David Friscic

Actor and creator Patrick Page held the audience in the palm of his hand and took the audience (at the Klein Theatre of the Shakespeare Theatre Company) through a veritable “rogues’ gallery” of villains and devious- minded characters from the Shakespearean canon-- including murderers, the revengeful, the cowardly, the hypocritical, the manipulative and the treacherous. The vast array of characters that live in the bleaker recesses of our imagination were vividly portrayed in this ninety-minute penetrating and dramatically performed ode to the illustrious pantheon of perfidy.

The “beautiful noise” of music is what you hear --if you will only let the noise of the street hustle, people yelling and shouting, and personal traumas behind. Turning all of this ostensible cacophony into the therapeutic music of the soul and the heart and realizing your individual empowerment (this message is realized in the song “I Am…I Said”) -- seems to be the message in the very unique musical The Neil Diamond Musical ---A Beautiful Noise now playing at the National Theatre.

Malevolence, greed, the thirst for power and the never-ending quest for revenge dominate the Washington National Opera production of composer Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth. The vocals by the company of classical singers assembled here are the glory of this production.

Shenanigans and Sondheim are a great combination in Signature Theatre’s production of the beloved musical farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

An obvious labor of love by all concerned, actor and writer John Leguizamo’s The Other Americans is an extremely well-written and highly ambitious play that delineates the tragedy of a man’s fatal flaws ripping apart his family at the seams.

The Washington National Opera’s production of Beethoven’s Fidelio is a triumph of elegant, efficient style and directorial finesse. Director Francesca Zambello re-invigorates the somewhat uninspired libretto by Joesph Von Sonnleithner with a vigor and intelligence that envelops this tale of valor, commitment, courage, and conscience.

A veneer of unabashed professionalism, musical prowess, and often amusing self-reflection enveloped the Broadways star Norm Lewis (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, etc.) as he delighted the audience at The Barns at Wolf Trap. Norm Lewis’ rich and resonant baritone voice is a natural wonder of the musical world ----Lewis’ expressive baritone spans the range between tenor and bass with exceptional fluidity yet concurrent control.

Nigerian ancestry, and American ideals clash, merge, and play off each other in Sojourners by playwright Mfoniso Udofia -this deeply moving play is part of the epic nine-play Ufot Cycle which follows a Nigerian American family through many cycles of life and generations. This production, presented by the Round House Theatre, quite obviously portrays ancestral themes/American values/assimilation, etc. but I feel that it concurrently succeeds as a theatrical meditation on how a strong central “survivor” can succeed in a world by intersecting with others to create bonding and community within a broken and challenging environment.

Themes of identity, bonding, loss, self-realization and especially death permeate the numerous layers of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’ thought-provoking play The Comeuppance. This penetrating work explores so many layers that it is best to let the experience take you where it will. The high school reunion of five characters (with a sixth character often referred to and heard on a cell phone) based on experiences of the playwright himself (who grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland) has a distinct, edgy feeling as this group of millennials celebrate, banter, reminisce, self-analyze, and even ridicule each other with equal doses of affection and recrimination.

The celebrated and now-iconic jazz vocalist and legend Billie Holiday is portrayed as a tormented “just holding on” survivor in playwright Lanie Robertson’s play Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. The audience is transported back to the feel of this classic bar and grill to the year 1959 where a tired-out “Lady Day” (Billie Holiday) looks back at her life and sings fifteen of her classic songs with three superb jazz accompanists backing her up. The nightclub ambience of Emerson’s Bar and Grill envelops the theater’s patrons as soon as they enter Mosaic Theater Company’s top-notch cabaret setting (scenic designer Nadir Bey’s atmospheric work includes a neon-lit sign, and a stage filled with warmth).

The myriad music, moods, and motifs of the “king of pop” (not to mention generic mastery of soul, rhythm and blues, funk, rock, disco, and dance-pop) Michael Jackson, are electrifyingly on display in the ingeniously cutting -edge musical MJ: The Musical now playing at the National Theatre. Not at all the expected “jukebox musical”, I was surprised to witness the finesse and craftsmanship of an extremely ambitious theatrical offering that was truly intelligent.

