Chekhov’s Three Sisters is a classic rumination about life, death, and everything in between.  Constellation Theatre has now put its indelible mark on the tale, immersing the story in perfectly paced physical movement, well tuned comedic interludes, and tender sensibility, all with an epic-size ensemble. [Read more...]

Mistaken identity, mad cap antics, slamming doors, sexual intrigue and infamous bouts of skirt chasing lust.  A Flea in Her Ear, packed with all of the above, is an exhilarating time with a fun-loving cast hell-bent on smack-down delivery.  [Read more...]

This greatly anticipated season finale shows why Constellation Theatre received the 2009 Helen Hayes Award for “Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company.”  Crazyface features all the company’s trademarks [Read more...]

The Marriage of Figaro
Written by Beaumarchais, adaptation by Allison Arkell Stockman
Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman
Produced by Constellation Theatre Company
Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

Constellation Theatre Company has mounted The Marriage of Figaro, a “physical comedy about class,” with all the sophistication, wit, and zeal of a seasoned ensemble.  There just seems to be no end in sight for this young dynamic company that has tackled Greek drama, political allegory with Vaclav Havel, Szechwan and Arabian tales in its two year history, and now they can add French farce to their amazing history. [Read more...]

Temptation
by Václav Havel
directed by Allison Arkell Stockman
produced by Constellation Theatre Company
reviewed by Steven McKnight

Václav Havel’s Temptation transfers the classic Faust story to a modern scientific institute in a totalitarian country with healthy doses of political satire and absurdist humor.  It is a challenging work, but Constellation Theatre Company’s production succeeds due to an inspired creative team and a talented cast. [Read more...]

• The Oresteia                                                   
• Written by Aeschylus; Translated by Robert Fagles
• Adapted and Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman
• Produced by Constellation Theatre Company
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

They did it again.  Constellation Theater, just finishing its first season yet already establishing a track record of stunning productions, has added a spectacular rendering of Greek tragedy to its repertory.   With a cast of almost thirty actors, a percussionist on stage, moodily placed fog and mist, and a huge coliseum set with columns that extend to the expansive rafters of the Clark Street Playhouse (lighting and set design by A.J. Guban), The Oresteia transports the audience to an ancient time to witness the essential core of theater. These folks are unstoppable.

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• The Good Woman of Setzuan                                     
• Written by Bertolt Brecht.  Translated by Eric Bentley
• Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman
• Choreographed by Ashley Ivey
• Produced by Constellation Theatre Company
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

In this fun-loving cautionary tale, Shen-Te, winningly played by Katie Atkinson proves to be a good woman, pleasing to the gods, sacrificing her own needs and well being for everybody else’s interest, and attempting to marry for love.  Except for the pleasing of the gods part, the rest of the premise could come straight out of any contemporary reality show filled with gaggles of friends and relatives having their say, action and reaction shots of the main character wrestling with conflicting emotions, some desperately trying to do the right thing in a “What’s in it for me?” society.  [Read more...]

• The Arabian Nights
• By Mary Zimmerman
• Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman
• Produced by Constellation Theatre Company
• Reviewed by Janice Cane

Constellation Theatre Company’s production of The Arabian Nights, now playing at Source Theatre, is a good show. It’s not a great show, and it’s not a bad show. It’s just … good. The set, lushly carpeted with dozens of Persian rugs, sets the mood perfectly. Percussionist Tom Teasley plays his exotic musical instruments at all the right moments to heighten the level of drama on stage. Most of the actors play their parts with a great deal of enthusiasm. But somehow, when all of these elements come together, they lack that special something that makes a good show spectacular. [Read more...]

by August Strindberg

Adapted by Caryl Churchill

Produced by Constellation Theatre Company at the Source Theatre

Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman

Reviewed by Tim Treanor

Does the D.C. area really need another professional theater?  You bet it does.  As long as theater has important things to say, and theater professionals have the wit and craft to say them, we will benefit from it no matter who the producing company is – as this wildly ambitious, somewhat uneven but generally successful production shows. [Read more...]