Sometimes Christmas can seem like a rerun of itself: if you like ballet, you see The Nutcracker each year. Melodrama? Ah, that’s always Dickens’ Christmas Carol. If your taste runs to cartoons? The Grinch, of course. And if each you want to see the quintessential Christmas movie, it must be none other than Frank Capra’s […]
Archives for November 2015
Entertaining Mr. Sloane (review)
In a none-too-fashionable London neighborhood in the early 1960s, middle-aged Kath (Claire Schoonover) invites the young Mr. Sloane (Mathew Aldwin McGee) to rent a room in the home she shares with her elderly father Kemp (David Bryan Jackson).
Kiss Me, Kate at Shakespeare Theatre Company
Cole Porter is clearly one of the best lyricists in the history of musical theater, and Kiss Me Kate is by far one of his best works. The words jump and skip across the page and meet his music midair.
Sons of the Prophet at Theater J (review)
Perhaps you’ve noticed that the onstage language used to portray “real life situations” (think plays anywhere from Ibsen to Neil Simon to recent Tony winner All the Way) bears little resemblance to the language you and I use in actual real life situations.
A Lump of Coal from Adventure Theatre MTC (review)
Adventure Theatre’s holiday offering, A Lump of Coal for Christmas, is as sweet as it is warm and will leave you feeling merry and bright.
How Sweet It Is: Jarran Muse channels Marvin Gaye in Motown the Musical
Legendary singer Marvin Gaye is one of DC’s most popular native sons, and his soulful sound helped to define Motown as it was coming to age in the early ’60s. Gaye was responsible for such great tunes as “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and was dubbed […]
Akeelah and the Bee at Arena Stage (review)
Those of us waiting anxiously for new work from playwright by Cheryl L. West can rest easy—she’s still got it and Akeelah and the Bee is worth the wait. Her adaptation of the screenplay by Doug Atchison soars with energy and possibility.
X’s and O’s at Center Stage (review)
Full disclosure: I am a theater-loving football fan. It is in my blood. I was almost born at a Baltimore Colts game. I wasn’t supposed to be born until January so my Mom toddled off to a Colts game in early December as usual. Halfway through the game, she felt the beginning of labor pains […]
Win 2 tickets to the screening of The Winter’s Tale, with Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh, Monday, Nov 30
Experience the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s production of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, starring Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, captured live from the world famous Garrick Theatre in London.
A lavish Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella at The National. (review)
In the theater, when something you love is done well, there’s a sense of euphoria as you leave: “thank goodness they didn’t mess it up.” That is indeed the case, I am happy to report, with Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, now at the National for an all-too-short run through November 29.
A magical Pericles at Folger Theatre (review)
Flute, fiddle, and guitar sounds emanate from a corner tucked in the wings of the Folger stage setting up a kind of folk music-and-theatre production style. Suddenly the stage world grows dark, and then an enormous spray of stars opens up to the vastness of the night sky.
Exploring six degrees of Jay O. Sanders: Unexplored Interior playwright’s brilliant career
“It’s like Kevin Bacon,” Jay O. Sanders said to me. You see, it seemed as if any name that came up during my conversation with the actor-turned-playwright could be traced by Sanders to some connection. “My life, not unlike my life in art, has so many interconnections. I connect to everybody somewhere. Including Kevin.” (Bacon […]