Sometimes it’s easy to forget that exceptional theatre doesn’t have to have to be a spectacle of lights, effects and sound. Sometimes exceptional theatre can happen on a tiny stage in a black box style theatre in an unassuming storefront. Such is the case with The Highwood Theatre’s current production of the drama Other Dessert Cities by John Robin Baitz and Directed by Ryan Gunning.
Set against the hot,
Love is a delicious and vicious act. And it is devouring up its audience over in Little Italy. Hilarity never landed so well as it does with the inaugural production of a brand new company called Epic Productions Inc. Their debut show, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, is an uproarious hoot; a musical comedy that showcases the dysfunctions of love and marriage through a series of hilarious anecdotes and hysterical songs.
Come, blessed deities, share our minds on the thoughts and praises of love. Experience Plato the way he was meant to be experienced; in a 70’s style conversation pit. The love nest is open, so to speak, as Agathon invites the whole of Athens into his home for a celebratory dinner and wine party wherein the finer points of love may be discussed among good learned men. Sudden Satyrs, an ephemeral production company that may be swept in and out of Baltimore with the change of seasons,
Be very, very careful about the way in which you hear and use words. It can be the key to understanding victory or misinterpreting failure in battle. And a battle of epic proportions is what the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC has set out to display with their national premier of the National Theatre of Scotland and The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Dunsinane. A thrillingly dramatic sequel to one of the Bard’s bloodiest tragedies,
Let’s get down to business! We’ll defeat the Huns! But only if we band together and write our own destiny! Pumpkin Theatre is doing exactly that with their second annual “For-Kids-By-Kids” production. This time it’s Disney’s Mulan Jr. coming to the stage with all the wonderful things a Disney musical entails. Directed by Erin Confair, with Music and Lyrics by Matthew Wilder, David Zippel, Stephen Schwartz, Jeanine Tesori, and Alexa Junge, this children’s adaptation of the classic film brings honor to all at Pumpkin Theatre.
The night The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts welcomed Gigi, the stars came out to shine! Thank heaven Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, the clever masters of Book & Lyrics and Music respectively, have found their way to a stage adaptation through Heidi Thomas and the iconic film classic known as Gigi has made its pre-Broadway engagement in Washington DC! Directed by Eric Schaeffer with Musical Direction by James Moore,
Who is dead in the White House? A haunting question that repeats itself in the grief-stricken mind of a recently widowed first lady. Commemorating the 150th year since President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Ford’s Theatre has commissioned a work that captures the essence of the aftermath as told through the eyes of the eyes of Mary Todd Lincoln. Written by James Still and Directed by Stephen Rayne, this powerfully evocative drama enchants the audience into a surrealistic world of grief and mourning;
Life is very long. Incidentally Tracey Letts’ work August: Osage County only takes up roughly three hours of said life as it is trafficked across the Milburn Stone Theatre stage this winter season. Directed by S. Lee Lewis, Letts’ compelling familial drama addresses afflictions and ailments to the dysfunctional degree of existence. It’s not a party until something gets spilled and family secrets are spilling out all over the place in this poignant timely production.
