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• The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
• By Edward Albee
• Produced by the Bay Theatre Company
• Directed by Lucinda Merry-Browne
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

This is a play about a man who has sex with a goat - enthusiastically, and frequently. He is in love. Although he has a sweet and intelligent wife, and his life is otherwise a fantastic success, he longs to go behind the barn in rustic Connecticut, and there swive his bovid beloved. Full of hillocky infatuation, he can barely function in modern society. He loses his shaving head, and the meaning of the business card in his pocket. (more…)

Volvió una Noche, She Returned One Night

• by Eduardo Rovner
• Directed by Mario Marcel                                     
• Produced by Teatro de la Luna
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy   

One reason I love to see plays at Washington D.C.’s Hispanic theaters is that I emerge renewed, as if I’ve traveled through a parallel universe.  Meet Eduardo Rovner, a multi-prize-winning Argentine playwright, whose 35 plays have been translated into many languages and produced internationally.  Thanks to Teatro de la Luna’s artistic director Mario Marcel we can experience the delicate balance between the real and the magical world of one of Rovner’s wonderful farces. Marcel’s passion for drawing out the best in his inspired and gifted performers has more than succeeded in bringing this comedy about a mother-son relationship to life.  She Returned One Night is so believable you’ll laugh your heart out and be filled with wonder.  (more…)

• Julius Caesar
• By William Shakespeare
• Produced by the Shakespeare Theatre Company
• Directed by David Muse
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

Shakespeare Theatre’s sturdy and handsomely-mounted Julius Caesar leaves things… unresolved.

Are we helpless pawns to a hapless fate, as Director Muse works hard to imply by his staging? Or can a clever politician, such as the formidable Mark Antony (Andrew Long), engage his rhetoric in such a way as to twist both men and fate to his own design? (more…)

• Mad Breed
• By Jacqueline E. Lawton
• Directed by Juanita Rockwell
• Produced by Active Cultures Theatre
• Reviewed by Janice Cane

Mad Breed reminded me of the last time I greeted news of a brand-new play with a good deal of skepticism. I didn’t think one of my favorite books, a rich tapestry of complex characters and themes, would translate to the stage. Well, I was wrong-thank goodness, because Wicked is now one of my favorite musicals. (more…)

By Joel Markowitz

May 8th — Glory Days opened on Tuesday, May 6^th. The New York critics unanimously hated it and closing notices were posted on May 7^th, making it the first Broadway musical in 23 years to close after opening night. (more…)

Interviewed and recorded by Joel Markowitz

It’s always a treat to see this talented gentle man of the Washington stage perform. You can do that now at Olney Theatre’s 1776 where he is starring as Benjamin Franklin, “a flower child of the 1760’s, like I was a flower child of the 1960’s.” (more…)

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1039)

• Politics, Sexual Intrigue and Lost Souls
• November, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and Port Authority

By Richard Seff

(more…)

• The orchestras of Man of La Mancha, Sweet Smell of Success and Musical Director Chris Youstra.
• By Joel Markowitz

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• Intimate Apparel
• Written by Lynn Nottage
• Directed by Jennifer L. Nelson
• Produced by African Continuum Theatre Company
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

Set in New York City in 1905, Intimate Apparel showcases the power of the written word from an African American cultural perspective. Specifically, the impact of letters and letter-writing in an age of innocence.  Playwright Lynn Nottage gently and lovingly explores aspects of love and friendship, cultural identity, self- expression and survival.

Esther, the main character, beautifully rendered by Deidre LaWan Starnes, has all but given up on finding a soul mated kindred spirit, let alone a husband.  (more…)

New discussion. New insights. 

We thought Janet had a good idea in her recent comment on our latest discussion ‘Attendance Is Declining: Tell Us Why’.

Given the fact that it costs time and money to see a play, add that it might mean the hassle of Metro inaccessibility or sitting in traffic jams, Janet wonders why we brave all of that to see a play when we could instead be seeing a local movie, chatting with friends, or just relaxing at home.

Good question.  So here’s a brand new discussion.  Tell us what motivates you to go, and maybe add two things:  how often you attend in a 3 month period and which productions you are looking forward to seeing this month (see our list in Onstage Now).