Gary DuBreuil News

What did our critic think of WEBSTER'S BITCH at The Keegan Theatre?

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC) will present A Midsummer Night's Dream in four Baltimore parks this summer. The production is part of the company's new state-wide touring initiative, Shakespeare Beyond.

Learning to question what you believe to be morally right and wrong is something I think we all need a little bit of.

The Keegan Theatre has announced the cast and creative team of the upcoming hip-hop musical, PUSH THE BUTTON.

The Keegan Theatre has announced the 2022 Boiler Room Series (BRS), a series of presentations and events that take audiences into the world where new plays get made.

Forget the Cherry Blossoms, folks, they'll be gone before you know it. Brave Spirits' Histories rep, cultivated, rested and ready, will be where it's at when our theatres re-open. Their a?oeHenry the Fifth,a?? as with all the other plays in the current cycle, is full of surprises and fresh interpretations. It is clear that the Histories Repertory will wrap up a few loose ends, while pointing towards contentions and bloodshed to come.

The final chapter of The King's Shadow is about to begin. Henry the Fifth, opening March 14, 2020, completes the first season in Brave Spirits Theatre's two-year project to stage Shakespeare's eight history plays about the Wars of the Roses. During a tumultuous period of less than a hundred years, England experienced civil war and political upheaval as the throne switched hands nine times. Shakespeare dramatized these events over the course of his career in eight remarkable plays: Richard the Second, Henry the Fourth Part 1, Henry the Fourth Part 2, Henry the Fifth, Henry the Sixth Part 1, Henry the Sixth Part 2, Henry the Sixth Part 3, and Richard the Third. Brave Spirits Theatre is making history by becoming the first professional American theatre company to mount full productions of Shakespeare's two tetralogies and perform them in repertory.

One of D.C.'s finer classical companies, Brave Spirits, has embarked on a two-year repertory of William Shakespeare's history plays. Leading off this ambitious project is Charlene V. Smith's razor-sharp production of a?oeRichard II.a?? Smith has assembled a cast that is assured in its understanding of Shakespeare's language; more importantly, she has nurtured some of the most creative, nuanced readings of the Bard's famous speeches I have ever heard.

During a tumultuous period of less than a hundred years, England experienced civil war and political upheaval as the throne switched hands nine times. Shakespeare dramatized these events over the course of his career in eight remarkable plays: Richard the Second, Henry the Fourth Part 1, Henry the Fourth Part 2, Henry the Fifth, Henry the Sixth Part 1, Henry the Sixth Part 2, Henry the Sixth Part 3, and Richard the Third. With an ensemble of twenty actors, Brave Spirits Theatre will stage these eight plays over the next two years, culminating in marathon performance weekends during July 2021.

While short-lived on Broadway, Keegan Theatre's regional premiere of Hands on a Hardbody, directed by Elena Velasco and Mark A. Rhea, proves this musical is on its way to becoming a cult classic.

The Keegan Theatre continues its 22nd season with the announcement of the cast and creative team for the regional premiere of the musical HANDS ON A HARDBODY. Inspired by the true events of the acclaimed 1997 documentary of the same name, HANDS ON A HARDBODY features a catchy combination of blues, rhythm & blues, and country songs co-written by Amanda Green and Trey Anastasio of the band Phish. Keegan's production is co-directed by Elena Velasco and Mark A. Rhea with music direction by Jake Null and choreography by Elena Velasco. The show runs March 9 through April 6, 2019 at The Andrew Keegan Theatre in Washington, DC, with the press opening slated for Tuesday, March 12 at 8:00 p.m.

With over 80 plays to choose from, Capital Fringe Festival can be overwhelming for the average theatergoer. There are plenty of good choices ranging from over-the-top comedies to funky experimental dramas to allegories and satires and everything in between. Obviously, with so many offerings, there will be works that fail to execute their artistic vision effectively. Thankfully, Derek Hills's Shopworn, which opened on Tuesday night at Capital Fringe's Orange venue (Christ United Methodist Church), is a true diamond in the rough: a family drama that provides modern commentary without getting too preachy. It is thoroughly delightful and a perfect selection for Fringe veterans and first-timers alike.

If you've never read George Orwell's 1984, the seminal classic examining a world that's fallen under the rule of the nameless Party and their omnipotent leader Big Brother, stop what you're doing and read it now. Or you can just see Scena Theatre's new production playing at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. The show takes a while to amp up but the thrilling climax is performed with such vigor and authenticity that the true dangers of Orwell's devised society come to fruition.

As directed by Alex Levy, THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION is theatrically inventive and mostly compelling recounting of of Farnsworth and Sarnoff's parallel stories. The production is also performed by a skillful company of actors who take the audience on this little known historical journey.

In his return to playwriting, celebrated film and television writer Aaron Sorkin's signature style lends itself to the remarkable story of the invention that changed our lives. In 1929, two ambitious visionaries race against each other to invent a device called "television." Separated by two thousand miles, each knows that if he stops working, even for a moment, the other will gain the edge. Who will unlock the key to the greatest innovation of the 20th century: the ruthless media mogul, or the selftaught Idaho farm boy? The answer comes to compelling life in the regional premiere of this "firecracker of a play" (The Chicago Sun-Times).

In his return to playwriting, celebrated film and television writer Aaron Sorkin's signature style lends itself to the remarkable story of the invention that changed our lives. In 1929, two ambitious visionaries race against each other to invent a device called "television."

It's what's on the inside that counts. THE UGLY ONE by German playwright Marius von Mayenburg skewers that idea, and Nu Sass brings us an energetic take on the satirical play. Renata Fox directs actors who embrace their roles with effervescence, three out of four of them playing multiple characters, while colorful lighting by E-Hui Woo enhances the absurdist atmosphere.

In keeping with Brave Spirits Theatre's commitment to producing overlooked works from Shakespeare's contemporaries, the company's staging of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher's A KING AND NO KING marks a DC metro area professional premiere. An excellent cast and a modern approach by director Cassie Ash and the creative team make this production worthwhile.

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.