The long awaited Smart People at Arena Stage tackles issues of race and gender stereotypes from the viewpoint of four distinctly different people, each serving as a kind of archetype of history and lineage. Lydia Diamond who penned the well-received Stick Fly sets up each of her characters in separate monologues in the first act, and […]
A Raisin in the Sun at Arena Stage (review)
Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking portrayal of a black working-class family and its “dream deferred” in mid-20th century America maintains its timeless grace in a new revival at Arena Stage, but disappointingly, many of the performances don’t fulfill their roles’ potential.
Arena Stage’s Intelligence takes a look at the Valerie Plame affair (review)
Intelligence takes us back to a simpler time in American politics, when outing a CIA agent to punish her husband for revealing that the administration started a war based on alternative facts was an actual scandal that could send people to jail.
Stories of Scalia, Simone and Lyndon Johnson in Arena Stages next season
Arena Stage will bookend its next season with two plays by John Strand: a reprise of his play about the late Antonin Scalia, The Originalist, and a new musical about a couple struggling to save their marriage in the Alaskan frontier, with a book by Strand.
Why Intelligence playwright, Jacqueline E. Lawton, was uniquely qualified to write a Valerie Plame-inspired play
The hottest theater ticket in DC right now isn’t to a blockbuster musical, a star-studded Shakespearean play, or a big-time production already contracted to hit Broadway. The ticket everyone is clamoring for is Intelligence at Arena Stage, a world premiere political thriller which has already sold out and extended its run, even before it has […]
Watch on the Rhine at Arena Stage (review)
The problems that vexed Lillian Hellman’s “sound the alarm” play Watch on the Rhine at its debut in 1941 still apply to the handsome production at Arena Stage today. Worse yet, it’s likely that the play’s awkward structure, overwritten talkiness and reserved, bloodless drama have aged not like a velvety single malt Scotch, but rather like an […]
A groundbreaking Roe at Arena Stage (review)
The opening night of Lisa Loomer’s Roe was the evening of January 18—a mere two days before the inauguration of a President who now unifies the federal government under a party that places its hostility to abortion rights front and center.
Think you know Roe v Wade? What the two stars of Roe at Arena Stage learned about the women who made the landmark case
Although Roe v. Wade is considered one of the Supreme Court’s most landmark cases, and there’s probably been as much written and debated about the case as any other in history, aside from their names, many aren’t that familiar with the two women who changed history.
Most memorable moments on DC area stages in 2016
As this year closes, perhaps you, like we, are thinking back over your own year spent watching the various riches spread before us by Washington area theatres. I asked our staff for their most vivid memories. We hope you will share your own as comments for us all to savor.
Trailers that sell the live theatre sizzle. DC Theatre Scene’s picks for best video trailers
Turning a stage show into an enticing video is an art. There are three trailers which I think are among this year’s most outstanding. And, best of all, if they happen to convince you to see the show, tickets are still available.
A brilliant Moby Dick from Lookingglass Theatre, now at Arena Stage (review)
This may be the best thing you’ll see in theater all year, so hold on — to your hat, to your significant other, to your life.
Yummy holiday dessert idea: Lillian Hellman’s peach cobbler (video recipe)
For all of you not excited about serving a traditional pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, we suggest playwright Lillian Hellman’s peach cobbler, seen here being prepared by Executive Chef John Melfi of The Oval Room Restaurant in Washington, DC. The video is the first of six in the “Cooking with Lillian” series, produced by Arena Stage as part of its […]