Black People’s Houses might be this play’s title if it were a play written today and set in DC. That title would probably give a better sense of how provocative and satirical it is. Concerned, as it is, with slum landlords and gentrification, it is much more relevant and sharp than the creaky word “widower” […]
Rapture, Blister, Burn review
Two plays in one: a well-observed drama about a woman’s mid-life crisis, and an academic and occasionally comedic delve into the complexities of feminist theory. Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions’ staging of Gina Gionfriddo’s 2012 Off-Broadway smash is too lax to keep the two halves knotted densely together. This Rapture, Blister, Burn – a play described […]
Lakeboat (Capital Fringe review)
Lakeboat was thought controversial when it debuted 40 years ago, but now it seems almost quaint, verging on classy. The very first script by David Mamet, it features many of the hallmarks of his style: vulgar language, clipped and repeated dialogue, and men being macho and misogynistic.
Ten Principles )'( – Senior Year (Capital Fringe review)
A choose-your-own-adventure review – pick one of the following: a) I have little or no idea what the Burning Man festival is; b) I know about Burning Man, but have never been; c) I am a Burner.
In the Company of de Sade (Capital Fringe review)
Satire is a noble pursuit, but it can also be used as an excuse. Regardless of what a would-be satirist puts onstage, if you dislike it, he can say that your negative reaction is the point. “I found it tasteless,” you might say, and the satirist can say, “it’s a satire on tastelessness.”
Back to the 70s. When We Were Young and Unafraid (review)
“All women should see this show,” said a male audience member in the lobby, enthusiastically. “What about the men?” his female companion asked. “Well, it’s not for men,” he offered, to which the three women standing around him immediately said, “ALL MEN SHOULD SEE THIS SHOW.” “Definitely,” he added.
Perfect timing for return of Perfect Arrangement at Source (review)
In its tenth anniversary, CulturalDC’s Source Festival has chosen to revisit one of its previous hits to celebrate, and has made the prime choice of Perfect Arrangement for this honor. It’s a for-sure laugh-riot, this 1950’s-set sitcom for the stage, and it has the cleverest of premises: Two gay men and two lesbian women hiding […]
Protest, Havel’s 1978 satire, shockingly familiar (review)
“Can this nation be the same one that until recently behaved so magnificently?” wrote Václav Havel, in 1978, in Czechoslovakia. That unnaturally relevant line is spoken by a character in his play Protest, currently being performed by the Alliance for New Music-Theatre. That is only one of many, many lines that will prove shockingly familiar […]
Constellation Theatre reprises Mary Zimmerman’s Arabian Nights ten years later (review)
The Arabian Nights is perhaps the quintessential Constellation Theatre show, and therefore ideal for them to revisit ten years after they first presented it, as part of their anniversary season. Directed by founder Allison Arkell Stockman, it would serve well as an introduction to the popular company for unfamiliar Washingtonians, and also offers a chance […]
The Fantasticks still charms, if you pardon its age (review)
There may be no local theatre with a house style more suited to The Fantasticks than Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. Before every show, and during every intermission, representatives of the company come up on stage and welcome the audience into the show, as neighbors and friends.
Back to Methuselah concludes at Washington Stage Guild, 3 years after its start (review)
Perhaps we can call this ‘slow theatre,’ as an analog to the ‘slow food’ movement. George Bernard Shaw’s epic five-act Back to Methuselah is now being concluded, a full three years after Washington Stage Guild began presenting it. Even more so than Shaw’s other works, it is a drama mainly composed of ideas, typically expressed […]
Synetic’s wordless Taming of the Shrew, take 2 (review)
A viscerally entertaining romp about a grieving woman tortured until she falls in love with her captor, Synetic’s wordless-Shakespeare adaptation of Taming of the Shrew is a quality showcase for the company’s famed high-energy theatrics. First produced in 2012, it returns to the stage with most of the original principal cast, a few updates to the […]