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• Avenue Q
• Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx
• Book by Jeff Whitty
• Directed By Jason Moore
• Produced By Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre and The New Group at the National Theatre
• Reviewed by Ronnie Ruff

Imagine a show that takes the concept of the wildly popular children’s show Sesame Street, and get its puppets to talk to you about how much it sucked to be fresh out of college and on your own - without a date, much less. This is what Avenue Q brings to the National Theatre for its short run (ends Dec 9^th) before heading to Charm City.

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• Rashomon
• Adapted and directed by Tobin Atkinson
• Produced by Meat and Potato Theatre
• Reviewed by Ronnie Ruff

Meat and Potato Theatre’s season opener shows the company’s continued commitment to risk and attention to detail.

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• The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• by Rachel Sheinkin . Composer/Lyricist William Finn .
• Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
• Directed by James Lapine . Musical Direction by Jodie Moore
• Produced by David Stone and James L Nederlander
• Reviewed by Ronnie Ruff

If you have ever gone through puberty (and this means you) The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will hit home with an extremely funny punch. (more…)

• Made in China
• By Mark O’Rowe
• Directed by Colin Hovde
• Produced by Solas Nua
• Reviewed by Ronnie Ruff

When it comes to cutting edge Irish theatre, it does not get much better than Solas Nua. Their 2005 production of Mark O’Rowe’s Howie The Rookie was a fabulous production that had humor, violence and rollercoaster like excitement - Irish story telling at its best.

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Accident

• Written and performed by Amy Ziff
• Produced by Theater J at Studio Theatre 2ndStage
• Reviewed by Ronnie Ruff.

Ok…. sorry to say but DC Favorite Amy Ziff is dead. The poor gal slipped in the tub and had a run in with a very sharp straight razor. Smoothly shaved legs have never cost so much.  As Amy awaits her destiny before the Supreme Being, she shares with us her anxieties about her future. Will she go north to visit with her grandmother or will she end up where all dead rock stars go, a bit further south?  Lucky for us the tally is displayed on a large video screen behind Ms. Ziff with enough techy PowerPoint special effects to make it very funny. Such is the plot of Ziff’s one woman show, Accident, the first in Theater J’s Incubator Series, which has a polished, very finished feel. Rebecca  Asher directs the piece. (more…)

Getting Out

• By Marsha Norman
• Directed by Deborah Kirby
• Produced by Journeymen Theater Ensemble
• Reviewed by Ronnie Ruff

As the house lights come up after Journeymen Theater’s production of Getting Out and the acoustic magic of The Indigo Girls’ Closer To Fine spills out of the speakers at The Clark Street Playhouse, one is reminded of exactly what playwright Marsha Norman was seeking to convey. Getting Out is a reminder that life is a journey that contains pitfalls all along its winding road and we hopefully will learn from those low points and excise our demons leading us to a place that truly is closer to fine. (more…)