She was on her way to an annual Christmas day party and never made it. The news of her murder shook all who knew Tricia McCauley as a beloved actress, a precious yoga instructor, a fellow student, treasured family member, or special friend. With her play, Living and Dying with Tricia McCauley, Deborah Randall shares the […]
Review: Engaging Shaw, an engaging romantic comedy
Engaging Shaw is a fun-loving romp of a parlor comedy that hits its mark at Best Medicine. The script by John Morogiello imagines one of the truly most gifted social writers in history confronted with the embodiment of everything he has railed against, in the form of a woman who seems tailor made to fit […]
Review: Fugard’s Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek a lesson for a divided America
This latest work by Athol Fugard, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, is a masterpiece on so many levels. Set in two distinct times, it explores the oppressive impact of apartheid in South Africa and then turns its lens on 20 years later to witness the personal cost and price of “Reconciliation.” Trying to make […]
Review: Marie and Rosetta, a divine musical tribute. Before Aretha, Sister Rosetta Tharpe & Marie Knight
It’s 1946 Mississippi and recording artist Sister Rosetta Tharpe is considering adding a singer to join her show, so she finds the only comfortable spot available for them in the Jim Crow south – a funeral home full of prominently placed caskets! Once she quips about the comfy “deluxe model” and Marie Knight stops fidgeting […]
Review: Douglas Turner Ward’s Happy Ending at Anacostia Playhouse
You may have heard of Douglas Turner Ward’s 1965 Day of Absence, but might not be as aware of his other one-act play that was often performed as a full evening. Here’s a chance to finally catch his comedy Happy Ending, produced by the relatively new All About the Drama Theatre Group in collaboration with Anacostia Playhouse.
Review: The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company
Just when you wondered what else Holly Bass would do with her arsenal of skills in hip-hop, dance, spoken word, poetry and theater, she snaps us into shifting realities. This workshop production of The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company celebrates the strength of black women traveling through time all while embedded in vaudeville silliness.
Addison Switzer reveals how Quotidian is putting the Irish twist to Midsummer Night’s Dream
Addison Switzer and I shared stages back in the early days of the old Clark Street Playhouse, so I was thrilled to explore his take on his role as King of the Fairies, King Finvarra in this “Irish Twist” rendition of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Review: Be a Good Little Widow
Don’t let the unsettling title scare you away. Yes, it’s direct and upfront but the characterizations build and the interactions usher us into precious reflections on life.
Review: Secrets of the Universe at Hub Theatre
Marc Acito’s Secrets of the Universe depicts how, in 1937, our country’s most brilliant mind, Albert Einstein, befriended the one and only Marian Anderson when she had been denied a hotel room because of her race. In today’s New Jack era of increasingly blatant intolerance and overt racism it’s important to see how segregation has […]
Review: Chekhov gets commedia-style Cherry Orchard from Faction of Fools
Faction Fools’ usual comic shtick works wondrously well in The Cherry Orchard. The award winning Fools bring artistry, cultural awareness and salient knowledge with funny bone commedia comedy arts to everything they touch. With Hamlet, Our Town and so many other classics under their belts, why not tackle the passionate throes of frustration, disappointment and human […]
Review: Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt
Adventure Theatre MTC’s production of Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt is a bounty filled with madcap fun and laughter. The fact that it’s part of a seven-theatre nationwide co-commission getting its world premiere here is a testament to the company’s award-winning quality programing.
Witch – new Conner-Smith musical – embraces the accursed word (review)
Witch opens with what appears to be a coven of women in black shiny robes circling the stage holding candles. One periodically reads from a book so iridescent that its pages glow in the dark. Then shift to a present day, and not just any day, but the happenings of the post-election 2017 Women’s March […]