Tonight, the D.C. theater community will descend on Warner Theater, decked out in tuxes, kilts, ball gowns and whatever else the artsy crowd comes up with to approximate “black tie” attire. It’s the night each year they get the chance to party their brains out and recognize the outstanding contributions they’ve made this year; it’s the Helen Hayes Awards. As busy theater critics with day jobs, we don’t get the chance to attend and review…
One might think that a serious dramatic production exploring the legacy of slave rebellion leader Nat Turner really shouldn’t be taking up important stage time to invoke Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. They’d be more shortsighted than Timothy Douglas, director of Theatre Alliance’s pulsing production of Insurrection: Holding History. This high energy piece is yet another example of the outstanding ensemble work we’ve been seeing from Theatre Alliance lately. In Insurrection, we’re treated to the return…
It’s a revolutionary time for the D.C. theater scene. Because audiences here will FINALLY get the chance to be exposed to a little-known work featuring the musical antics of a group of crazy cats. Get ready. Sarcasm aside, we’re sure that SOMEBODY will fill the seats of the once-longest running Andrew Lloyd Webber show, Cats, which plays a brief stint at the Warner beginning March 6. We just wish it would leave. Now and forever….
While it’s not unusual to see a solid cast backed by a capable ensemble in a typical D.C. theatrical production, your average show probably is only going to deliver one or two magnificent performances. Clearly, Theatre Alliance’s production of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye is not your typical D.C. production. One after the other, we see the members of this graceful group of actors offer remarkable turns, particularly by the show’s female contingent. The Bluest…
She may be just a teenager, but Phoebe Rush is one hell of a writer. Her 3/4 of a Mass for St. Vivian, which she wrote at age 15, and is now receiving its world premiere from Theatre Alliance, is a thoughtful, riveting meditation on friendship, illness and the kind of philosophical soul-searching that seems so essential when we first begin asking ourselves the tough questions about existence and meaning that we’ll wrestle with for…
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…
Well folks, we’re down to the last three days of this city-wide performing-arts smorgasbord. If you are Fringing hardcore, now’s the time to catch up with the shows you missed last weekend. If you can’t take it anymore, gather with your fellow Fringers and Fringe artists at the Warehouse Friday and Saturday nights at midnight for drink specials and a handful of special performances Saturday night. But if you’re looking for more, head downtown to…
The Capital Fringe Festival gets started in earnest today, with offerings all over town. Highlights include sci-fi dating, middle school antics, Canadian exports, songs for the deaf, a day-long performance piece, and spoonbending. It could be a little overwhelming if DCist weren’t here to guide you through it, no? So before we get into it, let us first introduce OUR AWESOME FRINGE FESTIVAL MAP, which details the locations of all Fringe venues, by date. Special…
Theatre Alliance’s Haroun and the Sea Of Stories takes us on a diverting trip where the imagination of a young girl and her father are our guide. The result is an overly whimsical and inconsistent treatment of a lyrical but sometimes impeneterable script. The setup for the play, now being staged at H Street Playhouse, is simple enough – storyteller Rashid’s wife Soraya leaves him for a more practical suitor, rendering him too sad to…
