Elliot Lanes - Page 15

Throughout theatrical history there have been many cases where the acting and physical elements of a show have hidden the woes of a bland script. Playwright Laura Schellhardt needs to thank Northwestern University's Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts profusely for taking Ever in The Glades and giving it a killer world premiere production to hide her script's inequities.

Nowadays, when you go a musical on Broadway or elsewhere, chances are the orchestra isn't in full view. Gone are the days when you were able to look in the orchestra pit and see the musicians. For all you know, they could be playing in a totally different room.

Today's subject Eleanor Todd is currently living her theater life as the understudy for all of the female roles in Shakespeare Theatre Company's (STC) production of Camelot. It runs through July 8th at STC's Sydney Harman Hall space.

The topics of the distinguished Broadway writing team of John Kander and Fred Ebb's musicals have never been light and frothy. Their first musical Flora the Red Menace deals with the red scare. Cabaret uses Nazi Germany as a backdrop. The Rink deals with family dysfunction in a dilapidated roller rink and, of course, there's Chicago with the shadiness of 1920s Chicago murderesses and the media that fueled them.

Last week, I introduced you to ten performers in Signature Theatre's current production of Kander and Ebb's final, complete collaboration, The Scottsboro Boys, which runs through July 1st. This included eight of the nine gentlemen who play the African American men who were falsely accused of raping two Caucasian women, as well as two others who play the minstrel characters known as Mr. Bones and Mr. Tambo.

I always say the best kind of theater educates as well as entertains. If you walk out of the theater a little uncomfortable about what you just saw then a piece like The Scottsboro Boys has done its job in full. The final complete collaboration of Broadway's legendary writing team of John Kander and Fred Ebb tells the story of nine young African American men falsely accused of raping two young Caucasian women in the 1930s. Signature Theatre is currently presenting this groundbreaking musical now through July 1st.

The older I get, the more ornery and unforgiving I become. When the American Pops Orchestra (APO), under the direction of Luke S. Frazier, played the opening bars of their Let's Misbehave: Cole Porter after Dark concert in the Fichandler at Arena Stage this past Saturday evening I was concerned.

Today's subjects Bob Banghart and Georgia Stitt are currently living their theatre lives as the composers (Banghert and Stitt) and lyricist (Stitt) of what I consider to be one of the best new musicals I've seen in a good long while. I am referring to the Alaska-based world premiere musical Snow Child, now running through May 20th at Arena Stage.

Today's subject Euan Morton has been seen in the DC area in a variety of plays and musicals. You might remember him portrayal of Anatoly in Chess at Signature Theatre or his Helen Hayes Award winning performance as Leo Frank in Parade at Ford's Theatre or Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Today's subject Judy Kuhn has been living her theatre life as a working actress/singer/recording artist for over thirty years. On May 5th you will be able to see this incredible Tony-nominated talent live in concert at Dumbarton Church in Georgetown as part of the Dumbarton Concerts series. The program is entitled Judy Kuhn: A Broadway Cabaret.

Adventure Theatre's visionary Artistic Director Michael J. Bobbitt has, for many years, pushed the boundaries of Theater for Young Audiences (TYA).  For example, out of its location at Glen Echo Park, Adventure Theatre has created original productions of the popular comic strip Garfield, Big the Musical and a two character The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Those are only a few examples of the company's vast repertoire.

As many of you know, Arena Stage's Artistic Director Molly Smith has been very active on a number of national social issues, including LGBT rights and gun control in addition to her exemplary artistic work. In this way, perhaps it's only natural that the headliner at this year's Arena Stage Gala on May 10th is not only a great singer/songwriter, but also an accomplished speaker and humanitarian.

Today's subjects Carla Crawford, Diego Maramba, and Matt Calvert are currently living their theatre lives as cast members in The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts' production of If/Then. The production runs through April 28.

Most of us in this area know Michael Kahn as the Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC). It's a post he will have held for over thirty years when he retires at the end of the company's 2018/19 season.

The tale of Robin Hood has provided source material for several famous screen adaptations over the years, including the classic Hollywood film with Errol Flynn and the Disney animated feature that portrayed all the characters as animals. With the exception of Young Robin Hood at Round House Theatre a few years back, there really hasn't been a good stage treatment for the guy who steals from the rich to give to the poor...until now.

I like, many musical theatre nerds get excited every time a world premiere musical comes to town. Arena Stage is providing that fix right now with an Alaskan-rooted premiere of Snow Child. Today's subjects Christiane Noll and Matt Bogart are currently living their theatre lives as the leads in this production, which runs through May 20, 2018.

One of the great things about DC theatre is that we have the opportunities to experience theater from all over the world, including from some of the most artistically renowned companies.  Take for example the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland.  Today's subject Garry Hynes is living her theatre life as Artistic Director of that esteemed company.  The Druid's production of Waiting for Godot is embarking on its year-long tour with a run at Shakespeare Theatre Company through May 20.

One thing can be said about award-nominated playwright Annie Baker. She captures the human condition in the most realistic of ways. This is no more apparent than in Signature Theatre's production of Baker's latest work, John. Director Joe Calarco delivers his finest staging to date. He's assembled a superb cast that includes the grand dame of DC theater, Nancy Robinette.

I have seen and worked on plenty of solo shows in my more than twenty years in the business and sometimes I see one that just leaves me asking, 'How did this performer get to do this show?' Unfortunately Deb Filler is in that situation right now at MetroStage with her concoction called I Did it My Way In Yiddish (In English).

The company that makes great theater for everyone is at it again. Taffety Punk Theatre Company's mission is, and always will be, to put out a good product while making it affordable for everyone. Tickets are $15 and there are also “pay what you can” performances. The current production, well worth the ticket price and then some, is a knockout version of Moliere's tale of the great lover Don Juan. It stars the superb DC actress Tonya Beckman in what, so far, is the role of her career.