2016

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #20: ‘Dial R for Robot: a Sci-Fi Hitchcock Rock Opera’ by Christian Crowley

Hitchcock’s Rope meets Blade Runner in an Interactive Rock Opera Science-lab rivalry turns deadly in the race to build the perfect robot. Hidden passions explode as artificial intelligence blurs the...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #19: ‘Ready to Serve: Unknown Stories of WWI Nurses’ by Robin Fox

Ellouise Schoettler is very excited to be returning to Cap Fringe 2016, for the seventh year. This year she is performing the premiere of Ready to Serve at Caos on F. Ready to Serve: Unknown Stories...

Review: ‘Shuffle Along’ at the Music Box in NYC

There is so much talent on stage at the Music Box that it’s difficult to know where to begin giving credit where its due. The first elements that deserve “Original! Exciting! Broadway at its best!”...

Review: “Celebrating Joan: A Tribute to Joan Rivers” at The Kennedy Center

Celebrating Joan: A Tribute to Joan Rivers, which left the audience of admirers howling last night at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, was an evening for “mature audiences” and fans of the...

In the Moment: Part 2: An Interview with Workhouse Arts Center’s Ava Spece

Rare words indeed to take in and ponder from the preface to the The Brookings Institution’s Creative Communities, Art Works in Economic Development: “Without good data and analysis—much of it grounded...

Review: ‘Chalk’ at We Happy Few Productions

There’s an ancient child-custody legend about two women who claim to be the mother of the same infant. In the well-known Hebrew Bible version, their dispute is resolved when King Solomon orders the...

Review: Musicians of National Orchestral Institute Perform Two Dances and a Titan

The lobby is packed. The line for ticket pick-up is a few dozen deep. The lobby is filled with plush lounge furniture and lit with low-hanging, contemporary chandeliers. While this could be a scene...

Review: ‘Aladdin and His Magic Lamp’ at Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre

Aladdin and the Magic of Dance On June 4, 2016, in the Poolesville High School auditorium, Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre staged a production of original ballet, Aladdin and His Magic Lamp....

‘Sometimes a House Is Much More Than a House: “Clybourne Park” Opens Friday at Silver Spring Stage’

Sometimes a house is just a house. Sometimes it’s a home. Sometimes it’s the bearer of secrets or of legacies. And sometimes it’s a stage where dreams, emotions, fears, and changes play out. A house,...

Review: ‘If/Then’ at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia

Broadway today is the era of musical/cartoon/film/remakes. We should, therefore, be grateful for anything that attempts a reasonably adult theme: in this case, how our decisions will create our...

An Interview with Jeff Coon: Part 2: Raising His Two Children in His Own Special Secret Garden

In this two-part interview, we look into some corners of the secret garden in the life of the much talked about Jeff Coon at a time me when American family structures are changing and expanding. Jeff...

An Interview With Jeff Coon On The Arden’s ‘Secret Garden: Part 1: An Outstanding Father On and Off the Stage

In this two-part interview, we look into some corners of the secret garden in the life of actor Jeff Coon at a time when American family structures are changing and expanding. Jeff talks about his...

Review: ‘The Good Devil (In Spite of Himself)’ at WSC Avant Bard

The Good Devil (In Spite of Himself) is a good and plenty retelling of the classic Faust tale and how art can imitate life. Well, let’s really say it is an entertaining satiric retelling that uses...

Review: ‘Next to Normal’ at The Keegan Theatre

‘Next to Normal’ Confronts Depression, and Anxiety Depression hurts. It deadens and dulls the edge of life and can even kill. With a Tony Award-winning score composed by Tom Kitt with lyrics and book...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #18: ‘In a Day of Dreary’ by Henry Ragan

Creator Henry Ragan enlightens us on In a Day of Dreary: A horror play. Joel: In the marketing, In a Day of Dreary is described as a “horror play.” What does that mean? Henry: More often than not, I...

On Parenting and a Play: Director Shirley Serotsky Talks About ‘Another Way Home’ at Theater J

I have admired Shirley Serotsky’s work as a director on such shows as Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy at Theater J in 2014 and Rapture, Blister, Burn at Round House Theatre in 2015. Shirley also serves as...

