2015

Meet the Cast of ‘The Most Happy Fella’ at The Catholic University of America: Part 2: Emma Nadine Onasch

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Most Happy Fella, meet Emma Nadine Onasch, who plays Rosabella in their upcoming production, which plays this weekend October 23-25, 2015....

Meet the Cast of ‘The Most Happy Fella’ at The Catholic University of America: Part 1: Mackenzie Newbury

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Most Happy Fella, meet Mackenzie Newbury who plays Cleo in their upcoming production which plays this weekend October 23-25, 2015. Joel:...

‘The Most Happy Fella’ Plays This Friday through Sunday 10/23-25 at Catholic University’s Hartke Theatre

The Most Happy Fella’ Depicts May-December Romance The Catholic University of America’s Hartke Theatre Friday, October 23 at 7:30 PM; Saturday, October 24th at 7:30 PM; and Sunday. October 25th at 2...

Adam Immerwahr Named the New Artistic Director of Theater J

Adam Immerwahr has been named the new Artistic Director of Theater J. He is currently the Associate Artistic Director of McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, N.J. He will begin this new position at...

In the Moment: Aaron Copland’s ‘The Tender Land’ by The In Series

How fortunate we are to have The In Series. Over the decades it has taken artistic risks for audiences to extend their knowledge and experiences with a creative artist’s more rarely produced works, or...

‘Chocolate Covered Rocky Horror’ at Joe’s Movement Emporium on Friday, 10/30 @ 9 PM

EarlOrrin Productions will premiere, Chocolate Rocky Horror the nation’s first all-African-American shadow cast ensemble of Richard O’Brian’s Rocky Horror Picture Show. Chocolate Covered Rocky Horror,...

‘Damn Yankees’ at The Heritage Players

The Tony Award-winning musical Damn Yankees, with Book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, and Words and Music by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, opened this past weekend at the Heritage Players at...

‘Aladdin JR’ at Kensington Arts Theatre Second Stage

I walked into the Gaithersburg Arts Barn for Aladdin JR as I often do when I review a play. I picked up my two tickets, went to my seat, and started to flip through my program. However, this time, I...

‘Animal Farm’ at Luna Theater Company in Philadelphia

Even though you probably read Animal Farm in high school, seeing Luna Theater Company’s Animal Farm will evoke a completely different sensory experience. The theatricality of the play offers the...

‘The Mandrake’ at Quintessence Theatre Group in Philadelphia

Sex sells, and this certainly true of Quintessence’s The Mandrake. Their 6th season starting off a “Love and Lust” theme, The Mandrake certainly fulfills the quota for lust, and then some. Originally...

‘Shrek The Musical’ at Reston Community Players

Reston Community Players’ production of Shrek The Musical (Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and Music by Jeanine Tesori) is just as fun as the movie it is based on, with the added bonus of...

‘Side Man’ at The Colonial Players

They say that art is the decoration of space, but music is the decoration of time. More than mere decoration, though, music captures time, preserves it, wrapping a lifetime of memories in the space of...

‘All My Sons’ at Peace Mountain Theatre Company

If you crave a compelling production of a classic 20th century drama, look no further than Peace Mountain Theatre Company’s production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, directed by Laurie T. Freed. This...

‘Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite’ by Molotov Theatre Group at DC Arts Center

Molotov Theatre Group’s new production, Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite, an adaptation of six of the old spook master’s stories by Dan Spurgeon and the first play of Molotov’s 2015-16 season, appeals to...

Aaron Copland’s ‘The Tender Land’ at The In Series

In their Americas season, the In Series tackles the quintessentially American composer Aaron Copland and his only and almost entirely unknown opera The Tender Land. Horace Everett wrote the libretto...

‘Something’s Afoot’ at Vagabond Players

On a dark and stormy night, six weekend guests, three servants, and a stranger find themselves trapped in a dead man’s country estate. And as the evening progresses, their numbers begin to dwindle....

‘Zombie Prom’ at Spotlighters Theatre

This musical comedy goes nuclear! Zombie Prom, with Music by Dana P. Rowe, and Book and Lyrics by John Dempsey, currently stalking the underground stage of Spotlighters in Baltimore, is a howl that...

