The psychological arcs of history are sometimes lost in the details and dates. THE BOOK OF JOSEPH amplifies those emotional truths as it follows the Hollander family's past struggle to survive World War II and present struggle to deal with the reverberations of a past we both wish to remember and se... (more...)
I cannot think of a more fitting way to say thank you to Baltimore Center Stage Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah than attending SOUL THE STAX MUSICAL which runs to June 10, 2018.... (more...)
We want the same songs we (or our parents or grandparents, as the case may be) grew up with, every note of the horn arrangements, and the original singer's voices, imparting each smidgen of intonation and pacing that the original singe added to the song. A historical frame for the musical is perfec... (more...)
When you hear the first few notes of the rollicking overture, you know Bernstein is genuflecting hard to Johann Strauss. Yet this is a story in which the principal characters are bayoneted, hanged, maimed, raped, prostituted, ravaged by disease, and enslaved, among other things, a story which, thema... (more...)
What a trail of stardust the whole musical leaves! There are the sets and lighting which dazzle in their nimble evocation of the wonders of Paris, with a side-step into a fantasy nightclub that seems to be Radio City Music Hall, complete with spangled leggy chorines and dudes in top hats and tails. ... (more...)
Aubergine, by American playwright and television writer of Korean descent, Julia Cho, is a didactic play, heavy on pathos, but not without humor, that finds its origins in Cho's own life, specifically, the death of her father. Similarly in this play, protagonist Ray, played by Tony Nam, cares for hi... (more...)
The true selling point of this production is not so much a reimmersion in Orwell's masterpiece as a reminder, if we needed reminding, of the collective nausea that overtakes us in one of those periodic moments when totalitarian assaults on truth, justice and human dignity are winning.... (more...)
OKLAHOMA! was not a show that I new much about before seeing it performed this week by the lovely cast and crew of Artistic Synergy of Baltimore. It's one of those classic 40s musicals that doesn't get revived much these days, but a classic becomes a classic for a reason. And while the show itself w... (more...)
This attack on sanctimonious pretensions is put across by a spirited ensemble, game with lascivious behavior, violence, f-bombs and sock-puppets, and blessed with considerable talent, including the manual dexterity to bring socks to life.... (more...)
Ben's character may be a phony pastiche, and Elaine's a confusing cypher, but in Elaine's mother Mrs. Robinson, novelist Charles Webb struck gold. Bored, lecherous, alcoholic, deeply dishonest, vengeful, and possessed of a twisted motherly loyalty, she is real and vital and scary as hell. Dyana Nea... (more...)
Thank you Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith for bringing to the Washington Area the sequel writer Robert Schenkkan's two part series on President Lyndon Baines Johnson. First there was the Tony Winning ALL THE WAY which dealt with Johnson ascending the presidency while THE GREAT SOCIETY pick... (more...)
All She Must Possess does not suggest that the Cone Collection was Etta's work alone, but rather depicts it as the emanation of the entire community, including not only Etta, but her sister Claribel, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude's brother Leo, Alice Toklas, and the artists, for whom Matisse stands in as... (more...)
Disney's motto is 'Unless you're one of the most important people who ever lived, what's the point?' But there remains no point if you have no consciousness left to enjoy your importance. Hence the sight near the end of doomed Walt struggling to slow down and stretch out indefinitely the experience ... (more...)
The human spirit, Morisseau seems to be suggesting, is hard to crush, regardless of the direction in which the great tides of industrial affairs may flow.... (more...)
The National Tour of WAITRESS - playing at the Hippodrome until February 4, 2018 - is the best version of this particular show I've seen. I originally saw the show on Broadway last summer, but I just didn't get it. It seemed a little disjointed to me. The first act is all fun, while the second act g... (more...)
Ebenezer Scrooge is a distinctive character in literature; one of those characters every great actor wants to tackle. He's a redeemable grump, whom you hate but by the end of the story you kind of love. I suppose that's why Leslie Bricusse chose to write SCROOGE, a musical version of this wonderf... (more...)
Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL has been a considered a classic almost since the time when it was written. The story of Scrooge's haunted Christmas Eve is composed of everything that makes a story grand supernatural visions, likeable characters, heart and redemption. It's the perfect tale to read durin... (more...)
Only in the magical land of Broadway can you take a 1994 animated Disney movie thinly based on Shakespeare's HAMLET and possibly based on a 1960s Japanese anime series and transform it into a 6-Tony-Award-winning and highest grossing Broadway production in history. Yes, it's 'The Lion King,' which h... (more...)
BWW Review: THE BOOK OF JOSEPH at The Everyman Theatre
BWW Review: SOUL THE STAX MUSICAL - Baltimore Center Stage Presents World Premiere Until June 10, 2018
With SOUL, Stax Lives Again at Center Stage
Uncategorizable, Brilliant, and Profound: Bernstein's CANDIDE at the Washington National Opera
BWW Review: TRUE WEST at Rep Stage in Columbia - A Toast to Impeccable Performances!
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS Leaves a Trail of Stardust at The Hippodrome
BWW Review: AUBERGINE at Everyman Theatre is a Touching Drama
BWW Review: FOOD FOR THOUGHT: AUBERGINE at Everyman Theatre
BWW Review: Same As The Old Boss: Center Stage's Grim, Industrial ANIMAL FARM
BWW Review: OKLAHOMA! at Artistic Synergy Of Baltimore is so Much More than OK
BWW Review: Handing it to the Devil: Stillpointe Presents HAND TO GOD
BWW Review: A Lackluster Script Spoils THE GRADUATE at Dundalk Community Theatre
BWW Review: CHESS In Concert at the Kennedy Center: A Special Night to Remember
BWW Review: THE GREAT SOCIETY at Arena Stage - LBJ Comes Alive Again!
ALL SHE MUST POSSESS at Rep Stage - An Ambitious Look at the Famous Cone Sisters
BWW Review: A Community's Accomplishment and the Homosexual Gaze: ALL SHE MUST POSSESS at REP Stage
BWW Review: LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT at Everyman Theatre
BWW Review: No Escape from the Hall of Mirrors in THE DEATH OF WALT DISNEY at Single Carrot Theatre
BWW Review: When Everything Falls Apart: SKELETON CREW at Center Stage
BWW Review: WAITRESS at The Hippodrome is Two Parts Love Story and One Part Comedy with a Dash of Heart Sprinkled Throughout
BWW Review: LOOKINGGLASS ALICE at Center Stage - A musical treat for all ages
BWW Review: SCROOGE at Artistic Synergy Of Baltimore Spreads Christmas Magic to Audiences Young and Old
BWW Review: Joyful A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Annapolis Shakespeare Company Spreads the Message of Christmas
BWW Review: ANNIE at Olney Theatre Center - A Treat for Young Theatergoers
BWW Review: Broadway Magic Comes to Baltimore - THE LION KING at The Hippodrome