173 stories by "Ravelle Brickman"
 'El Paso Blue' in long-awaited East Coast Premiere at GALA It took roughly 20 years for Octavio Solis’ El Paso Blue to make it to Washington, DC. But now that it has arrived, th…
Texas-born Octavio Solis is one of America's leading contemporary playwrights, yet he is relatively unknown in the DC area. Now El Paso Blue"one of his most powerful  plays"introduces his…
The Object Lesson"a highly acclaimed one-man performance piece, set in a warehouse of the mind that is stacked with memories and the objects that evoke them"has finally arrived in DC, where …
 Rare Production of Strindberg's Pelican at Arcturus The Pelican"a Victorian melodrama long abandoned by modern producers "has happily returned to the DC stage in a brilliantly staged one…
On the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five thirty in the morning… So begins one of the most powerful works of literature ever written. Chronicle of a Death Foret…
A Frothy Revival of No, No, Nanette at American University After a week in which corpses"remembered and actual"have littered just about every stage I've visited this week (beginning with Fal…
When I attended the reading of Falling Out of Time at the Page-to-Stage Festival last fall, I wondered how on earth this poetic drama"half fairy tale, half allegory–could ever be mount…
Question: What does it take to get an award-winning New York-based actor to perform in a tiny suburban outpost, 20 miles from Washington, DC? Answer: If the actor is Kathleen Butler"it’…
One of the most powerful musical dramas of the 20th century has just opened at The Kennedy Center, home of the Washington National Opera, for a one-week run. And theater lovers who long f…
The rivalry between Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden"two women who actually invented the cosmetics industry"is largely forgotten today. Yet the story of these feminist icons, who at one…
If you're looking for a romantic date this Valentine's Day, then check out the ‘Symphony of the Potomac’"Washington's own community-based orchestra"which will be celebrating the …
There's a strange sound erupting from the JCC most nights. The source is not burlesque or stand-up comedy"although there are elements of both"but a brand new production of Wendy Wasserstein'…
Having just returned from China"where one of the highlights of the trip was hearing traditional music performed casually in teahouses and parks"I was curious to see how these simple melodies…
Live Radio Play Injects Comedy into a Christmas Classic Washington Stage Guild is presenting an entertaining radio play version of the 1940’s classic holiday film It's a Wonderful Life…
International Guest Artists Bring Polish and Pizazz to MainStage at George Washington University Some of the most exciting new choreography in town is on view at this season's DanceWorks …
When a leading Shakespearean actor changes hats"literally"to play a neurotic housewife whose comic riffs include a paean to a ballpoint pen, that's news. And it's very good news indeed for t…
Anyone who craves serious comedy"meaning humor leavened with wit and more than a dash of malice"will rejoice over Silver Spring Stage’s production of Private Eyes by Steven Dietz.Â…
 New Adaptation Puts a Contemporary Spin on an 80-year-old Classic Can a septuagenarian and a teenager both enjoy an 80-year-old play? That's what we set out to learn at Saturday's night'…
Theater J offered a first look at its adaptation of Falling Out of Time, David Grossman's powerful saga of parental loss, at this year's Page-to-Stage Festival held at The Kennedy Center las…
Next Fall, Geoffrey Nauffts' mind-bending play opened Friday for a brief run at Upcounty Theatre at Germantown's Black Rock Center for the Arts. It is an excellent production with a super…
This stand-up solo performance"featuring Tim Trueheart as himself"starts out as broad comedy. Describing himself as racially mixed"a combination of African-American, Indian, Chinese, and Jew…
The image is frightening. A beautiful black woman"larger than life, with a resume to match"dons white gloves and a waistcoat, smears makeup on her face and begins the childish song and dance…
History assumes that Adolf Hitler killed himself just before the end of World War II. But what if history were wrong? What if Hitler, acquitted of war crimes by a U.S. court and absolved of …
