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Debbie Minter Jackson DCTS Reviewer Debbie Minter Jackson is a writer and performer in musical theater for 30+ years. Originally from Chicago, she has performed throughout the Washington, D.C. area including the Kennedy Center in productions with the legendary Mike Malone. Her scripts have been commissioned and produced by Source Theater, throughout Washington, D.C. and New York, and she is a member of Footlights and the Black Women Playwrights’ Group which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year. By day she happily works in a federal public health agency as a Senior Program Analyst.
You could tell that an old tale was getting fresh new treatment from the first hip-hopping beat to when a cool dude wolf bops along dropping the scoop from His perspective for a change. And is it an eye opener. The original flava-fresh script by Christopher Piper offers delightful new twists about what really might have happened when pigs decided to build houses made of straw, wood and finally brick. [Read more...]
With The Convert, Danai Gurira proves that, in this shorter-is-sweeter era, three act plays can draw a packed house. Set in the 1890′s in what was then known as Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, Gurira’s characters each grapple, in achingly believable ways, with the effects of white British colonial rule and the enforcement of Christian dogma. [Read more...]
The bare stage in Our Town could be a reflection of how we come into and leave the world. With nothing. Thornton Wilder’s classic piece is having a 75th year celebration at Ford’s Theatre with color blind casting that pushes the imagination. [Read more...]
Ladies Swing the Blues at MetroStage packages the old tales about early jazz and blues greats into a new lyrical presentation. The script is deeply rooted in the oral tradition of telling the story with Thomas W. Jones II as the urban griot having written the book and lyrics with original music by the accomplished and always dependable William Knowles, a master of jazz phrasing and execution. Each is an exceptional artist in his own right, together in synch interpreting the lives of the great jazz legends, the Jones/Knowles combo is irresistible. [Read more...]
It seems like a perfect premise for The Puppet Co — a master toymaker is kidnapped but escapes in time to lead a parade of beautiful new toys. Christopher Piper does double duty portraying the toymaker and, along with fellow master puppeteer Tony Strowd, manipulates a host of characters. [Read more...]
The winning cast members of Adventure Theatre’s Winnie the Pooh bring the characters to life in this loving, living adaptation. The old familiar events are there, but the pacing and style from director Jerry Whiddon and the engaging songs, lyrics and musical passages add a whole new dimension to the experience. [Read more...]
Altar Boyz is a silly, raucous romp of a show with good intentions and even better execution. If great direction, flash dancing and pelvic thrusting urban choreography would get us through the Pearly Gates, then the Altar Boyz would high step their way in with bumps and grinds to spare. [Read more...]
What can a one-man performance bring to a story that’s so familiar to so many that we can almost mouth the dialog? Plenty, especially when that performer is one of the most gifted actors in the metro region and when he’s supported by a crackerjack design team and armed with a great script — that he co-authored. [Read more...]
Pullman Porter stories are legendary in Black communities along the northeast and southern corridors, and are particularly close to home for anyone with roots in South Side Chicago. The Pullman area is architecturally destinct, and the tales and exploits of the porters run through families, friends, loved ones like a locomotive. [Read more...]
How many times can you keep going to see productions of Dreamgirls? If you can catch an incredible cast, spiffy direction, and voices that knock your socks off, I am telling you, keep going. Signature’s production of Dreamgirls hits all the marks, and then some. [Read more...]
American Theatre Wing Interviews I AM THEATRE (TCG)