All stories by Ben Demers on BroadwayStars

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Falling Out of Time at Theater J (review) by Ben Demers

Among the pivotal works of modern literature, novels like “Infinite Jest” and “Finnegan’s Wake” have proven so dense, so abstract, so impenetrable as to be nearly …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:15AM
Monday, February 22, 2016

The Promised Land from Mosaic Theater Company: soul-stirring, devastating by Ben Demers

As the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe continues to spiral, Mosaic Theater Company of DC goes beyond the headlines to diagram hopeful refugees caught in a web of chaos, bureauc…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 01:49PM
Saturday, January 9, 2016

Wrestling Jerusalem, one man, many views of Israel at Mosaic Theater (review) by Ben Demers

“I am large. I contain multitudes.” Walt Whitman’s words in “Song of Myself” aptly describe Aaron Davidman’s chameleonic turn in Wrestling Jerusalem, a whirlwind solo tour throug…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:37AM
Monday, November 2, 2015

Darius & Twig, a lyrical, affecting tale of friendship and perseverance at The Kennedy Center by Ben Demers

“What happens to a dream deferred?…Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?” wondered poet Langston Hughes in his 1951 work “Harlem”.   Over sixty years l…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:56PM
Monday, September 21, 2015

The Requiem at Highwood Theatre (review) by Ben Demers

For years, psychologists have marveled at the power of music to rebuild memory, aid recovery from brain injury, and even fight Alzheimer’s disease. In The Requiem, talented young playwrig…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 07:34PM
Friday, July 17, 2015

MacWHAT? at Capital Fringe by Ben Demers

Shakespeare is great as straight drama or as total parody; indeed both Royal Shakespeare Company and Reduced Shakespeare Co coexist happily next door to each other. The goofy, frequently puz…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:57AM
Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Barenaked Comedy at Capital Fringe by Ben Demers

Barenaked Comedy brings together the “bar arts” of burlesque and standup comedy for an endlessly entertaining evening. This bawdy, adult showcase has a truly random assortment of talente…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 07:33PM

Experimental at Capital Fringe by Ben Demers

The “play within a play” device is a tough trick to pull off, even for the likes of Shakespeare. XY Players’ Experimental offers up a trippy tale about actors trapped in a murderou…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 02:55PM
Tuesday, July 14, 2015

To Err is Falstaff!! at Capital Fringe by Ben Demers

With DC ramping up for yet another presidential tilt, it’s a great time to sit back and laugh at the whole circus. To Err is Falstaff!! inventively blends Aaron Sorkin-esque humor and paci…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 07:20PM
Monday, July 13, 2015

Domestic Animals at Capital Fringe by Ben Demers

Sometimes the world inside our heads is a lot brighter than the real world outside. In Jennifer Faletto’s affecting Domestic Animals, a young woman tries to embrace her fractured new life,…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 04:06PM
Sunday, July 12, 2015

American Lit at Capital Fringe by Ben Demers

The tumultuous personal lives and demons of Hemingway, Mailer, and many of our greatest writers can sometimes overshadow their indelible literary achievements. In American Lit, playwright Ja…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 01:22PM
Monday, June 15, 2015

Flying V Fights: Heroes & Monsters – a spectacle of superhero action (review) by Ben Demers

… a thrilling physical showcase with heart and laughs to spare. Cirque du Soleil plus Superheroes. That’s the easiest way to quickly describe the wildly inventive Flying V Fights: He…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 02:09PM
Saturday, June 13, 2015

Source Festival: The Word and the Wasteland: gutsy and on point (review) by Ben Demers

A razor-sharp critique of media and justice in post 9-11 America In this age of 24/7 media witch hunts and instant mass outrage, any national security issue can morph into World War III ov…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 01:06PM
Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Source Festival Shorts: Love and Botany (review) by Ben Demers

Love and Botany sprouts six unique tales of plants, romance, and unlikely connections. CulturalDC has married some unlikely theatrical bedfellows for its ongoing Source Festival, and none mo…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 01:45PM
Monday, June 8, 2015

Source Festival Shorts: Mistakes and Media (Review) by Ben Demers

The 6 short plays grouped into “Mistakes & Media” take on 24-7 Internet & media culture with wit, weirdness. Our modern culture of ubiquitous screens, 24-7 information, and infin…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:28AM
Thursday, June 4, 2015

