All stories by Barbara Braswell on BroadwayStars

Monday, July 30, 2018

Review: ‘A Chorus Line’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

A Broadway musical about Broadway musicals—what could be better for theatre-lovers of all stripes? The iconic A Chorus Line truly fits the bill! It features music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyric…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:06PM
Saturday, June 16, 2018

Review: ‘Disney’s Beauty and the Beast’ at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Pure enchantment is the watchword as Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre presents Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. With music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Li…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:33PM
Sunday, December 3, 2017

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas’ at Olney Theatre Center by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Surely, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the definitive Christmas story—at least, in the fiction category—and Paul Morella’s scrumptious and spooky adaptation has become a perennial fav…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:27PM
Sunday, November 12, 2017

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid’ at Damascus Theatre Company by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Both “Under the Sea” and in “The World Above,” Damascus Theatre Company brings us a truly charming production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Based on the Hans Cristian Andersen st…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:08PM
Sunday, July 23, 2017

Review: ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ at City of Fairfax Theatre Company by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

For those who love musical theatre, there is something amazing going on in Fairfax, Virginia this weekend and next, as the City of Fairfax Theatre Company and Truro Anglican Church present J…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:37PM
Sunday, June 25, 2017

Review: ‘My Fair Lady’ at Olney Theatre Center by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Not your grandparents’ My Fair Lady, Olney Theatre Center presents a brilliant reimagining of this classic musical. With book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, it…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:14PM
Saturday, January 7, 2017

Review: ‘Twelve Angry Men’ at Sandy Spring Theatre Group and Arts on The Green by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

What goes on in the secret deliberations of juries? And what lessons are there for all of us in terms of group dynamics and how to persuade people? The answers to these interesting questions…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:23PM
Sunday, November 20, 2016

Review: ‘Disney’s Beauty and the Beast’ at Imagination Stage by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Imagination Stage serves up a charming and delightful holiday treat with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. This timeless 1994 Broadway musical was adapted for the stage from the Academy Award…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:17AM
Sunday, November 13, 2016

Review: ‘Guys and Dolls’ at Richard Montgomery High School by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Nicknamed “A Musical Fable of Broadway,” Guys and Dolls is a 1950 musical comedy based on the short stories of the legendary Damon Runyon. With music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:57AM
Saturday, November 12, 2016

Review: ‘Children of Eden’ at Damascus Theatre Company by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Parent-child relationships have been a perennial issue throughout history, even “In the Beginning.” Damascus Theatre Company’s production of Children of Eden takes the audience on a mu…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:01AM
Saturday, October 29, 2016

Review #2: ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ at American University by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

American University’s Greenberg Theatre performed a hilariously funny ancient Roman farce, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. With music and lyrics by the incomparable Stephen…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:12PM
Sunday, October 23, 2016

Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

If you want to see a thoroughly charming romantic comedy, visit the Laurel Mill Playhouse for their lovely production of Pride and Prejudice.  Based on the legendary Jane Austen’s 1813 no…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:08PM
Saturday, October 1, 2016

Review: ‘Amadeus’ at Providence Players of Fairfax by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Envious skullduggery, a beautiful interweaving of Mozart’s music, and a fictionalized but fascinating plot are just a few of the reasons to see the Providence Players of Fairfax’s specta…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:15AM
Friday, August 19, 2016

Review: ‘Carousel’ at The Theatre Lab of the Dramatic Arts by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Carousel is a bittersweet tale of romance and redemption set against the backdrop of a town on the Maine coastline at the turn of the 20th century. With music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:25AM
Sunday, July 24, 2016

‘West Side Story’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Poverty, street violence, guns, drugs, working-class whites blaming Hispanic immigrants for their financial woes, mistrust of the police—is this an article in last week’s newspaper? It c…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:04PM
Saturday, July 9, 2016

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Let Trump Be Trump’ by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Imagine, if you can, that it is July 2017 and Donald J. Trump has been elected as the 45th President of the United States. While some of you might find that prospect wonderful and others ho…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:36AM
Friday, June 24, 2016

