Few classics of the American stage loom quite as large as A Long Day's Journey into Night, Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical account of a theatrical family, of means, plagued by the darkness…
When we last caught Christina Anderson two years ago she was solidly in the present, examining the complex psychology of the neglected and dispossessed in the American Northwest with her pla…
Can there be anything in the world more annoying than late arrivals? You know the ones " harried, apologetic, sitting right in front of you and so-o-o-o-o self-obsessed? And do they …
We're in a nicely-appointed New York flat, the kind with stairs down to the couch that you never see in real life apartments but I swear I saw everywhere on TV in the 80's. There is a re…
It is a rare gift to see an established performer live onstage " and even rarer to see her making her way through a new piece informally. As odd as it might sound, it can be a thrill to see …
Just when you thought the Irish were going to get all 'Danny Boy' on us with the Centenary of the Easter Rising, that ill-fated but auspicious attempt to occupy the General Post Offic…
In an age when we are all held hostage by click-bait and personal algorithms"which, as the news keeps reminding us, distort reality for commercial and political gain"it is a comfort t…
In the early years of the new South Africa, with Apartheid buried away and Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela elected President, there was ample room for optimism and hope for the future. The…
For years there has been a vogue for documentary plays and films"typically involving familiar historical figures in their formative years, or retelling a famous historic event. Adding…
For many of us who got our start on the Washington, D.C. theater scene back in the 1980's, it really is amazing to return to the Source Theater on 14th Street. The once-gritty, cavernous…
If you're a Jukebox Musical junkie, you know the scenario: take a beloved artist, scan through the back catalogue for a cluster of solid hits, then cook up a paper-thin plot line to j…
When you first enter the space for Hub Theatre's latest production, you see what appears to be a typical domestic scene; French doors, some autumn leaves, a comfy couch, a couple of storage …
A dissident musician, a concert pianist, returns to his homeland and attempts"however awkwardly"to reconcile with his estranged family. That alone is the stuff of drama; but when the pia…
In an age when ideological purities of both the left-and right-wing variety have come to dominate our presidential politics, and when utterly normal words are constantly re-defined by left a…
When you first enter Olney Theatre Center's intimate black-box space you're struck by the comforting, tony, contemporary home designed by Misha Kachman. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer a …
In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of probably the most contentious presidential election in a generation. Once the trash-talk dies down, we might actually get to talk abou…
When an established theater like Olney takes on a classic like Carmen, with a production team featuring leading lights like director Moisés Kaufman on book and music by Arturo O'Farrill, th…
At a crucial point in Suzan-Lori Parks' fascinating new work, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) we find the central character"the slave, Hero"holding two uniforms in his h…
Watch out folks, it's that "Most, Wonderful Ti-i-ime of the Year" (1,2,3, 1,2,3, oom-pah-pah, blah, blah, blech). Again. Face it, you've spent a month and half pretending not to noti…
When a new company takes the stage, founded on the principles of truth-telling and reconciliation, you can expect a production with strong material; when that new company is Mosaic Theater C…
With all that the Women's Voices Theater Festival has to offer, it isn't a question of whether to go out for an evening of live theater, but when and where. The topics of the 50 plays on tap…
When we think of the Victorian era, which produced subversive wits like Oscar Wilde, we tend to stereotype it as a time of prudishness and ultra-conservatism. And yet Wilde's London was …
Without question, one of the most compelling and controversial issues of our time is the Settler Movement in the West Bank, a region known throughout most of the world as the Occupied Territ…
Once upon a time, when I was a wee theatre grad student, there was a truly obnoxious bunch of undergrads who called themselves the Naked Theater. They were poseurs all, with little in th…
One of the joys of a small repertory, like the one at the Contemporary American Theater Festival here in Shepherdstown, is that you get to see actors assume a wide variety of roles. You'…