Most foul: Senator singles out Synetic's 'silent' Shakespeare by Nelson Pressley

In a bit of bumbling political theater, Arlington's Synetic Theater is being caricatured in Sen. James Lankford's new "report" on government waste, "Federal Fumbles." The report is a kind of…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:50am on December 11, 2015☆⚑

Truman Capote done right in 'Holiday Memories' by Nelson Pressley

You can feel when a director is in sync with a script, and that's the situation with Tom Prewitt's staging of Truman Capote's "Holiday Memories." Prewitt handles Capote's nostalgic first-per…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 5:55pm on December 9, 2015☆⚑

Kiss me again, and again, and again, and . . . by Nelson Pressley

The smooching is sensational in "Stage Kiss," Sarah Ruhl's backstage comedy about ex-lovers cast as the leads in a ditzy 1930s romance. In the amusing new Round House Theatre production of t…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:46pm on December 8, 2015☆⚑

Be his guest: Morella's solo 'Christmas Carol' is an inviting ghost story by Nelson Pressley

It's not the season to be pitting versions of "A Christmas Carol" against one another. Interpretations of the Dickens classic must run into the thousands, and if you have a favorite " well, …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:40pm on December 8, 2015☆⚑

Hitsville goes glitzville in 'Motown the Musical' by Nelson Pressley

Is there any chance that people buying tickets for "Motown the Musical" at the National Theatre don't know exactly what they're getting? Jukebox musicals are mechanical things, ritually unpa…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:44pm on December 3, 2015☆⚑

'Cinderella,' being what it wants to be by Nelson Pressley

The enduring charm of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" has become more of a charm offensive now that it's a full-blown Broadway show. Not to worry, though: Although the 1957 TV special…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:16pm on December 1, 2015☆⚑

Shakespeare Theatre throws a musical punch with 'Kiss Me, Kate' by Nelson Pressley

"Kiss Me, Kate" is a lively, lusty musical comedy, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company's big, new staging takes a very fine straight-arrow approach. Director Alan Paul aims to get out of it …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:16pm on December 1, 2015☆⚑

'Akeelah and the Bee' gets an upbeat reimagining at Arena Stage by Nelson Pressley

You may remember "Akeelah and the Bee" as the smart, feel-good 2006 movie about an 11-year-old girl struggling through her tough L.A. neighborhood to triumph at the national spelling bee. La…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:16pm on December 1, 2015☆⚑

With zeal, Theater Alliance brings back its Hayes-winning 'Black Nativity' by Nelson Pressley

In a fitting finish for Theater Alliance's "Black Nativity," the last thing drummer Jonathan Livas did during Sunday's opening was knock a cymbal clear off its stand. Top to bottom, Eric Ruf…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:32pm on November 30, 2015☆⚑

Shakespeare Theatre throws a musical punch with 'Kiss Me, Kate' by Nelson Pressley

"Kiss Me, Kate" is a lively, lusty musical comedy, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company's big new staging takes a very fine straight-arrow approach. Director Alan Paul aims to get out of it w…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:38pm on November 24, 2015☆⚑

Tough luck leads to angsty laughs in 'Sons of the Prophet' by Nelson Pressley

"A nervous romance" was the great tag line for Woody Allen's "Annie Hall," and "an anxious comedy" would nicely fit Stephen Karam's "Sons of the Prophet" at Theater J. The 2012 Pulitzer Priz…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:51pm on November 23, 2015☆⚑

The buzz about 'Akeelah and the Bee' at Arena by Nelson Pressley

You may remember "Akeelah and the Bee" as the smart, feel-good 2006 movie about an 11-year-old girl struggling through her tough L.A. neighborhood to triumph at the national spelling bee. La…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 6:15pm on November 22, 2015☆⚑

"Cinderella," being what it wants to be by Nelson Pressley

The enduring charm of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" has become more of a charm offensive now that it's a full-blown Broadway show. Not to worry, though: Although the 1957 TV special…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:24pm on November 19, 2015☆⚑

A lively 'Guys and Dolls' that's easy on the eyes and the ears by Nelson Pressley

By the time the Olney Theatre Center's bright, lively new "Guys and Dolls" gets to the jubilant gospel knockoff "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," the night's an easy winner. The musical n…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:31pm on November 16, 2015☆⚑

David Hare's political stages by Nelson Pressley

Sir David Hare is almost certainly the premiere political dramatist writing in English, yet last weekend he slinked through Washington almost unnoticed. Not that it bothered him: By now, the…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:27pm on November 13, 2015☆⚑

Behind the scenes of "Oliver!", Arena's artisans by Nelson Pressley

Sets with walls will block the audience's views when your theater is in the round, so designs in Arena Stage's signature Fichandler work differently, in full-blown and fine-grained 3-D. For …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:22pm on November 13, 2015☆⚑

Updated 'Oliver!' goes a bridge too far by Nelson Pressley

If you don't mind "Oliver!" doing drug deals, it's a fine show.The twisted "Oliver!" that opened at Arena Stage Wednesday night keeps a toe in Charles Dickens's London and the rest of its ha…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 6:21pm on November 12, 2015☆⚑

Ripe for the political season, the Apple Family Cycle returns to Studio by Nelson Pressley

Food is served and lives quietly fall apart in the incredibly intimate "Sorry" and "Regular Singing," the final installments of Richard Nelson's four-play Apple Family Cycle. Studio Theatre …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 7:18pm on November 9, 2015☆⚑

Women's Voices Theater Festival goes country as it winds down by Nelson Pressley

The Women's Voices Theater Festival is winding down, and by luck of the scheduling draw it is circling back to two troupes that produce women's scripts all the time. Laurel's Venus Theatre a…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:00am on November 3, 2015☆⚑

Character assassination among friends in 'Winners and Losers' by Nelson Pressley

"Winners and Losers" is a competitive dialogue between two buddies who rank things into two inflexible categories: winners and losers. Microwaves? Winner, says James Long, calling his applia…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:40pm on November 2, 2015☆⚑

McPherson keeps the faith in Irish drama 'Night Alive' by Nelson Pressley

If you're ever asked to name a playwright who can really spin a yarn, say "Conor McPherson." The Irish dramatist has been unwinding spellbinders for two decades now " ghost tales, morality p…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:38pm on October 27, 2015☆⚑

Juliette Binoche, ready for her close-up in a moody 'Antigone' by Nelson Pressley

If you have Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche playing a classical heroine, why resist turning your Greek stage tragedy into a big screen epic?Acclaimed Belgian director Ivo van Hove's e…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:54pm on October 23, 2015☆⚑

Donna Migliaccio hits her stride by Nelson Pressley

Verve, panache, moxie: Those are some of the words conjured by Donna Migliaccio's bright, sassy style. It's a signature she has forged on musical theater stages for more than two decades, in…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:40am on October 23, 2015☆⚑

Erma Bombeck play is not a bowl of cherries by Nelson Pressley

Arena Stage has singled out a substantial American character to put on the stage in Erma Bombeck, the popular newspaper columnist and best-selling humorist who was a wry presence from the 19…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 7:57pm on October 22, 2015☆⚑

Horror, politely, in "Nightmare Suite" by Nelson Pressley

"I tell you " you can't imagine what the thing is really like!" gasps a man who has disappeared into a cavern in "Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite," a nostalgic, small-scaled creep show that aims …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:10pm on October 22, 2015☆⚑