When the spotlight hits Freda Payne in the opening number, its dusty light swirling around her evoking a club atmosphere, you could swear the first lady of song has been reincarnated. Payne not only sings in Ella’s key, she scats and lets her hands move as if pulling notes out of the air. Payne even […]
Freda Payne on playing Ella Fitzgerald
Freda Payne is starring in the MetroStage production of Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song. Over the course of the last four decades, Payne has toured the world in concerts, theater performances and one-woman shows. We had the chance to talk with her as Ella was getting ready to open.
A Broadway Christmas Carol
There’s never a shortage of productions of A Christmas Carol this time of year, but for those looking for something a little different, MetroStage continues its popular holiday tradition of making things a little less ordinary—and a lot more fun. One thing’s for sure: This is not your grandparent’s Dickens.
Deidra LaWan Starnes takes on role in Gee’s Bend this weekend
Audiences seeing MetroStage’s critically acclaimed production of Gee’s Bend this weekend will be in for a special treat. For performances Oct 24 – 27, Helen Hayes Award recipient Deidra LaWan Starnes will be stepping in as Nella, temporarily replacing Margo Moorer who originated the role because the actress had a prior commitment in Atlanta. Gee’s […]
The music of Gee’s Bend finds a home at MetroStage
The lives of the Pettway women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama are stitched indelibly into the quilts they made. And as the presence of those quilts grew in the American consciousness — evolving from simple domestic wares into powerful social artifacts and, eventually, into American treasures — an unseen perspective on segregation and the Civil Rights […]
Gee’s Bend
MetroStage’s production of Gee’s Bend is everything I could possibly hope for. The story spans seventy years in ninety minutes and explores characters behind the famed Gee’s Bend quilts by focusing on a mother and two daughters in an isolated part of rural Alabama. The small African American community tucked into the “bend” of the […]
The results are in: Audiences choose their favorite shows and performers
In a month-long balloting for the 2013 Audience Choice Awards, where a total of 1,270 votes were recorded in 2 rounds of voting, Washington-area audiences spoke clearly about their choices. In the Musical categories, Cabaret at Keegan Theatre finished 6.5% ahead of MetroStage’s production of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris […]
Ghost-Writer extends!
Ghost-Writer, Michael Hollinger’s story of a Victorian novelist’s secretary who continues to complete his novel after the novelist has passed on, will be extended until June 16, MetroStage Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin announced yesterday.
Ghost-Writer, achingly subtle and superb
Michael Hollinger’s Ghost-Writer may have been inspired by the relationship between Henry James and his secretary Theodora Bosanquet, but there is something delectably Jane Austen-y about the story and its decorous emotions. The play, receiving a primrose-pretty production at MetroStage under the assured guidance of director John Vreeke, presents one of those achingly subtle romances […]
Latest extensions – Ladies Swing at MetroStage and Henry V at Folger
Audiences have more time to catch performances of two hit shows which clicked with critics and audiences alike.
Super Bowl Sunday 50% off deal at MetroStage
Theatre attendance on Super Bowl Sunday always takes a dip, and those might have been Carolyn Griffin’s thoughts when she came up with the idea a few years ago to offer a special ticket deal, and, giving a nod to the stay-at-homes, throw in what is now her famous chips and dip.
Ladies Swing the Blues
Ladies Swing the Blues at MetroStage packages the old tales about early jazz and blues greats into a new lyrical presentation. The script is deeply rooted in the oral tradition of telling the story with Thomas W. Jones II as the urban griot having written the book and lyrics with original music by the accomplished […]