Possessing a spellbinding theatrical imagination is certainly one way to describe the mind and work of iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel. Her plays test the boundaries of…
Samuel D. Hunter is a playwright rapidly on the way to becoming an iconic voice of the blue collar, the downtrodden, and the frequently forgotten. Often based in Idaho (from where Hunter hai…
Henrik Ibsen is on a hot streak in DC. Two high-profile theatres opened their seasons to great fanfare as they each featured an adaptation of Ibsen. Amy Herzog's 2024 reworking of "An Enemy …
AI is everywhere. As a professor, I attend numerous faculty meetings, seminars, and sessions to address the head-scratching dilemma of "what do we do with this thing?" This dilemma has been …
Henrik Ibsen, arguably the forerunner of theatrical realism, did like to take little expressionistic leaps now and then, blending the bleak workaday world with a more surrealist spin on the …
Swiss playwright Reto Finger's "Cold Country" comes across as part folktale, part gothic campfire story, and part dysfunctional family drama. Combined, all of these 'parts' offer audiences a…
Theatrically chronicling the rise and fall of Malcolm X demands a contextual framework equal to the larger-than-life mythicism of the story. Al Letson, using Shakespeare as his canvas, c…
With his most recent play, Pulitzer Prize finalist Lloyd Suh proves that he is indeed a master manipulator of the heartstrings. Taking audiences on a wild and still deeply poignant journey t…
Playwright Eliana Pipes' "Dream Hou$e" isn't afraid to scratch at the scab of human greed, as it takes a deep existential dive into the lengths that some will go to to ensure a comfortable a…
The year is 1832. A mother and daughter stand vigil at the gravesite of Moses Freeman, father and husband. We don't know the circumstances initially. We don't know how he died or why the nee…
Once upon a time, Craigslist was a bold new entry into the online classifieds arena. People flocked to the platform to buy and sell "new-to-you" items, to find employment, look for apartment…
Plays based on actual people from the past generally take one of several approaches: they might offer an in-depth, if not quasi-fictionalized, narrative about a specific moment(s) from that …
With a new movie musical version set to be released in October, "Kiss of the Spider Woman" seems to be enjoying a dynamic revival. While the Bill Condon-directed J Lo-led film promises to br…
The DC premiere of Greg Kalleres' "Apropos of Nothing" at The Keegan Theatre may be just what this summer ordered in the nation's capital. Forget the politics, forget the chaos, forget every…
Caro Dubberly's "A Guide to Modern Possession" takes us musically and theatrically where I have yet to see many productions of its kind tread. The setup is unique, the songs are well-conceiv…
People don't often think about the ones behind the scenes of big-budget films"particularly not the stunt people who fight the fights, take the hits, and fall from bone-breaking heights day a…
Most people have likely never heard of the condition known as Akathisia. The mother in Lisa Loomer's new play, "Side Effects May Include…" at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, wa…
No one talks about infertility, not really. Poignantly, actor, writer, and singer Riki Lindhome wiped away tears as she concluded her one-woman show about what she faced over the course of n…
The history of abolitionism in the United States can be a difficult one to trace, not to mention writing a play about it. The intersection between abolition and women's suffrage is a particu…
Improv, when done right, can be a laugh-out-loud journey that constantly keeps you guessing. At the first annual District Fringe Festival, the improv performance of "Out of My Wheelhouse" wa…
"Duel Reality's" tagline, "never was a story of more whoa," a clever play on the final line of "Romeo and Juliet," perfectly encapsulates the experience of watching The 7 Fingers' take on on…
Ask anybody what "The Rocky Horror Show" is about and generally answers run along the lines of: "it is such a good time," or "you get to throw toilet paper!" or "the songs are outrageous." P…
Penning a memoir-style journey into one's ancestral past is an intriguing way to approach a key historical moment. Using a blend of two distinct and, at the same time, blurred voices that de…
One of August Wilson's most celebrated plays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "The Piano Lesson," takes audiences to 1930s Pittsburgh. Set in a modest home centered around an ancestral pian…
Mary Woolley isn't exactly a well-known historical figure. Most would be hard-pressed to say who she was. Still, her life and legacy make for absolutely fascinating theatrical material. In p…