It’s been proven again and again: Art thrives on restriction. And kitschy art demands it the way even the most genteel of man-bat hybrids demand hot, fresh blood. So it’s no surprise that the best thing about Landless Theatre Company’s current revival of Bat Boy: The Musical is its audacious modesty. That’s not an oxymoron: Their production is low-budget, low-tech, low-brow, and high camp. One wishes it was a bit more high-efficiency: No show…
“Reefer gets you raped. And you won’t care!” Such is one of the hilariously overwrought statements blasted across the screen, 30s public service announcement-style, during Studio Theatre’s hysterical production of Reefer Madness: The Musical. Based loosely upon the 1938 anti-marijuana propaganda film of the same name, the show’s setup involves a high school theater troupe dramatizing the devastating effects of reefer, using the tale of one high school sweetheart couple’s demise as its center….
If you walk past a theater marquee and the sign displays something ridiculous, like Beverly Hills: 90210: The Musical, three little words should make you put your reservations aside and rush to the auditorium: “Starring Carolee Carmello.” The overwhelmingly talented musical theater star, known for her Broadway work in such vehicles as Parade and Urinetown, could sell just about anything. Unfortunately, she’s got her work cut out with her in Kathie Lee Gifford’s stab at…
Well, they don’t call it Shakespeare in Washington for nothing. This month brings quite the selection of Bard-tastic choices. We’ve got Titus Andronicus at Shakespeare Theater (April 3), The As-You-Like-It-inspired She Stoops to Comedy at Woolly Mammoth (April 1), and The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Coriolanus at the Kennedy Center (April 13). Plus, Edward III just opened this week at Washington Shakespeare Company, and even Lord John Marbury’s in DC this weekend, doing the…
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: 1. For tiny companies like Meat & Potato and Natural Theatricals to have their seats filled more frequently, and for small but innovative companies like Rorschach to get Helen Hayes nods this…
Those who thought Urinetown would be the most irreverent musical to hit the D.C. area never bargained for Cannibal! Landless Theatre Company’s latest production (clearly to some degree a satire of Oklahoma!, as its “Shpadoinkle Day” number can only be a send-up of “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!”) follows the unassuming Alferd Packer, who leads a motley crew of gold-seekers into the mountains, where they are met with less-than-desireable circumstances, from a mythical Cyclops 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…
It’s June and while many houses are wrapping up their seasons rather than embarking on new productions, others are up to the task of bringing something for us to watch this month, though the summer theater season looks a bit heavier than the X-Men-like offerings the summer movie season brings each year. Dysfunctional student/teacher relationships are at the center of Woolly Mammoth Theater’s satirical The Faculty Room (June 5). Four men renounce women in favor…
