The poignant essence of Liz Lerman's world-premiere dance-theater piece, "Healing Wars," reveals itself on a simple wood and steel bench in Arena Stage's Kogod Cradle, where a performer in s…
Michael Urie understands completely why one person in particular has not been to see "Buyer and Cellar." He's often asked about it, of course, but early in the run of the off-Broadway hit " …
That breeze wafting through the Lansburgh Theatre is the air of soigne craftsmanship, borne on the currents of director Maria Aitken's suavely-attired revival of Noel Coward's evergreen come…
At the start of "The Totalitarians," a young man appears before us in a knitted mask that obscures his mouth and renders his opening speech pretty much unintelligible. "Ffmmmmm bff llvvmmm,"…
NEW YORK " A silly musical comedy about a British pauper who knocks off a string of aristocrats was the big winner at the 68th Tony Awards on Sunday night, earning the prize for outstanding …
Would Audra McDonald's trophy shelf collapse under the weight of a sixth Tony? Will the statuette for best new musical go to a show whose songs were actually composed in this century? Will h…
It was always a stunning way to start. "Come look at the freaks!" sang the assorted actors in the short-lived Broadway production of "Side Show" as they introduced themselves to us: human od…
NEW YORK"Forget the pesky glasses. You want a movielike experience in 3-D? Feast your eyes on Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford's breathtakingly visual new staging of "Macbeth." The sensory im…
If life really were more like a musical, you'd be contented if that life percolated as vibrantly as does "Ordinary Days," Adam Gwon's sweet, fleet and tender survey of four youngish New York…
To the crowded ranks of narrators who've recounted brushes with mortality through a diagnosis of cancer, add the storyteller Jon Spelman. In his new one-man show, he amiably philosophizes ab…
In this case, blood is slicker than writer. The writer in question is one William Shakespeare, composer of numerous masterpieces, and also "Titus Andronicus." It's this turgid, pulpy revenge…
I'm sitting in the living room, staring at my iPhone. My wife says something to me. I don't respond. She says something else. "What?" I say, looking up. She's not amused. RSABBO. Rabbos? Bab…
As new-season-announcement season winds down, we look today at the '14-'15 theatrical action plan  of Theater J, which has in mind  a play by Tony Kushner with a very long title, and n…
You feel at certain knuckle-gnawing moments of "Cock," Mike Bartlett's sizzling seriocomedy of straight-gay indecision, that something is about to explode " that something being the brain of…
Along with all of his centurions and tribunes, a Roman emperor might consider the services of a good editor. This holds especially true for Nero, he of the historically bad rep and, as portr…
NEW YORK " Nostalgia for an august institution of Georgetown runs rampant in "The City of Conversation," the splendid new comedy-drama by Anthony Giardina at Lincoln Center Theater. No, not …
Horror and disgust seem as if they are the only rational responses to the slaughter of innocents. "The Amish Project" seeks to reveal why forgiveness is equally valid. Except that playwright…
Back and forth we bounce in Gala Hispanic Theatre's juicily rendered "Living Out," from the point of view of the fussy, affluent parents to that of the Latina women they hire to mind their c…
For the real Brechtian deal, spend a few fulfilling minutes in the presence of Natascia Diaz, the sultry Jenny of Signature Theatre's capable, lusty-voiced revival of "The Threepenny Opera,"…
With three shows that had pre-Broadway stops in the District garnering a fairly anemic four nods, the 2014 Tony nominations were announced Tuesday morning. The most recognized show was the m…
With three shows that had pre-Broadway stops in D.C. garnering a fairly anemic four nods, the 2014 Tony nominations were announced Tuesday morning. The most recognized show was the musical, …
New York In his previous Broadway ventures, as the disturbed youth who blinds the horses in "Equus" and the sneaky trainee who dupes the CEO in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Try…
The real test of a Shakespeare company may not be how it handles the best of the plays, but what it does with the least of them. So by all means, experience the delightful, illuminating she…
NEW YORK"In his previous Broadway ventures, as the disturbed youth who blinds the horses in "Equus" and the sneaky trainee who dupes the CEO in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Try…
The revivified National Theatre rolls out its 2014-15 season in our 11th installment of looking ahead at D.C.'s theater offerings. It's a roster that includes the Washington debuts of "N…