New theater director for the National Endowment for the Arts

After more than 18 months without an advocate in chief, theater professionals across the country can breathe a sigh of relief. The National Endowment for the Arts announced Tuesday that G…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:08pm on July 28, 2015☆⚑

Romeo, Romeo " wherefore art thou so old? by Nelson Pressley

Juliet is 70 in the Unexpected Stage Company's "Romeo and Juliet: Love Knows No Age." Maturity is upside down in this show: Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers live in a nursing home, where th…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:33pm on July 28, 2015☆⚑

Sondheim goes 'crunch' in prog-metal 'Sweeney Todd'

"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit," sings the vengeful barber of Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd." In Landless Theatre Company's "prog metal" version, Andrew Lloyd Baughma…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:10pm on July 27, 2015☆⚑

Sondheim goes 'crunch' in prog-metal 'Sweeney Todd' by Nelson Pressley

"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit," sings the vengeful barber of Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd." In Landless Theatre Company's "prog metal" version, Andrew Lloyd Baughma…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:07am on July 27, 2015☆⚑

His parents wanted him to run the farm, but he had other ideas by Celia Wren

Joseph Vodlan remembers the moment " about 70 years ago " that he became an artist. He was 5 or so years old, and playing with figurines made from pine bark at his family's home in Slovenia.…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:37am on July 24, 2015☆⚑

In 'Silence! The Musical,' Hannibal Lecter sings, and it isn't pretty by Nelson Pressley

The title of Hannibal Lecter's smutty opening song in "Silence! The Musical" is too dirty even to hint at, yet as Hannibal the Cannibal, Tally Sessions sings this sicko "I Want" song ridicul…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:14pm on July 23, 2015☆⚑

Theodore Bikel, singer, activist and Oscar-nominated actor, dies at 91

Theodore Bikel, a prodigiously versatile actor and singer who created the role of Captain von Trapp in the original Broadway production of "The Sound of Music," played Tevye in "Fiddler on t…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 7:04am on July 22, 2015☆⚑

'Leto Legend,' saving the day for a woman trying to have it all by Nelson Pressley

The play "Leto Legend" outperforms its premise. A comic-book adventure about the hassles of women trying to Have It All? Come on.Wit and good taste save the day in Kristen LePine's premiere …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:51pm on July 21, 2015☆⚑

Orphan No. 27 pirouettes to stardom by Sarah Kaufman

What does Michaela DePrince have left to conquer? As a 4-year-old orphan in Sierra Leone, the thought of being adopted made her physically sick, but she overcame her fear to enjoy a loving f…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:34pm on July 21, 2015☆⚑

Capital Fringe 2015: From 'Winter's Tale' to a zookeeper's notes by Jane Horwitz, Celia Wren, Roger Catlin

As the Capital Fringe Festival enters its third week, Celia Wren is moved by a trim "Winter's Tale," Roger Catlin checks out clever fake interviews, and Jane Horwitz parks upstairs for stori…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:59pm on July 21, 2015☆⚑

After Levy, what next for Theatre Washington and the Hayes Awards?

Theatre Washington has been no stranger to controversy in recent years: Howls were raised as the former Helen Hayes Awards labored to transform into a full-time service organization and pain…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:35pm on July 17, 2015☆⚑

Capital Fringe 2015: From dating at Dance Place to Jacobean revenge in Anacostia by Jane Horwitz, Celia Wren, Roger Catlin

The 2015 Capital Fringe Festival frugs on throughout eastern D.C. with some 1960s moves at Dance Place, classical carnage in Anacostia and a homelessness monologue at the Tree House Lounge."…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:37pm on July 17, 2015☆⚑

After Levy, what next for Theatre Washington and the Hayes Awards? by Nelson Pressley

Theatre Washington has been no stranger to controversy in recent years: Howls were raised as the former Helen Hayes Awards labored to transform into a full-time service organization and pain…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:50pm on July 17, 2015☆⚑

Making a statement by putting a stamp on his art by Celia Wren

Colombian-born artist Andrés Hoyos makes no bones about it: His work sends an environmental message. Relying almost exclusively on recycled materials, Hoyos creates pieces that he says are …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:13pm on July 17, 2015☆⚑

An actor of note seeks to unlock the mysteries of a hero of the Holocaust by Peter Marks

NEW YORK " David Strathairn can't get the Georgetown professor out of his system.It is a purely professional attraction, however, one that over the past year has propelled the Oscar-nominate…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:38pm on July 16, 2015☆⚑

'The Peony Pavilion': Underpowered beauty by Sarah Kaufman

Beauty is a strength and a weakness in "The Peony Pavilion," an ode to the delirium of love, danced by the National Ballet of China at Wolf Trap on Tuesday night. The two-hour production is …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 4:44pm on July 15, 2015☆⚑

2015 Contemporary American Theater Festival sets the stage for rebellion by Celia Wren

Rebellious characters are flouting the rules at the 2015 Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, W.Va.Now celebrating its 25th season, the prominent annual showcase for rece…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:58pm on July 14, 2015☆⚑

Second City comedy finds an edge at Woolly Mammoth by Nelson Pressley

How unsettled is comedy now? The name "Bill Cosby" isn't warmly funny anymore. Jon Stewart skips the opening jokes on "The Daily Show" after the June shooting that killed nine black people i…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 7:23pm on July 13, 2015☆⚑

Capital Fringe 2015 Day 4: In the big house (the Atlas) and on the playground by Nelson Pressley

The Atlas Performing Arts Center has emerged as a crucial partner for the newly relocated Capital Fringe Festival; Nelson Pressley spends an afternoon there. Plus: Rebecca Ritzel has a bad t…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 4:16pm on July 13, 2015☆⚑

2015 Capital Fringe Festival Day 3: Mainly on race by Nelson Pressley

Still charting the new network of Capital Fringe Festival venues in Northeast D.C., Peggy McGlone and Nelson Pressley trek to rough-edged bars and polished theaters for poetic fantasies and …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:58pm on July 12, 2015☆⚑

Roger Rees, actor who won Tony and Emmy for Nicholas Nickleby, dies at 71

Roger Rees, the lanky Tony Award-winning actor and director who made his mark onstage as Nicholas Nickleby in a legendarily demanding production and became a mainstay on Broadway playing Gom…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:05pm on July 11, 2015☆⚑

Capital Fringe Day 2: Of Hemingway and the hardware store by Nelson Pressley

Post reporters Nelson Pressley and Peggy McGlone found their respective ways to some of the new Fringe venues in Northeast D.C. on Friday night. They discovered funky stages and questi…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:15am on July 11, 2015☆⚑

The many sides of Puck come out in three versions of 'Midsummer'

Robin Goodfellow. Goblin. Sprite. The Merry Wanderer of the Night. Shakespeare has many nicknames for Puck, the mischievous imp who star-crosses lovers and then must set all things right in …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 5:23pm on July 10, 2015☆⚑

'Beaches,' in pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago, is overwhelmed by its score

CHICAGO " In any discussion of a new musical's central flaw, the book (or script, in civilian terms) is almost always the culprit. But "Beaches," now in an alternately moving and exhausting …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 5:23pm on July 10, 2015☆⚑

"The Island" is off for good at MetroStage by Nelson Pressley

MetroStage's remount of Athol Fugard's "The Island," postponed after a handful of performances this spring and announced for a return this week, has been cancelled. The drama is about two pr…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 4:04pm on July 10, 2015☆⚑