The opposite of screaming is silence. That silence can contain a multitude of meanings. If you see something wrong, and you do not speak up, silence is complicit. If you represent the dead, whose voices have been extinguished, silence is the language of the living. If you face livid rants from politicians, threats from NRA […]
Archives for March 2018
Bats!, a ramble through the brambles of losing your mind (review)
Given a Sharpie and a table of paper at Bats!, Submersive Productions’ new show, participating audience members are given directions to write a haiku on the subject of bats, I penned the below, aware that haiku does not traditionally rhyme and its 5-7-5 meter was more than a bit skewed. But I also figured, with a […]
Review: The Wiz at Ford’s Theatre
Much like its storied source material, (Frank L. Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), The Wiz is an American cultural institution. Seven Tony Awards in 1975. Numerous revivals. A 1978 film adaptation turned cult-classic. And a live staging on NBC in 2015. Yet, I’ve never seen it and chose, as I often do, to walk […]
In the Heights makes a brief stop at the Kennedy Center (review)
Referenced more now as “the first show from the guy behind Hamilton,” the decade-old In the Heights created by current cultural darling Lin-Manuel Miranda burst spirited and joyful during its limited run at the Kennedy Center.
Review: Angels in America. Broadway revival just as compelling, just as timely
“The great work begins!” Prior Walter, a character with AIDS who stays defiantly alive, proclaimed at the end of Angels in America when it debuted 25 years ago on Broadway. By the time Prior says it again, now portrayed by Andrew Garfield, in the first Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s ambitious, unruly, remarkable play, we […]
Reporting from Monologue Madness 2018
Holding onto a gleaming crystal trophy, actor Vaughn Midder beamed as he stood at the center of the Miracle Theatre’s stage. He had just been named Monologue Madness 2018 Champion, winning a wealth of prizes including $1,000. “It’s not easy for us to do this kind of work. To make [acting] our priority and our […]
Review: Newsies at Toby’s Dinner Theatre
Newsies, just opened at Toby’s Dinner Theatre, takes us back to 1899 New York City, when newspapers were sold on street corners by impoverished newsboys to people who trusted the “papes” to tell them what was happening in the world. A time when newspaper owners were so politically powerful that a governor could be counted […]
Meet the winners of Monologue Madness 2018
Last night at the Miracle Theatre in DC, actor/produced Edward Daniels led 32 contestants through the eight performance brackets of Monologue Madness, all vying to take home the crystal Monologue Madness trophy, $1,000, and an iPad mini. We’ll have a full report tomorrow, but here’s a first look at the 2018 Champion and Runner-Up. and […]
Cara Gabriel, actor Christian Montgomery and design team for Alexander and the terrible, horrible … day at Adventure/MTC
Many times theatres have faced crises, and, like the plucky heroes of movies, their workers band together to overcome the obstacles. The solutions may not always be pleasant. The answers may not always be the best. But they work.
Review: Frozen on Broadway
What most engaged me about Frozen, if I’m honest, is Sven the reindeer. This said more than I initially realized about the Broadway musical adaptation of the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
Translations: Director Matt Torney on what Brian Friel’s play, set in 1830s Northern Ireland, has to say to us today
When Studio Theatre decided to stage Irish master Brian Friel’s Translations this season, the timing seemed like a perfect fit for Studio’s Belfast-born associate artistic director Matt Torney to direct. “I am from Northern Ireland and Brian Friel is our greatest writer,” Torney says. “He passed away recently, so he was very much on my mind […]
The Winter’s Tale at Chesapeake Shakespeare (review)
The earliest recorded reference to The Winter’s Tale is a 1611 performance at the Globe. Letting my romanticism momentarily override my scholasticism, I find so many elements of the play that echo Shakespeare’s own later life. If it was indeed written around 1611, it would mark 14-15 years (not 16, alas that would be just too […]