All stories by Peter Marks on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Welcome to the scintillating ‘Jungle.’ Bring your empathy. by Peter Marks

Directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin stage an immersive experience about the migrant crisis, "The Jungle," in D.C.'s Harman Hall

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:32PM
Monday, March 27, 2023

Ford’s Theatre’s roof is raised by the gospel of ‘Shout Sister Shout!’ by Peter Marks

The story of the Swinging Gospel Queen, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, makes for an evening of rousing musicality.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 04:32PM
Sunday, March 26, 2023

Groban and Ashford ignite the flames of a funny, sexier ‘Sweeney Todd’ by Peter Marks

Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford ignite the flames of a funny, sexier "Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street," which had its official opening Sunday.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 09:01PM
Friday, March 24, 2023

With ‘Angels in America,’ a Hungarian director puts down roots in U.S. by Peter Marks

Janos Szasz, leaving behind a repressive homeland, directs the revival at Arena Stage.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:06AM

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Bad Cinderella’ gets the title it deserves by Peter Marks

An evening of desultory juvenile antics awaits theatergoers at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre, where Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Bad Cinderella" has officially opened.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:24AM
Monday, March 20, 2023

Signature’s ‘Pacific Overtures’ is gently moving but needs more bite by Peter Marks

Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s ‘Pacific Overtures,’ about an unwelcome expedition, reminds us of the composer’s genius

SOURCE: Washington Post at 04:07PM
Friday, March 17, 2023

Jessica Chastain was scared of returning to Broadway. Ibsen cured that. by Peter Marks

Oscar winner Jessica Chastain is receiving critical acclaim for her portrayal of Nora Helmer in Jamie Lloyd’s production of “A Doll’s House.”

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:00AM
Thursday, March 16, 2023

Ben Platt takes the lead in a too-stately ‘Parade’ on Broadway by Peter Marks

"Parade," the musical about the unjust conviction of a Jewish man in 1913 Georgia, stars Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:00PM

They sing ‘Agony’ in ‘Into the Woods’ nightly, and feel the joy daily by Peter Marks

Gavin Creel and Jason Forbach, the princes in the Sondheim-Lapine musical, break down one of the musical’s best numbers.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:00AM
Friday, March 10, 2023

A delightful ‘Seagull’ with Parker Posey is modernized and done right by Peter Marks

Off-Broadway, Parker Posey stars in Thomas Bradshaw's updating of Chekhov’s ever-popular "The Seagull" to the present in Woodstock, N.Y.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:13PM
Thursday, March 9, 2023

Jessica Chastain captivates in a strikingly minimalist ‘Doll’s House’ by Peter Marks

Ibsen’s masterwork is revived in a spare, illuminating production, directed by Jamie Lloyd.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:30PM
Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Arena Stage narrows hunt for new leader as Smith picks her final plays by Peter Marks

Board of acclaimed D.C. theater plans to announce successor to artistic director Molly Smith soon; her 2023-2024 slate includes both new musicals and plays.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:00AM
Monday, March 6, 2023

‘Selling Kabul’ falls short of its ‘Homeland’-style ambitions by Peter Marks

Sylvia Khoury’s drama about life in the Afghan capital, at Signature Theatre through April 2, is more sluggish than scintillating.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:01PM

I've seen the best "King Lear" of my life. Patrick Page moved me to tears. by Peter Marks

Review of Simon Godwin’s production in Washington, DC

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:22AM
Friday, March 3, 2023

This ‘King Lear’ might be the best our theater critic has ever seen by Peter Marks

Director Simon Godwin’s sleek "King Lear," with a consummate Patrick Page as the vain and foolish king, is definitive.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 01:57PM
Thursday, March 2, 2023

Parker Posey is playing a classic Chekhov character and having a ball by Peter Marks

She is starring in the New Group’s “The Seagull/Woodstock, NY,” playwright Thomas Bradshaw’s sly updating of Chekhov’s sublime tragicomedy.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:00AM
Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Tulsa massacre horror reverberates in a solemn ‘High Ground’ at Arena by Peter Marks

Arena Stage production of Nathan Alan Davis’s new play is provocative and lyrical, yet somewhat opaque.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:44PM
Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Kennedy Center replaces ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ with ‘Spamalot’ by Peter Marks

Citing a rights issue, the Kennedy Center cancels a revival of "Kiss of the Spider Woman." Instead, it will offer "Monty Python's Spamalot."

SOURCE: Washington Post at 09:30AM
Monday, February 27, 2023

Oscar Isaac, Rachel Brosnahan head sparkling cast in Hansberry revival by Peter Marks

Brooklyn Academy of Music stages “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” a little-known play by “Raisin in the Sun” playwright Lorraine Hansberry.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:00PM
Sunday, February 26, 2023

Broadway’s ‘Into the Woods,’ now at the Kennedy Center, still enchants by Peter Marks

Director Lear deBessonet’s spare staging of "Into the Woods," now at the Kennedy Center, places the accent in this fractured fairy tale musical on storytelling

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:27PM
Thursday, February 23, 2023

The play that ‘Raisin in the Sun’ overshadowed finally gets its due by Peter Marks

Lorraine Hansberry’s “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” is being staged at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, starring with Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:23PM
Wednesday, February 22, 2023

An award in RBG’s name will go to a star she loved: Barbra Streisand by Peter Marks

Streisand will receive the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award at the Library of Congress on April 22.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 09:00AM
Monday, February 13, 2023

Kylie Jenner, murder, Instagram: This raucous British play cuts deep by Peter Marks

A provocative play about Internet influencers and their effect on Black women, “Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner,” comes to D.C.'s Woolly Mammoth Theatre.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:16PM
Friday, February 10, 2023

Big names fuel high hopes for the spring theater scene by Peter Marks

Stages will feature the artistry of Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaac, Stephen Sondheim and Lynn Nottage.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:00AM
Thursday, February 9, 2023

On Broadway, home movies reveal tough truths about America itself by Peter Marks

Nathan Lane, Zoë Wanamaker and Danny Burstein star in “Pictures from Home,” a play with “Death of a Salesman” vibes

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:00PM
Wednesday, February 8, 2023

The Atlas arts center, and its full theater menu, is a gem on H Street by Peter Marks

The Atlas Performing Arts Center in Northeast Washington offers “Bars and Measures” and “The Cake” on adjacent stages.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:29PM
Monday, February 6, 2023

In a world on the brink, there’s always room for Beckett’s ‘Endgame’ by Peter Marks

Two productions of 'Endgame' are on the boards in New York and Washington, freshly revealing Beckett's relevance.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 01:25PM
Friday, February 3, 2023

‘Sunset Boulevard’ at the Kennedy Center quakes with a volcanic Norma by Peter Marks

Stephanie J. Block is the powerhouse star of a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical take on a timeless 1950 film.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:22PM
Thursday, January 26, 2023

In this ‘Tempest,’ a misshapen, two-headed monster steals the show by Peter Marks

Two actors, Hassiem Muhammad and Ryan Sellers, collaborate on an electrifyingly physical interpretation of Shakespeare's Caliban at Round House Theatre.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:09PM
Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Theater J names Hayley Finn as its new artistic director by Peter Marks

Finn comes to D.C. from Minneapolis, where her job at the Playwrights’ Center revolved around new work

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:00PM

This Broadway piano isn’t just a prop. It’s a piece of Black history. by Peter Marks

The upright piano in the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” is being donated to the Smithsonian.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:00PM

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