Review: ‘Muddled’ at The Drexel URBN Annex in Philadelphia

Following his 2013 hit No Reservations, best-selling author, humorist, and playwright Josh Piven brings a new work to the Philadelphia stage with the world premiere of Muddled, an original satire on...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #17: ‘Paul Gonsalves on the Road’ by Arthur Luby and Andy Wassenich

Paul Gonsalves (1920-1974) was an immensely talented tenor saxophonist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra from 1950 until his death in 1974. He is best known as the creator of one of the most memorable...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #16: “The Missing Peace”

“The first time I played through the score, I was struck by its beauty and shocked that it was written twenty years ago– the message is still relevant now, and I knew the story needed to be told,”...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #15: ‘BRYCE: Hydrogen Blonde’ by Tabitha Odom

The rumors are true. After months of speculation, BRYCE confirmed he will be gracing the 2016 Capital Fringe stage with a brand new show BRYCE: Hydrogen Blonde. After a successful debut at The Studio...

Review: ‘What Men Don’t Say’ at Anacostia Arts Center

J Weeks Entertainment’s What Men Don’t Say, starring and directed by J the Actor and written by Mone’t Bradley, is a mini-tour de force that puts a new twist on an old theme about men and their love...

Review: ‘No-No Boy’ at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre

No-No Boy is an extraordinary and essential play. It’s about what happened to innocent people when this country demonized and incarcerated Japanese Americans during World War II. To witness it now—as...

Review: ‘The Servant of Two Masters’ at Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, PA

It was in the opening moments of The Servant of Two Masters, as one of the performers stood in front of the curtain to introduce the show, that I realized this wasn’t your standard 18th century...

In the Moment: Scenic Designer Tony Cisek on his Scenic Design for Folger’s ‘District Merchants’

Over the past nearly two decades, I have always anticipated what multi-Helen Hayes Award Scenic Designer Tony Cisek will bring forth on the Folger Theatre’s intimate stage space with its two iconic,...

Review: ‘Mary Poppins’ at the Phoenix Festival Theater at Harford Community College

Everyone has a melody that brings them immediately flashing back to their childhood. For me, it’s the first few notes of “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from the movie Mary Poppins. Those notes bring about the...

Review: ‘Assassins’ at Princeton Summer Theater

Assassins is about people who lived out their dream – but it’s not the dream we ordinarily think of as “The American Dream.” This audacious musical by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and John...

Review: The Arden Cabaret Series with Tony Braithwaite at Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia

At one point on opening night of his latest show, Tony Braithwaite asked if any of his fellow Georgetown University graduates were in the audience. One woman sitting up front announced that she went...

Review: ‘The Harassment of Iris Malloy’ at People’s Light in Malvern, PA

Feed the Beast! Money, power, fame! It’s all here, along with a touch of sleazy sex in the world premiere of The Harassment of Iris Malloy. Who exactly is being harassed becomes the mystery as the...

Review: ‘Fidelio’ at The In Series

The In Series ends their season with Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, a surprisingly modern tale of faith – particularly between husband and wife. This is their biggest production ever and one of the...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #14: ‘Dark Times at Grimesville High’ by Rebecca Wahls

Dark Times at Grimesville High: A Darkly Funny Take on the High School Musical Everybody loves high school! Well, at least Olivia Hope (Tess Higgins) does. As a hard-hitting school journalist,...

Meet The Cast of ‘Moon Over Buffalo’ at Vagabond Players: Part 4: Carol Conley Evans

In Part Four of a series of interviews with the cast of Vagabond Players’ Moon Over Buffalo, meet Carol Evans. Joel: Please introduce yourselves and tell me why you wanted to be in the cast of Moon...

Meet The Cast of ‘Moon Over Buffalo’ at Vagabond Players: Part 3: Michele Guyton

In Part Three of a series of interviews with the cast of Vagabond Players’ Moon Over Buffalo, meet Michele Guyton. Joel: Please introduce yourselves and tell me why you wanted to be in the cast of...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #13: ‘Confederates’ by James F. Bruns

Part of the 11th Annual Capital Fringe Festival July 7 – 31, 2016 Was there one day the South could have won the War? Looking back through the fog of history, Civil War “buffs” endlessly debate this...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #12: ‘Wash Over You’ by Jane Franklin

You get a laugh on when you take a trip with Jane. A river is the mechanism for a great adventure, untamed with plenty of surprises but predictable enough to get you there. The trip in Wash Over You...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #11: ‘Connectivity/Complexity’ by Rachel Turner

Errant Movement, a new modern dance company on the scene in DC, is proud to present Connectivity/Complexity. This show features choreography from Artistic Director Rachel Turner and guest...

Review: ‘Jamaica’ at The New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia

If you are a musical theatre fanatic, like me, with a mammoth record collection, then you have always wanted to see Jamaica. Well, cross that off my bucket list. Freedom Theatre has done it and I was...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Dreams and Discord: Six 10-Minute Plays

Ready for a night of unicorns and clowns? Sci-Fi and meth? Hipsters and hit men? Only have 80 minutes to spare? Then strap yourself in and get ready for Dreams and Discord: The Source Festival’s...

Review: ‘Kinky Boots’ at The Kennedy Center

In The Kennedy Center’s current production of the Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots, a cornucopia of vibrant color runs riot through this exuberant and defiant celebration of diversity and...

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 8 – Director Brad Norris

In Part Eight of a series of interviews with cast members of Cohesion Theatre Company’s Neverwhere, meet Director Brad Norris. Patricia: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers about some of...

Kelli O’Hara in ‘Seth Rudetsky’s Broadway Concert Series’ at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia

Closing out their Concert Series Season on Tuesday, the Kimmel Center welcomed Kelli O’Hara, one of Broadway’s brightest stars, to the Merriam stage along with Seth Rudetsky for a conversation with a...

Interviews from The Woods: Inside ‘Into the Woods JR.’ at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater

Be careful what you wish for! This weekend, Into the Woods JR. opens at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater, featuring talented students from the tri-state area. Into...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #10:’The DOMA Diaries’ by Kevin Michael West

On June 26, 2013, when the Supreme Court announced its decision on the constitutionality of “The Defense of Marriage Act” (or “DOMA”), it was a unique moment for LGBT Playwright Kevin Michael West. A...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #9: ‘One Man Romeo’ by Darius McCall

Darius McCall debuts solo act depicting Romeo A diaphanous Romeo Montague arises from the end of the play. He speaks to the audience, recalling all the events that led to his demise until he realizes...

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 7: Melanie Glickman

In Part Seven of a series of interviews with cast members of Cohesion Theatre Company’s Neverwhere, meet Melanie Glickman. Patricia: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #8: ‘How To Be The Perfect Wingwoman’ – A New Musical by Dara Gold

How To Be The Perfect Wingwoman is a new musical about the frustrations and hilariousness of modern dating. Let’s face it – it can suck! Somehow, yet another friend is getting married or having a...

2016 Capital Fringe: Preview #7: ’35mm: A Musical Exhibition’ by Rich Farella

Photo Gallery Meets Rock Show – A Multimedia Musical What is 35M? This 70-minute musical written by Ryan Scott Oliver pairs a collection of photographs with a series of songs, each capturing a “moment...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #6: ‘Once Upon a Bedtime’ by Michael Oberhauser

We’re so excited to be back for our third production in the Fringe Festival, and our goal is to keep growing and trying new things. After 2014’s A Fire in Water and 2012’s Fallen Angels, we thought...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Crossroads’: Artistic Blind Date

Plunk yourself down upstairs at the Source Theatre to take in a state of mind; one of dreams and dissonance. Let yourself be open to three creative artists who bring forth dream states at the cusp of...

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 6: Cassandra Dutt

In Part Six of a series of interviews with cast members of Cohesion Theatre Company’s Neverwhere, meet Cassandra Dutt. Patricia: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen...

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 4: Matthew Lindsay Payne

In Part Four of a series of interviews with cast members of Cohesion Theatre Company’s Neverwhere, meet Matthew Lindsay Payne. Patricia: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may...