Imagine a female Dead Poets Society without the encouraging teacher where “carpe diem” is replaced by “living in the moment.” Following Sarah is skillfully written by Baltimore playwright Rich Espey, who works in themes ranging from the proper role of parents to the value of Buddhist philosophy, and Venus Theatre makes creative use of monitors to display footage […]
Archives for April 2013
The Last Five Years at Signature Theatre
Signature Theatre’s production of Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years starts out almost like a cliché, but then sneaks up on you and gets you deeply involved before you know that it’s happening. The show’s minimal plot focuses on the rise and fall of the relationship between rising novelist Jamie Wellerstein (James Gardiner) […]
After the Helen Hayes Awards – party photos
The annual Helen Hayes Awards show makes good fun out of the business of recognizing Washington-area theatre artists for their creative achievements over the past year. But the awards ceremony itself is only half the fun of the evening, and it’s clear from the excited flood of people that cross the street a little after […]
Big Night for Signature, MetroStage at Helen Hayes Awards
Jacques Brel was alive and living on the stage of the 29th Helen Hayes Awards last night as the MetroStage spectacular swept three of the big musical theater awards, but it was also a dream night for Signature, which garnered four awards, including Outstanding Resident Musical for its production of Dreamgirls.
James and the Giant Peach
Like Dahl’s famous peach, this larger-than-life production teems with fun. A bit of genre anxiety robs the story of some of the stage magic it deserves, but there’s still plenty to savor in Imagination Stage’s reinvention of a well-loved classic.
The Mountaintop at Arena Stage
Arena Stage’s co-production of The Mountaintop, Katori Hall’s play about the last night of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life raises the question of whether to judge a production on how you feel when the curtain falls or the next day.
Opera based on Cather short story next up for Urban Arias
The world premiere of Paul’s Case, an original opera based on a Willa Cather short story, will be UrbanArias’s next production, opening April 20th, the company announced today.
Kinky Boots
The Golden Age of musicals on Broadway has been over for several years now. I think on that we are all agreed (by “all” I mean those of us who were around to revel in it, to appreciate it). Little by little, the standards for what makes a great musical have slipslid to the point […]
Mary T. and Lizzy K. extends to May 5
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces that due to popular demand, the world premiere play Mary T. & Lizzy K., written and directed by Tazewell Thompson, will add another six performances, extending the nearly sold-out run to May 5, 2013.
LBJ play wins Steinberg prize; CATF debut is second place
All the Way, a story about Lyndon Johnson’s frantic efforts to win passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, has won the 2013 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award and $25,000 for playwright Robert Schenkkan, the American Theatre Critics Association announced Sunday night at the Humana Festival.
A Man, His Wife, and His Hat
Elie Wiesel once wrote that the opposite of love was not hate but indifference, and for seventy-five of its ninety minutes this odd, affecting play is a festival of indifference – in particular the indifference of the elderly hatmaker Hetchman (Sasha Olinick), who loves his wife (Kerri Rambow) less than he loves his hat, but […]
Smash 2:9 The Parents
All hail middle-aged character actors! At varying points in this episode, I found myself singing the praises of guest stars, as we got visits from not one but two parents of our leading ladies, offering veteran charms and instant chemistry that elevated everything they touched.