David Friscic

It was good to be back at the Washington National Opera for their thrilling performance of West Side Story after a year of extreme change for this vital world-renowned artistic organization/institution. As many people already know, the Washington National Opera has had to relocate to other venues to proactively create new artistic paradigms after some tough challenges at the Kennedy Center. (I was pleased to review this production on the night of May 14, 2026, at The Music Center at Strathmore

The current touring production of the Broadway musical The Great Gatsby tries to wrap its hand around the elusive and enigmatic novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald but can only succeed on the most basic level. It is a daunting task to try and adapt extremely poetic and enigmatic works like The Great Gatsby to any visual medium (in this, I do agree with critic John Simon ---there are really no optic equivalents to this type of writing ---as five flawed film adaptations have proven).

The Book of Mormon continues its robustly quirky, comedic, and intentionally offensive romp as it enjoys a much too-short touring run at the National Theatre in Washington, DC.  Rushing to get tickets to this production would be a wise idea ---the phenomenon that is the Tony-winning The Book of Mormon has taken on new sparkle and sheen and just keeps bouncing along on the pathway of theatrical success.

Sixteen characters are portrayed by the character of the narrator ----Constance Zaytoun---who carries the one-person play entitled A Good Day To Me Not To You now playing at the Arena Stage. The intimacy of the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle is perfectly geared towards the inward psychological thrust of this challenging play.

Ninety minutes of a play that detail the utter pompousness, redundancies, calls to “shelve” or postpone important actions, and the ignoring of vital new community comments, are only some of the bureaucratic and provincial rules, regulations, and idiocies of what can constitute The Minutes of a city council meeting. Esteemed author Tracy Letts (August: Osage County, Superior Donuts) continually surprises and disorients the playgoer as he shifts writing tone in his phenomenal play The Minutes.

I have always been tantalized by the triple threat talent of Vanessa Williams. Ever since I sat with my family and saw her on television singing “Happy Days are Here Again” to become the first Miss America of color, she has become an artistic and cultural presence in my life. At pivotal moments of life experience, her recordings, television appearances, stage appearances, and concerts have become an integral part of my artistic consciousness. As a gay person, I instinctively sensed that she would understand me if she ever met me. Little did I know that she would meet me after a concert and pose for a great picture or that I would be writing this feature story on her well-deserved Signature Theatre Sondheim Award at the Sondheim Award Gala in Washington, DC. (held at The Anthem venue on March 16, 2026).

There is expert craftsmanship and technical polish in the production of Jonah, now playing at the always professional Studio Theatre, but there is also a feeling of detachment and insularity in this play by Rachel Bonds. The themes of parental neglect, abuse by a stepparent, the fight for fulfillment of ambition, and awareness/phases of sexual development  have been dealt with so many times in the past that it would be refreshing if these themes were presented in a manner that compelled an individual response of identification, understanding, and sympathy.

An embarrassment of theatrical riches, bordering on sensory, stimulating overload, is on display in an exceptionally bold and satisfying reimagining of the very influential musical Pal Joey—now reconceived as Chez Joey. The show still takes place in the 1940’s Chicago music/nightclub scene, but it has been opened up to explore potent possibilities that are realized in this production.

The heightened reality replete with elongated pauses –(do people really wait this long in real life to answer one another?) that emanates from the stage of the Pulitzer- Prize and Tony -winning production of Stereophonic –now being produced in a touring /edited two hour and 50-minute version at the National Theatre-- certainly grabbed my attention.

“Get your freak/kink on” and show your tolerance for all---seems to be the message of the eternally popular musical plea for acceptance and inclusivity that constitutes the musical Kinky Boots.

Multi-talented composer, book writer, and vocal arranger Dave Malloy has created a musically eclectic, thematically relevant, and vocally complex work in his audacious and highly relevant work Octet.

Craftsmanship, creativity, guts, determination and the talent that influences new generations and that creates a lasting legacy –all represented the qualities of the honorees that have been awarded the 48th Annual Kennedy Center Honors (which was taped on December 7, 2025, and will be broadcast on Paramount+ and CBS on December 23, 2025).

Before Lea Salonga stepped out on the stage of the Strathmore this past Saturday evening, I could feel the anticipation building. Soon, a very savvy orchestra assembled and lightly “tuned up” as the audience awaited the entrance of Lea Salonga, --stage, screen, recording and concert performer par excellence. Ms. Salonga finally appeared to loud applause in a beautifully tuxedoed -tailored, colorful pantsuit.

A sophisticated, slightly sweet, and satiric tone sweeps over the characters of the luxuriously professional production of the musical Some Like it Hot, now touring at the National Theatre. From the moment that the show opens with the ode to self-gratification and excess “What Are You Thirsty For?” to the hymn to misbehavior “Let’s Be Bad” to the rousing finale “Baby, Let’s Get Good” ---this show grabs the audience and never lets it go.

The autobiographical world of playwright Paula Vogel comes alive in the illuminating and fragilely evocative “tone poem” of a play entitled The Mother Play at the Studio Theatre. This very moving and occasionally caustic play explores all the hard issues of life in a family—such as death, illness, financial problems and –above all—the dislocation that occurs from constant moving to new locations. (Indeed, the subtitle of the play is “ A Play in Five Evictions”). The Herman family is composed of a very peripatetic mother who has survived the onslaught of a divorce and unwanted children, but she passes so much rage onto her two children, and she drowns herself in martinis.

Specific events in the intimate world of Anatevka, Russia are presented in a manner that propels universal understanding of the relevant themes of family, forgiveness, acceptance, and tolerance in the highly immersive and interactive staging of the renowned classic Fiddler on the Roof, now at the Signature Theatre. The engaging ensemble assembled here under the ingenious direction of Joe Calarco, shows why this landmark 1964 musical has spawned so many stage revivals through the decades as well as a magnificent 1971 film. (Based on the Sholem Aleichem stories by special permission of Arnold Perl).

The play Fremont Ave., which is now at the Kreeger Theater at the Arena Stage, is an interesting attempt to show the healing effects of intergenerational family bonds. The playwright, Reggie D. White, has attempted to convey a multitude of  themes and moods as affects the Plique family as they live their lives in a southern California  suburb from 1968 until the 2020’s. As the characters in the play confront their dreams, ambitions, and fears the audience reacted with such interactive yelling and talking back to the stage that the play certainly evoked much response –so much response that I was unable to hear the lines at many times.

The directing, composing, and writing team of the talented Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith are presenting an intriguing revival of their 2015 world premiere of their intense and enigmatically ambitious production of The Turn of the Screw: The Musical. This adaptation from the acclaimed author Henry James’ novella—The Turn of the Screw, is highly provocative and moves along swiftly in a highly coiled and compressed eighty-minutes in the intimacy of the Creative Cauldron Theatre space.