2016

Review: Clarinetist Valentin Uryupin at the Phillips Collection

The Music Room at the Phillips Collection is such a distinctive and up-close venue to hear performers that you can forget how momentous the events there can turn out to be. That may well have been the...

Review: ‘All the Way’ at Arena Stage

Lyndon Baines Johnson, popularly known as “LBJ,” was one of our best presidents, and also one of our worst. Truly a study in contrasts, he could evince both strength and weakness at the same time. LBJ...

Filichia on Friday: ‘A Chat with Choreographer Larry Fuller’

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: A Chat with Choreographer Larry Fuller. Purchase...

Meet the Cast of 1st Stage’s ‘Proof’: Part 1: Sam Ludwig

In Part One of a series of interviews with the cast of Proof at 1st Stage, meet Sam Ludwig. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our...

Review: ‘Johnny Mathis –The 60th Anniversary Concert Tour’ at Strathmore

Johnny Mathis, iconic and legendary vocalist of love songs, jazz, tin pan alley, Brazilian music, holiday music and the Great American Songbook, celebrated his 60th Anniversary in Show Business...

Playwright Walt Vail on his New Play ‘Young Frederick Douglass’ Which Opens Tomorrow at Beacon Theatre Productions in Philadelphia

Young Frederick Douglass (YFD), a world premiere play by Walt Vail, one of Philadelphia’s oldest and most prolific writers, is about the slave who became one of America’s most famous abolitionists....

Review: ‘The Crucible’ at The Walter Kerr Theatre in NYC

Arthur Miller’s 1953 play has been resurrected by Producer Scott Rudin and 20 cohorts in a production staged by Ivo Van Hove, who performed similar service to Miller’s A View From The Bridge earlier...

Enter to Win 2 Free Tickets to ‘Sister Act’ at Walnut Street Theatre

Get in on the act – the SISTER ACT – with DCMetroTheaterArts! DC Theater Arts invites you to enter-to-win tickets to Broadway’s divine musical comedy, SISTER ACT at Walnut Street Theatre. Sing out...

Theater J Announces its 2016-2017 Season: 1st Chosen by Theater J’s Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr

Theater J, the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish theater, announces its 2016-2017 season, the first season chosen by new Theater J Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr. This lineup of seven...

Review: ‘Proof’ at 1st Stage

At one point in David Auburn’s multiple award-winning drama Proof, which is currently being given an exceptionally gripping treatment at 1st Stage in Tysons, Hal Dobbs gushes to Catherine about her...

Aaron De Jesus on Playing Frankie Valli in ‘Jersey Boys’ at The National Theatre

Aaron De Jesus is wowing audiences on the road with his vocal acrobatics as the legendary Frankie Valli in The National Tour of Jersey Boys. Aaron takes us on his journey of playing the role of a...

‘The Naked Magic Show’ Magicians Christopher Wayne and Mike Tyler Bare it All with Lucrezia

Sometimes I hear a concept and I find it hard to envision – Shakespeare with no words for example. Having seen it, I’m now a huge fan and never miss a show. On the other hand, buff Australian dudes...

The Columbia Festival of the Arts’ ‘Viva La Vida’ Opens This Friday, 4/8-24th

The Columbia Festival of the Arts has changed its format from an early summer (or very late spring) one month format to a quarterly themed one. This year’s Spring Festival – Viva La Vida – opens this...

In the Moment: Creative Cauldron Awarded Grants for its Technical Theater Training Project

Theater has a great deal to offer well beyond acting before an enthralled audience. Not only is theater a source of inspiration and entertainment, but it can be a wonderful opportunity to learn and...

Review: ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ at Round House Theatre

Southern jazz fills the theatre as the warm lights come up on a bedroom. A mix of yellow and pink shines through the windows at the back of the stage, transporting us to sunset on a hot, summer...

Review: ‘After Life’ | ‘Josephine’ by UrbanArias

Say “operatic double bill” and two duos spring to mind, for aficionados and amateurs alike. From the mid-20th century, Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium and The Telephone; from the late-19th century,...