Review: The District of Comedy Roast of James Carville at The Kennedy Center by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

How do you make fun of someone who always makes fun of himself? Well, last night, Roastmaster Bob Saget and The Kennedy Center’s District of Comedy Festival managed to do just that, roasti…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:39PM
Sunday, June 12, 2016

Review: ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at Signature Theatre by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

What is a family? Is it all about biology or does it have much more to do with love? Surely, it’s the latter, and this lesson has never been more sensitively, humorously, and colorfully pr…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:59PM
Monday, April 25, 2016

‘I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk’ at Strathmore by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

From Handel’s Giulio Cesare to Donizetti’s Anna Bolena to Adams’ Nixon in China, real-life historic figures have often been the subjects of operas. The multi-talented actor, singer, co…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:50AM
Friday, April 8, 2016

Review: ‘All the Way’ at Arena Stage by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Lyndon Baines Johnson, popularly known as “LBJ,” was one of our best presidents, and also one of our worst. Truly a study in contrasts, he could evince both strength and weakness at the …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:08PM
Friday, March 25, 2016

Review: ‘An Evening with Jim Lehrer’ at The Writer’s Center by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

The Writer’s Center in Bethesda is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, and what better way could there be to mark the occasion than a program with the premier journalist, author, …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:05PM
Sunday, February 14, 2016

Review: ‘A Grand Night for Singing’ at Montgomery Playhouse and Arts on the Green by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Question: Where can you hear more than 30 wonderful songs from the legendary team of Rodgers and Hammerstein performed by talented local artists? Answer: The current production of A Grand N…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:07PM
Saturday, February 6, 2016

Review: ‘1776’ at McLean Community Players by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Who would have thought you could make a musical about something as serious as starting a revolution? Well, with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone, the 1969 Tony Aw…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:23PM
Saturday, January 30, 2016

‘Kristin Chenoweth: Coming Home Tour’ at Strathmore by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

To paraphrase an old expression, “big talent can come in small packages!” This observation was never truer than when the diminutive musical superstar, Kristin Chenoweth, took the stage a…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:09PM
Friday, December 18, 2015

‘A Christmas Carol’ at Wolf Pack Theatre Company by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Charles Dickens’ immortal classic, A Christmas Carol, was first published in 1843. Now, in 2015, the Wolf Pack Theatre Company, in association with Community Crisis Services and St. Jo…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:30PM
Friday, December 11, 2015

BSO: ‘Tis the Season with Brian Stokes Mitchell’ at Strathmore by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

The Music Center at Strathmore was filled with the holiday spirit as the Tony Award-winning Broadway superstar Brian Stokes Mitchell joined Conductor Damon Gupton and the Baltimore Symphony …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:07PM
Saturday, November 14, 2015

‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Damascus Theatre Company by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

“Without our traditions, life would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof!” Those satiric words are spoken by Tevye (Brian Lyons-Burke), the narrator and main character of the enduringly …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:14PM
Saturday, October 31, 2015

‘Footloose’ at Rockville Musical Theatre by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Let’s hear it for the Rockville Musical Theatre’s production of Footloose! This bold and bodacious, high-kicking, foot-stomping extravaganza features a dedicated cast of volunteer perfo…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:37PM
Sunday, October 11, 2015

Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘Trish Tinkler Gets Saved’ at Unexpected Stage Company by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

A 40-year-old groupie of the 1980’s British rock band Whitesnake, who is severely down on her luck, wants to sleep in a convenience store while she tries to figure out how to get her l…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:15PM
Saturday, July 11, 2015

‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’ at Rockville Musical Theatre by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

“Just lots of goodwill and maybe one small thrill, but there’s nothin’ dirty goin’ on!” This concluding line from the honky-tonk song, “Lil Ol’ Pissant Country Place” perfect…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:48PM
Saturday, June 13, 2015

‘The Wedding Singer’ at Damascus Theatre Company by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Hearken back to New Jersey in the 1980s when self-absorbed Yuppies worshipped Wall Street, hair gel, and blow dryers, and you have the setting for the 2006 Tony-nominated Broadway musical, T…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:10PM

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