All stories by Nancy Blum on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Theater Review: ‘Hamlet…the rest is silence’ at Synetic Theater at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre by Nancy Blum

A pale Ophelia (Maryam Najafzada), dressed in neutral taupe with roses in her now-loosed red hair, picks waterlilies from the fingertips of the ensemble as she wades into the river of their …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:40PM
Monday, July 22, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘ha ha ha ha ha ha ha’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre by Nancy Blum

There’s something risky about going to a show billed as improvisational and includes audience participation. The press release states: “Audiences can expect an entirely different show ev…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:24PM
Sunday, June 30, 2024

Theater Review: ‘Funny Girl’ at The Kennedy Center by Nancy Blum

As luck would have it, on the evening of the presidential debate, I was comfortably seated in the Kennedy Center Opera House enjoying the Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” starring Kateri…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:04PM
Sunday, May 5, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘The Winter’s Tale’ presented by Lumina Studio Theatre at Silver Spring Black Box Theater by Nancy Blum

Directors Meg Lebow and Sophie Cameron have attempted to solve the discordant plot of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale,” which travels from unfathomable tragedy to slapstick comedy t…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:58PM
Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Theater Review: ‘Marjorie Prime’ presented by Prologue Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center by Nancy Blum

“What does memory look like to you?” asks director Jason Tamborini. We have things that help us preserve our memories:  photographs, scrapbooks of past adventures and accomplishments, s…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:42PM
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘A Jumping-Off Point’ at Round House Theatre by Nancy Blum

Inda Craig-Galván’s “A Jumping-Off Point” makes its world premiere at Bethesda’s Round House Theatre as the centerpiece of the theatre’s third annual National Capital New Play Fes…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:18PM

Theatre Review: ‘Distillation’ at Solas Nua by Nancy Blum

For the love of peat. Luke Casserly, a performance artist from the rural midlands of Ireland, invites us to imagine the environment, the earth itself, as a living being and a friend. Commiss…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:13PM
Monday, February 12, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Romeo & Juliet’ at Synetic Theater by Nancy Blum

Directed by co-founder and Artistic Director, Paata Tsikurishvili, “Romeo & Juliet” is Synetic Theater’s final production in their Crystal City home of the past fifteen years.  In…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:40AM
Monday, January 15, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ at Greenbelt Arts Center by Nancy Blum

Processing the death of Stephen Sondheim continues in the theatre community across the nation.  Testaments to his genius are represented locally this winter by several productions: two of �…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:06PM
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at Folger Theatre by Nancy Blum

Long considered one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays,” Folger Theatre’s production of “The Winter’s Tale” embraces the discordance of the plot elements and takes us on an invigo…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:18PM
Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Fat Ham’ at Studio Theatre by Nancy Blum

The anticipatory buzz surrounding David Ijames’ “Fat Ham” was apt prelude to its arrival at Studio Theatre. It had a sold-out run at the Public and then a stint on Broadway. This produ…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:21PM
Sunday, September 24, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Scorched’ presented by ExPats Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center by Nancy Blum

“Nothing means more than being together,” says a young and pregnant Nawal bidding farewell to her lover Wahab, a refugee fleeing the militia as the country dissolves into civil war. This…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:06PM
Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Espejos: Clean’ at Studio Theatre by Nancy Blum

“Hearing an actor speak in her native language is a natural outgrowth of this play’s quest for a more authentic engagement with another culture,” writes David Muse, Artistic Director o…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:17AM
Sunday, August 20, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ at Kennedy Center by Nancy Blum

“It started with the trial,” Scout Finch (the delightful Maeve Moynihan) tells us in the opening moments of Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s famous novel, “To Kill a Mocki…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:05AM
Monday, July 24, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Cambodian Rock Band’ at Arena Stage by Nancy Blum

“Music is the soul of Cambodia,” says a character in Arena Stage’s long-awaited production of “Cambodian Rock Band” by Lauren Yee (in association with Alley Theatre, Berkeley Rep…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:19AM
Monday, July 17, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Mr. Yunioshi’ at 1st Stage by Nancy Blum