‘Julius Caesar’ at Prince William Little Theatre

It’s 1991, and Julius Caesar, General Secretary of the Communist Party and, for the past year, President of the Soviet Union, is letting his successes and the adulation of the people go to his head....

Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Terri White’s Farewell Performance at The Kennedy Center

The ebullient, sassy, brassy and joyously life-affirming Broadway and cabaret star Terri White (resplendent in a stylish, sharply-edged purple pantsuit) launched into her ninety minute show at The...

‘From a Black Egg’ at Yellow Sign Theatre

Yellow Sign Theatre’s mission promises “pranks with a B-movie aesthetic” and low art, and usually they deliver productions that are unapologetic, kitschy fun. Surprisingly, however, their current...

‘The Threepenny Opera’ at American University

American University’s new production of The Threepenny Opera is a stunning re-imagining of Bertolt Brecht’s classic work of “epic theatre.” Director Cara Gabriel, Scenic and Lighting Designer Jason...

‘The Gin Game’ at The John Golden Theatre in New York City

Donald L. Coburn was born in 1938 in Baltimore to parents who were divorced two years later. His early life was unexceptional; he graduated from high school in 1957, then served in the U.S. Navy until...

‘Tru’ at the Greenbelt Arts Center

The Greenbelt Arts Center has provided the community with the truly unique opportunity to spend an intimate evening in the living room of the acclaimed author and flamboyant celebrity personality...

‘9 to 5’ at Silhouette Stages at Slayton House

9 to 5 is based on the 1980 movie of the same name, with Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton, and Book by Patricia Resnick. Parton not only was one of the stars of the movie (her costars were Jane Fonda...

‘Song for the Disappeared’ at Passage Theater Company in Trenton, NJ

Passage Theater Company bears the title of the only professional theater in Trenton, New Jersey. They open their 30th Season by producing T clan and close friends amidst a family crisis, Songs for the...

‘Latin Heat’ at The Washington Ballet

Latin Heat does what the Washington Ballet does best: spotlight its dancers’ strengths and individual personalities. However, Latin Heat also illumines the WSB unhinged and unrestrained. Never before...

‘Rothschild & Sons’ at The York Theatre Company

Who doesn’t have great respect and admiration for the musical team of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick? Certainly no one who has seen and heard the great body of their work which includes She Loves Me,...

‘The Basilisk of Barnagasso’ at The George Washington University Department of Theatre and Dance

An exuberant troupe of seven players (and some ad-libbing stage hands) fabricated a screwball, madcap adventure of star-crossed lovers and lost fortunes, vagabonds, soldiers, bandits, hired thugs and...

‘Vincent’ at the Workhouse Arts Center

“I want to get to the point where people say of my work that man feels deeply,” wrote Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo. For only a few performances, a DC area, favorite painter, Vincent Van Gogh,...

‘African Americans’ at Howard University

Are customs and cultures completed eradicated and evaporated when people from other continents, countries and cultures come to this great land we call “America?” I had the distinct pleasure of seeing...

Meet Reston Community Players’ Farquaad and Donkey in ‘Shrek The Musical’: Part 4: Chuck Dluhy and Joshua Redford

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of Reston Community Players’ Shrek The Musical, meet Chuck Dluhy and Joshua Redford. Diane Jackson Schnoor: Please introduce yourself to our audience....

‘Disgraced’ at Philadelphia Theatre Company

Disgraced is a play that pushes people’s buttons. Almost every character says something that is guaranteed to outrage somebody. But when you push too many buttons, a show can feel mechanical – and...

Meet the Cast of 2nd Star Productions’ ‘The Music Man’: Part 2: Emily Mudd

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of 2nd Star Productions’ The Music Man, meet Emily Mudd. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you in the past...

Meet The Director and Cast of PWLT’s Julius Caesar, Part 3: Haliya Roberts

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the director and cast of Prince William Little Theatre’s production of Julius Caesar – set in the Soviet Union during the August Coup of 1991 – meet Haliya...

