Thursday, July 23, 2015
Every so often, a show comes along that makes me wish I had been more sensitive with the hyperboles about productions I’ve seen. “Suchandsuch was GENIUS,” “A brilliant production,”…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:40PMSunday, July 19, 2015
In the back of one of my little notebooks where I jot down random little ideas that hit me during various points in the day, I have an entry marked “Fringe Bingo.” Once upon a time I was…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:53PMTuesday, July 14, 2015
As the lights in the Artspace Loft Studio dimmed, a (vaguely) familiar orchestra string is heard and a (vaguely) familiar silhouette walks across the stage, turns, and fires his (finger) gun…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 07:20PMWednesday, May 13, 2015
Sketch show is funny when No Rules does it. The most admirable thing about sketch comedy as an art form is this – it just gets itself out there. You have an idea? Write it down, punch …
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:45AMTuesday, February 17, 2015
Once upon a time, in 2001, there was a musical. Beloved by dozens, this teeny-tiny song cycle told the story of an ordinary, five year relationship in a highly unusual way – from the w…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:03PMFriday, December 19, 2014
My God…they’re actually getting this right! There is no more terrifying emotion to experience than hope, and, within the opening moments of Disney’s long-awaited film version of Into t…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 06:44AMWednesday, December 17, 2014
Holiday concerts…what do we want? My expectations for a holiday gig are certainly quite different than the usual fare in the Barbara Cook Spotlight Series. If a Broadway star is going to b…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:40AMFriday, December 5, 2014
When The Sound of Music Live! aired on NBC last year, reactions were, you could say, mixed. And yet, despite the devil’s advocates, the optimists, the doomsdayers and naysayers, one thing …
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:27PMThursday, December 4, 2014
Last year, beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, NBC’s broadcast of The Sound of Music Live!, starring Carrie Underwood, managed to shatter ratings records and break the Internet in way…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 08:36AMFriday, November 28, 2014
Down at the Anacostia Arts Center, Brave Spirits Theatre is undertaking a little experiment, or “Shakespeariment”, if you’re as into silly made-up words as I am (which, if you’re a S…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:21PMWednesday, November 5, 2014
Memory is a powerful thing in music. When I was young, one of my first exposures to musical theatre was the 1993 Broadway revival cast recording of Guys and Dolls. Mostly known for introduci…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 08:03AMWednesday, October 8, 2014
At heart, Jacques Brel is a stand-up comedian. Now hear me out a second. True, it’s not exactly the first thing you think of when listening to music from Brel’s catalog. And one could ea…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:13PMMonday, October 6, 2014
When looking at a production of Venus in Fur that is opening at this specific time in our history, the beginning of the fall of 2014, two separate lines of thought begin to form. First, her…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:47AMWednesday, September 10, 2014
What does one expect when attending an event called The Cole Porter Project? Given the composer-fronted name and the producing company (the In Series, primarily known for their accessible …
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:05AMTuesday, June 17, 2014
In his interview with DC Theatre Scene, Ed Dixon, writer, composer, lyricist, and co-star of Cloak and Dagger, makes specific reference to The 39 Steps, Broadway’s newly classic minimalist…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:51AMThursday, May 22, 2014
Sometimes, when I’m struggling to figure out what to say to begin a review, I take stock of the way I felt when I walked into the theatre. After all, what is a review, if not the equation …
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:23AMTuesday, May 6, 2014
I’m not one who is prone to turning into a “fanboy.” Part of my joy in seeing cabarets in the Barbara Cook series at the Kennedy Center has been the “Stars, they’re just like us!�…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 01:02PMThursday, March 13, 2014
In every trip I make to a cabaret performance, I pay particular attention to the personal connection the performer wants to make with his or her audience. It’s the classic actor question: …
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:07AMFriday, March 7, 2014
I’ve gotta hand it to Signature Theatre – they sure know how to put on a show. Going to see a musical at the Shirlington company’s home will offer you certain guarantees. Cleanline…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:46AMWednesday, March 5, 2014
I believe that every diet needs the occasional spoonful of Marshmallow Fluff directly out of the jar. I have a fond memory from a few years ago. I’d never seen Mamma Mia! and was about to…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 01:48PMFriday, February 21, 2014
In my other reviews, I’ve made mention of cabaret as a fascinating opportunity with a name artist. Tonight, it’s just artist and audience, me as me, you as you, and we will share somethi…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:49PMMonday, February 3, 2014
You’d never think “Pulitzer Prize-winning drama” to look at How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. It’s too unpretentious. Too breezy. Too fun. And yet, when you really di…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:17PMFriday, December 13, 2013
“I could have done this all summer.” – Ellen “Me, too.” – Barbara There’s a boatload of quotes in this episode, about finality, theatre, art, redemption, transience, …
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:17AMWednesday, December 11, 2013
Geoffrey: “Lear loses everything…and it is only when he is all alone, naked in a storm, that he is able to find…” Oliver: “His dignity.” The thing about rock bottom is this…it�…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 03:20PMMonday, December 9, 2013
“At the end of it all, you’ve got to have some spectacular cock-ups, because THEN, you’ll have stories…and you’ll have had a life.” – Cyril It’s a long way to rock-bottom…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 03:06PMFriday, December 6, 2013
Last night, I watched something awful. And it wasn’t on TV. We’ll get to that later. Reviewing the broadcast of Sound of Music LIVE! is actually pretty simple for me, so we’ll address …
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:53AMWednesday, December 4, 2013
“Tragedy tomorrow, Comedy tonight!” And with that opening refrain comes one of the clearest promises in musical theatre history, and perhaps even theatre history. Tonight, you will laugh…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:17PMFriday, November 22, 2013
“Charles has run raving into the storm. The irony is breathtaking!” – Oliver Every week, Slings and Arrows pulls a quote from the play it’s focusing on that season to reflect th…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:00AMMonday, November 18, 2013
Setting off for L’Enfant Café, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my evening with Jeffrey Johnson, Little Edie, and the intimate Adams Morgan haunt currently playing host to both. I had …
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:16AMFriday, November 8, 2013
And in the 1970th year anno dominum, God created the concept musical. Only in this particular case, “God” would be Stephen Sondheim. Ask any musical theatre nerd, though, and they’ll p…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:07AMTuesday, November 5, 2013
“Is work enough, or is there something more?” – Father McTeague Wowzers. LOTS to unpack from that one, folks. Slings and Arrows, rounding the bend in season 3, headed towards its e…
SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:11AM 
