Constellation
Theatre does amazing work. However, The 39 Steps, while delivering
vibrant performances and a reasonable proportion of laughs, does not quite rise
to the level of theatre we expect from this company, largely due to an
inconsistent vision for this adaptation of a classic film to the stage.
Patrick
Barlow’s play — a long running success in both London and New York–adapts the
1935 Alfred Hitchcock adventure film, The 39 Steps,
“When someone in your social circle becomes so melancholic that they stop moving, it is your duty as a human being to go find them.” So proclaims Tilly, the lead character in Sarah Ruhl’s Melancholy Play: A Contemporary Farce, currently being produced by Constellation Theatre Company. Directed by Nick Martin, the play takes the audience on an abstract dive through sadness, happiness, and the social contract. Constellation’s production perfectly captures the spirit of melancholy,
Taking the piss out of musical theatre, the Tony Award-winning show Urinetown: The Musical (book & lyrics Greg Kotis, music & lyrics Mark Hollmann) lands with a thunderous splash on the stage of Constellation Theatre Company as the first production of their 2016/2017 season housed at Source Theatre. Directed by the company’s Founding Artistic Director Allison Arkell Stockman, with Musical Direction by Jake Null, the production is a triumphant theatrical sensation that titillates audiences with a trickle of dark humor,
“The theatre community here <Washington DC> is something other cities can only dream of.” An earnest and rewarding quote pulled directly from the lips of David Ives, this year’s recipient of “Outstanding Original Play or Musical Adaptation” at the 32nd Annual Helen Hayes Awards Ceremony. Just one of 236 nominees being celebrated over the course of the evening, Ives’ statement captured the tone of the evening early on with the aforementioned quote given during his award acceptance speech.