All stories by Chuck Leonard on BroadwayStars

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Sutton Foster at The Barns at Wolf Trap by Chuck Leonard

The audience for Sutton Foster at The Barns at Wolf Trap was packed on opening night and clearly delighted to have a chance to hear Foster in such a warm and intimate venue. A phenomenal act…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:21PM
Friday, November 1, 2019

From these ‘Rags,’ riches at George Mason University by Chuck Leonard

Congratulations DC-area theatergoers! A new version of a major musical is being performed at George Mason University this weekend. It has legs and there are still tickets available. Rags is …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:26PM
Saturday, October 19, 2019

Fixing World Crises: The Women of ‘SEVEN’ are Succeeding and Inspiring by Chuck Leonard

SEVEN is a powerful documentary piece of theatre that brings the writing talents of seven award-winning playwrights to bear on the personal interviews of seven world-changing women from arou…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:35PM
Monday, September 30, 2019

Review: Audra McDonald Headlines George Mason’s University’s ‘ARTS by George!’ by Chuck Leonard

Audra McDonald’s concert Saturday night, September 28, was the culmination of a wonderful evening at George Mason University’s 14th annual ARTS by George! benefit. The concert hall at th…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:47PM
Sunday, September 29, 2019

Review: ‘The Giver’ at Aldersgate Church Community Theater by Chuck Leonard

In The Giver, Eric Coble’s adaptation of the Newberry Award winning novel by Lois Lowry, Aldersgate Church Community Theater offers a family-friendly production about a future society that…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:25AM
Sunday, September 8, 2019

Review: ‘A Few Good Men’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Chuck Leonard

OORAH and HOOYAH! Integrity and a code of honor is at the heart of the play A Few Good Men, showing now at The Little Theatre of Alexandria. Many Marines and a few Naval officers share the f…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:27PM
Sunday, June 9, 2019

Review: ‘A Fox on the Fairway’ by The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Chuck Leonard

The Quail Valley Country Club is the setting for Ken Ludwig’s A Fox on the Fairway, and the annual golf tournament against their rivals, Crouching Squirrel Country Club, is at hand. Quail …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:49PM
Monday, April 1, 2019

Review: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by Aquila Theatre at George Mason University by Chuck Leonard

Last night, Aquila Theatre performed a wonderful version of the classic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at George Mason University’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts. All of the a…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:24PM
Sunday, March 17, 2019

Review: ‘The Explorers Club’ at Workhouse Arts Center by Chuck Leonard

If you have not yet visited the intimate Workhouse Theatre in Lorton, Virginia, Frank Shutts is currently directing a screwball comedy full of inappropriate giggles. Attitudes are purposeful…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:37PM
Sunday, February 24, 2019

Review: ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ at the Little Theatre of Alexandria by Chuck Leonard

When one thinks about a classic romantic comedy, exploding with moments of farcical mayhem, You Can’t Take It With You is as classic as it gets. Written in 1936 by George S. Kaufman and Mo…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:46PM
Sunday, February 10, 2019

Review: ‘The Wolves’ at NextStop Theatre by Chuck Leonard

Sarah DeLappe’s first play, The Wolves, was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and has subsequently been produced all over the country. The production at NextStop Theatre Co…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:27PM
Monday, February 4, 2019

Review: ‘The Brothers Size’ at 1st Stage by Chuck Leonard

Offering timely explorations of important topics, 1st Stage continuously produces memorable plays. They are always solid, but The Brothers Size will knock you out. In it, a young man newly r…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:55PM
Saturday, January 19, 2019

Review: ‘Superior Donuts’ by Reston Community Players by Chuck Leonard

In Superior Donuts, which opened at the Reston Community Players last night, the new Starbucks across the street is taking business from a 60-year-old family-owned shop. It is a familiar sto…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:11PM
Sunday, December 2, 2018

Review: ‘A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration’ at 1st Stage by Chuck Leonard

A Civil War Christmas at 1st Stage is a strong addition to plays that connect with the holiday season. Playwright Paula Vogel embraces and examines provocative themes in this piece, looking …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:19PM
Thursday, November 29, 2018

Review: ‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical’ at the National Theatre by Chuck Leonard

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is a delightful, heavenly-sounding, Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical about Carole King, who “wrote the soundtrack to a generation.” With a…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:52PM
Friday, November 2, 2018

