Jewell Robinson

Life in the theatre is hard enough without having a diva in your show. As the title character in a well known play by a certain Norwegian playwright you would think that she would play along with what she was given. In this case the playwright is that king of mirth himself Henrik Ibsen and the diva in question is Hedda Gabler. Gabler, after many productions over the span of many years, decides she doesn't want to die by gunshot at the end of every performance. You might be asking how did she get this kind of power. For the answer you need to check out Washington Stage Guild's (WSG) hilarious and (per usual) well presented production of Jon Klein's Resolving Hedda. The show is a DC area premiere.

It's not easy being one of the most influential characters in modern drama, especially knowing you have to die at the end of every performance. What would happen if you simply refused to play along? And what would the other characters do? The Washington Stage Guild invites audiences to play along with a Hedda Gabler who breaks out of Ibsen's well-made play and wreaks comic havoc. Resolving Hedda, by Jon Klein promises laughter to all. Even those new to the story of Hedda, along with the most devoted lovers of the classic play, will delight to postmodern antics. Resolving Hedda opens Thursday, March 21 and runs through Sunday, April 14. Press opening performance will be on Sunday, March 24 at 2:30 pm.

Fans of the television shows Pawn Stars and Downton Abbey will find a lot to enjoy in Washington Stage Guild's production of The Old Masters. Simon Gray's play incorporates elements of art authentication and the survival of an aristocratic family into its plot. However, theatergoers who favor a well constructed play will not find The Old Masters as enjoyable. For a play about the identity crisis of a painting's artist, The Old Masters lacks a focal point and never quite settles on what it wants to be.

In producing T.S. Eliot's THE ELDER STATESMAN-plus with their spring 2013 reading of Eliot's THE ROCK--Washington Stage Guild becomes the only theatre company in the world (as far as they can determine) to have produced all seven of Eliot's plays. And as Artistic Director Bill Largess jokingly remarked opening night, Washington Stage Guild is probably the only theatre that would produce all of T.S. Eliot's dramatic works.

The Washington Stage Guild completes the T.S. Eliot canon with the area premiere of The Elder Statesman.

The Washington Stage Guild completes the T.S. Eliot canon with the area premiere of The Elder Statesman.

The recipients of The 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards were presented tonight, Monday, April 28. Winners include Blickenstaff, Jones, Kudisch, and Irwin.