Finding humor, pathos among oldest pros
It’s evening on Memorial Day 2015, gently warm at sunset on the first night of what we think of as summer. It’s been a day of ceremonies, both solemn and joyous, and families. It’s time now to settle in at home and get ready for the shortened week ahead.But on this evening, in a multi-purpose room at Christ Lutheran Church on 16th Street in D.C., a family of another sort... READ MORE
Musical presents our nation’s founding
Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia may be rushing the July 4th holiday a bit with its presentation of a history lesson put to (not enough) song — the classic musical 1776. But it will be performed right through the 5th of July, so you’ll have the chance to see this slightly fanciful look at the cobbling together of the Declaration of Independence as the holiday itself... READ MORE
40 years for the Dance Theatre of Harlem
An exhibit about the Dance Theatre of Harlem is currently drawing attention at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. It highlights the many accomplishments of African Americans and other minorities who have defied stereotypes to pursue their passion for dance and pave the way for future generations of artists. When black dancers were told that African American bodies were not built for classical ... READ MORE
Snowbirds have fled; we get the desert back
It’s been said that the Coachella Valley has two seasons — hot and hotter. A bit of an exaggeration for sure — it’s really more like cool/warm and really, really hot.In another sense, however, there are two seasons in the desert — snowbirds and no snowbirds.Not discounting the millions of dollars they bring to our economy, but there is a valley-wide palpable... READ MORE
Actors take British comedy over the top
Go have a nice dinner before this show and eschew dessert at the restaurant. Rather, you should consider On Approval, the airy confection now onstage at Washington Stage Guild, your sweet course.This 1927 comedy from the once-popular, but now largely forgotten, British playwright Frederick Lonsdale, is — as desserts should be — a trifle that momentarily delights, doesn’t... READ MORE
Photos capture the world of the winged
This photo of two puffins is part of the exhibit.Photo by Jerry WeinsteinThe mother has just flown in on beautiful blue-violet wings to feed her open-beaked fledgling, who actually looks perturbed, perhaps at a long waiting time for the meal.The avian scene of the lilac-breasted rollers, caught last year by Columbia photographer Jerry Weinstein with his Nikon D800 at the Maasari Mara Game... READ MORE
Rebellious souls haunt Ibsen’s Ghosts
As any theater student can attest, 19th-century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen was not known for light fare. Ibsen challenged the repression of the Victorian age, the morals of family life, the traditional roles held by men and women in society — the stuff of stuffy university English Lit term papers.Yet Ibsen has been lauded as second only to Shakespeare as a playwright. His... READ MORE
‘New’ movie to kick off Film Noir Festival
Dillinger with Lawrence Tierney and Anne Jeffreys Something surprising at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in May is a “New film, only 25 years old,” which by Alan K. Rode’s standards is fresh from the movie theater.Writer and film historian Alan K. Rode is in his eighth year as producer and host of the Film Noir Festival. Founded by the late crime fiction writer... READ MORE
Civil War musical aims to please too well
The temptation to begin this review with the old adage about not learning from history and thus being doomed to repeat it is overwhelming.The history in question is not the Civil War, even though the show is titled, Freedom’s Song: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. No, at issue is the history of producers and writers who set out to amend or improve a show, but end up making the same... READ MORE
Scientists take the stage with Simon farce
It’s all systems go for the rocket scientists, systems engineers and cyber defense guys and gals at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel for the launching of their next theatrical production, Fools: a Comic Fable by Neil Simon. The scientists, engineers and others, all members of the APL Drama Club, will temporarily leave their spacecraft plans and microscopes to tread ... READ MORE
