Step into a rom-com as it’s being written in D.C. I Love You: Ready or Not.

The site-specific, immersive play invites the audience on a walking tour of the Folger Shakespeare Library while following the unfolding love life of a young man (or woman, depending on the performance) named Hunter. An unwilling participant in the drama, Hunter meets a series of stereotypical rom-com love interests, from a frustrated woman trying to unlock her ex-boyfriend’s bike to a busy businesswoman and a ukulele-strumming dreamer. Will the reluctant Hunter find the one?

With a rotating cast and a changing environment, no two performances of D.C. I Love You: Ready or Not will be quite the same. Each scene unfolds in a different location in or around the historic Shakespeare Library, which is open to the public during the performance. Expect couples to unknowingly stroll through the scene, locals to look askance, and tourists to snap photos as you follow your tour guide through each episode of the journey.

The creativity and community effort behind this show give it heart, but the writing itself falls flat compared to the Folger’s usual artistic standards.

When Hunter breaks the fourth wall in the opening scene, it draws the audience in as characters in the story; but the role of the audience in that story remains unclear and awkward throughout.

As each love interest gets progressively more exaggerated and ridiculous, the corny dialogue feels out of place against the near-majesty of the surrounding library.

An unexpected twist in the final scene somewhat redeems the weakness of the rest of the script for some humor and dramatic payoff in the end.

Besides a few quirky, sweet moments throughout and a compelling monologue from Hunter in the reading room scene, the best part of this walking anti-rom-com journey is touring the beautiful and historic Folger Shakespeare Library and getting a chance to stop in for a drink at the Quill and Crumb Café.

Still, the creativity and innovation behind the play are impressive. Love stories lived and written by those in the DC community form the heart of the show’s storyline. At community workshops in 2024, aspiring rom-com writers shared their favorite District-based love stories at community writing workshops at the Folger and the DC Public Library branches in Mount Pleasant and Anacostia. Those stories became DC, I Love You: First Dates in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood and DC, I Love You: Ready or Not at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Both are the first two parts of the DC Amplified Project, a three-part series that aims to uplift and document the stories of Washingtonians.

“The DC Amplified Project is part of the Folger’s commitment to building authentic engagement with our DC community, in the community,” said Folger’s Director of Performance and Programming Karen Ann Daniels. “DC is an incredible city that holds so many institutions, but an institution is made up of people, and those people have lives and within those lives, captivating stories to share.”

DC, I Love You: Ready or Not plays June 21 and 22, 2025, beginning at the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Haskell Center, 301 East Capitol St SE, Washington, DC. Tickets are $30, or $50 for two. There are six different time slots each day, beginning at 1 pm, with limited capacity for each event. Participants should wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes because the show involves walking, and some scenes will take place outside. To reserve tickets or for more information, go online or call the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077.

CAST
Dominique Gray: Hunter
Dylan Arredondo: Hunter
Ixchel: Elizabeth/Maggie/Holly/Amelia
Laura Zee: Hunter
Lenny Mendez: Anne
Miss Kitty: Anne
Pauline Lamb: Elizabeth/Maggie/Holly/Amelia
Sedona Salb: Anne
Yesenia Iglesia: Elizabeth/Maggie/Holly/Amelia

CREATIVE TEAM
Katie Harroff: Creator, Writer, Director
Nadia Guevara: Assistant Director, Co-Producer
Megan Wave: Stage Manager
Laura Zee: Co-Producer
Thomas Sowers: Sound
Anaïs Daniels-Condon: Production Assistant
SEE ALSO:
‘DC, I Love You,’ Folger’s true rom-com series, kicks off in Mount Pleasant (review by Julian Oquendo, May 30, 2025)
Folger’s ‘DC, I Love You’ to enact real love stories in Mount Pleasant and Capitol Hill (news story, May 12, 2025)

The post True rom-com series ‘DC, I Love You: Ready or Not’ opens its heart at Folger appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

The lead lady captures our hearts to the tune of banjo and fiddle music in the opening of Bright Star on the campus of The Catholic University of America. The intimate setting of the small Callan Theatre, paired with live bluegrass music, makes seeing this show feel like a homecoming, rich with all the joys and sorrows of life.

