All stories by Anne Valentino on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘The Last Drop’ presented by Scena Theatre at The DC Arts Center by Anne Valentino

Imagining an apocalyptic world in which food, water, and essentially all of the basic necessities are in short supply has become popular fodder for television, movies and, yes, theatre as we…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:20PM
Monday, April 22, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Chicks in Heaven’ at Creative Cauldron by Anne Valentino

Creative Cauldron’s “Bold New Voices” initiative was designed to support the development of plays or plays with music written by women. As Artistic Director Laura Connors Hull emphasiz…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:15PM
Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Human Museum’ presented by Rorschach Theatre by Anne Valentino

The End of Days is some 100 years past and the world is now populated by robots. All humans have tragically died despite their best efforts not to become extinct. Or have they? This is the b…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:22PM
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘The Nance’ at 1st Stage by Anne Valentino

Set in the 1930s, “The Nance” harkens back to the heyday of the burlesque era with clubs and cabarets, featuring bawdy stripteases interspersed with comedic acts, dotting Greenwich Villa…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:55PM

Theatre Review: ‘Sunset Baby’ at Anacostia Playhouse by Anne Valentino

Part deconstruction of a fraught father-daughter relationship, part dysfunctional love story, and part homage to Nina Simone, Dominique Morisseau’s 2012 play “Sunset Baby” is now playi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:01PM
Thursday, April 4, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Nancy’ presented by Mosaic Theater Company at Atlas Performing Arts Center by Anne Valentino

Mosaic Theater’s latest offering is, in large part, a searing and satirical look at the prevailing politics of the 80s. It invites audiences into a comic book world of then First Lady Nanc…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:46PM
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at Workhouse Arts Center by Anne Valentino

Workhouse Arts Center’s production of Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe’s “Every Brilliant Thing” was not at all what I was expecting—it was so much more. Developed as part solo p…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:47PM
Monday, March 25, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Anne Valentino

“Murder on the Orient Express” is one of Agatha Christie’s most well-known novels. As adapted by Ken Ludwig, the play of the same name takes audiences on a train ride they will not soo…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:37PM

Theatre Review: ‘Migraaaaants, or there’s too damn many of us on this boat’ presented by ExPats Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center by Anne Valentino

“Migraaaaants, or there’s too damn many of us on this boat” is a play that seriously defies any sort of theatrical genre. Is it a comedy? Drama? Farce? Political satire? Lower budget m…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:26AM
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘At The Wedding’ at Studio Theatre by Anne Valentino

Weddings (as the reception wears on and the alcohol flows) tend to be drama-filled, emotionally-charged events that can, with the mere flip of a switch, devolve into overly confessional hotb…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:59PM
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘The Niceties’ presented by Perisphere Theater at Silver Spring Black Box Theatre by Anne Valentino

Eleanor Burgess’ “The Niceties” is a deeply intense two-hander that deftly blurs the line between hero and villain, as it is nearly impossible to completely ascribe any one category to…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:52PM
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Rapture, Blister, Burn’ at St. Marks Players by Anne Valentino

Pulitzer Prize finalist “Rapture, Blister Burn” gives playwright Gina Gionfriddo a theatrical platform from which to explore the topic of feminism from just about every conceivable angle…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:46AM
Sunday, March 3, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company by Anne Valentino

The sheer staying power of three actors playing countless characters over the course of three and a half hours is perhaps the most astounding part of Shakespeare Theatre Company’s producti…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:42PM
Monday, February 26, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Tempestuous Elements’ at Arena Stage by Anne Valentino

Anna Julia Cooper became principal of M Street High School in DC in 1902. Deemed by many the “mother of Black feminism,” Cooper was a staunch proponent of young students of color pursuin…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:18PM
Thursday, February 8, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Anton in Show Business,’ presented by The Arlington Players at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre by Anne Valentino

  Jane Martin is the pseudonym for a playwright who, among other honors, has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. That very same anonymous “Jane Martin” is the author of “Anton in …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:43PM
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘This Much I Know’ at Theater J by Anne Valentino

Jonathan Spector’s “This Much I Know” is currently having its East Coast premiere at Theater J. It was the winner of the 2023 Theatre Bay Area Will Glickman Award for best new play pre…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:57PM
Sunday, February 4, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Morning After Grace’ presented by Valley Place Arts Collaborative at Anacostia Arts Center by Anne Valentino