Review: ‘The Good Person of Setzuan’ at The Towson University Department of Theatre Arts

Bertolt Brecht’s tale of the struggle to be good under the weight of capitalism is brought to the streets of Baltimore in Director Stephen Nunns’ lively and profound production of Bertolt Brecht’s The...

Review: ‘Harry and the Thief’ at Strand Theater Company

It’s admirable when a playwright takes on depicting a public figure when creating a show that questions history. Putting words in the mouth of a real person, such as the heroic Harriet Tubman, can be...

Review: ‘in a word’ at The Hub Theatre

By the time you realize that you’ve been emotionally captured by in a word, the breathtaking drama now playing at The Hub Theatre in Fairfax, it is too late to escape. Not that you would want to....

Review: ‘The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord’ at Washington Stage Guild

In the beginning was the Word–In the beginning was Reason–In the beginning was the Spirit. In the beginning was… Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy (he renounced his “Count” status)...

Review: ‘He Who Gets Slapped’ at Philadelphia Artists’ Collective in Philadelphia

The delicate danger of the Big Top mixes with a resonant sadness in Philadelphia Artists’ Collective’s circus-themed production of Leonid Andreyev’s He Who Gets Slapped. In partnership with the...

Review: ‘Doctor Faustus’ at Quintessence Theatre Group in Philadelphia

One thing was abundantly clear as the youthful Quintessence Theatre Group cast took its curtain call to the cheers of a packed house: these players had fun. Fun you ask? Isn’t this The Tragical...

Review: ‘Almost, Maine’ at Providence Players of Fairfax

Almost, Maine is a series of short scenes reflecting love stories of characters in the same small town which never quite got organized enough to become official, so remains “almost.” The actors are an...

Review: ‘The Boys in the Band’ at Dominion Stage

Mart Crowley’s groundbreaking play The Boys in The Band, now being given a superlative production by Dominion Stage at the Gunston Arts Theatre, is perfectly “on-target” as a study of psychological...

Review: ‘Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical’ at City Theater Company in WiImington, DE

Wilmington’s City Theater Company once again affirms its status as the go-to regional venue for youth-driven musicals, with its one-week run of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. Set in New...

Review: ‘Broadway Bios’ at Bethesda Little Theatre

If you’re looking for a fun family evening of singing and dancing, look no further than Bethesda Little Theatre’s entertaining Broadway Bios. Real life characters of Broadway musicals are on the...

Review: ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Shakespeare presents a language barrier for actors and audience alike. Typically, companies affect British accents (“received pronunciation” – not everyone is a fan), though many companies choose not...

“Creating An American Citizen”: An Interview with Pianist Bruce Levingston

On Wednesday, April 6, 2016, Georgetown University will welcome acclaimed pianist Bruce Levingston, one of the country’s leading figures in contemporary classical music, for the Washington, D.C....

Review: ‘Superman 2050’ at The Kennedy Center’s Family Theater

The Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences is currently presenting an imaginative theatrical experience, Superman 2050, produced by Theater Unspeakable. Founded in 2010 by Marc Frost, Theater...

Review: ‘Quilters’ at Rockville Musical Theatre and Arts on the Green

The musical Quilters is being presented by Rockville Musical Theatre in partnership with the City of Gaithersburg at The Arts Barn. The show’s book is by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek with Music...

Review: ‘I Hate Hamlet’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Laurel Mill Playhouse’s most recent production is Paul Rudnick’s comedic drama, I Hate Hamlet. Having never seen this production, I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into but I was ready and...

Review: ‘Aphorisms on Gender’ by Alice Stanley Presented by Cohesion Theatre Company in Collaboration with Iron Crow Theatre

Literally, an “aphorism” is a short phrase that expresses a truth or astute observation. In Alice Stanley’s brief, but powerful, meditation on gender, they [1] have structured the piece itself as a...

Review: ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ at Silver Spring Stage

William Shakespeare’s great comedy, Much Ado about Nothing, is playing at Silver Spring Stage. The show is directed by Andrew Greenleaf and produced by Greenleaf and Katherine Offutt. One of the...

Mosaic Theater Company of DC Announces its 2016-2017 Season Schedule

“It’s absolutely amazing to talk about a second season for Mosaic and look at the unfolding of expanded horizons. We’re a start-up that started big and with a bang that now moves forward, broadening...

