Khan, Queen of Funk Soul, and the funkedelic Kool and the Gang were a red-hot double-hitter that rocked a sold-out house and packed lawn in a concert...

‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

When many people think of Charles Dickens, they think of the assigned readings from their high school English classes. If Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre presented all of Dickens’ works in the same...

‘Jarry Inside Out’ at Spooky Action Theater

The author of the infamous Ubu Roi, the play which proudly proclaims high culture as but “pshit” sculpted into attractive façades, Alfred Jarry is now the subject of a new script playing at Spooky...

‘A Man for All Seasons’ at NextStop Theatre Company

Forget everything you learned from the recent PBS miniseries Wolf Hall. Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons, currently playing at Herndon’s NextStop Theatre, tells a very different tale of Sir Thomas...

Mark Nadler: ‘Runnin’ Wild: Songs and Scandals of the Roaring ’20s’ at Starthmore’s AMP

Raconteur. A word seldom used nowadays. In the era of Twitter and short attention spans, good luck finding “a person who excels in telling anecdotes.” But flip open the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to...

‘Kiss Me, Kate’ at 2nd Star Productions

As the weather turns sultry, Baltimore theater goers with an appreciation for irony should make it a point not to miss 2nd Star Productions current show, Kiss Me, Kate, the Tony Award-winning musical...

‘Our Town’ at Faction of Fools

Faction of Fools does it again with an innovative production of Thornton Wilder’s revolutionary and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town, which originally debuted in 1938 about a New Hampshire town at...

‘The Trap’ at Ambassador Theater

The gaunt and haunted figure of Franz Kafka obsessed the renowned Polish poet, novelist, and dramatist Tadeusz Różewicz (1921-2014). His two-act play The Trap—part expressionistic, part...

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ‘A Tribute to John Williams’ at The Music Center at Strathmore

At the atmospheric Strathmore complex in North Bethesda on a hot Thursday evening, on May 28, 2015, the musical presentation entitled The Music of John Williams was a modest delight with many...

‘The Glass Mendacity” at Providence Players of Fairfax

For a good time, call (703) 425-6782. That gets you the Providence Players of Fairfax’s reservations line, and this bedrock company of major-league players never disappoints. The Glass Mendacity,...

‘Zombie: The American’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Review #2)

Last night, I found myself transported to 2063, a world in which Africa is one large united nation, the United States is welcoming the first gay president to the oval office, and the White House, now...

SPINE: ‘Zombie: The American’ — the Citizen, the Government Official, the Theatre-goer — at Woolly Mammoth (Review)

“Only dead men tell the truth,” said Mark Twain. And Zombies. Robert O’Hara’s Zombie: The American opened last night at Woolly Mammoth and, save for one errant scene–saved perhaps for a love of sex...

‘On the Razzle’ at Silver Spring Stage

In Tom Stoppard‘s wonderful farce, On the Razzle, the humor relies on mistaken identities, lots of puns and malapropos, pratfalls, sex, and pomposity. Silver Spring Stage’s hilarious production, which...

Ardani Artists Presents: Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg: ‘Rodin’ at The Kennedy Center

Boris Eifman is a choreographer critics love to hate and audiences simply love. In fact, in his 2011 opus, Rodin, detailing the loves of the great French sculptor who chiseled the art form into the...

‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

What’s not to like about Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s presentation of The Two Gentlemen of Verona? The playwright has had some good reviews. So, too, has the show’s director/choreographer Sally...

Rockville Little Theatre Hosting ‘Murder at the TonyLou Awards’ Tomorrow, May 30th at 7 PM at The Arts Barn by Ken Kemp

THERE’S MURDER (AND FUN) AFOOT AT THE ARTS BARN! Rockville Little Theatre is hosting the 2015 TonyLou Awards at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn on Saturday, May 30th at 7:00 PM – but don’t be surprised if...

A Love of the Bard is Passed to Another Generation: Meet the Young Cast of ‘The Tempest’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Tonight, Laurel Mill Playhouse will be presenting one of Shakespeare’s later comedies, The Tempest. Unlike the Bard’s earlier comedies, The Tempest does not rely on some of his more traditional plot...

Author Chuck Palahniuk at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

Chuck Palahniuk knows how to make an entrance. This slim and fit figure in his casual outfit and grey glasses, strode into the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue confidently with his coffee cup to loud...

Magic Time! ‘Out/Spoken: Intimate Stories of LGBT Pride: Meet the Storytellers of ‘Out/Spoken’-Onstage at 9:30 Club June 5th by Michael Poandl and John Stoltenberg

Storytelling is at the core of theatre, but it also stands alone as a unique form of entertainment. Not quite monologue, not quite stand-up comedy, what storytellers do best is blend their personal...

Magic Time! ‘Theater from the Heart’: A Q&A with ‘Jumpers for Goalposts’ Playwright Tom Wells

The morning after Jumpers for Goalposts opened at Studio Theatre, I sat down to talk with its very talented playwright, Tom Wells. He had been in town watching the last few weeks of rehearsals,...

Filichia on Friday: ‘May’s Leftovers and June’s Brainteaser’ by Peter Filichia

It’s an honor to bring Peter Filichia’s column every week on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday’ to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. This Week: May’s Leftovers and June’s Brainteaser Purchase...

Meet the Cast of Providence Players of Fairfax’s ‘The Glass Mendacity’ by Chip Gertzog

Tonight, The Providence Players open The Glass Mendacity, a hilarious comedy parody of some of Tennessee Williams’ most celebrated works: The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot...

‘The Glass Mendacity’ opens at The Providence Players of Fairfax Tomorrow Night, May 29th at The James Lee Community Center Theater by Chip Gertzog

The Providence Players of Fairfax’s production of The Glass Mendacity opens tomorrow night at The James Lee Community Center Theater – 2855 Annandale Road, in Falls Church, VA. The Glass Mendacity is...

