Theatre Review: ‘Pippin’ at Signature Theatre by Nancy Blum

First produced on Broadway in 1972, directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse (with book by Roger O. Hirson and music by Stephen Schwartz), “Pippin” retains every ounce of it…

Theatre Review: 'Inherit the Wind' at Arena Stage by Nancy Blum

You need a pretty good reason to mount a 75-year-old play about a century-old historical event. The new production of "Inherit the Wind" at Arena Stage makes its case for revival based on th…

Theatre Review: 'The World to Come' at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in partnership with Theater J by Nancy Blum

Dystopian futures have long fueled books, film, and TV, but today they resonate more than ever as political and business leaders ignore history's warnings, show little regard for human digni…

Theater Review: 'Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus' presented by Synetic Theater at Thomas Jefferson Theatre by Nancy Blum

As the director (and co-founder of Synetic Theatre) Paata Tsikurishvili says in his playbill note, creation always demands a price and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a classic example. Famil…

Theatre Review: 'Red Pitch' at Olney Theatre Center by Nancy Blum

Omz, Bilal, and Joey are friends and three young footballers at the center of "Red Pitch" at Olney Theatre Center (OTC). Acceptance by a local professional club, like the Queens Park Raiders…

Theatre Review: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' presented by Synetic Theater at Olney Theatre Center by Nancy Blum

What is Shakespeare without words? While you might think the notion absurd, that poetry is impossible without words, the Synetic Theater company has repeatedly shown audiences that pure move…

Theater Review: 'The Lightning Thief " TYA Version' at Adventure Theatre MTC by Nancy Blum

Theater Review: 'Blues for an Alabama Sky' at Silver Spring Stage by Nancy Blum

"They ask about jobs, not family planning," complains Dr. Sam (charmingly played by Matthew J. Murray) about his patients, "They see the future in the faces of their children." Silver Spring…

Theatre Review: 'The Other Children of the Sun' at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by Nancy Blum

Written and directed by Navajo playwright Rhiana Yazzie (and dramaturg Steven Paul Judd, a Kiowa/Choctaw filmmaker), the world premiere of "The Other Children of the Sun" graces the Famil…

Theater Review: 'Steel Magnolias' at Creative Cauldron by Nancy Blum

A winning production of Robert Harling's "Steel Magnolias" blossoms in Creative Cauldron's new theatrical home in Falls Church, VA. Guests are welcomed to the comfortable black box space via…

Theater Review: 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' by Maryland Ensemble Theatre by Nancy Blum

"Don't you deserve a life?" Pato Dooley (Bill Dennison) asks Maureen Folan (Gené Fouché) in a letter he writes to her from England. In Martin McDonagh's bleak worldview, the answer appears…

Theater Review: 'Hamlet…the rest is silence' at Synetic Theater at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre by Nancy Blum

A pale Ophelia (Maryam Najafzada), dressed in neutral taupe with roses in her now-loosed red hair, picks waterlilies from the fingertips of the ensemble as she wades into the river of their …

Theatre Review: 'ha ha ha ha ha ha ha' at Woolly Mammoth Theatre by Nancy Blum

There's something risky about going to a show billed as improvisational and includes audience participation. The press release states: "Audiences can expect an entirely different show every …

Theater Review: 'Funny Girl' at The Kennedy Center by Nancy Blum

As luck would have it, on the evening of the presidential debate, I was comfortably seated in the Kennedy Center Opera House enjoying the Broadway revival of "Funny Girl" starring Katerina M…

Theatre Review: 'The Winter's Tale' presented by Lumina Studio Theatre at Silver Spring Black Box Theater by Nancy Blum

Directors Meg Lebow and Sophie Cameron have attempted to solve the discordant plot of Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale," which travels from unfathomable tragedy to slapstick comedy to an ine…

Theater Review: 'Marjorie Prime' presented by Prologue Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center by Nancy Blum

