Pamela Roberts
BWW Review: Gripping and Beautiful HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME at Synetic Theater
BWW Review: STREB EXTREME ACTION at Kennedy Center
BWW Review: URINETOWN at Constellation Theatre Company
BWW Review: THE ORIGINALIST Provokes at Arena Stage
BWW Review: THE ORIGINALIST Provokes at Arena StageJuly 14, 2017
THE ORIGINALIST at Arena Stage introduces Antonin Scalia as "the most polarizing figure in American civic life." When a liberal Harvard Law grad ("I fall in the flaming category") clerks for the justice, she encounters both maddening combatant and sage mentor.
BWW Review: Gripping and Beautiful HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME at Synetic TheaterMay 17, 2017
Synetic Theater's 'beautifully disturbing' HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is gripping storytelling at its best. The wordless production conveys the epic tale with movement, spectacle, connection, and artistry.
BWW Review: HENRY V at We Happy FewApril 25, 2017
Shakespeare's HENRY V gains new perspective with a retelling by We Happy Few Productions that takes a closer look at the stories and stakes of the everyday foot soldiers. It is a fascinating, resonant, and important new take on a known work that's only around for another week, so make plans now to take it in.
BWW Review: BLOOD KNOT at Mosaic Theater CompanyApril 5, 2017
BLOOD KNOT is an apartheid-era Cain and Abel tale of half-brothers, Morris and Zachariah, who share a mother and a history, but have been separated by color and opportunity. Morris, whose light skin has allowed him to pass as white within South Africa's codified racial stratification, has benefited from opportunities unavailable to his darker-skinned brother.
BWW Review: U.S. Premiere of COOLATULLY at Solas NuaMarch 13, 2017
In the American premiere Fiona Doyle's COOLATULLY, Kilian (David Mavricos)is stuck in the village of Coolatully and has few prospects. Once the powerful champion of the hurling team, Kilian has watched so many of his generation leave for opportunities abroad that the tiny town no longer has enough young people left to field a hurling team. The garda station is closed and the post office shuttered. When an opportunity to leave presents itself, Kilian must decide if there is enough to tie him to Coolatully when so much seems to indicate that he cannot afford to stay.
BWW Review: THE CHRISTIANS at Theater JNovember 25, 2016
'What voice is God, and what is your own wishful self?' THE CHRISTIANS by Lucas Hnath playing at Theater J examines religion's power to unite or divide us. It delves into what bonds a community in faith. The play looks at houses of worship as institutions guiding faith formation and as businesses.
BWW Review: STREB EXTREME ACTION Brings Power and Artistry to Movement at the Kennedy CenterNovember 7, 2016
With pure kinetic energy and abounding bravery to boot, it is no wonder the performers of STREB Extreme Action are billed as Action Heroes. The company's three performances of the new work SEA (SINGULAR EXTREME ACTIONS) on November 4-5 at the Eisenhower Theatre marked STREB Extreme Action's Kennedy Center debut.
BWW Review: Fun and Irreverent URINETOWN at Constellation Theatre CompanySeptember 9, 2016
Who knew ecological adversity and failed policy could be so much fun? It's a grim world in Urinetown where a dire water shortage has made it a privilege to pee anywhere but the corporate amenities. Yet the zany humor and high energy of Constellation Theatre Company's URINETOWN (The Musical!) offers a hilarious lampoon of corporate greed, corrupt politics, and earnest populism complete with zingy songs and jazz hands.
BWW Review: DISTRICT MERCHANTS a Thought-Provoking Retelling of Shakespeare at Folger TheatreJune 13, 2016
DISTRICT MERCHANTS, Aaron Posner's new adaptation of Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, explores the 'other-ness' of being outside the white male stations of power. Setting the work in post-Civil War Washington, D.C., the premiere takes a uniquely American look at race, religion, class and gender. DISTRICT MERCHANTS at the Folger Theatre is an important and compelling work that deftly balances humor among weightier, thought-provoking moments.
