2018

Review: ‘She The People’ at the Second City at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

It’s common knowledge that the female cast members of Saturday Night Live like Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones practically run the high-profile comedy sketch show. The myth that women cannot be funny...

Review: ‘A Wonder in my Soul’ at Baltimore Center Stage

“We fight like cats, but we love like dogs.” Marcus Gardley, the author of A Wonder in my Soul has just the right way of putting things. Baltimore Center Stage continues its standard of excellence...

DC-based Conductor Angel Gil-Ordóñez Brings Classical Music to 40th Annual Havana Film Festival

When patrons of the 40th annual Havana Film Festival in Cuba enter the city’s Cine la Rampa on December 8, they’ll be treated to an unexpected viewing experience – a conductor and an orchestra beneath...

Review: ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ by the Arts Collective at Howard Community College

If Narnia was one of your beloved childhood worlds, you have the opportunity to share it with your nearest and dearest without anyone having to actually (perish the thought!) read–but only for a...

Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ by Ballet West at The Kennedy Center

Ballet West’s Nutcracker, conducted by Jared Oaks, is one of the most unique productions to hit the stage this season at the Kennedy Center. Steeped in lush colors, with a gorgeous set design and...

Review: ‘Crystal’ by Cirque du Soleil at Capital One Arena

Cirque du Soleil’s Crystal is staged on a slick sheet of ice where acrobats and skaters combine to create an amazing entertainment. A spectacular array of chills and charms to thrill and warm the...

Northern Virginia’s Alden Theatre Reopens After Renovation

Northern Virginia’s Alden Theatre, with a long-standing moniker, “small stage, big talent,” reopens on Saturday, January 5, 2019, when renovations of the surrounding building complex, the McLean...

Review: ‘Anastasia’ at The Hippodrome Theatre

There’s nothing wrong with Anastasia: The New Broadway Musical that a little modern relevance wouldn’t cure. It certainly looks sensational inside the grand proscenium framing of Baltimore’s historic...

Review: ‘Gem of the Ocean’ at Round House Theatre

There are only ever seven characters onstage in this majestic production—three of them former slaves—but it is as if multitudes of Africans lost crossing the ocean or sold in chains are evoked and...

‘Indecent’ at Arena: Victor Raider-Wexler Returns to Washington in the Role of a Lifetime

The role of Otto in Paula Vogel’s Indecent—the Tony Award-winning play at Arena Stage—is an actor’s dream. The play, about a Yiddish melodrama that scandalized Broadway nearly a century ago, opened on...

Review: ‘Christmas at the Old Bull & Bush’ at MetroStage

Back by popular demand, MetroStage has Christmas at the Old Bull & Bush again for its 2018 holiday season. Written and directed by Catherine Flye, Christmas is reflective of British variety music hall...

Magic Time!: On Acting with a Conscience: A Q&A with Lianne Harvey, now appearing in ‘An Inspector Calls’

The character Lianne Harvey plays in J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, Sheila Birling, really fascinated me. Sheila stands out as no ordinary ingenue. During the course of the play, Sheila goes...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas’ at Olney Theatre Center

The entryway to the Muritz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at the Olney Theatre Center is lined with holiday lights and garnish. The cozy lobby is adorned with electric candles and sprigs of holly, creating a...

Magic Time!: ‘How to Keep an Alien’ by Solas Nua

I can’t recall seeing another play by someone who came to playwrighting from standup, but I’ll not soon forget how I laughed my feckin head off at Sonya Kelly’s How to Keep an Alien. Kelly, an Irish...

Review: ‘How to Keep an Alien’ at Solas Nua

Love is unique. It is an intense bond of emotion, desire, and care between two people, deeply special to one another, that for them cannot be duplicated anywhere on Earth. Bureaucracy must routinize...

Review: ‘The Cher Show’ at the Neil Simon Theatre

A biographical jukebox musical about a Pop icon who’s lived her life in the public eye since the age of sixteen, The Cher Show, making its Broadway debut at the Neil Simon Theatre, has all the glitz...

