Watching A Beautiful View, written and directed by Daniel MacIvor, was like sitting through a 75 minute master class in acting. Here is how you fill a pregnant pause with emotion, here is how you connect with the audience, here is how you fill seemingly banal conversation with meaning, here is how you listen and react to a fellow performer.
A Beautiful View follows two women (Jennifer Mendenhall and Kathleen Coons) through a thirty-year friendship and love affair. Mendenhall and Coons are wonderful, and their connection to each other and to the audience carries the play along. MacIvor writes with a deft tough, though the text does get slightly heavy-handed near the end. Still, the play achieves its objective, leaving us pondering the nature of relationships and how they can catch us by surprise.
Through November 2nd
4 Stars
Monday, October 27, 2008
Discount Performances 10/27
October 27 at 7:30pm
PWYC READING: DEPOSITION ON WATER-BOARDING: From the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel Testimony Before the House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Directed by Jeffery Sichel
Journeymen Theater
http://www.journeymentheater.org/
Church Street Theater
1701 Church Street, Washington, D.C.
Featuring: Rich Foucheux
A theatrical reading of a text compiled from our government’s examination of the legality of the practice of water-boarding. From the chairman’s opening statements: “Today we consider a matter that goes to the heart of who we are as a Nation. No one will argue that we live in a dangerous world, that there are people who are organizing to attack our Nation, or that our government must gather reliable intelligence to defend us. All that is obvious. What is at issue is the lengths to which some people acting on our behalf have gone, and what the Office of Legal Counsel has advised our government it may and may not legally do.” Part of Journeymen Theater’s Ethics and War Reading Series.
October 29 at 7:30pm
FREE READING: The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus
by Christopher Marlowe
directed by Shirley Serotsky
Constellation Theatre
http://www.constellationtheatre.org/
Source Theatre
1835 14th Street NW
Featuring Jonathon Church as Faust and Nanna Ingvarsson as Mephostophilis
October 29, and November 5 at 7:30pm
PWYC: Intelligence
by Kenneth M. Cameron
directed by Walt Witcover
Rep Stage
http://www.repstage.org/
OCTOBER 8 - NOVEMBER 9, 2008
Rep Stage
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD 21044
In his tightly-guarded command post, the head of our national security is challenged by an idealistic young writer, while the fate of a popular leftist leader, now returning to Central America, hangs in the balance.
October 29, November 5 and 12 at 7:30pm
PWYC: As American As
by Ken Prestininizi
Directed by Shirley Serotsky
Journeyman Theater
http://www.journeymentheater.org/
October 22-November 15, 2008
Church Street Theater
1701 Church Street, Washington, D.C.
Homeland security comes at a personal price in this dark comedy when war and terrorism come home to Middle America, the Penini’s basement is transformed into a black site and a hooded man is interrogated by two Franks.
PWYC READING: DEPOSITION ON WATER-BOARDING: From the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel Testimony Before the House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Directed by Jeffery Sichel
Journeymen Theater
http://www.journeymentheater.org/
Church Street Theater
1701 Church Street, Washington, D.C.
Featuring: Rich Foucheux
A theatrical reading of a text compiled from our government’s examination of the legality of the practice of water-boarding. From the chairman’s opening statements: “Today we consider a matter that goes to the heart of who we are as a Nation. No one will argue that we live in a dangerous world, that there are people who are organizing to attack our Nation, or that our government must gather reliable intelligence to defend us. All that is obvious. What is at issue is the lengths to which some people acting on our behalf have gone, and what the Office of Legal Counsel has advised our government it may and may not legally do.” Part of Journeymen Theater’s Ethics and War Reading Series.
October 29 at 7:30pm
FREE READING: The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus
by Christopher Marlowe
directed by Shirley Serotsky
Constellation Theatre
http://www.constellationtheatre.org/
Source Theatre
1835 14th Street NW
Featuring Jonathon Church as Faust and Nanna Ingvarsson as Mephostophilis
October 29, and November 5 at 7:30pm
PWYC: Intelligence
by Kenneth M. Cameron
directed by Walt Witcover
Rep Stage
http://www.repstage.org/
OCTOBER 8 - NOVEMBER 9, 2008
Rep Stage
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD 21044
In his tightly-guarded command post, the head of our national security is challenged by an idealistic young writer, while the fate of a popular leftist leader, now returning to Central America, hangs in the balance.
October 29, November 5 and 12 at 7:30pm
PWYC: As American As
by Ken Prestininizi
Directed by Shirley Serotsky
Journeyman Theater
http://www.journeymentheater.org/
October 22-November 15, 2008
Church Street Theater
1701 Church Street, Washington, D.C.
Homeland security comes at a personal price in this dark comedy when war and terrorism come home to Middle America, the Penini’s basement is transformed into a black site and a hooded man is interrogated by two Franks.
