If theatre were judged like diving with a degree of difficulty factor, a play by British playwright Caryl Churchill would be akin to a reverse twisting three-and-a-half summersault dive. Therefore, the fact that Lumina Studio Theatre would even take on two such challenging works with a cast featuring several young actors is cause for applause. […]
Archives for March 2014
Lauren Gunderson’s living the playwright’s dream
Lauren Gunderson, at 32, is a very busy playwright. She has two plays being produced in multiple theatres around the country, another, based on artist Rudolf Bauer, is heading for New York. She has rehearsals and openings to attend, and was just named the keynote speaker for the American Theatre Critics Association’s annual meeting at […]
Ann Randolph on her trip to Loveland
“I can’t tell you how incredibly, outrageously funny this show is.” So said Ann Randolph about her solo show Loveland, which recently opened at Arena Stage as part of its Kogod Cradle series.
Chimes at Midnight with Stacy Keach, week 3
In this installment, Stacy expounds on the actor’s craft. Specifically, his thoughts and intentions on playing the role of Falstaff. -DL Falstaff, like Richard III or Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is great fun to play. When performed in both Henrys together, however, the role is a heavy load. Part 2, in particular, is […]
Morning, Miranda
It’s a little freaky, brothers and sisters, to see Stephen Spotswood’s Morning, Miranda only a few days after viewing Ann Randolph’s excellent Loveland in Arena. It is a rare thing to see two plays about women hauling their mother’s ashes across the country during the course of a single season, let alone in a single […]
Tender Napalm
I’d like to say that Philip Ridley’s new play Tender Napalm tells the story of two lovers trying to help each other recover from a traumatic event, possibly the death of their child, perhaps in a terrorist attack; but to say the play tells the story of anything is to ignore what the play suggests […]
The Carolina Layaway Grail
The newly-christened Welders playwright collective has burst confidently onto the DC theater landscape with its daring debut of The Carolina Layaway Grail. In a cozy side room of the Atlas Performing Arts Center, the Welders have blended country soul, big city hustle, and magical realism into an enchanting tale of love and self-determination. This assured […]
Stacy Keach and Christopher Henley discover what they have in common
“When I started,” Stacy Keach told me, “my goal, my objective was to try to combine pop art with classical work. Like Leonard Bernstein with music, or André Previn. Agents and producers don’t like that. They want you to be one thing or the other.”
Loveland
A good laugh can lift up the harshest material, and Ann Randolph’s Loveland keeps afloat with constant humor despite dealing intimately with death.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at World Stages
Rarely does a reviewer get to indulge in a second viewing of a production. In this case, director Tom Morris’ splendid production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is well worth multiple viewings. The Kennedy Center has made a tremendous contribution to D.C. audiences by bringing this production to its World Stages Festival after it was […]
Win tickets to Noel Coward’s Private Lives, Tuesday, March 25
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.
The Elixir of Love
The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore) is much more than an intoxicating revival. Stephen Lawless strips The Elixir of Love of any sugar-coated decor and cartoonish exaggeration and transforms it into an over-the-top comedy, refreshing, thought-provoking and profound in its insights about the maturation of human love.