NSFW at Round House: A raunchy, biting satire with brains and surprising heart by Ben Demers

Ripped from the pages of Maxim and Cosmopolitan, Round House Theatre’s rollicking satire “NSFW” offers a timely, raunchy, and deeply affecting look at the media’s objectification of …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:08PM
Friday, May 29, 2015

Forum’s The Shipment delivers its package using minstrel, standup (review) by Ben Demers

Forum Theater’s affecting rendition of Young Jean Lee’s polemical The Shipment doesn’t dance around the truth, but opts instead to rip the Band-Aid off the raw, tragic, funny, and …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:19AM
Thursday, April 16, 2015

Rorschach’s ‘very still & hard to see': a horror fan’s dream. (review) by Ben Demers

In the jarring very still & hard to see, playwright Steve Yockey injects dark Japanese folklore into Stephen King’s mold of creeping horror, set far too close to home. Rorschach Theatr…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:15AM
Wednesday, April 8, 2015

The Margins from Molotov – long on ambition, but short on scares by Ben Demers

Ghost stories need a few key elements to truly scare: constantly building tension, atmospheric lighting and music, a cast that knows when to get out of the way, and just enough backstory to …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:39AM
Friday, March 27, 2015

G-d’s Honest Truth, a painfully funny new play at Theater J by Ben Demers

What if you bought a one-of-a-kind Picasso, and then a friend revealed it wasn’t really one-of-a-kind? Would you accept the truth – or cling to ignorance like a warm blanket? In Thea…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:18AM
Monday, March 23, 2015

Maritime Ode, a one-man tour de force from Portugal’s best by Ben Demers

The “seafaring life” has taken many forms over time: fearless explorers, bloodthirsty pirates, hopeful pilgrims, grizzled Hemingway-esque mariners, and modern sailors endlessly plying va…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 05:55PM
Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Autism and grief explored in Mockingbird by Ben Demers

Understanding loss can be a tricky business for children, and especially so for those with disabilities. The Kennedy Center’s poignant production of Mockingbird explores an autistic girl�…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:29AM
Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Not Enuf Lifetimes from The Welders by Ben Demers

Can children ever escape the sins of their fathers and mothers? In their electric, incisive premiere of playwright Caleen Sinnette Jennings’ Not Enuf Lifetimes, The Welders wade into the c…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:19AM
Thursday, September 18, 2014

TOAST from dog & pony DC by Ben Demers

Have you ever watched an Apple, IBM, or Google commercial and wondered ”Why couldn’t I do that?” dog & pony DC asks would-be innovators to flex their mental muscles in Toas…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 12:06PM
Monday, September 15, 2014

Fatal Song: The Great Opera Murders from In Series by Ben Demers

Between consumption, poison, madness, exposure, stabbing, and suffocation, the divas of classic opera never really had much of a chance. Carmen, Mimi, Desdemona, and others finally get the c…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:41AM
Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Enter Ophelia, distracted by Ben Demers

“Full of sound and fury, signifying [a crazy night of theater]”. That’s the quick summary of Taffety Punk Theatre Company’s world premiere of Enter Ophelia, distracted, Kimberly Gilb…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:20AM
Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Ben Demers

Sometimes, we could all use a little love and understanding – even, perhaps, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ. In Forum Theatre’s crackling production of The Last Days of Judas Isca…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 08:35AM
Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Sleeping Beauty: A Puppet Ballet by Ben Demers

The words “puppet show” and “groundbreaking” don’t often share the same sentence, but DC’s Pointless Theatre Group is out to change that, one performance at a time. Point…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 10:06AM
Friday, March 28, 2014

The Admission by Ben Demers

Are children doomed to repeat the sins of their parents, or can they escape the cycle of negativity and start fresh? Theater J’s workshop presentation of Motti Lerner’s powerful play The…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:45AM
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Carolina Layaway Grail by Ben Demers

The newly-christened Welders playwright collective has burst confidently onto the DC theater landscape with its daring debut of The Carolina Layaway Grail. In a cozy side room of the Atlas P…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 02:01PM
Tuesday, February 18, 2014

We Are Proud to Present… by Ben Demers

Winston Churchill said, “History is written by the victors.” Nowhere is this more true than with colonial history, where the conquerors’ truth often dominates and the subjugated vi…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:42AM

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