WASHINGTON, DC THEATER REVIEWS

Of her dozens of books over a long career, just one title by the esteemed science fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin has been adapted a couple of times -- her 1971 'The Lathe of Heaven,' the futuristic story about the power of dreams....

At the AMP Strathmore, Laura Osnes delights in her intimate cabaret. Fans traveled from Baltimore and Springfield Va. and the DC metro area to visit the North Bethesda concert and were not disappointed....

As directed by Alex Levy, THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION is theatrically inventive and mostly compelling recounting of of Farnsworth and Sarnoff's parallel stories. The production is also performed by a skillful company of actors who take the audience on this little known historical journey....

LIGHT YEARS, a world premiere musical at Signature Theatre, is a moving performance with a beautiful score and an introduction to touching and endearing characters. LIGHT YEARS is a deeply personal story of son and father attempting to understand each other. The relationship is firmly grounded in lo...

While Mr. Strong definitely did not fix the book issues that have plagued the show since its inception - and dare I say it made it even worse - this production is yet another example of why the show continues to be produced. The music is exceptional and at the Kennedy Center it's performed by some ...

Heather Raffo's play is challenging, but ultimately rewarding....

It is wrong to keep a lady waiting, and in this case, a mistake to miss her altogether....

It's a powerful work and one of the strongest offerings to date in the ongoing Women's Voices Theater Festival. Under Adam Immerwahr's impeccable direction, a supremely talented cast brings out the best of the exceptional script....

While the script is not the most engaging, the acting work is exceptionally strong....

Imagination Stage's The Princess & the Pauper, written by Anu Yadav and directed by Janet Stanford, successfully captures the ambience and energy of Bollywood in a show which is excellent for both kids and adults alike....

It will take biographer Robert Caro five volumes to complete his portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson, so it's no surprise that there's a second LBJ play from Robert Schenkkan....

Brave Spirits Theatre again provides a fresh, immediate take on a Shakespearean classic, this time with a hard-hitting production of CORIOLANUS, directed by Charlene V. Smith. Underappreciated compared to many of Shakespeare's other plays, it's particularly timely in 2018 as it explores a power stru...

Sometimes touring productions of Broadway musicals are better than their original versions. When I first saw the Tony Award nominated musical Something Rotten in NYC, I found it to be forced and too over-the-top. The current touring production, now playing DC's National Theatre, features a cast that...

Sometimes playwrights have a good idea for a script, but can't leave well enough alone. Such is the case with Laura Schelhardt and her world premiere commissioned play Digging Up Dessa, now playing in the Family Theater at Kennedy Center as part of the Women's Voices Theatre Festival....

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater began its weeklong stay in D.C. on Tuesday night with a beautiful gala night performance. If you have the opportunity to see this fantastic company, especially its signature piece Revelations, I highly urge you to do so....

Flying V's 'Jonathan Coulton' delivers a rich evening of songs delivered with passion and more than a touch of wry-to-broad humor. A perfect antidote to those mid-winter blues!...

While every theatrical performance these days is prefaced by a request to turn off cell phones (which somebody invariably ignores), few plays have really delved into how the devices have so rapidly changed everyday life....

It must be galling for many ballet companies that their very operation is dependent on extended holiday performances of 'The Nutcracker' year after year....

The American Ballet Theatre's current program at the Kennedy Center, featuring works by Ratmansky, Robbins, Millepied, and Wheeldon (as well as the full-length Whipped Cream, not covered in this review), is extremely well done but a little uninspiring. It's hard to fault the fantastic ABT dancers, ...

During the first Women's Voices Theatre Festival in 2015, the youngest playwright was Madison Middleton, then a sophomore in Silver Spring. Her new play, while apparently not part of the current festival, comes as a seasoned 18-year-old high school senior....

A compelling blend of obscure history and a story seemingly ripped from the headlines, SOVEREIGNTY is a fitting entry in this year's Women's Voices in the Theatre Festival. Playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle has crafted a powerful rumination on Native American affairs and one woman's connection to her pa...

4,380 Nights is essentially two different plays, which makes it often hard to follow due to the lack of cohesion, but there are still glimpses of a play in which the message of hope rings quietly over fear and hate....

W. Allen Taylor's one man play 'In Search of My Father ... Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins' is more than personal genealogy. His father, unknown to him most of his lifetime, was also a significant figure in black radio -- one of the first such DJs in the country, whose jive talking show show in Clevela...

Keegan Theatre's UNNECESSARY FARCE is the comedy we all need in these troubling times. Written by Paul Slade Smith and adroitly directed by Ray Ficca, this D.C. premiere will make you really, truly, laugh....

The Great American Songbook consists of the country's greatest popular songs and jazz standards - a staple of Americans' musical history. At the intimate Sprenger Theater at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, director Brian J. Shaw and company perform renowned composer Jerome Kern's greatest hits in ...