Les Miserables

Les Misérables
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg
Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer
Based on a novel by Victor Hugo
Original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel . Additional material by James Fenton
Directed by Eric Schaeffer
Produced by Signature Theeatre
Reviewed by Gary McMillan

Cameron Mackintosh tossed Eric Schaeffer the keys to his hummer Les Misérables to drive the internationally-acclaimed musical juggernaut from its recent multi-million dollar Broadway home to the intimate, black-box theatre here in Arlington. [Read more...]

Peter Pan

Peter Pan: The Musical
Book by J.M. Barrie
Music by: Mark Charlap, additional music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by: Carolyn Leigh, additional lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Directed by Eve Muson.
Produced by Olney Theatre Center
Reviewed by Gary McMillan

If you can pry junior’s fingers from his Game Boy, he just might enjoy a vacation from Nintendoland via Olney Theatre Center’s holiday excursion to Neverland. Peter Pan is a bit of an old chestnut, to be sure, but its 1950s score still entertains audience members whose first experience of the show likely was half a century ago on a small black & white television set. Olney’s production has the key ingredients to charm children: [Read more...]

An American Century Christmas

An American Century Christmas
Conceived and compiled by Jack Marshall, Thomas D. Fuller and Kathryn Fuller
Directed by Jack Marshall
Produced by American Century Theater
Reviewed by Ted Ying

There was a time when the televised Christmas specials were amongst the most anticipated parts of the season. Anyone over the age of 10 probably remembers the Perry Como, Bing Crosby or Bob Hope Christmas shows.  Today, most people don’t watch the classic Christmas musical variety shows, but American Century has re-created one, and it’s worth a trip to see it and bring the family. [Read more...]

Last Days of Judas Iscariot Revisited

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

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot was the winner of DCTS’s Audience Choice Award for Best Play last season, Forum Theatre’s remounting of the production has its original cast with one exception – Heather Haney now plays the role of Mother Theresa, originally played by Maggie Glauber. Here is a reprise of  our review of the original production.

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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. [Read more...]