All stories by Christopher Henley on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Caleen Sinnette Jennings on her hip hop play Not Enuf Lifetimes, opening this week by Christopher Henley

Caleen Sinnette Jennings was describing what had inspired her latest play. One of the things she mentioned was a white college-age son of her friend  telling her, “If a hip hop candidate …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:51AM
Monday, October 27, 2014

The creators of the zombie experience DC Dead talk with Chris Henley by Christopher Henley

“We’re calling it a ‘zombie survival experience.’” I was talking to Rex Daugherty, one of the creators and directors of DC Dead, which is also described as an “interactive theatr…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:12AM
Monday, October 20, 2014

Tom Story talks with Chris Henley about Wolfe Twins by Christopher Henley

“I fell in love with it instantly when I read it. There is something about it that I connected to emotionally.” Tom Story has a sister. Not only in real life, but also in The Wolfe Twins…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:52AM
Thursday, October 16, 2014

Personal tributes to actor Ralph Cosham. Memorial service announced. by Christopher Henley

Ralph Cosham, one of the busiest, best regarded, and best loved of local actors, died on September 30th. Anyone who frequents our stages will have seen him numerous times and will be a great…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:04AM
Thursday, October 9, 2014

Christopher Henley talks Lobster Alice with Flying V by Christopher Henley

Lobster Alice. No, it’s not a specialty at some upscale Cleveland Park hotspot for foodies. It’s a play running for one more week (through October 12th) at the Writer’s Center in downt…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:02PM
Monday, October 6, 2014

Evita by Christopher Henley

Partway through the first act of Evita at The Kennedy Center’s Opera House, there’s a sort of theatrical military coup. Up until then, the production has been handsome and well-sung, if …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:40AM
Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Henry Strozier remembers Tana Hicken. Tribute is Monday 29 at Studio Theatre by Christopher Henley

“She was fun to be onstage with. She was always there, and giving and generous.” I was talking to the actor Henry Strozier, long-time member of the Arena Stage acting company, about his …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:47AM
Thursday, September 4, 2014

UpClose: Jayne Houdyshell and Delaney Williams from The Shoplifters by Christopher Henley

Last week, in the Molly Smith Library, a high-ceilinged first-floor room at Arena Stage looking out onto Maine Avenue, Jayne Houdyshell and Delaney Williams spent their lunch break talking t…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:59AM
Tuesday, September 2, 2014

First look at Yentl at Theater J with director Shirley Serotsky by Christopher Henley

Barbra Streisand, her hair cropped boyishly close, singing “Papa, can you hear me?” It’s a memory that takes people back to the early 1980s. As we watch her character now, disguising a…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:28AM
Thursday, August 28, 2014

The Globe’s Joseph Marcell: why Lear, why now. by Christopher Henley

“A performance just ended. We just finished a matinee —in the sunshine.” Joseph Marcell had stepped off the stage after playing what is certainly one of the most demanding roles in the…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 05:03PM
Friday, August 22, 2014

Kathleen Akerley on Pol Pot & Associates and stretching her wings by Christopher Henley

For almost all of the last fifteen years, during the dog days of August, the devoted and discerning DC theatergoer knew that a stimulating experience would be in store at the Callan Theater …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:58AM
Thursday, August 14, 2014

TheatreLand – UK backstage series with Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart by Christopher Henley

Theatreland, a DVD compilation of an eight-part series from British TV that documents a pair of high-profile London theatre productions, has something for everyone. Almost. Sure, it’s a th…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:56AM
Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Being Danny Kaye – Brian Childers on playing the beloved star by Christopher Henley

“Danny found me. I didn’t find him. And he keeps finding me.” Brian Childers was talking to me about his current —and, it seems, his on-going —role as Danny Kaye. At The American C…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:29AM
Monday, July 7, 2014

Christopher Henley, fan of the Prince of Darkness, on co-directing Dracula . A Love Story by Christopher Henley

-  DC Theatre Scene has been able to lure actor/director Christopher Henley into writing for this site. Here is his personal account of co-directing Dracula . A Love Story, the Fringe show …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:31AM
Thursday, June 26, 2014

Nancy Robinette, the Meryl Streep of Washington theatre, grants a rare interview. by Christopher Henley

