Roaring is a peek at the tumultuous 1920’s as seen through the eyes of a plucky go-getter, Mabel Daniels (Kara Burri). In this fun-filled digital original by Best Medicine Rep’s John Morogiello, we witness history unfold as Mabel romps through the decade finding her own way while history unfolds under her feet. Determined to call […]
About Debbie Minter Jackson
First look at Psalmayene 24’s Dear Mapel from Mosaic Theater
Dear Mapel, written and performed by Psalmayene 24, is a theatrical exploration of his relationship with his deceased father currently in workshop development at Mosaic Theater. Structured as intimate letters to his father, he presents a collage of memories, feelings, and queries to communicate with his estranged father as he ponders – how do you […]
Review: Stories I May Not Tell from Best Medicine Rep
John Morogiello yearns, lives and breathes theater. Stories I May Not Tell is a sneak peek in the mind of a playwright so stuffed with story ideas that characters and scenes cascade out of him in waves of exuberant expressions. Talking to the audience presentation style, Morogiello provides one of the most effective enactments of […]
Review: Rasheeda Speaking from Ally Theatre Company
Can incremental racism make you sick and even a little crazy? Rasheeda Speaking is a fascinating exploration into the premise that no matter how well-intentioned we try to be, the toxic elements of racism are deep seeded and seep through the culture with infectious impact. The affable Doctor Williams (Nick DePinto,) hired Jaclyn with good […]
Review: Crowns at Creative Cauldron
Ladies—dig out your hat boxes, Crowns is back in town! The production at Creative Cauldron is captivating and beautifully relays the meaning, messages, stories and significance of church ladies and their hats. The African ancestry underlying the adornment is highlighted with centerstage attention from the very opening sequence and the soulful rendition hits the mark […]
Review: Comedy of Venice, the shakeup over what’s funny in 18th century Venice
Venetian writers Carlo Goldoni and Carlo Gozzi have a battle royale throwdown in this giddy world premiere, Comedy of Venice. Esteemed writer Goldoni (The Servant of Two Masters recently adapted as the successful One Man, Two Guv’nors) rules the roost in Venice, brandishing innovative approaches to comedy with characters reciting prepared lines from written scripts and performing them unmasked. Gozzi (Turandot) the […]
Review: The Magical Piñata
The Magical Piñata at Keegan Theatre is a fun-filled romp that fits the holiday season with lessons for all to treasure and enjoy. Karen Zacarías presents an incredibly rich story with text and lyrics set to playful music by Deborah Wicks LaPuma. When Danie Rodgriguez as a kid in the opening sequence complains about not […]
Review: Paul Morella in A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas
Gifted actor and storyteller Paul Morella has once again donned the coattails and top hat of Charles Dickens to usher us into the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at Olney Theatre Center. The lobby is decorated to the hilt with holiday lights, trestles of garland winding along banisters and colorful displays of holiday cheer. Morella is right […]
Review: Infinite Tales debuts at 4615 Theatre Company
In this ambitious collection of Irish folktales, four siblings, neglected and mistreated after their mother’s death, are cursed and forced to live in exile for 900 years as swans. Told as part of three mythological cycles, the tales are nestled in each other like Russian dolls. Just when you become familiar enough with one, out […]
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 Powers That Be – A Rock Opera at Venus Theatre
How does one process unspeakable pain in losing a loved one to violence? Sanguine expressions of “thoughts and prayers” have no place in The Powers That Be, a hard rocking contemplation on the anguish that predators and killers leave behind. Deborah Randall has tackled the unthinkable, capturing and fully expressing the pain and misery of […]
Review: Hard Times from Washington Stage Guild
With steam wafting from the factories painted across the backdrop of Washington Stage Guild’s production of Hard Times, it doesn’t take long before issues about industry and social progress take center stage. Hard Times by Charles Dickens considers the importance of pragmatism and facts and the rise of capitalism while grappling with the reality of […]