WASHINGTON, DC THEATER REVIEWS

What did our critic think of DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Capital One Hall?...

It was 20 years ago when 'Mean Girl' first hit movie theaters, cementing a certain kind of malevolent high school clique even as it launched a million memes, introduced a generation of actresses and established a pink dress code for its female fans years before “Barbie.” A rite of passage in its...

It was 30 years ago this week that a stylish Portland, Ore. lounge combo played its first gig, motivated by something with which Washington D.C. audiences could easily relate: politics....

The latest entry into Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage series is the crowd pleasing quirky musical by William Finn (Music and Lyrics) and Rachel Sheinkin (Book) known as The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee. The 2005 musical also features additional material by Jay Reiss. See what our ...

At 55 minutes, Karen Zacarias' play, Frida Libre, runs the perfect length for the young people (age 5 and up) that Gala Hispanic Theatre wants to cultivate as the audiences of the future. ...

What did our critic think of THE WOMAN IN BLACK at The Keegan Theatre?...

The National Ballet of Ukraine and the Shumka Dancers recently performed a beautiful program at the Kennedy Center Opera House aptly titled Nadiya Ukraine, “nadiya” meaning “hope” in Ukrainian. In a two-hour show, the audience witnessed the richness of Ukrainian culture, the bleak interperso...

Confounding at times and also beautiful, this traditional puppetry company is wrapping us a US tour. Yes, orchestras may downsize from 30 violins to 25, but it still takes all 25 roughly forty minutes to play Beethoven’s sixth symphony. You could speed up the tempo, increasing “output” with th...

A modern spin on an evergreen tragedy, with mixed results. Read our critic's take. ...

Aaron Sorkin's original concept for The West Wing was a show depicting the behind-the-scenes workings of the White House, focusing on the President's top advisors and staff, with the President playing a very minor, cameo role. ...

She Persisted is a best-selling book by Chelsea Clinton, and the musical SHE PERSISTED at Adventure Theatre MTC completely does the book justice. ...

Few American composers have been as influential as Stephen Sondheim, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 91. His large catalogue, with subjects and settings that vary from a modern single man navigating social relationships among his married friends to a murderous pie-shop keeper in Victorian Lond...

Solo theatrical pieces are probably among the hardest sells to an audience because there is only one performer keeping you interested in the subject. These theatrical offerings require a delicate balance between educating and entertaining audiences. Olney Theatre Center’s current attraction, Eisen...

Matthew Broderick stars in the Babbitt of BABBITTs at Shakespeare Theatre Company. See what our critic had to say. ...

Mister Lincoln is a pleasant and ruminative piece on the United States and its history. It's humorous, informative, and for American history buffs, surely spellbinding. Read our critic's take. ...

It figures that a Riot Grrrls version of “The Tragedie of Macbeth” at Taffety Punk would focus on the witches - or three wyrd sisters, as they’re called here  ...

What did our critic think of HAMLET...THE REST IS SILENCE at Synetic Theater?...

Faithless asks you to consider what you are committed to, what you believe in, and most of all, why? Faithless made its area debut this September 29th at Washington Stage Guild. The piece follows an older father, Gus (Ron Litman), his two stepchildren, Claire (Patricia Hurley) and Calvin (Ben Black...

If you ever find yourself in Bethesda, Maryland, with children, you should also find your way to Imagination Stage. ...

What did our critic think of MARLENE at ExPats Theatre?...

What did our critic think of CRACKING ZEUS at Spooky Action Theater?...

The Four Seasons had a hit song many years ago with a lyric that went “Oh! What a Night!” That is how I can best describe watching singer/songwriter/actress Sara Bareilles with YOUR National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), under the always stellar direction of Maestro Steven Reineke in Kennedy Center�...

But the new play by Dave Harris at Studio Theater is framed the same way: Six people marooned in an afterschool detention classroom on the Friday before Martin Luther King weekend, who bicker, flirt, nearly fight, and wonder if the presiding teacher will ever come to sign forms allowing them to go h...

What did our critic think of SHREK THE MUSICAL at Capital One Hall?...

Primary Trust is a touching, intimate, and deeply affecting work. The 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winner is making its Washington-area premiere at Signature Theatre in an outstanding production directed by Obie Award winner Taylor Reynolds....