DCMetroTheaterArts
Your source for theater news, reviews, and interviews in DC, MD, Northern VA, and New York
The Victorian Lyric Opera Company’s (VLOC) staging of the operetta La Périchole was a testament to the idea that opera can be a light affair. Composed by 19th Century, Paris-based composer Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, VLOC’s production is musically directed by Joseph Sorge, and directed by Madeleine Smith. La Périchole is the […]
What happens when you combine opera with an episode of Frasier? You get a comedy of operatic proportions. You get Do Not Disturb, which will be presented by The Forgotten Opera Company in this year’s DC Fringe Festival. Composer Sean Pflueger has never written a comedic opera until now. In fact, his first opera, Children of […]
Rob from the rich, give to the poor ̶ a theme with universal and enduring appeal, at least among 99% of us. The centuries-old legend of benevolent British outlaw Robin Hood has pranced across diverse art forms from traveling minstrel show to video games. But there’s more to it than wealth transfer and ambition. Only in […]
One might not be surprised to hear Johann Strauss Jr’s The Gypsy Baron described as delightful and charming, as that is what a late 19th century Viennese operetta aspires to be, but fresh and contemporary might not be the first words that come to mind. The new production playing this weekend at Rockville’s F. Scott Fitzgerald […]
In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of Victorian Lyric Opera’s Ruddigore, meet Amanda Jones. Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you in the past year? My name is Amanda Jones. I have been performing with VLOC since 2013. I was recently seen in the VLOC productions […]
Sullivan without Gilbert? Is that possible? It’s not only possible, as the operetta Haddon Hall shows, it’s musically and theatrically entertaining. The Victorian Lyric Opera Company (VLOC) will present the rarely performed show February 26 – March 1, 2015 and March 6-8, 2015 at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, located at 603 Edmonston Drive, in […]
John Philip Sousa, one of America’s greatest composers, was primarily known for his famous marches. Over the course of his career, however, he also wrote a number of operettas. One of the lesser-known and rarely-performed operettas is The Charlatan, a farcical tale of Gogol’s attempt to have his nephew, Boris, marry a princess in order […]
TOE-TAPPING SOUSA MARCHES AND ENTERTAINING ANTICS IN VLOC’s THE CHARLATAN A rarely-heard gem of American operetta, John Philip Sousa’s The Charlatan, will be presented in a semi-staged concert production with live orchestra by The Victorian Lyric Opera Company at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre – located at 630 Edmonston Drive, in Rockville, MD. This show […]
Here are our Top Scene Stealers for the week ending June 21, 2014. Congrats to all our honorees! ______ (1) Aurora Beckett, as Jojo, singing “It’s Possible” in Seussical at Montgomery Playhouse Summer Dinner Theatre. “As Jojo’s parents try to cope with his vivid imagination, Beckett sings “It’s Possible.” The entire scene is beautifully staged. Beckett sits in a […]
So far this year, the most fun that I have had in the theatre was yesterday at Victorian Lyric Opera’s (VLOC) sensationally entertaining production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1888 Yeomen of the Guard, or, the Merryman and His Maid, directed with overflowing frivolity by Catherine Huntress-Reeve. Two hours and forty-five minutes had never sped by so fast for […]
Love Blooms in Elizabethan England The Tower of London is the setting for one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most successful operettas, The Yeomen of the Guard, which the Victorian Lyric Opera Company will perform beginning February 29th at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, in Rockville, MD Thursday, February 20th will be a special $12 Preview Performance. This, […]
Here is a new article from Peter Filichia’s column on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday.’ It’s an honor to bring Peter’s column every week to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. This week: Cradle and All Peter Filichia is the New York-based theater critic emeritus for The Newark (N.J.) Star Ledger newspaper and News 12 television station. He is also […]
Fathers, Sons, and a Side of Bacon. Our Boys was first performed in London at the Vaudeville Theatre on January 16, 1875. It went on to become the first play in the world to run more than 500 performances. It toured extensively in Europe and the United States, and was brought to the Chestnut Street […]
Be prepared to wrangle up a tempest in the form of a lady, that is, as Chesapeake Shakespeare Company presents the second half of its rotating repertory outdoor summer series at the Patapsco Female Institute. Taming of the Shrew, running with Antony & Cleopatra, brings one of the Bard’s more amusing comedies of disguises and […]
Silver Spring Stage puts on a 1950’s screwball comedy murder mystery, espionage, romance – about communists and a whole lot of fish in Red Herring to close out their 2013 season. It’s a sweet and funny production celebrating all that was fun…and slightly insane…about the 50s. Playwright Michael Hollinger wrote this script in 2000, so the style […]
Imagination Stage presents Peter Pan and Wendy, a musical adaptation of a longtime family favorite by Alyn Cardarelli and Steve Goers. Kathryn Chase Bryer directs this hilarious and enthralling production, with musical direction by George Fulginiti-Shakar. Scenic and Projection Designer Klyph Stanford does a fine job joining two different settings on one stage. A child’s […]
Here is a new article from Peter Filichia’s column on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday.’ It’s an honor to bring Peter’s column every week to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. This week: June’s Leftovers and July’s Brainteaser Peter Filichia is the New York-based theater critic emeritus for The Newark (N.J.) Star Ledger newspaper and News 12 television station. He is […]
Lots of catchy numbers, great singing, some punny laughs, and a quick trip to Holland are only a few of the pleasures you will receive from seeing the very entertaining The Red Mill presented by The Victorian Lyric Opera Company (VLOC). VLOC is partial to Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, but The Red Mill by Victor Herbert […]
Does art influence life? Or, is life imitating the art? What is love and at it what cost? What is right? What is real? It’s all a game of sorts. The Studio Theatre in its final production of the 2012-2013 subscription season presents Tom Stoppard’s affecting award-winning drama, The Real Thing, in Studio’s most intimate […]
The show that made theatrical history in 1906 with Broadway’s first moving electrified sign is now bringing its cheery flair to Rockville, MD for the first time. The Red Mill bridges the gap between The Victorian Lyric Opera Company’s usual Gilbert and Sullivan fare and the modern American musical. This rarely performed, vaudeville-inspired show will […]