Washington, DC Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 3

Review: THE PLIANT GIRLS at Theatre Prometheus/Nu Sass
by Mary Lincer - October 20, 2024

What did our critic think of THE PLIANT GIRLS at Theatre Prometheus/Nu Sass?...

Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Capital One Hall
by Jackson Malmgren - October 20, 2024

What did our critic think of DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Capital One Hall?...

Review: MEAN GIRLS at National Theatre
by Roger Catlin - October 17, 2024

It was 20 years ago when 'Mean Girl' first hit movie theaters, cementing a certain kind of malevolent high school clique even as it launched a million memes, introduced a generation of actresses and established a pink dress code for its female fans years before “Barbie.” A rite of passage in itself,...

Review: PINK MARTINI'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY at Kennedy Center
by Roger Catlin - October 17, 2024

It was 30 years ago this week that a stylish Portland, Ore. lounge combo played its first gig, motivated by something with which Washington D.C. audiences could easily relate: politics....

Review: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNUM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at Kennedy Center
by Elliot Lanes - October 16, 2024

The latest entry into Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage series is the crowd pleasing quirky musical by William Finn (Music and Lyrics) and Rachel Sheinkin (Book) known as The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee. The 2005 musical also features additional material by Jay Reiss. See what our cr...

Review: FRIDA LIBRE at Gala Hispanic Theatre
by Mary Lincer - October 15, 2024

At 55 minutes, Karen Zacarias' play, Frida Libre, runs the perfect length for the young people (age 5 and up) that Gala Hispanic Theatre wants to cultivate as the audiences of the future. ...

Review: THE WOMAN IN BLACK at The Keegan Theatre
by Tavish Young - October 15, 2024

What did our critic think of THE WOMAN IN BLACK at The Keegan Theatre?...

Review: THE NATIONAL BALLET OF UKRAINE 'NADIYA UKRAINE' at The Kennedy Center
by Michela Dwyer - October 14, 2024

The National Ballet of Ukraine and the Shumka Dancers recently performed a beautiful program at the Kennedy Center Opera House aptly titled Nadiya Ukraine, “nadiya” meaning “hope” in Ukrainian. In a two-hour show, the audience witnessed the richness of Ukrainian culture, the bleak interpersonal real...

Review: NATIONAL BUNRAKU THEATER AT THE KENNEDY CENTER at The Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater
by Emily Berger - October 10, 2024

Confounding at times and also beautiful, this traditional puppetry company is wrapping us a US tour. Yes, orchestras may downsize from 30 violins to 25, but it still takes all 25 roughly forty minutes to play Beethoven’s sixth symphony. You could speed up the tempo, increasing “output” with the same...

Review: ROMEO AND JULIET at Folger Theatre
by Peter Rouleau - October 09, 2024

A modern spin on an evergreen tragedy, with mixed results. Read our critic's take. ...

Review: POTUS at NextStop Theatre Company
by Ken Kemp - October 08, 2024

Aaron Sorkin's original concept for The West Wing was a show depicting the behind-the-scenes workings of the White House, focusing on the President's top advisors and staff, with the President playing a very minor, cameo role. ...

Review: SHE PERSISTED at Adventure Theatre MTC
by Jennifer Muscato - October 08, 2024

She Persisted is a best-selling book by Chelsea Clinton, and the musical SHE PERSISTED at Adventure Theatre MTC completely does the book justice. ...

Review: SONDHEIM TRIBUTE REVUE at Creative Cauldron
by Peter Rouleau - October 08, 2024

Few American composers have been as influential as Stephen Sondheim, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 91. His large catalogue, with subjects and settings that vary from a modern single man navigating social relationships among his married friends to a murderous pie-shop keeper in Victorian Lond...

Review: EISENHOWER: THIS PIECE OF GROUND at Olney Theatre Center
by Elliot Lanes - October 07, 2024

Solo theatrical pieces are probably among the hardest sells to an audience because there is only one performer keeping you interested in the subject. These theatrical offerings require a delicate balance between educating and entertaining audiences. Olney Theatre Center’s current attraction, Eisenho...

Review: BABBITT at Shakespeare Theatre Company
by Itai Yasur - October 05, 2024

Matthew Broderick stars in the Babbitt of BABBITTs at Shakespeare Theatre Company. See what our critic had to say. ...

Review: MISTER LINCOLN at Ford's Theatre
by Tavish Young - October 03, 2024

Mister Lincoln is a pleasant and ruminative piece on the United States and its history. It's humorous, informative, and for American history buffs, surely spellbinding. Read our critic's take. ...

Review: THE TRAGEDIE OF MACBETH at Taffety Punk
by Roger Catlin - October 03, 2024

It figures that a Riot Grrrls version of “The Tragedie of Macbeth” at Taffety Punk would focus on the witches - or three wyrd sisters, as they’re called here  ...

Review: HAMLET...THE REST IS SILENCE at Synetic Theater
by Jake Bridges - October 01, 2024

What did our critic think of HAMLET...THE REST IS SILENCE at Synetic Theater?...

Review: FAITHLESS at Washington Stage Guild
by Tavish Young - October 02, 2024

Faithless asks you to consider what you are committed to, what you believe in, and most of all, why? Faithless made its area debut this September 29th at Washington Stage Guild. The piece follows an older father, Gus (Ron Litman), his two stepchildren, Claire (Patricia Hurley) and Calvin (Ben Blackm...

Review: WINNIE THE POOH at Imagination Stage
by Jennifer Muscato - September 30, 2024

If you ever find yourself in Bethesda, Maryland, with children, you should also find your way to Imagination Stage. ...

Review: MARLENE at ExPats Theatre
by Mary Lincer - September 29, 2024

What did our critic think of MARLENE at ExPats Theatre?...

Review: CRACKING ZEUS at Spooky Action Theater
by Jackson Malmgren - September 25, 2024

What did our critic think of CRACKING ZEUS at Spooky Action Theater?...

Review: Sara Bareilles with the National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center
by Elliot Lanes - September 25, 2024

The Four Seasons had a hit song many years ago with a lyric that went “Oh! What a Night!” That is how I can best describe watching singer/songwriter/actress Sara Bareilles with YOUR National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), under the always stellar direction of Maestro Steven Reineke in Kennedy Center’s Co...

Review: EXCEPTION TO THE RULE at Studio Theatre
by Roger Catlin - September 25, 2024

But the new play by Dave Harris at Studio Theater is framed the same way: Six people marooned in an afterschool detention classroom on the Friday before Martin Luther King weekend, who bicker, flirt, nearly fight, and wonder if the presiding teacher will ever come to sign forms allowing them to go h...

Review: SHREK THE MUSICAL at Capital One Hall
by Ken Kemp - September 23, 2024

What did our critic think of SHREK THE MUSICAL at Capital One Hall?...