Vanessa Hudgens is a brief breath of spring amid this harsh winter as the spirited gamine Gigi in a new, Broadway-bound production of the Lerner and Loewe musical Gigi now underway at the Kennedy Center under the direction of Eric Schaeffer.
Archives for January 2015
What shade Sherlock? Jess Goldstein, master of Baskerville’s quick change costumes
Arena Stage’s newest world premiere by Ken Ludwig, Baskerville, is a rollicking comedy where 3 actors play 30+ characters in a jam-packed 2 hours of farcical fun. Heading to the back offices of Arena, I met with Jess Goldstein, whose role as Costume Designer for Baskerville tasked him with creating literally dozens of designs for […]
Jessica Frances Dukes: Booty Candy, The Good Wife and now King Hedley II
When King Hedley II opens at Arena Stage on February 6, Jessica Frances Dukes will appear in the role of Tonya. It’s a special moment in time for the native Washingtonian: her six-year-old self first sat in the audience of that hallowed regional theater. “It’s almost like graduation year for me,” she says as we […]
Penny’s short run reveals promising new opera
The best thing about Washington National Opera’s world premiere of Penny in the Terrace Theatre is that in a rare “tuning of the spheres” another new opera was commissioned and given a respectable viewing and hearing. This is the third year that Artistic Director Francesca Zambello has carried the banner forward in her personal crusade […]
In Love and Warcraft’s Madhuri Shekar on female virginity
I sat down with playwright Madhuri Shekar at Signature Theatre, where her play In Love and Warcraft ran in the ARK until January 25th. We’d done the getting-to-know-you thing: She’s from LA, grew up in India, and moved back to the states to get her MA in Communications and an MFA in playwriting at USC. […]
Chris Henley’s take on nominations night and asks for your 2014 Most Outstanding list
Ah, the annual Helen Hayes Awards announcement ceremony. A room full of hope and tension; the hush as the names are read, broken by the occasional gasp or cheer; the surprising results mixed with the predictable ones; the wide smiles on the faces of the anointed and the quick exit of some of the disappointed.
One Night in Miami a must see at Center Stage
It’s exhilarating when history not only comes to life, but catches fire. That’s what happens in Kemp Powers’ powerful fact-fiction mash-up, One Night in Miami, an East Coast premiere brought dazzlingly to the stage with cinemascope style by Center Stage artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah and a knockout cast.
Bessie’s Blues, a triumph at MetroStage
Nothing can quite prepare you for the seismic impact of this innovative script in the hands of a stellar cast and designers with Bernardine Mitchell at the helm of Bessie’s Blues. Twenty years after its inaugural D.C. production, Bessie’s Blues still has the sass and flair that garnered all those Helen Hayes awards, electrified audiences, […]
2015 Helen Hayes Awards nominees revealed: your sortable guide
Nominations for the 2015 Helen Hayes Awards as announced Monday, January 26, 2015 by theatrewashington.org
How do you see the state of the union? Special dog & pony dc event this Wednesday
President Barack Obama presented a passionate State of the Union address last Tuesday night, but for those who feel that their voices are not being served, theater members of dog & pony dc will lead the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture’s “From Where I Stand: People’s State of the Union” from 7:30 to 9:30 […]
Watch as the 2015 Helen Hayes Awards nominees are announced tonight
January 26 — theatreWashington will announce the nominees for the 2015 Helen Hayes Awards tonight from the Helen Hayes Gallery in the National Theatre. For the third year in a row, theatregoers everywhere can watch as the nominees are announced along with the packed room of hopeful theatre companies via live webcast starting at 7:30pm.
Baskerville, a bit of theatrical fun at Arena Stage
Warning, Sherlock Holmes fans: If you’re a dedicated viewer of CBS’ “Elementary” or consider A. Conan Doyle’s novel “The Hound of the Baskervilles” one of the greatest suspense novels in the English language, you’ll need to reset your thinking for Baskerville.