WASHINGTON, DC THEATER REVIEWS

Dating is a whole different beast these days, fueled by phone apps, texts, Google checks, reality shows and who knows what else. It makes the goings on in the Nu Sass Theatre’s new production “Fifth Date” look positively quaint....

With this marvelous Aida, WNO kicks off its 70th-anniversary season in grand style....

The attention to detail in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s terrific production of “The Wild Duck” extends to preshow atmospherics, with a distinct chill  not attributable to the cooling autumn temperatures outside....

The competitive world of track and field is the center of 1st Stage’s Fair Play, written by Ella Road and directed by Deidra LaWan Starnes, but there is more to this play than just running. Ann (Mahkai Dominique) is a British-Nigerian who crosses paths with Sophie (Camilla Pivetta), a white Britis...

When a husband is as hyper, irresponsible and over-the-top as the one in the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire,” a lot of flaws can be forgiven if he’s played by Robin Williams....

The play Fremont Ave., which is now at the Kreeger Theater at the Arena Stage, is an interesting attempt to show the healing effects of intergenerational family bonds. The playwright, Reggie D. White, has attempted to convey a multitude of  themes and moods as affects the Plique family as they live...

Ballet is back at the Kennedy Center for the 2025-2026 season with multiple outstanding companies on the roster this year. This season opened with the Stuttgart Ballet, arguably Germany’s (and one of Europe’s) best ballet company. For the first time in over 30 years Stuttgart returned to the US ...

It was a rainy summer in Cologny, Switzerland in 1812, where the gathered literati — including Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John William Polidori, Mary Shelley and her stepsister Claire Clairmont -- tried to amuse themselves in the gloom by creating their own ghost stories....

The directing, composing, and writing team of the talented Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith are presenting an intriguing revival of their 2015 world premiere of their intense and enigmatically ambitious production of The Turn of the Screw: The Musical. This adaptation from the acclaimed author ...

In a small coastal town in Ireland, a pair of brothers greet each other one glorious morning on the Emerald  Isle. Except one of them announces he is dead. And he spends a lot of time convincing his brother he’s talking to a ghost....

Five gifted actors in four bare walls work theatre magic to bring the epic work of Cyrano to life in Taffety Punk’s new interpretation skillfully directed and adapted by Lise Bruneau. The production is vibrant, visceral and immediate....

Much like the dating experience it’s trying to reflect, 'Strategic Love Play' manages to build up great potential, then falls flat at the last moment....

“How can you trust everything will turn out good when everything is so different?” Luna asks Jane. Philosophically rich and hilariously moving, Studio Theatre’s HEART SELLERS is a beautiful homage to a generation of immigrants....

The Folger Theatre’s production of “Julius X,” Letson’s heartfelt and moving treatment of the break between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam, a break which culminated in his assassination at the hands of his former brothers, is a cautionary tale for our time—and for any time. ...

Spooky Action Theater has upped the ante for D.C. theatre-goers with a production of one of Russia’s most beloved cautionary tales—“The Dragon,” by Russian playwright Evgeny Schvarts....

What did our critic think of RED PITCH at Olney Theatre? Red Pitch is a game-changer. One can tell from the play’s simultaneous use of a soccer consultant, dialect coach, fight choreographer, and on-site medic that it takes some serious practice and grit to bring this piece to life.  ...

ExPats Theatre has assembled an excellent troupe of actors for Cold Country by contemporary Swiss playwright, Reto Finger. Director (and translator) Karin Rosnizeck ably guides them through an engrossing but difficult script which tries to integrate ancient rural Swiss myths with modern situations. ...

Early in my arts management training, I read former Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser’s book, The Cycle. This arts manifesto is a practical guide on creating and sustaining the arts, and I do recommend it for anyone seeking a career in the field. But I digress. ...

The Inheritance (as in the title of the same award-winning epic play now being presented in a moving and masterly production at Bethesda’s Round House Theatre) is the legacy that must be respected, remembered and passed on from generation to generation so that a record of the tortuous winding road...

What did our critic think of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW at Imagination Stage? Four stories from iconic children’s book author Eric Carle, 75 puppets, and even a bubble party – what could go wrong? Spoiler alert: nothing. Everything goes right....

What unfolds is engaging, challenging and heartfelt, but ultimately hard to pin down. Robinson’s Harlem roots and experience are brought to light to illuminate the black experience in a generationally time-bending way. “A Raisin in the Sun” it is not....

The Addams Family musical isn’t as campy and charming as the movies, nor does it have the eccentric vibes of Tim Burton’s Wednesday. The musical makes you cringe (and not in the way a member of the Addams family would want you to). ...

According to an interview Richard Thomas gave to DC Theater Arts, Hal Holbrook's estate asked him to consider playing Mark Twain in the one-man show that Holbrook compiled for himself back in 1954 when he was 29. Their idea was a good one; after a brief stop in DC, this excellent production has move...

What did our critic think of DAMN YANKEES at Fichandler Stage?...

There’s a lot of stress and anxiety around selling a house. Ultimately, it comes down to one question: Will the buyer like it? Reality TV shows on cable channels like HGTV have added on to the pressure. These shows have seeped into potential home buyers’ subconsciousness, causing a phenomenon of...