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 Interviewed by Joel Markowitz with Lorraine Treanor

“We are the tales that we tell.”

Continuing his conversation with Joel Markowitz, master story teller Theodore Bikel covers a lifetime of experiences and lessons learned.  Always, there is Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof, the role he has played more often than any actor on earth.  He shares his inspiration for the role, tells how he keeps each performance fresh and new, and takes us to an unforgettable performance. (more…)

 

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By William Shakespeare

Produced by Folger Shakespeare Theatre

Reviewed by Tim Treanor

Aaron Posner is one of the best directors at work in Washington. He is an unparalleled interpreter of Shakespeare who justly won two Helen Hayes Awards in three years for his direction of Shakespeare plays.  This time around, he has made a decision so wrongheaded that it has sucked most of the comedy out of Shakespeare’s last comedy.

Posner forgot Trinculo and Stephano.

When I say “forgot”, of course, I don’t mean it literally.  Trinculo and Stephano are there, after a fashion.  Stephano is Caliban’s hand.  Trinculo is a bottle from which Caliban has drunk.  And their riotous, rustic, half-drunken dialogue has been transformed into a babble which Caliban hears, and translates, as voices in his head. (more…)

By Carlos Pais

Produced by Teatro de la Luna

Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

Comedy doesn’t flow easily from Latin American playwrights’ pens, according to Teatro de la Luna’s Artistic Director Mario Marcel, because of the past 25 years of political oppression,. But judging from the world premiere of Argentine playwright Carlos Pais’ satire Love in the Open Air (Amor al Aire Libre) now playing at Gunston Theatre Two, the Comic Muse is alive and functioning as a healing force.   (more…)

Laura Griffith Replaces Benanti In Strathmore/Signature Songs for a New WorldMay 15, 2007 - The cast for the Signature Theatre concert presentation of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World tomorrow and Thursday evenings at the Music Center at Strathmore has had one change. The role that was supposed to be played by Tony Award nominee Laura Benanti will be played by Helen Hayes Award nominee Laura Griffith, whose nomination was for The Light in the Piazza which played the Kennedy Center last year. The rest of the cast remains the same: Tony Award Nominees Brian D’Arcy James (Sweet Smell of Success, Titanic, The Apple Tree, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Wild Party, Floyd Collins) and Alice Ripley (Side Show, Sunset Boulevard), who is also well known to Potomac Region theatergoers for her work on Shakespeare in Hollywood at Arena Stage and Company at the Kennedy Center. Rounding out the cast will be Tituss Burgess, of Jersey Boys  and Good Vibrations on Broadway. Composer, lyricist Jason Robert Brown will accompany them on piano.  courtesy of PotomacStages.com

Shakespeare Theater Company To The Rescue - Fills First Window at Eastern Market

May 11, 2007 - When Washington’s Eastern Market burned last week, the windows overlooking 7th Street were all destroyed. While the building is restored, those windows will be filled with plain plywood. At the request of the D.C. Office of Property Management and the Commission on the Arts and Humanities, scenic artists from the Shakespeare Theatre Company painted the plywood for one of the most prominent windows with a mural of windows, sky and the activities of visitors to the market.   (More on this at PotomacStages.com)

By Thomas Keneally

Produced by Theater J

Reviewed by Janice Cane

Either Or is an incredibly compelling story, all the more so because it is true. Personal conflict set against the backdrop of worldwide conflict. Risk. Love.  Anguish.  Hope. Defeat. All elements of an unforgettable play are there.

And yet, Either Or does not cross that indefinable divide between compelling story and unforgettable play. Each of the actors-some playing multiple roles-delivers a fine, even performance, but none is truly memorable, not even the lead, Paul Morella. (more…)

Fortunately for us all, renowned performer Theodore Bikel has found a welcome at Theater J. In town to play the title role in the staged reading of Shylock, Mr. Bikel talks about the inherent anti-Semitism in Shakespeare’s character that led to playwright Arnold Wesker’s new interpretation.  In 2005, Theater J produced the powerful drama The Disputation featuring Mr. Bikel. Here he tells the history behind this important play and his commitment to its future.

Listen here.

(Run Time: 0:11:15)

 

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(pictured: David Turner in Spamalot, with Joel, and in Gutenberg!)

On his latest trip to NYC, Joel Markowitz interviewed actor David Turner on Wednesday, May 2nd in his dressing room before the 8 PM performance of Gutenberg! The Musical! . Washington audiences may remember David’s Helen Hayes Award nominated performance as Sir Robin in Spamalot at the National Theatre last summer (listen as he tells how he felt about performing at the National and Washington audiences in general). David discusses his role in the critically trashed musical In My Life, and his experience as Bud in Gutenberg! The Musical.

 

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