Washington, DC Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 32

BWW Review: MY JOY IS HEAVY! by The Bengsons from Arena Stage
by Roger Catlin - March 19, 2021

As we enter the second year of pandemic, theater companies have largely shifted from live performance spaces to film and video producers. When new work is offered, it streams online, often created by the artists themselves....

BWW Review: THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE streaming from Washington Stage Guild
by Roger Catlin - March 18, 2021

A strong cast and steady pace make this rare performance of Shaw's first hit work a worthwhile free tune-in....

BWW Review: DANIEL J WATTS' THE JAM: ONLY CHILD at Signature Theatre
by Russell Smouse - March 17, 2021

Signature Theatre’s second production in their Signature Features 2021 season, Daniel J Watts THE JAM: ONLY CHILD is written and performed by 2020 Tony Award Nominee Daniel J Watts and is the fifth installment of Watts’ The Jam series. The series namesake comes from his great grandmother’s method of...

BWW Review: VIRTUAL MOCK TRIAL - A WINTER'S TALE OF MARITAL WOE: WHO'S TO BLAME? at Shakespeare Theatre Company
by Rachael F. Goldberg - March 14, 2021

Shakespeare Theatre Company manages to hit all these marks in a way that’s thoughtful, engaging, and a fun experience for both the participants and the viewers....

BWW Review: Cenicienta: A Bilingual Cinderella Story at the Kennedy Center
by Hannah Wing - March 14, 2021

Belinda lets her imagination take her away from her chores and into Cenicienta’s world. With its playful puppetry and poetic spark, Cenicienta is a perfect play for young children. ...

BWW Review: HERE'S THE DEAL at Signature Theatre
by Elizabeth Seablom - March 03, 2021

An exploration into the parallels between the Great Depression and the COVID 19 pandemic...

BWW Review: Synetic Theatre's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Omits Much, Adds Very Little
by Lora Strum - February 24, 2021

This reimagined 'The Phantom of the Opera' has its roots in the novel of the same name; a work immortalized in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway adaptation. Those roots, however, never grow into anything in Synetic’s take....

BWW Review: TORN at AmaZing Theatre Company
by Rachael F. Goldberg - February 16, 2021

'Torn' is a well-researched, cleverly produced production with an interesting story at its heart. The show may not live up to the theatre company’s name, but it’s an enjoyable enough production with a worthwhile tale to tell....

BWW Review: SPY ACADEMY & THE LOST TREASURE OF ATLANTIS at Imagination Stage
by Russell Smouse - February 16, 2021

Imagination Stage is an institution of the DC/MD theatre community and has been bringing theatre to children and audiences alike for over 40 years. With their new production of ‘Spy Academy & The Lost Treasure of Atlantis’ Imagination stage brings interactive theatre directly into the household. Chi...

BWW Review: Synetic Streaming Version of THE ADVENTURES OF PETER PAN an Enduring Classic
by Andrew White - February 11, 2021

Soon – and very soon, we hope – we will all be able to gather together at Synetic’s subterranean theatre in Crystal City and thrill to their latest exploits. But for as long as we may have to wait, Synetic’s streaming service is a gift, and a great way to introduce newcomers to their unique, invalu...

BWW Review: Patrick Page Explores Shakespeare's Best Villains, Gives Audiences An Acting Masterclass
by Lora Strum - February 04, 2021

In 2021, evil lurks in crowded grocery stores, on unmasked faces or on Facebook. So, what would today's audience want with a tale about villany? 'All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain' has the answer. ...

BWW Review: HI, ARE YOU SINGLE? at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
by Hannah Land - February 01, 2021

Ryan Haddad’s one man show Hi, Are You Single?, currently available to stream from Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company, is perfect pandemic viewing....

BWW Review: THE CATASTROPHIST at Round House Theatre and Marin Theatre Company
by Hannah Wing - January 28, 2021

The Catastrophist, co-produced by Round House Theatre and Marin Theatre Company, and directed by Jasson Minadakis, is a surreal and emotional glimpse into Dr. Wolfe’s passion of preventing catastrophe before it happens....

