Elliot Lanes - Page 14

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.

Today's subject Ann Hould-Ward is both a Tony and Drama Desk Award winning costume designer. Her work isn't limited just to the theatre by any means. Besides contributing designs for such legendary Broadway productions as Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George (co-design with her mentor Broadway legend Patricia Zipprodt), her work has also been seen with many dance and opera companies all over the world.

Today's subject, John Leslie Wolfe, has been living his theater life to the fullest for many years now. His credits include Broadway, national tours, television, and film. Local theatergoers might remember him from his performances at Signature Theatre in Titanic, The Threepenny Opera, and West Side Story or in 1776 or Ragtime at Ford's Theatre. Currently, John is back at Signature Theatre in rehearsal for the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical Passion directed by Signature Theatre's Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner. Performances begin on August 14th in Signature's MAX Theatre space. The production runs through September 23rd.

I think it's safe to say that guns in America might be one of the most divisive and important topics today. Nowadays school shootings are on the news more frequently than ever and there is usually a story every week about some kind of incident involving a gun.

You might say that Arena Stage's Artistic Director Molly Smith is responsible for some of the most socially and politically conscious theatre produced in the DC area. Her Power Plays initiative is just one example of how she presents work that entertains, educates and promotes discussion after viewing.

Finally, here is a play where the most important person in a theatrical production is front and center. I am speaking of course of the stage manager (SM); you know, the one that keeps everything running smoothly from the first day of rehearsal through performance.  Playwright Scott C. Sickles' hilarious play Perfecting the Kiss is a cross between a theatrical farce (think Noises Off) and a mockumentary film (think This is Spinal Tap.)

Producing a show in a festival setting can be a harrowing experience. There are many things that can get in your way. Things like a small playing space, bad acoustics and everyone's favorite, a fifteen-minute set up and strike time.

Facing a medical crisis is never fun, particularly one that could potentially kill you. Veteran actor Vincent Clark (who might be best known for his work at Washington Stage Guild with over 30 productions so far) has taken his real life medical emergency horror story and turned it into an amusing and sometimes horrifying basically one man show, An Unhealthy Man Lectures You on Medical Issues.