On the surface, The Letters refers to communications written by the beloved Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky to his male lover – letters so full of explicit “degenerate” material that the government gets involved to “purge” and clean them up.
Archives for May 2015
A smashing, trashy Cabaret at Signature (review)
The Kit Kat Club roars to life with trashy, Weimar-era decadent splendor in Signature Theatre’s smashing production of Cabaret, directed and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner.
Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea – the most important play on DC stages (review)
There are dreams—and then there are Dreams. Small dreams spring from the random synaptic firing triggered by the stresses of the brain’s day: dreams of teeth falling out or playing the piccolo nude in front of a group of strangers. But then there are other kinds of Dreams: prophetic, true and real in the deepest […]
Pallas’ Major Barbara gets minor 30’s remake (review)
One great thing about theater is that it is iterative, constantly being forged and reforged so it has immediate relevance to our social realities and problems. Major Barbara from Pallas Theatre Collective, a slight redux of George Bernard Shaw’s classic, aims to do just that by setting the play in DC during the 1930’s Bonus […]
Cheers for Jumpers for Goalposts at Studio Theatre (review)
The talent of Tom Wells, regarded as one of Britain’s brightest young playwrights, is well-displayed in Jumpers for Goalposts on stage now at Studio Theatre. Wells has the rare ability to find humor in ordinary people and here he mines the comedy in the real-life difficulties of his characters with wit and affection. You might […]
Marley at Center Stage – righteous rhythms, spiritual power, potent message
The world premiere musical Marley, based on the reggae giant Bob Marley, is jamming with righteous rhythms, spiritual power and a potent message about love, justice and revolution.
It’s the best of times for Alex Mills, starring in Synetic’s Tale of Two Cities
“People are going to see a full drag transformation on stage. No smoke and mirrors.” Alex Mills considered this for a second, and then qualified: “Well, there will be mirrors.” He was speaking to me during a break from technical rehearsals at Synetic Theatre, where he will play the lead role in A Tale of […]
Toby Mulford takes on leadership of Faction of Fools, Matt Wilson moves on
Faction of Fools Theatre Company announced last night that Toby Mulford has become their new Producing Artistic Director. ‘He’s a better fool than I am’, is the idea behind the welcoming message from Faction of Fools Theatre Company’s founder and now past Artistic Director Matthew R. Wilson.
Censoring history. Lynskey and Russotto team up for provocative The Letters at MetroStage
An office in 1930’s Soviet Union is the setting for John W. Lowell’s The Letters, a play based on the real life Soviet efforts to edit the sexually frank letters of composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, on stage now at MetroStage in Alexandria, VA.
Once on This Island at Creative Cauldron (review)
It’s worth the trip to Falls Church, VA to see how Creative Cauldron has managed to fit Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s beloved Once on This Island into the tiny ArtsSpace.
The Blood Quilt by Katori Hall, a must-see at Arena Stage (review)
The Blood Quilt, being given its world premiere at Arena Stage, is a loving portrayal of sisters battling their way through deep-seated, sometimes painful memories to get to a better, brighter reality. Four sisters return to their old homestead off the Georgia coast, and work their way through the fabric of life, chance, and their […]
Barfield’s The Call at Theater J (review)
Amazing how people can talk themselves out of doing the right thing. Mix a heap of overthinking and a dash of inertia and you can warp morality into anything that fits your interest or mood. Why, I can’t give that homeless fellow a quarter. That would encourage a culture of entitlements.