All stories by Jane Franklin on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 15, 2023

Queer healing and support in ‘Where the Bois Aren’t’ by PrioreDance by Jane Franklin

Seen at Keegan Theatre, the dance communicated choreographer Robert J. Priore's experience of personal loss alongside a promising tomorrow.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 05:27PM
Friday, October 29, 2021

Dad and daughter wing it in ‘Birds of North America’ at Mosaic by Jane Franklin

Climate change, human choices, and the desire to find understanding color this compelling and unique narrative.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:55PM
Sunday, October 10, 2021

Providence Players of Fairfax premiere youthful ‘The Beatle Club’ by Jane Franklin

It's the summer of 1965 and these Teaneck club kids really dig the rock band.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:46PM
Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Company | E returns to live performance with new works on climate change by Jane Franklin

Company | E put out a bold call for choreographers early this spring. In the era of COVID cancellations and livestream programming this announcement provided a bright spot, a hint that chang…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:51PM
Tuesday, April 20, 2021

A white cop’s shots at Black man echo through ‘Until the Flood’ at Studio by Jane Franklin

Dael Orlandersmith’s Until the Flood, now an on-demand production from Studio Theatre, brings the viewer into the conversation. You couldn’t be more active as a listener in this simple, …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:32PM
Wednesday, December 23, 2020

‘Signature Vinyl’ spins first-rate versions of turntable classics by Jane Franklin

Directed and conceived by Matthew Gardiner, Signature Vinyl delivers a filmed concert of songs performed by an excellent cast of singers and musicians, captured live at several DC-area outdo…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:20PM
Friday, January 24, 2020

Updated for the 21st century, ‘Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures: Swan Lake’ soars at The Kennedy Center by Jane Franklin

As you enter The Kennedy Center Opera House, a muted image of a swan, wings spread, neck extended, warms the curtains. The theater darkens, the performance begins, and the movement of flight…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:02PM
Saturday, December 7, 2019

‘The Day’ at the Kennedy Center captures the moment: an intimate measure beyond expectations by Jane Franklin

Ropes hang, partitioning off a raised platform that is a ramp. Curiosity rises in dimension with the angle of the ramp, a shiny black surface, and in scale with vertical ropes that provide c…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:29PM
Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Review: ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show’ at Imagination Stage by Jane Franklin

Shadow puppets, sock puppets, masked performances, large scale festival puppets, and marionettes appear in cultures around the world. Enduring over the centuries, puppetry is an art, in mult…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:09PM
Monday, September 23, 2019

Review: “Elephant & Piggie’s ‘We Are In A Play!'” by Adventure Theatre & ATMTC Academy by Jane Franklin

Elephant and Piggie, two delightful characters based on the Elephant & Piggie books by Mo Willems, come to life in Adventure Theatre’s musical theatre production, Elephant & Piggie…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:56PM
Monday, July 15, 2019

2019 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Little White Lies’ by Jane Franklin

Four performers appear from unexpected places in the waiting area of the Peacock venue of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church. Emerging from hallways, stairways and around corners with a ripplin…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:26PM
Thursday, July 11, 2019

2019 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Oizys in the Waiting Room’ by Jane Franklin

There is reason for concern or apprehension as you scroll the morning headlines or track developing news moment by moment. Closer to home, the cause for unease might be a decision as simple …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:07PM
Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Review: ‘Ripcord’ at Keegan Theatre by Jane Franklin

The cute little old ladies are up to something at the sunny nursing home. They share the same room and enough wit to fight over the turf like two college roommates. If only we all could grow…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:33PM
Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Saxophonist Trey Sorrells, Artist-in-Residence at Strathmore by Jane Franklin

I had the pleasure to speak with saxophonist Trey Sorrells about his participation in the residency program at the Mansion at Strathmore and about his unique blend of jazz, gospel, and R&…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:00AM
Monday, May 27, 2019

Review: ‘Ghost Light’ by Parlor Room Theater by Jane Franklin

A play is ephemeral. The written words momentarily dance off the page as they are given body and voice, transformed into experience, and witnessed by an audience. The conclusion arrives, the…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:36AM
Sunday, March 31, 2019

Review: ‘DEMO: Now’ at the Kennedy Center by Jane Franklin

As Director and Curator of DEMO: Now, Damian Woetzel brings together artists of different disciplines. The idea is simple: put artists together in a room and see what develops, what is creat…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:35PM
Saturday, March 30, 2019

