Results tagged “arenastage”

Like an experiment exploring the limits of psychic pain, Jane Anderson's Quality of Life seems determined to pile tragedy upon tragedy to see just how much she can throw on the backs of her beleaguered characters before they cease bending and simply collapse into a pile of rubble.

There are two stars in Arena Stage’s new production, . Audiences might be drawn to the show for the familiar name above the marquee, TV actress Valerie Harper. But the play's real star is her character, film actress Tallulah Bankhead, a woman notorious for unapologetic appetites and ego. Both women are captivating, and it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.

patters through the opening number, "Just Another Day," it's hard not to feel a little cynical – another testament to the mundane trappings of suburban life? Is there really anything more to say on the subject?

Josh Kornbluth wants you to think about Democracy. With an election less than a month away, that's not exactly surprising.

Brad Oscar and J. Fred Shiffman are the newest odd couple to hit the D.C. stage in Arena’s The Mystery of Irma Vep. And they pull it off twice in one night, first matching wits as a pursed-lipped housekeeper and a gauche stableman, then as a histrionic former actress and her brooding Egyptologist husband. Along the way, they don the roles of tomb guide, ancient mummy and mysterious intruder to boot.

Willy Loman is a tired, pitiable, senile man, older than his 60 years. But in the canon of 20th century American drama, he’s the Alpha dog, the big man, the Steve McQueen. He’s become an iconic figure, like Icarus or Hamlet, and lots of people who have never seen Arthur Miller’s defining 1949 Pulitzer-and-Tony-Award-winning Death of a Salesman probably know that to say somebody is “Willy Lomanesque,” is to call him pathetic and defeated, the epitome of self-effacement-as-cowardice rather than generosity.

Victory — not the concept, but the statue at State Place and 17th Street NW — is the Ghost of Christmas Past. Freedom — the Eastward-facing statue atop the Capitol Dome; not that thing that The Terrorists hate us for — is the Ghost of Christmas Present. And the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives draped in the inky robes of Grief.

It’s November, so most minds are on turkey and stuffing, but two theater companies are getting a jump on Christmas festivities. While we won’t see Ford Theater’s annual production of A Christmas Carol until December, both Arena Stage and Synetic Theater have their own take on the classic. Arena's Christmas Carol 1941 emphasizes the DC Christmas experience (Nov 16), while Synetic's promises to be more choreography-driven (Nov. 24). The relatively new company Spooky Action Theater...

Meat and Potato, the low-fi theatre company devoted to reviving disused devices such as puppetry and masks, has taken on Rashomon as their latest experiment. Is this a good idea? No, it's a great idea, which makes it all the more disappointing that the show, despite the obvious care and labor that has gone into it, arrives half-formed.

>> DC9's hosting a Dubstep party featuring DJs Beatcarnival and Gavin Holland. Get your bass-heavy electro-dance Thursday groove thing on for $8. >> Novelist Porochista Khakpour to discuss her debut, Sons and Other Flammable Objects, at The Modernist Society's event at Bourbon in Adams Morgan. Free drinks from 8 to 9 p.m., then questions from the audience until 10 p.m. >> Tickets are still available to the opening night of the DC Asian Pacific American...

We wanted to remind you about this weekend's upcoming photo contest sponsored by DCist and non-profit Cultural Tourism DC as part of the semi-annual WalkingTown DC event. On Sept. 29, photographers are encouraged to attend any of the free walking tours on offer as part of WalkingTown DC, and enter their photos to win great prizes. Details and rules below, and also feel free to sign up for the unofficial Flickr group.

Photo by Scott Suchman." src="http://dcist.com/attachments/dcist_heather/2007_0924_well.jpg" width="404" height="271" class="right"/>Do you ever eye someone suspiciously when they tell you they suffer from allergies (or irritable bowel, or ADD), and just always seem to be sick? You might find yourself in similar company with Lisa Kron (Emily Ackerman), who just doesn't understand why some people seem to get well and some (like, for example, her mother) don't.

DCist is once again an official media sponsor of the free walking tours offered twice a year by non-profit Cultural Tourism DC. This time around, WalkingTown DC, a day-long event scheduled for Sept. 29, is teaming up with us to sponsor a photo contest to encourage people to come out to the free tours and snap photos as you explore new neighborhoods.

The conceit may be strange, but one performer’s energy can make all the difference.

Arena Stage's is so swollen with visual and musical marvels one might undervalue the performance of Karen Kandel, narrator of this hypnotic take on Peter Pan. She plays Wendy, along with every other speaking part, but this is no one-woman show. Sharing the stage are seven white-hooded puppeteers, and a company of dolls they bring to such astonishing life that it’s hard not to think of the performances of Peter Pan or Captain Hook as the work of a single actor.

Arena Stage is giving pratfalls for Christmas.

No Art for You: Or for us, rather. The Post has the word that it's looking like, surprise, surprise, there won't be enough money at the new baseball stadium for all the artwork the city had planned to showcase in and around the building after all — not without violating the spending cap, at least. And of course, getting approval to go beyond the cap would involve going through the D.C. Council. After reading this, we started to cry just a little tiny bit. But don't worry, we cry at sentimental commercials just as easily as at situational absurdity.

It's officially December, so we find our thoughts turning to holiday shopping. Will you be giving the gift of local theater (or hoping to receive it) this season? Here are a couple of things on our wish list for the D.C. theatre community:

There's something strangely Disney-like about Arena Stage's production of She Loves Me. Is it the candy-colored sets? The cartoonish dancing? The opening song, "Good Morning, Good Day," which calls to mind Beauty and the Beast's "Bonjour" number? Or maybe it's just that leading lady Brynn O'Malley seems to have taken her recent performance as Belle in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast and transplanted it in D.C.? She Loves Me, a classic, romantic musical adored by...

Two years ago, I heard an interesting piece on public radio about a one-woman play that was in the middle of a critically successful run at Manhattan Ensemble Theater. I had missed the introduction of the segment but listened raptly as the author, whose voice sounded very familiar, described how she had come to write a show about the lives of Iraqi women during the American military occupations. My jaw hit the floor at the...

Halloween's just about here and there's a whole host of costume ideas you haven't yet explored. Forget going as a snake on a plane, a sexy devil/nursemaid/Little Red Riding Hood, or some sort of tasteless Mark Foley political reference. What about going as Lola from Damn Yankees? Adelaide from Guys And Dolls? M. Butterfly him/herself? Ok, these ideas may be too obscure for your typical Saturday night costumed blowout. But if you've got a theatrical...

, natch.

might leave the first act of Arena Stage's current production wondering if the local theatre company played it entirely

Just as it's back-to-school time for area students, it's back-to-the-boards time for the area's theatre community. September brings with it a host of new productions to get you through the lingering heat.

The proposed 2007 budget shows $9 million for the Commission on Arts and Humanities, but total arts funding sprinkled throughout the budget adds up to at least $35 million. Most of it shows up in the budget of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. While supporting the arts should be part of a broad economic development strategy, it would be far better to list all arts funding in one place, presumably the Commission on Arts and Humanities. Doing this would lead, I hope, to better discussions about how to set priorities in this area.

Sure, there probably aren’t too many office pools going around wagering on whether Scott Bradley will take Tony Cisek in the set design category. But lack of watercooler chatter aside, tonight is an important night for the D.C. theater community.

FRIDAY: >> Here at DCist we like to pimp scrappy locals and industrious indies who are charging hard against the establishment. When it comes to stand-up comedy however, sometimes we have to make an exception. This isn't to say you shouldn't support up-and-coming local comedic talent. You should. But we'd be the first to admit that there's something particularly distasteful about amateur stand-up done badly -- when a comic punts on stage, you just have...

, the characters learn that a little hope can go a long way towards achieving the reality they desire.

The Arena Stage is holding their 14th Annual Benefit production of the The Pundit Whodunit: The Case of the Political Puzzle tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the Kreeger Theater. If you've got an extra $200 to $400 lying around, you too can be seated front and center for a one night only performance of local playwright and director Harry M. Bagdasian's comedic murder mystery, starring prominent members of Congress and the media. Members of the...

Cheaters...women's sex lives...Salman Rushdie...during March in the D.C. theater world, looks like anything goes; even Anything Goes. Starting off the month is George Bernard Shaw's Fanny's First Play, produced by Washington Stage Guild (March 2). This "comedy within a comedy" should prove witty enough, as Shaw always has a way with words. Speaking of renowned male authors, Haroun And The Sea Of Stories, a Salman Rushdie D.C. premiere, begins at the H Street playhouse this...