Each month DCist will review a few theater performances around the region and give you our critics’ verdict: whether you should see them, skip them, or at least think about it. Want to know what else is playing? Check out our monthly theater preview.

In His Hands
Review by Peter Tabakis

You know you’re seeing something special onstage when, instead of checking your watch, you hope that the show never ends. The world premiere of In His Hands at Mosaic Theater Company is one of those plays.

This 90-minute production, expertly directed by José Carrasquillo, is billed as a “queer rom-com that asks provocative questions about faith and desire.” True enough. But that description undersells the play’s magic: watching a deep romantic bond form between two individuals as they escalate their workplace flirtations, discuss contrasting notions of God, and (of all things) play endless games of Mario Kart 64.

Daniel (Michael J. Mainwaring) is a hyper-competent, unabashedly flamboyant office manager at a Seattle tech startup. He’s also a Yale Divinity School alumnus seeking the position of pastor at a local Lutheran church (the denomination allows for the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy). Early into the show, a newly hired software engineer named Chris (short for Christian, played by Josh Adams) begins to make regular visits to the candy bowl near Daniel’s front desk and — since this is a romantic comedy, after all — the sparks between them start to fly. The problem is, Chris has an unquiet mind: Memories of his Baptist father (Sasha Olinick) and a conversion therapist (Joe Mallon) frequently interrupt their burgeoning relationship.

What follows is a rare, and at times irreverent, interrogation of (cis male) homosexuality and the fundamentals of Christianity. Playwright Benjamin Benne, a relative newcomer, is obviously influenced by the sparkling dialogue and grand themes of playwright Tony Kushner, known for hits such as Angels in America and Caroline, Or Change. Likewise, the show’s fabulous scenic and lighting design (by Tony Cisek and William K. D’Eugenio, respectively) — a stark black and neon concept — recalls the recent Broadway revival of Angels.

There are elements of In His Hands, like the intermittent choreography “inspired by mirroring, retrograde, and repetition techniques,” that dip into the wrong side of artsiness and pretension. But those minor tonal blips are wiped away by fully realized performances that make this fresh work sing — so much so that it demands a follow-up. Bring on the Netflix series, please.

Verdict: See

In His Hands plays until July 17 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Tickets start at $20, with a limited $40 streaming option. Runtime is 90 minutes with no intermission. Warning: This production contains discussions and depictions of sex and is recommended for audiences aged 16 and older.

The Hot Wing King
Review by Missy Frederick

The Hot Wing King might have sold me on the merits of flats vs “drummies,” as Cordell and his crew of friends, the “New Wing Order,” call them.

Studio Theatre’s latest speaks the language of food, from its players’ passionate stances on which type of chicken wing reigns supreme, to its casual references to beloved regional flavors like Atlanta’s “lemon pepper wet” wings. It’s easy to relate to Isom’s (Michael Kevin Darnall, impossibly charismatic) self-proclaimed expertise on spice as a “Nola boy” — and then audibly gasp when he unceremoniously dumps what is clearly too much peri-peri for any sane person to handle into the saucepan.

Cordell (Brian Marable, empathetic and natural) is trying for the play’s titular crown for the fifth year, hoping his Cajun alfredo wings with bourbon-infused bacon crumbles will bring home the prize. He clearly dreams of owning a restaurant of his own, even as he insists his cooking is only for fun, at a time when his life is at a crossroads — he hasn’t quite yet divorced the wife he left behind for Dwayne (Blake Morris) in Memphis, or taken tangible steps towards realizing his career ambitions. Meanwhile, Dwayne has big decisions of his own, especially as his teen nephew TJ (JaBen Early) shows up on his doorstep looking for support and shelter.

Food may be at the center of Katori Hall’s Pulitzer-winner, but friendship is its heart. The chill, easy rapport and affectionate inside jokes the four friends have with each other show the power of the family you create. The Hot Wing King doesn’t shy away from tough topics like the pressures from traditional views on Black masculinity, or what loyalty to our family of origin really looks like. But ultimately the play feels less like a lesson, and more like a joyful celebration.

Verdict: See.

The Hot Wing King runs at Studio Theatre through July 31. Tickets ($65-$90) are here. Runtime is two hours and ten minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.

The Music Man
Review by Peter Tabakis

Olney Theatre’s buzzy new version of The Music Man is at once conventional and novel. That’s because the company transforms this staple of the high school canon into a rousing bilingual production (co-directed by Michael Baron and Sandra Mae Frank) featuring hearing, deaf, and hard-of-hearing actors, which the cast delivers in American Sign Language and spoken English.

This makes for an often remarkable twist on a classic. Unfortunately, the classic at hand is … The Music Man, Meredith Willson’s 1957 smash about a huckster who cons a Midwestern town into buying the bullshit he’s selling. In some ways, the musical ought to resonate more than ever today — but it doesn’t. Maybe it’s unfair to demand more of this gentle critique (and mild celebration?) of flagrant mendacity, but The Music Man’s ethos feels out of step with today’s world and its complicated relationship with the truth. One likely reason the show continues to be staged, however, is its trove of indelible numbers (including “Ya Got Trouble”, “Goodnight My Someone”, “Seventy Six Trombones”, “Wells Fargo Wagon”, and “Till There Was You”), which this cast – accompanied by an onstage orchestra – performs with aplomb.

The Music Man may be dated, but Olney Theatre’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility is thoroughly modern. Our Harold Hill is played by a deaf actor (James Caverly, recently featured in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building) who fully expresses the character’s trademark magnetism without uttering a single line of dialogue. When it comes time to belt out a tune, a hearing actor (in this case, Vishal Vaidya) sings while Caverly commands the stage and signs the lyrics. It’s a technique frequently employed across multiple roles to great effect.

Supertitles projected atop the stage, throughout the show, fill in the blanks for the audience when two characters are communicating solely in ASL or spoken English. You sometimes miss a bit of the drama onstage as your focus shifts upward to read what’s being said. But that’s a small price to pay for the thoughtfulness Olney Theatre brings to both sides of the stage, an approach one hopes will be applied to better source material in the future.

Verdict: See

The Music Man plays until July 24 at the Olney Theatre Center. Tickets start at $42. Runtime is 2 hours and 30 minutes, with a 15 minute intermission. Note:This production is performed in American Sign Language with English supertitles.