WASHINGTON, DC THEATER REVIEWS

The magic of the WNO's THE MAGIC FLUTE is that it is captivating for all ages and a tempting proposition for first-timers and opera-buffs alike....

Theory is an interesting show with a strong cast and solid technical elements. It raises some valid questions about living our ideals and the limitations we set (or don't) on ourselves and others in public, but it never quite figures out how to go beyond that. Still, it opens conversations about the...

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Giuseppe Verdi's penultimate masterpiece is brought to its intense glory in a production filled with magnificent performances and crackling with dramatic fervor....

Young Artists of America put together an impressive concert performance of Mary Roger's and Marshall Barer's Once Upon a Mattress Conducted by Kristofer Sanz, Vocal Directed by Rolando Sanz and Narrated and directed for the stage by Leayne Dempsey....

Conor McPherson's 2006 play, Port Authority, now onstage in Bethesda at Quotidian Theatre, lacks bells, whistles, or coups de theatre. But Thornton Wilder quoted Molière as saying that all he needed for theatre was passion and a platform or two. And that's what's on offer in the well-acted revival ...

'Right to be Forgotten' is a thought-provoking, insightful play that addresses a key issue in our lives. Arena Stage's production is a smart, solid, and charming show with a strong cast and production team, and has the ability to elevate the debate in an honest and nuanced way....

'Everybody' may not be for, well, everybody - it's a quirky play that tackles humanity, life, death, and our own fragile existence head-on. But those who are brave enough to face these uncomfortable truths are rewarded with a fast-talking, quick-witted, deep-thinking performance....

This rap-infused, woke update of Mark Twain's The Prince and The Pauper, a world premiere theater piece for young audiences commissioned by the Kennedy Center, has many charms and much humor, even if it goes more than a little heavy on the agitprop for audiences under the age of 10....

There are signs that the grandaddy of role-playing games, Dungeons & Dragons, is making a comeback, even among the kind of kids who'd usually be glued to their computer games. But its depiction - and general celebration - in Qui Nguyen's 'She Kills Monsters' currently being revived by Rorschach Thea...

If you crave a dose of Halloween vibes, Constellation Theatre Company's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is just the ticket....

Prologue Theatre is putting its own stamp on a play that has acquired a huge cult following over the years, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Bristling with edgy, memorable performances, the cast takes you right back into the hell of those teenage years, when hurting people, both physically an...

Stormy Weather, written by Sybil Williams and artistically directed by Timothy Nelson, is a musically immersive, cabaret-style performance, inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest, that presents to the audience to the tribulations of colonization through the lens of Sycorax (Michelle Rogers)....

So much theatre nowadays derives from other media, for better or worse. It can be fun to watch teacups dance and phantoms pilot gondolas, but all mermaids do not get creatively adapted equally. Fortunately Mystery Science Theatre 3000 Live depends on its hybrid nature: the fun of it comes from the f...

Follow the doings of individuals who come in and out of a motel where the room itself and those who clean it are the only constants....

Just as African-American artists have sought to reclaim the racist imagery of the past to confront contemporary viewers, the entryway to the Theater Alliance's performance of 'Day of Absence' at the Anacostia Playhouse is decorated with oversized posters advertising blackface minstrel shows....

Every once in a while you run across a big dilemma with a production. What happens when everything falls into place except one big thing? For the answer to this question look no further than the latest installment of the Broadway Center Stage series at Kennedy Center Footloose....

Lately John Austin's career seems to have two constants, exploring society's most topical issues and doing so at Arena Stage....

'Fins up!' The National Tour of Jimmy Buffet's ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE docks at The National Theatre in Washington DC. If you're looking for a decently fun, nicely crafted, Buffet filled escape, paired with a mix of performances, then you've found the right show....

The Mariinsky Ballet's a?oePaquitaa?? should begin at its end. It's culminating event, the infamous Grand Pas, arrives after roughly two hours and for anyone in the Kennedy Center Opera House who doesn't know it's coming, the temptation to leave at one of two interminable intermissions is hard to re...

Grand sets and spectacle draw crowds, but the basis of all great theater is human connection and that can be born from sparsity. The Wheel Theatre Company's highly affordable presentation of William Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale is a perfect reminder that authentic theatrical experiences occur wher...

DC Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) visionary Michael J. Bobbitt left us to start a new artistic chapter in his life a few months ago. The season opener at Adventure Theatre shows that even though he isn't here physically his vision for the company will be felt all season. Bobbitt made his picks fo...

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Signature Theatre's Escaped Alone, directed by Holly Twyford, is a surreal Golden Girls episode with British humor....

It won't be the novelty of these plays that will continue to draw us to Wilson's compelling portraits of the Hill District in Pittsburgh; it will be his indelibly drawn characters given new life by artists putting their own personal stamp on his work. August Wilson is meant to be savored live; he c...