2016

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Perfect Liars Club’

If you’ve never been to a storytelling show before, hold on to your hats. Perfect Liars Club—directed loosely and hilariously by Cara Foran & Pierce McManus for the 2016 Capital Fringe Festival—is the...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘I Found That The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow’

Anna Snapp gives a robust, witty, and protean performance in this genuinely candid and insightful solo theater piece. Self-authored, and based on her own life, I Found That the Sun Will Rise Tomorrow...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘In a Day of Dreary’

In a Day of Dreary, written and directed by Henry Ragan, explores one day in the life of a charming and perpetually frustrated girl named, yes, Dreary. Ragan, who also plays Dreary’s boyfriend in the...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Tragedy of Mario and Juliet’

The Tragedy of Mario and Juliet, presented by Dead Cat Productions/Wayne Nicolosi (as well as written and directed by Nicolosi), reinvents well-known Shakespearean characters and plots to explore some...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Petunia and Chicken’

I have never started a Fringe with such joy. The cause of that joy is kids’-show-in-disguise Petunia and Chicken, the brainchild of Animal Engine (husband and wife team Carrie Brown and Karim...

Capital Fringe Preview #50: ‘H5x7’ by William Shakespeare, Adapted and Directed by Kevin O’Connell

Capital Fringe Preview: H5x7 by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Kevin O’Connell “Suppose within the girdles of these walls,” begins Shakespeare’s Henry V, “Are now confined two mighty...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Real World: Kabul’

The Real World: Kabul is a comedy based on real events of three American writers who traveled to Afghanistan in 2009 to write, of all things, a soap opera for the Muslim world’s “biggest media mogul.”...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Golden Smile’

It is probably not a good idea, near the end of a maniacally inscrutable and incessantly unfunny musical, to have one character sing, apropos the show, “It’s over! It’s done!” and then have another...

Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) Playwrights Interviews: Part 5: Chisa Hutchinson and “The Wedding Gift” by Sharon J. Anderson

Here is Part 5 of 5 in a series of interviews by Sharon J. Anderson, Contemporary American Theater Festival Trustee/Professional Story Listener and Creative Director. Meet Playwright Chisa Hutchinson...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #49: ‘The Tragedy of Mario and Juliet’ by Wayne Nicolosi

From the Author Wayne Nicolosi: Growing up in New Jersey, every day was filled with natural, working-class comedians and poets. Whether mowing lawns, fixing cars or sitting at the bar, they told...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #48: ‘Coping’ by Jacob Marx Rice

Award-winning new play examines the heartbreak and humor of death. The story of Coping began with a tragedy; a friend of Playwright Jacob Marx Rice, who had been struggling with depression for years,...

‘The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber’ Ends its Run This Sunday At Riverside Center for The Performing Arts

Last year’s audience pleaser and hit The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber ends its run this Sunday, July 10th at 1 PM at Riverside Center for The Arts. There is a Sunday Matinee on July 10th: Arrive for...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #47: ‘Death Be Not Loud!’ by Susan Jackson

Southern Railroad Theatre Company presents: DEATH BE NOT LOUD! (a contemporary Southern comedy) By Susan Jackson as part of the 11th Annual Capital Fringe Festival Southern Railroad Theatre Company...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #46: ’22 Boom!’: 5 Questions with ’22 Boom!’ Playwright Miranda Rose Hall by Angela Kay Pirko and Miranda Rose Hall

5 Questions with 22 Boom! playwright Miranda Rose Hall by Angela Kay Pirko and Miranda Rose Hall Angela: What was the inspiration for 22 Boom! Miranda: It was a compilation of plays that I wrote on...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #45: ‘Let Trump Be Trump’ by Kendall Helblig

Trump’s Theatrics Play Out On The Fringe Festival Stage Believe it or not, John Krizel had the idea and title for his play Let Trump Be Trump months before the slogan, a wink to The West Wing wonks,...

Review: Bob Dylan at Wolf Trap With Mavis Staples

Bob Dylan and the balmy air of the Mid-Atlantic summer: the folksy voice of an era and the backwoods feel of Wolf Trap seem like they were meant to go together. However, for those fans hoping for a...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #44: ‘Romanov’ by Danny Baird

They may be dead, but the Romanov sisters aren’t letting that slow them down! They’re back and taking the world by storm with a electro-pop concert that sets the record straight on their little part...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #43: ‘Do Not Disturb’ by Carla Rountree

What happens when you combine opera with an episode of Frasier? You get a comedy of operatic proportions. You get Do Not Disturb, which will be presented by The Forgotten Opera Company in this year’s...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #42: ‘One Mutual Happiness’ by David S. Kessler

What is One Mutual Happiness? Take one totally unqualified wedding officiant, toss in an innovative composer, mix with four weddings and one prolonged illness. Add a generous scoop or two of laughs...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #41: ‘Perfect Liars Club’ by Pierce McManus

Perfect Liars Club: The Smash Hit Storytelling Interrogation Returns to Capital Fringe “…storytelling at its finest — honest.” — The Washington Post Maybe you’ve been to a storytelling show before,...

‘Come to Their Cabaret’: Meet the Cast of PWLT’s ‘Cabaret’: Part 1: Aaron Verchot-Ware and Katherine Bisulca

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of Prince William Little Theatre’s production of Cabaret, meet Aaron Verchot-Ware and Katherine Bisulca. Joel: Please introduce yourself, and tell us...

A New Play and a New Mission for Ginger Dayle and New City Stage Company in Philadelphia

When Ginger Dayle founded New City Stage Company in the summer of 2006, she was a graduate student at Villanova University, hoping to provide herself and other young theater artists with professional...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #40: ‘It Will All Make Sense in the Morning’ by Patrick Miller

We knew it had to be the blood eggs. When you’re only given four minutes to present your play at the Fringe Preview night, it focuses you. You’ve been immersed in a rich, funny, tragic, touching...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #39: ‘The Greatest Science Fiction Show (no one’s ever seen)’ by Pamela Leahigh

Take a trip with us through time and space! Grain of Sand Theatre, winner of the Capital Fringe Festival’s Best Drama Awards in 2011 and 2013, returns to the Capital Fringe Festival with The Greatest...

A Report on Last Night’s ‘A Capitol Fourth’ Rehearsal

What do you get when you combine Smokey Robinson, Gavin DeGraw, Kenny Loggins, Team USA Olympians, the National Symphony Orchestra, and more? The incredible production of A Capitol Fourth produced by...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #38: ‘Poe, Times Two’ by Richard Byrne

The life of Edgar Allan Poe is a subject of endless and fascinated discussion and debate. But at the core of our fascination with Poe is the work itself – his poems, and literary criticism, and most...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #36: ‘Kick Before You Drown’ by Jessica John

Steal A Step World Premieres Kick Before You Drown at the Capital Fringe Festival on July 7-14, 2016 Genre-bending company debuts a provocative show melding contemporary circus and performance art...

Magic Time! 5 Reasons Capital Fringe Is a DC Treasure

The future of the Capital Fringe Festival has been uncertain since its brilliant and brave inception in 2006, but back in July 2013 its fate was especially iffy. The festival’s fabulously funky Fort...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #35: ‘Aliens, Nazis & Angels’: A solo play by Leah Harris

Mental illness, addiction, and inherited family trauma: these are the ingredients from which Leah Harris spins her solo performance. Working with Director Regie Cabico, she mined her painful family...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #37: ‘Play Cupid’ by Brett Steven Abelman

We might have been on over 100 dates between the seven us – in fact I’m betting that’s a low estimate. Myself (creator/director Brett Steven Abelman), assistant director Emily Cohen, and Play Cupid’s...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #34: ‘Macbeth in the Basement’ by Annie Bryan

181 school shootings have occurred in the United States since the Columbine shooting on April 20, 1999. 231 young people died from gun violence in their place of education. High school students...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #33 ‘Prison Break Incorporated’ by Derek Hills

You’ve run marathons in Kuala Lumpur, did the half Ironman in Hawaii, and proved your mettle on the now-quaint Tough Mudder race course as well as its clones. But where to go for your next adrenaline...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #32: ‘Hunt’: Part 2 by Jean P. Bordewich

HUNT: A Political Drama about Power, Blackmail and Tragedy in the U.S. Senate It’s hard to believe that the events in this play actually happened, but they did. I started my research when I worked in...

