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.
There's a lot of energy and creativity onstage during 4615 Theatre Company's world premiere of The Infinite Tales -- and they come not only from the actors.
The performers are accompanied by live and recorded music, props that take up a good part of the stage (mostly suitcases and trunks, suggesting the long-distance travel the main characters must undergo), shadow puppets and screens, and paper cut-outs, among others.
4615 Theatre Company's 'Separate Rooms' is a great display of how love and loss can affect a group of people - it balances the raw emotions of the moment with the very human need to push on. Despite some story arc issues, it is a touching, intimate, and funny insight into humanity.
'Venus in Fur' is a vivid and wonderful production that taps into themes of gender norms, sexuality, and power, and features a fantastic cast. It's certainly an experience you'll want to indulge in. Seating is extremely limited, but that's part of the charm.
Tackling Macbeth is no minor feat. Few shows inspire as much dread both onstage and off as Shakespeare's "Scottish Play." Daringly dark in both plot and theme, Macbeth relies heavily on the performances of the eponymous Scot and his wife to propel the plot along compellingly and with varying intensity. 4615 Theatre Company's production, unfortunately, falls victim to most of the pitfalls which riddle this complicated work. The final result is a revival which is bogged down by a slow-paced first act and lead performances which are unable to reveal anything new about this work.
Whatever happened to the theatrical thriller? There's something so incredibly fulfilling about a play that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Too often, there are elements that can pull you out of a thrilling production. It can be the smallest thing: from a flickering stage light to a fumbling actor. Thankfully for 4615 Theatre Company, their production of Dinner by Moira Buffini is devoid of any of these downfalls. Instead, the play comes together to create a sumptuous treat that will leave you wanting more.
Of the two dozen stages participating in the Women's Voices Theater Festival this year, the one for the 4615 Theatre Company in Silver Spring must be the smallest.
Stop for a moment to think how things have changed; how the election of Donald Trump and the imposition of a travel ban on Muslims and openly anti-immigrant, pro-white nationalist sentiment have torn away at the nation. It is no wonder that Akhtar's searing drama deserves its place on the stage right here, and right now.
On Saturday September 9, 2017, NextStop Theatre Company, a professional black-box theatre near Reston Town Center, opened the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar. In the play, audiences experience a New York City dinner party that becomes a powder-keg of prejudice and identity politics surrounding Muslim assimilation in America.
Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre, in residence at the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex, opens the second half of its 41st season with a musical comedy 'Me and My Girl' and an Agatha Christie murder mystery, 'A Murder is Announced.'
Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre, in residence at the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex, opens the second half of its 41st season with a musical comedy "Me and My Girl" and an Agatha Christie murder mystery, "A Murder is Announced."