Review: ‘Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas’ at Adventure Theatre

If you are looking for some holiday merriment that is fun for all ages, dance and sing your way over to Adventure Theatre’s Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas. Fancy Nancy, with book by Cara Lustik...

Review: ‘The Crucible’ by Lumina Theatre Company

It’s a witch hunt! Witches, whores, collusion, and corruption, peppered with a bit of witness tampering, threaten the dreams of small-town America in Lumina Theatre Company’s inaugural production of...

‘Hamilton’ Front and Center at 2018 Kennedy Center Honors

A mini Hamilton reunion took place at the Kennedy Center last night as actors from Hamilton’s original Broadway cast took part in the 41st Kennedy Center Honors Awards that recognized the co-creators...

In the Moment: ‘Indecent’ at Arena Stage

“Why must every Jew on stage be a paragon?” A key question asked without bombast by one of the fictional characters created by playwright Paula Vogel for Indecent, her daring stage play composed of...

Review: ‘Les Misérables: School Edition’ at Ovations Theatre

At a time when we are marching for our rights, a show like Les Misérables feels only too appropriate. If you don’t hear the people sing, then you have cotton in your ears. The outstanding senior...

Review: Paula Vogel’s ‘A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration’ at 1st Stage

A Civil War Christmas at 1st Stage is a strong addition to plays that connect with the holiday season. Playwright Paula Vogel embraces and examines provocative themes in this piece, looking at all of...

Review: Bob Bartlett’s ‘The Accident Bear’ at The Avenue Laundromat

The Accident Bear is an unusual play, staged in an even more unusual location. Written by Bob Bartlett and directed by Jay Brock, it is set in a laundromat and is performed at The Avenue Laundromat in...

Review: ‘Charley’s Aunt’ at Fells Point Corner Theatre

At 126 years old and still going strong, Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas has lost none of its power to tickle an audience’s funny bone. Fells Point Corner Theatre’s production keeps the energy and...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria

I never feel like I’m fully in the Christmas spirit until I’ve donned an ugly sweater, had a gingerbread cookie and watched a production of A Christmas Carol. Little Theatre of Alexandria’s annual...

Review: ‘The Crater Sisters’ Christmas Special’ at Best Medicine Rep

You can skip your one-hundredth viewing of A Christmas Carol or The Nutcracker this holiday season and, instead, laugh the evening away at the delightfully original musical comedy, The Crater Sisters’...

Review: ‘Woman of No Importance’ at Scena Theatre

The first thing you notice about Scena Theatre’s Woman of No Importance is Alisa Mandel’s lush costume design. Like an unnamed character, her costumes define the characters nearly as much as the...

15 Questions in 15 Minutes with ‘Be More Chill’ Composer and Lyricist Joe Iconis

Long Island native Joe Iconis knows better than anyone about the power of the internet to achieve fame that extends well beyond Andy Warhol’s proverbial fifteen minutes. Following its regional...

Review: ‘Watergate…with Puppets’ by AnyStage Theater

Fans of zany humor might remember when AnyStage Theater popped up in the Capital Fringe Festival with its ridiculous (and mostly fact-free) takes on Margaret Thatcher and Amelia Earhart. The...

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

The Little Mermaid is bringing big waves of happy little faces to Toby’s Dinner Theatre. Whether they come adorned in magical gowns with sparkling tiaras or sneakers that light up with every step,...

Review: ‘Indecent’ at Arena Stage

The controversial scene that ends this “true story of a little Jewish play” has been foretold at length throughout the show and mentioned in much publicity, so it’s no spoiler to report that we all...

Review: ‘Operetta Wonderland: The Magic of Victor Herbert’ at The In Series

It’s hard to resist the charm and humor of a good operetta. Though the form has been less popular recently, The In Series is doing its part to revive the legacy of Victor Herbert—one of the genre’s...

Review: ‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical’ at the National Theatre

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is a delightful, heavenly-sounding, Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical about Carole King, who “wrote the soundtrack to a generation.” With a hit parade of King’s...

