Teresa Castracane News

The semantics and silence that delineate love and disclosure are operating at full throttle in the probing personal story of playwright and performer Adil Mansoor in the theatrical experience that is entitled Amm(i)gone. As the uber-talented Mansoor invites his very traditional Pakistani mother to translate Sophocles’ Antigone into Urdu, one soon realizes that this is just the starting point of a very interactive theatrical exploration that soon unspools into a multi -layered explication of the issues of culture, faith, family, history and, most especially, the special bond between a mother and a son.

Today’s subject Judy Kuhn is known to musical theatre aficionados from her performances in Rags, Chess, Fun Home and more on Broadway. Currently this off the charts performer is living her theatre life at Arena Stage in Unknown Soldier in the role of Lucy Anderson. The production runs through May 5th in the Kreeger.

'Unknown Soldier' is a beautifully performed show with a fascinating exploration of memory, love, and loss, but its main flaw is that it is a show seeking out answers to a mystery it not only fails to resolve, but further convolutes at every turn. While there’s truth in that, it’s also a little dissatisfying, as life itself often is.

See first look photos of Kerstin Anderson, Perry Sherman, Adam Chanler-Berat, Lora Lee Gayer, Nehal Joshi, and Judy Kuhn in the musical Unknown Soldier, having its D.C. premiere in Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater, through May 5, 2024.

What did our critic think of THE NANCE at 1st Stage?

What did our critic think of MIGRAAAAANTS OR: THERE'S TOO MANY PEOPLE ON THIS DAMN BOAT! at ExPats Theatre?

Olney Theatre Center's AVAAZ charts one woman's journey from Tehran to 'Tehran-geles,' singing a bombastic song of freedom all the way.

The Lehman Trilogy, directed by Arin Arbus at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, is an extraordinary feat of storytelling. It is simultaneously epic and spare. With just three actors it unfolds the captivating and intimate story of one immigrant family that evolves its company, navigates pious lives, innovates new ways of doing business, and ultimately unravels over time into instability and a crushing financial crisis.

TEMPESTUOUS ELEMENTS, Arena Stage's latest Power Play premiere, champions the under-appreciated, local historical figure Anna J. Cooper: mother of Black feminism, brilliant educator, and embattled teacher/principal at DC's M Street High School.

What did our critic think of SHUTTER SISTERS at 1st STAGE?

Today’s subject Stephen Oremus has been living his theatre life for many years now as a music director/pianist/orchestrator/arranger/musical supervisor. His career is something many of us dream of having but very few of us actually achieve. His current project brings him full circle. Stephen is the Musical Supervisor/Arranger/Orchestrator for Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage production of tick, tick..BOOM! which is running through February 4th in the Eisenhower Theater. Stephen was the show’s original Orchestrator/Arranger/Musical Director in 2001. His work can be heard on the original cast recording.

Tick, tick …BOOM! is a raw and moving semi-autobiographical musical by Rent's Jonathan Larson. The Kennedy Center revisits the work with a spiffy new Broadway Center Stage production directed by Neil Patrick Harris and brings together three of Broadway’s most exciting and award-winning talents: Brandon Uranowitz Denée Benton and Grey Henson.

All new production photos have been released for the production of Jonathan Larson's tick, tick... BOOM! at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Check out the photos here!

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of 'As You Like It' is fun and playful, and it often feels that the cast, creative team, and audience are having an absolute blast together. With a strong team both on and off the stage, there’s an ease and joy that permeates every aspect of the production that’s undeniable.

What did our critic think of A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS at Olney Theatre?

This production of Fiddler - a fresh take on a beloved musical - is thought provoking, and perfectly pitched. Guaranteed to delight viewers of all ages!

What did our critic think of PUBLIC OBSCENITIES at Woolly Mammoth?

Today’s subjects Danielle A. Drakes and Kelsey Mesa are currently living their theatre lives as the director and playwright respectively of Taffety Punk Theatre Company’s World Premiere production of La Salpêtrière. The show runs through October fourteenth at the company’s artistic home Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW).

It’s only the third time the Maryland regional powerhouses have collaborated, and people still recall their only other two such efforts, “Angels in America” in 2016 and “In the Heights in 2017. “Fela!” will be equally well-remembered alongside them. 

Fun Home made history by opening the door for a more queer future for musical theatre—and Studio Theatre’s production presents every character’s humanity and each meticulously crafted beat with intensity and grace.