‘Travels with My Aunt’ at The Clurman Theatre in New York City

In 1969 Graham Greene published a light novel with this title, which was in the vein of earlier romps such as The Egg and I, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and most particularly – Auntie Mame – all of...

‘Hooked!’ at Inis Nua Theatre Company in Philadelphia

If there’s one thing the Irish are good at, it’s keeping – and creating, and gossiping about – secrets. (My Irish grandmother practically turned it into an art form.) In Hooked!, playwright Gillian...

An Interview with Actor Jeremiah Hasty Who Is Playing Freddie in ‘Uprising’ Now at MetroStage

Jeremiah Hasty debuts as Freddie in MetroStage’s production of Uprising. We had a chance to interview him about this experience. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers how old you are...

Meet The Cast of Reston Community Players’ ‘Shrek The Musical’: Part 3: Jennifer Lambert, Patrick Graham, and Evie Korovesis

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of Reston Communty Players’ production of Shrek The Musical, meet Jennifer Lambert, Patrick Graham, and Evie Korovesis. Diane Jackson Schnoor: Please...

‘Antigone’ at The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia

The Wilma is a theater known for being original and taking risks, and Antigone is no exception. As part of the larger Unburied Bodies project, this production of Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy...

Meet the Cast of Laurel Mill Playhouse’s ‘Sweeney Todd’ Part 1: Director TJ Lukacsina

In Part I of a series of interviews with the director and cast of Laurel Mill Playhouse’s Sweeney Todd meet Director TJ Lukacsina. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may...

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘Salomé’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Turn aside all you think you know about the fabled Salomé and her brief mythic encounter with John the Baptist. Acclaimed Director Yael Farber has boldly and confidently reconstructed the...

Meet the Cast of ‘The World Goes ‘Round’ at Creative Cauldron: Part 3: Harv Lester and Katie McManus

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of ‘The World Goes ‘Round’ at Creative Cauldron, meet Harv Lester and Katie McManus. Joel: Tell our readers where they may have seen you perform on...

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘The Magic Tree’ at The Keegan Theatre

Four lost young people in a deserted beach house, in Dublin, late at night. There is a thunderstorm beating down. This is the evocative opening scene of The Magic Tree, in its American premiere at The...

A Report on ‘En Garde! The Art of Fight Choreography’ at The Smithsonian’s Dillon Ripley Center

As I strolled into the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center (shared with the Sackler Museum of Asian Art and the National Museum of African Art), I was surprised to see over 100 people eagerly...

Jeff McCarthy on Playing Fagin in Arena Stage’s ‘Oliver!’

I was so excited when I heard that Jeff McCarthy had landed the role of Fagin in Arena Stage’s upcoming production of Oliver!, so I jumped at the opportunity to catch up with him while he was in...

‘Shipwrecked!’ at Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3 in Philadelphia

At the beginning of Shipwrecked!, Greg Wood bounds onto the stage of the Walnut Street Theatre’s Independence Studio and greets the audience: “Hello,” he says, “and welcome to this temple of...

‘The Grand Guignol Twist in ‘Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite’: The Horror Is What Is NOT Seen’ By Alex Zavistovich

Contrary to popular belief, the Grand Guignol theatre did not rely exclusively on blood and gore to convey horror. The psychological element was equally important to the genre, and horrific events...

Magic Time!: Blown Away by a Bible Story Midway Through the Women’s Voices Theater Festival

To date I have been to 20 productions and one staged reading that are officially in DC’s Women’s Voices Theater Festival (11 of which I have written about for DCMetroTheaterArts), and I am booked to...

‘Point A to Point B’ at Arts on the Horizon

Arts on the Horizon is a wonderful establishment dedicated to creating live theater for young audiences, ages 0-6. Their website points out that they are “the first theatre company in the country to...

‘Bug’ at SeeNoSun OnStage (Review #2)

Bug by Tracy Letts is not a show for anyone with a weak stomach. Blood, violence, nudity, and drugs are rampant in this dark comedy but, being October, this production will be exactly what many thrill...