All stories by Andra Abramson on BroadwayStars

Monday, February 27, 2023

A wish comes true as Broadway’s ‘Into the Woods’ comes to Kennedy Center by Andra Abramson

It's the perfect show for grappling with life's big questions while laughing, crying, and cheering for the fairy tale characters of your childhood.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 08:11AM
Friday, November 15, 2019

Disney’s ‘Newsies’ at Arena Stage is the good news DC needs right now by Andra Abramson

From the moment you enter Arena Stage’s Fichandler Stage, an intimate theater-in-the-round where everyone has a seat close to the action, you’ll be transported to turn-of-the-19th-centur…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:52PM
Thursday, November 7, 2019

Signature Theatre’s “A Chorus Line” is a singular sensation by Andra Abramson

In the theater world, a performer who is a true triple threat – one with the ability to perform at the highest levels as an actor, singer, and dancer all at the same time – is rare. Luck…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:46AM
Saturday, August 10, 2019

Review: An Emotionally Gripping ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ at the Kennedy Center by Andra Abramson

Some musicals are all about the entertainment. You expect to see some awesome dancing, amazing singing, and leave the theater smiling (see my review of Disney’s Aladdin, also currently pla…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:31PM
Monday, July 29, 2019

Review: ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ by Wildwood Summer Theater at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn  by Andra Abramson

How do you spell “talented”? This summer it’s spelled W-I-L-D-W-O-O-D. Wildwood Summer Theater is the DC area’s only all-youth musical theater company. Everyone associated with the g…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:58PM
Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Review: ‘Aladdin’ at The Kennedy Center by Andra Abramson

Ever since The Lion King took the Broadway world by storm back in 1997, Disney has been recreating its beloved animated films for the stage, with successful runs by The Little Mermaid, Beaut…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:48PM
Monday, July 15, 2019

Review: ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company by Andra Abramson

Summer and Shakespeare are two very different things that somehow seem to go perfectly together. Every summer, theater companies all over the country dust off their British accents and take …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:11AM
Monday, March 18, 2019

Review: ‘Thumbelina’ by Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and Academy by Andra Abramson

Thumbelina, the story of a miniature girl who grows from a seed, is kidnapped by a toad, tormented by beetles, and eventually marries the fairy prince, is not one of Hans Christian Andersen�…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:30PM
Sunday, February 10, 2019

Review: ‘Once’ at Olney Theatre Center by Andra Abramson

If you’ve never heard of the musical Once, written by Edna Walsh, with music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, you aren’t alone. Despite receiving eleven 2012 Tony Award …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:52PM
Friday, December 21, 2018

Review: ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ at the Kennedy Center by Andra Abramson

Even before the curtain officially goes up on The Play That Goes Wrong, you can tell you are in for a laugh riot. The show’s “Director” Chris Bean (played by Evan Alexander Smith), “…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:31PM
Saturday, November 3, 2018

Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ by Damascus Theatre Company at Olney Theater Center by Andra Abramson

I doubt there was one person in the entire Carl Freeman Auditorium who hadn’t seen some version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (either the original animated film from 1991, the live-ac…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:08PM
Sunday, September 16, 2018

Review: ‘The Last Five Years’ by Montgomery Playhouse by Andra Abramson

The Last Five Years is a modern musical that follows the 5-year romantic relationship between Catherine, an aspiring actress, and Jamie, an aspiring writer, from their first date to the fina…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:30AM
Monday, July 16, 2018

Review: ‘Anything Goes’ by Rockville Musical Theatre by Andra Abramson

Anything Goes is one of those old-timey musicals where even if you’ve never seen the show before, you somehow discover you know the words to every one of the songs. Filled with exciting da…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:39PM
Sunday, July 15, 2018

Review: ‘Heathers the Musical’ by Wildwood Summer Theater by Andra Abramson

With book, music, and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, Heathers the Musical is a faithful rock musical adaptation of the 1988 hit film Heathers, a dark comedy complete with a c…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:23AM
Monday, March 19, 2018

Review: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Metropolitan Ballet Theatre & Academy by Andra Abramson

Alice in Wonderland, the whimsical, magical story of a girl named Alice who follows a mysterious White Rabbit down a rabbit hole and into a mystifying dream world, strikes me as a difficult …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:53AM
Saturday, November 18, 2017

Review: ‘Annie’ at Olney Theatre Center by Andra Abramson

The musical Annie is 40 years old this year, and thanks to the Olney Theatre Center’s cheerful new production, a whole new generation of theater goers will get the chance to travel back in…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:45PM
Sunday, October 22, 2017

Review: ‘Heathers: the Musical’ at Chesapeake Arts Center by Andra Abramson

The production company known as How Do You Like Me Now Productions and its sister organization Erase Hate Through Art were founded with the specific intention of provoking dialogue and actio…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:25PM
Sunday, June 18, 2017

Review: ‘Dreamgirls’ at ANKH Repertory Theatre and The Finest! Performance Foundation by Andra Abramson

Dreamgirls, with book and lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger, was one of the very first shows I saw on Broadway, back in the 1980s. It was memorable then and it remains memorable …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:01PM
Monday, April 17, 2017

Review: ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre by Andra Abramson

If you’ve thought to yourself “I will never see another rip-off of the Peter Pan story ever again”, I totally understand where you are coming from. And I definitely urge you to reconsi…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:06PM
Saturday, March 11, 2017

Review: ‘From the Mouths of Monsters’ at The Kennedy Center by Andra Abramson

From the Mouths of Monsters, a world premiere Kennedy Center commission by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin, directed by Dougie Irvine, is a gripping, intense glimpse into the mind of …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:17PM
Monday, March 6, 2017

Review: ‘The Giver’ at NextStop Theatre Company by Andra Abramson

I loved the book and hated the movie, so I was really curious to see how The Giver, Lois Lowry’s Newbery award-winning story about a dystopian society where everything has gone to “samen…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:23PM
Saturday, February 25, 2017

Review: ‘Famous Contemporaries: Music by Gliere, Medtner, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tcherepnin’ at the Russian Chamber Art Society by Andra Abramson

As a novice opera aficionado, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Masterpieces of Russian Vocal Music: Famous Contemporaries, the Russian Chamber Art Society’s most recent offering a…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:01AM
Friday, December 9, 2016

Review: The Fiasco Theater’s ‘Into the Woods’ at The Kennedy Center by Andra Abramson

I did not listen to my much-loved soundtrack of Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s classic fairy tale mash-up before heading off to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:16PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards