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Akeelah and the Bee at Arena Stage (review)
Those of us waiting anxiously for new work from playwright by Cheryl L. West can rest easy—she’s still got it and Akeelah and the Bee is worth the wait. Her adaptation of the screenplay by Doug...
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How Sweet It Is: Jarran Muse channels Marvin Gaye in Motown the Musical
Legendary singer Marvin Gaye is one of DC’s most popular native sons, and his soulful sound helped to define Motown as it was coming to age in the early ’60s. Gaye was responsible for such great tunes...
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A Lump of Coal from Adventure Theatre MTC (review)
Adventure Theatre’s holiday offering, A Lump of Coal for Christmas, is as sweet as it is warm and will leave you feeling merry and bright. Rufus (Kevin Grieco) is marooned at home with only his...
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Sons of the Prophet at Theater J (review)
Perhaps you’ve noticed that the onstage language used to portray “real life situations” (think plays anywhere from Ibsen to Neil Simon to recent Tony winner All the Way) bears little resemblance to the...
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Kiss Me, Kate at Shakespeare Theatre Company
Cole Porter is clearly one of the best lyricists in the history of musical theater, and Kiss Me Kate is by far one of his best works. The words jump and skip across the page and meet his music midair....
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Entertaining Mr. Sloane (review)
In a none-too-fashionable London neighborhood in the early 1960s, middle-aged Kath (Claire Schoonover) invites the young Mr. Sloane (Mathew Aldwin McGee) to rent a room in the home she shares with her...
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It’s A Wonderful Life: The Musical at Toby’s Dinner Theatre (review)
Sometimes Christmas can seem like a rerun of itself: if you like ballet, you see The Nutcracker each year. Melodrama? Ah, that’s always Dickens’ Christmas Carol. If your taste runs to cartoons? The...
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George Is Dead funny women Kerri Rambow and Fiona Blackshaw
DC theater veterans Kerri Rambow and Fiona Blackshaw headline George is Dead, written by comedic icon Elaine May (Heaven Can Wait, The Birdcage). The one-hour play, opening December 3rd, will be the...
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Black Nativity at Theater Alliance (review)
Having seen numerous renditions of Black Nativity over the years, I didn’t rush to Theater Alliance last year despite hearing how fabulous it was and ended up missing it. When it swept the Helen Hayes...
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Catone in Utica from Opera Lafayette (review)
There’s much to learn watching a production being remounted by essentially the same team. The riches and new challenges proved fascinating in the rarity of Vivaldi’s Catone in Utica that played for two...
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Holiday Memories from WSC Avant Bard (review)
We think of ourselves as a forward-looking people, but our holidays are all firmly rooted in the past — specifically, in the sepia-tinted days of our early youth, when the air was cold and suffused...
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Play about cabaret performers during Holocaust, Total Verrückt! opens Thursday
We learned yesterday of the touring production of Total Verrückt!, a play about the transcendence of the human spirit in times of pain and suffering. We hope that as many of you as possible will take...
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Elephant & Piggie’s We Are In a Play! (review)
Elephant & Piggie enthusiasts will pack the theater in search for their beloved friends, Gerald the bespectacled wary elephant who is devoted to his best friend, rambunctious Piggie the … well …...
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By George, By Ira, By Gershwin from The In Series
In the mood for a little supper club and music, circa 1935? Then put on your fur and pearls, and have the chauffeur drive you to The Source, where The In Series is currently performing its Gershwin...
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The Wiz Live! starring Queen Latifah Thursday night on NBC
What happens when you invite Harvey Fierstein to freshen up the book for the TV debut of the Broadway musical The Wiz? Viewers will find out when they tune in NBC at 8pm (EST) Thursday, December 3rd...
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In this time of giving back, one simple request
Dear Readers, I want to thank you. Because of you, DC Theatre Scene is celebrating its 10th birthday. In 2005, we launched a simple website with a simple goal: to bring attention to the work of the...
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A Broadway Christmas Carol at MetroStage (review)
I have one complaint about A Broadway Christmas Carol at MetroStage. What took me so long to discover this hilariously festive show? Certainly it was no fault of the folks at MetroStage. Beginning at...
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NBC’s The Wiz Live! (review)
The Wiz Live! eased on down the road Thursday, the best-attended Broadway try-out in history. Next year, director Kenny Leon is planning a Main Stem transfer of the production, although it’s unclear...
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Designing the world for Signature’s West Side Story: Misha Kachman talks set...
One of the most ambitious shows being put on in DC this winter is the oversized blockbuster musical West Side Story produced by Signature Theatre. Just how does Signature plan to fit this big Big Apple...
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China Doll Review: Al Pacino in a new Mamet play
David Mamet’s China Doll involves two dramas. There’s the one on stage starring Al Pacino as an old billionaire in something of a cynical primer on wealth and political ambition. Then there’s the...
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