Laura Giannarelli News

I was all ready and looking forward to the final installment of Back to Methuselah, the George Bernard Shaw epic that the Washington Stage Guild has been staging in chapters since 2014. But building the future, or more precisely, 'as far as thought can reach' proved too costly for the venerable D.C. group this year, so they put it off until next year, switching it with next season's planned revival of St.' Nicholas.

It's Christmas Eve 1946 in Washington, DC and you've ventured out into the cold with your family to the local radio station to see a live performance of Frank Capra's yet-to-be-classic, It's a Wonderful Life. Taking the stage among dozens of sound effects tools are some of your favorite local radio actors, ready to immerse you in the idealized world of Bedford Falls and the life of the town's hero, George Bailey. As the five actors and one foley artist take you through the sentimental story, they portray dozens of characters and create dozens more sounds as your imagination is left to paint the full picture.

The Washington Stage Guild announces its 30th Season of our distinctive repertory, an array of eloquent plays of idea and argument, passion and wit-smart theatre for a smart town!

In the wake of the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., and the failure of parents, schools, and health and judicial systems to prevent mass violence, new playwright and native Washingtonian Graziella Jackson has written After Eleven, which explores this critical social issue. The play premieres at the 2015 Capital Fringe Festival, with six performances at the Hyman M. Perlo Studio, Dance Place, 3225 8th Street in Northeast, Washington, D.C.

In the wake of the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., and the failure of parents, schools, and health and judicial systems to prevent mass violence, new playwright and native Washingtonian Graziella Jackson has written After Eleven, which explores this critical social issue. The play premieres at the 2015 Capital Fringe Festival, with six performances at the Hyman M. Perlo Studio, Dance Place, 3225 8th Street in Northeast, Washington, D.C.

Washington Stage Guild's production prudently balances the science fiction nature of Shaw's work with the greater philosophical discussions his plays' raise regarding the consistent need for humanity to keep developing.

The Washington Stage Guild continues its Season of Love and/or Marriage with the next installment of a three-year dramatic extravaganza that culminates in the company's 30th anniversary, tonight, February 19 -March 15, 2015.

The Washington Stage Guild continues its Season of Love and/or Marriage with the next installment of a three-year dramatic extravaganza that culminates in the company's 30th anniversary, February 19 -March 15, 2015.

Washington Stage Guild's 'In Praise of Love' offers an engaging and comedic performance.

The Washington Stage Guild continues its 29th season with IN PRAISE OF LOVE by Terence Rattigan The Washington Stage Guild continues its 2014-15 Season of Love and/or Marriage with a long-overdue revival of Terence Rattigan's witty and moving IN PRAISE OF LOVE.

The Washington Stage Guild announces its 29th season of our distinctive repertory, an array of eloquent plays of idea and argument, passion and wit-smart theatre for a smart town. The 2014-2015 season includes the second part of our multi-year presentation of George Bernard Shaw's BACK TO METHUSELAH, and as the visionary cycle leaps into the future and examines the effect of human advances on relationships, the other three plays also focus on unexpected looks at basic ties to create A SEASON OF LOVE AND/OR MARRIAGE. Two Washington premieres are joined by two plays not seen here in decades, as we offer our first productions by two of Shaw's followers, Frederick Lonsdale and Terence Rattigan, and one by a contemporary American playwright, David Marshall Grant.

The Quotidian Theater's production of Brian Friel's FAITH HEALER, features excellent acting and direction, a top-notch set, and costumes that are perfectly suited to the personality of each character and the time period. However, the play is unrelentingly sad.

Given its long history of producing the plays of George Bernard Shaw, it was inevitable that the Washington Stage Guild would someday attempt to mount Shaw's monumental, impossible play cycle, Back to Methuselah. Methuselah tilts at the usual ideological windmills, with a fanciful dash of futurism thrown in for good measure. Perhaps because of its reach, the script shows occasional signs of strain; but the Stage Guild does an admirable job bringing our dear Irish curmudgeon's epic to life.

The Washington Stage Guild continues its Season of Dreams with the start of a three-year dramatic extravaganza that will culminate in the company's 30th anniversary! BACK TO METHUSELAH, a cycle of plays by George Bernard Shawthat takes us from Adam and Eve meeting the Serpent in the Garden of Eden to a world 30,000 years in the future, is subtitled 'a Metabiological Pentateuch.' Check out a first look below!

The Washington Stage Guild continues its Season of Dreams with the start of a three-year dramatic extravaganza that will culminate in the company's 30th anniversary! BACK TO METHUSELAH, a cycle of plays by George Bernard Shaw that takes us from Adam and Eve meeting the Serpent in the Garden of Eden to a world 30,000 years in the future, is subtitled 'a Metabiological Pentateuch.'

The Washington Stage Guild continues its Season of Dreams with the start of a three-year dramatic extravaganza that will culminate in the company's 30th anniversary! BACK TO METHUSELAH, a cycle of plays by George Bernard Shaw that takes us from Adam and Eve meeting the Serpent in the Garden of Eden to a world 30,000 years in the future, is subtitled 'a Metabiological Pentateuch.'

The Washington Stage Guild announces its 28th Season of our distinctive repertory, an array of eloquent plays of idea and argument, passion and wit - smart theatre for a smart town. The Washington Stage Guild's 2013-2014 season will focus on the fundamental basis of all art - the imagination. We will present four plays that examine the need to see beyond the mundane in order to create, to survive, to develop, to live. The Season of Dreams will travel from Vincent van Gogh's studio to Bernard Berenson's villa, and from the apartment of two fragile lives to as far as thought can reach. All four plays are Washington area premieres, and among the four is the first installment in a multi-year cycle leading up to our 30th anniversary, as we inaugurate our production of George Bernard Shaw's rarely seen Back to Methuselah.

Olney Theatre Center continues its 75th Anniversary season with the Victorian thriller Angel Street, also known as Gaslight. Angel Street is playing on the Mainstage tonight, June 20 - July 14, 2013.

Angel Street focuses on a seemingly normal couple, the Manninghams. Is the handsome Jack Manningham a caring husband - or is he discreetly trying to drive his young wife Bella into insanity under the guise of kindness? It takes an extraordinarily dedicated Scotland Yard detective, the aptly named Inspector Rough, to unravel this delightfully twisted thriller.