Plays centering exclusively on people “of a certain age” are admittedly few and far between. “Morning After Grace” heavily mines the lives of those who fall into the 60+ category and…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:16PM
Friday, February 2, 2024

Concert Review: Audra McDonald and the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center by Anne Valentino

Audra McDonald’s star just keeps rising. With a record six Tony Awards along with two Grammys and an Emmy adorning her mantle, the soprano powerhouse absolutely brought down the house in h…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:04PM
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Theatre News: Folger Theatre’s Reading Room Festival – Wrestling with Shakespeare by Anne Valentino

The final day of the Folger Theatre’s Reading Room Festival proved as plucky and spirited as ever. At the center of this Shakespeare-filled Sunday was a staged reading of “Everything Tha…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:40PM
Sunday, January 28, 2024

Theatre News: Folger Shakespeare Reading Room Festival – Reframing the ‘Shrew’ by Anne Valentino

This is the second year the Folger has produced The Reading Room Festival, “with new work and conversations inspired by or in response to the plays of William Shakespeare.” The four-day …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:00PM
Sunday, January 14, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Marjorie Prime’ presented by The Colonial Players of Annapolis by Anne Valentino

Jordan Harrison’s play “Marjorie Prime,” a Pulitzer Prize finalist, is one that teasingly flirts with the boundaries between past and future, between artificial intelligence and the fa…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:00PM
Friday, January 12, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘How to Be A Korean Woman’ at Theater J by Anne Valentino

Questions of parentage, heritage, and of one’s past are hauntingly mined throughout Sun Mee Chomet’s one-woman show “How to Be A Korean Woman.” Sun Mee brings audiences 85 minutes of…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:03AM
Sunday, December 24, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘One Mo’ Time’ at Anacostia Playhouse by Anne Valentino

Shows that attempt to capture a slice of history are most intriguing when they manage to sincerely transport audiences and are able to not only recreate the milieu, but hit upon that essenti…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:46PM
Friday, December 22, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Moses’ at Theater J by Anne Valentino

Usually, when reviewing a play, I will sleep on it. The next morning, if I have lingering questions, I want to see the “sequel” or I am unusually reflective about what I saw—then I kno…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:04PM
Monday, December 18, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘A Delicate Ship’ presented by 4615 Theatre Company at Studio 1469 by Anne Valentino

Last week I had the opportunity to see four shows. Three of them were larger-budget productions. The fourth was a much smaller show staged in a fairly intimate space. In my humble opinion, b…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:33PM

Theatre Review: ‘Girl from the North Country’ at The Kennedy Center by Anne Valentino

Some musicals don’t fit inside of a neat little box. Some musicals actually blow up said box in presenting a show that dares to defy conventions. Tony Winner (for Best Orchestrations) “G…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:07PM
Thursday, December 14, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Pretty Woman: The Musical’ at the National Theatre by Anne Valentino

The trend for turning movies into big-budget Broadway musicals has definitely been picking up steam in the past few years. From “Beetlejuice” to “Mrs. Doubtfire,” numerous iconic 90s…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:51AM
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘The Seafarer’ at Round House Theatre by Anne Valentino

The idea of wrestling with one’s inner demons is given a slightly different spin in acclaimed Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s “The Seafarer,” now playing at Round House Theater. F…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:19PM
Monday, December 11, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘As You Dig It’ presented by Lumina Studio Theatre at The Silver Spring Black Box Theater by Anne Valentino

Shakespeare has something for everyone—a  little romance, some sword fighting, jealousy, greed, the most tragic of deaths, but is Shakespeare suitable for children? What’s more, can Sha…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:47AM
Monday, November 20, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Public Obscenities’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company by Anne Valentino

While technically there is no public obscenity in this play, the content offers a complex, edgy, and, at times, risqué look at modern Indian culture as framed through the literal and metaph…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:45PM
Saturday, November 18, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘See You Tomorrow’ at Theater J by Anne Valentino

The world premiere of Iris Bahr’s “See You Tomorrow” at Theater J invites audiences along on a frantic, guilt-driven, and semi-neurotic journey about a woman who is determined to help …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:48PM

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