Review: ‘Anastasia’ at The Kennedy Center by Chuck Leonard

Will you be swept up into the legend of Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia? When her family was executed during the Russian Revolution, the rumor spr…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:31PM
Saturday, October 27, 2018

Review: ‘Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ at George Mason University by Chuck Leonard

Big River is the musical adapted from the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. With music and lyrics by Roger Miller and a book by William Hauptman, the 1985 production …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:57PM
Sunday, October 21, 2018

Review: ‘Émilie, La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight’ by Vienna Theatre Company by Chuck Leonard

Editing from the playwright’s own words, “Émilie is a play about legacy,” and “is a dilated moment in time just before Emilie’s death. It is a game of wit, a defiance of morta…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:05AM
Sunday, September 9, 2018

Review: ‘Hero’s Welcome’ at 1st Stage Theatre by Chuck Leonard

Hero’s Welcome at 1st Stage is the area premiere of British playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s 79th play. While Ayckbourn might be best known for his uproarious comedies, the humor here is dark…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:36PM
Sunday, June 3, 2018

Review: ‘Swimming With Whales’ at 1st Stage by Chuck Leonard

In its world premiere first professional performance, Swimming With Whales at 1st Stage has already built an impressive record in its preparation. It was part of the Sigworks Readings at Sig…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:50PM
Friday, May 18, 2018

Review: ‘Waitress’ at The National Theatre by Chuck Leonard

Waitress at the National Theatre is sweet as “Sugar.” The word resonates during scene shifts, as an immensely talented piemaker, Jenna (Desi Oakley), lists the ingredients for the new pi…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:58PM
Tuesday, April 10, 2018

A View From ‘The Mountaintop’: Actors Gilbert Glenn Brown and Karen Malina White on Martin Luther King’s Life, Death, and Legacy (Interview) by Chuck Leonard

50 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot on the balcony outside of his room at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis. His death at age 39 still reverberates throughout the country, which still…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:59PM
Saturday, March 31, 2018

Review: ‘The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail’ at George Mason University by Chuck Leonard

Despite period costumes, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail feels current, primarily because it is so topical. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee wrote the play in 1969, but George Mason’s pro…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:25AM
Saturday, March 17, 2018

Review: ‘Tuesdays With Morrie’ at Prince William Little Theatre by Chuck Leonard

As the play starts, Morrie Schwartz is dying from ALS. That such a heart-warming, honest, and funny play would begin with such a premise is startling. In Tuesdays with Morrie, produced by th…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:49PM
Friday, March 2, 2018

Review: ‘The Imaginary Invalid’ by the Mason Players at George Mason University School of Theater by Chuck Leonard

Satire is a comic form I have always loved. Among the greatest geniuses of the genre is Moliere, whose comedies from 3.5 centuries ago still evoke howls of laughter when done well. Directed …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:04PM
Sunday, February 25, 2018

Review: ‘Speech and Debate’ at Peter’s Alley by Chuck Leonard

Peter’s Alley is offering a very funny production of Speech and Debate by Stephen Karam at Theatre on the Run. Karam, whose play, The Humans, won the 2016 Tony award for Best Play, has twi…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:50PM
Sunday, February 18, 2018

Review: ’35mm: A Musical Exhibition’ at George Mason University School of Theatre by Chuck Leonard

35mm: A Musical Exhibition is referred to as a musical by the directors, but it is different from the way many think about the standard musical. The George Mason University School of Theatre…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:49AM
Friday, January 26, 2018

Review: ‘Anne of Green Gables’ at Little Theatre of Alexandria by Chuck Leonard

In the first decade of the 20th century, on a farm in the tiny village of Avonlea, in Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island, a brother and sister realize they need help to susta…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:28AM
Sunday, January 21, 2018

Review: ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ by Reston Community Players by Chuck Leonard

Based on the 2005 book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatcher is a Tony Award-winning play by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker. A lively production opened Friday, …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:20PM
Friday, January 12, 2018

Review: ‘On Your Feet!’ National Tour at the Kennedy Center by Chuck Leonard

The rhythm is gonna get you! Expect to find yourself dancing in your seat, because the energy from this show is infectious. On Your Feet! at the Kennedy Center is electric, and audience memb…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:15AM
Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Review: ‘My Name is Asher Lev’ at 1st Stage by Chuck Leonard

From the beginning of the 1st Stage production of My Name is Asher Lev, we are told that the young Asher is an amazingly gifted artist. Asher, who is played by Lucas Beck, narrates the play,…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:45PM

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