For Capital Fringe this year, I have adapted The Bacchae by Euripides. I am true to the source material, except for a surprise in the beginning and the end, where I bring in the work of another famous playwright. I can’t say any more than that, but I hope to delight the audience. My approach to […]
Archives for July 8, 2019
Capital Fringe show, Veneer of Beauty, presents Sobriety’s family 15 years later
This play is the second in a trilogy of plays, all with a theme of domestic violence and its horrible multi-generational scourge on one family. The first play, Sobriety of Fear, was a one-person show. The characters are LeRoy, the father and husband, Asha, the wife and mother, and Rudy, their little 4-year-old son. LeRoy’s […]
Would You Rather… in this Capital Fringe play, the ice breaker answers come to life
After answering ice-breaker questions, three strangers mysteriously end up on a deserted island, premised on the classic “would you rather” scenario. Now all their answers are coming to life. In this magical realism tale, these strangers face the consequences of their choices and learn new truths about who they are. The world premiere will be at […]
Before the Fall author on life, death, and stripping away the small stuff
So, I was reading “Norwegian Wood” by Haruki Murakami (yes, I also roll my eyes when someone casually mentions they were reading Murakami) and there is this beautiful line: “Life is here, death is over there.” and it really hit me hard. I thought about it a ton, about death and what we think about it. […]
Best late night hangouts on DC’s SW Wharf
Looking for a place to gather with your fellow Fringe-goers after an evening show? Want somewhere where the “last call” arrives just a little bit later? Looking to spend less than a small fortune on drinks? The Wharf has plenty of places for you to enjoy haute-cuisine and stylish cocktails. For the more budget-conscious Fringe […]
Review: Chester Bailey at Contemporary American Theater Festival
“If there’s one thing reality can’t tolerate,” says Dr. Phillip Cotton (Reed Birney), “it’s competition.” But you knew that already, didn’t you, Mr. or Ms. Avid Theatergoer, you fiction-lover, you believer in hope against the odds. You know what the struggle is, against the sodden day-to-day, against the crashing disappointments. You’ve given reality the finger, […]
Review: Antonio’s Song: I Was Dreaming of a Son at Contemporary American Theater Festival
Antonio’s Song is a masterful collaboration between two distinguished artists—some may remember Dael Orlandersmith’s emotionally charged Yellowman that tore through Washington D.C. some years ago, or her Stoop Stories. Her lyrical language and raw emotional style blend perfectly with the basic story of co-writer Antonio Edwards Suarez in Antonio’s Song: I Was Dreaming of a […]
Fringe show reveals what not to say to someone in mourning: You Don’t Have a Copyright on Your Mom’s Legacy
I was, am and always will be a mama’s boy. Not in a creepy, Norman Bates, refer to her as “mother” with dead eyes way, but just for the simple fact that my mom and I shared a beautiful, positive and close relationship that has always been a loving rock in my often chaotic life. […]
Capital Fringe show The Hound: Idle Hands in a Devil’s Playground
One evening, in September of 1922, legendary horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft, visited an old Brooklyn graveyard and took home a small souvenir: a chip from a tombstone dated 1747.  Later, he mused in a letter: “What thing might not come out of the centuried earth to exact vengeance for his desecrated tomb?  And should it […]
Review: My Lord, What a Night at Contemporary American Theater Festival
The great opera contralto Marian Anderson (Angela Wildflower), has been denied accommodations at the Nassau Inn because of her race. So instead she stays at the home of one of her enthusiastic fans, Professor Albert Einstein (John Leonard Pielmeier). Ms. Anderson is denied an opportunity to give a concert at Constitution Hall by its owner, […]