Hootenanny is a word one hardly hears anymore. Whole generations have come along for whom it elicits blank stares and a big "Huh?" The press release for Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Wo…
The first time I saw If/Then, I knew I would be seeing it again. The show's beauty, originality, and heart won me over, and that experience increased all the way through. I wrote a review fo…
The fresh new musical If/Then"now in a tryout run at The National Theatre on its way to Broadway (where it is destined to be embraced by theatergoers who will want to see it again and aga…
On the evidence of Mies Julie, Yael Farber, who wrote and directed it, must be counted among the most important theater artists on the world stage today. Beyond brilliant: important. R…
"How's your family?" are the seemingly innocuous final words of this startling and riveting new play. Carly, a quintessentially desperate housewife, is on the phone with a female neighbor in…
There's dramatic tension"and then there's traumatic tension. Molotov Theatre Group's absolutely riveting production of Extremities"William Matrosimone's wicked good play about a wic…
If you're a theater buff who's worried that the shutdown's shuttering of Ford's Theatre and the shunting of The Laramie Project to a nearby church means audiences there must be getting…
The notorious aesthete Oscar Wilde believed that beauty is be-all and end-all. After The Painting of Dorian Gray met with moral outrage upon its publication in 1890, he appended a Pref…
For $64,000, the funny thing about aging is…? Funny like strange or funny like"? Like LOL. Oh, okay, lemme think. [Thinks a long time; lame music plays.] Haven't got all day. Please, I …
On top of the antic hilarity in Faction of Fools' new production of Molière's Don Juan, I had the funny feeling while watching this company's work for the first time that I'd been a fool fo…
Having heard tantalizing details about Bell in a pre-opening interview, I attended the National Geographic Live production with the sort of eager/anxious anticipation one might have…
Who would have guessed that a family drama about everyday ethics and far-left ideology could be so engrossing and engaging, the characters so real and riveting, that what happens on stage en…
Some plays don't age well; they get dated but dusted off anyway. Some time-travel okay, and get mounted in modern dress. But rare is the work that"while still set in the period years ago whe…
National Geographic has been thinking outside its trademark yellow box a lot lately. The Society's motto is "Inspiring people to care about the planet." Adventure and exploration are its DNA…
If you've never made your way to The Kennedy Center's Page-to-Stage fest, let me let you in on a few pleasures that await you even before the pleasures packed into this annual Labor Day week…
If you like theatrical storytelling"the kind that catches you by the heartstrings, gets you all wrapped up, then doesn't let loose until the very end"you're going to love The Resurrection of…
Claire Lebowitz conceived a documentary theater piece called Bradass87 and crafted the script from primary sources"including Bradley Manning's own online chats and instant messages, in…
"I am Nijinsky," says the actor/dancer Primož Bezjak, in a tone almost primal. "The great Nijinsky." He speaks in Slovenian as his words appear on overhead screens in English. He has been…
Who is the real Bradley Manning? Does anyone know? Can anyone know? These pressing and compelling questions ricochet today even in mainstream news media, which"more beholden to elit…
Exploding onstage like a fusillade of biting wit and badinage, A Few Good Men is getting a crackling-good production that makes this power-packed 1991 play feel like it was ripped from…
In 1972 some men made a film that did her wrong. Unspeakably and indelibly wrong. The film was named Deep Throat. Now some men"with two women producers"have made a film that does right…
Caroline, or Change"the gorgeously resonant musical about race relations and resilience"has just opened in a gloriously heart-rending production by The Elden Street Players. Here in He…
The Third Breast is a gritty play, produced by a gutsy company. The three actors are arresting; the music and visuals, appealing. But for some interesting reasons, the challenging script by …
The Book of Mormon… CONTAINS HERESY. That's not a preshow advisory you'll find posted at The Kennedy Center where The Book of Mormon is playing to standing-room houses. No,…
The term "gay musical theater" is almost redundant, especially for countless closeted teens who found they could forget their troubles and get happy when they happened upon the uniquely Amer…