All posts by Steve Hallex:
Steve Hallex is an entertainment writer, who joins us covering the 2011 Capital Fringe Festival.
Almost, Maine
February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Welcome to winter wonderland, presented by 1st Stage. If you’ve been to this theater, things will seem a little different this time. The arena-like seating is curtained off for the performance, and chairs are placed in the round on the stage itself. Getting to your seats will be tricky with very strict no-walking-on-the-stage’s-set rules in place. Seated, you just might feel a chill, with much of the stage covered in theatrical snow, with more to follow as the play progresses. As you wait for the actors to take the stage, chilly music, reminiscent of George Winston’s album “December” plays on the sound system. [Read more...]
Devil Boys from Beyond
February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Landless Theatre is at it again. Yes, the company that brings you inane post-modern theatre, has hit another one: Devil Boys from Beyond, premiering this February, and though it’s a triple to the right field wall rather than a grand slam, it’s still worthy of a trip to Adams-Morgan. [Read more...]
Landless’ Mashup Festival – late night edition
January 16, 2012 By 1 Comment
Night of the Living Golden Girls and TarXXXanadu
This Saturday, I attended DCTS’ annual party at a lovely Thai restaurant near DuPont Circle. I must say that every moment was enjoyable, but the party really started with Tim Treanor’s toast, followed by the obligatory game of Who Said That. As we sipped our non-adult adult beverages, slips of paper were passed around with a quote from a reviewer’s work this past year. After (usually correctly) guessing the reviewer who penned it, we voted on our favorite. [Read more...]
Parfumerie
December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you like comedy that makes you smile as well as laugh you can’t do much better than 1st Stage’s presentation of Miklós László’s Parfumerie. Audiences on this side of the world are not particularly familiar with this play from its title – written in Hungary in 1936, the comedy has been a favorite in Europe for decades, but only made its U.S. debut in 2009 - but it could very well become a standard Christmastime production in the years ahead. 1st Stage Artistic Director Mark Krikstan, wanting to stage “a Christmas play that is different than what is normally done,” gave it his third season’s holiday slot. [Read more...]
The Continuing Adventures of John Blade, Super Spy
October 29, 2011 By 1 Comment
“Take a typical show at the old Globe, kick out the wine merchants and vassals who paid subscriptions and leave only the groundlings,” and you’ll get the audience Apron Theatre Company Artistic Director Tyler Budde wants. To get there, this new Georgetown theatre company offers pre and post-show parties, but doesn’t offer subscriptions: “We don’t want someone to come to our plays because they have to.” [Read more...]
The Crucible
October 26, 2011 By 4 Comments
- – This play will probably always be part of the dramatic canon, because it tells a story that seems to repeat itself as often as summer rain. From Socrates to Christ, to Jan Hus, to Dreyfus, to the unthought-of victims of countless purges and pogroms throughout history, the human story is full of such moments. – -
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ReEntry
October 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you are seeking a nuts-and-bolts review of KJ Sanchez and Emily Ackerman’s ReEntry, you need to look elsewhere. I can’t provide that; this is simply a play that resists that kind of analysis. The first thing you should know is that the playwrights’ intent is to educate more than edify, and their success in this approach will depend on what you, the audience, put into it. [Read more...]
Hellspawn
October 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Plays the devil made them write
There was once a kid who lived in Cottage City, Maryland. In 1949, in fact. Research says the boy—Ronnie Hunkeler—was very “off.” A loner with classic anti-social traits, by all witnesses, he was a miscreant who enjoyed causing pain and anguish, going so far as occasionally torturing small animals, but his Swedish immigrant family was convinced the boy was demonically possessed. [Read more...]
Backstage with Shakespeare Theatre’s youngest star
September 27, 2011 By 1 Comment
The “star” of one of the most popular plays this season only appears on the stage for a few minutes, has no lines of dialogue, and doesn’t take questions from the press. Worse still, this is almost certain to be her only show; so when her run is finished, you will never get another chance to see her perform on stage. [Read more...]