BWW Review: “I Hate it Here” Nails the Nuance of “these unprecedented times”
by Lora Strum - January 21, 2021

“I hate it here” is so 2020 that it is the perfect title for Studio Theatre’s second audio play; a work so zeitgeist-y it is exposure therapy for “these unprecedented times.”...

BWW Review: A Virtual MOTHERS AND SONS from MetroStage
by Roger Catlin - January 14, 2021

Reliving the effects of one deadly plague era during another one, which contributed to the death of its celebrated playwright Terrence McNally last year....

BWW Review: ETTA & ELLA ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE at Round House Theatre
by Rachael F. Goldberg - January 12, 2021

The production commits the cardinal sin in storytelling, telling instead of showing. This stripped, dispassionate presentation is particularly frustrating because there are moments in which the story peeks through the delivery, and we get a glimmer of something fascinating, but the story is too many...

BWW Review: AN IRISH CAROL On Demand from Keegan Theatre
by Roger Catlin - December 29, 2020

The original cast of a local favorite returns to animate a long Christmas Eve in a Dublin pub, in a production marred by its indifferent online presentation....

BWW Review: THE SNOW QUEEN at Imagination Stage
by Barbara Trainin Blank - December 21, 2020

Like many of the fairy tales by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, his popular novel The Snow Queen has a dark undertone — representing the struggle between good and evil that two friends Gerda and Kai experience. In the adaptation by Mike Kenny, written for Imagination Stage and directed by ...

BWW Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL - THE RADIO PLAY at Ford's Theatre
by Roger Catlin - December 20, 2020

Craig Wallace returns for his fifth season as Ebenezer Scrooge in a production that's a tour de force in sound design....

BWW Review: Olney Theatre Center's A CHRISTMAS CAROL a Joyful Celebration
by Andrew White - December 18, 2020

Morella’s work as the adaptor/director/performer in this piece practically needs no introduction, and his comfort with the material enables him to switch characters and voices with ease. And Olney Theatre Center has teamed up with Chiet Productions, whose camera work enables us to experience Morell...

BWW Review: THIS IS WHO I AM at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
by Rachael F. Goldberg - December 17, 2020

This Is Who I Am is a compelling emotional tale, defying our expected limits of technology to bring us a deep, profound human connection over a video call. With clever, layered uses of language and deeply poignant discussions, Amir Nizar Zuabi’s play shows us that human connection isn’t just possibl...

BWW Review: THE RESURRECTION OF ALICE at The Essential Theatre
by Rachael F. Goldberg - December 16, 2020

The Resurrection of Alice is a well-researched, superbly acted play. There are some flaws, but the production is well worth seeing for its heart, empathy, and even humor. It will hopefully both entertain audiences and encourage them to become advocates for children like Alice....

BWW Review: THE OHIO STATE MURDERS at Round House Theater
by Roger Catlin - December 07, 2020

The third online production in the series, and the second from Kennedy’s Alexander Plays, is a penetrating, seemingly straightforward tale of mid-20th century discrimination in academia, blended with unspeakable crime....

BWW Review: Studio Theatre's KINGS A Thrilling Earful of Political Intrigue
by Andrew White - November 28, 2020

With their first audio effort, Kings, Studio demonstrates the versatility of Studio’s roster of actors and sound designers.  Director Marti Lyons, already a Helen Hayes award winner, establishes her chops in a purely audio medium, and demonstrates the theatre community’s ability to turn on a dime an...

BWW Review: DON JUAN IN HELL at Washington Stage Guild
by Barbara Trainin Blank - November 26, 2020

Wit, wisdom, and sometimes overpowering verbosity fill George Bernard Shaws’ Don Juan In Hell, the dream sequence contained within the third act of the Irish playwright’s Man and Superman and sometime performed independently....