BWW Review: WHEN JANUARY FEELS LIKE SUMMER at Mosaic Theater CompanyMay 25, 2016
Mosaic Theater Company of DC completes its whirlwind inaugural year with WHEN JANUARY FEELS LIKE SUMMER, a play that is relevant, engaging and sweetly funny.
BWW Dance Review: High Energy BOWIE & QUEEN at The Washington BalletMay 9, 2016
Like the musical icons who inspired the work, The Washington Ballet's program BOWIE & QUEEN toys with the art form - respectful of classical roots yet pushing forward. The pieces innovate, celebrate and they have fun. While BOWIE & QUEEN is full of heart and poetry, the irreverent and humorous moments remind us all to lighten up and enjoy.
BWW Reviews: Stunning and Inventive JOURNEY TO THE WEST at Constellation Theatre CompanyApril 29, 2016
JOURNEY TO THE WEST is visually stunning and highly inventive production that features an expert ensemble of actors bringing both humor and humanity to an epic story.
BWW Review: Intense and Compelling IN A WORD at The Hub TheatreApril 7, 2016
For a brief moment when the opening night performance of IN A WORD ended there was quiet. A stillness fell as the audience collected itself, took a breath, and processed the intensity of the experience. Then, after a beat, the well-deserved applause began.
BWW Review: Ambitious ANTIGONE NOW at Scena Theatre Falls Short of its PotentialMarch 30, 2016
ANTIGONE NOW is based on the nearly 2,500-year-old Sophocles drama, but in Scena Theatre's hands it could use even more time to gel. From missed lines to erratic pacing, ANTIGONE NOW squanders its interesting potential and never hits its stride.
BWW Review: DREAM LOGIC: Aura Curiatlas at the Atlas Performing Arts CenterMarch 8, 2016
Combine strength and humor, a dash of curiosity, a pinch of whimsy, and a generous dose of inventiveness, mix thoroughly and you have Aura Curiatlas Physical Theatre's compelling brand of storytelling and movement.
BWW Review: ROMEO AND JULIET at Synetic TheaterFebruary 22, 2016
Shakespeare's iambic pentameter, the rhythm of his words, echo the human heartbeat: ba-BUM, ba-BUM. But Synetic Theater gets to the beating heart of ROMEO AND JULIET without a single utterance of any of the Bard's famed words. In its innovative merging of drama and movement, Synetic's silent exploration of the classic work is an extraordinary vision of wonder and passion.
BWW Reviews: PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE at Keegan TheatreJanuary 22, 2016
BWW Review: Fresh and Exuberant WEST SIDE STORY at Signature TheatreDecember 19, 2015
Signature Theatre's WEST SIDE STORY brings freshness and exuberance to the classic work. The exceptional production in an intimate space allows us to consider anew the songs and scenes that have been part of our lives for half a century.
BWW Reviews: Moving and Powerful PERICLES at Folger TheatreNovember 23, 2015
PERICLES, on stage at the Folger Theatre, is a gorgeous and focused production - this from a work that travels through decades and around the Mediterranean in a plot that layers incest, mistaken death, pirates, murder plots and selling a woman into prostitution. But in director Joseph Haj's capable hands the lighter moments bring balance and relief so in the end PERICLES reminds us of both the deep challenges and moments of beauty and light in the human experience.
BWW Review: Big-Hearted and Irreverent AVENUE Q at Constellation Theatre CompanyOctober 30, 2015
AVENUE Q is an irreverent and big-hearted look at life once you've graduated from Sesame Street and from college but Real Life hasn't quite kicked in quite the way you'd envisioned. Constellation Theatre Company's production is full of fun, featuring a magnificent ensemble of talented and appealing actors.
1
VIDEO: Miranda & Corden Team for Crosswalk the Musical - HAIR
3 of 5 Kennedy Center Honorees Refusing to Attend White House Ceremony
