Washington, DC Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 14

Review: GAVIN CREEL IN CONCERT at Kennedy Center
by Elliot Lanes - September 01, 2023

There was nothing humdrum or lazy about last evening’s late summer Gavin Creel concert at Kennedy Center. The Broadway performer with just two other musicians ignited the stage and audience in the Terrace Theater with an evening of some familiar tunes mixed with a good chunk of songs from Creel’s up...

Review: SWEAT at Keegan Theatre
by Mary Lincer - August 21, 2023

What did our critic think of SWEAT at Keegan Theatre? No matter what year an audience sees Lynn Nottage's (her second Pulitzer) Sweat, something will be going wrong someplace for some part of the American workforce....

Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts
by Pamela Roberts - August 21, 2023

Seeing To Kill a Mockingbird, now at the Kennedy Center, isn’t the same experience as the novel you were quizzed on in high school or the classic 1962 film. Aaron Sorkin’s script and Bartlett Sher’s direction gain heightened context and nuance from the rise in racial violence in the last decade. The...

Review: A Theatrical Feast: THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY at Signature Theatre
by Jack L. B. Gohn - August 19, 2023

Given the moat of terrible traffic that separates Baltimore theatergoers from Arlington, what can justify a visit there? Well, one answer for sure is Signature Theatre’s stunning production of the 2014 musical The Bridges of Madison County. With a timeless story, a lush, varied score, and riveting p...

Review: THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY at Signature Theatre
by Shelby Tyler - August 17, 2023

What did our critic think of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY at Signature Theatre? Andy Warhol once questioned, “I wonder if it’s possible to have a love affair that lasts forever.” The Bridges of Madison County answers this with its sweeping Jason Robert Brown score, following the extramarital affair...

Review: American Shakespeare Center's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is a Treat for All Seasons
by Andrew White - August 12, 2023

As the Summer draws to a hot close, and school days loom on the near horizon, it’s good to know that some childish antics will survive well into the Fall.  The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia, has pulled out the stops with Shakespeare’s zany take on the battle of the sexes, Much Ad...

Review: MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL at Kennedy Center
by Shelby Tyler - August 08, 2023

What did our critic think of MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL at Kennedy Center? When you step into Moulin Rouge! The Musical, reality melts away. You are transported somewhere lush, sensual, and dazzling; the allure of seductive and passionate Parisian romance whispers to you through every catch of light....

Review: CYRANO DE BERGERAC at Synetic Theater
by Pamela Roberts - August 06, 2023

Synetic Theater’s wordless Cyrano de Bergerac is gorgeous to behold and packs a powerful emotional wallop....

Review: DISCO FEVER at Signature Theatre
by Ken Kemp - August 05, 2023

Signature's latest cabaret is a delightful romp down memory lane....

Review: RENT IN CONCERT at The Kennedy Center
by David Friscic - July 29, 2023

What did our critic think of RENT IN CONCERT at The Kennedy Center?...

Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at Kennedy Center
by Peter Rouleau - July 23, 2023

A brilliantly-performed, well-mounted play about a horribly-performed, disastrously staged play....

Review: CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND at Kreeger/Arena Stage
by Mary Lincer - July 22, 2023

What did our critic think of CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND at Kreeger/Arena Stage?...

Review: BELL WRINGER at Capital Fringe Festival
by Jake Bridges - July 16, 2023

What did our critic think of BELL WRINGER at Capital Fringe?...

Review: DEMENTIA MAN, AN EXISTENTIAL JOURNEY at DCJCC
by Naomi Ducat - July 16, 2023

Dementia Man, An Existential Journey, is a one-man theatrical performance during which Sam navigates life upon learning he has early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease....

Review: FELA! at Olney Theatre Center
by Roger Catlin - July 16, 2023

It’s only the third time the Maryland regional powerhouses have collaborated, and people still recall their only other two such efforts, “Angels in America” in 2016 and “In the Heights in 2017. “Fela!” will be equally well-remembered alongside them. ...

Review: BRUNCH WITH THE BOYS at DCJCC Theatre J
by David Friscic - July 15, 2023

What did our critic think of BRUNCH WITH THE BOYS at DCJCC Theatre J?...

Review: Lynn Rosen's THE OVERVIEW EFFECT a Grand Space Epic at the Contemporary American Theater Festival
by Andrew White - July 15, 2023

Although the results are a bit chaotic—truth be known, this is a sprawling epic of a show which could use some trimming—the timeliness of its topic and its glorious performances make “The Overview Effect”, by rights, a major attraction for theatre goers this July.  A mix of straight drama and rock-m...

Review: FEVER DREAMS (OF ANIMALS ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION) at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival
by Andrew White - July 15, 2023

Jeffrey Lieber’s Fever Dreams (of Animals on the Verge of Extinction) is a study in tragedy of an all-too-human scale; infidelity, secrecy, lies used to cover for passion, more lies used to cover the consequences of that passion, all so intricately constructed that the heart-breaking reality, when i...

Review: THE ROAD TO THE END Takes a Bittersweet Trip Down Memory Lane at Theater J
by Morgan Musselman - July 18, 2023

In THE ROAD TO THE END, a father and son learn to balance their fraught history and love for one another on an action-packed road trip to the Grand Canyon....

Review: Dael Orlandersmith's 'SPRITUS/VIRGIL'S DANCE Shines in its Humanity
by Andrew White - July 15, 2023

Dael Orlandersmith reigns supreme in the Studio 112 space at CATF, telling the story of Virgil, a native of the Bronx.  Curated and written with care, and based on Orlandersmith’s interviews and research, the humanity of the piece shines brilliantly. ...

Review: José Rivera's YOUR NAME MEANS DREAM an Intensely Psychological Star Vehicle for Two Great Actors
by Andrew White - July 12, 2023

Rivera's 'Your Name Means Dream' creates a spectacle of actors at the top of their game, with a script that gives both Anne O'Sullivan and Sara Koviak ample opportunity to shine—and to shine a light on the mysteries of the human heart and the human-generated machine....

Review: Chisa Hutchinson's REDEEMED is a Highlight of the Contemporary American Theater Festival
by Andrew White - July 12, 2023

Chisa Hutchinson's latest offering, “Redeemed,” is as vitally important a piece as the Festival has to offer this year.  Rooted in the often-distorted dialogue this country continues to have about race, Hutchinson uses the play to address the under-explored question of what it really might take for ...

Review: NATE THE GREAT at Imagination Stage
by Jennifer Muscato - July 13, 2023

Director Janet Stanford brings the beloved book series character Nate the Great to life on stage and the kids love it....

Review: LOVE AND VINYL at KA-CHUNK!!! Records
by Peter Rouleau - July 10, 2023

For a variety of logistical reasons, immersive or environmentally-staged theatre, in which the audience is seated in the midst of the action, is rarely undertaken. Prior to seeing the show I'm reviewing, the only such performance I recall was in college at Salisbury University. An ambitious directin...

Review: FUN HOME at Studio Theatre
by Dara Homer - July 03, 2023

Fun Home made history by opening the door for a more queer future for musical theatre—and Studio Theatre’s production presents every character’s humanity and each meticulously crafted beat with intensity and grace....