Adapting a classic movie for the stage is normally a reversal of sorts. To adapt a beloved Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, as a “radio play” is unique and presents fascinating possibilities. The setting is a radio studio complete with sound effects, live microphones and a real piano player for the background music.
About Larry Bangs
All My Sons
Strange that a play with the credentials of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons is not produced nearly as often as some of its much better known “contemporaries.” It won the New York Drama Circle Critic’s Award in 1947 beating out O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh and received Tony Awards for best author and best director (Elia […]
Richard III
There remains to this day a good bit of controversy regarding the character of Richard III, the historical figure. The Tudors who laid claim to the throne of England when Richard was killed apparently took it upon themselves to cast the darkest of aspersions over his memory.
The return of P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical to Imagination Stage
As a celebration of youthful exuberance and a medium for entertaining young people, P.Nokio is first-rate. Imagination Stage already has a well-deserved reputation for supporting new playwrights and fostering theatrical experiments that stretch the boundaries of the tried and true. Author/director Psalmayene 24, “Psalm”, is a home grown D.C. area artist. In backing Psalm’s effort […]
The Dumb Waiter and Trifles
Suspense and intrigue reign supreme at the Unexpected Stage Company’s summer offering of two one-act plays. In some ways, pairing The Dumb Waiter, an early work of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, with Trifles, first performed in 1916 and based on a real life murder trial, seems curious and incongruous and in other ways perfectly natural. […]
Paul Gonsalves On The Road
Paul Gonsalves holds a place in the pantheon of jazz artist heroes for the brilliant performance he gave at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956. Fortunately it was recorded and is immortalized in what has become Duke Ellington’s best-selling album of all time, Ellington At Newport 1956.
The City of God
The City of God is an ambitious new opera written, directed and conducted by Josh Armenta who also takes a leading role in the piece.
Pushing Boundaries
While billed as a professional storyteller, Ellouise Schoettler’s performance entitled, Pushing Boundaries, is much more of a politically driven persuasion piece than it is real theatre.
The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
Imagination Stage lives up to, in fact exceeds, its name, its mission and all manner of lofty expectations with their splendiferous production of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.
Romeo and Juliet
The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s production of Romeo and Juliet is a bold and daring adventure that stretches the traditional boundaries of one of the classiest of the classics. In place of a dialogue coach, they retained the services of Gayle Danley whose passion lives with poetry slamming. In her words, slam poetry’s “…use of competition, […]
YPT’s New Play Festival: young playwrights turn life into plays
Over the past seventeen years, the Young Playwrights’ Theater has reached over 8,000 elementary, middle and high school students throughout the greater D.C. area with free, in-depth playwriting and literacy workshops. During that time they have professionally produced 240 plays and performed for more than 83,000 people while employing over 600 area theatre artists.
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is rightfully considered one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” with its dark overtones of anti-Semitism and a feud between a Jew standing obstinately with the Old Testament (“Cursed be my tribe if I forgive him.”) and Christians clinging righteously to the New (“The quality of mercy is never strained.”). Shakespeare does not make […]