2016

Review: ‘An Evening with Garrison Keillor’ at Strathmore

The Music Center at Strathmore was filled with nary an empty seat. The crowd was there to see – and listen to – their favorite National Public Radio star, 73 year-old 6 foot 3 inch Garrison Keillor....

Review: ‘Delirium’ at EgoPo Classic Theater

EgoPo Classic Theater is starting off their Russian Masters season with a mind bending production of Delirium, an adaptation of The Brothers Karamazov by Theatre O and Enda Walsh. The show follows a...

Review: ‘The Complete History of America (abridged) Special Election Edition! by The Reduced Shakespeare Company at Hylton Performing Arts Center

Paul Revere may or may not have ridden through the countryside yelling, “The Redcoats are coming,” but given a quick horse and a heavily padded saddle, this reviewer is writing to announce, “The...

Review: ‘Cabaret’ at Kensington Arts Theatre

In Act One of Cabaret, Cliff Bradshaw tells Sally Bowles that he loves Berlin because it feels like a city full of children behaving badly, getting wilder and wilder because they know that at any...

Review: ‘City of Angels’ at The Catholic University of America

The 1989 musical City of Angels opened last night at Catholic University’s Hartke Theatre, offering its appreciative audience a glimpse into the past through its double filtered lens. There’s no doubt...

Review: ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Iron Crow Theatre

“Are you a virgin?” You may be asked this by one of the cast members as you enter the theatre at The Motor House to see Iron Crow Theatre’s raucous and riotous production of The Rocky Horror Show, the...

Review: ‘The Who’s Tommy’ by Open Circle Theatre

After a five-year hiatus Open Circle Theatre (OCT) makes a triumphant return with an incredible production of The Who’s Tommy at Silver Spring Black Box Theatre. Written by Pete Townshend and Des...

Review #2: ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ at American University

American University’s Greenberg Theatre performed a hilariously funny ancient Roman farce, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. With music and lyrics by the incomparable Stephen Sondheim...

Review: ‘Proof’ at The University of Maryland Baltimore County’s Department of Theatre

Proof by David Auburn, directed by Nyalls Hartman is playing through Sunday at the Black Box Theatre in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)....

Meet the Cast of ‘Dinner with Friends’ at Greenbelt Arts Center: Part 1: Director Bob Kleinberg

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of Greenbelt Arts Center’s Dinner with Friends, meet Director Bob Kleinberg. Joel: Please tell our readers where they may have seen your work on our...

Life as ‘The Other Place’: An Interview with Jane Ridley

Life as THE OTHER PLACE: An interview with Jane Ridley, actor and theater professor. Background: UK and US Childhood Henrik: You were born in the UK and were briefly transplanted to the US as a child....

Review: ‘The Three Penny Opera’ at George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Building top-notch musical theater at George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) continues with its current snappy, sharp, nicely nasty production of Bertolt Brecht and...

Review: Debbie Allen’s ‘FREEZE FRAME… Stop the Madness’ at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater

Ever since Debbie Allen parleyed a killer look in the 1980 movie Fame into a featured role on the popular television series, this triple threat has been busting open doors in Hollywood for women of...

Report: ‘Leslie Odom, Jr.’ and ‘The Roots’ perform at the 6th Annual ‘An Evening of Unexpected Delights’ Fundraiser at Baltimore Lyric Opera

Generous donors and enthusiastic fans enjoyed a night of bountiful music and goodwill at the 6th Annual “An Evening of Unexpected Delights” Fundraiser to decrease homelessness in Baltimore. The tone...

Review: ‘The Front Page’ at the Broadhurst Theatre in NYC

This three act comedy – The Front Page –by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, currently packing them in at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway, is the best revival ever from the day when Broadway was...

Eddie’s Travel Picks: Carmine’s in Atlantic City

It didn’t take long for Carmine’s to become one of my favorite restaurants, even though it isn’t in Baltimore. It was a trip to the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City about five years ago that started...

