All stories by Jane Franklin on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Interview: Dominic North Discusses ‘The Red Shoes’ and Life As a Dancer with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Company by Jane Franklin

Based on the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Red Shoes comes to The Kennedy Center October 10 – 15, 2017. The Red Shoes rece…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:04PM
Saturday, September 16, 2017

Review: ‘Any Given Monday’ at Dominion Stage by Jane Franklin

Moral dilemmas feed the dark humor of Bruce Graham’s Any Given Monday, directed by Jennifer Lyman. Marital infidelity, the loyalty of friendship, the eagerness of youth, and the logic of …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:26PM
Monday, September 11, 2017

Review: ‘Cabaret’ at Workhouse Arts Center by Jane Franklin

Everybody loves a winner. The song “Maybe This Time” reminds one of the spark of hope in a new beginning, what it feels like to cross a path and find someone and find a home. How very si…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:04PM
Friday, August 25, 2017

Review: ‘A Little Night Music’ at Signature Theatre by Jane Franklin

If you are eager to get away from the turbulent news cycle, August humidity, annoying traffic, a mostly undone to-do list, disorder in your immediate circle, or fractures at a global or micr…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:00PM
Friday, July 14, 2017

2017 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Shinka’ by Jane Franklin

The post World War II Japanese dance theatre form, Butoh, is traditionally performed in white body make-up. Slow controlled movement, body tension and muscular involvement may rely on elabor…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:00PM
Sunday, July 9, 2017

2017 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Paper’ by Jane Franklin

A cluttered desk, a twenty-minute appointment, a student and a teacher, and what ensues are cerebral twists and turns, well beyond the subdued, weightiness of departmental office hours. We i…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:38PM
Saturday, July 8, 2017

2017 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Life, Death & Everything In-Between’ by Jane Franklin

Large swatches of fabric move time forward or weave through space. The bold colors catch the eye. Confrontational dialogue sets characters in opposition while bodies remain static or surge f…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:36AM
Monday, June 12, 2017

Review: ‘Still Life with Rocket’ at Theater Alliance by Jane Franklin

A few facts are laid at your feet as you move through a couple of simple rooms. Black and white video on old portable television shows a boxing match, which is no match for the clutter. A pe…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:23PM
Monday, June 5, 2017

Review: ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ at Providence Players of Fairfax by Jane Franklin

The open living room has a well-lived in look: easy chairs, love seat, kitchen nook off to the side, and plenty of collected knick-knacks. It’s a cozy setting for an adolescent argument, e…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:18PM
Sunday, June 4, 2017

Review: ‘Independence Eve’ at Urban Arias by Jane Franklin

The two men stand at opposite ends of an urban park, on a day that is a mere heartbeat away from the landmark midpoint in the calendar year. Summer and it is an evening to capture the heat t…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:48PM
Sunday, May 21, 2017

Review: ‘Side Effects’ at Taffety Punk Theatre Company by Jane Franklin

In a simple bold setting, a man in a hurry is running late. He is answering his phone, head skewed at an angle to balance between shoulder and cheek. At the same time, he handles a slim file…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:32PM
Monday, May 8, 2017

Review: ‘Master Class’ at MetroStage by Jane Franklin

Welcome to the rehearsal hall. You are a student at a prestigious school for the performing arts. You have mastered your technique, but you are young. You have not thought through the circum…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:58PM
Saturday, April 29, 2017

Review: ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ at the City of Fairfax Theatre Company by Jane Franklin

There’s the daily ordeal of truth, imaginary facts, and shifting identities. There is wealth and privilege and assumptions based on hearsay, without understanding. Within all of this lies …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:11AM
Sunday, April 23, 2017

Review: ‘I Ought to Be in Pictures’ at Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions by Jane Franklin

Is it nature or nurture? Is it innate personality or fearless optimism? Is the ability to see the glass half full, the willingness to take a chance, the inclination to ask or speak your min…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:52PM
Monday, February 6, 2017

