Michael Sharp News

For fans of Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes and period comedic farce, this play will entirely engage, delight, and entertain. Intelligently and creatively directed by Andrew Gordon, it provides everything you love about live theatre: extravagant characters with underlying motives, a mystery thriller with many characters who could 'have done it', superb comic timing, an eerie atmosphere conveyed through creative lighting and sound, authentic costumes, dramatic irony, and a clearly articulated Sherlock Holmes style.

Funny how a few years can change a play, not because of the play itself, but because of social shifts around it.

Some pieces of theater require your undivided attention because of some deep underlying message that the playwright doesn't want you to miss. This is not the case for MetroStage's return holiday engagement of Catherine Flye's Christmas at The Old Bull & Bush and that's totally ok. This British Variety Music Hall Entertainment is full of music, good performances, and some really corny jokes. In other words, it is everything you would expect from a show set in 1918 in Hampstead, London.

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin is pleased to announce that the musical ROOMS a rock romance with book by Paul Scott Goodman and Miriam Gordon, music and lyrics by Paul Scott Goodman, and directed by MetroStage Artistic Associate Thomas W. Jones II will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a new production at MetroStage, running Oct 11-Nov 11.

For more than 60 years, Athol Fugard has helped us explore South Africa through his complex, flawed, and empathetic characters. He is one of the most significant voices of our time. Fugard's most recent work, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, makes its DC-area premiere at MetroStage. When Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin slated The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek as MetroStage's season opener, little did she know that an August tweet would thrust South African farm ownership and race relations firmly back into the world spotlight.

Back in the late 90's I went to the old Vat Room at Arena Stage to see this Christmas show that my Catholic University professor talked about. Being the grandchild of a British war bride, I had many British Christmases growing up, so I knew what to expect. What I didn't expect back then was how enjoyable that night would be. Sometimes you go to the theater to have fun and escape from the troubles of your day.

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin is pleased to announce that the play Are You Now or Have You Ever Been , a play written and conceived by Carlyle Brown and directed by MetroStage Artistic Associate Thomas W. Jones II with original music by William Knowles, will be in performance Oct. 5-Nov. 5 at MetroStage.

MASTER CLASS is McNally's fictionalized and highly entertaining play where "La Divina" once again brings her passions to the stage, this time as a teacher of young opera students. For the production now lighting up MetroStage, Illona Dulaski embodies Callas in a tour de force performance.

On a journey to evolve with consumer preferences and offer greater choice, Nestl Dreyer's Ice Cream, the largest ice cream maker in the world, announced today key ingredient improvements to six iconic brands including Dreyer's 1, Hagen-Dazs , Outshine , Skinny Cow , Nestl Ice Cream and Nestl Drumstick . This is the latest milestone in a multi-year effort to update existing products across the entire portfolio of brands. With a focus on simplifying ingredient lists while maintaining the same great tastes consumers have grown to love, the newest changes vary across more than 100 products, with examples including the removal of artificial colors and flavors, high fructose corn syrup and GMO ingredients. Other noteworthy accomplishments include the use of fresh milk from cows not treated with rBST, the addition of more real fruit or fruit juice and a reduction in sugar by an average of 11 percent on select products. In December of last year, Nestl also announced that it will transition to using only cage-free eggs in all of its U.S. food products, including ice cream, within the next five years. Nationwide roll-out for the newly updated products began in March 2016.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature holiday features in Chicago, Austin, San Diego, and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include Mercury Theatre's CHRISTMAS SCHOONER, SDMT's WHITE CHRISTMAS, and SANTALAND DIARIES in Austin, just to name a few.

Charles Dickens tangles with Broadway this holiday season at MetroStage with Kathy Feininger's A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS CAROL. Broadway fan or not, it's hilarity for all.

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin is pleased to announce A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS CAROL, created by Kathy Feininger, will return to MetroStage for the holidays tonight, Nov. 24, through Dec. 27 for a sixth season. It has been the holiday show for the past five seasons and has become a holiday tradition here at MetroStage. Prior to 2010, it had played to sold out houses at Round House Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, for seven consecutive years ending in 2004.

Long before the devil wore Prada -- 20 years ago, in fact -- the story of the irrepressible Diana Vreeland first commanded the stage of the Globe in a world premiere in 1995. Oscar and Tony Award winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers) now brings "The Empress of Fashion" back in FULL GALLOP. Written by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson and directed by Andrew Russell. Both critics and audiences are loving it, and FULL GALLOP will now add a limited week of additional performances, extending through Sunday, November 1, 2015, in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

Long before the devil wore Prada -- 20 years ago, in fact -- the story of the irrepressible Diana Vreeland first commanded the stage of the Globe in a world premiere in 1995. Oscar and Tony Award winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers) now brings 'The Empress of Fashion' back in FULL GALLOP. Written by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson and directed by Andrew Russell, FULL GALLOP runs now through October 25, 2015, with opening night tonight, October 1 at 8:00 p.m., in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

Long before the devil wore Prada -- 20 years ago, in fact -- the story of the irrepressible Diana Vreeland first commanded the stage of the Globe in a world premiere in 1995. Oscar and Tony Award winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers) now brings 'The Empress of Fashion' back in FULL GALLOP. Written by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson and directed by Andrew Russell, FULL GALLOP will run tonight, September 26, through October 25, 2015, with opening night on Thursday, October 1 at 8:00 p.m., in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

Long before the devil wore Prada -- 20 years ago, in fact -- the story of the irrepressible Diana Vreeland first commanded the stage of the Globe in a world premiere in 1995. Oscar and Tony Award winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers) now brings "The Empress of Fashion" back in FULL GALLOP. Written by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson and directed by Andrew Russell, FULL GALLOP will run September 26 through October 25, 2015, with opening night on Thursday, October 1 at 8:00 p.m., in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

A Broadway Christmas Carol, created by Kathy Feininger, returns to MetroStage for the holidays through Dec. 28 for a fifth season . It has been the holiday show for the past four seasons and has become a holiday tradition here at MetroStage. Prior to 2009, it had played to sold out houses at Round House Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, for seven consecutive years ending in 2004.

Combine Broadway melodies with literature's most famous miser, and instead of 'Bah humbug,' you might be saying 'Encore!.' The good folks at Alexandria's MetroStage are in their fifth season of what has become an annual tradition of presenting A Broadway Christmas Carol, the madcap musical version of the classic Dickens tale, which tells the story by way of well-known Broadway tunes with [liberally] altered lyrics. From the opening number, set to 'Comedy Tonight,' from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, to a rousing finale set to the title tune from Oklahoma, there's something for everyone in this 'comedy tonight.'

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin has announced A Broadway Christmas Carol, created by Kathy Feininger, will return to MetroStage for the holidays today, Nov. 25-Dec. 28 for a fifth season.