There is something very special about attending the premiere of a great work, where all discoveries happen in real time. Saturday evening the energy was electrifying, filled with gasps and eruptions of spontaneous applause. The production was indeed stunning from the opening moment.
Archives for July 21, 2015
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s ‘On Opera and the Law’ at Glimmerglass Festival
Two giants were in fulsome display at Glimmerglass Festival on Saturday, both alike in dignity: the notorious RBG (Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) and Roman Republic’s own Cato the Younger. Both stand as well-deserved heroes and staunch defenders of their respective republics.
Ripple of Hope: One Teacher’s Journey to Make an Impact at Capital Fringe
Like many of Karen Sklaire’s unwilling students, I was fully prepared to dislike Ripple of Hope: One Teacher’s Journey to Make an Impact. After all, valiant teacher narratives are all too common and venture into the territory of ludicrous. After all, Sklaire is like a typical musical theatre heroine. Too earnest, too Pollyanna-ish. But also […]
Mine/Field at Capital Fringe
Talking about Big Data has become so popular as to be cliché. Going into Mine/Field from Glade Dance Collective, the worry was that this performance would be all jargon and no substance. But Glade Dance Collective exceeds expectations, delivering a performance that is surprisingly intimate and relevant while shedding new light on Internet research.
Dr. Freeman’s Motivational Inspirational Pill of a Million Secrets at Capital Fringe
In Dr. Freeman’s Motivational Inspirational Pill of a Million Secrets, performer David Klinger is hawking his wares in multiple ways. With this site-specific performance at the Logan Fringe Art Space and the Brookland Metro, Klinger seeks to persuade the audience to get a magical pill. Unfortunately, his pitch isn’t quite refined enough to make the […]
American Moor at Anacostia Playhouse
Was my face red. Watching Keith Hamilton Cobb’s mighty American Moor, I flushed scarlet with the knowledge of the accidental racism of my asking African American actors through the years “Do you aspire to play Othello in your career?” or thinking I was complimenting them with “You’d make a great Othello.”
Une Soirée au Cabaret at Capital Fringe
Une Soirée au Cabaret is a pleasant evening of dance and music. I wouldn’t have gone far out of my way to catch it, but I found it an entertaining and distracting change of pace from the wackier Fringe fare.
How to Be a Good Mom … at Capital Fringe
“You all ready to get depressed?” It’s a lighthearted way to begin a performance, particularly when the title promises a subject matter that’s really less than cheery. That being said, Pamela Meek (a psychologist and mother) brings a certain ease to the presentation of a scarring childhood and rocky adolescence.