Olney Theatre Center has just announced an extended run for its holiday production of The King and I. Keith Loria talks with two of the reasons why audiences have so embraced this musical: Paolo Montalban and YoonJeong Seong. —————————- The first time Paolo Montalban takes the stage as the titular King of Siam in Olney Theatre […]
Archives for December 2013
Chanukah Chumbug! Funny lady Jackie Hoffman’s show is this weekend
Whenever theatregoers see Jackie Hoffman on stage, they know laughs are coming. Whether it’s in her three scene-stealing roles on Broadway—Prudy Pingleton in Hairspray, Calliope, Aphrodite in Xanadu or Grandma in The Addams Family—or in any number of her cabaret comedy acts, the kvetching comedienne brings the funny like no other.
The Lyons
“Just because I yell, doesn’t mean I don’t love you,” my mother used to say. If that maxim holds true, then the Lyons must be the most loving—and hoarse–family in existence.
Meeting Misha . A talk with Mikhail Baryshnikov
What could possibly be more exciting for a DC theatre-lover than this? Mikhail Baryshnikov, indisputably the best-known classical dancer in the world, has arrived in town. And it’s not a dance that he is bringing us, it’s theatre. And it’s a piece derived from short stories by that most beloved of Russian theatre writers, Anton […]
Noises Off
Faced with an ailing actress unable to perform on Sunday night, Noises Off director Doug Wilder made the rather unusual decision to pull on a spare dress and play the role himself, venturing onstage with a copy of the script in hand. This turned out to be the best solution anyone could have found. The […]
Win tickets to Royal Opera’s Les Vepres Siciliennes at Angelika Mosaic Film Center
DCTS has partnered with Angelika Mosaic Film Center in Fairfax, Virginia to offer you free tickets to the latest screenings of opera, ballet and theatre from around the world. We have 3 pairs of tickets to the next screenings of the Royal Opera House presentation of Verdi’s grand opera LES VEPRES SICILIENNES, being shown for […]
A (very) Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
“Tragedy tomorrow, Comedy tonight!” And with that opening refrain comes one of the clearest promises in musical theatre history, and perhaps even theatre history. Tonight, you will laugh. Tonight, our only goal is to throw everything we have at you and make you laugh as loudly, as heartily, and as frequently as possible.
Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie
As a reviewer, it’s nice to occasionally cover a show so good that it makes my job easy. Theater J’s return engagement of Woody Sez is just such a show, brimming with toe-tapping music, rich emotion, and powerful messages that illuminate the life and works of American folk music giant Woody Guthrie.
A funny thing happened to these actresses on the way to two Forums
When Jennifer Frankel takes the stage as courtesan Gymnasia in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, she’s following in her mother’s own sandal-clad footsteps, as Diane Coupé was in the original Broadway production of the show back in 1962.
A Civil War Christmas
With A Civil War Christmas, playwright Paula Vogel affectingly achieves her ambitious goal to create an American, non-Anglo worshipping Christmas Carol. There are no figgy puddings, Cratchits or Scrooges, and dancing sugarplums. The halls are barely decked but there are plenty of ghosts.
Making your list for Giving Tuesday
We’ve just been through Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Now it’s time to set aside the sales, and celebrate the second annual holiday of thankfulness known as #GivingTuesday. It’s the time when we all take a few minutes to express our gratitude to those who, throughout the year, make a difference in our lives. We […]
A Family Reunion
A Family Reunion, a mesmerizing modern opera by the late Christopher Patton, a composer of avant-garde new music, hits home where the heart is, but doesn’t hit you over the head with guilt trips for benign neglect. The libretto written by William Moses is about a debilitating illness that comes uninvited and raises the question: […]