"What does memory look like to you?" asks director Jason Tamborini. We have things that help us preserve our memories:  photographs, scrapbooks of past adventures and accomplishments, spe…

Theatre Review: 'A Jumping-Off Point' at Round House Theatre by Nancy Blum

Inda Craig-Galván's "A Jumping-Off Point" makes its world premiere at Bethesda's Round House Theatre as the centerpiece of the theatre's third annual National Capital New Play Festival. D…

Theatre Review: 'Distillation' at Solas Nua by Nancy Blum

For the love of peat. Luke Casserly, a performance artist from the rural midlands of Ireland, invites us to imagine the environment, the earth itself, as a living being and a friend. Commiss…

Theatre Review: 'Romeo & Juliet' at Synetic Theater by Nancy Blum

Directed by co-founder and Artistic Director, Paata Tsikurishvili, "Romeo & Juliet" is Synetic Theater's final production in their Crystal City home of the past fifteen years.  In our…

Theatre Review: 'Merrily We Roll Along' at Greenbelt Arts Center by Nancy Blum

Processing the death of Stephen Sondheim continues in the theatre community across the nation.  Testaments to his genius are represented locally this winter by several productions: two of…

Theatre Review: 'The Winter's Tale' at Folger Theatre by Nancy Blum

Long considered one of Shakespeare's "problem plays," Folger Theatre's production of "The Winter's Tale" embraces the discordance of the plot elements and takes us on an invigorating romp fr…

Theatre Review: 'Fat Ham' at Studio Theatre by Nancy Blum

The anticipatory buzz surrounding David Ijames' "Fat Ham" was apt prelude to its arrival at Studio Theatre. It had a sold-out run at the Public and then a stint on Broadway. This production …

Theatre Review: 'Scorched' presented by ExPats Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center by Nancy Blum

"Nothing means more than being together," says a young and pregnant Nawal bidding farewell to her lover Wahab, a refugee fleeing the militia as the country dissolves into civil war. This sen…

Theatre Review: 'Espejos: Clean' at Studio Theatre by Nancy Blum

"Hearing an actor speak in her native language is a natural outgrowth of this play's quest for a more authentic engagement with another culture," writes David Muse, Artistic Director of Stud…

Theatre Review: 'To Kill A Mockingbird' at Kennedy Center by Nancy Blum

"It started with the trial," Scout Finch (the delightful Maeve Moynihan) tells us in the opening moments of Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of Harper Lee's famous novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," i…

Theatre Review: 'Cambodian Rock Band' at Arena Stage by Nancy Blum

"Music is the soul of Cambodia," says a character in Arena Stage's long-awaited production of "Cambodian Rock Band" by Lauren Yee (in association with Alley Theatre, Berkeley Repertory…

Theatre Review: 'Mr. Yunioshi' at 1st Stage by Nancy Blum

Who knew how many people would remember Mickey Rooney? Child star turned adult character actor, Rooney first appeared on the vaudeville stage before he turned two. In his lifetime, he appear…

Theatre Review: 'The Revolutionists' presented by Silver Spring Stage at the Arts Barn by Nancy Blum

"Find the heart…not the art." Olympe de Gouges (Mary Wakefield) needs to write a play "that's good and important and annoyingly prescient." In "The Revolutionists," playwright Lauren Gunde…

Theatre Review: 'Nate the Great' at Imagination Stage by Nancy Blum

About halfway through the joyful opening night performance of "Nate the Great" at Imagination Stage, I noticed three young children seated a few rows ahead of me engrossed in Tyler Dobies' p…

Theatre Review: 'Incendiary' at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company by Nancy Blum

In his interview in Woolly Mammoth's playbill, playwright Dave Harris says, "How do you separate what you're doing because of your own free will and your own choice, or what you are doing be…

Theatre Review: ' 'night, Mother' at Spotlighters Theatre by Nancy Blum

There are no casual or accidental moments in Marsha Norman's "'night, Mother." For both characters, every word spoken and every action are chillingly intentional"there are no "throwaway" lin…