You are here: Home / 2008 / April / Archives for 14th

Smokey Joe’s Café

April 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment

  • smokeyjoe.jpgSmokey Joe’s Café
  • Words and Music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
  • Directed and Choreographed by Chet Walker
  • Produced by Nederlander of Bethesda, LLC for the Bethesda Theatre
  • Reviewed by Steven McKnight

Knowing what to expect can be key to enjoying a night at the theatre.  If you want to enjoy an agreeable oldies revue smoothly sung by a talented ensemble, then you could do worse than drop in to Smokey Joe’s Café at the Bethesda Theatre.  On the other hand, if live musical theatre is a rare treat because of a busy schedule and/or limited budget, you may find a production that rarely rises above pleasant does not fulfill your highest expectations. 

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Our Reviews Tagged With:

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

April 14, 2008 By 2 Comments

  • judas.jpg The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
  • By Stephen Adly Guirgis
  • Directed by John Vreeke
  • Produced by Forum Theatre
  • Reviewed by Tim Treanor

I’ve taken more time than I usually do to write this review because I wanted to be sure you understood how good this play is. I wanted to tell you in plain and direct language the nature of the thing that you have before you.

It’s not that it’s simply good theater, with a tight dramatic arc and developments which are both outrageously funny and absolutely credible within the parameters of the story…although it is all of that. Nor is it simply that some of our best actors – Hemmingsen, McCormick, del Cerro, Jorgensen – do some of their best work ever, although they do. It is that The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is a moral act, which can bring grace to the stricken heart. It will both entertain you and make you think. It could save your life. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Our Reviews Tagged With:

Cymbeline

April 14, 2008 By 1 Comment

  • cymbeline.jpgCymbeline
  • By William Shakespeare
  • Directed by Wickham Avery
  • Produced by dog & pony dc
  • Reviewed by Tim Treanor

What a bad idea this is! Dog & pony dc has re-conceived Cymbeline - definitely a minor part of Shakespeare’s canon – as a theatrical exercise in which actors change roles with every scene. To imagine an equivalent, suppose that Arena Stage decided to do the same thing with Death of a Salesman. In the first scene, Rick Foucheux would appear as Willie Loman, and Nancy Robinette as his wife, Linda. In the next scene, the Loman sons Biff and Hap would be played by – Rick Foucheux and Nancy Robinette, respectively. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Our Reviews Tagged With: