All stories by John Stoltenberg on BroadwayStars

Monday, June 27, 2022

Aaron Sorkin’s scintillating rethink of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Kennedy Center by John Stoltenberg

What the playwright has done with Harper Lee’s novel epitomizes what live theater does best: hold values up to view.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 12:10PM
Sunday, June 26, 2022

‘In His Hands’ at Mosaic asks if it’s OK with God to be gay by John Stoltenberg

The two leads — Michael J. Mainwaring as Daniel and Josh Adams as Chris — are spellbinding together. Their unabashed attraction is palpable.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 10:54AM
Thursday, June 23, 2022

What it means ‘When Boys Exhale’: A Q&A with Anthony Green by John Stoltenberg

The writer-director explains why his play about young Black gay men is titled after the movie about Black women friends.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:35PM
Sunday, June 19, 2022

‘Niagra: The Musical,’ a work-in-progress with fabulous music by John Stoltenberg

At DC Arts Center, an original musical about real-life risk-takers who went over the famous falls.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:28PM
Tuesday, May 31, 2022

‘Do You Feel Anger?’ at Theater Alliance takes on anti-woman workplace by John Stoltenberg

An absurdist, dark comedy sendup of toxicity on the job.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:49AM
Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Gen Z feminism is the hero in ‘John Proctor Is the Villain’ by John Stoltenberg

The quality of the writing and the caliber of the performances at Studio are enthralling, but here's what impressed me most. By JOHN STOLTENBERG

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:22AM
Monday, May 23, 2022

‘A Play About a Handkerchief’ is a buzzworthy doozy from We Happy Few by John Stoltenberg

Playwright Paula Vogel lifts three women from 'Othello' — Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca — and puts them in their own risqué play about today.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:18AM
Monday, May 16, 2022

Fearless and funny ‘There’s Always the Hudson’ premieres at Woolly by John Stoltenberg

Paola Lázaro’s scintillating script about two sexual abuse survivors is astonishingly entertaining and deeply moving.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:41PM
Tuesday, May 10, 2022

‘To Fall in Love’ at Nu Sass is a heart-smart revelation by John Stoltenberg

One of the most intimate, touching, and truthful relationship dramas you’re likely to experience without being in it yourself.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:43PM
Friday, May 6, 2022

A poignant visit to a spirit realm in ‘The Upstairs Department’ at Signature by John Stoltenberg

Chelsea Marcantel's gently touching and deeply satisfying new play is about a brother's and sister's quest for connection.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:16PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Rep Stage looks at ‘Glass Menagerie’ through a mixed-race lens by John Stoltenberg

Director Joseph Ritsch and Dramaturg Khalid Long on how race, queerness, gender, and ability intersect in Tennessee Williams's classic.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:27AM
Sunday, April 17, 2022

Charming new play ‘Fiveplay’ depicts housemates with benefits by John Stoltenberg

From the Coil Project comes an inviting show of possibility for polyamorous playmaking.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:25PM

‘In sex we trust’ say the acrobats in ‘AirOtic Soirée’ by John Stoltenberg

Now performing in DC at Hook Hall is a sensual cabaret combining circus and burlesque. Is it theater? Let's see.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:29AM
Saturday, April 9, 2022

Oh what a gloriously edgy ‘Oklahoma!’ by John Stoltenberg

An iconoclastic take on the classic excites on tour at KenCen.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:55PM
Monday, April 4, 2022

A chillingly terrific ‘Twigs & Bone’ premieres at Nu Sass by John Stoltenberg

To the sound and lighting falls the task of making the gothic horror erupt — and by god do they deliver.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:39PM
Saturday, April 2, 2022

Ionesco’s ‘Rhinocéros!’ from Pointless actually has a point by John Stoltenberg

It prompts a provocative question: Just who are the rhinos today?

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:36AM
Sunday, March 27, 2022

A gripping and electric ‘Private’ astounds at Mosaic by John Stoltenberg

It’s as if the playwright has scripted the subtext of every relational betrayal and said all the quiet parts out loud.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:13PM
Saturday, March 19, 2022

ExPats’ outstanding ‘Christmas Eve’ is a present for all seasons by John Stoltenberg

The Austrian and German playwright, Daniel Kehlmann, calls his twisty script 'a play for two actors and a clock.' And it's right on time.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:41PM
Thursday, March 17, 2022

Our amazing afternoon at the multi-abled Omnium Circus by John Stoltenberg and Sophia Howes

Two DC theater critics take in the world's most inclusive circus and are blown away.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:46AM
Sunday, March 13, 2022

‘(y)Our Town’ at WIT has all the funny and all the feels by John Stoltenberg

In its twist on Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town,' Washington Improv Theater not only cracks jokes but cracks open the emotion in the moment.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:05AM
Monday, March 7, 2022

Mosaic launches its next chapter with powerful 2022/23 lineup by John Stoltenberg

The first season planned by new Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas aims to spark conversation across DC around issues of and for the moment.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:27PM
Monday, February 28, 2022

Perisphere Theater opens a powerful and poetic ‘Blue Door’ by John Stoltenberg

A profoundly illuminating play about a Black man who lives in the glare of the white gaze.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:42AM
Wednesday, February 23, 2022

A gripping drama of love and blood pulses through ‘Phlebotimist’ at 1st Stage by John Stoltenberg

In a dystopian near future, a twentysomething romance heats up steadily alongside a chilling public health crisis.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:22AM
Sunday, February 13, 2022

Exegesis of a sexy Jesus: A look at love in ‘A.D. 16’ by John Stoltenberg

A magnificently entertaining and beautifully profound new musical has opened at Olney. Here's what love's got to do with it.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:27AM
Monday, February 7, 2022

A rap with RJ Brown, the slave player in ‘White Noise’ at Studio by John Stoltenberg

You cannot watch his performance in this shocking role without feeling agitated and aghast — and he was willing to talk about it.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:46PM
Wednesday, February 2, 2022

‘Compulsion’ at Theater J aches with memory of a harm beyond telling by John Stoltenberg

The teenage diarist Anne Frank appears as a puppet; an author tries to pull strings to stage her story.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:13PM
Tuesday, January 25, 2022

‘White Noise’ is a shock to the system in stunning staging at Studio by John Stoltenberg

It’s as if Suzan-Lori Parks scalds and skins the body politic in one fell swoop.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:55PM
Monday, December 20, 2021

‘A Strange Loop,’ a hit at Woolly, heads to Broadway by John Stoltenberg

Michael R. Jackson’s 'big, Black and queer-ass American Broadway show' will open in spring 2022 at the Lyceum Theatre.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:22PM

What’s ‘Once Upon a One More Time’ doing at the Shakespeare? by John Stoltenberg

There's got to be more to it than a cool chance to groove on the oeuvre of Britney Spears. | Column by JOHN STOLTENBERG

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:02AM
Sunday, December 5, 2021

‘A Strange Loop’ at Woolly Mammoth is a knockout smash by John Stoltenberg

Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer Prize–winning musical sings of a singular poet’s journey from self-loathing to self-respect.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:52PM
Tuesday, October 26, 2021

A Q&A with Matthew Gardiner on his new gig at Sig by John Stoltenberg

"What is important in this moment for Signature," says its new artistic director, "is how we are creating a culture of consent going forward."

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:48AM

All that Chat

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