All posts by Leslie Weisman:
Leslie Weisman DCTS Reviewer A longtime subscriber to a half-dozen DC theatres, Leslie also writes for the Washington DC Film Society, where her articles on the Berlin and Munich film festivals appear regularly in the Society's online newsletter Storyboard. Leslie is also a regular contributor to the Orson Welles website Wellesnet.com, and wrote a review for the site of the play Obediently Yours, Orson Welles which she saw in its Paris and Barcelona premieres.
The Seven Ages of Mime
April 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Sit Down, Stand Up! The Story of the Student Sit-ins
February 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Take a theater filled to capacity with chattering, animated pre-pubescent kids, engage them with rousing renditions of stories and songs about people they know and admire, galvanize them to shout and sing along, stand up, march around its perimeter, jump up and join you on the stage, and you’re looking at [Read more...]
The Solid Gold Cadillac
December 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment
What do you get when you take a 1953 classic, update it with snazzy new seats, carpeting and accessories, but keep the chassis? In Studio Theatre’s fitfully entertaining retrofit of Howard Teichmann and George S. Kaufman’s The Solid Gold Cadillac, what you get is a chance to spend a couple of entertaining hours in the company of a dozen D.C. classics, [Read more...]
Moonlight
September 15, 2009 By 1 Comment
Harold Pinter’s rarely performed one-act play is classic Pinter: conflicted characters using dagger-sharp wit and caustic irony to compensate for deep-seated, unspoken doubts and fears. [Read more...]
Mother Courage and Her Children
June 4, 2009 By 3 Comments
In Scena Theatre’s riveting production of the 1941 Brechtian classic, an almost palpable air of death and defeat hovers over the dun-colored, dirt-covered cement-floor set, making the occasional flashes of brilliant color [Read more...]
Closer Than Ever
May 12, 2009 By 3 Comments
If you have a love for lyrics and verbal jousts and a passionate appreciation for the way they can, in the hands of a master, [Read more...]
Berliner Kabarett
April 7, 2009 By 1 Comment
Place: Berlin, Germany; a small cabaret theatre. Time: between the two World Wars. The democratic Weimar Republic has been established in the wake of Germany’s humiliating defeat. But the Allies’ punitive reparations have left the economy in shambles, the people depressed, resentful, quick with a bitter quip, in desperate need of escape. [Read more...]
The Seafarer
January 21, 2009 By 3 Comments
The Seafarerby Conor McPherson
Directed by Paul Mullins
Produced by The Studio Theatre
Reviewed by Leslie Weisman
Some plays set the stage not only literally but figuratively, preparing the audience for what will occur over the course of their action. And then there are those whose sets are more deceptive: where a cozy walnut, velour and floral-carpeted interior, a slim Christmas tree ablaze with lights, and the familiar strains of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” from a home stereo are not indicators, but prevaricators. [Read more...]
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
December 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go BlindWritten, Directed, Produced and Performed by the Neo-Futurists: Sharon Greene, Jacquelyn Landgraf, John Pierson, Caitlin Stainken and Jay Torrence
Created by Greg Allen
Produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Reviewed by Leslie Weisman
If you have a taste for the tawdry, the kinky, the sweet and the sublime… this show’s for you. Given its premise – 30 plays in 60 minutes, with new plays added and old ones dropped for each performance – you’d be tempted to want to say that the only constancy in the new Too Much Light is change. You would, however, be wrong. [Read more...]
A Christmas Carol
December 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment
A Christmas CarolBook by Mike Ockrent and Lynn Ahrens
Music by Allen Menken . Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Directed by Daniel L. McDonald
Produced by Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Baltimore
Reviewed by Leslie Weisman
Toby’s Dinner Theatre is a place where the show may be the main reason you’re there, but it’s usually not the only one. Known not only for its ability to bring Broadway to Baltimore but for its all-you-can eat buffet as well, Toby’s generally succeeds on both counts. Its enthusiastic incarnations of beloved blockbusters more often than not will leave you feeling warm and satisfied theatrically as you indulge yourself gastronomically. [Read more...]
