WASHINGTON, DC THEATER REVIEWS

“Magdalene” is likely a play that will see numerous productions, given the times and the need for religious communities to break bread and try, in some way, to understand each other.  You should definitely take time out this July to see this remarkable reflection on two of Christianity’s most...

“Side Effects” is at heart a cautionary tale about what happens when we rely too much on the judgment of others, when professional knowledge pales in the face of simple human understanding.   Loomer takes us on a whirlwind tour of therapists, nurses, and others, all of them ably embodied by a ...

Two years of cancellations because of Covid helped lead to the dissolution of Capital Fringe in January after 20 years. To salvage the idea — and help the creators who had in some cases spent years on creating their own upcoming Fringe productions — a new, smaller District Fringe was established...

To be in the presence of Kevin Kling is to be in the presence of a consummate storyteller at the peak of his powers. “Unraveled” is about as life-affirming as it gets, and coming as it does from someone who bears his challenges with such grace and disarming honesty, perhaps one of the enduring t...

“Happy Fall” is a celebration of the art of stage combat and stunt work on film.  Audiences owe a huge debt to the men and women who put their bodies on the line so that our beloved stars (who truth be known aren’t allowed to do a fraction of the stuff we see on screen) can live to shoot anot...

Peggy McKowen, Artistic Director of the Contemporary American Theater Festival, knows there are some amazing stories to be told by West Virginians themselves, and for this year’s festival our attention is richly rewarded by an evening spent with native son Cody LeRoy Wilson and his one-man show, �...

The H Twins is a welcome debut at the District Fringe (as well as worldwide). This compelling piece is alternately intriguing, dramatically involving, suffused with touches of bittersweet dark comedy, and continually surprising in its narrative development. There is no listed director but the autho...

An air of breezy improvisation (spurred on by challenges from the audience –wordplay, free association and audience interaction are all involved) is on-hand in the District Fringe offering entitled Out of My Wheelhouse. Director and producer Nora Dell states that “this show pushes the boundaries...

Inappropriate crushes are best left to oneself, especially when it involves a married person — a lesson never learned by Owen (Ryan Sellers), the lead character in Greg Kalleres’ comedy “Apropos of Nothing” making its DC premiere at the Keegan Theatre....

Homesick for Charlot and Marcel Marceau? Fringe has a show for that--go to Go and watch an hour of nearly word-free 'teatro' by Rodin Alcerro and Pablo Guillén, two drifters, off to see the world....

'Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson' runs only slightly over an hour, but one leaves with a greater appreciation for our common humanity, regardless of race and gender...and isn't that, after all, the very mission of theatre?...

What did our critic think of A GUIDE TO MODERN POSSESSION at District Fringe? Dial or text 988 if you or someone you know are having suicidal thoughts. Act One of A Guide to Modern Possession by Caro Dubberly concludes with a suicide attempt. Inaugurating a new Fringe in an un-airconditioned 'space'...

Woe to Whoa to Wow! DUEL REALITY is an adrenaline-fueled retelling of Romeo & Juliet At the Shakespeare Theatre Company through July 20....

While the show currently isn’t on Netflix anymore, the beloved Kim family’s story lives on in productions like Olney Theatre’s Kim's Convenience, directed by Aria Velz....

Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief was published in 2005 and exploded in popularity, sparking a massive franchise and countless other books, and creating a shift in middle grade culture toward ancient mythologies and pantheons much to the delight of many a social studies teacher....

While the musical adaptation of 'A Wrinkle in Time' has its flaws, there’s a lot of promise in this initial staging, and the show has the potential to live a long life, bringing this beloved story to new and devoted audiences alike....

With a dreamy blend of nature and showtunes, Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre and Wolf Trap delivered a sparkling evening of performances at their fifth annual Broadway in the Park concert....

If you have a kid in elementary school, the wildly popular Dory Fantasmagory book series is likely on your radar. What you may not be aware of is there is a stage show based on the books. Recently, my son and I caught Dory Fantasmagory making its East Coast premiere. It was silly, funny, and, maybe ...

The final play of the season at Studio Theatre comes with some environmental warnings. The production includes “nontoxing vaping, loud music, and controlled water spray, some of which might hit the audience.”...

What did our critic think of DISNEY'S ALADDIN DUAL LANGUAGE EDITION at Creative Cauldron? With a rub of a lamp, the Falls Church community theater turned into the singing and shining city of Agrabah, rounded out with a Spanish- and English-speaking cast. ...

The National Tour production team has crafted a fine Les Miz 2.0, with inventive musical staging. It is a show of constant snapshots and they created a visual mosaic....

August Wilson is one of America’s greatest playwrights, and The Piano Lesson may be one of his greatest works. The writing is so powerful, I’m not sure you could stage a bad version if you tried. ...

What can one say about Hunter S. Thompson, the infamous “Gonzo” journalist who wrote about the Hell’s Angels, The Kentucky Derby, who wrote prolifically in Rolling Stone Magazine and who plunged into Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (with drug -fueled adrenalin) and who embraced political passio...

Andrea Stolowitz's 90-minute autobiographical play, The Berlin Diaries, challenges her two actors, and Dina Thomas and Lawrence Redmond meet the heck out of all the challenges; they play multiple roles readily and skillfully....

This is BRB’s Kennedy Center premiere and a testament to both BRB’s Director Carlos Acosta CBE and the Center for supporting risky endeavors like this that seek to stretch the boundaries of what ballet is and should be. ...