DC Theatre Scene . Washington’s liveliest theatre web site

MacHomer
by William Shakespeare, as modified by Rick Miller, channeling Matt Groening
directed by Sean Lynch
produced by WYRD at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
reviewed by Tim Treanor

In the middle of the stage, a huge knife suddenly materializes. It is shaped like a slice of pie and covered in blood. “Is that a dagger I see before me?” asks MacHomer (Homer Simpson (Rick Miller)). “Or…a pizza?” He seems to be right; the knife has turned into something out of Domino’s.  “Mmm…pizza.” (more…)

The Way of the World
by William Congreve
directed by Michael Kahn
produced by Shakespeare Theatre Company
reviewed by Tim Treanor

Let me lay this on the table at the outset: this plot-thick, character-heavy Restoration comedy, a paean to the benefits of estate planning, is not for everyone. To enjoy it, we must be willing to look at human nature at its most puerile.  We must be willing, not just to laugh at ourselves, but to laugh at the worst part of ourselves. If we have the stomach for it, there is a satisfying evening of theater waiting for us.

The challenge is not simply that the language is unfamiliar or frame of reference different than our own. We go to the Shakespeare for new experiences, drawn from olden times. It is, rather, that after forty years of restoration, England had become an emotionally and spiritually barren place, its denizens exhausted and insensible. We may think of ourselves as cynical. We don’t know what cynical is. (more…)

Take Me Away
by Gerald Murphy
produced by Solas Nua
directed by Linda Murray
reviewed by Tim Treanor

Oh, what a fine nasty little play this is, as mean as a wolverine and as tight as a Chinese box puzzle! What a sweet festival of malevolence do Eddie (Joe Cronin) and his three brutish sons create! To witness the crude, manipulative Eddie thrust and parry with sullen Bren (Jared Hill Mercier), dimwitted Kevin (Kevin O’Reilly) (more…)

Host and Guest
by Roland L. Reed, from a poem by Vazha Pshavela
produced by Synetic Theater
directed by Paata Tsikurishvili
reviewed by Tim Treanor

In the shadow of the Russian invasion of Georgia, in the shadow of 9-11, in the shadow of all the miseries we do to each other in the name of tribalism, Synetic Theater once again presents us with the story of Host and Guest. It is the hour before dawn, and Joqola (Dan Istrate) is hunting for his family’s meal in a forest (the ensemble) (more…)

Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
directed by Lise Bruneau
produced by Taffety Punk Theatre Company
reviewed by Tim Treanor

Taffety Punk presents its all-woman production of Shakespeare’s great Romeo and Juliet as a revenge play. Unfortunately, it is meant as revenge against the Shakespeare Theatre for its all-male production of the same play.  People!  Can’t we all just get along? (more…)

This Perfect World
by Chris Stezin
directed by John Vreeke
produced by Charter Theatre
reviewed by Tim Treanor

Stay with me here. This is a difficult concept, and I’m not sure I have it right. But is it not possible that there is something in this world called pain envy, being the jealousy that those of us whose lives have been rides on moving sidewalks feel for those who have triumphed through adversity? (more…)

Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

produced by Shakespeare Theatre

directed by David Muse

reviewed by Tim Treanor

All rise; court is now in session. We turn to The Matter of the All-Male Romeo and Juliet, and immediately address the question on everyone’s mind: does the Shakespeare’s admitted act of gender discrimination enhance our understanding of this classic play, or, through the play, of the world? The answer is (more…)

Resurrection
By Daniel Beaty
Produced by Arena Stage in collaboration with Hartford Stage
Directed by Oz Scott
Reviewed by Tim Treanor

The gifted poet/playwright Daniel Beaty here presents us with a meditation on the self-empowerment of men, and in particular African-American men, which is earnest, perceptive and - dare I say it - a little preachy. Beaty clearly knows what he means to say (more…)

Peace
By Callie Kimball
Produced by Washington Shakespeare Company
Directed by Alexander Strain
Reviewed by Tim Treanor 

This, this is why Washington theaters need to produce Washington playwrights - because Washington playwrights understand what Washington audiences want to see from their theaters. We don’t want plays about politics. We work in politics all day, and many of us for several hours afterward. We want to see plays about the things which make politics important in the first place: (more…)

1984
Adapted from a novel by George Orwell by Christopher Gallu
Directed by Jim Petosa
Produced by Catalyst Theater Company
Reviewed by Tim Treanor

War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. And Catalyst is in the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street, rather than its old digs at the Capital Hill Arts Center. I know this last one is true because I saw them there, with my own eyes, producing a visually arresting, technically flawless, intellectually faithful adaptation (more…)