At its Sidney Harman Hall, The Shakespeare Theatre has mounted what may be the quintessential production of James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner. The Amen Corner is set in a church: a Black church. What resonance does that have for us as an audience? “..the black church is a very particular creation, having almost nothing whatever […]
Review: World Stages: The Clemency of Titus
In The Clemency of Titus, currently being presented at the Kennedy Center under its World Stages program, we have the most unbelievable plot imaginable given one of the most delightful productions imaginable. This production is well worth a visit. And I look forward to seeing anything else this collaborative produces. The multi-award-winning Havana Lyceum Orchestra […]
Thoughts on Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline. Make no mistake. These people are fighting for their lives
“He was her only child: her baby boy..maybe an A-1 student running, hiding, taking cover. The women gather crying tears that fill a million oceans. It doesn’t matter where you’re living. It doesn’t matter.” – Sweet Honey in the Rock, “The Women Gather” “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, […]
Review: Silent Sky at Ford’s Theatre, a masterwork from Lauren Gunderson
If Silent Sky is an example of what has led Lauren Gunderson to be (as the program for the production states) the “most produced living playwright in America,” it is easy to understand why she would be such. Human beings are hard-wired to consume sweet things. And Silent Sky is a masterwork of a confection. […]
Review: RS/24 at Anacostia Playhouse, a slow groove
RS24 feels as though it takes place in Washington, DC in an era when the city was still known as Chocolate City and Egyptian Musk incense wafted through every record store and head shop in the city. The main character has a reverence for “vintage” music – think Donny Hathaway, Earth, Wind and Fire, Phyllis […]
Sheltered at Theater J raises the question – with terror, isolation and the pressure to assimilate rampant today, can we envision a Providence for ourselves and others
“Are we? Are we human?” – a line of dialogue from Sheltered “Noah said ‘No, no you’re full of sin. God’s got the key and you can’t get in.” – lyrics of “Didn’t It Rain,” a spiritual “She called him everything but ‘a child of god.’ – a familiar saying I used to hear when […]
Review: Black Nativity at Anacostia Playhouse
The message of the production of Black Nativity that is currently playing at Anacostia Playhouse is clearly stated in the words of the gospel composition by Edwin Hawkins: “Jesus Christ Is the Way.” During the second act (or more aptly, the testimony service portion) of this production one fervent celebrant testified: “Talking about religion will […]
Review: The Magical Musical Holiday Step Show from Step Afrika! summons pure joy
“This is how I approach Blackness: It’s celebratory…It’s something that I don’t want to move away from, I want to move closer to.” E. Ethelbert Miller, Washington, DC-based poet activist The internationally renowned and celebrated Step Afrika!, specializes in stepping: “a percussive, highly-energetic art form..[in which] the body becomes an instrument, using footsteps, claps and […]
Review: L’Enfance du Christ, a dazzling, transformative experience from In Series
As I watched the performance of The IN Series’ most recent offering, I thought about starting my review with a warning: “Don’t go to see L’Enfance du Christ unless you want to be transformed.” And that made me think, “Well, why do we go to see theater – some of us repeatedly – if we […]
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 […]
Review: Veils. A moving, inspired look at women from the civil rights era that deserves your attendance
Imagine that you are a child and you are exploring your grandmother’s closets. Or you’re an adult whose grandmother has died and it’s your responsibility to go to their home and sort through her possessions, decide what you want to keep and get rid of the rest. Imagine you find a scrapbook – a dreambook […]
Reflection: IN Series’ Stormy Weather could change how we experience The Tempest forever
“You don’t need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”- Bob Dylan Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a comedy in the sense that it has a happy ending. However, we only get to that happy ending by overlooking, accepting and/or not questioning the cruelty in Prospero’s governance of the island. I have always been […]
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