David Friscic - Page 2

The title of the devastating and psychologically complex play entitled Everything is Wonderful is considered to be code in the Amish way of life, but it is, concurrently, a bit of an ironic title as well for a play that looks to differing points of view for its appeal (the “English” culture might consider this phrase to be almost ironic). 

The Sound of Music is a veritable old warhorse of the Broadway musical canon, and it has stood the test of the vicissitudes of time. No amount of changing source material, cynicism, saccharine, or negativity can puncture the universal themes of familial love, romantic love, devotion spirituality, perseverance, forgiveness, and devotion that permeate this beloved musical. These universal themes have resonated with audiences from time immemorial---and are especially pertinent in today’s polarized times. 

Twenty-three songs from the catalogue of the legendary composer and musician Duke Ellington creatively exploding with swinging energy or calming with mellow moods are enough to make one’s mind spin ---but combine this with a creative book by Cheryl L. West (the project was conceived by Sheldon Epps) that is based on playwright William Shakespeare’s famous comedy Twelfth Night, and you have hit the merriment mother lode courtesy of the Signature Theatre. 

The ever popular and hardy perennial of the operatic canon, composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen, was given a unique yet solid interpretation by the Wolf Trap Opera under the direction of John de los Santos. (Originally directed by Anne Bogart, according to the program). This opera is so well-known (and almost ubiquitous)---that I could feel the palpable excitement in the audience as the opera was about to begin ---even on a hot and humid August evening at the cavernous Filene Center at Wolf Trap.

The H Twins is a welcome debut at the District Fringe (as well as worldwide). This compelling piece is alternately intriguing, dramatically involving, suffused with touches of bittersweet dark comedy, and continually surprising in its narrative development. There is no listed director but the author and one of the leading performers ---Hope Campbell Gundlah (as Hilda) ---might possibly have something to do with this enticing blend of satire, dark humor, and horrid dramatic reality --that is infused in this absorbing and penetrating play.

An air of breezy improvisation (spurred on by challenges from the audience –wordplay, free association and audience interaction are all involved) is on-hand in the District Fringe offering entitled Out of My Wheelhouse. Director and producer Nora Dell states that “this show pushes the boundaries between performance art, improv, sketch, and game show. More is more.” Indeed, this escapist show has many moments of mirth but at times it seems to be no more than a heightened game of charades for the audience to laugh at.

A diverse mix of women songwriters were presented in  a series of sixteen innovatively arranged song performances by the Signature Theatre Cabarets series Wednesday evening.

Dolly Parton’s “larger than life” and generous, warm persona  - which captivates millions with her artistry, vocals, instrumental prowess, philanthropy, film stardom, stellar business sense, songwriting skills, producing and children’s book writing - hovers over the audience (including myself) in the multi -media event concert: Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony.

The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s beloved opera of amorous lovers, mistaken identities, and affairs of the heart, is replete with warmth, lyricism, and a touch of sweetness. Though there is formal elegance galore in Mozart, Director E. Loren Meeker has opted for a warm and affectionate approach to the material.

What can one say about Hunter S. Thompson, the infamous “Gonzo” journalist who wrote about the Hell’s Angels, The Kentucky Derby, who wrote prolifically in Rolling Stone Magazine and who plunged into Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (with drug -fueled adrenalin) and who embraced political passions in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail? It seems quite a hell of a lot ---especially if one witnesses the jam-packed minutiae and layers of Hunter J. Thompson’s musically embellished narrative, --where autobiography, history and psychological facets of consciousness collide and converge in the explosive Signature Theatre production of The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical.

The play King James –now at the Round House Theatre ---is like a pleasurable afternoon shooting hoops with a friend in the summer. This character-driven play by Rajiv Joseph (who gave us the play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo---which was presented at Round House in 2012) is entertaining and refreshingly absorbing in moments; it lingers in the mind like a fond glow.

The pivotal and star-crossed main characters and the Catfish Row community come alive in the highly influential, thought-provoking, and engrossing opera Porgy and Bess. This much discussed opera has its partisans and detractors but there is a distinct need to ponder and consider a work of this quality. This Washington National Opera production beautifully melds content and form in this story of a crippled man (Porgy) who must travel the lonely road (“When Gawd make cripple, He means him to be lonely. Night time, day time, He got to travel that lonesome road.”) to find wholeness with the easily gratified yet complex and caring Bess.

An evening of the myriad modes of music that constitute the American Experience was celebrated at the Kennedy Center’s production of American Rhapsody. The evening was a rich treasure trove of the glory that is American music from opera, spirituals, modern composers, classic songwriters, and Broadway.

My emotional and artistic journey with performer extraordinaire Mandy Patinkin was renewed as I watched the Signature Theatre’s Sondheim Award Gala celebrating Mandy Patinkin (at the Anthem on the Wharf on April 14, 2025).  Mr. Patinkin is a truly intersectional artist who has conquered the world of Broadway, concerts, albums, television, and film. Mr. Patinkin’s talent and skills cross-pollinate across all cultural touchstones.

When I walked into the Keegan Theatre Saturday evening to see the galvanizing play #Charlottesville, I noticed two changes since I reviewed this play at the Capital Fringe Festival one year and eight months ago: this play is no longer about one portentous and isolated incident but, rather, this play is a succinct encapsulation of an incident that is a mirror of what is going on in society at the present time. 

The play The Scenarios successfully proves the fact that it is impossible to fit the messiness and vagaries of life into the role-playing scenarios (that are well-intentioned) that society often employs to help with remediation and beneficial effects. This World Premiere that is being presented by Studio Theatre is an intriguing concept of a play that is very solidly produced by a tight acting ensemble, but I wish it could have been a bit longer to develop the backstories of the characters.

The audacious and lively play Hand to God is a daring and yet, an oddly compelling and textured meditation, on society’s hypocrisies set within a more intimate framework of five characters whose minds are tortured with clashes between reason and fiery lust -driven passions. This play makes the puppet -driven 2004 musical Avenue Q look like Mary Poppins by comparison; this play is much more acidic and radically subversive in tone.

A psychological game of “cat and mouse” between a therapist and a client carries the audience through the tensions wrought by technology run amok in the multi-layered and compelling play Job. Playwright Max Wolf Friedlich has written a play that is being presented in its first regional theatre production at Signature Theatre.

Twenty -six musical numbers (including two welcome encores) shine like mega-watt voltage in the dynamic musical story of family woes, domestic abuse and racism that are all overcome in tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit of survival in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical now playing at the National Theatre in Washington, DC and continuing touring in a long North American tour. The beloved and iconic “Queen of Rock and Roll”, Tina Turner’s highly justified showmanship and musical artistry is combined with a heart-wrenching and achingly real story of triumph amidst seeming impossible odds.