Good cast, good technical work, some funny jokes, but there's something missing.

Shenandoah Conservatory's production of CABARET runs from Friday, September 29th through Sunday, October 2nd, in the Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre on the campus of Shenandoah University!

Something is clearly rotten in the state of the DFL and perhaps America itself. Whipping, or the Football Hamlet, written, directed, and choreographed by Kathleen Akerley, is entertaining and humorous as it is stirring and thought-provoking.

The exhilarating musical The Gospel at Colonus returns, Lauren Gunderson's fiery genius Emilie makes her DC debut, and Shakespeare's fantastical The Tempest takes the stage by storm

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company's stunning remount of AN OCTOROON by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Nataki Garrett reunites the principal cast and production teams from Woolly's sold out 2016 run. Boy, did I move to DC just in time. The Washington Post declares Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company 'a national champion of the new-and frequently provocative-American play' and after laughing, crying, and thinking through Woolly's AN OCTOROON I would be hard pressed to find better descriptors. In the heart of the nation's capital, a stone's throw from The White House, AN OCTOROON is a living, breathing, vital dialogue about racial tension in America.

The concert delivered some great performances and is a wonderful example of how unique the Kennedy Center is within our national arts landscape. Where else, except for maybe Lincoln Center, could you hear some of Broadway's best sing with a top-notch orchestra and get a dose of comedy too?

A couple of things intrigued me about HalfMad Theatre's entry into this year's Capital Fringe. First off, the name Trey Parker was attached to it. After all, he created the totally non-politically correct TV show South Park and the mega- hit Broadway musical The Book of Mormon so it seemed interesting that a company would present the piece that started Parker on his meteoric rise to fame while in college. Second, the show is primarily performed with puppets with a few human characters. That just seemed like my kind of show. The show is the wonderful and slightly off-color extravaganza, Trey Parker's Cannibal the Musical!

Anytime a company presents something I don't expect to see in a festival setting, it generally peaks my interest. The Laramie Project is one of those shows I never thought I would see performed in Capital Fringe. When The Wandering Theatre Company presents the piece and then disrespects the material by doing things to the show that are not needed it results in the following diatribe even if the production features some strong performances.

Horton Foote's NIGHT SEASONS, directed by Jack Sbarbori at the Quotidian Theatre Company, examines the nature of a life defined by money and greed, and the notion that perhaps living is the greatest punishment of all. Foote, best known for his 1962 screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird, delivers a quiet critique of capitalist culture and asks us to consider what "home" means. NIGHT SEASONS places us in Harrison Texas, 1963 on Josie Weems' (Jane Squier Bruns) 93rd birthday, though the play deals in flashbacks and the setting easily slips back and forth through 1923-1963 and the years in between. Josie Weems (Jane Squier Bruns) is the manipulative glue that holds the rambling Weems family together by subtly managing finances and allowing and prohibiting marriages at her discretion.

The current national tour, based on the recent Broadway revival at Roundabout Theatre Company's Studio 54 and taking up residence at the Kennedy Center through August 6, does just that - explore and provide a unique take. While there's never been anything particularly cheery about the musical, this version wonderfully embraces its darkness and cold undertones more so than a few others I have seen.

Unlike in your real life, there is someone onstage able to give voice to your concerns and make you laugh when you feel like you want to cry. The Second City wants you to know you're not alone!

The cast and the rocking band pour every ounce of energy into everything they do.

Simply put, get thee to the Kennedy Center to experience it for yourself.

Important content and several exceptional performances outweigh 1st Stage's flawed production of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. 

DC is a topsy-turvy, satirical farce; or so it seems this morning. Happily, so is The School for Lies. At least The School for Lies is fiction and man, it felt good to laugh.

New musicals are always a risky proposition for any theatre company, but Pallas Theatre Collective is rising to the challenge in a big way with its current production Crazy Mary Lincoln. The show is a product of the company's Table Read series, which puts the writers through a two year process of readings to work on their show before it gets to full production. In this case, the process paid off in spades.

As Capitol Hill seems to talking nonstop about the state of American health care at a time when it all might change, a couple of one-man plays at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop was breaking down the issues in terms that are immediate, emotional and human.

Sometimes you attend a performance and one of the most memorable parts is something unscripted and spontaneous, and that leaves you with a lasting impression of the performance. In Mouth Open, Story Jump Out, the phenomenal solo performance by UK spoken word artist, Polarbear, something unscripted happened and it was truly wonderful.

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences takes a bold leap in bringing this one man show from Red Bridge Arts in Scotland. Titus, a show recommended for audiences 12 and up tackles serious issues that unfortunately in today's society, children may face.

It's thrilling to discover a work of Shakespeare for the first time, especially as a kid. For me, those introductions came from old episodes of "Wishbone" on PBS, but luckily for today's young audiences in the Washington area, there's a live option: NEARLY LEAR, a tweaked, SparkNotes-length version of the dark original work, performed in a one-woman show by Susanna Hamnett at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater.

This rewarding theatrical experience is a must-see for anyone interested in exploring the power of love, memory, and family in a small Irish town.

'Have a hanky ready!' Alan Cumming exclaimed at the beginning of what evolves into an emotional, entertaining, and engaging evening of cabaret. In the first show of the Renee Flemming VOICES Series at the Kennedy Center, Mr. Cumming, known for his role as the Emcee in Cabaret and Eli Gold in The Good Wife, took down the veil of his characters that separates him from his audience and dove deep into his own personal life. 

As topics go, you couldn't pick a more immediate one than race in America. And as cities go, Washington is an apt location for a production of Lydia R. Diamond's SMART PEOPLE. It's set during the Obama era and takes on the topic of race with biting comedy. Seema Sueko directs a new run at Arena Stage, featuring a four-person cast that is combustible and exciting to watch.

I witnessed a stellar and - dare I say - pretty flawless production that completely and utterly immersed me into Alison Bechdel's world.