All stories by Celia Wren on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

At Woolly Mammoth, a 'play' you access only by telephone by Celia Wren

A collaboration with the Telephonic Literary Union, "Human Resources" is funny, biting " and yes, even poetic.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 09:18AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Studio Theatre's virtual 'salons' offer a cultural gathering place during the pandemic by Celia Wren

Playwright Psalmayene 24 hosts monthly online chats that celebrate culture "through a Black lens."

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:18PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Synetic Theater adapts tales written in the face of a 14th-century plague for our modern times by Celia Wren

Stories from Giovanni Boccaccio's 'The Decameron' to be made available online.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 12, 2020

Playwright Will Eno talks about 'The Realistic Joneses' at Spooky Action Theater by Celia Wren

By turns wry and sober, the play is a riff on marriage and the awareness of death.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 01:36PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Studio's blazing 'Pass Over' reimagines 'Godot' for the Black Lives Matter era by Celia Wren

The genius of Antoinette Nwandu's play lies especially in the way it aligns harrowing reflection with the Beckett template.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 05:12PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 9, 2020

Coronavirus looms over this play set during a plague. But 'The Amateurs' speaks to timeless concerns. by Celia Wren

Jordan Harrison's work, at Olney Theatre through April 5, is also a valentine to the alchemy of the stage.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:03PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Movement adds depth to this Broadway musical about 1940s veterans by Celia Wren

"Bandstand," with Tony-winning choreography by "Hamilton's" Andy Blankenbuehler, is at the National Theatre through Sunday.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:12PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 2, 2020

'Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes' veers jarringly from comedy to darkness by Celia Wren

Signature Theatre's sold-out play showcases terrific performances but feels tonally jolting.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:12AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 27, 2020

'The Wanderers' roams with a hungry heart by Celia Wren

Theater J takes on Anna Ziegler's funny and compassionate play about chronic dissatisfaction.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:12PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 19, 2020

At Keegan Theatre, 'Boy' gracefully ponders gender identity by Celia Wren

Director Susan Marie Rhea's staging brings out the heart and urgency in Anna Ziegler's 2016 play.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:03PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Constellation's '39 Steps' is a comic thriller without thrills by Celia Wren

Gags are the soul of the production, but pulling off this kind of funny business is tricky.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 01:42PM[SHARE]

'Mother Road' is often a slog despite burnished production at Arena Stage by Celia Wren

The play, like its namesake route, is ambitious, unwieldy, conspicuously significant and uncomfortably long.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 01:42PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 13, 2020

GALA's 'Exquisita Agonia' pours its heart out by Celia Wren

2018 play written and directed by Nilo Cruz brims with poetry and oversize emotion.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:54PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 3, 2020

'Silent Sky' tells the story of pioneering female astronomers with humor and warmth by Celia Wren

Sleek production of Lauren Gunderson play is now at Ford's Theatre.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 04:24PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 30, 2020

Acting warms Washington Stage Guild's too-tidy 'Bloomsday' by Celia Wren

The Steven Dietz play ponders time, love, regret and the fragility of human connection.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 04:54PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 22, 2020

At the Kennedy Center, a reimagined 'Boléro,' through a South African lens by Celia Wren

Choreographer Gregory Maqoma sees positivity in 'Cion: Requiem of Ravel's Boléro' " a piece about mourning.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:03PM[SHARE]

Distinctive characters energize Mosaic Theater's 'Pilgrims Musa & Sheri' by Celia Wren

Yussef El Guindi's play thoughtfully ponders the issues of migration, assimilation and barriers to understanding.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:54PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 16, 2020

The drama of saving refugee children in 1939, and a journey that's just as moving and meaningful today by Celia Wren

Theater J's "Sheltered" benefits from powerful themes and pivotal performances.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 04:18PM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 15, 2019

No winter wonderland in slushy 'Snow Queen' by Celia Wren

Synetic Theater's production does boast some gripping sequences, but there's a general deficit in tension.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:03PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 12, 2019

'Peter Pan and Wendy' adapter takes science on an awfully big adventure by Celia Wren

In production at Shakespeare Theatre, playwright Lauren Gunderson has found another female heroine in Wendy Darling.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 19, 2019

In 'Airness,' the axes are invisible but the play is loud by Celia Wren

Chelsea Marcantel's underdog tale about air-guitar aficionados gets an exuberant run at the Keegan Theatre.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:36PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 16, 2019

At Theater J, Albee's 'Occupant' takes a lifeless look at the life of Louise Nevelson by Celia Wren

The late sculptor looks back on her career in this contrived and starchy portrait of the artist.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:06PM[SHARE]
Monday, November 11, 2019

Bravo for reviving the play that scandalized Jane Austen's world by Celia Wren

Elizabeth Inchbald's "Lovers' Vows" features a hilarious performance " the butler did it.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 05:48PM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 7, 2019

'Occupant' at Theater J celebrates sculptor Louise Nevelson and her art " without actually using any of it by Celia Wren

The set design and costuming for the play about the late sculptor are meant to evoke the feeling of the artist without replicating her sculptures or clothes.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:54AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Everything but the continental breakfast at 'Crystal Creek Motel' by Celia Wren

A Flying V Theatre world premiere serves up a dozen vignettes, with mixed results.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 04:24PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 14, 2019

Daring idea, but flawed e xecution, in 'Day of Absence' by Celia Wren

Douglas Turner Ward's award-winning satirical fantasy is the central component of the Theater Alliance production.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:42PM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 10, 2019

Timely 'The Royale' comes out swinging by Celia Wren

With a 1910 boxing match at its center, this Marco Ramirez play contemplates entrenched racism in America.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:54PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Synetic's 'Tempest' is splashy but brooding by Celia Wren

The pool of water covering the stage makes for some exciting scenes, but it also detracts from the show's spell.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:42PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 1, 2019

A giddy poet lights up 'Candida' by Celia Wren

George Bernard Shaw's eloquent rom-com muses and amuses at Undercroft Theatre.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:33AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Good grammar is essential to the D.C. judicial history lesson that is 'Trying' by Celia Wren

Joanna McClelland Glass's 2004 play gets an intimate, workmanlike production from 1st Stage.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 05:24PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off