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September 2010 Theater Credits - Lifelong Learning Theater is a demanding art form. It's something you can get a lot out of, but usually
only to the extent that you're willing to put an effort in .... That's why you really have to applaud the efforts
of a number of companies to help with the heavy lifting - to prepare you in advance or follow-up and enhance your theatergoing
experience... (more)
Meryl Streep - A
Kennedy Center Honoree?
Some time after Labor Day The Kennedy Center Honors will be announced, catching most of us by surprise and it is hoped here
that the list will finally include American film, stage, and television actress extraordinaire Meryl Streep... (more)
Call for Auditions The Catonsville Theatre Company will be auditioning for The Sunshine Boys by Neil Simon on 9/12 (3-5 PM) & 9/13 (7-9 PM). All roles are open
... (more) A Pinter
Pair
As
a fitting conclusion to their Pinter Festival (to 8/22), the Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre and their repertory
cast perform a pair of one-acts that bookend the playwright's career:The
Room (1957) and Celebration (2000) ... (more)
UPCOMING FREE EVENTS
Ninth Annual Page-to-Stage Festival - Kennedy Center, 9/4-6, 2 - 10 PM NSO: Labor Day Capital Concert, West Lawn, U.S. Capital, 9/5 @ 8 PM Opera in the Outfield - WNO Simulcast of Giuseppe Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) at Nationals Park 9/19 @ 2 PM National Book Festival - Sponsored by the Library of Congress, on the Mall, 9/25, 10 AM - 6 PM PINTER
... PITTSBURGH ... PICTThe Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre is providing a rare opportunity to take in six plays of Harold
Pinter, performed in repertory by a cast of 17 actors over the course of a month (to 8/22). Last weekend, I had a chance
to attend the two full-length works anchoring festival - both seldom seen on stage - No Man's Land and
The Hothouse ... (more)
August 2010 Once is Not Enough! An
artistic director said recently on a podcast that an audience is really at a disadvantage when it comes to seeing a play.
They are getting to look at a show just once, something the cast and artistic team will lived with and explored countless
times over weeks [and sometimes months]. I might add that it is doubly hard for the critic, who not only has to see
the production just once, he or she has to write about and pass judgment on it ... (more)
Serenading Louie - An American Tragedy
There's a French proverb that says to the effect that "In
love, there is always one who kisses and another who offers the cheek." That's the issue with the two dysfunctional
couples lying at the heart of Lansford Wilson's 1970 (revised 1976) play Serenading Louie now
being presented at The American Century Theater (to 8/21) ... (more) Contemporary
American Theater Festival, Shepherdstown, WV The search for identity - how we define ourselves and how others do it for us - is a common theme running
through the Contemporary American Theater Festival, in Sheperdstown, WV, now running through August 1. Whether it's
a search through the individual shapings of the past (Breadcrumbs , Lidless),
the pervasive impact of society (White People, The Eelwax Jesus), or the pernicious effects of the war and culture (Inana) , the mirror is held up, and the
image is found wanting ... (more) July
2010 Theater
Bucket List It seems like
lots of folks are composing bucket lists these days; or mentally checking off their own special tabulation of things to do
before they die. Friends on Facebook will have seen my progress as a sports fan. But I've also been thinking
about my passion for theater. And before I go and have my remains parked in my favorite non-profit - hopefully with
a seat on the aisle - there are some little and big things I‘d like to cross off of my list .... (more) UPCOMING PERFORMING ARTS Pinter
Celebration - PICT at University of Pittsburgh - 7/22-8/22 (To Be Reviewed) Fans of Harold Pinter
will want to check their calendars from July 22 to August 22 as the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre is set to roll out six of the master's works in a 4-week
festival ... in repertory at the Stephen Foster Memorial. Entitled "Hearing Noise in the Silence: A Celebration
of the Life and Theatre of Harold Pinter," the festival will feature two full length dramas - The Hothouse and No Man's Land - as well as a pair of shorter works - The Dumb Waiter and Betrayal, and The Room and Celebration
... (more) ThinkTheater: CATF at Shepherd University - 7/9-8/1 (Reviewed Above) The spotlight on new play development is set to shine on Shepherdstown, WV for the Contemporary American
Theater Festival's 20th season, starting July 9 and continuing
until August 1... (more)
RECOMMENDED
THEATER Forever Plaid - Heaven Can't
Wait The Olney Theatre is offering a musical summer treat for the eyes
and ears with a return to the area of Forever Plaid (to 8/1), an homage to 40s and 50s guy groups and the eternal
notion of second chances ... (more)
Mrs. Warren's Profession
- Who's Your Daddy? Mrs. Warren's Profession, a 1890s period piece, gets
a freshening in the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of G.B. Shaw's classic, now running at Sidney Harman Hall until
July 11... (more)
Art - Identity Crisis
How do you make something out of nothing? Does the answer come from without ... does it come preformed
- from within - or is it some Kantian combination? This deceptively simple yet complex question and the answers lies at the
heart of Yasmina Reza's 1990s award-winning play Art, now enjoying a highly entertaining run at the Pittsburgh Public Theater (to 6/27).... (more)
Trumpery- Survivor
Guilt The evolution versus creationism debate gets an updated look, in Peter Parnell's 2007 play Trumpery now on stage at the Olney Theatre Center (to 7/4) ... (more)
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?-
All's Fair, or A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to a Second Property
Those
who have missed Edward Albee's The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, the Tony Award winner for 2002, have a chance to see a stellar production at the Rep Stage in Howard County (to
6/27) ... (more) June 14, 2010 The Tony Awards - A Night to Forget If you missed the 64th Annual Tony Awards last night count yourself lucky: it was easily the worst assembled show in recent memory.
Regrets there must have been many, in this forgettable production featuring an insipid, one dimensional host, a mash-up of
classic tunes fitted into the formulaic musical of the day, and a bevy of narcissistic Hollywood and TV stars who took a break
in their multi-million dollar contract years to do a little pro bono work (and build their CV) via The Great White Way...
(more)
May
18, 2010 Q & A with Classical Jam - Playing at Strathmore 5/20,21,23
May 15, 2010Fanny Packing at the Helen HayesI was amused to read the 5/12 Backstage article in the Washington Post featuring the Helen Hayes executive director's
(ED's) description of what is meant (or not) by their recent imprimatur "Helen Hayes (HH) Recommended."
Since the comments address just about every concern I raised in my previous posts, it's comforting to know that either
I'm being read by this august body or many other theatergoers share my views. So what can we learn about this new
process? (more)
May 4, 2010 Another Voice Crying Out in the
Wilderness ProEthics, a professional ethics training and consulting firm, has picked up on my blog (below) for commentary on its Ethics Alarm site. A combination of increased interest and I suspect a spike in ethics-related issues, in these cost-cutting times, has
led to establishment of a separate site. To get a more complete assessment of what has taken place at The Paper in the
Nation's Capital, read on (more) May 2, 2010 Cattle Call at the Washington
Post I read with interest yesterday's story about the selection of a new artistic
director for the Studio Theatre. In a detailed article, which tells you everything and more about the national search
that was conducted, the writer mentions, in almost an afterthought "the application process ... included interviews of
the finalists by the search committee in a room at the Washington Post)..."
(more)
April 10, 2010
Strange Stakeholders - What's Up Your Sleeve? All
those smiling faces you saw in the movie The Art of the Steal are wearing a grim countenance today
now that White Knight Steve Wynn has folded on the Foxwoods Casino deal... (more)
April
5, 2010 Barmes Art Topics SeriesTM
- Going Green In keeping
with the educational mandate of this soon-to-be-relocated art collection of the Barmes Foundation, a series of new courses
is being planned to coincide with the reopening on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. We got an advance look at the course
selection for the Fall 2012 semester ... (more)
April 4, 2010 Mauritius- Bay Theatre Company If you were fortunate enough
to see Mauritius performed last month at the Bay Theatre Company in Annapolis, you not only got to see a great play,
but also the considerable range of one of this area's great talents, Nigel Reed ... (more) April
2, 2010
The Art of the Steal, the eye-opening documentary film about the court-sanctioned removal of the Barnes Foundation Art
Collection from Merion to Philadelphia, PA, has moved (from the Landmark E Street Cinema) uptown in DC to the Avalon, and to the suburbs in Fairfax, VA, at the Cinema Arts Theatre. The movie, which has opened to wide national acclaim, traces the success (to date) of a powerful group of foundations, nonprofits, and politicians to relocate the Barnes Collection
as an anchor for tourism in Downtown Philadelphia. The Washington Post has created a succès de scandale buzz for the picture with their
largely negative coverage of the movie and their unwavering support of The Pew Charitable Trusts, the chief broker of
the transaction. (See my March 29 & March 8 entries, below). The Post has turned a blind eye to criticism of their coverage,
refusing to publish a letter to the editor from former NAACP President, Julian Bond and writer John Anderson, both who
appeared in the movie. I have attached their eloquent and as yet unpublished a letter (more) ...
April
1, 2010
The
Helen Hayes Awards - A Classical Farce in Five Acts A Conceptual Play ... (more) March 31, 2010 Ethics 101 for Nonprofits - The
Bottom Line There
have been a number of glaring lapses in the nonprofit sector recently, spawned by the economic times and an incremental decrease
in standards of professional conduct. Undoubtedly the latest public relations disaster – documented in the movie
The Art of the Steal – involving large charitable trusts such as the Pew, Annenberg,
and Lenfest organizations; museums and foundations ; and elected officials – will be a constant uncomfortable reminder
to all of us about the abuses of the public trust ... (more)
March 29, 2010 Mergers
& Acquisitions - A Philadelphia Story Growing up in Philly I learned
that there were two ways of getting things done: on the streets - usually quicker - by handling it yourself or hiring someone
(no names!!) or in the courts - slower, less messy - the Main Line Way. The latter course illustrates what is going
on at the Barnes Foundation, and documented most recently in the documentary The Art of the Steal
... (more)
March
11, 2010 Walter Bartman
Exhibit - Gallery 322, Frederick (to 3/31) Plein Air painter Walter Bartman is brightening North Market Street in Frederick, MD, with his current
exhibit at Gallery 322 (to 3/31), a site he shares with four other Yellow Barn artists and instructors. Mr. Bartman is the founder and president
of the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery (www.yellowbarnstudio.com) in Glen Echo, MD, former Montgomery County art teacher, and seasoned traveler as a frequent workshop leader for aspiring
artists. If you like
color - and that is Mr. Bartman's specialty - you'll definitely want to check out this exhibition of about 30 oils
... (more)
March 8, 2010 Grand Theft Museum - An Instant Replay The remains of an epic custody battle are being viewed
in the City of Brotherly Love and the visiting team has gone down to defeat. At stake was the art collection of the
Barnes Foundation in Merion, PA. The victors seemingly are the City represented by big (huge) corporate interests, private
trusts, and elected officials who have successfully relocated the collection to Downtown Philly as an anchor for tourism.
The losers are the Friends of the Barnes, arts lovers, concerned citizens, and taxpayers. Yesterday Washington
Post "cultural critic," Philip Kennicott wrote about the release of a new documentary The Art of the Steal which
summarizes these events. But, it turns out that the winners don't like the way they are being portrayed. Could
it be they have guilty consciences? ... (more) February 17, 2010
The Round House Theatre's
latest offering (to 2/21) Permanent Collection by Thomas Gibbons is a provocative play about race in general and
museums and society vis à vis the African American experience in particular. Based "loosely" [sic]
on the Barnes Foundation in Merion, PA, the play depicts the explosive 1990s when a newly appointed black director with a
unique vision attempts to take the Barnes into the coming century ... There are so many liberties taken with the historical
basis of this play ... I think the audience should be enlightened, if not set straight ...(more)
February 10, 2010
I overheard a conversation the other day during Happy Hour, in an unnamed DC bar, between a Life-long
Theatergoer (LLTG) and a Theater Critic (TC). LLTG: I just saw a Helen Hayes Awards Recommended © play last night.
It was great! TC: What does that mean? They're announcing the nominations early? ... (more)
February
6, 2010 The Academy Awards Nominations came out a few days ago with the usual fanfare marked with excessive hype, insider
analysis (so-called), and posturing. The Academy and critics fell over each other in self-congratulations for the wisdom
of selecting not 5 but 10 Best Picture nominees as they did in 1992 and the old days. And a lot of attention has carried
over to the other nominations. So how good were they? (more)
February
5, 2010 The story of post-World War II modern art is on display at the National Gallery of Art (to 5/2), and it is a story writ large. Covering abstract expression, color field,
pop, minimalist, and contemporary art from 1950s-2000s - assembled by Robert Meyerhoff and his late wife Jane - the exhibit
of 126 works (paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures) pretty much says it all about the focus of art in capping the American
Century ... (more)
February 4,
2010 As critics all over town outdo themselves in their praise of Synetic Theater's mimed production of Antony and Cleopatra, I feel we have passed through Alice's
Looking Glass into Superman's Bizarro World. A production without words being hailed as a great theatrical event
- just how are we using language today? It may be a great show - perhaps it is better than many Shakespeare productions
that have been mounted at the Lansburgh - but theater as in play it is not ... (more)
February 3,
2010
Theaters always lament the fact that their budgets don't cover the cost of tickets.
The sad truth is brought home to you every time they ask for money - usually in a phone call around dinner time, frequently
made through a paid, third-party fundraiser. Now I don't necessarily feel these requests are out of line (the method
and means I do), but before I would consider giving a dime to these non-profit, tax-exempt organizations, I want to know -
and you should too - where the money is going... (more) February 2, 2010 John McWhorter kicked up a firestorm
of controversy in last month's issue of American Theatre by arguing that Shakespeare be translated into modern English, much as has been done with Beowulf. Dr. McWhorter, it
should be noted, knows a thing or two about language, having published and lectured extensively to both scholarly and lay
audiences on linguistics. I find his reasoning compelling... (more)
February
1, 2010
I got a chance to
see the incomparable Leon Fleisher live in concert at Strathmore Music Center (www.strathmore.org) yesterday afternoon playing Prokofiev's Concerto
for Piano (Left Hand) and Orchestra No. 4 with the National Philharmonic (www.nationalphilharmonic.org) and what an amazing performance it was (more) ...
February
2010 The
2010 Helen Hayes Awards Nominations
It was another dark night for
the local theater scene, when The Helen Hayes Awards folks got together to announce their annual nominations last Monday in
the district. Though this august body has made some strides in recognizing theatrical excellence "across the boards"
they have a long, long way to go. I'm in agreement with some of the selections, and in fairness I haven't seen
them all. But a casual eyeballing of the data suggests some continuing trends... (more)
January 2010 Let's
Save The Arts!
I was reading a post (1/7) last night on my favorite entertainment
industry newsletter, Live 2.0, when I stumbled across a reference to Michael Kaiser and the Kennedy Center for an article
appearing in the Huffington Post. Live 2.0's editor Jim McCarthy offers his objections to Mr. Kaiser's piece entitled
"Why Ticket Prices Must Change," and I have my own. As chance would have it, I had just returned from the
Kennedy Center ... (more) New Year's Resolutions
Another
year is coming into the queue and you've lined up the usual suspects for improvement: your health, relationships, and
career. (My mother told me never to discuss politics and religion in a blog, so we're not going there!) You're
going to eat and drink less, exercise more, check; find that special someone and/or spend quality time with your family, right;
and get a grip on your floundering dead-end job (or hold onto to it) - maybe network or take a course or enroll in a program,
ditto. Blah, blah, blah ... they were on your list last year and they'll be there next. Why not shift gears,
this time around, and attend to something important in your life, but flying below the radar - your cultural needs? Here are
some suggestions and a take-home test for the coming year ... (more) December
2009 Outtakes What to leave in is as important
as what to take out ... while adaptations please none of the people all of the time and what you know and believe can hurt
you ... (more)
Giving
Thanks for the Arts
It's been a painful year for the arts.
Individually, many notable figures have left us - Andrew Wyeth, John Updike, and Karl Malden (to name just a few) - whose
presence in my life at least was such a given, their passing feels like a death in the family. But what an impressive body
of work they left us - something to be savored and admired for generations to come. Many arts venues have disappeared as well.
Book stores and galleries have dropped by the wayside (7th Street in Penn Quarter really took a hit). Theaters
have scaled back their operations, seasons contain fewer and more predictable offerings, and productions with smaller casts
are the norm. Despite and throughout all this, the art scene was a great one last year. There were many, many exciting shows
and individual performances; their critical success bodes well for future. A number of venues have consolidated their
efforts and look solid going forward. Reviewing the season I found many reasons to be optimistic about 2010. But
chief among them were the outstanding work that they gave us in 2009. So what follows is my very subjective, unscientific,
and skewed evaluation - just like the Helen Hayes Awards! - for the best in arts over the last year ... (more)
November 2009 Theater
Mythology
It's a tough business theater is, on both sides of the stage.
Whether the instinct for protection or survival holds sway over the rational thought process is anyone's guess, but the
amount of misinformation in circulation - repeated so often it seems true - to an unsuspecting and believing public is alarming.
That this information is confidently given out again and again by people who should know better must give anyone who cares
about theater as a viable art form pause. I was able to gather a bunch of my favorites for your consideration ...
(more)
October 2009
Is
There an Editor Out There? In
these days of downsizing, everyone's attempting to do more with less, to be more efficient. Whether it's justifying
your position or stepping up your productivity, it seems there is a never-ending search for faster ways of getting the job
done. Back in H.L. Mencken's day, when real editors strode the land, a writer who produced one word sentences and
one sentence paragraphs would be sent packing, but that's the least of the problems confronting the print media today. I. Just. Don't. Understand. It takes very little effort for
a critic to write a dismissive review and negativity sells, especially in this area. Just choose your negative point of departure and pile on - you'll have plenty of company.
You'd never know there's a vibrant artistic community out there from what you read in the print media. Critics,
no longer content to report on a performance or exhibition, find it's to their advantage to blithely dismiss it or pick
it apart. Their subjective pieces are more suitable for the Op-Ed page than the Entertainment section ...(more)
Importance of Being Earnest? - It's
Only a Show! The tenor of the theater reviews of late, leads me to believe that we are taking ourselves too seriously
as critics, way too seriously. In an effort to improve both the objectivity and the spirit of the reviews, I have the
following suggestions ... (more)
Opera in the Outfield - Inside
the Park Home Run About
20 thousand opera lovers and those just looking for a good, free night of entertainment turned out to see the Washington National
Opera's season opener, The Barber of Seville, simulcast in HD from Nationals Ballpark on Saturday 9/12/09.
The festive crowd, dressed casually and loaded down with picnic fare, happily texted, photographed, and generally kicked back
during a fun-filled evening lasting approximately 3 hours. The Washington Theater Community should take note: Provide a night
of free entertainment for the general public and they will come ... in droves. Not nights of free theater, benefiting
the trendy and well-heeled crowd in Penn Quarter - forced to queue up for blocks and crammed into tight seats - but nights
(or days) at a big, informal, and outdoors venue. Joseph Papp come back: DC needs you!! (more)
September 2009 Eat Drink Theater When Roz Russell as Auntie Mame delivered those immortal lines
"Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death" she might have been referring to today's theater
scene. There's so much out there, so much to sit down to, so where is everybody? Parked in front of their
TV sets, hanging with friends, talking baseball (or football, or hockey, or whatever sport), chilling, yakking, and texting.
Well, if they're slow to get to the table there will be more for the rest of us. And what a bounty it is! (more) August 2009 The Biases of a Critic Before they hit their seats most critics have formed an opinion of the play in front them.
No different than the rest of us, they prefer certain types of plays, styles of acting, and actors over others, but unlike
us, they have certain agendas that are not so apparent. Perhaps it's that hobbyhorse of journalists and editors
everywhere, the intro sentence: once they figure out how they are going to grab your attention, it may take them several paragraphs
to arrive at anything of relevance to the play at hand. Maybe it's the critical swing of the pendulum: they've
either bashed or praised the last production or two and it's time to demonstrate "objectivity" - their own or
the mediums. An average play may sound like an award winner, while a good one might come off as so-so at best or a waste
of your time and money at worst. They may have friends or enemies they are choosing to promote on the one hand or settle
scores with on the other. Perhaps they're enamored with the big venues - those producing shows with "high production
values," so cherished by the Helen Hayes Awards (see: "It Happens Every Spring") - where they've formed close associations. Most people would be surprised to
know that critics can and have served as judges for the HHA, a clear conflict of interest if there ever was one. Criticism
is a job some stumble into like any other and like any other they may long to escape: they burn out. Even Frank Rich
knew when to fold them and move to the op-ed page. Even if they wanted to tell you what they truly thought about a show,
the constraints of space and content - keeping editors and advertisers happy - would compromise them to some degree or other.
Whatever, when you read or hear a review, whether positive or negative, be aware that there's a lot more going on than
a consideration of the play at hand. Most if not all critics are loathe to share their own likes and dislikes,
and they will never discuss their implicit biases (if they're aware of them). While this independent site does not
have the constraints mentioned previously, I too have my own personal prejudices .... (more) July 2009
Burning Down the House
As a critic and fan of the theater, I give a look at the audience and notice pretty
much the same crowd every time - one with a lot of gray hair and few young people. The fact that younger patrons are staying
away is hardly news, but that those older ones who are coming are the same ones is, or should be. The reasons are various
and inter-related, but some of the likely candidates for the theater's plight: the environment is unwelcoming, it's
elitist and exclusive, provides same old (same old) programming, is hostage to an awards process, expensive, and operated
in a fiscal netherland. Specifically ... (more)
June 2009
A Perfect Play
Like
love, a perfect play will sneak up on you when you least expect it and rock your world. It may be occasioned by the
time you are in your life, the voice of a new writer, the performance of a great actor. It may be an ensemble
effect - everyone coming together at the same time - or an individual effort - after 50 or 100 performances the actor will
finally break through to the essence of the character and present it successfully to an audience. Perhaps the director
has a singular vision of the play and how to evoke all of the talent at hand while hiding any of the defects in a performance.
Whatever it is, and whatever it takes, you will feel that you have witnessed and been part of history, if only for a fleeting
period of time, because you have. And you will give thanks for the experience and pray that, if you're lucky, it
will come again. Here's hoping that it does! For me my list looks like this ... (more)
May 2009
Ten Things To Think
about Theater Every
theater should have copies of plays for the current and upcoming shows for sale at cost. Partner with local bookstores,
online book suppliers, or Samuel French. Dramaturgy wants to be free. You've worked hard researching, developing, and promoting
your production, so why is this great documentation sitting in your files or collecting dust on your shelves? Get it
online! Young people want their information readily available. There will still be those who will buy hard copy.
Actors are your stars -
have them meet and greet theatergoers in the lobby after shows for program signings and photos. Several years ago at
the Victory Gardens in Chicago, I was surprised and delighted to find cast members, in costume, in the lobby to shake hands
with us after a performance of Gorky's The Lower Depths - what a treat! Why wait for Halloween!
Most theatergoers are not
familiar with the design end of a show. To give these talented folks a voice, have a member of one or more specialties
talk individually, or as part of a panel discussion, about their craft. In lieu of or in addition to this, put it online
as an iPod or YouTube.
Neglected Classics Department. James Joyce wrote one play Exiles and just once I'd like to see it performed
or at least given a staged reading. Yeah, it's talky and a bit undramatic, but surely some director out there, with
a vision and a pair of scissors, can breathe life into this neglected script. Is this the year?
Don't wait `til they're dead. We've
honored the great Stephen Sondheim and it was a success, so how's about recognizing some of our other living theater legends
like Tom Stoppard, David Mamet, and Edward Albee, or to spice things up consider Caryl Churchill and Ed Bullins.
Every theater should have
at least one rehearsal a season, free and open to public, not just subscribers.
Every major theater should sponsor or partner
with one little or community or college theater, in or outside the DC area, any organization that would not be eligible for
a Helen Hayes Award.
Your great productions, actors, and designers haven't gotten the attention they rightfully deserve - Drama King knows
who you are! But is the Helen Hayes Awards the only show in town? Set up an alternative awards group, by reaching out
to critics, media, theater departments, etc. If New York can do it, so can we. See my review ... (more)
Set it
up and they will come. Establish your theater's own People's Choice or Audience Awards and give your patron's
a chance to vote on their favorite shows, actors, and tech people (non-management). For incentives, throw in some
door prizes for randomly selected entries (pair of tickets, dinner, signed programs, posters, headshots, etc.) and invite
the public in for your awards presentations, say during an open house or to launch the new season.
These are my thoughts this month for improving
theater. What are yours? Contact: John@Dramaurge.com
April
2009
Drama King
This
website emphasizes the dramatic arts with particular attention given to the text as it relates to performance. (Related
movies and books and art exhibitions with dramatic or narrative structure are also being reviewed). Coverage extends to
small theaters as well as large and does not privilege "high production value" venues of downtown DC and
Northern VA. One of this viewer's most memorable theater experiences came at a one-man show, in a small
space, with only a scarf and chair for props.
Theater
is literature and patrons are encouraged to read the text before or after the show to enhance their appreciation. Even rarely
performed works - warts and all - mounted on college campuses and rep stages are worth a visit, for it gives
you an opportunity to see a play on its feet. And new shows, world premieres, should be thought of as works
in progress which will change, hopefully for the better. Revise your expectations and view them as would the director
and writer because both of them will be busy behind the scenes. Consider Next
to Normal!
This critic believes that there are no really bad plays or performances,
but there are not as many outstanding ones either. Think of them like ballgames: your team might be losing
big time, like the Nats, but there are still some memorable events to take with you. Alternatively, not every game
is a walk-off win, no hitter, or playoff clincher. There is also no financial reason for not seeing a play: at
the higher end they are about the price of a regular ticket to a sporting event and at the lower level they are
a little bit more than a first run movie. For those on a budget, many theaters offer pay-what-you-can nights, preview
and rush tickets, and there are half-price day of sale prices at Ticket Place (see my link). I can vouch for all of
them. I wish you a Good Show!!!!!
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