Each month DCist will offer a few theater reviews from 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.

The Color Purple
Review by Missy Frederick

There was pure joy in the room as Signature Theatre’s company took the curtain call for Timothy Douglas’ production of The Color Purple. An audience that had already stood spontaneously after Nova Y. Payton’s rousing rendition of the anthem “I’m Here” (a soaring, color-soaked moment enhanced by dramatic lighting and a surprising set design) was on its feet again.

It was a journey to get there. Anyone familiar with the iconic work, whether it be from Alice Walker’s groundbreaking, controversial novel to the decorated 1985 film to this latest musical adaptation (now more than 15 years old) knows that the story of Celie (Payton) starts as a brutal one. Impregnated twice by her father, then cast aside to live with the abusive Mister, (a compelling Torrey Linder) who rips her from her beloved sister Nettie (Kaiyla Gross), Celie’s self-worth is dealt searing blows.

But she summons inspiration, rage, and fire from the strong women who walk into her life, whether it be Sofia, her defiant pseudo daughter-in-law (Frenchie Davis, who brings down the house with the takes-no-prisoners “Hell No!”) or the troubled, charismatic cabaret singer Shug Avery, who Mister has loved for years.

As Avery, Danielle J. Summons is a force, oozing sex in the playful stage number “Push Da Button” (a festive showcase for Dane Figueroa Edidi’s choreography) but also exuding strength and vulnerability. The pair’s gorgeous duet, “What About Love?” brings Act One to an emotional conclusion, and her starry-eyed enduring optimism lifts the show’s titular ballad, “The Color Purple”. She’s just one of many stellar cast members who do justice to the show’s harmony-spiked, R&B-influenced score from Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. As Sofia’s evolving husband Harpo, Solomon Parker III is another standout; commanding the stage with every gesture and grin.

The ending of The Color Purple ties up a little too neatly — it’s tricky to fully embrace Mister’s redemption arc — but if anyone deserves a happy ending, it’s the magnificent Celie.

Verdict: See

The Color Purple runs through October 9 at Signature Theatre. Tickets are $40-$108. Runtime is two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.

Little Women
Review by Missy Frederick

Most people with a passing familiarity with the Louisa May Alcott classic Little Women know it’s about the March sisters — their challenges, their dreams, their romances. If they’re more closely acquainted, they also know that many subsequent versions have a tendency to turn into the Jo show.

The 2005 Broadway musical adaptation is no exception, and NextStop Theatre has a hell of a Jo in Alex De Bard, who commands attention whether she’s sparring with her suitors or soaring her way through the goosebump-giving Act One closer, “Astonishing.” And though they get less to work with, the actresses playing her siblings are all stellar: Abby Middleton’s beautiful soprano buoys the romantic Meg; Caroline Graham’s demure Beth has a powerful belt, and Tori Gomez has a wicked charm as the impatient Amy.

This Cliffs Notes-style version of Little Women has a few diverting songs; Gomez and the amiable Tony Lemus’ Laurie lilt their way through the playful “Most Amazing Thing,” and the strong bond between Beth and Jo gets showcased during the harmony-driven “Some Things Are Meant To Be.” But the score also has a few clunkers and some forced rhymes (see “I knew it might take me a while” paired with “leave it right there on the pile” during Jo’s “Weekly Volcano Press” number). NextStop’s formidable power player Katie McManus does her best with the pair of snoozy songs she’s saddled with as Marmie. Michelle Harmon Bruno shows off an impressive vocal range as the ladies’ haughty Aunt March, but her delivery feels wooden for a part that could be a scene-stealer in the snobby, wry tradition of Maggie Smith’s dowager countess.

NextStop has just two onstage pianos for accompaniment here, and this production can’t do much about the play’s not-so-feminist, arguably unnecessary coda (the recent 2019 film made a smart choice to gently modernize it). But director Charlotte La Nasa has some fun staging up her sleeve: a colorful, drifting kite brings a winsomeness to Beth and Joe’s duet, and aspiring author Jo’s early melodramatic stories are brought to life with winking, dramatic zest and swordplay.

Verdict: Consider it.

Little Women runs through Sept. 25 at NextStop; running time is just over 2.5 hours with a 15 minute intermission. Tickets are $50.

The Outsider
Review by Nicole Hertvik

While politics and theater largely occupy different spheres in Washington, D.C., that doesn’t stop local theater companies from taking on weighty political topics. This month Keegan Theatre explores the more farcical side of the business of Washington with The Outsider, a comedy by Paul Slade Smith, designed to remind us that “unqualified is the new qualified” in American politics.

The Outsider features Zach Brewster-Geisz as Ned Newley, an awkward but intelligent lieutenant governor who thrives on spreadsheets, budgets, and working quietly in his dimly lit basement office. Newley wakes up one morning to find himself thrust into the governorship when his predecessor resigns over a sex scandal (something about an affair with the runner-up in a beauty pageant). Newley’s reaction to his sudden promotion, and the political “pros” who think they know how to mold him into a popular public figure, provide much of the show’s comedy.

The play is filled with funny one-liners slung at a rapid pace. “Was it the infidelity people objected to or the fact that he didn’t sleep with the winner?” one character wonders out loud about the governor’s resignation. Some of the jokes drag, but it isn’t clear if this is the fault of the script, director Ray Ficca’s choices, or the performances. Mostly, The Outsider turns American politics into a laugh-out-loud whimsical farce, as if Oscar Wilde has come back from the dead to write an episode of The West Wing.

Standouts in the cast include Michael Innocenti as Dave, the sardonic chief of staff who exudes integrity and who has therefore never backed a winning political candidate. Lolita Marie — one of D.C.’s finest performers — is commanding as Paige Caldwell, a no-nonsense pollster who salivates over good exit numbers. And Susan Marie Rhea, Keegan’s artistic director, is hysterical as Louise Peakes, a temp agency employee whose charismatic cluelessness throws a wrench into everyone’s political plans.

The Outsider offers a satiric commentary on voters’ propensity to support candidates they can relate to, rather than candidates who actually understand what government does. As an evening of escapist entertainment, this show has my complete endorsement.

Verdict: See

The Outsider runs at the Keegan Theatre through Sep. 24; tickets $45-$55. Runtime two hours with one 15-minute intermission.