Open Circle Theater’s production of “Story Theatre” easily whisks you back to the times right before bed when your mother was reading a book to you, or cozy hours in the library on a rug with the other little kids, hearing about the boy who cried wolf. The trouble with the production is it doesn’t add any newness to those familiar, comfortable tales, making the production a slam dunk for kids, but one that won’t…

When Open Circle Theater company announced it would be reworking Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World to revolve around the Iraq war, it was hard to squelch images of flag-waving, canons booming, and rewritten lyrics resembling “I’m not afraid of anything/be it religious extremists, guns or sand.” Fortunately, Open Circle’s take has much more sincerity, skill and imagination driving their interpretation, though ultimately, the work stands up better unadorned. Songs, which recently was…

The doldrums of August are notorious in D.C. – the politicians leave, the lobbyists take vacation, and overtaken by humidity, the city doesn’t pulse with as much life as it normally does. The theater world is often no exception, with many houses remaining dark during the month. Luckily, a couple companies are intrepid enough to mount productions regardless, and here are some of the highlights: The always thoughtful Journeymen Theater tries its hands at Getting…

What’s new, Buenos Aires? How about a decades-old musical production that doesn’t feel stale, but instead has leads with charisma to spare and innovative staging that seamlessly incorporates both sign language and actors with disabilities? That is what Open Circle Theatre brings us with Evita, a hugely entertaining, cabaret-style take on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about Eva Duarte’s transformation from country nobody to first lady of Argentina. Open Circle’s productions are handicapped-accessible both to…

August is notoriously a dead month for theatregoers. Truth be told, we’re glad to take a breather after wearing ourselves out during the first Capital Fringe Festival. But we still can’t wait until September, which marks the start of so many companies’ seasons. In the meantime, there are a few shows to tide you over. >>Kennedy Center spends the summer months highlighting the talent of teens, with their workshop production of Muzical! showcased by Cappies…

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…

The nominations for the Helen Hayes Awards were announced last night, despite the cancellation of the traditional reception at the Canadian Embassy. As today’s Post notes, the nominations had their share of surprises. Not surprising, especially to veterans of the D.C. theater scene, was the dominance of the Kennedy Center (17 nominations), Signature Theatre (15 nominations) and the Shakespeare Theatre (14 nominations). With pockets significantly deeper than smaller theater companies, large theaters can spend significant…