Staceyann Chin is a memoirist, a spoken-word poet, and a live wire. The best qualities of all three are on display in her autobiographical show, MotherStruck now at Studio Theatre.
The Diary of Anne Frank at Olney Theatre Center (review)
It is a daunting challenge to perform as Anne Frank. Not only is she an historical figure whose face is known worldwide, but she is also one who went through puberty during the events that made her famous. Anne received her diary for her thirteenth birthday and died almost three years later at Bergen-Belsen concentration […]
YOU HAVE MADE A STORY ON MY SKIN (review)
For a show about scars, YOU HAVE MADE A STORY ON MY SKIN is surprisingly comforting. It embodies a beautiful acceptance and even love for the wounded past and scarred present that make us who we are.
The Last Class: a Jazzercize Play (review)
The Last Class: a Jazzercize Play makes the most of its setting. The story is told in real time during an actual jazzercize routine. The cast’s hard-earned sweat is corporeal proof of their characters’ internal conflicts. There are no convenient black-outs or set-changes to catch your breath during. The relentless peppiness of the exercise routine and […]
Jamie and Duncan’s Glorious Suicide at the End of the World (review)
Jamie and Duncan’s Glorious Suicide at the End of the World is like a dream, effortlessly insane and delightful, though light on narrative. Matthew Schott and Alex Garretson wrote the show and star as the two last humans on Earth, Jamie and Duncan, respectively.
The Elephant in the Room (review)
Right Brain Performancelab’s The Elephant in the Room has an ambitious goal: To engage the audience with theatrical epistemology by way of vaudeville, musical theater, ballet, Butoh, clowning… And, when it doesn’t quite work, it’s still making its own point. If that sounds a bit out there, it’s Fringe, through and through.
one half of Waiting for Godot (review)
At first, the MLK Jr. Memorial Library’s Room A-5 dwarfs the audience for Imperial Theatre Live’s production of Waiting for Godot. They come in and sit in clumps of twos or threes, scattered and isolated. It actually seems to echo the isolation of the play’s leads quite nicely. That is, until the audience spends some […]
Reflecting Antigone (review)
The Rude Mechnical’s Reflecting Antigone is true Fringe: Unique and moving, if weighed down by imperfect execution. If you can forgive it for its many rough edges, you will find a solid and important message at its core.
15 Villainous Fools (review)
The Bard has yet another win to tally. 15 Villainous Fools is a meat-and-potatoes show for Capital Fringe, but rarely so well done.
One Mutual Happiness (review)
At the top of the show, David Kessler admits that he has a problem: He cries too much. Tears of every emotion at just about any occasion, but especially at weddings. Little does the audience know, Kessler and the rest of what he calls “Team Happiness” have perfected a dark ritual called One Mutual […]
The Computer That Loved (review)
Dr. Erik Mueller might have the most fascinating resume in all of Fringe this year, but The Computer That Loved’s meditation on his love life is still a work in progress.
Petunia and Chicken (review)
Petunia and Chicken from Animal Engine Theatre Company transforms the basement of a synagogue into the vast and harsh plains of Nebraska, two actors into a huge and colorful cast, and another night in the nation’s capital into an oasis of wholesome and delightful theatre.