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Nancy Robinette told me as we sat in a small pie shop down the block from The Atlas Performing Arts Center.  We spoke a couple of hours befo…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:21PM
Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Buyer and Cellar star, Michael Urie, on Barbra and the Kahn connection by Christopher Henley

Michael Urie is coming to town in Buyer and Cellar, giving DC audiences the chance to see one of New York City’s most talked-about performances of last season.  It’s exciting news that …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 08:40AM
Monday, June 9, 2014

David Muse talks about Mike Bartlett and his play Cock by Christopher Henley

“I’ve been a fan of Mike Bartlett and his writing for years.  Four years ago I got to know him personally, and I’ve been paying a lot of attention to him.  It’s impossible to over-…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:41AM
Friday, May 30, 2014

Bitch Trouble makes a one day stopover at Corner Store, June 1st by Christopher Henley

“It’s the thing I’m most proud of in 35 years of doing theatre.” Rod Menzies is in Washington to direct the current class at the Academy of Classical Acting (ACA) in its production o…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:33AM
Thursday, May 29, 2014

When a bad Post review happens to a good show, we all lose by Christopher Henley

There are few things in the world as rewarding as being the Artistic Director of a theatre company when you see that the hard work and strenuous effort of your board, your staff, and your ar…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 02:52PM
Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Playing Romantic writers, the men of Bloody Poetry by Christopher Henley

“How can I capture this guy who means so many things to so many people,” asked Dan Crane, who is playing the legendary Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in the Taffety Punk Theatre Comp…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 04:32PM
Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Frank Britton hospitalized after attack in Silver Spring by Christopher Henley

Last night, after the opening of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Frank Britton was mugged and severely beaten on his way home after the cast party. The injuries are serious but not life-th…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:16PM
Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Love of the Nightingale is set to close. What’s next for Constellation Theatre? by Christopher Henley

“It’s similar to a lot of productions that we’ve done.” Allison Arkell Stockman was talking about the current production at Constellation Theatre Company, The Love of the Nightingale…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 08:21AM
Thursday, May 1, 2014

In memory of Jerry Manning who has left his mark on theatre in DC and Seattle by Christopher Henley

Jerry Manning, Artistic Director of Seattle Repertory Theatre, died on Wednesday night, shocking friends and colleagues on both coasts.  Manning, during his time at Arena Stage in the late …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 08:41PM
Friday, April 25, 2014

Two Trains. Two productions. Two friends exchange roles by Christopher Henley

Actors love August Wilson.  Audiences love to see his plays, often more than once.  Theatres love to include them in their seasons.  Off the top of my head, I can think of four production…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:37AM
Thursday, April 24, 2014

force/collision’s staged tribute to gay filmmaker Derek Jarman closes this weekend by Christopher Henley

“A handshake in a corridor,” is the phrase John Moletress used to describe the genesis of Jarman (all this maddening beauty). Described as “a premiere work-in-progress performance,” …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:45AM
Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Christopher Henley at The Helen Hayes Awards by Christopher Henley

Last night, the Helen Hayes awards took place at the National Building Museum, a new venue for the annual ceremony, now in its 30th year.  The format was also quite different, but one thing…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 03:44PM
Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Feldshuh is brilliant in Golda’s Balcony by Christopher Henley

For the next couple of weeks, we in DC have the chance to experience something special:  Tovah Feldshuh’s truly remarkable performance as Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony, William Gibson�…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:24AM
Monday, April 14, 2014

With Hair sold out, and new construction this summer, Keegan enters its own Age of Aquarius by Christopher Henley

“This is our crowning achievement,” Mark A. Rhea told me the day after I had seen Hair at Keegan Theatre.  I saw the show on a Wednesday night, at one of the performances that had been …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:06AM
Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Jack Marshall on producing the primal scream of the 50s and more works from the great American century by Christopher Henley

There are a lot of theaters in and around this city.  Many have identities and missions that overlap, or that may even be seen as indistinguishable from one another.  The American Century …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:08AM
Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Brief Encounter by Christopher Henley

The story of Kneehigh Theatre's Brief Encounter, familiar to older readers and film buffs, is about a man and a woman, respectable, middle-class English folks, each married to other people, …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:46AM
Thursday, March 27, 2014

A family visit to Inside Out at Imagination Stage by Christopher Henley

My husband and I brought our just turned 20-month-old twins to a performance of Inside Out, a Theatre for the Very Young production at Imagination Stage in Bethesda. Our family is no strange…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 02:00PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre