Among the many lines quoted from the films of Mel Brooks, one gem is the one the producer/director/actor himself uttered impersonating King Louis XIV while ogling a voluptuous lady of the court: “It’s good to be the king.” During the 2001 Broadway season is was certainly good to be Mel Brooks when his stage adaptation […]
Archives for June 2015
Capital Fringe – Getting there and getting around
If past Fringe festivals are any indication, thousands of people are preparing to descend on the new festival area of Trinidad/H Street NE neighborhoods July 9 through Aug. 2, where there is virtually no parking.
Sanctuary: A Capital Fringe Peek
I was standing in my kitchen with a baby on my hip, and a toddler on the floor, making brownies, as I watched the Twin Towers fall. I felt sick. But that’s not the moment I decided to do this play. I decided to do it once I realized that even my lone voice mattered. […]
How to Quit Your Day Job: A Capital Fringe Peek
Subtitle: How to Write, Direct and Produce a New Musical by the Writer, Director and Producer of “How to Quit Your Day Job” Step 1) Don’t. It’s too much work. No matter how much you love what you’re writing about – it’s too hard. The rewrite process alone will kill you.
Singer/songwriter Ryan Link at home on the national tour of Once
If one were to have asked Ryan Link what he envisioned for his life while in his early 20s, he would have never answered anything to do with Broadway or the theater, but here he is at an age he describes as “young enough to do it, but old enough to do it right” and […]
The Last Burlesque: A Capital Fringe Peek
Playwright Stephen Spotswood give you a peek backstage at a fading burlesque house. ———————— “Yeah, I think all of this can be represented in the burlesque.” And with that, five pages of dialogue fell to the rehearsal room floor. There have been a lot of moments like that over the three-year journey of The Last […]
Alexandra Petri’s Never Never: A Fringe Peek
When I asked Alexandra Petri if she had any plays in the works that I might want to direct in the Capital Fringe Festival, one of the stories she mentioned was especially intriguing. This story, which has subsequently become Never Never, is that of a man, Alan, who has a deviant sexual preference. But he […]
At Your Service: A Capital Fringe Peek
When President Obama was elected in 2008, the Washington Post ran a story on the front page a few days later about Eugene Allen, who was a former maitre d’ at the White House. I had worked at the White House as a contract butler in the 1980s and Gene Allen had been my boss. […]
Ripple of Hope: A Capital Fringe Peek
My play, Ripple of Hope: One Teacher’s Journey to Make an Impact, is a comedic one-woman show that explores public education issues through my personal experiences as a drama teacher in some of the roughest public schools in New York City. I use personal anecdotes – my love of Hillary Swank as a teacher-hero in […]
The Wedding Party: A Capital Fringe Peek
Beyond the “Girlfriend” with Megan Dominy and Mimsi Janis WARNING: when you see The Wedding Party at Fringe, you will be witnessing a true(ish) story based on real people and real events. Names have been changed to protect the innocent, but the characters and circumstances depicted in the play are all inspired by us—our friends […]
War and Peas shares their secret recipe: a Capital Fringe Peek
Ruthie Rado and Pocket Change Theatre Company shares their recipe for Fringe success. Recipe by Pocket Change Theatre Company . Serves hundreds
Peter Pan now flying under the big top in Tyson’s Corner Center
Most people are familiar with the story of Peter Pan and there have been countless movies, TV shows and theatrical productions that have focused on the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up in one way or another.