Nominations for the 2013 Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards were announced today.Three productions first seen here were among the honorees: Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? at Arena Stage, Holland Taylor’s solo show Ann, the story of Governor Ann Richards presented at the Kennedy Center, and Carolee Carmello’s portrayal of Aimee Semple McPherson in […]
Archives for April 2013
Ghost-Writer, achingly subtle and superb
Michael Hollinger’s Ghost-Writer may have been inspired by the relationship between Henry James and his secretary Theodora Bosanquet, but there is something delectably Jane Austen-y about the story and its decorous emotions. The play, receiving a primrose-pretty production at MetroStage under the assured guidance of director John Vreeke, presents one of those achingly subtle romances […]
A mesmerizing Pas De Deux at Studio
If relationships can be traced in the landscape of two joined bodies, then the two plays in Pas De Deux explore those landscapes with an honesty that is both mesmerizing and, at times, disturbing to watch. From the opening moment, when Emily Townley and Jens Rasmussen explode onto the stage in a violent wrestling match, […]
The Elder Statesman
For all the imposing bang of Thomas Stearns Eliot’s blasts of modern poetry (The Wasteland, Four Quartets), his “drawing-room” plays, while also flush with important, complex ideas, tend to the whimper. This is true of Eliot’s last, the rarely performed The Elder Statesman, an autumnal rumination on one’s life lived, currently at Washington Stage Guild.
Free viewing of the New York Philharmonic’s Carousel – ends Friday
Act quickly – you only have a few days to view one of the greatest concert presentations of a musical that I’ve ever seen … the New York Philharmonic’s staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.
Bay Theatre to Close Operations May 12
Bay Theatre Company, a twelve-year-old Annapolis-based company, announced last night that it is suspending operations effective May 12, 2013. Board of Directors President Barbara Brown blames an inability to obtain a long-term lease on an “appropriate” theater space for the company’s demise. “We have spent a year looking for appropriate space, but were unable to […]
The Personal(s)
You are in a dimly lit bar, with checkered tablecloths on tiny tables. A small stage is to your left. This is where the magician will appear. The place seems made for magicians. The walls are festooned with their posters – for Houdini, certainly, but also for obscure magicians with unprepossessing names: Hermann the Great; […]
Drama Desk 2013 nominees include shows with ties to the Washington area
The 2013 Drama Desk nominees were just announced by Linda Lavin and John Lloyd Young at 54 Below. Among the productions receiving multiple nominations which Washington audiences have been able to see are Giant by John LaChiusa, which debuted at Signature Theatre in 2009 and Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the […]
Wit’s End gets top pick for The Amazing and Marvelous Cabinets of Kismet
Two weeks ago I ducked into a local movie theatre to attend a new, big-budgeted film about an art heist. Theft, highly-coveted works of art, talented actors; what could possibly go wrong? I walked out of said film a mere hour into the disaster, leaving my friend to laugh at the screen and later bemoan […]
Buyer & Cellar
Playwright Jonathan Tolins has managed to take material that could have inspired a campy gay play limited in its appeal to those whose idea of first class entertainment is a Saturday night sendup on Fire Island, and extracted from it a fully rounded one-man play that adds genuine wit, a generous helping of insight, and […]
Smash 2:13 The Producers
So, it turns out, Smash has been sly like a fox this whole dang time. Either there was a serious course-correction paying off here, or I watched tonight the climax of a carefully-laid story in which I was actually supposed to hate Jimmy the entire time and think Kyle was a sweet magical angel. I’m […]
Imagination Stage announces its next season
NEW JUICY-JUICE IN OLD BOTTLES Bethesda-based Imagination Stage will feature some familiar stories given brand-new contexts in 2013-2014, the company has announced.