WASHINGTON, DC THEATER REVIEWS

Just in time for those winter, presidential inaugural blues, Pinky Swear Productions comes along offering the ultimate rock-scream therapy session with Lizzie, a musical dedicated to America's most famous real-life axe-murderer. Not for the faint-of heart, this is a musical that by rights should be ...

Theatre Prometheus's [gay] Cymbeline is a treat. The company presents one of Shakespeare's most complicated plays with panache, humor, and modern relevance....

If you hear upbeat jazz wafting through the halls of The Kennedy Center this weekend, it may very well be their world premiere commission BUD, NOT BUDDY, a production that is part jazz concert, part radio play, and all quite good....

it's an engaging and resonant theatrical experience....

All told, this is a fantastic production and definitely one of my favorites of the 200+ shows I saw in 2016 - whether in the DC Metro Area, New York, or anywhere else....

Making its regional premiere at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL is now ready to aim an Official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot Range Model air rifle at audiences through New Year's Eve....

Written and first presented two decades ago, FULLY COMMITTED was revised and revived in New York recently with Broadway veteran and one of the costars of TV comedy hit 'Modern Family,' Jesse Tyler Ferguson. This brought enough interest in the show to warrant additional productions and Carolyn Griffi...

If you've had enough of the holiday cheer and are in desperate need of a chaotic romp, you could do a whole lot worse than Pointless Theatre's whimsical production of Alfred Jarry's anarchic satire, King Ubu. Decked out in costumer Ivania Stack's fuzzy, teddy-bear pajamas, the cast crackles with the...

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Dickensian purists and rabid followers, be warned in advance: this is not your typical 'A Christmas Carol'. There are skateboarding ghosts, celebrity origin stories, murderous plots and even rewrites of classic TV specials. But don't worry, your concerns will come from the audience. It's all part o...

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Of the variations of Tchaikovsky's classics that take over the holiday season, Duke Ellington's 'The Nutcracker Suite' is one that's had staying power. The 1960 arrangement with Billy Strayhorn showed an irreverent, relaxed, cool jazz approach, with a sense of humor....

Journey into the wonders of Nordic winter traditions with A Nordic Christmas Revels! Explore the folklore of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway through music, song and dance....

The classic fairy tale SLEEPING BEAUTY is hundreds of years old, but Synetic Theater has improved it from an emotional standpoint by incorporating an unexpected twist: the Witch is a multidimensional person. In this version, the Prince is the Witch's son, and the incomparable Irina Tsikurishvili bri...

A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS WITH MEGAN HILTY was one of my favorite cabaret/concert experiences this year. It's always a treat to hear her sing. She's in her own class as a vocalist and I look forward to what she does next....

Leave it to the venerable In Series to mark the 100th anniversary of Enrique Granados' rarely heard and even more rarely seen opera 'Goyescas.'...

While those seeking a similarly scaled production to the original Broadway production (or even the revival) might leave the Eisenhower Theatre somewhat disappointed, those open to experiencing a new interpretation of the familiar material might leave feeling they've had an opportunity to look at an ...

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Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the quartet of seasonal spectres - if these characters are back in action, it must mean A CHRISTMAS CAROL has returned to spread humbug and cheer in the Kellar Family Theatre in Manassas. The resident community theatre at the Center for the Arts, Rooftop Productions, is offeri...

Falstaff had the girth and beard to make for a decent Santa, but Shakespeare never wrote anything close to a Christmas play....

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Playwright Jennifer Clements re-imagines and re-frames A CHRISTMAS CAROL to be 'vivid and meaningful to a contemporary audience.' Set in modern times, A CHRISTMAS CAROL MEMORY tells the tale of a fragmented family coping with loss during the holidays. Written with the best of intentions, A CHRISTMA...

When every theater company feels compelled to do something Christmas-themed come December, it can lead to either overusing certain titles or creating fluffy trifles....

Perisphere Theater's Copenhagen left me feeling uneasy. Maybe this was this was exactly what I should have been feeling; the script, examines the morality of two scientists who worked on the atomic bomb. But despite the strong performances, something is missing from this production....

The Hub Theatre's THE MAGI is in many ways made for the winter holidays: it is unabashedly about love and sacrifice. Kelsey Mesa directs this two-person acoustic musical featuring impressive original songs by Eli Pafumi....