From its roots in ancient Greek culture, the story of Electra has withstood the ravages of time. Electra, herself, stands as a bloodstained woman, something of a patron saint of revenge. At the forefront, the story weaves narratives of remorse, regret, and revenge, all the while asking “What is Justice?”.
Archives for October 2017
Speaking from the Heart: Playwright Christina Ham on Nina Simone: Four Women
A play with music, Nina Simone: Four Women meditates on songstress Nina Simone’s transition from a singer to an activist, eventually writing songs that would underscore the Civil Rights Movement.
Mean Girls fan lands Damian role in pre-Broadway Tina Fey musical
“Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by Regina George?” If this line resonates with you, there’s a good chance you are among the many anxiously awaiting the musical version of the smash 2004 movie, Mean Girls, which will stage its pre-Broadway run at the National Theatre in D.C., with a five-week […]
Deb Sivigny’s Hello, My Name Is … (review)
Memory is a home we can’t help but live in. Wandering from room to partitioned room, we reflexively replay the moments that define us in our search of what they mean for who we are.
An Interview with a Revolutionary: Natalia Kaliada of Belarus Free Theatre
There is still dictatorship in Europe. Protestors are beaten in the streets. Artists and activists are tortured in prison. An iron-fisted strong man rigs elections and crushes all opposition. This is not a setup for a dystopian film. This is Belarus 2017.
John de Lancie takes on Trump-inspired satire at Mosaic Theater
John de Lancie is set to star in Mosaic Theater Company’s production of Pulitzer Prize finalist Jon Robin Baitz’ Vicuña & The American Epilogue as Kurt Seaman, a Donald Trump-inspired real-estate tycoon prepping for his final presidential debate.
Transcendent production of Intimate Apparel at Everyman (review)
What wonderful serendipity in Baltimore this October. On one side of Fayette Street, the Hippodrome Theatre recently hosted the musical The Color Purple with heroine Miss Celie realizing her dreams and worth, after a life hard-used and abused by her husband, in her creation of comfortable, practical pants for women.
In Mystery School, Nora Achrati plays 5 people in crisis
Nora Achrati considers herself “very much a character actor.” “I was very intrigued by the premise of Mystery School and the opportunity to play these very different characters,” she says, speaking of the chance to inhabit five colorful characters in Paul Selig’s one-woman show, Mystery School. “I read the script and there was so much […]
Assassins at NextStop Theatre (review)
In a time in American history where gun control, collusion, corporate taxes, labor issues, immigration, war, and threats of violence dominate the daily news, Assassins feels chillingly relevant, and fresh. With its rich, moving numbers, it offers no answers; it’s more a testimony that we reached today through the actions of citizens suffering under those […]
Jesus Hopped The A Train Review: Killers Finding God
Two killers in adjoining prison cages face off about God in this killer revival of one of the earliest plays by Stephen Adly Guirgis, the streetwise New York playwright of such acclaimed recent dramas as the Pulitzer-winning Between Riverside and Crazy and Broadway’s The M-F With the Hat. Foul-mouthed funny and intense and thought-provoking, the […]
A spare yet lyrical Electra from 4615 Theatre Company (review)
“A lot with a little” encapsulates 4615 Theatre Company’s jewel-box production of Sophocles’ Electra. British dynamo Nick Payne’s clean, contemporary translation of the classical revenge-and-reunion drama is a perfect fit for director Stevie Zimmerman’s approach. A few subtle lighting cues, judicious use of a Mediterranean percussion soundtrack, and a small platform with a basin of […]
Synetic imagines The Adventures of Peter Pan (review)
Peter Pan and Captain Hook should see a therapist together. How can they not realize by now that their commonalities are greater than their differences? Both are childish, boastful, and untrustworthy. They distance those close to them. They substitute violence for introspection and romance. They generate chaos in a narcissistic bid to be the center […]