Elizabeth McFadden

Adventurous theatre-goers, take note: a short drive beyond the Beltway, just off the Dulles Access Road, sits Next Stop Theatre Company, a troupe with a growing reputation for solid acting; their current production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is an excellent introduction to the growing theatre scene in Herndon, Reston and beyond-a scene which will become much closer as the Silver Line makes its progress to Dulles Airport.

As the 2017 inauguration arrived, leaving many in the Washington, D.C.-area fleeing the city to avoid crowds, NextStop Theatre opened their first two performances of 2017 to packed houses of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", now appearing through February 12, 2017. Inside a 114-seat black box theatre, just 20 miles west of the nation's capital, in Herndon, Virginia, "the original romantic comedy", whisks audiences off to the sun-drenched sandy beaches of Messina, Italy.

NextStop Theatre presents their first production of 2017, Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" starting January 19, 2017. Billed as "the original romantic comedy", the story of Beatrice and Benedick will be directed by Abigail Isaac Fine at NextStop's black box theatre in Herndon, Virginia.

CAPS FOR SALE, THE MUSICAL, coming off a national tour to more than 17 cities, ends its monkey business Off-Broadway at The New Victory Theater, tonight, February 27, through March 6, 2016.

DOUBLE DOOR debuted on Broadway in 1933, with a subsequent play by Elizabeth McFadden, debuting on Broadway in 1945. This later version is currently being presented at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills as the second production of their 2015-2016 season. And I advise you not to miss it as you will be kept on the edge of your seat throughout the show!

Adventure Theatre MTC, as a part of the Women's Voices Theatre Festival, brings the classic folktale and book by Esphyr Slobodkina, CAPS FOR SALE, to the stage on its 75th Anniversary with a limited three-week world premiere engagement, tonight, September 11, through September 27, 2015. CAPS FOR SALE, THE MUSICAL will then pack up its caps on a National Tour, October 5-November 28, 2015, to over 17 cities and finally end its monkey business Off-Broadway at The New Victory Theater February 27- March 6, 2016.

Adventure Theatre MTC, as a part of the Women's Voices Theatre Festival, brings the classic folktale and book by Esphyr Slobodkina, CAPS FOR SALE, to the stage on its 75th Anniversary with a limited three-week world premiere engagement, September 11- 27, 2015. CAPS FOR SALE, THE MUSICAL will then pack up its caps on a National Tour, October 5-November 28, 2015, to over 17 cities and finally end its monkey business Off-Broadway at The New Victory Theater February 27- March 6, 2016.

Lilli Vanessi's life is moving up. She is engaged to the rich politician, Harrison Howell, and she is making her comeback to the stage in a production of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew as its leading leading lady, Kate. Just as Lilli thought she would be able to move forward, she is confronted by her past as her ex-husband, Fred Graham, is starring as the leading man, Petruchio, in The Taming of the Shrew.

'Kiss Me Kate', music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Bella and Samuel Spewack, plays Thursdays through Sundays through September 13, 2015 at NextStop Theatre Company, in Herndon, Virginia. Check out photos from the show below!

As the strange and sharp-turning story unfolds, it becomes clear that there are eerie similarities between the regime of the genocidal dictator and the living arrangements of these six men. They are a group of urban creatures who have moved out into the country to live a self-sufficient life. They live in a supposedly egalitarian commune that actually has strong class-based divides. And all isn't as it seems to be.

Rep Stage, the regional theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), continues its 21st season with "I Am My Own Wife" by Doug Wright. Winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize and the 2004 Tony Award, "I Am My Own Wife" was inspired by interviews conducted over several years by the playwright with Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a German transvestite who survived both the Nazi and repressive East German Communist regimes. Michael Stebbins stars as Charlotte and more than 40 other characters that represent the men and women in Charlotte's life in Germany from the 1930s through 1990, when the Berlin Wall fell. "I Am My Own Wife" has been hailed by The New York Times as '. . . both moving and intellectually absorbing' and praised by The Associated Press as ". . . more than a historical document . . . the play is a vivid portrait of a unique person whose ability to endure has been turned into a highly theatrical journey.' Rep Stage veteran Tony Tsendeas returns to direct. "I Am My Own Wife" opens October 30, 2013, with a limited run through November 17 in theStudio Theatre of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center (HVPA) on the campus of HCC. For tickets and additional information, visit www.repstage.org or call 443-518-1500.

BIG, the Musical comes back in a new, Theatre for Young Audiences version that has a big heart. From ages 6 to 96, the TYA BIG will entertain and deserves to have a long life. Michael J. Bobbitt's production at Adventure Theatre-MTC is the world premiere.

Aladdin's Luck closes in Imagination Stage's Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre on October 30.

An adventure of luck and love, Aladdin's Luck takes a mischievous young man on not one, but two journeys, each 1001 days and nights long, in order to first find magic, and then find love.

An adventure of luck and love, Aladdin's Luck takes a mischievous young man on not one, but two journeys, each 1001 days and nights long, in order to first find magic, and then find love.

REVIEW: Shakespeare's comedy, The Winter's Tale, is really a 2-sided story.