Review: ‘The Nether’ at InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia

Jennifer Haley’s The Nether is set partly in the near future and partly in the distant past. And in Haley’s riveting but frequently disturbing play, each of these eras can be equally dangerous. The...

Review: ‘A Little Night Music’ at GWU

A Little Night Music might be classified as a gateway drug to Stephen Sondheim. Whether a fan or a skeptic, once you get a whiff of this vigorous (and tuneful!) exposé on humankind’s mating follies,...

Review: An Evening with Art Garfunkel at The Hylton Performing Arts Center

In his 70s, Art Garfunkel still has control of a gorgeous, light counter-tenor, and an ability to tell the story of a song while connecting with his audience. The Hylton Center for the Arts at George...

In the Moment: ‘Voices From the High School’ at NextStop Theatre Company-Cast Members Chime In

“Dark Nights” You remember that theatre term for when a venue has no shows playing to an audience. Well, NextStop Theatre, located in Herndon is having its April Theatre for Young Audiences production...

Filichia on Friday: ‘1776: IT’S A MASTERPIECE, I SAY’

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: 1776: IT’S A MASTERPIECE, I SAY Purchase Peter...

Review #2: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ‘Broadway Divas’

Maybe you could not dance all night, but on Thursday, March 31, 2016, when the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed Broadway Divas at the Music Center at Strathmore, I could not stop tapping my feet...

Review #1: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ‘Broadway Divas’

What does one call a group of Broadway divas? After tonight’s performance of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Jack Everly, “Dreamgirls” seems like perhaps the...

Review: ‘Bright Star’ at The Cort Theatre in NYC

If you insist on edge in your musicals, Bright Star is not for you. On the other hand, if you care to spend a couple of hours in the mid 1940s and the early 1920s in rural areas of North Carolina with...

Pete Pryor on Reprising his Award-Winning Role as ‘Richard III’ at People’s Light in Malvern, PA

In 2006, Pete Pryor won the Barrymore Award for Leading Actor in a Play for his stellar portrayal of the titular character in Richard III at Lantern Theater Company. Now a decade later, he is...

‘Almost, Maine’ Opens Tomorrow Night at Providence Players of Fairfax

Almost, Maine Opens Tomorrow, April 1st at 7:30 PM and Plays though April 16th! Nine Stories One Magical Night In Almost, Maine The Providence Players present John Cariani’s sweet, poignant, and witty...

Review: ‘Black Violin’ at The Barns at Wolf Trap

Black Violin performed a genre-shattering fusion of classical and hip hop in an unforgettable concert last night at The Barns at Wolf Trap. Black Violin is composed of Kev Marcus (aka Kevin Sylvester)...

Howard University’s Spring Dance Concert ‘DRIFT’ on April 8 & 9

We close our season through movement with DRIFT~ Spring Dance Concert! This production will surely take you on a journey through time, generations, emotions and movement. Dance Coordinators Royce...

Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) Announces Its 2016 Line-Up of Plays

CATF ANNOUNCES ITS 2016 LINE-UP OF PLAYS To take place in rotating repertory July 8 – 31, 2016 Featuring new plays from Christina Anderson, Allison Gregory, Chisa Hutchinson, Susan Miller, and Ronan...

Review: ‘The Illusionists’ at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre

Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre has reassurance for anyone out there asking where the magic went. Its “direct from Broadway” engagement of The Illusionists is packed full of caped conjurers,...

Inside the Numbers: Behind the Scenes Of Bethesda Little Theatre’s ‘Broadway Bios’: Part 3: ‘It’s Willamania Time!’

The Bethesda Little Theatre Presents: Broadway Bios, an Original Musical Revue! Celebrating its 36th year, the Bethesda Little Theatre will perform the original musical revue, Broadway Bios at The...

Review: The Kennedy Center and Pro Musica Hebraica Present ‘Wandering Stars: Two Centuries of European Jewish Song’

I left The Kennedy Center Terrace Theater last night walking about in that peaceful sort of glow one gets after an experience of great beauty; a kind of encounter that seems to refocus the world in...