DC: Shakespeare Theatre's Way of the World
The Way of the World by William Congreve is a masterpiece of Restoration Comedy and Restoration Confusion. It has a famously convoluted plot, made more difficult by the fact that the leading couple’s names are Millamant and Mirabell. And when the play isn’t in front of me, I have a hard time remembering which is which. I won’t even try to summarize the plot; just take my word that it is full of affairs and assignations, all undertaken with great wittiness.
Last year’s production of The Beaux' Strategm, also directed by Michael Kahn, was hugely entertaining. But the Way of the World does not live up to that. The design elements, a set washed in creams and costumes in more shades of green than you ever thought possible, sound good on paper, but when they are before your eyes, they just don’t work. The lightness of touch missing from the design is also missing from the performances, and the play seems to drag under its own weight.
The production is at its best when Veanne Cox (Millamant) is onstage. She flits about the stage in a flirtatious manner, successfully allowing the audience to see what Archer finds both so alluring and so infuriating. The rest of the cast is stuffed full of some of the very best actors in DC. But even they are not able to breathe life into this production. Nancy Robinette, Andrew Long, Floyd King, these are all actors that are very good at what they do – and that perhaps is the problem. Almost everyone in this play is playing parts we have seen them play before. We know what they are going to do and how they are going to do it; there is nothing exciting about it.
Through November 16th
2 stars
Last year’s production of The Beaux' Strategm, also directed by Michael Kahn, was hugely entertaining. But the Way of the World does not live up to that. The design elements, a set washed in creams and costumes in more shades of green than you ever thought possible, sound good on paper, but when they are before your eyes, they just don’t work. The lightness of touch missing from the design is also missing from the performances, and the play seems to drag under its own weight.
The production is at its best when Veanne Cox (Millamant) is onstage. She flits about the stage in a flirtatious manner, successfully allowing the audience to see what Archer finds both so alluring and so infuriating. The rest of the cast is stuffed full of some of the very best actors in DC. But even they are not able to breathe life into this production. Nancy Robinette, Andrew Long, Floyd King, these are all actors that are very good at what they do – and that perhaps is the problem. Almost everyone in this play is playing parts we have seen them play before. We know what they are going to do and how they are going to do it; there is nothing exciting about it.
Through November 16th
2 stars
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Discount Performances 10/20
October 21 at 7:30pm
FREE READING: The Fetish
by Richard Washer
Charter Theatre
http://www.chartertheater.org/
The Arts Club of Washington
2017 I St NW
Washington, DC 20006
A miserly widower hires an unusual housecleaner to replace the expensive nurse his daughter hired to care for him following the accident that shattered his ankle. Worried about the woman's motivations and her father's vulnerability, the daughter returns home to make sure her father isn't the target of some scheme. She finds the household a romantic tangle that may or may not be related to the fetish that the housecleaner carries with her to guide her life decisions.
October 22 and 23 at 7:30pm
PWYC: HONEY BROWN EYES
A WORLD PREMIERE
By Stefanie Zadravec
Directed by Jessica Lefkow
Theatre J
http://www.theaterj.org/
October 22 - November 30, 2008
Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater
Washington DC Jewish Community Center
1529 16th Street NW
Bosnia, 1992. In two kitchens, two soldiers recover a little of what they’ve lost during the war. A Serbian soldier confronts a woman he might have known and is faced with a terrible choice, while a member of the Bosnian resistance takes refuge in what he thinks is an abandoned apartment. Unlikely partnerships emerge in this play of horror, humanity and stunning relevance.
October 22, 29, and November 5 at 7:30pm
PWYC: Intelligence
by Kenneth M. Cameron
directed by Walt Witcover
Rep Stage
http://www.repstage.org/
OCTOBER 8 - NOVEMBER 9, 2008
Rep Stage
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD 21044
In his tightly-guarded command post, the head of our national security is challenged by an idealistic young writer, while the fate of a popular leftist leader, now returning to Central America, hangs in the balance.
October 22, 29, November 5 and 12 at 7:30pm
PWYC: As American As
by Ken Prestininizi
Directed by Shirley Serotsky
Journeyman Theater
http://www.journeymentheater.org/
October 22-November 15, 2008
Church Street Theater
1701 Church Street, Washington, D.C.
Homeland security comes at a personal price in this dark comedy when war and terrorism come home to Middle America, the Penini’s basement is transformed into a black site and a hooded man is interrogated by two Franks.
