Can incremental racism make you sick and even a little crazy? Rasheeda Speaking is a fascinating exploration into the premise that no matter how well-intentioned we try to be, the toxic elements of racism are deep seeded and seep through the culture with infectious impact. The affable Doctor Williams (Nick DePinto,) hired Jaclyn with good […]
Review: Dhana and the Rosebuds, an intriguing but unsuccessful drama on the plight of Syrian refugees
In theory, Dhana and the Rosebuds, a theater-dance hybrid about a Syrian emigree seeking her refugee grandmother, should be compelling. It is topical. Its wedding of abstract and ritualized movement, set, and prop design with an ever-so-current story is bold. It has two lead characters we reflexively sympathize with and root for. And its conscientious, […]
Review: The War Boys, a hard look at vigilantes at the border
Ally Theatre’s production of The War Boys, performing at Joe’s Movement Emporium, tells a story that was written for another time but is very much being lived now as we face a crisis at the border that seems to test our national identity, a president that appears to want to sow discord amongst his populace, […]
Ally Theatre Company announces the three plays in its third season
On the heels of the announcement that their company will receive the John Aniello Award as Washington’s outstanding emerging theater company of the year, Ally Theatre Company has announced a three-play season which promises to, in the words of Managing Director Ivana Alexander, “creat[e] conversations at the intersection of borders and belonging.” The Ally season […]
Review: The Head That Wears The Crown workshop shows promise for teen drama
Ally Theatre Company’s production of The Head That Wears The Crown takes on intense subject matter, folding together high school relationships, sexual assault, eating disorders, and self-harm in an emotionally confusing mix of lovely teenage girl camaraderie and long-lasting psychological scars. This workshop production reflects that overall unease; some moments are beautifully rendered, but others […]
Review: #poolparty by Jennifer Mendenhall
Many citizens have been welcome at community pools and swim clubs their entire lives. This is not true of African-Americans. Here we have the story of the African American Bowlding family which was denied membership to a private, Maryland swimming pool by its all-white membership in 1974.
Jennifer Mendenhall on her first play, #poolparty
In 2015 the president of Prince George’s Community Pool in Mt. Rainier, Md., discovered copies of decades-old correspondence between pool officials and Raymond Bowlding, a local black man, who worked with the NAACP to file complaints with the Department of Justice to desegregate the private swim club.
Rabbit Summer from Ally Theatre Company (review)
In the poster for Rabbit Summer, a woman wearing a glamorous dressing gown stands provocatively, hands seemingly on her hips. A closer look through the shadows reveals she’s actually holding a double-barrel shotgun behind her back.
Clover from Ally Theatre Company (review)
Clover is the story of a 19th century socialite, Marion “Clover” Hooper Adams who was a participant and keen observer of the Washington, DC scene in the Gilded Age of the 1870s and 1880s. This new play inspired by her life (while disclaiming historical exactitude) presents a captivating portrait of both the challenges that women […]
Ally Theatre Company jumps into the scene with a bold look at the first First Lady
The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington by James Ijames, will have its DC premiere as the first-ever production for the Ally Theatre Company.
The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (review)
In the midst of a fever dream, The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington flips the power dynamic of Mt. Vernon and leaves first First Lady Martha Danbridge Washington to answer for slavery, with her slaves as judge and jury.
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