2016

Meet the Cast of ‘Postmortem’ at Montgomery Playhouse: Part 5: Nora Zanger

In Part 5 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Montgomery Playhouse’s Postmortem, meet Nora Zanger. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform...

Review: ‘Dinner With Friends’ at Greenbelt Arts Center

‘Dinner With Friends’ serves broken relationships, dreams Why do people break up, but never make up? Is having kids a sacrifice or a blessing? Are some people not just built for marriage? Is marriage...

Review: ‘American Hero’ at Rep Stage

In its area premiere of American Hero, Rep Stage has sent out a likable little David to do battle with the soulless Goliath of modern corporate culture. While playwright Bess Wohl accomplishes no...

Review: ‘Les Liasons Dangereuses’ at The Booth Theatre in NYC

Christopher Hampton’s play, Les Liasons Dangereuses, based on the novel by Choderlos de Laclos, a story presented through a series of the characters’ personal letters, was first published in four...

Review: ‘STREB Extreme Action’ at The Kennedy Center

Fans of STREB Extreme Action were out in force last night at The Kennedy Center. Enthusiasm in the Eisenhower Theater was at a fervor one might find at a rave or rock gig. The singular choreographic...

Review: ‘Shrek: the Musical’ at Rockville Musical Theatre

Rockville Musical Theatre’s Shrek, the Musical is a large-scale, glitzy, theatrical extravaganza. This production has got it all: Belting performers, elaborate sets and eye-catching costumes. Director...

Review: ‘Postmortem’ at Montgomery Playhouse

In partnership with Montgomery Playhouse, Arts on the Green presents Postmortem, a thrilling mystery by Ken Ludwig. Unravelling the relationships between cast members on holiday in a whodunit within a...

Get Your Fringe On! Fifth Annual Charm City Fringe Festival Preview

This weekend marks the beginning of the Fifth Annual Charm City Fringe Festival (“Fringe”), a celebration of new and emerging independent theatre that will continue through November 13th. There is a...

Review: ‘Wind Me Up, Maria!: A Go-Go Musical’ at Georgetown University

There’s a delectable new musical in town celebrating a distinctive genre of music called Go-Go, and it’s gotta be one of the most go-to fun times to be had in DC right now. The show is in the splendid...

Meet the Cast of ‘Dinner with Friends’ at Greenbelt Arts Center: Part 2: Jenna Jones Paradis

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of Greenbelt Arts Center’s Dinner with Friends, meet Jenna Jones Paradis. Joel: Please tell our readers where they may have seen your work on our...

Review: Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center

Something of a high-stakes atmosphere pervades this week’s concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra. It’s performing an all-Russian program, always a touchstone harking back to the reign of Soviet...

An Interview with The Performers of the ‘Aunt Sally Sideshow Reunion’ Performing Tomorrow 11/5 at 9:00 PM at the Bier Baron

I’ve said it before, for someone with a lot of friends who perform sideshow I’m kind of squeamish. I see, maybe, half of their acts, peeking through my fingers. Imagine my delight when I found out a...

Review: ‘Godspell’ at W.T. Woodson High School

Stephen Schwartz’s often treacly Godspell, conceived by book writer John-Michael Tebelak, is a parade of parables borrowed from the New Testament’s Matthew and Luke set to a hippie-chic Seventies...

Review: Concerto for Violin, Rock Band & String Orchestra: Composed by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills for Robert McDuffie Featuring Fifth House Ensemble at Strathmore

When I saw Mike Mills of R.E.M. was coming to town, I knew I had to see him because I grew up on his music. R.E.M.’s music was a huge part of my life. Mills and Robert McDuffie didn’t disappoint by...

Meet the Cast of ‘School of Rock’ at West Potomac High School: Part 3: Luke Simonsen

In Part 3 of a series of interviews of the cast of West Potomac High School’s School of Rock, meet Luke Simonsen. Please introduce yourself to our audience. I am Luke Simonsen and a junior at West...

Review: ‘Pippin’ at The George Washington University

“Join us,” cry the players, led by sophomore Madeline Winstel, in George Washington University’s performance of Pippin. In the show’s opening number “Magic to Do,” the players invite the audience to...

