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In the Heights, Signature Theatre, Arlington, VA

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  The cast of In the Heights at Signature Theatre. Photo credit: DJ Corey Photography. Joyful is the best word I could use to describe the magnificent production of In the Heights , now on stage at Arlington’s Signature Theatre. Others would include exuberant, energetic, colorful, insightful, poignant, romantic, moving, sharp, immersive, life-affirming, and optimistic, epic and intimate at the same time: I could go on and on with adjectives. Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the musical score and lyrics, with book by Quiara Alegr í a Hudes, In the Heights seemed to come out of nowhere (it actually went through a number of iterations) before bursting onto the scene, opening on Broadway in 2008. I knew almost nothing about it when I saw it there (on a half-price ticket), just a few days before it received 13 Tony Award nominations and there were no more discounted tickets! It won four Tonys (including Best Musical and Best Score), and started playing to full houses. It p...
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A Room in the Castle, Folger Theatre, Washington, DC

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  Oneika Phillips as Queen Gertrude and Sabrina Lynne Sawyer as Ophelia in Folger Theatre's world premiere of  A Room in the Castle , written by Lauren M. Gunderson, directed by Kaja Dunn. Co-produced with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Photo by Erika Nizborski. William Shakespeare created dozens, if not hundreds, of characters as a playwright. The fact that the great majority of them are men should probably not be a surprise due to the facts that (a) Shakespeare was a man, and (b) at the time he was writing, only men were allowed to act on stage. Oh, there are women here and there, some of them prominent, but most relegated to supporting or minor roles. And even some of the major roles for women (Lady Macbeth and Juliet, for example) are defined more by their relationships to male characters rather than to their own individual personalities and situations. There is, it seems, no “room” for the females. A Room in the Castle , a world premiere of the play by Lauren M. Gunder...
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It's a Motherf***king Pleasure, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Washington, DC

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Aarian Mehrabani, Chloe Palmer, and Sam Brewer in It's a Motherf**king Pleasure  at Washington's Woolly Mammoth Theatre. Photo credit: Lucas Ibanez - Fæhn. When I saw that Woolly Mammoth Theatre’s season would include a play titled It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure , and knowing nothing about the play’s content, my first thought was, this is obviously a Woolly Mammoth kind of show. I have previously referred to their goal of producing “badass theatre.” The phrase “ripped from the headlines” comes to mind, though when this season was planned, there was no way of knowing that acknowledgement and discussion of diversity, equity, and inclusion would be banned in the current presidential administration. Those three principles remain essential commitments for Woolly. Though the principles are now derisively referred to (in some circles) as “woke,” Woolly assures us all that, by programming plays like this one, embracing those values ensures that Woolly will remain at the forefront of act...
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The Age of Innocence, Fichandler Theatre, Arena Stage, Washington, DC

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  A. J. Shively as Newland Archer and Shereen Ahmed as Countess Ellen Olenska in the Arena Stage production of  The Age of Innocence . Photo credit: Daniel Rader. The Age of Innocence , a new adaptation by Karen Zacar í as based on Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel (which made her the first woman ever to receive a Pulitzer Prize for Literature), is given an elegant production under the direction of Hana S. Sharif in the Fichandler Theatre at Arena Stage, through March 30.    A fascinating glimpse into the lives of a handful of socially-elite, “old money” New Yorkers,  The Age of Innocence  is set in the 1870s during what has become known as the “Gilded Age.” We see and learn the mores and social conventions of the aristocratic class, focusing on one particular couple who are navigating the spoken and unspoken “rules” of the upper class. Newland Archer is a well-heeled, up-and-coming aristocratic lawyer who is engaged to May Welland, a woman who has been brought up...
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Kunene and the King, Klein Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, DC

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Below: Edward Gero and John Kani in  Kunene and the King  at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Photo credit: Teresa Castracane Photography. Conflict is essential to drama. Opposites clashing, particularly if both are strong, is a more interesting basis for drama than two clashing with an extreme imbalance of power: a tennis match between the number 1 seed and number 4 is likely to be more dynamic, more intriguing, more exciting than one between the #1 ranked player and #212. Most sports matches result in a win for one and loss for the other; a few allow ties. A well-fought match with a close score is always more fascinating than  a blow-out.   In  Kunene and the King , playwright/actor John Kani gives us two fascinating characters, a couple even odder than the title pair in  The Odd Couple . They are total opposites brought together by circumstances in South Africa in 2019 (when the play was initially produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company), just 25 ...
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The Bedwetter, Kreeger Theatre, Arena Stage, Washington, DC

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  Emerson Holt Lacayo (Abby), Elin Joy Seiler (Amy), Aria Kane (Sarah), and Alina Santos (Ally) in Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter at Arena Stage through March 16. Photo by T Charles Erickson Photography. The title gives away the secret bubbling underneath the surface in The Bedwetter , a new musical by Emmy-winning writer, actress, and stand-up comic Sarah Silverman. It manages to be delightfully funny, insightful, and sometimes poignant, driving home a universal theme that we never seem to get enough of: be who you are. Paradoxically, perhaps, it is a musical about a particular child that may well be too adult for children under 16 or so. If you are familiar with Silverman’s comedy, you understand; if not, after 100 minutes with preteen Sarah, you will have a partial explanation of how she created the persona we know. Little Sarah, age 10, is negotiating some very grown-up issues. It is the 1980s in a small town in New Hampshire. After her parents’ recent divorce, Sarah is adj...
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Guac, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Washington, DC

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  Manuel Oliver in Guac . When introducing his family, wife Patricia is first. Photo courtesy of Public Theatre NYC. (Note: The t-shirt worn on opening night had a different slogan, as described below.) I wish there was no reason for me to know these places: Columbine. San dy Hook. Uvalde. Parkland. And too many more. But I do know those places – and others like them. Every month, it seems, there is another to add to the list. This month, it’s Antioch High School in Nashville. Another school shooting. Each one, a call to action. And in each case, some people claim that it’s inappropriate to politicize what happened. But we know, deep down, that things don’t have to be this way. It’s an American phenomenon, where politicians are under the thumb of the National Rifle Association and the gun lobby. As a result, the concerns over the ability to own automatic weapons overrides concerns about any children who are denied life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness because of gun viole...
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