268 stories by "Mary Ann Johnson"
Most theater-goers are familiar with Tennessee Williams' “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” with its oh-so-memorable characters"Maggie the Cat, Brick, Big Daddy, Big Mama, Gooper and his w…
How would you survive 4,380 nights in prison, on an island halfway around the world from your home, without charges, but suspected of being a terrorist? That is the question that playwright …
I'm not sure if there is a term for young wolves on the cusp of adult wolfdom (wolf adulting?) but there should be. Because these girl wolves are brilliant and thoughtful and complicated. Th…
Synetic’s production of “The Trial” by Franz Kafka, grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. This is a grim, dystopian show that is all too relevant. Considering t…
Rollicking. That word aptly describes the current production of the Port Tobacco Players (PTP), beginning with the welcome to the theatre and turn off your electronics speech pre-show. The s…
At the end of this clever, engaging play by Thorton Wilder (Pulitzer Prize, 1943), I was left wondering if this had been the genesis of the idea for Dr. Who. While there is no proof of this,…
Last night's “Holidays, Hearts, and Home Benefit Concert for Puerto Rico” was an incredible opportunity to catch some of the D.C. area's best and brightest on the stage, along wi…
Sons of Serendip is a musical group of four young African-American men who met in graduate school at Boston University. Micah Christian is the lead vocalist; Cordaro Rodriguez plays piano an…
If nothing else, “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” exposes anti-Semitism among the South's elite Jewish families; a war of German-Jews and "the other kind" from "east of the Elbe." Th…
On Sunday, the same day I saw “Hansel & Gretel” at Synetic Theater in Crystal City, was a profile of dancer-choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, the 2017 Kennedy Center Honor w…
What do we owe the previous generations? What do we owe ourselves when we are born with a driving imperative? Is there a way to honor both? Is the pain inevitable? How do we choose and survi…
“A Coffin in Egypt,” written by Horton Foote and directed by Jack Sbarbori (who also designed the costumes, set/properties, and, with John Decker, set construction), takes us to …
A story of loss, betrayal, a fall, possible redemption–all told in a lilting Irish brogue as a theatre critic faces an unknown audience and tells his story of hubris and pain. Like man…
Dinner parties can be hell, but usually not literally. In “Omnium Gatherum” the dinner party is actually in hell, or at least in an anteroom, in this case at the Silver Spring St…
There is no single definition as to what constitutes a weir and one English dictionary simply defines a weir as a small dam, derived from the root, werian, meaning “to defend, dam.R…
“The Price” at Arena Stage is beautifully realized in its staging and casting. The story concerns a 46-year-old man, Victor (Maboud Ebrahimzadeh), who goes to the house he and hi…
“Act of God” at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, is a much-needed escape from today’s headlines and increasing tensions. God is evidently a born raconteur and he has ple…
"Are you now, or have you ever been…", the play currently running at MetroStage in Alexandria is an intriguing, thoughtful, honest slice of history by playwright Carlyle Brown. This is onl…