Who knew how many people would remember Mickey Rooney? Child star turned adult character actor, Rooney first appeared on the vaudeville stage before he turned two. In his lifetime, he appear…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:53PM
Sunday, July 16, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘The Revolutionists’ presented by Silver Spring Stage at the Arts Barn by Nancy Blum

“Find the heart…not the art.” Olympe de Gouges (Mary Wakefield) needs to write a play “that’s good and important and annoyingly prescient.” In “The Revolutionists,” playwrigh…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:20PM
Monday, June 26, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Nate the Great’ at Imagination Stage by Nancy Blum

About halfway through the joyful opening night performance of “Nate the Great” at Imagination Stage, I noticed three young children seated a few rows ahead of me engrossed in Tyler Dobie…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:27PM
Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Incendiary’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company by Nancy Blum

In his interview in Woolly Mammoth’s playbill, playwright Dave Harris says, “How do you separate what you’re doing because of your own free will and your own choice, or what you are do…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:18AM
Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘ ‘night, Mother’ at Spotlighters Theatre by Nancy Blum

There are no casual or accidental moments in Marsha Norman’s “‘night, Mother.” For both characters, every word spoken and every action are chillingly intentional—there are no “th…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:32AM
Monday, May 15, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Three by Yeats’ at Scena Theatre by Nancy Blum

Earth receive an honored guest;William Yeats is laid to rest:Let the Irish vessel lieEmptied of its poetry.  – W.H. Auden, 1939 With Scena Theatre’s production of “Three by Yeats,” …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:28PM
Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘The Nosebleed’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company by Nancy Blum

There was a sense of excitement among the crowd at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company for the opening night of “The Nosebleed,” written and directed by Aya Ogawa. I seldom think of D.C. has …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:06PM
Monday, March 6, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at Synetic Theater by Nancy Blum

At first glance, the silhouette of a Gothic castle on the set of “Beauty and the Beast” seems to signal a journey to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The thought is quickly dispelled as the cas…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:44PM
Monday, February 13, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Ghost/Writer’ at Rep Stage by Nancy Blum

This world premiere of “Ghost/Writer,” written by Dane Figueroa Edidi and directed by Danielle A. Drakes, is the penultimate production by Rep Stage at Howard Community College. The firs…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:21PM
Monday, January 30, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘The Lifespan of a Fact’ at The Keegan Theatre by Nancy Blum

“The wrong facts get in the way of the story,” claims writer John D’Agata (Colin Smith) in the midst of a heated discussion with fact checker Jim Fingal (Iván Carlo) in “The Lifespa…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:41PM
Sunday, January 29, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Jump’ at Everyman Theatre by Nancy Blum

Everyman Theatre’s production of “Jump” by Charly Evon Simpson opens with a young woman vaping while gazing off into the distance from upon a high bridge. She drops the vape into the w…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:49PM
Sunday, December 11, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Love’s Labor’s Lassoed’ at Lumina Studio Theatre by Nancy Blum

Lumina Studio Theatre, a youth theater company based in Silver Spring, is celebrating its twenty-fifth year with an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” set in the Ol…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:07AM
Sunday, December 4, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Snow Maiden’ at Synetic Theatre by Nancy Blum

Based on the 19th-century folktale “Snegurochka” by Alexander Ostrovsky, “Snow Maiden” is a new production created and directed by Helen Hayes Award-winning choreographer and Synetic…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:07PM
Monday, November 7, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Fade’ at Unexpected Stage Company by Nancy Blum

What does assimilation into U.S. culture mean for immigrants from different Latin American countries and economic classes? The points made in “Fade” by Tanya Saracho may break no new gro…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:08AM
Sunday, October 30, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Legally Blonde’ presented by Rockville Musical Theatre at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre by Nancy Blum

“Legally Blonde,” with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach, is an energetic, feel-good story where the worst character is justly punished an…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:47PM
Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘The Lion in Winter’ at Everyman Theatre by Nancy Blum

James Goldman’s problematic “The Lion in Winter” is a well-known vehicle for actors to show off their command of language, rhythm, and sharp emotional turns. It is, in large part, a du…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:58PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic