Kander's second act: Kander and Pierce, with new musical 'Kid Victory' by Nelson Pressley

In a Manhattan rehearsal studio, actors are learning songs for a new musical called "Kid Victory." Sarah Litzsinger delivers a brief solo as a sarcastic Kansas teen, and legendary Broadway c…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:24pm on February 13, 2015☆⚑

Why "Chicago" should (and should not) be seen this week at the National by Nelson Pressley

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF MIXED EMOTIONS "Hello, suckers!"Chicago" is playing at the National Theatre this week through Sunday, and who cares? This is the fifth stint at the National since 1997…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:03pm on February 12, 2015☆⚑

Nottage play and new rock musical among Arena Stage's 2015-16 offerings by Nelson Pressley

A world premiere musical will give Arena Stage's 2015-16 season an early launch this summer, as "If/Then" and "Next to Normal" director Michael Greif brings the brand-new "Dear Evan Hansen" …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 9:02am on February 12, 2015☆⚑

Manic poets collide in STC's newly hip 18th-century 'Metromaniacs' by Nelson Pressley

The brainy "Metromaniacs"Is sharper than a thousand tacks.And funny? Man, it shakes the wallsOf Shakespeare Theatre's Lansburgh hall.Read full article >>

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:56pm on February 10, 2015☆⚑

Adapting to the times: Mexican lovers, Irish terrorists and James's ghosts by Nelson Pressley

A winter blitz is hitting area stages, with enough on view to blanket every taste. At least nine shows opened over the weekend, and the three I caught included a lighthearted Mexican classic…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:45pm on February 9, 2015☆⚑

'Rapture' and revived 'Heidi Chronicles' ride the waves of feminism onstage by Nelson Pressley

"The Heidi Chronicles": Dated or on point? Love it or hate it?Passions have always been heated around Wendy Wasserstein's 1988 play, a panoramic sweep through the women's movement from the o…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:57pm on February 6, 2015☆⚑

Shakespeare Theatre's new season: "Kiss Me, Kate" and all-male Shrew by Nelson Pressley

With a lineup that includes the vintage musical "Kiss Me, Kate" and an all-male "Taming of the Shrew" starring "Kinky Boots" Tony winner Billy Porter, the Shakespeare Theatre Company is the …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 8:05pm on February 5, 2015☆⚑

After 'Macbeth,' the risky occupation of Scotland in topical sequel 'Dunsinane' by Nelson Pressley

Macbeth is dead. What's next? In David Greig's imaginative and ferociously topical "Dunsinane," the English army occupies a hostile and internally fragmented Scotland. Faster than you can sa…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 3:18pm on February 4, 2015☆⚑

Women on the verge of a nervous breakthrough in comic 'Rapture' by Nelson Pressley

Are the fine lines between second- and third-wave feminism really the stuff of explosive comedy? They are in Gina Gionfriddo's uproarious and unsettling "Rapture, Blister, Burn" at the Round…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:37pm on February 3, 2015☆⚑

To kill a queen: Mary vs. Elizabeth in Schiller classic 'Mary Stuart' at Folger Theatre by Nelson Pressley

It takes a lot of shady maneuvering to get the two queens of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 "Mary Stuart" to the center of the chessboard, but when it finally happens the showdown is deluxe. Roma…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:36pm on February 2, 2015☆⚑

'Kid Victory,' new musical from legendary John Kander, to premiere at Signature by Nelson Pressley

The new show "Kid Victory" sets up as harsh material for a musical: It's about a 17-year-old boy who goes missing, and what happens after his brutal time away.Read full article >>

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:07pm on January 30, 2015☆⚑

Jump back: "Bessie's Blues" returns, with Bernardine Mitchell by Nelson Pressley

How good was the red-hot Bessie Smith tribute "Bessie's Blues" when the Studio Theatre produced it in 1995?"The Studio may well produce something of this artistic power again," critic Lloyd …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:19pm on January 27, 2015☆⚑

