≡ Ari Roth speaks with Joel
Artistic Director Ari Roth speaks with Joel about working with noted theatre scholar and critic Robert Brustein, whose latest play Spring Forward, Fall Back premieres at Theater J this month.
Listen here.
Archive for October, 2006
≡ How to Fill a Wild Bikini
How to Fill a Wild Bikini
Produced by Teatro de la Luna
by Rosalind Lacy
With a play entitled How To Fill a Wild Bikini, I confess I sat down expecting a bedroom farce. But I came away emotionally moved by something far more profound, thanks to a wonderful actress from Uruguay- Graciela Rodriguez.
Miguel Falabella is a Brazilian playwright who h
≡ I Always Wanted to Be the Chair Man
RAVES FOR THE FISH BUT WHY WAS THE FISH TANK HALF EMPTY?
by Joel Markowitz
Girl in a Goldfish Bowl, Woyzak and Tintypes
I have a bone to pick with all you theatre goers in this area, for it’s hard to scale down my intense disappointment that a beautifully written Canadian play that worked so swimmingly well on a small stage, in an intimate theatre tucked away on North Royal Street in Old Town Alexandria, played to half a tank and barely held its head above water during its run this month.
What happened? (more…)
≡ Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, - by Bertold Brecht
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Produced by Catalyst Theater Company
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Reviewed by Tim Treanor
For Bertold Brecht, theater was always a sort of sermonette disguised as a circus act. When he was at his most speculative and general - Threepenny Opera comes to mind - his plays were like the planet Jupiter, huge and cold and gaseous. But when he was specific, as he was in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, he was ingenuity personified, and his work approached high art. This is a gorgeous play, and Catalyst’s production does it full justice. (more…)
≡ 9 Parts of Desire
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9 Parts Desire - Arena Stage -
By Ronnie Ruff
I thought that it may be interesting to do something a bit different for my review of Nine Parts Of Desire, the one woman play currently mounted at Arena Stage. This is a story of eight fictional Iraqi women and how years of Saddam and now George Bush have defined and sometimes taken their lives. I decided to find out how the play might be received by an Iraqi American. It just so happens that I have a friend from Iraq, now an American citizen who has parents currently in Jordan because they are afraid to return to their home in Iraq. I gave him a call to invite him to see the show and he accepted. (more…)
≡ Free Night a Fast Sellout
You had to be lucky and online at noon to get any of the 2100 tickets made available for DC’s first Free Night of Theatre. According to League of Washington Theatres’ Nicole Daval, all tickets were gone in the first 10 minutes. Reactions? “Some joy, some frustration.” she reported as eager theater-goers flooded the League’s website in response to the area’s first mega-ticket giveaway. There may be more tickets available. Check with the League’s website: http://www.lowt.org/. Free Night of Theatre is a national audience building program sponsored in part by Theatre Communications Group www.tcg.org. The program was tested in three cities last year.
≡ Walter Charles — Sept 27, 2006
Broadway veteran Walter Charles, performing the role of Herr Schulz in Arena Stage’s Cabaret, talks about Cabaret, and his 33 year history on Broadway: Grease, La Cage aux Folles, The Immigrant, Sweeney Todd, Aspects of Love, Woman in White and the short lived 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He ends with answering ‘What is the future of the Broadway musical?’
Listen here.
≡ Meg Gillentine — Sept 27, 2006
Meg Gillentine, Cabaret’s Sally Bowles, tells us what it is like to step out of the chorus to play leading roles, and talks about her how she created Arena’s Sally Bowles. As a college student at the age of 19, the talented dancer/singer was cast to play the old soul cat Cassandra in the Broadway cast of Cats, has worked in Fosse, The Producers and others.
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≡ Dorothy Stanley — Sept 28, 2006
Dorothy Stanley (Fraulein Schneider) talks about being touring with Joel Gray (she played Fraulein Kost on tour), what it is like to understudy and standby on Broadway, why actors love Sondheim musicals, an unforgettable call from Hal Prince, and remembrances from Follies, Sweeney Todd, Showboat, Annie, 42nd Street, La Cage aux Folles and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Listen here.
≡ Brad Oscar Sept 28, 2006
Brad Oscar, who received a 2001 Tony Award nomination for his role in The Producers, talks about how he re-defined the role of the Master of Ceremonies in Arena Stages’ Cabaret, what it is like to work with the cast including Sherri L. Edelin, what is the most selfless job in show biz, growing up as a young actor from Aspen Hill, MD. Joel and Brad share favorite scenes from Forbidden Broadway, working with Mel Brooks and the cast of The Producers, and taking over the famous Norman Lane role in the Broadway and London productions.
Listen here.
