Natascia Diaz has wowed DC audiences for a decade, but when Signature Theatre offered her the lead role of Fosca in Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, she hesitated. The popular actress has earned Helen Hayes Awards for her work in Rooms at MetroStage; and the same award in 2013 for MetroStage’s Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well […]
On the intimacy of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, Signature director Matthew Gardiner
No one can put music and lyrics together the way Stephen Sondheim has done – astonishingly – for decades, since the mid-1950’s. In my interview with Matthew Gardiner, who is directing a new production of Passion for Signature Theatre, I asked him not only about where he thinks the musical sits in the Sondheim canon […]
Review: The Scottsboro Boys at Signature Theatre
Signature Theatre and its own “Scottsboro boys” have given us a musical for our times. Smart. Searing. Dangerous. Funny. Provocative. And – as it continues to expose and engage us in a conversation about race – it is immensely moving. And it’s all wrapped up in a Kander & Ebb musical entertainment. Giving double meaning […]
Kander & Ebb’s musical The Scottsboro Boys uses minstrel show to throw harsh light on our light on the justice system then and now
The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American teenagers who were accused of raping two white American women on a train near Alabama in 1931. The boys were falsely accused of the crime, hastily tried and sentenced to death in one of the most outrageous disregards of due process in history. The landmark set of legal cases deriving from this incident dealt with […]
Review: Girlfriend musical at Signature Theatre
Girlfriend, a distinctly gay love story built around a specific alt-rock album, delivers a universal narrative of first time young love and the music that makes the teen years survivable.
Signature Theatre announces its 2018-2019 season
A Sondheim, a couple of Broadway hits, a couple of brand spankin’ new shows, and a boatload of cabarets. Signature Theatre’s 2018-2019 follows the familiar contours of recent seasons. But this year, Signature is announcing not only next year’s productions, but some of the artists who will be making them happen. Also, the undead will […]
Matthew Gardiner on directing Girlfriend at Signature Theatre
In 1991, singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet became something of a radio staple after the release of his third album, “Girlfriend,” which was hailed by critics and fans alike, and established the singer as the king of jangly guitar power pop.
Review: Annie Baker’s John at Signature Theatre.
Theater is traditionally thought to be a place of communion, a meeting of like-minded souls who crave a good story. Playwright Annie Baker turns that expectation on its head, along with so many other theater conventions, with her quiet, sad and still play John, currently getting under your skin in a brilliant area premiere at […]
Robbie Schaefer’s stage debut in Light Years is luminous (review)
Light Years celebrates the cornerstone to all human relationships, the first and most defining: child and parent. In this case, the focus is Robbie Schaefer and his father Konnie (Bobby Smith). Konnie is a successful economist who left his home in Romania after World War II for Cyprus and then Israel and then finally to America. In […]
4,380 Nights at Signature Theatre (review)
When a play grips your thoughts and continues to cling to them past the curtain call, then you know you’ve witnessed a treasure. The elements of 4,380 Nights blend together to generate a captivating play. Playwright Annalisa Dias and Director Kathleen Akerley have created a piece that enjoins the audience to reflect on the priorities […]
Signature brightens the season with Holiday Follies (review)
Young new performers who you may not have heard about are finally getting their time in the ARK spotlight at Signature Theatre. Katie Mariko Mariko Murray, Ines Nassara and David Rowen have paid their dues along the fringes and toiled in ensembles throughout the metro area. Now it’s their time to shine in the cabaret […]
Crazy for You review. Gershwin. Tap. Who can ask for anything more?
The sentiment expressed in the jaunty tune “Slap That Bass” tells us why Signature Theatre has chosen to stage Crazy For You: “the world is a mess with politics and taxes and people grinding axes… so slap that bass and let that be your tonic.” This vivacious production is certainly good medicine for a low […]