DCMetroTheaterArts
Your source for theater news, reviews, and interviews in DC, MD, Northern VA, and New York
Theater in DC has begun only recently to tell stories that attempt to be faithful to trans experience. Despite progress on local stages toward accurate portrayals of the lives of other populations marginalized on account of “difference”—those who are women, black, Latinx, Asian, queer, Deaf, or disabled, for instance—the lives of transfolk have been conspicuously […]
Philadelphia’s John Schultz brings an immersive sensory experience to FringeNYC with Till Birnam Wood, an original adaptation of Macbeth. Already a hit in the 2014 and 2015 Philly Fringe Festivals, the one-hour condensed version of the Scottish play of blind ambition and guilt, foreboding, fate, and death is presented in an intense fast-paced hour, with […]
Rare Production of Strindberg’s Pelican at Arcturus The Pelican—a Victorian melodrama long abandoned by modern producers —has happily returned to the DC stage in a brilliantly staged one-act play. It’s now on view for just one more weekend at the Arcturus Theater Company, located in a downtown church. Written by August Strindberg—a giant in the […]
When you go to see Macbeth, you probably take a few things for granted. You might expect to be impressed by the splendor and beauty of Shakespeare’s language, and you might expect to be drawn into a classic tale of how the hunger for power can turn horribly wrong. The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Macbeth provides […]
In Part 5 of 5 interviews with the Playwright/Director and cast members of House at Arts Collective @ HCC, meet cast members Colin Riley, Iris Shih, and Sierra Young Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you on our local stages and who you play in HOUSE. Colin Riley: My name is […]
More than four hundred years after Shakespeare wrote it, Macbeth remains a potent play. Its tale of how the lust for power corrupts is timeless, made even more enduring by some of the most legendary lines in English literature. It’s hard to go wrong with a classic play that just about everybody knows, even if […]
Hootenanny by Monique LaForce is a two-hander with an unsettling story up its sleeve. It’s a story about a man and a woman that incrementally builds nerve-fraying psychological tension from what seems the slightest, most innocuous of encounters. Two actors, Chip and Samantha (capably acted by Doug Krehbel and Cate Brewer), meet in the nondescript […]
In Part 9 of a series of interviews with the Director and cast of Peace Mountain Theatre Company‘s production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, meet Leah Mazade. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell readers where they may have seen you perform on local stages. Leah: I’ve been working in local theaters, mostly in Maryland, for three decades. Groups […]
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” and Anne is Nan and Nan is Anne, but only on the west coast. This is Hollywood after all, and things can get a little crazy. XY Players’ comedy, Experimental, transforms elements of Shakespeare’s Macbeth into an engrossing comedy that pokes fun at the very profession we see […]
When William Shakespeare’s plays first made their appearances at the Globe Theatre, men played all of the roles. No one questioned a male Juliet performing the famous balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, as that was the law of the time. Upon entering the building of the Unitarian Universalist of Fallston, I was intrigued by […]
Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s Sense & Sensibility is the ultimate tale of First World problems. While the story predates both hashtags and the concept of the First World, it is tale of the rich who suddenly find themselves in the middle class. Like any good soap opera, the problems are relatively trivial, but utterly engrossing. There […]
As the guerilla war in Dunsinane intensifies, Siward, the English commander sent to Scotland to bring peace to the warring clans, admits to burning to death a village’s captured adult males. In light of recent events in Islamic State — namely, the burning to death of a captured Jordanian pilot — the thousand year parallels […]
Annapolis Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a bloody good way to baptize the company’s new theater space Macbeth is the inaugural production of the Annapolis Shakespeare Company in its new home in Studio 111 on Chinquapin Round Road, Annapolis. Bloody good – and filled with bloodied scenes, Macbeth is a must-see show in the ongoing evolution of Annapolis Shakespeare Company. […]
A free screening of Folger Theatre‘s 2008 magical production of Macbeth will take place on Saturday, August 23 at 8:15 pm at the Carter Barron Ampitheatre in Rock Creek Park. No tickets are required. Directed by Teller (of Penn & Teller) and Aaron Posner and recorded before a rapt audience in the Folger’s intimate Elizabethan Theatre, this “supernatural horror thriller” […]
When it comes to Fringe, Shakespeare is an ace in the hole. Audiences find it familiar, but they also expect more in the bargain. Rude Mechanicals’ production of Macbeth: Instruments of Darkness is a great example of this. The show has some really big ideas for Shakespeare’s Scottish Play, but in the end it’s a […]
When you hear that a theater company is performing Shakespeare’s Macbeth, you probably think to yourself “Oh yea…I know Macbeth. How will this be any different from all the other times I’ve seen this show?” Well, if you go see King’s Players Mme. Macbeth at this year’s Fringe show, you are in for a surprise! […]
If there’s one thing we know about the Tragedies of William Shakespeare (regardless of authorship, date, and a heck of a lot of other stuff) it’s that they, well, tend to end on a sour note. And no chord rings more dismally than those of the Bard’s heroines, whose fates run the gamut from Naptime Strangulation to Maritime Misadventure. […]
Something wicked this way comes as Annex Theater presents the Bard’s most cursed production, Macbeth. Directed by Evan Moritz, this gender bent production of the classic tragedy has women interspersed in the male roles throughout the production but none quite so important as the title character. A fresh new take on allowing talented performers of all […]
There are some performances that you just never forget and Anne Kanengeiser’s performance as Fosca in Signature Theatre’s Passion in 1996 is one I will always remember and cherish, so I was thrilled when Anne was coming to town to appear in No Rules Theatre Company’s The Personal(s), because I had my chance to catch up with Anne […]
Here is Part 4 and our final interview of our behind-the-scenes look at Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s Pride and Prejudice. Meet Artistic Director and Director Sally Boyett-D’Angelo. Joel: Why did you select Pride and Prejudice? Sally: Actually, I chose this production in early 2012 before we knew we were moving into our new space! I had recently directed […]