All stories by Brian Bochicchio on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Theatre Review: 'Reefer Madness' at NextStop Theatre Company by Brian Bochicchio

I am constantly amazed by the array of topics that have fueled musicals. The bygone pattern of Boy meets Girl, Boy loses Girl has certainly been put out to pasture. Creators are always looki…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 15, 2024

Concert/Dance Review: 'Dancing With the Celts' (Featuring the Culkin School of Irish Dance) at Wolf Trap by Brian Bochicchio

Ah, even though it's a wee bit early to celebrate St. Paddy's day, there's never a bad time to lift a pint, be enthralled at the eerie, yet intriguing, uilleann pipe, marvel at the disciplin…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:19PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 25, 2024

Theatre Review: 'Jersey Boys' at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts by Brian Bochicchio

Channeling a band's life onstage can be a tricky endeavor. The musical "biopic" is a tempting stage device, with its ready-made score and built-in name recognition. But it also has the dange…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:52PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Theatre Review: 'The Chosen' at 1st Stage by Brian Bochicchio

Theatre at its most riveting is the occasion in which the audience is engaged, challenged, and then ultimately committed and, in some way, moved by the experience. This first rate, theatrica…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:05AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Theatre Review: 'Big Fish' at City of Fairfax Theatre Company by Brian Bochicchio

Suppose that, as you read this on your screen, you are drawn in by its entertaining anecdotes and amusing viewpoints? But while enjoying it all, you slowly start questioning its truthfulness…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:05PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 30, 2023

Theatre Review: 'Singin' In The Rain' at The Arlington Players by Brian Bochicchio

You would have to be severely media-challenged or a native of another planet to have not heard of the movie that is generally considered the best movie musical ever and consistently ranks in…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:09AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Theatre Review: 'Sister Act' at Little Theatre of Alexandria by Brian Bochicchio

Something about the gentle poking at convention"even the spiritual type"provides a guilty feel-good to theatregoers. Filling the seats again and inducing groans and laughter, Little Theatre …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:47PM[SHARE]
Monday, November 7, 2022

Concert Review: 'Broadway's Brightest Lights' presented by the National Philharmonic at The Music Center at Strathmore by Brian Bochicchio

To me, a concert program full of the best of Broadway is like an extensive dessert menu that is ever so satisfying, but somehow never fills you up, making you want for more. If I'm being hon…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:40AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Theatre Review: ExPats Theatre's 'Einstein's Wife' at Atlas Performing Arts Center by Brian Bochicchio

History is a funny thing. How willing are we to stop, reassess and recalibrate what we think of the past "our icons, our shining lights of greatness? There has been a lot of icon-busting the…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:43PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Theatre Review: 'Something Rotten!' at Little Theatre of Alexandria by Brian Bochicchio

LTA is back in a hilariously "Rotten!" way. Filling the seats again and filling our hearts with the laughter we so need, Little Theatre of Alexandria's summer feature show is a throwback"the…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:27PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Theatre Review: 'Lucky Stiff' at NextStop Theatre Company by Brian Bochicchio

The simple reality of a farce, especially a musical, is that one can relax, put the thinking part of the cerebral cortex on temporary hold, and just let the action unfold. The beauty of that…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:15PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Concert Review: Leslie Odom Jr. at the Hylton Performing Arts Center's Gala by Brian Bochicchio

  How is this for a recipe for successful musical performance: Take one part venue"the intimate and comfortable Hylton Performing Arts Center's Merchant Hall; Add another part talented mu…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:38AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 20, 2022

Theatre Review: 'Riverdance' 25th Anniversary Show at the Kennedy Center by Brian Bochicchio

Yes, they are stomping by again. A year after the dreaded cicadas, a decidedly more pleasant syncopated sound filled our ears and engulfs our senses. I will attempt to use the word phenomeno…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:48PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Concert Review: 'The Christmas Revels: An American Celebration of the Winter Solstice' presented by The Washington Revels by Brian Bochicchio

The Revels are Coming! The Revels are Coming (Back!) The much-revered Revelers are here again, thankfully in person this year, after that nasty bug that will remain nameless kept their winso…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:05PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Theatre Review: 'And Then There Were None' at Kensington Arts Theatre by Brian Bochicchio

After a hiatus in which much of live theatre was on hold in DMV area, we have a heart-stopper of a show. Kensington Arts Theatre presents the classic of classics, Agatha Christie's "And Then…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:11AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Theatre Review: 'Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson' at Dominion Stage by Brian Bochicchio

