Elliot Lanes - Page 13

Some pieces of theater require your undivided attention because of some deep underlying message that the playwright doesn't want you to miss. This is not the case for MetroStage's return holiday engagement of Catherine Flye's Christmas at The Old Bull & Bush and that's totally ok. This British Variety Music Hall Entertainment is full of music, good performances, and some really corny jokes. In other words, it is everything you would expect from a show set in 1918 in Hampstead, London.

There are some plays in the history of Broadway that you just scratch your head as to why they didn't have a longer run. Paula Vogel's Indecent is definitely one of those plays. It opened to rave reviews on Broadway, won the Tony Award for best direction and only ran 128 performances. The award win gave the show a considerable box office bump, but not enough to convince the show's producers to make a run of it in the summer heat. Thankfully, PBS preserved the Broadway production for posterity and the play is now getting a much deserved second life in regional theaters across the country.

We all know how stressful the holidays can be, especially finding the perfect gift for friends and family. But what about the perfect accoutrement, - that's a fancy word now isn't it - for the top of your Christmas tree? Yes, the tree topper can make or break any holiday celebration and you won't find a better illustration of this fact than Adventure Theatre's super splendid (that's a fancy word for really excellent) production of Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas. The show boasts a score by Randy Klein (music), Matthew Hardy (lyrics) and Cara Lustik and Matthew Hardy (book).

Any one of us that has ever seen an animated feature or short produced by the Walt Disney Animation Studios knows that the music is always a big component in making the film a success. Let's face it, aren't you all still singing 'Let it Go' from Frozen even though the film is now five years old? Songs like that one and classics like 'Heigh Ho' and 'A Whole New World' are etched in our collective memories for a lifetime.

For something completely different this holiday season, you might want to consider Signature Theatre's latest offering. Billy Elliot the Musical is not your standard holiday fare by any means. Sure, there are big production numbers, but the story features important underlying themes of labor tensions, economic inequality, and acceptance. In other words, this show follows my philosophy that theater is meant to educate as well as entertain. The production also features some pretty incredible ballet and tap choreography with a cast that performs it beautifully.

The story of Cinderella has been presented in many forms throughout the history of entertainment.  Each has enchanted audiences of all ages. There was the classic Disney cartoon, the Rodgers and Hammerstein television adaptation that has since become a stage musical, a few television remakes, and the famed London pantomimes. No matter which version of the story you've seen, there is something about a common girl's quest for true love that gets us every time.

Today's subject, Nancy Anderson, has been living her theater life on Broadway and in regional theaters for many years now. You can currently see her as the tight-fisted, but caring dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot at Signature Theatre. The production plays through January 6, 2019 in the MAX space. Directed and choreographed by Signature Theatre's Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner, it very well may be the largest production the company has presented to date.

One of the best things about being a columnist is you can introduce some fresh new talent to the public. Take, for example, today's subject Candice Shedd-Thompson who is currently living her theatre life onstage at MetroStage in its tenth anniversary production of the pop-rock musical Rooms a Rock Romance. The production runs through November 11th.

With the holiday season fast approaching Arena Stage is readying their annual Gold Standard Musical. This year it's the classic ship shape Cole Porter musical from 1934, Anything Goes. The production begins performances on November 2nd and plays through December 23rd in the Fichandler space.

My theatre life subject for today is one I've wanted to interview for a long while now. Tiler Peck is one of those performers that automatically brings any stage to life from her first entrance and keeps you captivated until her final bow.

Over the past few years DC's Constellation Theatre Company (CTC) has branched out from its mostly classical offerings by presenting a few musicals. They include the blockbusters Avenue Q and Urinetown and one lesser known entity – the Andrew Lippa version of The Wild Party. In all three cases, the shows fit perfectly into CTC's home at Source.

Here is the scenario. Imagine going to a community theatre in Arlington, VA to see a show that requires a good size choir and a fourteen-piece orchestra. I imagine some of you might think that the company was crazy. I'm here to tell you that, in the case of The Arlington Players' 68th season opener The Hunchback of Notre Dame, you would be totally wrong. Never assume anything until you witness it. The production indeed features a twenty-member choir and it utilizes Michael Starobin's full orchestration but besides that, the production overall is as good as I've seen from some professional theatre companies. Yes, you read that right folks.

As fall finally starts to arrive here in DC, the Kennedy Center's dance season kicks into high gear bringing you dance companies from all over the country and the world.

Today's subject Rachel Zampelli has been living quite the theater life over the years. You most likely have seen her around town in productions that range from classics and modern plays to musicals. She can currently be seen at Signature Theatre in the two-character play Heisenberg playing opposite Michael Russotto. The production runs through November 11th in Signature's Ark space.

The word legend is tossed around a lot when talking about pop singers. Many times the term is not warranted, but in the case of pop diva superstar Diana Ross the word legend is an understatement.

Today's subject Maboud Ebrahimzadeh is one of the area's most versatile actors. Currently, you can see him in action in the very unique Small Mouth Sounds at Round House Theatre through September 23rd. The word unique, in this case, is meant as a compliment, but you'll have to see the show for yourself to understand why.

Few and far between are the times that we reviewers have a perfect night in the theater. Generally, we can find something to complain about in any given production. It could be we love the performances, but not the script or vice versa.

For many high school students, just the dream of seeing a Broadway show is something pretty awesome. Now I want you to imagine you not only being able to see the national tour of the smash hit juggernaut musical known as Hamilton onstage in the Opera House at Kennedy Center but being able to perform on that very stage on the set where it happens.

The late great comic genius/activist Dick Gregory was a trailblazer for so many reasons. He told it like it was and didn't care what you thought.

Sometimes a show comes along on Broadway that leaves you saying, 'Hmm I wonder what it would be like without the large scale production?' The 2014 Jason Robert Brown/Marsha Norman musical The Bridges of Madison County is one of those shows. It had a large production concept that I felt swallowed the small story it was trying to tell. Mind you Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale gave incredible performances as the two leads and Jason Robert Brown rightfully deserved his two Tony Awards for Best Score and Orchestrations after the show had already closed.