Palette 22 in Shirlington Village wants to cultivate artwork. This goal is present on the walls, with every available inch covered with paintings or a mural. There’s an easel and painting station set to a corner by the entrance; the host, as she walks us to our table, teases that the one of the resident […]
Archives for December 2019
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Soon, someone will be caught by surprise. Someone will remember how it feels to fall in love. Someone will imagine themselves on a Broadway kickline. Someone will wipe away tears. Someone will rise to their feet, cheering, and life, for a moment, will be better. This happens for audiences at live theatre. There are nearly […]
Meet the magicians making Washington, D.C. the Magic Capital of America
As the Washington DC area continues to grow as a cultural center for performing arts, one mysterious industry has begun to appear within the District. Seemingly out of nowhere, but really, with a calculated and careful practice, a group of magicians and mentalists have settled into the city and made the magical arts an avenue […]
Review: The Illusionists: Magic of the Holidays. An uneven but fun night at The National
Alakazam! See a middle-aged man regress to a bug-eyed, slack-jawed 10-year-old while watching eight magicians! So it was Tuesday night as the Illusionists brought their latest production to the National Theatre for a “Magic of the Holidays” show that runs through Sunday. But while the moderately entertaining, family-geared evening helmed by director and creative producer […]
Review: The Crater Sisters’ Christmas Special
Just when you thought you couldn’t take another holiday show, up pops The Crater Sisters’ Christmas Special at Best Medicine Rep. Bouncing along with creativity and zest, this Christmas special shows the transcendent power of love and care and slams through the doldrums with holiday cheer. I caught the world premiere last year and went […]
Review: The Magic Duel, a mystifying show for a cynical town
In the genteel Mayflower Hotel, where J. Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson often ate dinner alone together, Mark Phillips and Ryan Phillips are engaged in a magic duel. By “magic duel” I don’t mean one like Doctor Strange had with Kaecilius, so don’t worry about thunderbolts whizzing past your head. I mean two men who […]
1984. A “spiritual happening” when Morgan Freeman preached The Gospel at Colonus at Arena Stage
Editor’s note: The mix of cultures has always provided a rich stew for theater, showing us both the universality of human longing and the diverse ways in which it can be expressed. So, for example, the Classical Theatre of Harlem presented King Lear in an African setting with the great André DeShields in the title […]
Dance review: The Washington Ballet’s Nutcracker
As A Christmas Carol is to the theatre, so is The Nutcracker to the dance. It’s the perennially performed ballet that defines the holiday experience for many families — and provides a dependable revenue stream for many companies. A particular DC tradition these last many years has been Washington Ballet performing a production choreographed by […]
The Infinite Tales. Adapter/director Gregory Keng Strasser harnesses Irish myths for 4615 Theatre
Gregory Keng Strasser first popped onto my radar when I met him while auditioning for 410[GONE] at Rorshach Theatre. At the time, I thought it quite an anomaly, as there were almost painfully few Asian and Asian-American directors in DC, or so it felt. This was a time before Desdemona Chang came over for White […]
What ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ tells us about truth, self-deception and lies
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is playing in a delightful production that you should see, if you can, at Round House Theatre in Bethesda. It is a mystery. It is a paean to the courage of children. And it’s the kind of show that – just for an ecstatically delusional moment […]