WASHINGTON, DC THEATER REVIEWS

Folger Theatre's Love's Labor's Lost, directed by Vivienne Benesch, compliments the uniqueness of this comedy through a delightfully funny cast and production set during the 1930's....

Matthew Morrison and Shoshana been lit up the stage at the Strathmore's Annual Spring Gala in North Bethesda on Saturday. The evening started out with Shoshana Bean's jazz set which perfectly showcased her incredible voice. Bean's set included many songs from her 2018 album 'Spectrum' which she expr...

I highly recommend Rooming House, even if you normally feel confused or alienated by traditional dance performance. If any company can change your mind, it's Lucky Plush....

Oslo is an amazing against-all-odds story of risk, trust, and diplomacy. It is about overcoming hard-and-fast assumptions. Oslo shows the value in finding common ground and allowing ourselves to hope. This Round House Theatre production is a wonder-a brilliant heartfelt, heart-filling experience....

Constellation Theatre is closing its season of love stories with a big one from the East. Thankfully 'The White Snake' is not about the 80s English metal band. Instead, it's an ancient, oft-told Chinese folk tale, which was breezily interpreted by Mary Zimmerman originally for the Oregon Shakespeare...

There's a burgeoning sense of paranoia throughout The Burn, the first show of The Hub Theatre's 2019 season. Written by Philip Dawkins as something of an analogue to Arthur Miller's The Crucible - itself an acknowledged allegory for McCarthyism - The Burn is a sharp and deeply felt look at how fear ...

The energetic Theatre Prometheus has skillfully mounted a timely production of 14, a play by Jose Casas in the 30-seat Caos on F Street space. Inspired by the deaths of 14 Mexican migrants in the desert bordering the USA and Mexico back in May 2001, Casas' play takes an unsparing look at the situati...

One of the most important parts in a child's development is the power of choice. Presenting children with options engages their minds and allows them to take ownership. This is the driving idea behind Escape from Peligro Island, the latest offering from Imagination Stage. It's their first production...

Broadway favorites Christian Borle and Mandy Gonzalez command the stage and give the best acting and vocal performances of the night as Captain Walker and Mrs. Walker, but Casey Cott disappoints as Tommy....

There is an old expression in theater about knowing when to shut up and sing. Some performers refuse to subscribe to that theory. If I use Wednesday's concert at the Music Center at Strathmore as a basis, multi-award-winning singer/activist Alan Cumming is – or at least can be or is prone to be �...

For 25 years now the percussion spectacular known as Stomp has been making beautiful noise all over the world. This high-octane audible feast is back in town at the National Theatre for a week and the historic rafters are shaking from the melodious vibrations Stomp brings with it....

You'll know the second you hear the title if Reina Hardy's Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven is your kind of play. It's the sort of title that immediately imbues cosmic levels of joy and wonder, fills you with light, and promises a journey not to be missed. You'll be delighted to know that Rorsch...

Funny how a few years can change a play, not because of the play itself, but because of social shifts around it....

The future of musical theater is looking pretty bright....

It would have been interesting to hear the 1953 conversation between author Richard Wright and the upstart man of letters James Baldwin at the ex-pat literary nexus of Les Deux Magots in Paris....

Arena Stage's production of 'Junk' marks the Washington, DC area premiere of the critically acclaimed play, and, happily, Arena's production is more than up to the task of living up to the show's reputation....

Alice Walker's Pulitzer-winning The Color Purple is one of the greatest stories of the last 50 years, and its musical adaptation is one of the most magical Broadway experiences of the last 20 years. Riverside Center for the Performing Arts has captured much of that charm in its moving production of...

In Scena Theatre's Beckett Trio, Part 2 identity and story are up for debate. Most importantly, the audience is left to wonder about the relationships involved in each piece....

There are certain things that really bother me in theater.  One of the biggest is when a theater company that is capable of brilliance presents a show that should be a perfect fit – and unfortunately ultimately delivers a final product that does not meet my expectations....

Despite its dated premise and overstuffed ensemble, Mariinsky Ballet's 'Le Corsaire' provides a delightful evening with some truly inspiring dance. It may not be the most enlightened production, but it's certainly an entertaining one....

Scena Theatre's artistic director, Robert McNamara, offers us a fresh look at some of Pinter's sparsely-written, tightly-plotted dramas-- and the American stage premiere of the postumous 'The Pres and the Officer,' which anticipates (sadly) the misrule of our current Commander in Chief....

Sometimes a singer just needs a microphone and a killer accompanist to create a fine evening of music. Of course, it helps if the singer's material is good as well. Tony and Emmy Award-winning singer/actress Kristin Chenoweth combined these few simple ingredients, walked out onto the stage of The Mu...

Even if you're not familiar with George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, you're most likely familiar with Lerner and Loewe's adaption, My Fair Lady. At the core of both is the classic question of how much can we really change our stripes? Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm gives us a modern take here with his worl...

Oh bother! Adventure Theatre is currently presenting a hunny of a show with Le Clanché du Rand's delightful stage adaptation of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh.  Under the fine direction of Shirley Serotsky, Milne's 100 Acre Wood and its inhabitants magically come to life with a story of lost tales...

The first words that come to mind when thinking about The Peculiar Patriot at Woolly Mammoth Theatre are: riveting, eye-opening, and deeply personal....