Silver Spring Stage’s Production of Tom Stoppard’s ‘On the Razzle’ Opens This Friday, May 29th

Silver Spring Stage presents On the Razzle by Tom Stoppard, directed by Erin Bone Steele and produced by Jim Robertson, a frantic farce of slapstick shenanigans, mistaken identities, unremitting...

A Chat with Mark Nadler on his Show ‘Runnin’ Wild: Songs and Scandals of the Roaring ’20s’ This Friday, May 29th at 8 PM at Strathmore’s New AMP

Mark Nadler will be performing Runnin’ Wild at Strathmore’s new AMP this Friday, May 29th at 8 PM. I asked Mark to fill us in on what we will hear and see. For those DC area theater and music lovers...

‘The Shipment’ at Forum Theatre

If there were a Richter Scale for risk-taking in theater, Forum Theatre’s production ofThe Shipment would register right up at the top. In brazenly challenging assumptions about how we perceive race...

‘Under Kafka’s Spell – Różewicz and The Trap’ at Ambassador Theater

The Ambassador Theater is back with its biggest production to date, showcasing a work of one of the greatest post-war poets and playwrights of the 20th century – Polish-born Tadeusz Różewicz. Produced...

Win a Pair of Tickets to WSC Avant Bard’s ‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’ for Performances The Weekend of June 11th-14th

WSC Avant Bard is giving away two tickets to The Madwoman of Chaillot for performances the weekend of June 11th-14th. TO ENTER: FILL OUT THIS FORM AND Tell us: What worries you about the world? Then...

Recap of ‘The GI Film Festival’ – May 18-24, 2015

The GI Film Festival is in its ninth year and has grown so big. It ended yesterday at the huge and swanky Angelika Film Center in the Mosaic District in Fairfax, VA. They showed a record number of...

An Interview with Gloria DuGan on Directing ‘A Man for All Seasons’ at NextStop Theatre Company

She is one of my favorite directors in the DC Metro area and I am so thrilled that veteran director Gloria DuGan is at the helm of A Man for All Seasons for NextStop Theatre Company. Gloria knows the...

Magic Time! ‘Good Hope Road’ (Staged Reading)

For decades theatergoers have warmed to plays set in rooming houses. Playwrights have been fond of the form too, because it permits an otherwise random mix of boarders to become an engrossing cast of...

Next Day Theater’s Matt Spangler Recaps Their May 16, 2015 Performance at Tropicalia

When you go to one-night-only theater, you never know what you’ll get. There’s no word of mouth, no buzz, no yelping from critics. It’s like speed blind-dating And if the one-night-stand in question,...

‘The Business End’ at Yellow Sign Theatre

You have only one more weekend to catch one of the most interesting pieces of theatre in Baltimore, a tragic parody of the plight of the B-horror screenwriter longing to create art. Mike Jancz penned...

‘dry bones rising’ at Venus Theatre Company

In her program note, director (and founder of Venus Theatre Company) Deborah Randall has this to say about her company’s newest play, dry bones rising: “The style… could be described as ee cummings...

Special 25% Off Discount to See Mark Nadler’s ‘Runnin’ Wild: Songs and Scandals of the Roaring 20’s’ at AMP on Fri 5/29 at 8 PM

We have a 25% off discount for Mark Nadler’s’ ‘Runnin’ Wild: Songs and Scandals of the Roaring 20’s’ at Strathmore’s new AMP next Friday, May 29th at 8 PM. Use CABARET and get 25% off tickets here:...

‘La Boheme’ at Hub Opera Ensemble

Starving artists, jealous relationships, chronic illnesses….. as brilliantly used in their marketing campaign, “the struggle is real” for the characters in Puccini’s La Boheme, currently running at...

‘Major Barbara’ at Pallas Theater Collective

Money Talks The Pallas Theatre Collective’s Major Barbara is a captivating, thought-provoking comedy. The themes of class disparity, the necessity to compromise one’s values to survive, and the...

‘A Prairie Home Companion’ with Garrison Keillor and Special Guests Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap

The Filene Center launched the summer season at Wolf Trap with another visit by Garrison Keillor and the news from . The United States Navy Band joined Keillor and the usual suspects onstage along...

The Columbia Festival of the Arts Runs June 12-27, 2015: Events, and A Reflection of the Jim Rouse Dream

The Columbia Festival of the Arts is in the 28th year. It began as an offshoot of the Columbia Fair that celebrated the anniversary of the city. On the 20th anniversary celebration they added the...

‘Macbeth’ at The BOOM Theatre Company

When William Shakespeare’s plays first made their appearances at the Globe Theatre, men played all of the roles. No one questioned a male Juliet performing the famous balcony scene in Romeo and...

‘If All the Sky Were Paper’ at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater

Fitting that If All the Sky Were Paper — a dramatization of war correspondence lovingly presented by archivist Andrew Carroll — would unfold at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a...

Michal Urbaniak at Bethesda Jazz and Blues Supper Club

What does a jazz lover expect from a concert of one of the world’s greatest jazz stars? To be moved by the magic of jazz and loving its sound? This was my exact experience last night, when the stage...

‘Filichia on Friday’: The 2015 Broadway University Final Exam Answers’

It’s an honor to bring Peter Filichia’s column every week on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday’ to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. This Week: Here are the answers to The 2015 Broadway...

Meet the Performers of ‘One Night Only Comedy & Variety Festival’ on May 30th at The State Theatre

For one night only, the State Theatre will host a cavalcade of talent unlike anything you’re likely to have seen before. The cast, full of seasoned pros in the weirdness, comedy and variety business...