I am constantly amazed by the array of topics that have fueled musicals. The bygone pattern of Boy meets Girl, Boy loses Girl has certainly been put out to pasture. Creators are always looki…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:00PMAh, even though it’s a wee bit early to celebrate St. Paddy’s day, there’s never a bad time to lift a pint, be enthralled at the eerie, yet intriguing, uilleann pipe, marvel at the dis…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:19PMChanneling a band’s life onstage can be a tricky endeavor. The musical “biopic” is a tempting stage device, with its ready-made score and built-in name recognition. But it also has the…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:52PMTheatre at its most riveting is the occasion in which the audience is engaged, challenged, and then ultimately committed and, in some way, moved by the experience. This first rate, theatrica…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:05AMSuppose that, as you read this on your screen, you are drawn in by its entertaining anecdotes and amusing viewpoints? But while enjoying it all, you slowly start questioning its truthfulness…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:05PMYou would have to be severely media-challenged or a native of another planet to have not heard of the movie that is generally considered the best movie musical ever and consistently ranks in…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:09AMSomething about the gentle poking at convention—even the spiritual type—provides a guilty feel-good to theatregoers. Filling the seats again and inducing groans and laughter, Little Thea…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:47PMTo me, a concert program full of the best of Broadway is like an extensive dessert menu that is ever so satisfying, but somehow never fills you up, making you want for more. If I’m being h…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:40AMHistory is a funny thing. How willing are we to stop, reassess and recalibrate what we think of the past —our icons, our shining lights of greatness? There has been a lot of icon-busting t…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:43PMLTA is back in a hilariously “Rotten!” way. Filling the seats again and filling our hearts with the laughter we so need, Little Theatre of Alexandria’s summer feature show is a throwba…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:27PMThe simple reality of a farce, especially a musical, is that one can relax, put the thinking part of the cerebral cortex on temporary hold, and just let the action unfold. The beauty of that…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:15PMHow is this for a recipe for successful musical performance: Take one part venue—the intimate and comfortable Hylton Performing Arts Center’s Merchant Hall; Add another part talented …
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:38AMYes, they are stomping by again. A year after the dreaded cicadas, a decidedly more pleasant syncopated sound filled our ears and engulfs our senses. I will attempt to use the word phenomeno…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:48PMThe Revels are Coming! The Revels are Coming (Back!) The much-revered Revelers are here again, thankfully in person this year, after that nasty bug that will remain nameless kept their winso…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:05PMAfter a hiatus in which much of live theatre was on hold in DMV area, we have a heart-stopper of a show. Kensington Arts Theatre presents the classic of classics, Agatha Christie’s “And …
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:11AM“Remember, bloody is only a metaphor!” we are shouted at several times in the imaginative, entertaining, at times shocking “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” at Dominion Stage. A semi- h…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:05PMMurder most foul has been a steady, reliable storyline for recorded history—from Greek tragedies to horror novels and on to HBO and Netflix moneymakers. The fascination with the purposeful…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:13PMI get it, a show (ok, a musical revue) identified with a horrific hairstyle won’t challenge us with dramatic plot twists or Sondheim-esque mystique. But after a summer which literally seem…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:17AMOf course, it had to be called Seussical, match-rhyming with musical. Imbued with Dr. Seuss’ gift for cadenced, rhythmic prose, it is also whimsical. Thus, “Seussical the Musical” burs…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:33PMSometimes you just need a silly song, a silly dance, a little seltzer down your pants. With a nod to chuckles the clown, we Washingtonians do need a respite from the amped-up rhetoric and po…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:17AMIt’s one of those situations we all have likely experienced: a fresh-faced young person unexpectedly knocks on your door and asks about your faith, challenging whatever concept of spiritua…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:15PMReaching deep into the proverbial treasure chest of American classics, Little Theatre of Alexandria has pulled out and dusted off Kaufman and Hart’s beloved “You Can’t Take It With You…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:28PMIt’s not just an orchestra setting anymore. The Music Center at Strathmore is nationally known, yet seems underappreciated in the DMV area. The present home of the National Philharmoni…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:36PMThe verdict is in: “Twelve Angry Men:” that iconic courtroom drama, still remains compelling storytelling. Ford Theatre’s production, gleaned from local talent and staged in th…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:10AMMixing in parts of remembrances past, timely themes, nascent hopes of magic and kitschy lighting, this amalgam of elements are put together in the Creative Cauldron in Falls Church to have a…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:50PMIt’s not often that a performer has a biopic written for him while he can still go view it. The pioneering comic and civil activist Dick Gregory had the chance to do just that last year in…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:51PMI walked onto a pirate ship last Sunday and a Jimmy Buffet beach party broke out… “The Pirates of Penzance” have set shore in the unlikely enclave of the Olney Theatre Center. …
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:33PMWhat was in the water in the 1930s America??? Extra gin from the speakeasys? Awash in booze and a returning economy, excited by technological breakthroughs, artistic triumphs, and an era of,…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:43PMWhen “Chicago” comes to town, you just want to sit down, strap in, and prepare yourself for an experience. One of the most successful musicals in theatre history, it chalked up s…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:57AMSpringtime in Washington, DC means a lot of things. Of course, there is the annual Cherry Blossoms, Embassy Tours and Fun Runs. Challenging them all is Hexagon. The six-sided show, in its 63…
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:13PMSome works of theatre are given the dreaded label ‘period piece’—destined to stay locked in the time they were created. But others age quite nicely—as a well-shaped, tanned piece of …
SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:12PM
