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Joel Markowitz kicks off his new Knockout Performances series with a Q&A session with actress Meghan Grady, who plays Karen in Theater J’s Speed-The-Plow.  Read it in Theatre Schmooze by clicking here.

• Meet Meghan Grady
• Appearing in Speed-The-Plow
• One in a continuing series on Knockout Performances
• By Joel Markowitz

On Thursday, October 25^th, I witnessed one of those rare nights in the theatre where a young actress had the audience eating out of her hands, or in this case - book.

Who is that scene stealing actress who is strutting across the Goldman Theatre stage and making putty out of a Hollywood producer in Theater J’s production of David Mamet’s biting look at Tinseltown - Speed-The-Plow?  I had to speak to this actress to find out who she is and give her - as the book’s title suggests - some exposure.

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• Kit Marlowe
• By David Grimm
• Directed by Jessie R. Gallogly
• Produced by Rorschach Theatre
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

David Grimm’s Kit Marlowe is a history play, written in the old style and the high language, so full of juice and life and sweetness of phrase that it could have been written by Marlowe himself, had Marlowe been born in the 20^th century and permitted to write whatever came into his head.  And Rorschach Theatre - why, Rorschach just plays the hell out of it!  How great is that!  So stop reading this review and go buy your tickets! (more…)

• redshirts
• By Dana Yeaton
• Directed by Lou Bellamy
• Produced by Round House Theatre in conjunction with Penumbra Theatre
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

What do Emily Dickenson, iambic pentameter, and modern poetry have to do with a bunch of newly recruited black college football players, itching to make the next great play and score with a “just gimme the ball, dammit” mentality?  These are just a few of the many elements mixed in cuisinart whirling speed in Round House’s Silver Spring production of redshirts. 

Instead of getting a splattering mess, all the stories fall in line - the entire back lineup squad trying valiantly to pass freshmen English, the no-nonsense English Professor up for tenure, the assistant coach trying to be mentor and guardian while keeping watch over his own lucrative position, even the do-gooder teaching assistant has a  story.  

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THE JUNGLE BOOK

The Jungle Book is about a young “man-cub,” named Mowgli, who is raised by wolves in the jungles of India. Mowgli goes to school and learns the rules of the jungle from Baloo, the bear, and Bagheera, the Jaguar. Mowgli and his animal friends work together to defeat the evil tiger, Shere Khan and the comical “Bander Log”(which are the Hindi words for “The Monkey People”). In the end Mowgli is reunited with his human mother or “mataji” in a heartwarming scene in which Mowgli recognizes the physical similarities between himself and Messua, his mother. (more…)

• The Women of Brewster Place
• Book, music and lyrics by Tim Acito
• Based on the novel by Gloria Naylor
• Directed by Molly Smith
• Produced by Arena Stage                                                      
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

The postcard artwork for the long awaited women of Brewster Place tells it all - women of various appearances, different bearings and expressions, all with life-stories to tell, looking out the windows of a squalid tenement.  There was such hope in the prospect of getting to the heart and soul of these women, the characters so beautifully described in Gloria Naylor’s searing novel, through the magic of song and movement.  Perhaps I idealized what could have been - no, what should have been - for too long, and that’s what led to the disappointment of seeing what’s currently playing at Arena Stage.  (more…)

• Flowers for Algernon
• By David Rogers, based on a novel by Daniel Keyes
• Directed by Matt Ripa
• Produced by Landless Theatre Company
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

There are many things wrong with Landless Theatre Company’s production of Flowers for Algernon, but before we get to them let us celebrate the fine performance by Matt Baughman in the role of Charley Gordon.  Charley, as you remember from the Cliff Robertson movie of the same name or from your high school reading, is a mentally retarded man who becomes the subject of an experimental surgery designed to radically increase his intellectual function.  The experiment succeeds and Charley’s IQ soars from 68 to 185, but the change is not permanent, and his summer of light is filled with a wistful poignancy.

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• Rashomon
• Adapted and directed by Tobin Atkinson
• Produced by Meat and Potato Theatre
• Reviewed by Ronnie Ruff

Meat and Potato Theatre’s season opener shows the company’s continued commitment to risk and attention to detail.

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• As You Like It
• By William Shakespeare
• Directed by Derek Goldman
• Produced by Folger Theatre
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

As You Like It is kind of a crazy play, and the Folger Theatre’s pleasant production of it does not add to coherence.   In a nutshell:  Orlando (Noel Vélez), youngest son of the late Roland du Bois, goes to the house of his father’s sworn enemy, the usurper Duke Frederick (Conrad Feininger), in order to take on the house wrestler (Scott McCormick).  Why?  Likes wrestling, I guess. 

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• Women of 50 (Mujeres de 50)
• By Daniela Di Segni and Hilda Levy
• Directed by Liliana Pecora
• Produced by Teatro De La Luna -  International Hispanic Festival
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

Argentine actress Liliana Pecora is the Sarah Bernhardt of comic actresses. Pecora doesn’t speak English at all, she told us on opening night. That’s like Bernhardt who never spoke or understood English and was featured as the leading character in last week’s play. Also as versatile as Bernhardt, Pecora brought a full-house to its feet for her depiction of eight female characters. (more…)