Colin K. Bills News

Olney Theatre Center’s remount of its 2021 hit Disney’s Beauty and the Beast runs November 9, 2022 - January 1, 2023, on the Mainstage. Jade Jones and Evan Ruggiero, who attracted national attention last year for their stereotype-busting performances in the lead roles, also return to star as Belle and the Beast.

Fasten your seatbelts, and prepare for turbulence. Baltimore Center Stage, in a co-production with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, will present the regional premiere of AIN'T NO MO' written by Jordan E. Cooper and directed by Lili-Anne Brown from October 27 through November 20, 2022.

What did our critic think of AIN'T NO MO' at Woolly Mammoth?Thanks to Barack Obama's presidency but, alas, because of Rachel Dolezal's wannabe caper, American drama requires some updated, Black-originated satire; Jordan E. Cooper obliges with Ain't No Mo', his 100 minute whupping of white privilege, supremacy, and presumptive cultural majority at Woolly Mammoth through October 9. Cooper follows the late Douglas Turner Ward and George C. Wolfe whose Day of Absence (1965) and The Colored Museum (1986) lampooned white dominance with comedy both uproarious and bitter, and so does this show. It's good to have the real, live, three-dimensional exchange that only theatre provides. No disrespect, Dear White People, Get Out, Sorry to Bother You, and the canon of Spike Lee.

Fasten your seatbelts, and prepare for turbulence. In a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company will present the regional premiere of AIN’T NO MO’, written by Jordan E. Cooper.   

Hi, Are You Single? is a one-man show that explores intimacy, hypocrisy, sex, and slow dancing with strangers. Written and performed by Ryan J. Haddad, the show exists at the intersection between queerness and living with a disability.

'Nathan the Wise' handily lives up to the reputation of the two powerhouse theaters behind it. With a beautiful message, a solid cast and creative team, and a spirited atmosphere, 'Nathan the Wise' is one of those productions you want to cheer during the curtain call, then immediately go back and watch it again.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, in association with IAMA Theatre Company, will present HI, ARE YOU SINGLE?, written and performed by Ryan J. Haddad. Hilarious, vulnerable, and in-your-face provocative, Ryan explores the complicated world of dating from his unique perspective as a gay man living with cerebral palsy.

The reviews are in for Olney Theatre Center's world premiere of A.D. 16, now on stage through March 6, 2022. The new musical is by writers Cinco Paul (co-creator of Despicable Me and Schmigadoon!) and Bekah Brunstetter (producer and writer on This Is Us).

A.D. 16 is an exuberant, ambitious world premiere with its eyes on Broadway; music and lyrics by Cinco Paul (Despicable Me, Schmigadoon!), book by Bekah Brunstetter (This Is Us) and direction by Stephen Brackett (Be More Chill). A.D. 16 starts with the missing teen years of Jesus, layers in an effervescent R&B-influenced score, and sprinkles in some irreverence and anachronistic humor.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at Olney Theatre Center's world premiere of A.D. 16, now on stage through March 6, 2022. The new musical is by writers Cinco Paul (co-creator of Despicable Me and Schmigadoon!) and Bekah Brunstetter (producer and writer on This Is Us).

Watch as Jason Loewith sits down with creators 'A.D.16.,' Cinco Paul (Lyrics and Music) and Bekah Brunstetter (Book) to talk about the process of creating their new musical.

Olney Theatre Center' is now presenting the world premiere of A.D. 16, which runs February 4 - March 6, 2022. The new musical is by writers Cinco Paul (co-creator of Despicable Me and Schmigadoon!) and Bekah Brunstetter (producer and writer on This Is Us).

BroadwayWorld has a first listen to 'Perfect' from Olney Theatre Center's world premiere of A.D. 16 (February 4 - March 6, 2022), performed by Phoenix Best. The new musical is by writers Cinco Paul (co-creator of Despicable Me and Schmigadoon!) and Bekah Brunstetter (producer and writer on This Is Us).

Olney Theatre Center will launch the world premiere of A.D. 16 (February 4 - March 6, 2022), a new musical from writers Cinco Paul (co-creator of Despicable Me and Schmigadoon!) and Bekah Brunstetter (producer and writer on This Is Us).

There are certain musical theatre pieces that audiences see on Broadway and believe the version they saw is the only way the material can be interpreted.  Beauty and the Beast definitely falls into that category for the sole reason of that once you’ve seen how Disney produced it originally, it’s impossible to see it done in a less spectacular way.

It seems fitting, in many ways, to return to live theater with such an incredible and incredibly well told story of optimism, humor, and resilience. Theater J’s season opener is a beautiful, thoughtful biography of a woman who can remind us of the value of intimate, loving relationships and how to keep going through moments of adversity – reminders we can all certainly benefit from right now.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in association with IAMA Theatre Company are excited to play “wingman” together as they present Ryan J. Haddad's celebrated autobiographical solo show Hi, Are You Single?, directed by Laura Savia and Jess McLeod.

The first virtual Helen Hayes Awards ceremony kicked off with the first night of its multi-night event last night, August 31.

As the world reels from the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Washington theater communitya?"both institutions and individualsa?"alongside other entertainment and freelance industries, faces financial uncertainty in the weeks and months ahead. Many of the professional theater-makers in our communitya?"actors, designers, directors, stage managers, box-office staff, choreographers, administrators, technicians, and othersa?"are freelance, part-time, and/or contracted short-term employees. As theater productions and events are canceled and postponed, these individuals will face unforeseen financial hardship. 

We never can seem to catch a break from the president, and a night out at Woolly Mammoth's American premiere of Anne Washburn's SHIPWRECK is no exception. A history play about 2017, SHIPWRECK follows a group of liberals who gather at a remodeled farmhouse, a young man adopted from Kenya reckoning with his connection to his family and his country, and the fallout from Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey.