LIFE: A Comic Opera in Three Short Acts is neither quite an opera nor a musical; it is not a really a comedy or a drama. It’s a bit of everything, using classical music, Broadway, doo-wop, and more to tell its story. Neal Learner’s musical, previously presented as a reading with Monumental Theatre Company, returns as […]
Love and Other Lures
An hour of music—wonderfully moody ballads, bluesy numbers, and almost twangy folk songs—is always an hour well spent. Even if that music largely focuses on supernatural themes. Monsters to be exact. Which is the specialty for Dr. Dour (Toby Mulford) and his plucky cellist, Peach (Rachel Spicknall Mulford).
Contractions (Capital Fringe review)
At this point, there’s an entire genre of books, TV shows, and films about bad bosses and the bizarre vagaries of corporate workplaces. One of the perhaps lesser-known but extremely effective installments in this tradition is British playwright Mike Bartlett’s Contractions, which has been given new life in a spare but precisely effective production at […]
Passing – A Stage Play (Capital Fringe review)
Kukui Kikuyu Productions’ Passing – A Stage Play is a fascinating psychological character study in which secrets revealed inevitably lead to a shockingly tragic end which deserves a long life beyond Fringe.
The Kind of Thing That Would Happen (Capital Fringe review)
What is truth? It’s a big question to explore in 50 minutes, but Agora Dance’s The Kind of Thing That Would Happen attempts to do exactly that. The result is a beautifully executed, if overly intellectualized, piece of modern dance-theatre.
Comedian Elected to Town Council in New Jersey (Capital Fringe review)
Ask yourself: how much do you need to know about the inner workings of local government in Flemington, New Jersey? If the answer is “I’d rather know about Flemington, NJ than what’s going on in town in DC right now”, then this may be the sort of soothing show you’re looking for.
Lost Teeth (Fringe review)
How far are we willing to go to seek happiness? That’s the intriguing premise of Jona Tarlin’s Lost Teeth, a world premiere production from New York City’s Blowout Theatre Company which has a promising start but ultimately fails to satisfy.
The Laramie Project (Capital Fringe review)
One of the most frequently performed plays in America today, The Laramie Project, is now on view at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, where the bare stage of the Lang Theatre has been transformed, for the space of Fringe, into the town of Laramie, Wyoming. Laramie, as most people know, is where one of the […]
Paper (Capital Fringe review)
A cluttered desk, a twenty-minute appointment, a student and a teacher, and what ensues are cerebral twists and turns, well beyond the subdued, weightiness of departmental office hours. We inhabit this narrow space and learn about the teacher and about the student. The student objects to insensitive classroom remarks and is averse to a proposed […]
Tiresias’ Tits (Capital Fringe review)
Tiresias’ Tits is a self-described satirical, surreal, burlesque (fun fact – the author of the ur-source material, The Breasts of Tiresias, Guillaume Apollinaire, is responsible for giving us the word “surrealism”) and it lives up to every single one of those words. Erin Teachman reviews for DC Metro Theater Arts
Relese: A Rock Opera (Capital Fringe review)
An exciting aspect of CapFringe is getting a sneak peek at a new show in the first stage of development. Such is the case with DC Dogs’ Release: A Rock Opera, now playing at the Gallaudet University Elstad Auditorium. Andrew Baughman reviews for DC Metro Theater Arts
To Be or Not To Be in Love – That Is the Question?
Sitting in the audience of To Be or Not To Be In Love – That Is The Question?, a one-woman cabaret starring writer-choreographer Beverly Merella, might be the modern equivalent of attending a Florence Foster Jenkins concert. In spite of more than a few missed notes, the dynamic Ms. Merella charms the audience with her vibrant […]