When playwright Josh Harmon’s Bad Jews played Studio Theatre in 2014, the production set box office records and multiple extensions. A remounting of the show the following year saw similar success. Studio was more than thrilled to get a chance to showcase Harmon’s latest work, Admissions, a play that will force white liberals to examine […]
Archives for January 2019
Hub Theatre is on the move
The Hub Theatre, which has been performing for the previous ten seasons in Fairfax VA’s New School on Silver King Court, is leaving that venue immediately and will be performing their 11th season out-of-house, the company announced today. Hub will perform its next show, The Burn, in Herndon, VA’s NextStop Theatre. The Burn is scheduled […]
Is a black actor capable of playing Hamlet? That was a raging question in DC in 1951.
[Editor’s note] In 2018, when Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s Hamlet, set in West Africa and directed by Simon Godwin, arrived at the Kennedy Center, Paapa Essiedu played the title role to unanimous praise. According to Lee Seymour of Forbes, it was the first time the RSC had cast a black actor in the role, considered one of […]
Washington National Opera looks to the future with 3 short operas in development
Snow could not deter the faithful from The John F. Kennedy Center last weekend where we saw an extraordinary commitment of artists and audience members gather as part of this year’s American Opera Initiative from Washington National Opera. Many came bringing skills and focus to give respectful consideration to four pairs of composers-and-librettists and their […]
Taking Up Serpents review. Haunting new opera about Pentecostal snake handlers
Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative, now in its seventh season, annually holds a mini-festival and commissions a composer-librettist team to create an hour-long opera and raise up American unsung voices and stories. Nothing – short of reopening the government – could be more timely. Despite the almost universal cry currently from the lips of […]
Director Sheldon Epps: Looking at Twelve Angry Men through the lens of the killing of Trayvon Martin
“About four years ago, I did my first production of this show at Pasadena Playhouse and what prompted it was some serious and robust conversations about race that were going on in our country that were prompted by the Trayvon Martin situation,”director Sheldon Epps said, as he prepares for the opening of Twelve Angry Men at […]
Thank You, Dad review. A searing solo performance about Jim Jones and blind faith
Furloughed? Sick of snow? Cheer up. You could be a member of the People’s Temple. The Reverend Jim Jones (Lance Bankerd) and his tragically devoted followers are back from the jungles of Guyana and as ghoulishly riveting as ever in Rapid Lemon’s world premiere production of Thank You, Dad, a three-act, documentary style play about […]
Theatre closings due to snow: Sunday, Jan 13
Before heading out to see a show this afternoon or evening, be sure to check with the theatre. Includes update: To date, we see notices that American Moor at Anacostia Playhouse and Kleptocracy at Arena Stage have been cancelled for today, Sunday, January 13. Also cancelled, Pointless Theatre’s preview of Visions of Love at Dance […]
School of Rock discounts for furloughed federal employees at The National
The National Theatre is joining other theatres and businesses in offering discounts to furloughed federal employees with discounted tickets to the Broadway smash, School or Rock – The musical. The National is offering discounts as high as 30% in the Orchestra (not including Premium Seats), Mezzanine and front Balcony sections for these performances: Wednesday, January […]
Jojo Ruf, Welders’ co-founder, named Managing Director of Theater J
Jojo Ruf, a co-founder of the Welders Playwriting Collective and the Coordinating Producer of DC’s Women’s Voices Festival in 2015, will take the reins as the new Managing Director of Theater J, the company announced Wednesday. Ruf succeeds Rebecca Ende Lichtenberg , who left Theater J to take on identical responsibilities at Studio Theatre. Ruf’s career […]
Choir Boy review. Broadway newcomers in Tarrell Alvin McCraney’s powerful, fresh coming-of-age play
Pharus Jonathan Young is black, gay and gifted, like the playwright who created him, Tarrell Alvin McCraney, best known for the Oscar winning film Moonlight. McCraney is making his Broadway debut with Choir Boy, his sweet, sad, substantive play. With nimble direction by Trip Cullman and a lively cast mostly of Broadway newcomers performing some […]
Furloughed? Arena Stage and WIT offer free performances
Arena Stage is making a limited number of tickets to its productions of Kleptocracy and The Heiress available for free to furloughed Federal employees, Arena Stage informed DCTS today. In addition, Washington Improv Theatre will be offering free improv classes for furloughed folks on Monday, January 14 — the date of the first missing paycheck […]