Written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell and directed by Jay D. Brock, the bluegrass musical takes place in western North Carolina in 1945 and ’46 and in part in flashbacks to 1923. Following the life of literary magazine editor Alice Murphy (Emma Markey), the show tells the story of young love, loss, and reconciliation as her encounter with a young soldier just home from World War II prompts her to reflect on her old life and the child she once lost. Standout vocal performances and well-timed humor bring an emotional depth and a light-hearted feel to this story of the enduring love of family.

Markey outshines everyone as Alice Murphy. Her vocal performance alone offers a nuance to her character that many productions of Bright Star lack. But Murphy is also a triple threat who understands how to develop a character. As carefree teenage Alice, she flits around the stage and tosses her curls in “Whoa, Mama” and “Firmer Hand/Do Right.” The audience then watches her mature as she walks through her pregnancy in the sentimental “I Can’t Wait” and the loss of her child in the violent “Please, Don’t Take Him.”

As the older Alice, Markey retains her wit and candor but speaks and carries herself differently — with the gentle gravity of one who has suffered without bitterness.

Ryan Alexander supports Markey as well as her lover Jimmy Ray, but he lacks some of her emotional depth. In what should be one of the biggest shocks of the play for his character, Anderson hardly pauses at the news that Alice is pregnant. Still, the range in his vocal performances, from the light-hearted “Whoa, Mama” to the heartbreaking “I Had a Vision,” shows why the college freshman has landed two lead roles this season.

As the war hero and earnest aspiring writer, Billy Chase Nester brings a refreshing subtlety and innocence to his role. Other stand-out performances include Madonnina Gullo and Joey Depto as Lucy and Daryl, Alice’s editor assistants, and Cayden Wallace as Jimmy Ray’s father the Mayor. Gullo shines in “Another Round,” and she and Depto chip in some much-needed comedic relief throughout the show. At the other end of the emotional spectrum, Wallace would make anyone’s blood boil for his heartlessness in “A Man’s Gotta Do.”

The chorus of townspeople, choreographed by Sarah Frances Hope Williams, take on characters and personalities of their own as the story develops. But at times, the chorus’ movements distract from the action of the play. The purpose of three of the women appearing as “spirits” during the most emotionally heightened moments seems unclear as they gather around the pregnant Alice with sympathetic looks.

Set design by Samina Vieth and costume design by Cody Von Ruden contribute to the show’s world-building, inviting the audience to step back in time to small-town North Carolina at the beginning of the 20th century. But it’s the live bluegrass music, directed by Bryan Lilley, that really brings the play to life. Two musicians (Audrey Clement and Mulunesh Creaghan) help set the atmosphere for the show before it even begins, playing on an elevated porch in full view of the audience throughout.

All elements of music, dance, and acting combine to make this production of Bright Star genuine and heartfelt. For all of its nostalgic air, the production invites the audience to experience — together with Alice and Jimmy Ray — the real, familiar pain and joy of loving broken people in a broken world.

Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.

Bright Star plays through Sunday, April 27, 2025, presented by the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art, performing at the Callan Theatre, 3801 Harewood Rd. NE, Washington, DC, on the campus of the Catholic University of America. Tickets (students, $10; senior/military, or faculty/staff, $20; general adult, $25) are available online.

COVID Safety: Masks are optional.