Interview: Maestro Simeone Tartaglione on Conducting ‘Peter and the Wolf’ TOMORROW 11/5 at 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn

Residents of the DC Metro Region are in for a treat this weekend. For two performances only at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn, Maestro Simeone Tartaglione will be conducting Peter and the Wolf. The 1936...

In the Moment: Jane Franklin on ‘The Migration Project’ Opening Tomorrow Night at Theatre on the Run

With an interest in the stories of refugees and other wandering souls, which I presumed is based upon my own family fables of wanderings to and in America, along with my work as Director, US Office of...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘TAME.’ Part 2: Brendan Edward Kennedy

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of TAME., meet Brendan Edward Kennedy. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage? Brendan: This...

Review: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at Howard University

From the moment the actors appear, the stage becomes a non-stop whirl of color and movement. Howard University’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in what is meant to be modern-day New...

Live Arts Maryland Celebrates Composer Marvin Hamlisch on Saturday, November 12th at 8 PM

Live Arts Maryland Celebrates Composer Marvin Hamlisch on Saturday, November 12th at 8 PM at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, MD Broadway truly arrives in Annapolis when Live Arts...

In the Moment: Kenny Neal on his Sound Design for NextStop’s ‘Eurydice’

This is another of my columns that delves deeper into the technical design aspects of an area live theater production. In this case, it was the intriguing sound design of NextStop’s Eurydice that led...

Review: ‘Antigone’ at Gloucester County Institute of Technology

Greek Tragedy ably performed by 17 year olds? Is such a thing possible? Read on. The play is Sophocles’ Antigone, which is probably the best dramatic examination of the conflict we all face concerning...

Meet the Cast of ‘School of Rock’ at West Potomac High School: Part 2: Tony Lemus

In Part 2 of a series of interviews of the cast of West Potomac High School’s School of Rock, meet Tony Lemus. Please introduce yourself to our readers. I am Tony Lemus and I have participated in...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘TAME.’ Part 1: John Stange

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of TAME., meet John Stange. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage? John: Busy year. Working...

Jane Franklin Dance Opens ‘The Migration Project: live performance art installation’ on Friday, November 4th

The Migration Project: live performance art installation: An immersive visual experience and stories of relocation explore the push and pull of human flight The Migration Project (Push/Pull)...

Magic Time! ‘In the Cage, She Has a Fighting Chance’: A Q&A With Stephen Spotswood About His New Play ‘Girl in the Red Corner’ at The Welders

This seems to be the season in DC Metro Theater for pugilistic women. Women who box claimed the stage in Jen Silverman’s Collective Rage (just closed at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company). A woman who...

Meet the Cast of ‘Postmortem’ at Montgomery Playhouse: Part 4: Carole Preston

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Montgomery Playhouse’s Postmortem, meet Carole Preston. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you...

Review: ‘Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika’ at The Players Club of Swarthmore

…Worst thing about being sick in America is that you’re booted out of the parade. Americans have no use for sick… Roy Cohn, Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika An outstanding production of Tony...

Review: ‘Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella’ at the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

It’s anyone’s guess what the late Oscar Hammerstein would make of it, but we are now getting our first close look at Oscar’s modest Eisenhower-era TV musical Cinderella all buffed up and retooled for...

Review: ‘Brides of Tortuga’ at Baltimore Rock Opera Society

I’m not ashamed to admit it—I love pirates. In fact, there is a bumper sticker on the back of my car that reads “Always Be Yourself, Unless You Can Be a Pirate. Then Always Be a Pirate.” Because of...

Meet the Cast of Peace Mountain Theatre Company’s ‘A Delicate Balance’: Part 4: Director Laurie Freed

Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell readers where they have seen you perform before on local stages. Laurie: My name is Laurie T. Freed and I am the director of A Delicate Balance by Edward...

Spine: ‘Rameau’s Nephew’ at Spooky Action Theater

The 18th century French playwright and philosopher Denis Diderot is known best among theatre folk for his theoretical writings: on the actor, the 4th Wall, and the emergence of scenography as an...

‘Getting to Know The Edge of the Universe Players 2’s ‘Pullman, WA’ 11/13-20 at Woolly Mammoth by Bill Goodman

Getting to Know the Play Pullman, WA by Young Jean Lee Reflections by Producer Bill Goodman, The Edge of the Universe Players 2. During the process of producing Pullman, WA, I’ve come to appreciate it...

