Sheldon Epp’s Twelve Angry Men, his directorial debut at the historic Ford’s Theatre, promised a present-day take on the 1954 legal drama that follows jury deliberations in the murder trial of a teenager accused of killing his own father. In interviews leading up to the show’s opening, Epps noted that his production, first staged at […]
Review: Kings probes Washington’s pay-to-play politics
Playwright and Alexandria-native Sarah Burgess is known for her sharp-tongued, rapid-fire dialogue and expositions into the underbelly of American institutions. Burgess’ first play, Dry Powder—focusing on the backstabbing world of avaricious Wall Street bankers—debuted at the renowned Public Theatre in 2016 and gained great critical success. Burgess’ newest play, Kings, delves into the unscrupulous world […]
Review: She the People, Second City’s raucous, racy, irreverent sketch comedy
The patriarchy has fallen. Women are in charge. At Woolly Mammoth, anyway (sorry to get your hopes up). The all-female cast of Chicago’s Second City has taken on the mantle of power and taken over the stage with She the People, a raucous, racy, often irreverent sketch comedy show about the trials and tribulations of […]
Review: Elf the Musical, Olney’s spectacular holiday musical
If there’s one thing you’ll take away from Olney Theatre Center’s Elf the Musical it’s this: the DC musical theater scene has a tremendous talent base. To a one, Elf’s largely ensemble cast give some of the most enjoyable, high-energy and top-caliber performances I have seen in the area. And the performers in this movie-turned-stage […]
Review: The Fever at Woolly Mammoth won’t be the same without you
Sitting in a circle of chairs facing inwards, arranged at the outermost edges of an otherwise empty stage, it is impossible to discern the actors from the audience. There is a playful tension in the air as we eye each other in friendly appraisal—silently placing our bets as to who is most likely “in on […]
Anna Ziegler’s Actually, a provocative counterpoint to the issue of sexual consent
Anna Ziegler’s (Photograph 51) new two-person play Actually sets out as an intimate exploration of one of our society’s most taboo, yet timely, topics—sexual consent among two young people in an age where dating has become synonymous with sex.
Review: Signature Theatre’s Heisenberg is not just another love story
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time playwright Simon Stephens’s two-person play, Heisenberg, is far from your typical love story. When Georgie (Rachel Zampelli), a 40ish American expat first blusters on to the track of a London train station—hair wild about her, overstuffed bag slung casually over disheveled jean shirt—she is halted in her […]
Loesser’s How to Succeed in Business gets a modern update
Director Marc Bruni knew he was taking a risk in revamping the classic Frank Loesser (music and lyrics) musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying for a modern Washington, D.C. audience. Sure, the nearly sixty-year old musical comedy has a pedigree that precedes it—the original Broadway run took home seven Tony Awards.
Review: Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Camelot crosses over to the dark side
The mythical city of Camelot has always been little more than a dream – a forest kingdom of unsurpassed beauty where magicians and enchantresses gleefully meddle in human affairs, knights battle dragons and other fantastical beasts, and maidens swoon accordingly. And ruling over it all, King Arthur and his loyal knights of the round table, […]
Review: new musical Snow Child at Arena Stage
Arena Stage’s world-premiere musical Snow Child tries to be many things at once—the personal story of a married couple struggling to cope with the loss of a child; a fairy tale incorporating elements of magic; a musical homage to the Alaskan wilderness and its local traditions; and a snapshot of a particular time in Alaskan […]
Review: Blaemire’s musical Soon showcases promising local talent at Highwood Theatre
It’s happened: global warming has brought the world to the brink of an environmental apocalypse. Earth’s atmosphere can only support human life for one more year—maybe less. What do you do in your last few months of life?
Tonya Beckman is a sultry, playful Don Juan in Taffety Punk’s production (review)
Molière’s Don Juan—the 17th Century tale of a rakish nobleman whose insatiable libido and incorrigible charm lead him from town to town, deceiving (and deflowering) damsel after damsel to his ultimate doom—is nothing if not timeless. And (dare we say) timely in the #metoo era. Yet Taffety Punk Theatre Company keeps it light and playful […]