Bright Star
Music, Book & Story by Steve Martin
Music, Lyrics & Story by Edie Brickell
Directed by Jay D. Brock
Music Direction: Bryan Lilley

CREATIVE TEAM
Scenic Designer (Samina Vieth)
Costume Designer (Cody Von Ruden)
Dialect Coach (Tonya Beckman)
Stage Manager (Scarlett Spano)
Lighting Designer (Catherine Girardi)
Sound Engineer (Michelle Janota)
Choreographer (Sarah Frances Hope Williams)
Assistant Choreographer (Angelo Carucci)
Assistant Stage Manager (Gianna Angela)
Assistant Director (Isabel Pierce)

CAST
Emma Markey (Alice)
Chase Nester (Billy)
Allison Howlett (Margo)
Ryan Alexander (Jimmy Ray)
Madonnina Gullo (Lucy)
Joey Depto (Daryl)
Rachael Brandon (Mama Murphy)
Robert Garza (Daddy Murphy)
Cayden Wallace (Mayor)
Jackson Biggs (Daddy Cain)
Mary Kelly (Florence, Ensemble, Spirit, Dance Captain)
Emily Scholl (Ensemble, Spirit, Well Dressed Woman)
Katie Vitale (Edna, Ensemble, Spirit)
Luke Plunkett (Max, Doctor, Ensemble, Stationmaster)
Holly Bruchalski (Clerk, Ensemble)
Thomas McQuillan (Stanford, Ensemble)
Nora Junge (Alice u/s)
Bryan Kotlar (Male Ensemble Swing)
Claire Sligh (Female Ensemble Swing)

CREW
Stage Manager (Scarlett Spano)
Assistant Stage Manager (Gianna Angela)
Light Board Operator (Rhett Ricardo)
Sound Board Operator (Anthony Graf)
Deck Crew (Aleyna Francis, Keira Bauer)
Wardrobe Crew (Jayden Parsons, Erin Fitzgerald, Angelo Carucci)
Follow Spot Operator (Grace Stephens, Alexa Palena)

BAND
Fiddle (Audrey Clement, Mulunesh Creaghan)
Guitar/Mandolin (Aaron Weberg)
Guitar/Banjo (Jonathan Hawkins)
Keys (Bryan Lilley, Mary Grace Reed)
Percussion (Jim Hofmann)
Bass (Guillermo Cortes)

Special thanks to Sophia Jeffress, Jacob Werner, Jacob Harris, Angelo Carucci, Emily Barrett, Jason Aufdem-Brinke, Onyx Cummings, and Andy Walling.

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Come for the pit orchestra, stay for the original Italian opera version of RENT. La Bohème at Catholic University’s Hartke Theater brings a daunting classic opera to life with grace, power — and helpful English supertitles.

Composed by Giacomo Puccini (d. 1924) and directed by Erica Ferguson, with music direction by Simeone Tartaglione, La Bohème is an opera in four acts set in Paris around 1830 that showcases the Bohemian lifestyle of a seamstress and her artist friends. This 19th-century Italian opera tells the parallel love stories of Mimi (Lin Gong) and Rodolfo (Jason Guerrero) and of Musetta (Sophia Spencer) and Marcello (Gabriel Thompson). The poor seamstress Mimi falls in love with the poet Rodolfo when she comes knocking on his door asking for a light after her candle blows out, and they fall in love at first sight. Mimi accompanies Rodolfo and his friends to Café Momus, where the painter Marcello, Rodolfo’s friend, falls in love with his former lover Musetta. The trials of love, poverty, and sickness unfold in the second act as Rodolfo and his friends realize that Mimi is not well.

From sheer vocal performance to choreographing the chaos of a Paris street at Christmas, the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art students pull off a challenging piece of art in La Bohème. The acting choices are understated, but the music and vocal performances alone carry the show.

Leads Gong and Guerrero outshine the rest of the cast in vocal ability. Their voices harmonize beautifully during their duet (O soave fanciulla — “Oh lovely girl”) in the semi-darkness of Rodolfo’s apartment, and Gong’s voice resounds in the theater space. Their character choices remain understated throughout the piece, but both are able to use voice alone — even in Italian — to convey the emotion of the piece and the movement of the plot.

Thompson, on the other hand, leans into the comedy of the piece. His use of physical humor and his sense of comic irony lighten the otherwise somber tone of the storyline, and the occasional antics of play sword fighting and dancing lend a much-needed comic edge.

Costumes by Margaret E. Weedon, scenic design by Sarah Beth Call, and lighting by Jason Aufden-Brinke made the show visually interesting. A contrast of the vibrant reds, golds, and greens of other Parisian characters at Café Momus with the grays and blues of Mimi, Rodolfo, and company bring out the division between the poor lives of artist friends and the extravagance of Paris. The lighting and colors of the stage also shift to grays and blues in the second act as the play takes a tragic turn, with warm light returning only through the memory of love songs.

Eighty minutes of Italian opera with almost no mistakes at the college level is no easy feat. The production hit only one hiccup Thursday night when one of the backdrops collided with a misplaced sofa during a scene change and began to swing from its ropes. But the actors played it off while taking the stage, and one of the crew members scrambled to move the offending furniture while the audience applauded him. And so the show goes on.

Running Time: 80 minutes with a 10-minute intermission

La Bohème plays through March 30, 2025, presented by the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art, performing at the Hartke Theatre, 3801 Harewood Rd. NE, Washington, DC, on the campus of the Catholic University of America. Tickets (students, $10; senior/military, or faculty/staff, $20; general adult) are available online.

COVID Safety: Masks are optional

La Bohème
Directed by Erica Ferguson
Music Direction by Simeone Tartaglione

CAST (Thursday & Saturday)
Lin Gong (Mimi)
Sophia Spencer (Musetta)
Jason Guerrero (Rodolfo)
Gabriel Thompson (Marcello)
Keegan Brush (Schuanard)
Yilin Xu* (Colline)
Daniel Campbell** (Colline)
Linsen Yang (Alcindoro/Benoit, Ensemble)
Jason DeSilva (Alcindoro/Benoit u/s, Ensemble)
Yihan Ye (Papignol, Ensemble)
*Thursday only
**Saturday only

CAST (Friday & Sunday)
Natalie Barsoum (Mimi)
Nora Spring (Musetta)
Hyo Chang An (Rodolfo)
Joey Chee (Marcello)
Miguel Villalobos (Parpignol, Ensemble)
Keegan Brush (Schuanard)
Daniel Campbell* (Colline)
Linsen Yang (Alcindoro/Benoit, Ensemble)
Jason DeSilva (Alcindoro/Benoit u/s, Ensemble)
*Sunday only

ENSEMBLE
Zhe Luo
Ziwei Lin
Ava Seastrom
Xuan Zhang
Tammy Justine Pattugalan
Dieer Hu
Katherine Mackenzie
Elise McClorey
Georgia Sigler
Linyan Luo

CREATIVE TEAM/CREW
Scenic Designer (Sarah Beth Hall)
Audio Engineer (Michelle Janota)
Lighting Designer (Jason Aufdem-Brinke)
Area Head for Vocal Performance/Opera (Sharon Christman)
Opera Coach (Keesun Kwon)
Stage Manager (Carolyn Shaffer)
Audio Engineer (Michelle Janota)
Assistant Lighting Designer (Camille Kashaka)
Maestro (Simeone Tartaglione)
Coach/Rehearsal Accompanist (Nicolas Catravas)
Assistant Stage Manager (Julia Schroeder)
Assistant Conductors (Simeon Morrow, Enrique Victoria-Obando, Faith Foster, Filippo Boschini)
Light Board Operator (Erin Peters)
Sound Board Operator (Daniel Schlegel)
Deck Crew (Jacob Harris, Natalie Watson)
Youth Chorus Supervisor (Ceci Curran)
Wardrobe Crew (Katherine Vadney, Ceci Curran)
Follow Spot Operator (Sophie Rivkin-Fish, Kennedy McCann)
Supertitles Operator (Alaina Gust)

CHILDREN’S CHOIR
Aleksia Membrano
Zoe Martinez Garcia
Rebeca Vega
Hnin Win
Kelly Martinez Ortiz
David DeVries
Jefferson Melgar Affaro
Irie Cantarella
Genesis Villanueva
Jakelin Salmeron Sorto
Lucy DeVries
Erica Tartaglione

The post A daunting classic opera comes to life in ‘La Bohème’ at Catholic University appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

“I’m going to kill myself, Mama.”

You can feel the silence in the theater after Jessie addresses these words across the room to her mother Thelma while gingerly cleaning her dead father’s gun at the kitchen table. The clock above the mantle reads just after 8:20 p.m.

Written by Marsha Norman and directed by Madeleine Regina, the 1983-Pulitzer-Prize-winning play ’night Mother takes place in 90 minutes as a mother and daughter battle over the daughter’s impending suicide. Graduates of The Theatre Lab’s Honors Acting Conservatory perform in this devastating drama, set in the kitchen and living room of the rural home of Thelma (Alison Bauer) and her daughter Jessie (Tegan Cohen). Bauer plays an aging “plain country woman,” a widow and mother of two, who evidently spends most of her time watching television and eating candy. Cohen plays a woman in her mid-30s or 40s who suffers from epilepsy. Divorced and the mother of a convict son, she lives at home taking care of her mother. She’s tired, hurt, and wants quiet — dead quiet.

Norman’s dialogue is brilliant, but actors in any two-woman play will face a challenge to keep the audience engaged. These women have mastered the art of subtlety. They draw the audience into their relationship and hold them captive throughout their struggle with life, regret, grief, and death.

The clock on the wall keeps time as mother and daughter wrestle through their broken relationship and question each other about their failed marriages, life decisions, and relationships. A series of stories, bickering matches and outbursts, and even moments of laughter follow. But as the clock ticks down to 10 p.m., borrowed time runs out.

The actors capture the tension and depth of this frayed relationship in both physicality and tone without making that tension overly stressful for the audience. Bauer and Cohen interact with familiarity but not warmth, suggesting that these women have lived together for a long time, but love faded somewhere along the way. They bicker and banter across the living room and kitchen as Cohen bustles around and sets things in order for her departure.

Both women offer compelling performances, but Bauer stands out. She moves back and forth through four of the five stages of grief during the 90-minute exchange — denial, anger, bargaining, and depression — but never quite accepts what her daughter is telling her until it is too late. Her physicality makes the case for her character. As Cohen moves around the space sporadically, most of the drama plays out on Bauer’s face and her posture while she stands, shuffles, and sits.

At first, she thinks her daughter is joking and waves her off. As she grows more concerned, she becomes angry, pacing and throwing things. She sits at the table or on the couch to bargain with her daughter and points at her several times in accusation. Thelma also visibly considers picking up the phone to call her son for help every time Jessie steps out of the room, approaching the phone and touching it or playing with its cord. Still, she hesitates. Bauer chooses the time when Thelma finally believes what her daughter says, and that realization on her face is chilling.

On the same note, the audience may develop more of a connection with Bauer than with Cohen because they see less of Cohen’s face. While Bauer “cheats out” at the table, Cohen does not. Her face remains hidden for about half of the theater in many key moments.

The set design by Megan Holden adds to the effectiveness of the show. From the blue wallpaper to the little crochet doilies throughout the room to the plate in the kitchen that says “bless this home,” everything feels incredibly…mundane. The costumes by Onia Gross fit the same descriptor — green cargo pants and a long sweater for Jessie, fuzzy slippers and a house dress for Thelma. The ordinariness of the 1980s farm home and the clothing of the characters visually emphasizes that the tragedy of suicide could come to any home, no matter how normal.