'Helen' meets 'Hayes' in newly expanded theater awards by Nelson Pressley

Washington theater's Helen Hayes Awards flexed its new bulk Monday night at the National Theatre as its dramatically expanded nominations were announced under not one heading, but two: Helen…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 8:25pm on January 26, 2015☆⚑

In Folger's 'Mary Stuart,' Holly Twyford and Kate Eastwood Norris are queens at last by Nelson Pressley

Kate Eastwood Norris and Holly Twyford have played it all at the Folger Theatre " women, men, fairies and even animals. Once Twyford played Crab, a dog belonging to Norris's clownish charact…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 1:34pm on January 23, 2015☆⚑

The adaptation game's afoot: Ludwig's five-person 'Baskerville' opens at Arena by Nelson Pressley

Actors dash madly from rainy London to the famous foggy mire in "Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery," the antic new Ken Ludwig comedy now racing with precision through Arthur Conan Doyle…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:42pm on January 23, 2015☆⚑

Can serious plays survive at Arena Stage and the Shakespeare Theatre Company? by Nelson Pressley

Any self-respecting city, and certainly a sophisticated world capital, needs a few big companies daring to do big, serious theater. Can the Shakespeare Theatre Company and Arena Stage afford…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:24pm on January 23, 2015☆⚑

Posner and Chekhov, together again with 'Life Sucks' at Theater J by Nelson Pressley

The sound and fury over the D.C. Jewish Community Center's firing of Theater J artistic director Ari Roth last month has been supplanted by a fusillade of f-bombs from the stage. But the sco…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:57pm on January 20, 2015☆⚑

After firing and controversy, Roth and Theater J moving on by Nelson Pressley

The embers are not merely warm but still hot from the D.C. Jewish Community Center's firing of Theater J Artistic Director Ari Roth late last month. The conflict was long-simmering and amply…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:30am on January 16, 2015☆⚑

Vanessa Hudgens's 'Gigi,' now at Kennedy Center, gets its Broadway date by Nelson Pressley

The $12 million production of "Gigi" that begins performances Friday at the Kennedy Center has landed its Broadway date. On March 19, it will dock at the Neil Simon Theatre, where Sting's "T…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 4:18pm on January 14, 2015☆⚑

Idina Menzel musical that launched at National to close on B'Way by Nelson Pressley

"If/Then," the musical that brought a welcome shot of pre-Broadway excitement to the National Theatre when it tried out here in 2013, will say goodbye to New York March 22, closing as star I…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 7:52pm on January 9, 2015☆⚑

Non-Equity musical tours take more territory in DC: Five (+ 1) things to know by Nelson Pressley

The Warner Theatre, typically a comedy and concert venue, is taking a new interest in booking Broadway musical tours. What's on stage there now and coming soon this winter are non-Equity sho…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 4:24pm on January 9, 2015☆⚑

'Midwife' writer and rookie producer deliver new 'Gigi' to Kennedy Center by Nelson Pressley

The refashioned "Gigi" bounding into the Kennedy Center this week with a Broadway glint in its eye is a passion project from two women " both new to musicals " who have long adored the 1958 …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 2:37pm on January 9, 2015☆⚑

In 'The Illusionists,' magicians bring Vegas flash to the Kennedy Center's Opera House by Nelson Pressley

Is the Kennedy Center's Opera House the right stage for the noisy, flashy hocus-pocus act that is hawking its tricks there through Sunday? The question is not whether "The Illusionists: Witn…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:17pm on January 8, 2015☆⚑

What torpedoed Sting's "Last Ship"? Broadway. by Nelson Pressley

So "The Last Ship" is sinking, and questions are afloat as to why. Sting's earnest, personal musical about his childhood in an English shipbuilding town is generally respected. The score is …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:38am on January 7, 2015☆⚑

Sting musical "The Last Ship" will close Jan. 24 as star shoves off by Nelson Pressley

Sting's Broadway fling will end Jan. 24 as "The Last Ship" docks for good. The original musical, based on Sting's childhood in a Northeast England shipbuilding town, has been a personal crus…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 12:15pm on January 6, 2015☆⚑