Steeped in a European existential sensibility, with healthy doses of theatre of the absurd, and an eerie ambience, --performance artist Julia Masli alternately entrances and provokes the audience with her finely honed comedic skills in the deliciously interactive production entitled ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

The complications of culture, career and conscience cut through fierce nationalistic pride in the heart and mind of the complex and committed Nobel -Prize winner Fritz Haber in the variegated one-person performance of David Kaye in The Haber Conundrum.

Funny Girl is a solidly entertaining vehicle for a high-profile performance by Katerina McCrimmon as beloved vaudeville performer Fanny Brice. Now playing at the Kennedy Center, this popular musical (from the original stage version starring Barbra Streisand and her Oscar-winning performance in the 1968 hit film –and the recent hit on Broadway starring Lea Michele) is a lively, sassy, and brassy summer musical treat. 

Rose: You Are Who You Eat is an irreverent (yet, concurrently, affectionate) look at a performer/cabaret artist’s autobiographical impulse and gender identity questions/affirmations set against the metaphor of cannibalism as a “who gets devoured?”/”feasting/ingestion”  metaphor ---that plays into “double entendres” on family, the role of the mother and the individual evolving in the womb. This extremely quixotic and subversive play by ultra-creative performer and writer John Jarboe celebrates queerness while “riffing -off” on themes of memory, trying to connect to identity and breaking through dissonance into a celebration of the autonomous self.

The triple -threat talent of the charismatic performer Patti LuPone was on full display at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Friday evening---and, oh! What a night it was! A capacity crowd of what was obviously a devoted (and almost fanatical fan base) tuned out to see a glorious two hours of songs ---which were sung with sheer show -biz brio by the resonant mezzo-soprano of Ms. LuPone.

The visionary eye of Choreographer Alonzo King creates such complex choreographic movement from his gifted ensemble of twelve contemporary ballet dancers, that you will miss a tantalizing moment if you avert your eyes for even a nano-second. Billed as the Alonzo King LINES Ballet: Deep River ---the audience at the Kennedy Center was treated not only to the choreographic ebb and flow of the Deep River contemporary ballet work but was also treated to no less than twelve other contemporary ballet dance works that preceded this primary work (except for one achingly languorous, reflective, and sensual work entitled Epilogue Pas which was a stunning pas de deux that was the final work of the evening –danced beautifully by Adji Cissoko and Shuaib (Elhassan).

The submerged and, often, long-sublimated divisions and resentments and life motifs of two estranged sisters come to the fore in the visceral and joltingly immersive play entitled Problems Between Sisters. The domestic squabbles of siblings have long been given ample space in plays, films, and novels but, in this fine Studio Theatre production, the playwright Julia May Jonas delves into a feminist mirroring and elucidation of themes from playwright Sam Shepard’s well-known play True West. In this intriguing play, the battling brothers become two sisters, California becomes Vermont and screenwriting becomes visual and performance art.

Incredibly rich in detail --from staging to technical aspects-- and emboldened with Puccini’s soaring music and meticulous, intelligent direction by Francesca Zambello, Washington National Opera’s production of Turandot is a production for the ages. The entire creative team, the cast, the Washington National Opera Orchestra, the Washington National Opera Chorus, the Washington National Opera Children’s chorus and the Washington National Opera Corps Dancers have given us a Turandot that respects the glorious bones of this beloved Italian opera while adding a new ending that gives the opera a more mature and modern appeal.

The versatile and mega-talented performer Nathan Lane was awarded the Signature Theatre's Sondheim Award on Monday, April 29th and the unique sardonic humor and sophisticated sensibility was evident throughout the performances of those who paid tribute to his remarkable career. Lane’s authenticity and natural charisma bounced off the walls of the Anthem building ---where the Gala was held.