An Embarrassment of Riches at the Tuesday Evening Concert Series at UVA in Charlottesville

A huge profusion of classical trios, quartets and quintets is now hunting for audiences around the country. I’ll bet all of them would kill to get on one concert series in particular, and I don’t mean...

Review: ‘Freaky Friday’ at Signature Theatre

In its world premiere at Signature Theatre, the musical Freaky Friday is a warm, sweet, accomplished family-friendly confection with a progressive message. It is a contemporary musical about...

Review: ‘Cinderella’ With the San Francisco Ballet at The Kennedy Center

There are no pumpkins to be found in this Cinderella. The San Francisco Ballet’s version, created by Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and librettist Craig Lucas, departs from the Perrault story most...

Fringe Encore Series Review:‘The Radicalization of Rolfe’ at SoHo Playhouse in NYC

A deserving winner of the FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for a play, The Radicalization of Rolfe, produced by Glenn Krutoff, is a uniquely witty original take-off on The Sound of Music. Instead of...

Meet the Cast of ‘School of Rock’ at West Potomac High School: Part 1: Josh Turner

In Part 1 of a series of interviews of the cast of West Potomac High School’s School of Rock, meet Josh Turner. Introduce yourself to our readers. Josh: My name is Josh Turner and I have been doing...

Meet the cast of ‘Postmortem’ at Montgomery Playhouse: Part 3: Sydney Ouellette

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Montgomery Playhouse’s Postmortem, meet Sydney Ouellette. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you...

Magic Time! ‘Rameau’s Nephew’ at Spooky Action Theater

There comes a scene in Rameau’s Nephew at Spooky Action Theater when Robert Bowen Smith playing He (the titular character) coughs an aria. Literally. Just like an opera singer except without music or...

Meet the Cast of Peace Mountain Theatre Company’s ‘A Delicate Balance’: Part 3: Leah Mazade

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of Peace Mountain Theatre Company’s A Delicate Balance, meet Leah Mazade. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell readers where they have seen you...

Meet the Cast of ‘Postmortem’ at Montgomery Playhouse: Part 2: Dell Pendergrast

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Montgomery Playhouse’s Postmortem, meet Dell Pendergrast. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you...

Review: The National Chamber Ensemble’s ‘A Night In Vienna’

The National Chamber Ensemble opened it’s 10th season last Saturday at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre. The concert called, A Night In Vienna was a collaboration with the Austrian Cultural Forum. The...

Review: ‘Gypsy’ at Reston Community Players by Caroline Griswold Short

The Reston Community Players (RCP) opened their 50th Anniversary season on Friday with Gypsy, known as one of the great American musicals. With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by a young Stephen Sondheim,...

Review: ‘The Trump Card’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

The Trump Card, an original solo performance by monologist extraordinaire Mike Daisey, is a searing punch in the gut to rival any leaked Access Hollywood tape. The current production, which only runs...

Eddie’s Travel Picks: Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Baltimore

There’s very little in the world of dining out that compares to going to a really good steakhouse. If cooked just the way you like it, it can be the perfect topper to your day. The Baltimore area is...

Review: Lindsey Stirling ‘Brave Enough’ Tour at DAR Constitution Hall

Promoting her third studio album Brave Enough in a tour of the same name, Lindsey Stirling has come a long way from her days competing in the fifth season of America’s Got Talent. The violinist, known...

Howard Community College Arts Collective’s ‘The Return of Hallowscream’ at HCC Smith Theatre THIS Friday, October 28TH at 8 PM by Susan Kramer

Arts Collective @ HCC’s “The Return of Hallowscream” – Improv Actors and Writers Take On Everyone’s Favorite Scary Holiday on Friday, October 28, 2016 Arts Collective’s “What Improv Group?!?!”...

Review: ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ at 2nd Star Productions

A merriment of song and dance from stunning cast, 2nd Star Productions’ H.M.S. Pinafore, is a toe-tapping delight. The Music is by Arthur Sullivan and Book & Lyrics by W. S. Gilbert. Director Jane B....

