Mary Burnett is clad in the scarlet of fire and blood as Medea. Britches and Hose Theater Company’s new production of the Greek tragedy by Euripides both boils with anger and freezes with cold calculation. It opens with Arielle Seidman as the Nurse, skillfully relating how Medea has been wronged: her husband Jason has picked a younger wife, the daughter of the king, so Medea and her two children are to be banished.
Frame your face for all occasions! What is more miserable than discontent? For now is the winter of our discontent, though it be but the first day of autumn, and Analog Players will trade its kingdom for your horse if your horse be but, in fact, a butt in a seat inside the Yellow Sign Theatre as you attend His Majestic Lump of Foul Deformity. Written and Directed by Alex Hacker,
Men’s eyes were made to look and let them gaze upon the riveting new production of Romeo & Juliet at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Directed by Alan Paul, this revitalized and somewhat modern approach to the Bard’s most woeful tragedy attends the fates gaily and with swift justice for both the poetic nature of the text and the emotional capacity of the plot. Perilously little can be ascribed in complaint, save for the missed opportunities to push the conceptualized vision on the whole in a slightly different direction,
Folger Theatre would be monstrous glad if you’d take up a cottage— who doesn’t love a good cottage— in town and stay a spell to celebrate their 25th Anniversary season as it gets underway with a treasured classic novel adapted to the stage in this their production of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility. Adapted by Kate Hamill and Directed by Eric Tucker, this charmingly spellbinding production whisks you away from the dreary troubles of the modern world and places you in a world of romance,
There is some mythical notion that once children grow up and become adults that there is an onus to maintain their familial relationships. Perhaps it’s because it is believed that we are made out of the same stuff as the stars, that very same dust which twinkles billions of light years away from above. Or perhaps it’s more based in the reality that the elders do die and the responsibility of kinship upkeep passes down from generation to generation.
Jessica Lefkow is, indeed, “fire and air” in Brave Spirits Theatre’s brilliant, bold production of Antony and Cleopatra. She is riveting every moment she is on stage, evincing the kind of charisma that the fabled Egyptian queen used to enthrall two great Roman generals. One was Julius Caesar, who died in the eponymous play. The other is Mark Antony, played with passion by Joe Carlson. His spirit draws Cleopatra so powerfully to him,
Be anybody, anyplace, anytime! Truer and more inspirational words would be hard-pressed to come by if they hadn’t been uttered straight from the mouth of Beatrix Potter! In a delightfully imaginative stage production that nestles itself cozily into the opening slot of Pumpkin Theatre’s 49th season, Peter Rabbit and Me, by Aurand Harris, is a fantastical adventure for young audiences and those audience members who are young of heart. Directed by Jeremy Scott Blaustein,
The “thea-taaah” is so cultural! People come and stare at the feelings that the performers are having and those feelings are art! At least that’s what Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is presenting with the firecracker opener of their 2016/2017 season with the world-premiere of Jen Silverman’s Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops. Directed by Mike Donahue, this evocative and explosive exploration of women, relationships, love, and above all— pussy— will rock your world from the time the first of the quintet of Betty Boops are introduced through to the sentimental,
Spread the news! It’s time to rock the pews! Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia has caught Sunday morning fever! And it’s burning wild with happiness as Sister Act, the five-time Tony Award-Nominated musical, flocks with glory into the intimate theatre-in-the-round space under the Direction of Lawrence B. Munsey. With Musical Direction by Ross Scott Rawlings and spectacular Choreography by Helen Hayes Award-Winner Mark Minnick, this soulful feel-good musical will lift your spirits straight up to heaven and create an excitingly memorable theatrical experience for everyone in attendance.
