Elliot Lanes

As the holiday season gets ready to kick into full force, Ford’s Theatre once again will be presenting their always excellent production of A Christmas Carol. This year’s production runs from November 21st to December 31st.

Today’s subject Christopher Bloch is currently living his theatre life onstage at Signature Theatre playing the role of Senex in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The production runs through January 12th in Signature’s MAX space.

Today’s subject Soloman Howard is currently living his theatre life onstage at Kennedy Center in the role of Banquo for Washington National Opera’s (WNO) production of Macbeth. The production plays through November 23rd in the Opera House.

Over the last eight years, I have been fortunate to interview pretty much every theater critic at The Washington Post for this column. Now I have the distinct pleasure of introducing you to another stellar journalist that joins the list.

Maestro Steven Reineke never ceases to amaze me with the wide range of artists he brings to DC to play with YOUR National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). In the past he’s featured everything from such Broadway stars as Norm Lewis and Megan Hilty to Grammy winning Latin performers Ozomatli. He always introduces his audiences to music they might not be familiar with, and I very much appreciate that both as a reviewer and as an audience member.

With the size of theatrical orchestras being drastically cut, one of the few places left to hear a full string section is at a symphonic concert. What better symphony is there than YOUR National Symphony Orchestra (NSO)?

Today’s subject Judy Kaye has been living her theatre life for over half a century. The Tony Award winning performer has been seen on Broadway, on tour, in regional theatres and has been heard on many recordings. Currently Ms. Kaye can be seen onstage at Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) in Babbitt where she plays a plethora of roles. The show runs through November 3rd at Harman Hall.

The latest entry into Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage series is the crowd pleasing quirky musical by William Finn (Music and Lyrics) and Rachel Sheinkin (Book) known as The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee. The 2005 musical also features additional material by Jay Reiss.

Today’s subject Alex Brightman is currently living his theatre life onstage at Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) in Comedy of Errors in the role of Dromio of Syracuse. The show plays through October 20th in STC’S Klein Theatre.

Today’s subject Alina Collins Maldonado is currently living her theatre life at Folger Theatre where she can be seen as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. The production runs through November 10th.

Solo theatrical pieces are probably among the hardest sells to an audience because there is only one performer keeping you interested in the subject. These theatrical offerings require a delicate balance between educating and entertaining audiences. Olney Theatre Center’s current attraction, Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground, unequivocally accomplishes this through with Tony Award winner John Rubinstein’s outstanding portrayal of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Hellesen’s well written and engaging script.

Today’s subject Kate Kilbane is currently living her theatre life as one of the most important positions in the theatre. She is the Production Stage Manager for Primary Trust at Signature Theatre. The show runs through October 20th in Signature’s ARK space.

Today’s subject Anita Yavich is currently living her theatre life both locally and on Broadway. Her costume designs can currently be seen in Roundabout Theatre Company’s current production of Yellow Face and starting October 25th her work will be onstage at Kennedy Center in the Opera House with Washington National Opera’s (WNO) production of Fidelio. The show runs through November 4th.

Today’s subject actress Joanna Glushak is currently living her theatre life on tour in the rip-roaring good time board game gone theatrical version of Clue. She plays the wealthy socialite Mrs. Peacock. The show plays through October 6th in the Opera House at Kennedy Center.

The Four Seasons had a hit song many years ago with a lyric that went “Oh! What a Night!” That is how I can best describe watching singer/songwriter/actress Sara Bareilles with YOUR National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), under the always stellar direction of Maestro Steven Reineke in Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall.

Every once in a while, you see the billing for a concert and think to yourself “That’s an interesting combination”. This was my exact thought at Wolf Trap with Broadway superstars Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming on the same bill. Don’t get me wrong, their talent is not to be questioned. It’s more the fact that Kristin Chenoweth has a very squeaky clean Christian raised wholesome personality while Alan Cumming is more no filter. Based on that, the evening felt like two different concerts with me and my wife enjoying one half of the program more than the other.

The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) began their classical season this past Saturday evening in a very satisfying manner. The program was entitled Echoes of America and was conducted by the Artistic Director of The Washington Chorus Eugene Rogers.

Cirque Du Soleil is one of those attractions that is not easily explained because it has elements from many entertainment genres. Their shows have a very theatrical quality to them while melding circus elements in as well. At their core is fine storytelling, really good production values and dazzling circus skills. Another plus is that their shows always boast an international cast and crew. You will notice where each performer and artist come from in parenthesis throughout this review.

This past Monday the theatre world lost someone who was arguably one of the finest performers of all time. Most people knew James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies or from the film Field of Dreams but for those of us who live and breathe theatre, we will always remember his performances onstage.

When summer ends many people get depressed. Let’s face it, you can’t go to the beach or your private summer home for another year. However, you can look on the bright side of things knowing that the end of summer brings a new season of audible brilliance from the mighty National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). This past Saturday evening, the NSO Pops season opened with a bang as Tony Award winning performer Heather Headley made her Kennedy Center Concert Hall debut. The evening featured lots of show tunes, a choir, a TV vocal competition winner, and most importantly, YOUR NSO under the baton of Maestro Steven Reineke.