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• Marat/Sade
• by Peter Weiss
• Directed by Michael Dove
• Produced by Forum Theatre Company
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

Walk through a paranoia-inducing, chain-link, floor-to-ceiling fenced cage to be seated next to a thrust stage where actors scream, writhe on the floor, stand and stare and circle a bathtub. Suddenly, one of the keepers padlocks the door behind us. We can’t get out. (more…)

• The Titans
• by Robert McElwaine                       
• Directed by Jack Marshall
• Produced by The American Century Theater
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

Realizing we are eavesdropping on authentic conversations from the Oval Office and the Kremlin in The Titans keeps you on the brink of your seat. (more…)

• Defending the Caveman
• by Rob Becker
• Performed and directed by Cody Lyman
• Produced by Theater Mogul and Nederlander of Bethesda
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

On stage at the Bethesda Theatre, two prehistoric cave paintings serve as historic reminders that even though we think we’ve changed, our DNA programming hasn’t. One shows males hunting bison; the other, a naked female fertility goddess. (more…)

• A Body of Water
• by Lee Blessing                            
• Directed by Michael Ryan Fernandez
• Produced by Firebelly Productions
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy
• After seeing Firebelly’s spellbinding, well-polished production of Lee Blessing’s poetic play A Body of Water, I felt a hunger for human interaction. The edge-of-seat suspense kept me holding my breath until the last revelation. (more…)

• Agustín Lara: Boleros & Blues      
• Book by Gabriel Garcia; musically adapted by Mari Paz         
• Conceived and directed by Abel Lopez                                     
• Produced by the GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy   

Who was Agustín Lara, known as Mexico’s musical poet? Worshipped by swooning fans as “Our Golden Skinny Man,” Lara wrote gorgeous, romantic ballads, or boleros, and lived the life of his lyrics-as a woman’s dream of a Latin lover. (more…)

• The Bridge of Bodies
• Written and performed by Kathleen Gonzales          
• Directed by Patrick Crowley                                     
• Produced by the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy   

Sounds of breaking waves and a projected image of surf washing on shore place us in a paradise of calm. A faint echo of voodoo drums sets us up for the cultural question: ‘What is your name? Not just the first but your last.’ (more…)

• Luisa Fernanda
• A Spanish Zarzuela  (light opera) in Three Acts
• Music by Federico Moreno Torroba . Libretto by Federico Romero and Guillermo Fernandez Shaw
• Directed by José Sacin                                     
• Produced by Zarzuela Di Si in collaboration with the Mexican Cultural Institute
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy   

Opening night at the Mexican Cultural Institute buzzed with excitement and anticipation. The grand staircase, lined with towering wall murals, invites you into Pan-American history. It’s a great venue for the charismatic baritone Josê Sacin, who is well-known locally in the Latino community as an opera singer with the stage presence of a lion and an impressive vocal range. (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…)

• Translations
• by Brian Friel
• Directed by Mark A. Rhea
• Produced by Keegan Theatre 
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy   

A knock-out punch is hard to see coming, but you know when you’ve been hit. Brian Friel’s Translations has that kind of riveting power so that you leave the theater reeling from its quaintly developed revelations. Keegan Theatre’s beautiful  restaging is a chance not to be missed. It’s a mesmerizing revival of director Mark A. Rhea’s 1997 Helen Hayes Award-nominated production.

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• A View from the Bridge
• Written by Arthur Miller
• Directed by Daniel Aukin
• Produced by Arena Stage
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy   

A View from the Bridge is a must see. Great ensemble acting, the best and juiciest I’ve seen at Arena Stage, seamless production values .. it all works together like a well-tuned symphony. Start with the unsettling music composed by Michael Keck that warns like fog horns of a dangerous collision ahead. We don’t see the Brooklyn Bridge-that engineering marvel of an American Dream-but we sense its power. Just as we sense Eddie Carbone’s muscular energy.

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