I hate parading my serenading as I’ll probably miss a bar, but if this ditty is not so pretty at least it’ll tell you how great they are— they being the Phoenix Festival Theater and their current production of Anything Goes! One of Cole Porter’s finest musicals— baby it’s the tops— is now setting sail under the Direction of James Hunnicutt and the Musical Direction of Julie Parrish. With Conductor Will Poxon leading the live on-stage orchestra,
Are you ready to rock, theatergoers? Because it’s time to get down to life and live at Venus Theatre as it enters the halfway point of Season16 with Kathleen Warnock’s work Rock the Line. Directed by Founding Artistic Director Deborah Randall, this edgy exploration of sex, love, and rock and roll teaches audiences a valuable lesson or two through the lens of musical fanatic devotion. Like all productions that make their way to the Venus Stage,
At the start of The Last Schwartz, Anne Bowles as Bonnie deftly sets the tone, relating how she saw Siamese twins on Oprah. They strike her as oddly optimistic in hoping to get married. Her cousin, after all, can’t find love, “and she’s pretty and smart and has only one head.” Moments later, she’s weeping for her miscarriage: “… if I could have had him for just one full day…” It’s a dark,
In a world where brunch heals most wounds and Shiva is the fast-acting delivery pray-to God when it comes to finding one’s soulmate, there are most definitely stories to be told. Stories of identity, stories of the struggles when it comes to pursuing one’s identity, stories of experience; these are experiences not our own and yet we can relate to them on a simply human level because they are stories that answer questions that at one time or another in our lives we have all asked ourselves,
Come on, babe, why don’t we paint the town? Paint it red with the blood o’ the Irish, that is. Or perhaps you are more inclined to let those Italians marinate in their own-a special ragout? Whichever side of this roaring 1920’s mafia feud you’re on, you’re in for a deviously delightful good time as Do or Die Mysteries presents their September show, One of the Gang. Appearing in the dining room of The Sunset Restaurant and Lounge on select Monday evenings throughout the month,
When the wind howls do you answer it by building a shelter or by building a kite? Forum Theatre answers by not only building a kite but flying it through an emotionally turbulent storm with their 13th season opener, with the DC-area debut of I Call My Brothers, written by world-renowned playwright Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Translated from Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles and Directed by Michael Dove, this gripping and visceral tale explores the narrative experience of Amor,
Ireland mustn’t be such a bad place if Colonial Players is willing to do a production that’s set there. Kicking off their 68th season with Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan, Colonial Players of Annapolis invites theatergoers into the world of a small island off the west coast of Ireland in 1934. Directed by Dave Carter, this moving piece of darkly humored theatre is quite the engagement, oh aye.
Entering their fourth season as a professional theatre outfit, NextStop Theatre Company is making butter out of cream with their smashing season opener, Catch Me If You Can. Based on the DreamWorks Motion Picture, this snazzy musical— featuring book by Terrence McNally, music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman— will inspire you to hop a Pan Am flight down to Herndon, Virginia so you don’t miss out on all the excitement and entertainment the show has to offer.
When you give something away, something better will come your way! That is the heartwarming true moral snuggled in-between zany characters and fantastical music in InterAct Story Theatre’s latest production of One Gold Coin— Una Moneda De Oro. Written by company founder Lenore Blank Kelner, and recently adapted to be an immersive bilingual experience featuring dialogue and music in both English and Spanish, this classic story from the InterAct Story Theatre repertoire teaches young audiences and audiences young at heart the importance of giving and sharing,
To begin this review, a synopsis feels almost unnecessary because it would be difficult to find people who are not familiar with this timeless piece of comedy by Neil Simon. The Odd Couple had its original debut in 1965 on Broadway, and with its success, spurred a film in 1968, and then a TV series from 1970 – 1975. Since then it’s seen many adaptations and revivals (even a cartoon version in the 70’s!).