Capital Fringe Preview #31:’Oral Histories’ by Ward Kay

Sometimes it starts with the title. While taking a graduate research class on qualitative methods, playwright Ward Kay learned about oral histories and thought “That would make a great title!” He...

Spine: The 26th Contemporary American Theater Festival: Ed Herendeen’s 26th Snapshot of America’s Theatrical Culture

The Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, is approaching its second quarter of a century of new American plays. This year’s rotating repertory...

Review: ‘Sweeney Todd’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre

In an interestingly unusual choice for the typical light-hearted summer stock musicals at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, Sweeney Todd is an exceptional production with strong performances and crisp,...

Review: ‘The Summer Club’ at the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia

Until now, The Summer Club has been a swinging, snappy treat enjoyed almost exclusively by Cape May and other Jersey Shore towns. After two summers of hot nights on the beach, The Summer Club and it’s...

Review: Patti LaBelle at The Music Center at Strathmore

After more than 50 years in the music business, Patti LaBelle can still pack a house. The fans came out full force to enjoy an evening of old R&B favorites sung by a funky diva who sings from the...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #30 ‘AND 1! at Aras Dance by Sara Herrera

AND 1! a dansical parody by ArasDance Join ArasDance for an exciting summer as they present their newest work, AND 1! a dansical parody. Yes, that is correct, a dansical parody! This will be...

Review: ‘Rob McClure: Smile’ at Feinstein’s/54 Below in NYC

Talent, showmanship, and charm—Rob McClure has it all, and he brings it all to Feinstein’s/54 Below with Rob McClure: Smile, his premiere solo concert in New York City. The pride of New Jersey (where...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #29: ‘Act Like a GRRRL’ (ALAG) by Rhonda Holdrige

Act Like a GRRRL (ALAG) is an autobiographical writing and performance program that inspires girls (ages 12-18) to write about their lives and transform their thoughts into monologues, dances and...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview # 28: ‘The Root of All Knowledge’

A Spellbinding New Play by Gabriel S. Hudson Sees Its World Premier in the Capital Fringe Festival this Summer Each year, the Capital Fringe Festival showcases innovative and avant garde artists...

Review: ‘Hairspray’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Turning up the summer sizzle with a whirlwind of big hair, bright colors and dance-fueling music, Baltimore’s iconic, Tony Award-winning musical Hairspray returns to Toby’s Dinner Theatre with renewed...

‘Very Well-Connected’: Meet Cast Members of Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theatre’s ‘Side Show’: Part 3: Da’Von Moody

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theatre’s production of Side Show, meet Da’Von Moody. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell us what other shows...

Review: National Symphony Orchestra: Dreamworks Animation in Concert at Wolf Trap

After reviewing productions for a number of years, a “critic” like myself can usually come to rely on certain venues for consistent, professional entertainment. Wolf Trap is a spectacular venue and I...

Review: ‘God of Carnage’ at Princeton Summer Theater in Princeton, New Jersey

As Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage opens, two couples meet for a civilized discussion. Their sons have just had a violent playground encounter that cost one of the boys a couple teeth, and the two sets...

Review: ‘Rent’ at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s production of Rent, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the musical’s Broadway premiere, is a powerful, heartfelt, and entertaining celebration of creativity and...

Review: ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ at The Kennedy Center

The Bridges of Madison County is a romantic, sexy, and unapologetically sentimental musical. Most likely you know The Bridges of Madison County from either Robert James Waller’s 1992 novel and/or the...

An Interview with Pleasure Train’s Will Berger

Through an email interview with DC based Pleasure Train’s bassist Will Berger, we talked about the band’s favorite venue to play in, their musical journey highlight so far, and how they write their...

Magic Time! Left-Handed Complement: Liam Forde on Acting With a Puppet in ‘Hand to God’ at Studio Theatre

Studio Theatre’s fourth floor has been turned into an amazing facsimile of a Lutheran church basement, complete with inspirational posters on the walls and seating at folding tables as if for a...