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The Underpants
adapted by Steve Martin from a play by Carl Sternheim
directed by John Going
produced by Olney Theatre Center
reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

Steve Martin, of Saturday Night Live fame, knows how to tell a joke just right. Even bawdy ones, abounding with double entendres, in a German farce that airs out more than dirty laundry. (more…)

• Rabbit Hole
• Written by David Lindsay-Abaire
• Directed by Mitchell Hébert
• Produced by Olney Theater
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

In this metro-area premiere, a suburban couple that seems to have all the creature comforts of home shows the frayed edges of trying to cope with a tragic loss.   (more…)

• Stuff Happens
• by David Hare
• Directed by Jeremy Skidmore
• Produced by Olney Theatre Center
• Reviewed by Ted Ying

Politics is the most exciting game in town.  Or so says my friend, the political lobbyist.  How else can he explain his choice of career, when he has worked in several more lucrative professions?  Olney’s Stuff Happens makes me start to believe him.  (more…)

• Mousetrap
• Written by Agatha Christie
• Directed by John Going
• Produced at Olney Theatre
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

How does the longest running show in the history of London’s famed West End, one that has been performed on Broadway and throughout America for decades still have enough punch to keep ‘em guessing for yet another run?  (more…)

• 1776
• Book by Peter Stone . Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards
• Directed and Choreographed by Stephen Nachamie
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

If 1776 was merely a musical, it would not be much of one. Its pleasant score contains not a single memorable song, and the harmonies tend toward the barber-shop variety. Similarly, Olney’s production would be unremarkable. The voices are competent, though a few - Jessica Lauren Ball and the sturdy Rob Richardson as Martha and Thomas Jefferson, for example - are wonderful.  But 1776 isn’t merely a musical. It’s our story, an American history play expressed in the prototypically American art form.  It moves us to joy and sadness (more…)

• Bad Dates
• by Theresa Rebeck
• Directed by Lee Mikeska Gardner
• Produced by Olney Theatre Center
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

“Oh, god, these things hurt,” referring to shoes in the opening lines of playwright Theresa Rebeck’s Bad Dates. Haley Walker, an almost 40, divorced mother, alone in her New York City digs, lives in a hyper-kinetic society, where feelings are trivialized and crushed. Gradually throughout this 90-minute play, we identify with this lady’s fetish for changing shoes as if she’s searching for her soul.

High heels, pumps and stilettos lurk everywhere like alter-egos. Stalwart amidst the hundreds of boxes, Haley tries them on, baring her soles and her soul, in a series of scenes framed by blackouts. (more…)

• Doubt: A Parable
• By John Patrick Shanley
• Directed by John Going
• Produced by Olney Theatre Company
• Reviewed by Steven McKnight

“What do you do when you’re not sure?” is a question posed by Father Flynn at the start of John Patrick Shanley’s award-winning play Doubt: A Parable.  Ironically the answer to this question will determine Flynn’s fate when suspicions of child molestation arise in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964.  This deeply-layered work never fully answers the question of his guilt but instead provokes the audience to consider issues of faith, morality, and justice.

Doubt: A Parable is a powerful and compelling drama, worthy of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awards that it received.  (more…)

By Michael Frayn

Directed by Jim Petosa

Produced by Olney Theatre Center

Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

On one level Michael Frayn’s 2003 play Democracy is a political shocker. The intrigue and revelations that iron-lock our attention to the Olney Theatre Center’s new mainstage are quiet and intellectual. What starts as an intellectual chess game becomes a game against destiny. On another level, director Jim Petosa allows this superbly crafted play to become good, solid entertainment.   (more…)

By George Feydeau

Translation by Mawbrey Green and Ed Feilbert

Produced by Olney Theatre Center .
Directed by John Going
Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

No need for Viagra™ in George Feydeau’s 13 Rue de L’Amour, just a mistress or two and a forgiving wife. But you have to put this master of the French farce in his historical place to bask fully in the foolery at the Olney Theatre Center.
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by Larry Shue

Produced by Olney Theatre Center

Reviewed by Tim Treanor

Olney Stage is one of the best theaters in Washington. During this year, I’ve been to three outstanding productions there. So let me come right to the point. After seeing The Foreigner last night at Olney, I’ve still only seen three outstanding productions there.

It’s not that the Foreigner is a bad show. Part of it, in fact, is quite good. Olney’s production values remain high. There is a thunderstorm at the play’s outset which is so palpable you can smell as well as see the rain. Jarett Pisani once again proves himself one of the best young sound designers in Washington. Scenic designer James Kronzer creates a beautiful and convincing set. The performances are generally good, and one of them is outstanding. More on that later.

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