WASHINGTON, DC THEATER REVIEWS

Richard the Third is one of Shakespeare's most famous villains. Ruthless and astute, savvy and unscrupulous, Richard pursues power with a single-minded and dangerous intensity. In the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production, directed by David Muse, Richard's world is grim, gray, perilous, and unrel...

The National Ballet of China's performance of 'Raise the Red Lantern' is stunning, moving, and heartbreaking....

Production at Olney of Tony-winning musical not to be missed....

The idea of a spectacle dedicated to global warming might seem slight, with all the charm of a 3rd grade play featuring your neighbor's daughter in a polar bear suit; but Dehlholm's careful work, rooted in both the science of climate change and the raw emotions of a natural world in flux, aims high ...

You may be forgiven if the phrase 'romantic getaway' doesn't immediately inspire images of Iceland and, though it features several couples, Steve Yockey's 'Reykjavik' is unlikely to change your mind. What it will do is give a momentary, and at times uncomfortably intimate, glimpse into the relations...

With so many wordy productions from playwrights ready to wax philosophical about any issue, it's easy to forget that true dramatic excellence comes not from beautiful words but beautiful emotions honestly portrayed. If, like me, you are not fluent in Spanish you shouldn't be scared of El Viejo, El J...

Aziza Barne's BLKS is a stop-you-in-your-tracks, laugh-out-loud comedy that is about to take DC by storm. Barnes' electric writing powerfully celebrates, queerness, sisterhood and the implications of being 'Black and alive.' With director Nataki Garrett at the helm, the cast brings Aziza's words to ...

NextStop Theatre's The Wolves is raw as it unapologetically forgoes the stereotypes of teenage girls and allows the girls to define who they are....

The recording artist/composer/free spirit known as Nellie McKay is not your typical performer to be sure. It's actually hard to even associate her with a particular musical genre because she performed a little bit of everything in her concert at Kennedy Center as part of the Renée Fleming VOICES se...

'Shame 2.0' is a workshop with tremendous potential and interesting stories to tell. It's a complicated show about a complicated issue, but it also brings out universal themes that transcend race, nationality, and political ideologies. It's certainly worth seeing, and, with time, will sharpen into a...

Inspired by the idea that the greatest "clowns" sometimes hide the greatest pain, Synetic Theater's creative team, helmed by Vato Tsikurishvili in his directorial debut, has created a wonderful world of pantomime and harlequin....

The performance of Alison Luff in the title role is nothing short of miraculous; her transformation from a trash-talking orange-monger to a star of the stage is unforgettable, and for theatre-goers to neglect this rare gem would border on criminal negligence....

There are certain performances from Broadway history that can never be replicated, one of which is Robert Preston's star turn as the flimflamming boys band sales man Harold Hill in the 1958 Tony Award winning musical The Music Man. It was a bit of a shock when it won best musical that year because ...

About ten minutes into the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's (AAADT) performance on Tuesday evening at the Kennedy Center I put away my notebook on which I jot down my ideas for reviews. There are only so many times that you can write variations of 'wow, that was incredible' before the phrase bec...

An artistic genius and his muse...a dancing cat...Pontius Pilate...No, this is not the latest Andrew Lloyd Webber revue. It is the wonderful and completely weird world of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita (adapted by Edward Kemp)....

It's hard to believe that it's been over 40 years now since a little revue that started at New York's Manhattan Theatre Club took Broadway by storm. The show was Ain't Misbehavin' and if you didn't know who composer Thomas “Fats” Waller was before, you did after seeing this show. It also made Ne...

When the American Ballet Theatre came to Washington, D.C. last year, they served up a delectable Whipped Cream at the Kennedy Center. In 2019, the company has returned with a similarly infectious Harlequinade which, even when viewed independent of Whipped Cream, never reaches the technical heights e...

MetroStage continues its winning 2018/19 season with the company's fourth production of Three Sistahs. This musical premiered in 2002 and it's easy to understand why it is one of Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin's favorites....

xWashington Stage Guild in its time has accomplished a number of serialized works over the years, including just about all of Shaw. But few have been so optimally presented as the Arlene Hutton trilogy that ends with the current 'Gulf View Drive.'...

When I moved to Washington years ago, my friends would always ask me, 'Is DC just like House of Cards?' I was always regretful to disappoint them, but would have to reply, 'Well, we're not quite at the point of pushing people in front of trains without consequences, but…have you see Veep?'...

Even after 65 years after Twelve Angry Men was first performed, we sit with the uncomfortable realization that prejudice shapes many of our interactions. The current production at Ford's Theatre is an important message, a provocative reminder, and a great night of theater...

The Keegan Theatre's The Baltimore Waltz is a confrontation of mortality, a hilarious farce, an expose of the limits of the medical system, a noir thriller, and crucially, a flawlessly staged and acted production....

DC's Scene Theatre presents the US premiere adaption of French author Michel Houellebecq's controversial novel 'Submission'. Through the lens of middle-aged academic, Francois, Houellebecq masterfully interweaves real-life and fantasy, imagining a political showdown between far-right National Front ...

Jeffrey manages to be funny, heartbreaking, and incredibly profound, with its core message of embracing life radiating throughout. It's a wonderful show produced by a wonderful team....

ADMISSIONS, with its smart dialogue, dynamic performances, and signature Studio Theatre flare challenges its audience to re-examine the way they think, the things they say, and the actions they take this admissions season. ...