The game’s afoot! Well, the show is afoot at any rate! It all began, as these things do, with a brand new world premier production at Arena Stage. Ken Ludwig, the acclaimed comedic playwright, has taken his pen to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters and adapted a brilliant comedy suitable for theatrical enjoyment of all types. Bursting at the seams with curiosity, wonder, and the element of surprise, this hysterical new work entices the audience not only with its morbid beauty and thrilling mysterious intrigue,
Everyone that has a soul has the ability to have that soul touched and moved. Whether you’re black or white, into music or sports, are religious or not, Centerstage is bringing a soul-gripping performance that crackles with spirit and blazes a path straight to the heart as they present the regional premier of Kemp Powers’ One Night in Miami. Directed by Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, this powerful and provocative play of the soul brings four legendary men together under one roof for one night to witness the struggles of their careers,
Theater J presents the brilliant and highly poignant new Aaron Posner play Life Sucks (Or the Present Ridiculous.) Written and subsequently Directed by Posner himself, this irreverent modern variation on Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, is a gloriously thought-provoking work that captures the minds of the audiences through laughter, tears, and strange situations. This world premier work is quite possibly the most connective piece of work to address humans as they exist in the world;
Murder. Madness. Mayhem. It’s all there awaiting you behind the façade. A darkened alleyway; a decent down stone stairs to the underbelly of Saint Paul Street and you shall find yourself amid the most diabolical musical mastery The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre has offered up on its stage in a great many years. Jekyll & Hyde sets to the stage with relentless power; a beast of a musical under the refined Direction of Fuzz Roark and superb resplendence of Musical Director Michael Tan,
Telling the truth is an expensive hobby. The costs are steep, the prices are high, and in the end the results can be catastrophic. In this riveting and politically charged Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Jon Robin Baitz, Fells Point Corner Theatre showcases an extraordinarily talented cast under exceptional direction with their production of Other Desert Cities. Directed by Michael Byrne Zemarel, this intense familial story focuses on opposing political views across the parental and child generations with a shocking family secret that can destroy the foundation upon which such a life was built.
It’s a playwright’s prerogative to be mysterious. But when mystery and intrigue turn into scandal and spookiness there’s thrills to be had around every corner. A titular and haunting production of D. D. Brooke’s Rehearsal For Murder, based upon the teleplay of the same name by Richard Levinson and William Link, is setting up shop at the Reston Community Players this January. Ready to purge the audience of any remnants of the saccharine holiday,
The pure science of criminology will bring about the truth of the matter in this delicate situation: Prince George’s Little Theatre has filled their stage with disastrously hilarious mayhem by mounting A Shot in the Dark. Directed by Keith Brown, this dated whodunit mystery is receiving a refreshing makeover upon the PGLT stage this winter season. An honest hoot, this murderous marvel is packed full of laughter, surprise, and a rousing good time for all.
After gaining control of my excitement over the chance to see my first production at Silver Spring Stage, I decided to do a little exploration on the plot of their current production, Orson’s Shadow. Written by Austin Pendleton, the play is a fictional story about a true situation of the dramatic and intertwined relationships between Hollywood egos; a writer, a critic, an actor, and a director. The Stage’s production of this piece is a roller coaster ride into the lives of some of the most beloved famous icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Cinderella’s prince will wake up with soot on his face. Betrayal. Misery. Suspense. The unexpected and yet just desserts served with delicious vindication. An evening at the theatre never brought about such intrigue until The Vagabond Players dusted off a lesser-known Ira Levin work; Interlock. Not the edge-of-your-seat mystery thrillers the playwright often gets recognized for, this classic work simmers with sophistication under the skilled Direction of Roy Hammond. The third installment of the Vags 99th season,
Labels are for soup cans! Join the party— The T Party— at Forum Theatre this January for their exciting remount of the world premier of their gender-driven conversation starter The T Party. Having absolutely nothing to do with the political party— as the show was being conceptualized and work-shopped before the party was formed— this provocative, evocative conversational piece of theatrical work is a compelling and connective cabaret of gender-binary defying stories,
They say life is for the living so live it or you’re better off dead. A quote that may sound harsh especially in the face of the dying, but it’s the honest reality of living. Life interrupts life, even the life of the dying, and that’s a fact. Baltimore-based playwright Mark Scharf captures the essence of humanity at its most simple— living life— with his new play Fortune’s Child, making its premier through the Actors Equity Association Members Project Code at The Baltimore Theatre Project.
Are you ready to witness the impossible? Theatrical magic at its utmost spectacular, The Illusionists: Witness the Impossible have arrived in a puff of glorious smoke and are ready to impress theatergoers across Washington DC as they take their illusions to the stage of The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Directed and Choreographed by Neil Dorward, this high-octane, riveting magical show defies description with its flashy and edgy new approach to magic— bringing big tricks an uncanny intimacy from the even bigger stage.
