As humans, we fear losing control of ourselves. It is the worst nightmare of many to be infirm in some way, to lose one’s memories and to become entirely a burden on the ones we love. In A Body of Water, Lee Blessing’s latest work, he takes this concept—the terrifying uncertainty of forgetfulness—and makes it […]
On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning
I was really looking forward to Arena Stage’s production of On the Verge. Who wasn’t? Playwright Eric Overmyer has written for some of network television’s most intelligent television dramas, including St. Elsewhere, Homicide: Life in the Streets and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. The immensely gifted Tazewell Thompson – now Artistic Director at […]
Spooky Action goes to Wonderland
Alice In Wonderland – Spooky Action Theater Talented upstart Spooky Action Theater has taken a fall in the rabbit hole that is Manhattan Project’s Alice In Wonderland and have done an admirable job not only with the fluid dialog but an even better job with the extremely fluid movement that twirls and twists before your eyes. A visual feast, […]
Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me – Catalyst Theater Company
It is not an easy thing to produce live theatre in Washington, DC – in fact it is a pretty dicey proposition. One of the hardest parts is finding the needed funds to pay the bills. Catalyst Theater Company has reduced prices at their Capitol Hill space to a ten dollar ticket for every performance. Why am I starting out a review talking about ticket […]
Bold Girls at Keegan Theatre
Ah, sweet Belfast – where the women are women and the men are dead. Keegan Theatre’s latest, Rona Munro’s Bold Girls, begins as a ghost story in an occupied land and ends up as a domestic drama which could have been set in Pinsk, or Peoria. Marie (Ghillian Porter) mourns her dead husband (“a good, […]
Manicures and Monuments from Journeyman Theater
Manicures and Monuments, the latest offering from Journeymen Theater, has some very funny passages but it is not simply a comedy. It is, instead, that rarest of things – a play for grownups, composed of the small epiphanies and simple pleasures that ordinary people have to comfort them against the relentless buffeting of life.
Silent Partners at Scena Theater
Verfremdungseffekt translated from the German is estrangement effect and it is one of the defining principles of Epic Theatre, the stage theory Bertolt Brecht wanted audiences to realize. He wanted them to distance themselves from the production.
Helen Hayes Awards ceremony, 2006
When Greg Kotis backpacked through Europe one summer, he was annoyed to discover that most of the public restrooms were coin-operated. Under similar circumstances, many people would have complained to the American Embassy or their friends back home. Kotis wrote a musical about it.
Godzilla from Landless Theatre
Godzilla is a product of pop culture; some say the birth of pop culture. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view, he has never become a part of my sphere of knowledge. Sure I laughed at the movie clips along with my friends and I even found the whole sci-fi scene rather (How […]
Snaps from the Prom, Helen Hayes Awards party, 2006
The Helen Hayes After Party, 2006
URINETOWN SWEEPS HELEN HAYES AWARDS, 2006
A musical about the price of peeing was the toast of Washington last night, as Signature Theater’s Urinetown won eight Helen Hayes awards for 2006, including the award as best resident musical.
The Gigli Concert at Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Words only go so far in being able to describe The Gigli Concert. The descriptions and abstracts don’t prepare you for the incredible transformation of character in the piece. As such, descriptions do not do justice to the heart and soul of the play. It really has to be experienced.