Robert McNamara News

Scena Theatre productions are never mere theatrical comfort food; they generally have classical or European roots and, whether comic or tragic, they are always intellectually serious affairs, out to show us or make us think about interesting matters. And this show is no exception. With not only [Nobel Laureate Jon] Fosse’s fine script and well-thought-through performances and direction (by company founder Robert McNamara, who usually directs Scena productions), not to mention, in this case, striking sound design by Denise Rose, the show packs a wallop.

Join pianist Ursula Oppens and a stellar lineup of acclaimed pianists for a marathon concert of Philip Glass's Complete Etudes at Lincoln Center. Celebrate the release of a new special edition boxed set and experience the unforgettable music of Glass on November 19, 2023.

Short Story Theatre presents an evening of five warm, wise and wonderful true stories on Thursday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. at The Art Center Highland Park, 1957 Sheridan Road in Highland Park. 

The Directors of Scena Theatre will continue their 34th Season in Washington, DC with THE TIME MACHINE, an original stage adaptation of the landmark H.G. Wells novel, which influenced generations of science fiction writers. Scena Theatre's Artistic Director Robert McNamara is directing this one-man play featuring DC's Ron Litman (AEA).

Many interpretations have been given to Franz Kafka’s novella A Report to an Academy, with academics taking different roads. Published in 1917, an ape, trapped and abused by humans, learns their behaviour not out of desire to assimilate but to survive. The fact that it’s the work of a German-speaking Czech born to a Jewish family in Prague, written in the middle of the First World War, certainly carries specific implications. 

On May 13, the Metropolitan Opera will present the company premiere of Australian composer Brett Dean’s Hamlet, a bold adaptation of Shakespeare’s timeless drama, with six additional performances through June 9.

The Washington National Opera has gathered a company of first rate singers for a portmanteau of four, one-act operas called Written in Stone. Unfortunately, their fine skills and exceptional voices cannot make silk purses out of scores, libretti, and orchestrations that evade aesthetics, emphasize negatives, and ignore the connection implicit in musical theatre between the notes and the text. This world première requires an orchestra to seem to be playing a piece of music that is not the same piece of music as the singers are singing. The last time this many groups of unfriendly instruments had a gig in a first run house was probably PDQ Bach's last show in Carnegie Hall. Gesamtkunstwerk this isn't, and it lasts for two and a half hours.

Inspired by iconic monuments in Washington, D.C., and the ideals embodied by President Kennedy, 'Written in Stone' is a series of intimate short works interwoven into a single evening celebrating the Kennedy Center’s fiftieth anniversary.

A surveyor ponders the meaning of memory and monuments. A young girl scout seeks a place for herself in history. A Black father and son find themselves on opposite sides of a same-sex marriage rally. And the vision of 22-year-old Asian American undergraduate Maya Lin is the catalyst for a reappraisal of the Vietnam War.

'We've been playing with finding the right balance between the theatrical and cinematic qualities of the piece. It truly is a hybrid.'

The October 1962 days in which the world appeared to be on the brink of nuclear war will be revisited in a world premiere adaptation of Robert F. Kennedy's THIRTEEN DAYS: A MEMOIR OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS. Brian Pastor, the Chicago writer-director-actor who serves as Artistic Director of Promethean Theatre Ensemble and Executive Director of Sideshow Theatre Company, has adapted Kennedy's account of the administration of President John F. Kennedy to the discovery that the Soviet Union was installing missile sites in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S.. As with City Lit's acclaimed 2017 production of Archibald MacLeish's J.B., which Pastor also directed, the powerful men of THIRTEEN DAYS will be played by a diverse ensemble of women. All the characters in the book are white males; none of the actors onstage will be. THIRTEEN DAYS will open to the press on March 15 at 3 pm, following previews from March 6, and will play through April 19.

Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan's The Great Society, starring Brian Cox ('Succession') as LBJ, directed by Bill Rauch, will play its final performance, as scheduled, on Saturday, November 30 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65th St) at Lincoln Center. At the time of closing, The Great Society will have played 26 preview performances and 72 regular performances.

With more than 8,000 ballots counted to date, and with two weeks left to vote in the 'Great Society Primary' at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, it is still anyone's race for President. In recent weeks, Senator Elizabeth Warren's once strong lead over the crowded Democratic field has slipped, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg has overtaken Vice President Joe Biden for the #2 spot in the poll. In addition, speculation of Mayor Michael Bloomberg joining the race has resulted in a handful of write-ins on his behalf, possibly fueled by his recent attendance at The Great Society.

I have to hand it to Scena Theatre- they consistently elevate interesting, international work. Director Robert McNamara brings Jon Fosse's SEA to DC for its US debut performance at the intimate DC Arts Center, and the performance will surely leave you thinking. Norwegian playwright Fosse, one of Europe's most performed dramatists, has been translated into over 40 languages and, in 2010, won the biggest prize in global theatre- the Ibsen award. There were moments on opening night when all the stars aligned: persuasive acting, poignant dialogue, precise movements, and inspired casting. There were also moments when pacing, language, and the play's inherent incomprehensibility made engaging with Fosse's work difficult.

Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan's THE GREAT SOCIETY, starring Brian Cox (a?oeSuccessiona??) as LBJ, directed by Bill Rauch, will play its final performance, as scheduled, on Saturday, November 30 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65th St) at Lincoln Center. At the time of closing, The Great Society will have played 26 preview performances and 72 regular performances.

BroadwayWorld is checking in with the cast to uncover some little known facts about the political giants they play onstage. Today, watch as Matthew Rauch gives us a lesson on Robert McNamara.

Week after week, and with more 6,500 ballots now counted for the 'Great Society Primary' at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, theatergoers of The Great Society continue to choose Senator Elizabeth Warren as the Democratic presidential candidate with 36% of the vote (-1% from Week 6), followed by Vice President Joe Biden (17%, NC), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (16%, NC). In the Republican primary field, President Donald Trump comes in at 4% (NC), followed by Governor Bill Weld (2%, NC) and Congressman Mark Sanford (0.6%, NC).

With over 6,000 ballots now counted for the 'Great Society Primary' at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, theatergoers of The Great Society continue to vote for Senator Elizabeth Warren as the Democratic presidential candidate with 37% of the vote (-1% from Week 5), followed by Vice President Joe Biden (17%, NC), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (16%, NC), Kamala Harris (6%), Bernie Sanders (5%), Amy Klobuchar (4%), Cory Booker (2%) and Andrew Yang (2%). In the Republican primary field, President Donald Trump comes in at 4% (NC), followed by Governor Bill Weld (2%, NC) and Congressman Joe Walsh (0.3%, NC).

Robert Schenkkan's THE GREAT SOCIETY, starring Brian Cox (a?oeSuccessiona??) as LBJ, directed by Bill Rauch, is partnering with Broadway For All through its initiative ACCESS FOR ALL.