2020

‘Grease’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts rocks and rolls

Grease is a musical that celebrates the changes born of the late 1950s era of rock n’ roll, drive-in movies, and James Dean–an era that sat on the cusp of the turbulent 1960s. Riverside Center for the...

Old dogs and new tricks: the Hermès Quartet and guests in performance at the Phillips Collection

Here’s a thought: Older virtuosi are boring. That’s not original to me, but to an audience member who offered his views during a concert intermission recently. We were at the Phillips Collection for a...

‘Yellow Face’ at Silver Spring Stage sparks important conversations

Is racism a taboo subject in the arts? Of course not. From Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Porgy and Bess to the whitewashing of the Oscars, artists have used their platform to explore America’s history of...

A Black boxing champion battles racism in ‘The Royale’ at 1st Stage

Black early 20th-century celebrity heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson has had as irresistible a pull on subsequent playwrights and filmmakers as he did on the public of his day. Already the...

‘1001 Black Inventions’ continues The Essential Theatre’s free presentations for young audiences

The Essential Theatre rings in the New Year by continuing an 18-month celebration of the 30th anniversary of its founding. In partnership with the District of Columbia Public Library System the...

Director Stevie Zimmerman on the rewards of going outside of comfort zone

Professional theaters in the DMV have been at the forefront of making diversity a critical watchword and action step. During the past several years, the DMV has hosted two Women’s Voices Theater...

Uplifting ‘Veils’ returns to Restoration Stage by popular demand

Four African American women address the audience as if speaking to a department store clerk. Each is shopping for a dress—a dress, they stress, that must be “special.” As they turn to the faces of...

A Taste for Murder Productions presents ‘Murder at McGinty’s’

What does the New Year bring to downtown Silver Spring? Murder at McGinty’s! A Taste For Murder Productions and McGinty’s Public House have formed a partnership to present dinner theatre – of the...

Colonial Players’ fascinating ‘The Children’ explores bleak post-nuclear future

Annapolis’ Colonial Players takes on Lucy Kirkwood’s 2016 environmental disaster drama The Children in an intimate production which explores the human cost of uncontrolled consumption and destruction....

WNO’s American Opera Initiative 2020 is an essential take on opera in America

“It’s a ridiculous thing to sing at the top of your lungs about your vulnerability,” American composer Laura Kaminsky observed to this year’s Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative...

Review: At the Kentlands Arts Barn, Nat King Cole is as ‘Unforgettable’ as you remember him to be

A near-capacity crowd hushed as the evening opened with the title song from Nat King Cole’s 1959 album Welcome to the Club. I was immediately impressed that Don Dillingham, the evening’s soloist,...

‘NSO Pops: Diana Ross – Music Book 2020’ brings mesmerizing Motown royalty to the Kennedy Center

She’s mesmerizing, astounding, and accomplished beyond reason. I’m writing about world-renowned superstar recording artist Diana Ross. Ross, conductor Emil de Cou of the National Symphony Orchestra,...

Folger Theatre setting up summer shop at National Building Museum

The National Building Museum announced its partnership with Folger Shakespeare Library, in association with the University of South Carolina, to design the 2020 Summer Block Party exhibition for the...

American Shakespeare Center announces principal casting for Marquee Repertory season

American Shakespeare Center launches the 2020 Marquee Repertory season this summer navigating the waters of Venice, the glittering locale of Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice and Ben...

Tchaikovsky’s vocal compositions attract audiences in DC and New York

It is often hard to determine what fills the seats in many performing arts genres, with counterintuitive surprises on both the negative and positive side. Count this one as a positive: While Peter...

Comedy game show ‘The Internet: LIVE!!1’ to play two nights at a sports bar

The Arcanists in co-production with Science Art Fusion (ScienceAF) announce the launch of The Internet: LIVE!!1, an inventive new live comedy game show. In it, player-performers bring web content to...

Studio Theatre names Reginald L. Douglas Associate Artistic Director

Studio Theatre and Artistic Director David Muse are pleased to announce that Reginald L. Douglas will join the organization as its new Associate Artistic Director later this month. Douglas comes to...

‘Richard the Second’ at Brave Spirits Theatre: a tale of two kings

Brave Spirits Theatre (BST), led by Artistic Director Charlene V. Smith, has taken on a spectacular challenge: Shakespeare’s eight history plays. Richard the Second, Henry the Fourth Parts I and II,...

Dark Horse Theatre Company presents regional premiere of ‘The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later’

Located just 47 miles away from Washington, DC in The Plains, Virginia, Dark Horse Theatre Company creates some of the best theater in the DC area. Director Natasha Parnian continues a streak of...

IN Series’ ‘Le Cabaret de Carmen’ is opera for those unafraid of art’s raw power

“I want us to be in contention for a Helen Hayes Award,” IN Series artistic director Timothy Nelson told me last fall over coffee near his office in the Shaw neighborhood. We were discussing his...

A farcical look at ‘sex and station’ in 19th-century England with ‘London Assurance’ at Irish Repertory Theatre

When Dion Boucicault’s premiere farce London Assurance made its debut at Covent Garden in 1841, the 20-year-old Irish actor and playwright became an instant success in England, garnering immediate...

DCMTA 2019 Staff Favorites: Outstanding Design Elements in Professional Productions

As the year draws to a close, we asked DCMTA writers to think back on the shows that left an indelible impression on them in 2019. In this category, outstanding professional design, we recognize:...

‘A Jazz New Year’s Eve’ brought Branford Marsalis’ innovative style to the Kennedy Center

The Grand Foyer at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts teemed with patrons sporting gowns swirling against the carpeted floor and tuxedos announcing an auspicious occasion, signifying...

The audacity of Brave Spirits Theatre: a conversation with Artistic Director Charlene V. Smith

Tumultuous times call out for audacity in the performing arts. And Brave Spirits Theatre (BST) has boldly marked its territory for the next two years. Over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Brave Spirits...