Even my culture-savvy bestie from Albuquerque was a little dim on The Pajama Men, the New Mexico improvisational duo of Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez currently showing off their sleepwear—and comedic gifts—at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company throughout the holiday season. “I think I’ve heard of Chavez, but the other guy, I dunno,” she said.
Archives for December 2012
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Edward Albee’s master work has always been treated with great reverence, and is always talked about in hushed tones, indicating it is profound and probing in ways that few other domestic dramas have been. There’s no question it’s a corking good story, and it holds our interest for the full three hours it takes to […]
Derek Goldman takes us inside Sherwood Forest with young Robin Hood and its Sheriff
Even legends have to go through the awkward years. Take that icon – stealing from the rich and giving to the poor – Robin Hood. Celebrated in song and story for hundreds of years, Sherwood Forest’s most famous resident was once a teenager, just like an average guy, with girl problems and troubles at home. […]
The Holiday Guys: Happy Merry Hanu-mas
If the holidays have got you down or you need a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle, why not try a visit with the Holiday Guys? In a relaxed, cabaret setting, two abundantly talented performers charm the stockings right off the mantelpiece and help the Hanukkah bush bloom early this year.
Behind Signature’s dream for Dreamgirls with its director and costumer
Audiences familiar with Arlington’s award-winning Signature Theatre know that size matters, but not necessarily how one would expect. Signature is known for intimate productions that pack creativity and a myriad of talent into shows both new and old. In the past, big classics such as Showboat and Les Misérables have been given re-thought and re-sized […]
Shakespeare Theatre Company is safe in the Lansburgh – for now
A DC Superior Court Judge has issued a preliminary injunction against Lansburgh Theatre Inc. and its principals, preventing LTI from tossing the Shakespeare Theatre Company out of its 7th Street home for refusal to pay LTI’s nearly sevenfold increase in rent. The parties are scheduled for another hearing on January 10, 2013.
Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz is a silly, raucous romp of a show with good intentions and even better execution. If great direction, flash dancing and pelvic thrusting urban choreography would get us through the Pearly Gates, then the Altar Boyz would high step their way in with bumps and grinds to spare.
The Santaland Diaries
Most holiday shows, like holiday kids, turn out to be Naughty or Nice. In the Nice corner are those bright, cheery classics about love, family, and generosity that bring comfort to all ages. In the Naughty corner are your gritty, grinchy adult entertainments, populated by jaded singles, barflies, and bad Santas. Neither sort traffics in […]
Seasonal Disorder
If writing and performing a scripted comedy is tricky – and it is – imagine how difficult it is to be part of a team that must pull laugh-making material out of thin air on demand from its audience.
Christmas Cabin of Carnaween
Well on its way now to becoming an annual Falls Church Christmas tradition, the Creative Cauldron’s production of Christmas Cabin of Carnaween opened last weekend at ArtSpace Falls Church where it will be playing through December 23. Based on an Irish folk tale, this short, warm-hearted little production was developed as a play with music […]
December with a Jewish twist at JCCNV
The children’s play Clever Rachel and a free Christmas day event are the December offerings in the new JCCNV Performing Arts Series from Fairfax, Virginia’s Jewish Community Center.
Jerome Kern: The Land Where the Good Songs Go
Quick! Buy a copy of this recording which was released today and give it to the artistic director of your favorite local theater company that produces its own musical shows. Tell him or her that The Land Where The Good Songs Go should be their next revue, and that they should ask whichever licensing house […]