Review: ‘A Party To Murder’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria

A Party to Murder, which opened last night at Little Theatre of Alexandria, is in the style of many Agatha Christie mysteries. Early on in the first act, one of the characters in the play even makes a...

Review: The Romantics III: ‘Schumann & Heine’ at The In series at Source

Close your eyes for just a moment. Imagine that you are comfortably seated in an elegant, yet commodious room, filled with people who have come to share—no, not the latest election scuttlebutt; but...

Here are the 2016 Barrymore Award Winners

Here are the 2016 Barrymore Award Winners (IN RED): F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist Alex Bechtel Emma Goidel Justin Jain Bi Jean Ngo Mary Tuomanen * The winner will...

Review: ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Bucks County Playhouse

When you take your seat at Bucks County Playhouse and find a paper bag on your seat filled with props – including a baggie full of rice to throw at the stage during a wedding scene – you may realize...

Magic Time! Mike Daisey on Playing ‘The Trump Card’ in the Turbulence of Trump

You might say The Trump Card keeps getting dealt one new hand after another. Since Mike Daisey’s monologue played to acclaim in August at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Donald Trump’s campaign for...

Review: ‘Opera Magic: Highlights from Eugene Onegin’ at the Russian Chamber Art Society

Weaving together the strands of a full opera in a concert setting has to be one of the biggest challenges around for presenters and audiences. Over the past year the Washington area has seen such...

Review: ‘Beertown’ at dog & pony dc at Thurgood Marshall Center for Service & Heritage

I’d never been to Beertown, though I knew it by reputation as a must-visit burg. Folks had told me of this storied hamlet in the heartland where the local citizenry gather every five years to remember...

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

An intellectually manic world, propelled by a charming, whimsical disrupter with an abundance of prickly opinions aimed at the cultural elite, awaits audiences at Spooky Action Theater. It is Rameau’s...

Review: ‘Anne of the Thousand Days’ at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s (“CSC”) production of Anne of the Thousand Days, by Maxwell Anderson, hit the stage this weekend. I had the pleasure of attending opening night and enjoying a...

Review: ‘Hamlet’ at Compass Rose Theater

Compass Rose Theater’s production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, directed by Lucinda Merry-Browne, is subtle and restrained, yet powerful. Wonderful acting and directing meet creative use of...

Review: ‘Bat Boy: The Musical’ at Prince William Little Theatre

I was elated after watching Prince William Little Theatre’s Bat Boy: The Musical at Hylton Performing Arts Center. With story and book written by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, music and lyrics by...

Review: ‘The Best Haunted House Ever’ at Encore Stage & Studio

The Best Haunted House Ever, written by Houston playwright Pat Cook, depicts two groups of high school students, one from Jenkins High and the other from Hoover High, who visit the former residence of...

Review #2: ‘An Evening with Chris Botti’ at Strathmore

World-renowned, Grammy Award-winning trumpet superstar Chris Botti returned to Bethesda’s Strathmore Music Center Thursday night to serenade a packed crowd to an elegantly enlivening evening of...

Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

If you want to see a thoroughly charming romantic comedy, visit the Laurel Mill Playhouse for their lovely production of Pride and Prejudice. Based on the legendary Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, Pride and...

Review: ‘Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play’ at Pulley and Buttonhole Theatre Company in Jenkintown, PA

Aficionados of the TV hit The Simpsons, in particular, won’t want to miss the Philadelphia area premiere of Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, directed by Bridget Reilly Beauchamp, at...

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet: All-Balanchine Program at The Kennedy Center

Original works of George Balanchine drift onto The John F. Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower stage by The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Under the direction of Suzanne Farrell, who was once the protégé of George...

Review: ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ at American University

A funny thing happens on the way out of American University’s fabulous new production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. You find yourself humming along to “Comedy Tonight” or tapping...

Review: ‘Mystery in the House of Usher: A Poe Tale’ at Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion in Philadelphia

An immersive site-specific mash-up of the stories of Edgar Allan Poe and the game of “Clue,” Edward G. Pettit’s Mystery in the House of Usher: A Poe Tale, staged at the historic Ebenezer Maxwell...