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The Lieutenant of Inishmore

by Martin McDonagh
directed by Jeremy Skidmore
produced by Signature Theatre 
reviewed by Steven McKnight 

Halloween has arrived early at Signature, where Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore offers an abundance of gruesome fun.  This witty mix of black comedy, farce, and satire receives a gleeful production that will delight anyone who can handle its realistic violence and shocking humor. The story revolves around the dilemma faced by the Donny (John Lescault) and Davey (Matthew McGloin), temporary caretakers of Wee Thomas, a cat that is killed on a country road. (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…)

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

by Karen Zacarías 
based on the novel by Julia Alvarez
directed by Blake Robison
produced by Round House Theatre 
reviewed by Miranda Hall 

Lime-green suitcases. American flag underpants. Blow-out birthday parties. Welcome to the world of the Garcia family.

Playwright Karen Zacarias’s latest adaptation, from Julia Alvarez’s acclaimed novel, bursts with music, compassion, and vivacity. (more…)

Blanche and Beyond
from Selected Letters of Tennessee Williams
adapted and Directed Steve Lawson
presented by The Kennedy Center in the Terrace Theater
reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackso

Richard Thomas has come a long way from playing John Boy Walton (early 1970’s) with over 40 films and countless stage productions since those early years.  Although the familiar visage is recognizable as soon as he steps on the set, all flashbacks to his antics growing up in that homespun version of early Americana disappear as Thomas anchors himself firmly in the flamboyant boisterous, boozing personae of Tennessee Williams (more…)

Harold and the Purple Crayon
book, music and lyrics by Adam W. Roberts
based on the book Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
directed by Michael J. Bobbitt
produced by Adventure Theatre
reviewed by Lorraine Treanor

Adam W. Roberts has taken the purple and white book about Harold and his purple crayon, added a few characters, peppered his play with lots of songs, and turned it over to Adventure Theatre for its world premiere.  Judging from the squeals of delight and hoots of laughter from the tiny tot audience, (more…)

Mozart’s Men

music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, from the operas Le Nozze di Figaro/The Marriage of Figaro; Don Giovanni; Cosi fan tutte/Women Are Like That 
book by Charlotte Stoudt; English lyrics for Act II by Nick Olcott and Bari Biern  
directed by Colin Hovde   
music direction by Alice Mikolajewskir
reviewed by Rosalind Lacy 

If you find opera off-putting and elitist, bring on the men for Mozart’s Men.  Some of those aristocrats may be villains but it’s time they had a trial to defend themselves. (more…)

La Edad de la Ciruela, The Aging of the Plum
by playwright Aristides Vargas  
directed by Abel Lopez
produced by  GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square
reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

GALA director Abel Lopez and his inspired performers make The Aging of the Plum/La Edad de la Ciruela so mesmerizing and real, it moves beyond magic into the sublime. Enacted to the max in the exaggerated style of magical realism, the actors cut to the heart of it and deliver Aristides Vargas’ poetic imagery, as if playing a beautiful violin sonata. (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…)

the break/s: a mixtape for stage

performance work by Marc Bamuthi Joseph

presented by the Kennedy Center

reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

Performer and personal narrative poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph is getting well earned, rave reviews for his latest expression, the break/s which infuses hip hop culture into his personal stories of identity, filled with whispers of history and whiffs of political insights, all while breaking down the boundaries of theater, dance, and film. (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…)