Barbara Johnson - Page 2

The DC premiere of Theresa Rebeck's satire THE WAY OF THE WORLD is adapted from a Restoration-era classic by William Congreve, but it couldn't be more contemporary and on trend. With biting wit and visual flair, it delivers timeless social commentary for the Kardashian (and Trumpian) age. Can true love exist in a world so cynical and jaded?

For the cynics among us who need to look beyond THE NUTCRACKER and A CHRISTMAS CAROL for holiday entertainment, THE SANTALAND DIARIES at Drafthouse Comedy Theater offers a quirky alternative. Cameron Folmar plays a disaffected department store Christmas elf in this consistently funny solo show adapted from a cult-classic monologue by humorist David Sedaris.

In many ways, the holiday season is about schmaltz and sentimentality, when it's okay to let yourself appreciate old-fashioned pleasures and crank up favorite songs. The In Series' AN OPERETTA HOLIDAY unabashedly embraces this spirit, serving up a frothy cabaret of romantic songs from THE MERRY WIDOW, DIE FLEDERMAUS, and other classics.

Mashuq Mushtaq Deen's DRAW THE CIRCLE marks Mosaic Theater Company's first time featuring a transgender artist telling their own personal story, which alone makes the work noteworthy. But Deen's extreme vulnerability and creativity coalesce to make it a vitally important piece of theater.

It's what's on the inside that counts. THE UGLY ONE by German playwright Marius von Mayenburg skewers that idea, and Nu Sass brings us an energetic take on the satirical play. Renata Fox directs actors who embrace their roles with effervescence, three out of four of them playing multiple characters, while colorful lighting by E-Hui Woo enhances the absurdist atmosphere.

When actor and writer Dan Hoyle left San Francisco on a three-month trip through small-town Middle America several years ago, he couldn't have predicted that many of the disillusioned real Americans he encountered on his travels would be part of a nationwide movement to elect Trump in 2016. Hoyle's astounding one-man show, THE REAL AMERICANS (developed with and directed by Charlie Varon), reveals poignant perspectives of these individuals with humor, emotional depth, and authenticity.

Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Creative Cauldron's A LITTLE PRINCESS SARA CREWE is a charming take on the classic. Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith infuse the time-worn story with delightful original songs, which the children of the Learning Theater Ensemble take on with infectious enthusiasm.

Pinky Swear's production of Natalie Ann Piegari's new play SAFE AS HOUSES boasts an excellent cast, a well-designed set, and a gripping concept: what would you do if your husband, who vanished ten years ago, suddenly showed up at your house as if no time had passed at all? But the intriguing idea never gains forward motion. Due to an underdeveloped script, a plot never materializes, and the experience is stagnant and underwhelming.

Upon arriving at Rhizome DC, the homelike site of the Welders' theatrical event HELLO, MY NAME IS..., I was handed a name tag before being ushered into a living room. Many members of the fifteen-person audience had already arrived. From that point, it was a fully immersive experience as we witnessed the distinct but interwoven stories of three Korean adoptees in search of their identities.

It's thrilling to discover a work of Shakespeare for the first time, especially as a kid. For me, those introductions came from old episodes of "Wishbone" on PBS, but luckily for today's young audiences in the Washington area, there's a live option: NEARLY LEAR, a tweaked, SparkNotes-length version of the dark original work, performed in a one-woman show by Susanna Hamnett at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater.

As topics go, you couldn't pick a more immediate one than race in America. And as cities go, Washington is an apt location for a production of Lydia R. Diamond's SMART PEOPLE. It's set during the Obama era and takes on the topic of race with biting comedy. Seema Sueko directs a new run at Arena Stage, featuring a four-person cast that is combustible and exciting to watch.

If you've ever dreamed of seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda collaborate with Daft Punk, Pointless Theatre's .d0t:: A ROTOPLASTIC BALLET may be the closest you'll get. Heavily inspired by Italian futurist artist Fortunato Depero, the show incorporates masterful puppetry, visuals like a pop-up book brought to life, and clever hip-hop musical verses written and delivered by Navid Azeez. It's a lot of ideas wrapped up in one experience, but they cohere beautifully.

In keeping with Brave Spirits Theatre's commitment to producing overlooked works from Shakespeare's contemporaries, the company's staging of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher's A KING AND NO KING marks a DC metro area professional premiere. An excellent cast and a modern approach by director Cassie Ash and the creative team make this production worthwhile.

My expectations for the premiere of MIDWESTERN GOTHIC at Signature Theatre were so high that the musical itself was bound to fall short, no matter what. Billed as a darkly funny thriller, it's got atmosphere in spades and boasts laudable performances from a cast of committed actors. But that isn't enough to keep the whole affair from feeling like an interesting concept still in search of a form.

Anglo-Kuwaiti writer-director Sulayman Al Bassam's new play PETROL STATION is as of-the-moment as it gets. Drawn from politics, literature, and myth, it features Muslim characters and is densely packed with urgent themes: justice for migrant workers, autonomy for women, cyclical violence. Epic set and lighting design (Eric Soyer) conjure a windswept desert in an imagined borderland torn by civil war, a dramatic backdrop that enhances the actors' delivery of poetic lines. 

'May lost souls find salvation' is the tagline of Scena Theatre's production of Conor McPherson's modern Irish play THE NIGHT ALIVE. Any lost souls wandering into this production will find it worth seeing for its superb Irish actors, Barry McEvoy and Brian Mallon, alone. They're also likely to find salvation in a story that elevates the everyday to heavenly heights.

Inspired by (but not literally adapted from) Mary Shelley's 200-year-old novel Frankenstein, Idris Goodwin's FROM THE MOUTHS OF MONSTERS makes a powerful world premiere at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater. A two-actor play starring Shannon Dorsey and Tia Shearer in energetic, flexible roles, it sports a cool, contemporary aesthetic and impeccable sound design (Christopher Baine) - important for a play that's all about a teenager's discovery of the weight of words.

Rooted in the moral conflict between society's thirst for justice and Christianity's tenet of forgiveness, the modern American opera DEAD MAN WALKING is an apt selection for the Washington National Opera this season. With a moving score by Jake Heggie and an honest, straightforward libretto by Terrence McNally, it is based on Sister Helen Prejean's 1993 memoir of her work as a spiritual advisor to death row inmates, including one in particular, Joseph De Rocher. The Kennedy Center production directed by Francesca Zambello marks the 50th international production of DEAD MAN WALKING, and it's a bold and haunting one.

Creative Cauldron's production of BLUES IN THE NIGHT, directed by Matt Conner, spotlights a strong four-person cast that delivers 26 songs by Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, and other early jazz legends. Backed by a live band led by Walter 'Bobby' McCoy and surrounded with a sultry set, these singers enthrall.

Seen most recently in his unforgettable turn as Billy Bigelow in Arena Stage's CAROUSEL, Nicholas Rodriguez graces Signature Theatre with his own cabaret. Those in the DC area who have delighted in Rodriguez's take on traditional musical roles now get the chance to hear him croon, emote, and belt a variety of music spanning the decade of the 1970s.