An Interview with the Producers and the Creative Team of ‘IN MY BODY’ at The Prince Theater

The popular creative team of composer and musician Dan Martin and lyricist and artist Michael Biello, well-known for their many artistic ventures in both New York and the City of Brotherly Love, are...

Review: ‘A Masquerade Murder Mystery’ by Citizen Staging in Hammonton, NJ

Citizen Staging Acting Company is a brand new community theatre company that seeks to “enrich and foster the arts” in the Hammonton, NJ area. On October 29, 2016, Founders Tiffany B Travia and Lauren...

Review: ‘Eurydice’ at NextStop Theatre Company

The hypnotic new production of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice at NextStop Theatre Company is more like a painting or a poem than a movie or a book. It’s a fantastical canvas of broad brushstrokes and bright...

A Preview of Inis Nua Theatre Company’s ‘Dublin by Lamplight’ with Director Tom Reing

Hot off a Barrymore win for Best Ensemble in a Play for Inis Nua Theatre Company’s The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning and having received widespread acclaim for its current Barrymore-recommended...

Review: ‘Breathe Smoke’ at Orbiter 3

Douglas Williams’ Breathe Smoke, a world premiere being presented by the Orbiter 3 Collective, tells the story of four people whose public lives and private lives are markedly different. It’s a...

Review: ‘The Roommate’ at Everyman Theatre

Deborah Hazlett and Beth Hylton are both very talented actors. Deborah Hazlett and Beth Hylton together onstage in Jen Silverman’s new two-woman show is something truly remarkable! It’s a rewarding...

Review: ‘Promises, Promises’ at the Ritz Theatre Company

Promises, Promises opened on Broadway in 1968, and while the world it depicts seemed relevant back then, today that world has largely vanished. It’s set in the Manhattan skyscraper home of...

Review: ‘Guards at the Taj’ at Theatre Exile

Guards at the Taj is the story of two young friends, Humayun (“Huma”) and Babur. The two are a sort of Indian vaudeville duo: Huma (Anthony Mustafa Adair) is the uptight straight man, Babur (Jenson...

Review: Laura Benanti’s ‘Tales from Soprano Isle’ at The Barns at Wolf Trap

From the moment Laura Benanti stepped onto the stage at The Barns at Wolf Trap to perform Tales from Soprano Isle she set the buoyant mood for the evening. She charmed and enchanted even as she spoke...

Review: ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

It’s hard to believe The Rocky Horror Picture Show is now over 40, and still going strong. This Halloween, there are several productions of the rock musical happening in the area, and Maryland...

HCC’s Arts Collective Holds Auditions on 11/5 & 6, 2016 @5-7:30 PM for an Original Devised Play

Howard Community College’s (HCC) Arts Collective (AC) announces open auditions for its 7th original, devised play on November 5 and 6, 2016. Chaos is where great dreams begin, and Arts Collective will...

Review: ‘Mauritius’ at Act II Playhouse in Ambler, PA

It’s much ado about two small slips of paper in Act II Playhouse’s astute production of Mauritius, Theresa Rebeck’s thriller based on the intense world of stamp collecting. Despite the inherent...

Review: ‘Mozart’s Requiem’ with The Annapolis Chorale and Annapolis Chamber Orchestra at St. Anne’s Church

The Annapolis Chorale and Annapolis Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Mozart’s Requiem, presented by Live Arts Maryland, was a well-performed clever combination of old and new pieces. Before...

Review: ‘The Wizard of Oz in Concert’ by Young Artists of America at Strathmore

For as long as I can remember, it was a movie I looked forward to watching on television each year. It scared me to death when I was little, but the colors, the characters, the opposition of good and...

Review: ‘The Night Alive’ at Quotidian Theatre Company

Conor McPherson spins an intricate web of interdependence, horror, and hope among the five damaged, yet intensely human characters in his masterful play, The Night Alive. It takes a hugely talented...

Meet the Cast of ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ at 2nd Star Productions: Part 1: Brian Binney

In part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of 2nd Star Productions’ H.M.S. Pinafore, meet Brian Binney Joel: Where have local theatergoers seen you perform before on our local stages? What...