Nothing happens by chance in a production where each vocal performance is more impressive than the last.

Thank god for the Capital Fringe Festival. The event, now in its second year, makes sure that our July isn’t totally barren when it comes to edgy, exciting theater. We’ll be giving you a more detailed report on what the Fringe has to offer this year (hint: Avenue Q and Harry Potter parodies, Chocolate Jesuses and an operatic Lysistrata are among the choices), but here’s what the less fringified theaters around here will be up…

Decades later, Ted Neely, original star of the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar, is still playing the title role in the national tour of the show, performed this weekend at Wolf Trap. From the moment he steps on stage, it’s clear the man is more than comfortable in the robes he’s been donning for years. But his portrayal of Jesus starts off a little subdued, his voice a bit more traditional musical theater than…

It’s a weird month when you’ve got no Broadway tours hitting Warner or National, but still can easily fit in four musicals. And if you’re not a song and dance man (or woman), there’s always three versions of Hamlet to choose from. Welcome to June in D.C. theater! Here are the highlights: About those musicals: Lloyd Webber descends upon D.C., with Kennedy Center staging The Phantom of the Opera (June 20) and Wolf Trap hosting…

The Classical Music Agenda has been missing in action for several weeks now, but there just has not been that much to hear. My weekly recommendations will return at the end of this month, as the September schedule heats up. For now, you will have to content yourselves with the following concerts, few and far between. This coming weekend (August 18 and 19, 8 p.m.), the Wolf Trap Opera Company concludes its season with a…

Editor’s Note: In the coming months our contributor Jason Linkins (who recently completed acting in the Rorshach Theater Company’s production Behold!) will be collaborating with new contributor Missy Frederick to cover D.C.’s vibrant local theater scene for DCist. Though several local companies use the summertime as a hiatus in production, July 2005 will nevertheless be an active period on the D.C. stages, with many well-regarded favorites from last month sticking around to a host…