I usually spend a fair amount of time laboring over reviews, ensuring I cover all the bases, being thorough. In this case, I want to keep it simple to get the main point across: Moby Dick at the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for… Read More
It’s not ill-timed that Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical Carousel (1945), tells an ageless story of perseverance and the indomitable human spirit. No matter how you feel about the outcome of the recent election, the road to November 7 was draining. A post-election filter highlights… Read More
If you thought The Year of Magical Thinking was Joan Didion’s witty take on a Hogwarts’ education, think again. The one-woman show at the Mead Center for American Theater Arena Stage powerfully captures the memoirist’s experiences and emotions in the year following the unexpected death… Read More
To say that music runs in the Winans family is an understatement. Both parents and all ten children have recorded gospel albums, delivering chart-topping hits and winning several Grammys among them. So it’s no surprise that “Born For This”– written by the youngest of the… Read More
With a title like Disgraced, you aren’t in for a warm fuzzy singalong. Winner of a 2013 Pulitzer Prize, Ayed Ahktar’s powerful drama portrays a slow slide into catastrophe as Pakistani-American Amir self-destructs over questions of race, religion, identity, and assimilation. Forcefully directed by Timothy… Read More
You know a play is something else when you are sitting between an eleven-year-old boy and a current Supreme Court justice – a history lesson with something to teach everyone. Technically, I wasn’t right next to Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but we were on the same… Read More
Some stories are best sung. From The Lion’s first simple chord in G, award-winning songwriter/performer Benjamin Scheuer captivates with the musical story of a life, from boyhood to manhood, from rock ‘n’ roll to broken chords to acoustic crescendo. With raw wit and emotional depth,… Read More
Pulitzer Prize winning Lynn Nottage’s ungentle Sweat at the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater brings a trenchantly written, razor-stark microcosm of the decline of the American union mill following passage of NAFTA. Less political than personal, Nottage doesn’t solely blame the… Read More
One of my favorite moments of Akeelah and the Bee at the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater was observing three kids seated in front of me playing scrabble on their devices. The play’s powerful message had taken hold of young minds… Read More
Even if you aren’t a Broadway know-every-word-by-heart nerd like me, you’ll be toe-tapping along to Arena Stage’s excellent production of Oliver!, whisper-singing “food, glorious food” and “boy for sale” under your breath along with the cast. The minimalist revival of the 1960 musical based on… Read More