Review: ‘The Gin Game’ at MetroStage by Jane Franklin

You observe a cozy setting, a two story structure slightly suggestive of institutional. There’s a gliding rocker and curtained windows that filter warm amber light, potted plants, scattere…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:10AM

Review: ‘I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart’ at The Studio Theatre by Jane Franklin

They are longtime friends who share an apartment, a hearty back-and-forth, and a splendid repartee of tease, criticism, support and jealousy, and multiple emotions that swirl as individuals …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:51AM
Thursday, December 8, 2016

Review: ‘Goyescas’ at The In Series by Jane Franklin

Tiered steps and four small café tables re-imagine the Spanish courtyard.   With friendly interaction and wine, music and dancing, a cast of nine singers and two dancers introduce the eve…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:02PM
Friday, December 2, 2016

Review #2: ‘Copenhagen’ at Perisphere Theater by Jane Franklin

Three intersecting rings stand out in a circle of white, blindingly clear.  The intersection reminds of other triumvirates, three powerful individuals, in an arrangement both formal and inf…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:14PM
Saturday, November 26, 2016

‘Moby Dick’: A Co-Production with the Alliance Theatre and Southcoast Repertory at Arena Stage by Jane Franklin

A complex rigging of interlocking cables, ropes and steel clamps is harnessed by a skeletal steel structure. The structure is at once minimal and abstract, intricate and unambiguous, to sugg…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:56AM
Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Jane Franklin Dance Opens ‘The Migration Project: live performance art installation’ on Friday, November 4th by Jane Franklin

The Migration Project: live performance art installation: An immersive visual experience and stories of relocation explore the push and pull of human flight The Migration Project (Push/Pull)…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:42PM
Sunday, October 30, 2016

Review: ‘The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Presented by Young Artists of America at Strathmore’ by Jane Franklin

For as long as I can remember, it was a movie I looked forward to watching on television each year. It scared me to death when I was little, but the colors, the characters, the opposition of…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:14PM
Saturday, October 15, 2016

Review: ‘POTUS Among Us’ at Washington Improv Theater by Jane Franklin

A quick but firm handshake, a genuine embrace, a passing glance to own the room and most of all a nudge, wink and leaning in to make me feel welcome; I have met my first candidate and I have…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:16AM
Monday, October 10, 2016

Review: Fringe POP (Performance over Projection) Private Track at the Logan Fringe Arts Space by Jane Franklin

The Logan Fringe Arts Space, now offering year-round programming, has launched a new annual series. Julianne Brienza, CEO/Founder of Capital Fringe, has a vision for experiment and the coura…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:49PM
Saturday, October 1, 2016

Review: ‘The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence’ Co-Presented by Washington Performing Arts and StepAfrika! in Cooperation with the Phillips by Jane Franklin

There’s a pulse, a simple rhythm. It is both complex syncopation that rushes on, and an inviting and relaxed embrace of the moment. The percussive energy of StepAfrika!, a professional com…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:09PM
Saturday, September 17, 2016

Review: ‘You Have Made A Story on My Skin’ at Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint by Jane Franklin

You Have Made a Story on My Skin, created by the Production Team and led by writer/performer Rachel Hynes, uses personal stories to explore lingering memories and physical scars. This collab…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:36AM
Sunday, September 11, 2016

Review: ‘Dinner With Friends’ at Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions by Jane Franklin

Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions opens its fifth season with Dinner With Friends, a 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Donald Margulies, directed by Kristofer Kauff. An intricate drama …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:25AM
Saturday, September 3, 2016

Review: ‘Report to an Academy’ at Scena Theatre by Jane Franklin

Scena Theatre opens the company’s 30th Anniversary Season with Report to an Academy, an emotionally powerful drama. Report to an Academy is based on the 1917 classic short story by Fran…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:54AM

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
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime