Washington DC

A ‘My Fair Lady’ for today at the Kennedy Center

The character arc that carries Lerner and Loewe’s classic My Fair Lady belongs to Eliza Doolittle, as she rises from flower girl at Covent Garden to the belle of the embassy ball, from feral street...

‘Not just a field trip’: Strathmore partners with Montgomery County Public Schools to engage children in the arts

Schools play a pivotal role in cultivating the next generations, and the arts have a key role. Research suggests that arts educational experiences can produce significant positive impacts on academic...

DCMTA 2019 Staff Favorites: Outstanding Professional Theater Productions

As the year draws to a close, we asked DCMTA writers to think back on the shows that left an indelible impression on them in 2019. In this category, outstanding overall production, we recognize:...

‘The Magical Piñata’ at the Keegan Theatre celebrates Mexican culture and teaches about sharing

The concept of gratitude and sharing can be one of the hardest things for a child to learn. But in a world full of greed, these principles are vital to maintaining a semblance of peace and prosperity....

The Claremont Trio triumphs with concert of female composers at the Phillips Collection

Concerts in private salons rather than formal concert halls dot the history of music-making. But they can give the impression of being secondary events where no real music history took place. That...

The ‘Long View’ glimpses inner life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

There has been plenty of backlash during this administration against what some critics have called “the cult” of RBG, aka, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Some are critical of the...

Step Afrika!’s ‘Magical Musical Holiday Step Show’ is a winter wonderland of joy

Now in its eighth year, Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show has established itself as the season’s most joyful and lovable family festivity in DC. Exuberant music, adorable humor, and...

Ken Ludwig on ‘Dear Jack, Dear Louise,’ a long-awaited stage celebration of his parents’ long-distance romance

There’s a lovely new play at Arena Stage, but you’ll have to rush if you want to see it. That’s because the play—Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise—will be off and running before the year ends,...

‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ hits the road to 50

Jesus wears his hair in a man-bun and Mary Magdalene appears a bit like a millennial caught outside her “safe space”—but there’s still plenty of power and glory on display in the new 50th Anniversary...

Top five theater ghosts…before ‘The Woman in Black’ arrived at Shakespeare Theatre Company

The Woman in Black, the long-playing London ghost story now perturbing a Shakespeare Theatre Company stage, reminds us that spine-chilling horror can be the most delightful of sensations. To put us in...

‘Black Nativity’ inspires and uplifts at Anacostia Playhouse

There are many joyous traditions this time of year, but to my mind the most indispensable has become Black Nativity. With its spiritual values on its finely-woven sleeve, it’s a show that inspires...

Dark Horse Theatre Company, theatreWashington’s newest member, kicks off 2020 with ‘The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later’

Dark Horse Theatre Company is the newest member of theatreWashington. As readers of DCMTA are aware, theatreWashington is the organization dedicated to supporting and representing the Washington, DC...

Isabella Star LaBlanc, who plays Tiger Lily in ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company, on why Native stories matter

When Playwright Lauren Gunderson took on the challenge of adapting J. M. Barrie’s 1904 Peter Pan, she knew she had to fix what she has called the “deeply harmful misrepresentation of Indigenous people...

Choral Arts Society Holiday Concert: sing along and hear expert musicians celebrate the season

If singing along to the Hallelujah Chorus or Hark, the Herald Angels Sing are requisite to bolstering your holiday spirit, then Songs of the Season: Christmas with Choral Arts at the Kennedy Center...

Scena Theatre’s ‘The Dead’ presents quiet desperation at Christmastime

Based on a renowned short story by James Joyce, The Dead, now being presented by Scena Theatre, is a slice of the lives of polite, quiet desperation lived by genteel middle-class Dubliners in the...

At Mosaic’s ‘Eureka Day,’ a class in laughs and spats is in session

The five adults seated onstage in a children’s classroom each have a kid enrolled in this private day school, which like the play we’re watching is named Eureka Day. These earnest parents are all...

‘A Holiday Pops! with Leslie Odom, Jr.’ brings holiday cheer to the Kennedy Center

The NSO Pops helped to make our spirits bright with its annual Christmas concert featuring Tony and Grammy Award-winning Leslie Odom, Jr. and a parcel of musical gifts from his Simply Christmas album....

The British Players’ ‘Alice in Wonderland: A Traditional British Panto’ delivers sublime silliness

Ah, yes, it’s that most wonderful time of the year: The tingle of frozen breath on the air, the sparkle of lights on the trees, the warmth of spiced cider, and the sublime silliness of Panto. “Panto?...

‘Come from Away’ emphasizes joy: Canadian musical lights up Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater

Every September 11, America mourns the tragic events that astonished and saddened people around the globe in 2001: the attack on New York’s Twin Towers and Washington, D.C.’s Pentagon. Each year, at...

Christmastime is here (in Manassas) with Prince William Little Theatre’s ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Prince William Little Theatre’s A Charlie Brown Christmas feels as comfortable and warm as snuggling up on the couch and watching classic Christmas movies with a mug of cocoa. Supported by the hard...

DCMTA 2019 Staff Favorites: Outstanding Community Theater Productions

As the year draws to a close, we asked DCMTA writers to think back on the productions that left an indelible impression on them in 2019. Here are the community theater productions that left the...

The appeal of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ endures at The National Theatre

Fiddler on the Roof, the quintessentially Jewish musical about keeping one’s balance in changing times, remains ebullient and undiminished in its eternal appeal. At the opening night performance for...

4615 Theatre Company presents ambitious adaptation of Irish legend in ‘Infinite Tales’

If the notion of compressing 900 years of Irish mythology into a single two-hour show sounds like a lot to take on, that’s because it is. In fact, tackling the entire pantheon of Irish legend—which is...

Creative Cauldron presents ‘Madeline’s Christmas’ for some wholesome holiday cheer

In what is becoming a delightful Christmas tradition, Creative Cauldron reprises their holiday production of Madeline’s Christmas. The lighthearted musical is based on the beloved books by Ludwig...

Mosaic Theater’s ‘Eureka Day’ puts immunization in the hot seat

In Samoa, 68 people – mostly children – have died of measles in recent weeks, victims of an abysmally low immunization rate resulting, in significant part, from misinformation spread on social media...

‘I Take Your Hand in Mine’ by Taffety Punk Theatre Company brings Chekhov’s romantic life to the stage

A matchless, hypnotic portrait of love. A seductive vision of two lives tangled up in blues with too many tough nights apart as each knows “I have no will of my own.” Are the two people on stage up...

‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ at Shakespeare wows with wonder in a woke dream

J. M. Barrie imagined a lot when he wrote his 1904 play about the boy who wouldn’t grow up, but he could not have imagined how many childhoods have been etched by its enchantment. Now in Peter Pan and...

WAPAVA Presents ‘The Ghosts of Christmas Past: The History of Ford’s Theatre’s A Christmas Carol’

The Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive is holding a free event Monday, December 16th from 7 pm-8 pm at the Chevy Chase neighborhood library. Join WAPAVA’s Executive Director Bridget Grace...

Synetic Theater’s ‘The Snow Queen’ sparkles

The lights reveal a figurine on a pedestal—regal, decked head to foot, shimmering, amid the mist. Slowly, cautiously, with a twitch here and a jerk there, that figurine—the Snow Queen—comes to life....

IN Series’ ‘L’Enfance du Christ’ follows the Holy Family’s journey as refugees

Hector Berlioz’s mid-19th-century L’Enfance du Christ is not quite an oratorio in the most familiar sense of that term. Nor is it quite an opera. Written piecemeal over many years by a composer who...

‘Holiday Singin’ Pops’ kicks off the holiday season at Strathmore

To kickstart the Christmas season, the National Philharmonic and the National Philharmonic Chorale performed Holiday Singin’ Pops at the Music Center at Strathmore with guest performers. The two-act...

The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ is a holiday feast for the eyes

This year, The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s annual performance of A Christmas Carol brings to the stage the Charles Dickens classic using a script adapted by Donna Ferragut. The script is a...

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington jump-starts the season with ‘The Holiday Show’

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC (GMCW) opens the holidays with humor and beauty, power and reverence – and balloons! Upon entering the Lincoln Theatre, the audience relaxes into a moment stolen...

‘Other Desert Cities’ by Peace Mountain Theatre challenges and shocks

Peace Mountain Theatre’s Other Desert Cities, by Jon Robin Baitz, features outstanding, in-the-moment performances. Director Julie Janson directs a show that touches on themes ranging from family...

IN Series’ ‘L’enfance du Christ’ offers all-comers respite, transcendence, unity

How history will judge us for this administration’s treatment of Central American migrant children, I often wonder. And yet, our record of abuse against “Other” is not partisan, but has accumulated...

Providence Players of Fairfax presents subtle, sweet ‘The Gift of the Magi’

Providence Players of Fairfax and The Young Hearts present The Gift of the Magi, adapted by Jon Jory from the story by O. Henry. Beth Gilles-Whitehead directs an engaging cast in this charming...

The Second City’s ‘She The People: The Resistance Continues’ levels the playing field with humor

The good news? The Second City’s sharp-witted She The People: The Resistance Continues is back at Woolly Mammoth for another rollicking production of top-notch sketches and witty songs. The bad news?...

Encore Stage & Studio’s ‘CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators’ is a comedic crowd-pleaser

You know it’s going to be a long night when Santa Claus goes missing. Either Stage Manager Meaghan Leahy made a whopper of a mistake, or some fiend stole jolly old St. Nick, thus threatening the...

‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ at Colonial Players of Annapolis rings in holiday with comedy and heartwarming message

Colonial Players of Annapolis’ production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a hilarious take on the Christmas story. Written by Barbara Robinson and based on her beloved 1971 novel, which was also...

‘The Day’ at the Kennedy Center captures the moment: an intimate measure beyond expectations

Ropes hang, partitioning off a raised platform that is a ramp. Curiosity rises in dimension with the angle of the ramp, a shiny black surface, and in scale with vertical ropes that provide clear...

Washington Revels’ ‘Celestial Fools’ is a stellar holiday hit

As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, Washingtonians brace themselves for a barrage of family commitments, holiday parties, religious services and fevered gift shopping. Holidays, for...

‘The Woman in Black’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company is a delightfully spooky gem

A charming little gem of a ghostly, campfire-ish thriller is here for a short time courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company. Full of expressive acting, whodunit lighting moods and suspense-making...

Arena Stage premiere of Ken Ludwig’s ‘Dear Jack, Dear Louise’ reminds audiences of the incredible power of letter writing and human connection

Separated by thousands of miles and yet connected through hundreds of letters, Dear Jack, Dear Louise by Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig (Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Lend Me a...

‘A Motown Christmas’ at the Signature Theatre brings soulful cheer

The scene was a cozy cabaret at Signature Theatre. The enthralled patrons sat at small, circular, red tables and swayed to “Give Love on Christmas Day” performed by The Motown Three, which consisted...

Family-friendly Tennessee Williams puppet show pops up for the holidays

After two sell-out previews and a spectacular run at the Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, The Lady from the Village of Falling Flowers pops up at the trendy Shaw-neighborhood speakeasy...

‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!’ Pigeon and Driver tell us why!

Oh, that pigeon! Always causing trouble. He never wants to take a bath. He stays up past his bedtime. And now he wants to drive… a bus?! Children’s author Mo Willems continues his tenure as inaugural...

Young adventurer Milo learns how to use time in Greenbelt Arts Center’s ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’

If you know a bored child who doesn’t know what to do with their time, a trip through Susan Nanus’ The Phantom Tollbooth just might be the answer. It certainly works for Milo in Greenbelt Arts...

Gaithersburg’s Arts on the Green concert season returns in December with Rochelle Rice’s ‘Cool Yule’ and much more

Gaithersburg’s Arts on the Green presents a new season of engaging concerts featuring an eclectic mix of Americana, jazz, classical, contemporary, traditional, and world music in an intimate and...

Annapolis Shakespeare Company ushers in holiday spirit with ‘A Christmas Carol’

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of A Christmas Carol is a moving, faithful stage version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale. Adapted by Sally Boyett and Donald Hicken, and directed by Sally...

Playwright Lauren Gunderson had one stipulation when reworking ‘Peter Pan.’ The sexism and racism had to go.

When Gunderson agreed to rework ‘Peter Pan’ for Shakespeare Theatre Company, she had one stipulation: the sexism and racism had to go.