"Remember, bloody is only a metaphor!" we are shouted at several times in the imaginative, entertaining, at times shocking "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" at Dominion Stage. A semi- historica…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:05PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Theatre Review: 'A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder' at Little Theatre of Alexandria by Brian Bochicchio

Murder most foul has been a steady, reliable storyline for recorded history"from Greek tragedies to horror novels and on to HBO and Netflix moneymakers. The fascination with the purposeful d…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:13PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Theatre Review: 'Beehive' at Nextstop Theater by Brian Bochicchio

I get it, a show (ok, a musical revue) identified with a horrific hairstyle won't challenge us with dramatic plot twists or Sondheim-esque mystique. But after a summer which literally seemed…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:17AM[SHARE]
Monday, July 15, 2019

Theatre Review: 'Seussical the Musical' at McLean Community Players by Brian Bochicchio

Of course, it had to be called Seussical, match-rhyming with musical. Imbued with Dr. Seuss' gift for cadenced, rhythmic prose, it is also whimsical. Thus, "Seussical the Musical" bursts ons…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:33PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Theatre Review: 'A Fox on the Fairway' at Little Theatre of Alexandria by Brian Bochicchio

Sometimes you just need a silly song, a silly dance, a little seltzer down your pants. With a nod to chuckles the clown, we Washingtonians do need a respite from the amped-up rhetoric and po…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:17AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Theatre Review: 'The Savannah Disputation' at Little Theatre of Alexandria by Brian Bochicchio

It's one of those situations we all have likely experienced: a fresh-faced young person unexpectedly knocks on your door and asks about your faith, challenging whatever concept of spirituali…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:15PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Theatre Review: 'You Can't Take It With You' at Little Theatre of Alexandria by Brian Bochicchio

Reaching deep into the proverbial treasure chest of American classics, Little Theatre of Alexandria has pulled out and dusted off Kaufman and Hart's beloved "You Can't Take It With You." Arg…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:28PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 4, 2019

Concert Review: 'Brian Ganz Plays Chopin, Reflections of Home' at Strathmore by Brian Bochicchio

It’s not just an orchestra setting anymore. The Music Center at Strathmore is nationally known, yet seems underappreciated in the DMV area. The present home of the National Philharmoni…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:36PM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 27, 2019

Theatre Review: '12 Angry Men' at Ford's Theatre by Brian Bochicchio

The verdict is in: “Twelve Angry Men:” that iconic courtroom drama, still remains compelling storytelling. Ford Theatre's production, gleaned from local talent and staged in the …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:10AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Theatre Review: 'Peter Pan and Wendy' at Creative Cauldron by Brian Bochicchio

Mixing in parts of remembrances past, timely themes, nascent hopes of magic and kitschy lighting, this amalgam of elements are put together in the Creative Cauldron in Falls Church to have a…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:50PM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 16, 2018

Theatre Review: 'Turn Me Loose' at Arena Stage by Brian Bochicchio

It's not often that a performer has a biopic written for him while he can still go view it. The pioneering comic and civil activist Dick Gregory had the chance to do just that last year in N…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:51PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Theatre Review: 'The Pirates of Penzance' at Olney Theatre Center by Brian Bochicchio

I walked onto a pirate ship last Sunday and a Jimmy Buffet beach party broke out… “The Pirates of Penzance” have set shore in the unlikely enclave of the Olney Theatre Center. …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:33PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Theatre Review: 'The Nance' at Little Theatre of Alexandria by Brian Bochicchio

What was in the water in the 1930s America??? Extra gin from the speakeasys? Awash in booze and a returning economy, excited by technological breakthroughs, artistic triumphs, and an era of,…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:43PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 18, 2018

Theatre Review: 'Chicago' at Keegan Theatre by Brian Bochicchio

When “Chicago” comes to town, you just want to sit down, strap in, and prepare yourself for an experience. One of the most successful musicals in theatre history, it chalked up s…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:57AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Theatre Review: 'Tweet Land of Liberty' at Hexagon by Brian Bochicchio

Springtime in Washington, DC means a lot of things. Of course, there is the annual Cherry Blossoms, Embassy Tours and Fun Runs. Challenging them all is Hexagon. The six-sided show, in its 63…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:13PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Theatre Review: 'Hobson's Choice' at Quotidian Theatre Company by Brian Bochicchio

Some works of theatre are given the dreaded label 'period piece'"destined to stay locked in the time they were created. But others age quite nicely"as a well-shaped, tanned piece of leather,…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:12PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off