It is rare, exceedingly rare, to be in the presence of a masterfully-written play, performed by actors who are not only emotionally engaging but also fine, classically-trained pianists. Ev…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 02:27PMSo at one point early in the neo-noir satire Norwegians, we find a young woman sitting with a professional hit man who insists he’s the “nice” kind, because he’s Norwegian. She can…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 11:57PMIt’s not a good sign when the only man in the world you trust suddenly turns you against your wife and your most trusted colleagues; tragic, too, when you discover his treachery too late.�…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 07:33PMTo fully appreciate Martin McDonagh’s sick sense of humor, it might help if you’re not really a cat person. Mind you, you don’t have to hate the little egotistical, capricious fur-…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 06:01PMDo you simply loooove everything to do with Broadway musicals? The hackneyed plots? The stereotypical characters? The jaw-dropping neglect for historical accuracy? The pathetic attempts to m…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 10:16AMYou know you’re in for a fun evening when the minute you enter the lobby, Box Office staff offer you a bag of tomatoes to throw at the actors. OK so they’re foam tomatoes, and you are as…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 05:51AMAmong theatre-goers there is always a soft spot for productions of Shakespeare’s comedy classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Set in the fairytale land of mythical Athens—and especially …
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 07:34PMFor audiences with a special loathing for the Broadway Musical, from its clichéd plots and characters to its nauseatingly treacly music, Urinetown: The Musical has been an oasis. It is a vi…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 05:29PMAfter all these years, Hedda Gabler is still the woman who gives you the creeps, the one that makes you want to keep your distance. Mad, bad and dangerous to know, she sucks the life-blood o…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 04:20PMFor a perfect evening out, begin with a classic songbook, add a healthy dose of solid singing, sprinkle some discreet and witty choreography, and voilà—you’ve got Creative Cauldron’s …
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 06:57AMFew characters are as vivid in the imagination as Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Yentl, the bright young Rabbi’s daughter who, upon being orphaned, dares to disguise herself as a boy so she can…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 03:44PMTired of the usual stuffy, arty, lights-out, shut-your-mouth-and-take-it kind of theatre? Looking for a night when everyone can just sit outside with a beer or a bottle of wine and have a …
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 10:55AMWith the passage of time and generations, it gets harder to interest people in a play about the Holocaust. It’s not that we’re insensitive; if we’ve raised our children right we’ve…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 01:03PMThere are shows where you get exactly what the program offers; the plot unfolds as promised, and the write-up for critics is as simple as can be. Then there are the shows that go deeper, w…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 11:57PMMaybe it’s because I grew up in the Washington DC area and we regard all Phillies and Eagles fans as thugs, but I’ve always been leery of driving through Philadelphia. Sure the cheese-…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 02:13PMJust when you thought it was safe to turn on that tablet, along comes another robot with a built-in diabolical scheme to destroy your life. We now have a Russian tycoon, Dmitri Itskov, who…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 02:07PMIf you are looking for an exhilarating, raucous, hilarious, roller-coaster ride of a show, a genuine gem from start to finish, you must drop whatever you’re doing and run to see Chisa Hutc…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 01:20AMThere will be many plays on the Iraq war and its aftermath, but few (if any) have the compassion and the seasoned eye for dialogue of Charles Fuller’s One Night. A tightly wound, poignan…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 12:11AMAh, June in Washington—school’s over, the lilies are in bloom, you pluck the first mulberries off the tree, and then it’s time for Music Hall. This marks the 50th year that the Briti…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 06:18PMIt’s one of the oldest stories from Broadway lore: a husband-wife team is in a hit comedy, and the big punchline of the night comes when the husband says to the wife, “Gimme a cup of c…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 09:44PMAn earnest prayer for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, beautifully sung. Then sudden darkness. Bombs. Guns. More darkness. Lights up on an old woman, Golda Meir, the former Prime Min…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 11:18AMAnyone who has studied law knows about the dreaded Moot Court—an exercise in public humiliation where young law students try to argue fictional cases while they are constantly interrupted …
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 11:08AMIt is pleasure enough to return to the plays of August Wilson, with their breezy informality and their uncanny ability to find the poetry and depth that lurks under the surface of everyday l…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 10:56PMWith the passing of Nelson Mandela, the universally loved leader of post-Apartheid South Africa, the attention of that nation has returned to the difficult business building civil society. …
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 08:49PMIt’s hard to forget the sensation Synetic Theater created when they first premiered their wordless Shakespeare cycle 12 years ago. Hamlet … The Rest is Silence stands as their signatur…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 09:57AMNot only does the Washington area have a wealth of exciting new theatre companies, but they are collaborating in wonderful ways. And what’s fun is that it’s not just regular adult audi…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 02:15PMFrom the moment the lights go up on that ramshackle Pittsburgh boarding house, and Louise (Brenda D. Parker) sings with her sweet voice, you know you are in a special place—August Wilson t…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 10:35AMThe audience assembled in the 16th Street church basement last Saturday, for Spooky Action’s latest opening, were witnesses to a truly amazing moment: the introduction of a great, neglec…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 08:00PMJudy Collins came with fellow New York singer-songwriter Kenny White to the Birchmere in Alexandria the other night. Kenny took I-95 like most mortals, but Judy seemed to float in on a voi…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 05:00PMThe past few years have seen a wealth of new theatre companies in the Washington area, bringing brand-new approaches—new to us, at least. It’s especially heartening to see the growth o…
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 02:00PMThe next time you’re at the National Gallery be sure to visit the old Western Wing—in Gallery 10 you’ll find a masterpiece, the “Adoration of the Shepherds” – biblical in theme, …
SOURCE: Maryland Theatre Guide at 02:00PM
