A Theatre-Goer's Thoughts

  Stephen Patrick Martin as Andrew Undershaft and Laura Giannarelli as Lady Britomart. Photo credit: Christopher O. Banks. A program note from Washington Stage Guild’s artistic director, Bill Largess, explains that the founders wanted the company to be “dedicated to the kind of play we liked best – eloquent plays of idea and argument, passion and wit.” George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara certainly embodies all four of those guiding principles. It is given a bold, sure-footed production under the direction of Stephen Carpenter, continuing at the Undercroft Theatre through December 11. Indeed, it is the ideas and arguments in the play that are at the forefront. Plot and character are less important, but there is enough plot in which to hang the ideas and the characters are quirky and interesting enough to enable us to become engaged in the arguments. Lady Britomart convenes her young adult son, two daughters, and the daughters’ current love interests, to announce that their fath...

  The cast of Into the Woods . Photo credit: Daniel Rader. “Once upon a time,” or words to that effect, may be the most commonly used first phrase in the world of storytelling, whether written or oral. We use these shared stories, sometimes called fairytales, to teach, to inspire, and to share cultural values. A fascinating note in the program for Into the Woods notes that there are over 500 versions of the Cinderella story alone, all the way back to 5 th century BCE Greece and 9 th century China. I had no idea. Into the Woods , the current offering (continuing through January 29, 2023) at Arlington’s Signature Theatre, interweaves aspects of four familiar fairy tales (Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel) with a “new” fairytale about a Baker and his Wife, concocted by librettist James Lapine and composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. There are even a couple of passing references to Snow White. But these are definitely not the Disney-fied vers...