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In the Moment

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” asked Mary Oliver in her “The Summer Day.” Long ago I answered, like many of you. Be part of the performing arts. And so this column about the anticipation being in a theater when the curtain goes up…waiting for what comes next.

In Audrey Cefaly’s wistful ‘Story of Walter,’ a lonely dad and...

Social media once again proves invaluable to connect theatergoers with performance. This instance is courtesy of Signature Theatre’s SigWorks: Monday Night Play Readings. Not...

George Mason University to center Black voices in artist-activist conversations

As the DC-area theater community reckons with and takes steps to combat racism through open, heartfelt conversations and real-world actions to bring forth equity,...

Tom Teasley, Shu-Chen Cuff, Chao Tian to perform an inspired virtual...

The headlines tell us to stay put. To not travel so we protect ourselves, our loved ones, our communities and the Nation as a...

Grammy-winning percussionists to rap on entrepreneurship and racial justice

As we in the performing arts continue to struggle with finances and other resources in the aftershock of COVID-19, with no end in sight,...

Spooky Action Theater’s ‘To the Earth’ literally zooms into space

As the pandemic continues to take its toll on live theater, smaller-budget theaters are staying nimble and daring, thanks to generous support from donors....

Arena Stage docudrama makes case for making DC ‘The 51st State’

In our current political and cultural stressful times, how can theater make a difference, not just to those who are in-person patrons but to...

Theater J revives a 1910 hit comedy-melodrama

Sit back to indulge in a comedy-melodrama. A streaming Zoom reading of a rediscovered play first produced in 1910. It is a love letter,...

Get out the vote. Share this vid.

Elections have consequences. Some elections more than others. With voting participation trending downward over the years, what can be done to awaken folk to...

A course at Theater J for theater lovers looks ahead to...

Change is coming. As the DMV theater community is reeling and reckoning with the effects of the coming post-COVID-19 world and as artists of color...

A heart-piercing tribute to frontline COVID responders in ‘The Line’ from...

With the country hitting new daily highs as COVID-19 surges well beyond hot spots such as New York, New Jersey, and Connecituct, the Public...

Rehearsals in PPE and other big changes to expect when theaters...

We will open again. The COVID-19 virus will neither darken nor silence us even with the many scary unknowns before us. We know reopening...

Washington Performing Arts does pandemic planning with patron feedback

Better days may be coming. Some restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic may be easing. But there is not yet a definitive date when...

Love reigns in ‘Love in Hate Nation’ Two River Theater premiere

Love in Hate Nation is the new musical from Be More Chill’s composer/lyricist, Joe Iconis. Animated with a driving wheel of rock and funk...

UrbanArias delivers fun, deeply human evening of music and voices taking...

How prescient of the innovative UrbanArias. To be ahead of a major Washington Post Sunday Business section about a modern-day retail apocalypse: the dying...

‘Blue Camp,’ an affecting play about men surviving enlistment in the...

Dispatch from the front. “Greetings: You are hereby ordered for induction in the Armed Forces of the United States.”   For those in the audience of...

In the Moment: Peter’s Alley Theatre moves to The Writer’s Center...

Peter's Alley Theatre has moved its base of performances to The Writer’s Center in Bethesda. Founded in 2012 by Aly B. Ettman, Peter’s Alley...

In The Moment: Kimberly Gilbert Is King In ‘Bootleg Shakespeare, Richard...

Once again, Taffety Punk Theatre Company has succeeded at challenging the theatrical status quo. This time, it was with a mesmerizing Bootleg Shakespeare Richard...

In the Moment: ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ at 1st  Stage

With a return visit to The Happiest Place on Earth, new gemstones are uncovered, adding complexity and currency to its bittersweet tale about dreams...

Chamber Dance Project Brings ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’...

‘‘Do I dare/Disturb the universe?” asked T.S. Eliot’s protagonist in the confessional modernist masterwork “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Through a world-premier...

In the Moment: ‘Last Out’ by The Heroes Journey

Last Out is a raw emotional journey with no illusions as its core value. It is an intense confessional about military service and the effects...