October 25 at 11am
FREE READING: On Thin Ice
by Lisa Bonita Bridgens.
directed by Deborah Randall
Venus Theatre
http://www.venustheatre.org/
The Venus Theatre Play Shack
21 C Street
Laurel, MD 20707
Mary Jacobs has brought healing and hope to millions through her evangelical ministry. But, she has a secret that could rob her not only of her ministry millions, but her life as well. Is Mary a fake and a fraud, or is she blessed with a divine gift? Featuring Frank Britton, Erin Kennedy, Karen Beriss and Robin Rouse. Part of Venus Theatre’s wRighting Women Reading Series.
FREE READING: The Fetish
by Richard Washer
Charter Theatre
http://www.chartertheater.org/
The Arts Club of Washington
2017 I St NW
Washington, DC 20006
A miserly widower hires an unusual housecleaner to replace the expensive nurse his daughter hired to care for him following the accident that shattered his ankle. Worried about the woman's motivations and her father's vulnerability, the daughter returns home to make sure her father isn't the target of some scheme. She finds the household a romantic tangle that may or may not be related to the fetish that the housecleaner carries with her to guide her life decisions.
October 22 and 23 at 7:30pm
PWYC: HONEY BROWN EYES
A WORLD PREMIERE
By Stefanie Zadravec
Directed by Jessica Lefkow
Theatre J
http://www.theaterj.org/
October 22 - November 30, 2008
Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater
Washington DC Jewish Community Center
1529 16th Street NW
Bosnia, 1992. In two kitchens, two soldiers recover a little of what they’ve lost during the war. A Serbian soldier confronts a woman he might have known and is faced with a terrible choice, while a member of the Bosnian resistance takes refuge in what he thinks is an abandoned apartment. Unlikely partnerships emerge in this play of horror, humanity and stunning relevance.
October 22, 29, and November 5 at 7:30pm
PWYC: Intelligence
by Kenneth M. Cameron
directed by Walt Witcover
Rep Stage
http://www.repstage.org/
OCTOBER 8 - NOVEMBER 9, 2008
Rep Stage
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD 21044
In his tightly-guarded command post, the head of our national security is challenged by an idealistic young writer, while the fate of a popular leftist leader, now returning to Central America, hangs in the balance.
October 22, 29, November 5 and 12 at 7:30pm
PWYC: As American As
by Ken Prestininizi
Directed by Shirley Serotsky
Journeyman Theater
http://www.journeymentheater.org/
October 22-November 15, 2008
Church Street Theater
1701 Church Street, Washington, D.C.
Homeland security comes at a personal price in this dark comedy when war and terrorism come home to Middle America, the Penini’s basement is transformed into a black site and a hooded man is interrogated by two Franks.
October 25 at 11am
FREE READING: On Thin Ice
by Lisa Bonita Bridgens.
directed by Deborah Randall
Venus Theatre
http://www.venustheatre.org/
The Venus Theatre Play Shack
21 C Street
Laurel, MD 20707
Mary Jacobs has brought healing and hope to millions through her evangelical ministry. But, she has a secret that could rob her not only of her ministry millions, but her life as well. Is Mary a fake and a fraud, or is she blessed with a divine gift? Featuring Frank Britton, Erin Kennedy, Karen Beriss and Robin Rouse. Part of Venus Theatre’s wRighting Women Reading Series.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Way of the World, The Shakespeare Theatre Company
This review has been a week in coming. I've sat around brainstorming, I've consulted with friends who've seen the production in question, I've read the reviews in print and on the web.
But in the end, my silence is almost as revealing as my words could be.
There was NOTHING to say. Tepid staging, lackluster performances, and a design aesthetic that managed to be both stultifyingly dull and frighteningly ugly.
I'm not sure where the missteps might have occured. Michael Kahn, the production's director, is the artistic manager of the Shakespeare Theatre for a reason. Andrew Long, who plays Mr. Fainall, is one of my very favorite DC actors. Jane Greenwood's costume designs are usually brilliant. And yet somehow, this team of magnificently talented artists assembled a night of theatre that utterly failed to impress.
I will set my eyes on the horizon of Twelfth Night and do my best to pretend last Sunday night never happened.
But in the end, my silence is almost as revealing as my words could be.
There was NOTHING to say. Tepid staging, lackluster performances, and a design aesthetic that managed to be both stultifyingly dull and frighteningly ugly.
I'm not sure where the missteps might have occured. Michael Kahn, the production's director, is the artistic manager of the Shakespeare Theatre for a reason. Andrew Long, who plays Mr. Fainall, is one of my very favorite DC actors. Jane Greenwood's costume designs are usually brilliant. And yet somehow, this team of magnificently talented artists assembled a night of theatre that utterly failed to impress.
I will set my eyes on the horizon of Twelfth Night and do my best to pretend last Sunday night never happened.
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