George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man was first produced in 1894, yet his attack on his country’s romanticizing of war, misplaced heroism, and overzealous patriotism strikes a timely chord. The socialist Shaw was never afraid to debunk conventional mores and he used wit and words-words-words to get not only his antiwar message across but […]
Constellation’s Ramayana becomes the next summer rerun to sell out
August is the hottest month for ticket sales too. DC audiences are showing they like seeing their favorite shows the second time around. Yesterday morning, Constellation Theatre had only 30 seats left for its return run of The Ramayana at Source. They’re gone now, guaranteeing busy nights for the 14th Street venue through August 21st. Woolly […]
The Ramayana
Monkey butt jokes, Bollywood-style dance sequences, parables about how to be the ideal husband and wife, delectable world music and actors who make virtue and duty seem kinda sexy intermingle in Constellation Theatre Company’s remounting of last season’s hit The Ramayana.
The Green Bird
Fairy tales and philosophy should make for strange bedfellows, and, at least in theory, even stranger bedtime stories. But in Constellation Theatre Company’s wondrous production of the 18th-century Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi’s The Green Bird, the two cozy up with remarkable affinity. Like all good relationships, they also bring things out in each other that […]
On the Razzle
Before Tom Stoppard got all metaphysical and mathematical on us, he wrote fluff. The Stoppardian word gymnastics and clever silliness are very much evident in On the Razzle, but it has about as much substance as a Justin Bieber song. And like the Beatles-coiffed tween idol, you can simply enjoy Razzle for what it is—a passing […]
Women Beware Women
Constellation Theatre Company’s staging of Women Beware Women, while described by its 15th century playwright Thomas Middleton as a tragedy, is a wonderfully entertaining farce as boldly adapted by Jesse Berger. It’s a crazy, wild ride of a play where the terrific cast of morally depraved characters and their sly, knowing winks to the audience […]
The Ramayana
Constellation has grasped the age-old tales of love, life journeys, struggles of good and evil, and loyalty that resonate with the universal cognition of the heart-beat. Ramayana is an extravaganza of artistic expression of all of this and more, filled with sights, sounds, colors, music and yes, the almighty drum beat.
Three Sisters
Constellation Theatre puts its indelible mark on Three Sisters, Checkhov’s classic rumination about life, death, and everything in between.
A Flea in Her Ear
Mistaken identity, mad cap antics, slamming doors, sexual intrigue and infamous bouts of skirt chasing lust. A Flea in Her Ear, packed with all of the above, is an exhilarating time with a fun-loving cast hell-bent on smack-down delivery.
Crazyface
This greatly anticipated season finale shows why Constellation Theatre received the 2009 Helen Hayes Award for “Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company.” Crazyface features all the company’s trademarks
The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro Written by Beaumarchais, adaptation by Allison Arkell Stockman Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman Produced by Constellation Theatre Company Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson Constellation Theatre Company has mounted The Marriage of Figaro, a “physical comedy about class,” with all the sophistication, wit, and zeal of a seasoned ensemble. There just seems […]
Temptation
Temptation by Václav Havel directed by Allison Arkell Stockman produced by Constellation Theatre Company reviewed by Steven McKnight Václav Havel’s Temptation transfers the classic Faust story to a modern scientific institute in a totalitarian country with healthy doses of political satire and absurdist humor. It is a challenging work, but Constellation Theatre Company’s production succeeds due […]