Her heart got broken. The car was totaled. He’s wildly out of control. Who’s to blame? In a world of helicopter parents, disasters beyond our imagination, catastrophe around every corner, isn’t the question always who’s to blame? Appearing on the stages of Baltimore City for its 12th Annual Production the Variations Project, produced by Rapid Lemon Productions, takes up residency for a limited run-performance in the Wright Theatre of the University of Baltimore. 11 short,
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,
When you are told a thing, you must listen. Take a closer look with your exhibitionist eyes to the current co-production at the Fells Point Corner Theatre with The Collaborative Theatre; the current production of The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, which launches the 2016-2017 season #RescueMe. Directed by Anthony Lane Hinkle, this strange venture into Victorian London exposes theatergoers to beauty that goes beyond the eye of the beholder. Fully articulating one of the core concepts of theatrical endeavors— suspension of disbelief— the production in its essence is a remarkable parade of aesthetically pleasing features.
We all want to touch the flames but not get burned. Stillpointe Theatre is bringing you flaming theatrical reality with their first main stage production of the 2016/2017 season and it isn’t even on their main stage! In the fully exposed in-your-face, at-your-feet, all-around-you production of Murder Ballad, Director Corey Hennessey and Co-Director Amanda J. Rife bring a visceral and emotional biting love-triangle straight to your eyes, ears, and hearts. Ensconced in the grungy rocker atmosphere upstairs at The Ottobar,
Close your eyes, draw back the curtain, and you will see for certain what you thought you knew. And what you thought you knew was that September Song, a dedicated summertime community theatre in Carroll County entering its 42nd year of producing a mainstage musical, is doing impressive work on its stage. You were right to think so as the company proves their worth as a community staple and heartfelt institution with this year’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph &
Is there anything more outrageous than an honest critic? It might be the way that The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre is kicking off their 55th season with Howard Zinn’s Marx in Soho. Directed by Sherrionne Brown, with Phil Gallagher in the titular role, this evening of socialist banter is an engaging theatrical endeavor that will grip the audience and give them pause to think about whether or not society is going in any direction at all,
Suppose within the girdles of the Greenbelt Arts Center’s walls are now confined two mighty forces— The Rude Mechanicals: a community theatre troupe that delivers judiciously trimmed and readily accessible Shakespearean plays— and Henry V: Shakespeare’s middle Henry history play. Directed by Rebecca Speas, this muse of fire finds its place among the Bard’s canon in true Rude Mechanicals style and delivers swiftly the plot, the point, and the perfectly pared-down rendition of what is otherwise a lengthy history lesson in the trajectory arc of Prince Hal to King Harry.
Fuck.
It’s a verb. It’s a noun. It’s an expletive. But is it offensive? And is it that the word itself is offensive or is it the context in which it is used that offends? Will Stillpointe Theatre offend anyone if they perform the area premiere of Seth Freeman’s new work Verb (A Play on Words)? Only one way to find out. Directed by Ryan Haase, this evocative play on words begs the question of where do we— as individuals,
Che pazzo! Che buffo! Che divertente! Dio mio, che spettacolo! A-wha? You no speak-a de Italiano? That’s-a okay. Neither do they. Not in Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor now appearing at Third Wall Productions, anyhow. This madcap farce filled to the brim of mocking stereotypes will have you choking on-a your spaghetti before the evening is through! Directed by Mea Holloway, this zany runaround comedy is fortified with door-slamming, bed-breaking action that will keep you chuckling from start to finish.
Think about your day. Think about all you do in your day. You wake up, you shower, you go to work, perhaps you live alone and you do everything on your own. You are self-sufficient. But what if that changed? What if something happened and you were no longer able to complete your daily routine on your own? In a uniquely engaging and compelling theatrical performance, globally traveled performance artist Siobhan O’Loughlin returns to Maryland and under the aegis of Submersive Productions brings her world-famous Broken Bone Bathtub to Charm City.
One voice have I, one task to tell, but I shall need to borrow your breath to tell my story. Breathe in…breathe out…and prepare yourself for a fantastical journey the likes of which one could never imagine. The Missing Peace, a new musical with Music and Lyrics by Ron Melrose, is making a three-performances-only whirlwind reprise in the home space of Stillpointe Theatre. After a successful run at the 2016 Capital Fringe Festival,