George Mason News

Award-winning artists' collective Rogue Artists Ensemble is thrilled to announce the Inaugural Rogue Lab Readings Series, a four-day event that includes readings of seven new works written, directed, and designed by emerging LA artists, as well as post-show discussions and receptions. The reading series will feature new plays by 2018-2019 Rogue Lab playwrights Lisa Sanaye Dring, Eric Fagundes, John Guerra, Mildred Inez Lewis, Chelsea Sutton, and Jennie Webb, and a special new play presentation by writing team Taylor Coffman and Z. Lupetin.

At the 35th annual Helen Hayes Awards on Monday, May 13 at The Anthem, actress, director, playwright, leader, and professor Jennifer L. Nelson will receive the 2019 Helen Hayes Tribute. Nelson has dedicated her artistic life to increasing access and inclusion of traditionally marginalized theatre artists largely in the Washington area region, and was a Helen Hayes Award recipient for her original play Torn from the Headlines, which received the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play in 1997.

Hylton Performing Arts Center announced today its 2019-2020 season of mainstage performances, featuring a diverse lineup of artists and ensembles across genres, as part of Hylton Presents, Hylton Family Series, Matinee Idylls, and the American Roots Series. The Hylton Center also announced the first Hylton Center EXTRA! for the season: the husband and wife duo and banjo icons, B la Fleck and Abigail Washburn, in a special concert event featuring their unique blend of alternative bluegrass. Season subscriptions are on sale to Friends of the Hylton Center at HyltonCenter.org/preview or by phone at 703-993-7700. For the general public, subscriptions go on sale Wednesday, April 24 and single tickets on Thursday, August 1. More details are available at HyltonCenter.org.

All of the cultural offerings in Washington, D.C. can be easy to take for granted. There are now so many options for theater, music, dance, opera, ballet, or any other art form that it's easy to forget this wasn't always the case. The robust arts scene of today is possible thanks to long-established organizations which have championed the creation and presentation of exciting works for decades. As one of the most established performing arts institutions in America, Washington Performing Arts stands as a symbol of all the city has to offer. During their annual gala, the organization successfully celebrated their long history while looking to all they still have to offer in the coming years.

Sometimes ballet can be tricky. It's an art form that, when misunderstood, can come off as stuffy and out-of-date. Neither of those labels are an accurate description of the program New York City Ballet is showcasing at the Kennedy Center. With a skillful blend of contemporary and classic techniques, there's something for everyone in this thrilling presentation.

The Center for the Arts at George Mason University announced today the 2019/2020 season of Great Performances at Mason, its annual series featuring leading national and international artists in the disciplines of classical music, opera, jazz, ballet, modern dance, theater, and global music and dance. The Center also announced the return of the Family Series, offering its second season of affordable programming for young audiences.

With 'velvet stairs, easy chairs, and perfumed air gently blowing,' the Grand Hotel Berlin may not be a character in the traditional meaning of the word, however, it is the catalyst which sets in motion the fate of every guest who walks through its opulent revolving doors. For choreographer Kelly Crandall d'Amboise, it is her job to provide that motion as the production begins performances this week at Signature Theatre.

George Mason was a short, bookish man who was a friend and neighbor of athletic, broad-shouldered George Washington, says author William G. Hyland, Jr., in his new book, 'George Mason: The Founding Father Who Gave Us the Bill of Rights'

Monday night's production of Bon Iver and TU Dance's Come Through at the Kennedy Center is one of the most quintessentially contemporary performances on record. Filled with emotional dancing, strobing projections, and barely discernible and highly auto-tuned vocals, the night was a celebration of all things modern. On first thought, such a performance seems out of place in the Center's Concert Hall, arguably the most classical space they possess. Surprisingly, the evening works as a solid addition to the Center's programming.

The first words sung in A Bronx Tale, the tonally uneven and musically disappointing touring show that opened at D.C.'s National Theatre on Tuesday, are literally "this is a Bronx tale." The artistic subtleties don't get much better from there, as the musical (based on a movie based on a one-man show) proceeds to tackle issues from morality to racism with all the delicateness of a mobster smashing someone's head in with a baseball bat. Everything about this production is underwhelming from the performances to the design to the direction and choreography. Ultimately, A Bronx Tale is the perfect example of why we should stop adapting movies into musicals.