Interview: Jordan Friend Previews NextStop’s ‘A Kosher Christmas Cabaret’

Northern Virginia’s NextStop Theater has announced a very special cabaret event for the Holiday season. It is called A Kosher Christmas Cabaret. The performance is a follow-on to NextStop’s big summer...

News: Alliance for New Music-Theatre to Present Free Pop-up Rehearsal of ‘Protest’

Last year, Alliance for New Music-Theatre performed Protest in Dupont Underground. Regular theatergoers and people who had never been to theater alike were struck by the power of Václav Havel’s words...

DCMTA Partners with Kennedy Center on ‘Hamilton’ Sing-Along

Don’t throw away your shot! Sing Hamilton songs with some of DC’s favorite musical theater performers this Friday, November 30th on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. The Kennedy Center and DC...

Review: ‘Barber Shop Chronicles’ at The Kennedy Center

“To let one’s hair down” is to open up, be freer than usual, be willing to share. The idiom is apt for what transpires in Barber Shop Chronicles, an extraordinary exploration of black masculinity, in...

Call for Proposals for the 2019-2020 Theater Season at the Arts Barn

Arts on the Green, the City of Gaithersburg’s home for the performing and visual arts which includes the Kentlands Mansion and Arts Barn, is now soliciting production proposals for the theater season...

Review: ‘The Illusionists – Magic of the Holidays’ at the Marquis Theatre

Get ready for your jaw to drop, your eyes to open wide, and your mouth to be agape! Back on Broadway for the fourth year with a limited six-week engagement of an all-new touring production, The...

2018 DC Queer Theatre Festival Runs December 7 and 8

The 2018 DC Queer Theatre Festival is presenting performances of 7 ten minute plays on Friday, December 7, at 7:30 pm and Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 pm and 7:30 pm at DC Arts Center. With the...

Review: ‘Silver Bells’ at The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre

For people seeking holiday entertainment in the Frederick area who might seek an alternative to A Christmas Carol, or The Nutcracker, or It’s a Wonderful Life, or one of the endless cavalcade of sappy...

Review: ‘An Inspector Calls’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, as directed by Stephen Daldry, represents the best of international theatre. The play combines the chocolate-box delights of an Agatha Christie mystery with deeper...

Artistic Director Alex Levy on Bringing Paula Vogel’s ‘A Civil War Christmas’ to 1st Stage

With the holiday season upon us- whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Year’s- the performing arts calendar is full of productions that help connect an audience to the larger, diverse...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of A Christmas Carol is a delightfully faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel. Co-written by Donald Hicken and Sally Boyett, and directed by...

Magic Time!: ‘An Inspector Calls’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

J. B. Priestley’s classic An Inspector Calls—a drawing-room drama set in England in 1912 and written there in 1944—has landed in DC with uncanny currency. Now at Sidney Harman Hall in a touring...

An Interview with Tony Award-Winning Playwright Itamar Moses

An acclaimed writer for both the big stage and the small screen, Itamar Moses is the reigning 2018 Tony-Award winner for the Best Book of a Musical for the hit Broadway production of The Band’s Visit...

Review: ‘A Christmas Story’ by Rockville Little Theatre at the Arts Barn

SMOKE! That raises the alarm that there’s been another “Clinker” episode from the diabolical furnace in the basement of the Parker home as the Gaithersburg Arts Barn hosts an entirely entertaining and...

Preview: Hamlet Isn’t Dead Gives New Life to ‘Julius Caesar’

Founded in 2013, by Executive Director James Rightmyer, Jr. and Artistic Director David Andrew Laws, Hamlet Isn’t Dead specializes in keeping Shakespeare alive for 21st-century audiences, through its...

Magic Time!: Mike Daisey’s 18-Part, 30-Hour ‘A People’s History’ at Seattle Repertory Theatre

I remember being so bored by my high school American history class that I got a D in it. This was not normal. My report cards always had A’s and B’s. So the kindly elderly woman who taught the course,...

Cyber Monday Ticket Deals Extended to Noon Today!

Love a good deal? Want to take your schnookie out for the holidays? Tired of buying theater tickets you really can’t afford? You’re in luck! We’ve teamed up with TodayTix to offer our readers some...