Thanks to the subtlety and skill of the actors, this devastating drama builds emotional intensity steadily from its opening moments to its climax. The breaking point of that intensity comes at just the right moment as the clock ticks toward 10 p.m.

I can count the plays I’ve cried in on one hand. This one made the list.

Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

’night Mother played from March 13 to 15, 2025, presented by The Theatre Lab’s Breakout Theatre at The Undercroft Theatre, 900 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC. 

Purchase tickets to upcoming Theatre Lab performances here.

’night Mother
Written by Marsha Norman
Directed by Madeleine Regina

CAST
Alison Bauer (Mama/Thelma)
Tegan Cohen (Jessie)

CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Madeleine Regina
Technical Director: Angelo Merenda
Stage Manager: Jennifer Hardin
Costume Designer: Maria Bissex
Lighting Designer: Emma Smith
SFX Op: Joseph Jackson
Wardrobe: Onia Gross
Lighting Board Operator: Mavelli Jones
Set Designer: Megan Holden
Assistant Stage Manager: Adam Franks, Jo Lau’ren Peele
Fight Choreographer: Kara Turner
Carpenter: Troy Johnson
House Manager: Noah Wesley
Usher: AJ Sultan
Operations Associate: Rachel Lipetz

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Austen-style love triangles and dresses with hoop skirts combine with Shakespearean soliloquies, duels, and mistaken identity in the opening of The Rivals at The Catholic University of America. The beautifully executed period drama was well worth the trouble it took to find the Hartke Theatre in the cold and dark — for anyone taking the Metro, prepare for a walk.

Written by Richard B. Sheridan and directed by Eleanor Holdridge, the story follows the romance of Lydia Languish (Christina Feretinos) and Captain Jack Absolute (Ryan Alexander). Lydia longs for adventure and romance. Jack longs for her. In order to woo the spirited Lydia, Jack hides his wealth and presents himself to her as “Ensign Beverley” rather than as a captain, proposing a scandalous elopement. Meanwhile, his father plans to arrange a match between the two. A parallel romance in which Faulkland (Andrew Annicharico) tests the love of his devoted Julia (Abigail Aronne) draws out the ironies of the lovers’ troubles. Jack becomes quite literally a rival to himself by his two identities, Faulkland only in his own head. Mistaken identity, imagination, and the anxieties of lovers all play a role as chaos ensues.

The show embodies a common adage in the theater world: There are no small roles, only small actors. From Jacob Werner’s antics as the pompous and cowardly Bob Acres to the deck crew member who plays a flustered klutz and had me cracking up during scene changes, the smaller roles in this show sometimes outshine the leads.

Werner brings all of himself to every scene. In his introduction to Faulkland, the character Acres has only a few lines. But Werner stays fully engaged in the scene throughout, looking out the window, eating Jack’s food from the table, and being a general nuisance. Later, he demonstrates his acting chops when his friend Sir Lucius O’Trigger (Mateo Sur) sways him in conversation to declare a duel to preserve his honor.

Each of the leads gave strong performances as well, and Annicharico stands out. He plays a nervous wreck of a man, Faulkland, whose only rival for the hand of Julia is his own anxiety about her love for him. While Alexander as Jack Absolute sometimes falls flat in key comedic moments, Annicharico understands comedic timing and how to build to an emotional crescendo in a scene. He is genuinely hilarious in his physicality and facial expressions and a master of diction.

These are incredibly well-trained college actors. When the entire cast appears on stage in the climactic scene, even the way each of them stands communicates their character choices. The ditsy and gossipping maid Lucy (Alexa Palena) stands with one arm crossed and one out like Audrey Hepburn smoking a cigarette. Faulkland holds his ground proudly with his chest up. The nosy matchmaker Mrs. Malaprop (Kathryn Parr) looks exasperated, pink plastic fan in hand.