Review: ‘Women’s Works’ at George Washington University by Jane Franklin

Director and playwright Leslie Jacobson concludes her final year as a full-time professor at George Washington University with excerpts from plays she has written, directed or adapted. The w…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:55PM
Sunday, January 13, 2019

Review: ‘Proof’ by St. Mark’s Players by Jane Franklin

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” implies that a child has similar qualities or characteristics as his or her parents. A particular talent may be handed down through the g…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:15PM
Friday, January 11, 2019

Review: ‘Judy Garland: A Star Is Born’ at Signature Theatre by Jane Franklin

Signature Theatre’s Cabaret Series is a relaxed affair. Pull up a chair and put your elbows on the table because Awa Sal Secka and Katie Mariko Murray are going to make you feel right at h…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:46PM
Friday, October 19, 2018

Choreographer Cathy Marston Talks Kennedy Center Debut With San Francisco Ballet by Jane Franklin

In San Francisco, the Unbound Festival included twelve choreographers and was a massive undertaking filled with phenomenal risks, tremendous creative freedom and the excitement of new territ…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:18PM

Interview: San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson Brings ‘Unbound’ to The Kennedy Center by Jane Franklin

In San Francisco, the Unbound Festival included 12 choreographers and was a massive undertaking filled with phenomenal risks, tremendous creative freedom and the excitement of new territory.…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:02PM
Monday, October 8, 2018

Review: ‘Nevermore’ at Creative Cauldron by Jane Franklin

Creative Cauldron’s production of the musical Nevermore places the work of 19th-century writer, poet and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe at your feet. With music by Matt Connor, and Book b…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:10AM
Sunday, September 16, 2018

Review: ‘Pramkicker’ by Taffety Punk Theatre Company by Jane Franklin

Imagine a pram catapulting down the stairs and the sweet instant of satisfaction that the kick initiates. A fragment of a second later, the realization of the tumble hits home. The kick is, …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:51PM
Friday, September 14, 2018

Review: ‘Cirque De Nuit’ by PrioreDance at Atlas Performing Arts Center by Jane Franklin

Figures emerge into the light. They are remarkably similar and without guise, and as the bodies accumulate in number; it is as if one has been multiplied by ten. The variations are obvious b…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:01PM
Monday, April 23, 2018

Review: ‘Harvey’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Jane Franklin

The imaginary friend is a staple of childhood play. In Harvey, currently playing at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, the adult version of the childhood friend emerges when the “oh so plea…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:54PM
Friday, March 30, 2018

Interview: Dancer Sebastian Haynes on ‘Nederlands Dans Theater’ by Jane Franklin

Nederlands Dans Theater makes its Kennedy Center debut April 4-6. Artistic director Paul Lightfoot brings a program of distinctive works: “Shoot the Moon” (Glass/León & Lightfoot), …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:50PM
Saturday, February 24, 2018

Review: ‘DIAVOLO’ at The Kennedy Center by Jane Franklin

A lone dancer steps forward. Framed in silver metal rectangles, others stand behind her. As her gestures accumulate, others step forward, emerging to take her place. As the number of bodies …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:24PM
Friday, February 2, 2018

Review: American Ballet Theatre’s ‘Whipped Cream’ at the Kennedy Center by Jane Franklin

Take a step away from the mundane. Shrug off your office separates, buff hose, and business professional thoughts, and riggle into a world more like a pop-up children’s book than the s…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:04PM
Sunday, December 3, 2017

Interview: Natalia Magnicaballi of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet Discusses ‘Forever Balanchine: Farewell Performances’ by Jane Franklin

I had the pleasure to sit down with Natalia Magnicaballi, principal dancer with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, to talk about her work with the company and the upcoming concert series: The Suzan…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:03PM
Saturday, December 2, 2017

Review: ‘Black Girl: A Linguistic Play’ at The Kennedy Center by Jane Franklin

A lone bass guitar player, Electric Bassist Tracy Wormworth, is highlighted in a stream of light. He is seen at a distance and the sound is like a fluttering thought, familiar but quickly di…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:22PM
Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Interview: Dominic North Discusses ‘The Red Shoes’ and Life As a Dancer with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Company by Jane Franklin

Based on the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Red Shoes comes to The Kennedy Center October 10 – 15, 2017. The Red Shoes rece…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:04PM

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