The universe is an optical illusion. Domesticity verses wildlife; the age-long endless battle of which is natural and which is right. Single Carrot Theatre investigates this controversial topic with their production of Josè Rivera’s References to Salvador Dalì Make Me Hot. Directed by Steven J. Satta, this surrealist work based in reality with hints of magical realism and dream-escapism lives up to the standard of the typical Carrot productions: making you think whilst spinning you about in blissful confusion.
Friends! Romans! Washingtonians! The time has come to take a stand against the inconstant shifting nature of theatre in Washington DC! Hail The Rude Mechanicals and their rebellious production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Directed by company founder Jaki Demarest, this scandalous production takes the great Roman Empire to 1920’s soviet occupied Russia. Stalin, proletariat, rebellion; all encompassed in Demarest’s revolutionary vision of one of the Bard’s milder tragedies.
With honor in one eye and death in the other,
Every story tells a picture. The Washington Stage Guild has created quite the masterpiece with the story they are telling by bringing a Terence Rattigan work to the stage for the first time in Washington DC since the mid 70’s. In Praise of Love, Directed by Laura Giannarelli, is delightfully touching; a heart-warming slice-of-life drama that represents the epitome of a modern classic. With moment to moment realness that takes the audience into the reality of the characters,
The true power of theatre is to touch people’s lives and make them think, even just for a little while, a little less about their troubles. This time of year when people so keenly feel the troubles that surround them, Parlor Room Theater is working their power and their magic through a well-known Christmas story allowing audiences everywhere to feel the spirit of Christmas and forget about their troubles and their strife while indulging in a new adaptation of Dickens’ holiday classic.
Strange as it seems there’s been a run of crazy dreams, and none quite so crazy as the new touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat now appearing on the Opera House stage of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Presented by Independent Presenters Network under the Direction of Andy Blankenbuehler with Musical Direction by Wayne Green, this rebooted conceptualization of the hit musical is targeting a younger,
This Christmas season is a jolly holiday indeed over at Toby’s the Dinner Theatre of Columbia as they serve up true theatrical magic at its finest with their production of Disney’s Mary Poppins. Making its regional debut with original music by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman; new songs, music, and lyrics provided by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and book by Julian Fellowes this wondrous production brings all the magic one needs for a practically-perfect holiday and an exceptionally spirited new year.
Have you heard about po’ chile Celie? Have you heard about The Color Purple? Have you heard about ArtsCentric? The blossoming Baltimore-based company is bringing a quality show to the stage this holiday season with their production of the Alice Walker Pulitzer Prize-Winning novel-inspired musical. Directed by Kevin S. McAllister with Musical Direction by Cedric D. Lyles, this emotionally provocative, gripping musical is a heart-changing, inspiring story perfect for this time of year when everyone’s heart could use a little reminder of faith,
Ho-ho-humbug and all that rot! Christmas is enough to make you gag. That’s the Christopher Durang interpretation, though one would expect nothing less from the satirizing parody artist. Silver Spring Stage has gone round the twist this holiday season by mounting Durang’s unusual Christmas play Mrs. Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge for a two-weekend limited engagement run over the month of December. Directed by Star Johnson with Musical Direction by Jimmy Mrose,
There’s no place like home for the holidays. Everyman Theatre is bringing home five of their company members for a holiday performance like no other this December as they mount Ira Levin’s classic thriller Deathtrap on their stage for Christmas. Directed by founding Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi, a little suspense makes the perfect stocking stuffer this season. Equal parts comedy and suspense; the precarious balance between darkly humorous and spine-tingling is delivered exceptionally in this devilishly thrilling performance.
At this festive time of year when everyone is presenting their decorated version of Dickens’ holiday classic (and yes, even MET is doing that in their family series) it comes as a revitalizing surprise to see the Maryland Ensemble Theatre producing a Christmas original on their main stage. Written by company member Reiner Prochaska, this quaint tale is richly populated with local flavor and all the right notions to tug gently at the heartstrings for this spirited time of year.