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Theater J  receiveed the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline Monday night at the 23rd Annual Mayor’s Awarts Awards. Studio Theatre was nominated in the same category.  Catalyst Theatre received two nominations: Innovation in the Arts and Outstanding Emerging Artist.  The ceremony, which honored performing artists throughout the city, was presented at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall as part of the Millenium Series. To view the presentations and performances, including a scene from The Price, click here.

• Kiss of the Spider Woman
• Music by John Kander . Lyrics by Fred Ebb
• Book by Terrence McNally based on the novel by Manuel Puig
• Directed by Eric Schaeffer
• Produced by Signature Theatre
• Reviewed by Gary McMillan

Seductive. Intense. Breathtaking. Kiss of the Spider Woman, Signature’s opening salvo in its Kander and Ebb Celebration, is a triumph from the opening note to the touchingly bittersweet end. The stars must have been aligned just so when director Eric Shaeffer assembled this cast and creative team - there is not a weak element here.

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• Stunning
• by David Adjmi
• Directed by Anne Kauffman
• Produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Reviewed by guest reviewer Joy Jones

I was hyped when I heard about the plot for Stunning. Here it comes, I thought, one of Woolly’s trademark edgy and unconventional plays that is disturbing in a good way. It’s described as a story about a young woman, cloistered in her Syrian-Jewish community in Brooklyn, NY, who gets exposed to new ideas and challenging realities when an African American maid comes to work for her. The synopsis was like the savory smell of a spicy dish I couldn’t wait to sample.

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by Joel Markowitz

March 7 —  It’s opening night and Joel Markowitz sits down to talk with local young actor David Jennings who plays the lead in the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Toby’s - The Dinner Theatre of Columbia.  (more…)

 

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• The Price
• by Arthur Miller
• Directed by Michael Carleton
• Produced by Theater J
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

Rarely will you see such effortless, natural acting as in Theater J’s The Price, which draws you in and ambushes you with profound questions. What’s the cost of our choices?  How can you put a price on the past? The confrontation with Arthur Miller’s uncomfortable insights into the lives of ordinary people merit deeply-realized acting and the Prosky team deliver some priceless moments that easily hit the peaks and dips in this rich tapestry of a play. (more…)

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• By Richard Seff, NY Theatre Buzz columnist
• The YMHA Tribute to Fred Ebb, and Parlour Song
• [Editor's note:  Richard Seff was agent to Kander and Ebb and has remained a long time friend.]

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• HELD HOSTAGE: MARK A. RHEA ON DIRECTING THE HOSTAGE AGAIN
• By Joel Markowitz

I was held hostage by a dream ensemble last Saturday night, as I inhaled the genius of Keegan Theatre’s revival of it’s 2003 production of The Hostage  Producing Artistic Director Mark A. Rhea talks about his feckin’ great  beer and song-filled remounted production.    (more…)