Third on the list of identifying traits for St. Patrick's Day (behind binge drinking and the color green) is the amount of fun the holiday elicits from devoted celebrants. This sheer joy was on full display at The Washington Chorus's St. Patrick's Day Celebration presented at the Kennedy Center on the holiday in question. In addition to being a beautiful showcase for the talented group, the day was a fun-filled one thanks to programming that united multiple arts groups from across the District (and the globe) and especially because of their show-stealing conductor and Artistic Director, Christopher Bell.

Few works have inspired such a long-lasting legacy as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust. The Faustian bargain has become a common expression for metaphorically selling one's soul in order to obtain their goals. Of course, the metaphor is much less metaphorical in von Goethe's work and, subsequently, the Charles Gounod opera which stems from this German classic. Gounod's opera isn't always perfect, but the Washington National Opera's new production which opened at the Kennedy Center on Saturday evening breathes enough life into this classic that you'll likely not notice the over three hours you've spent watching the drama unfold.

As a playwright you always hope that your script gets a first class production at a top theatre. Today's subject, Heather McDonald, is currently living her theatre life on a high as her world premiere play Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is receiving such royal treatment. Featuring the likes of performers Holly Twyford, Felicia Curry, and Yesenia Iglesias, the production plays through April 7th in Signature Theatre's ARK space.

Rehearsals are underway for Prince William Little Theatre's 'Anne of Green Gables,' a charming play by L.M. Montgomery and Sylvia Ashby, produced by arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH.

Rehearsals are underway for Prince William Little Theatre's 'Anne of Green Gables,' a charming play by L.M. Montgomery and Sylvia Ashby, produced by arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH.

Shakespeare Theatre Company's Artistic Director Michael Kahn invites theatre-lovers to a series of intimate conversations about life in the D.C. theatre scene as he prepares to retire from the STC stage. Open, unrehearsed, and off the record, invited speakers will swap anecdotes and share memories about Michael Kahn's 33-years at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Following his career trajectory, the discussions will focus on three distinct eras in STC's history by mapping D.C.'s changing theatre scene. The first Michael Kahn and Friends: Off the Record will focus on the formation of The Shakespeare Theatre Company in its first location: Folger Theatre (1986-1992).

There is nothing outright wrong with Thunder Knocking on the Door, the blues-filled musical which opened at Creative Cauldron this past Saturday. But there isn't much that is right with it either. Overall, the production is a firmly middle-of-the-road endeavor where the mismatched cast are unable to elevate the subpar source material. At the end of the day, this is a show that thinks it has more to say that it actually does.

When you think about Wolf Trap, you probably think of their stunning outdoor Filene Center where their summer performance series takes place. But their indoor venue, The Barns, might just give the Filene Center a run for its money. Wolf Trap Opera and Washington Concert Opera's recent production of Le Vin Herbe shows off the utilitarianism of this space while highlighting a dozen stellar vocalists. The chosen source material might not be the most compelling-but this co-production elevates the work beyond the middling libretto.

The Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program is proud to present Noel Coward's classic comedy Hay Fever. This madcap play about a weekend with the eccentric Bliss family will star the MFA Class of 2020 and a guest performer.  Director Jerrold Scott's production will take the audience back to the 1920's and remind them of the joy of life and fear of boredom. The show will run from February 27th-March 9th in Helen Theatre at Playhouse Square.

With so many wordy productions from playwrights ready to wax philosophical about any issue, it's easy to forget that true dramatic excellence comes not from beautiful words but beautiful emotions honestly portrayed. If, like me, you are not fluent in Spanish you shouldn't be scared of El Viejo, El Joven Y El Mar which opened at GALA Hispanic Theatre on Saturday night. After all, you'll still understand most of the action even if you aren't following everything on the provided supertitles thanks to some splendid performances. While the play fumbles with some unnecessary plot points that overextend the runtime, GALA has still provided an enjoyable evening at the theater.