The quality of the costumes by Margaret E. Weedon, scenic design by Sarah Beth Hall, and choreography by Bess Kaye made this show shine. I could hear the rustle of Julia’s silky skirt as she crossed the stage to Faulkland. The set design was simple yet effective, with matching windows on each side of the stage with curtains — one blue and one pink — lowering from the rafters to indicate the respective homes of Jack and Julia. Attendees will have to watch the second half to find out why the program lists Kaye as “Intimacy & Fight Director.” Vocal Coach Melissa Flaim also deserves credit for the strong vocal performances of Aronne as Julia, Sir Anthony (Robert Garza), and Parr as Mrs. Malaprop.

With the proposed consolidation of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art with the School of Arts and Sciences at the Catholic University of America this spring, theater students at CUA should be proud of what they have accomplished. The Rivals showcases professional-level talent on all fronts while drawing the audience into a comical whirlwind of wit and imagination.

Running Time: Two hours with a 10-minute intermission.

The Rivals plays through February 23, 2025, presented by the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art, performing at the Hartke Theatre, 3801 Harewood Rd. NE, Washington, DC, on the campus of the Catholic University of America. Tickets ($10 for students and $25 for general admission) are available online.

COVID Safety: Masks are optional

The Rivals
Written by Richard B. Sheridan
Directed by Eleanor Holdridge

CAST
Kathryn Parr (Mrs. Malaprop)
Christina Feretinos (Lydia Languish)
Abigail Aronne (Julia)
Isabelle Valdes (Daisy)
Alexa Palena (Lucy)
Sylvia Marcantel (Thomasina)
Robert Garza (Sir Anthony)
Ryan Alexander (Captain Jack Absolute)
Andrew Annicharico (Faulkland)
Matt Riordon (Stick)
Jacob Werner (Bob Acres)
Mateo Sur (Sir Lucius O’Trigger)
Jacob Harris (Mr. Du Peigne)
Sophia Jeffress (Greta)
Kennedy Elizabeth (Jane)

CREW
Stage Manager (Madelyn Kobbermann)
Assistant Stage Manager (Anna Maria Fasse)
Light Board Operator (Katie Vitale)
Sound Board Operator (Daniel Schlegel)
Deck Crew (Kat Caldwell, Natalie Watson, Zoe Bernabe)
Wardrobe Crew (Lauren Rafoth, Catherine Efantis)
Wardrobe Crew-Wigs (Angelo Carucci)
Follow Spot Operator (Nora Junge, John Paul Szewczuk)

CREATIVE TEAM
Vocal Coach (Melissa Flaim)
Intimacy & Fight Director (Bess Kaye)
Lighting Designer (Jason Aufdem-Brinke)
Associate Lighting Designer (Camille Kashaka)
Costume Designer (Margaret E. Weedon)
Scenic Designer (Sarah Beth Hall)

Special thanks to Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and The University of Maryland, College Park

The post ‘The Rivals’ brings a 19th-century rom-com to the stage at Catholic University appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

God-killers face mortality, superheroes make peace with civilian life, and university students struggle with the anxiety of the pre-professional rat race in the 39th Donn B. Murphy One-Acts Festival (DBMOAF), produced by Georgetown University’s student-run Mask and Bauble Society.

Written, directed, and performed by Georgetown students, the MOAF brings three original plays to the stage with grace, nuance, and a lot of heart. In order, Ouroboros, Six Years Later, and The Enfancia Project contrast in setting, theme, and tone — but the range displayed by the directors and actors across these three challenging scripts testifies to their talent and enthusiasm for art. The “MOAFIES” deliver.

The show begins with Ouroboros, a dystopian tale of a centuries-old god-killer who has finally met her reaper… only the reaper looks awfully familiar to her. Written by Anastasia Kelly and directed by Nate Findlay, the script takes risks with time and place, drawing the audience into a Percy-Jacksonesque mythos of grim reapers, forbidden fruit, and gods that can inhabit the bodies of endangered weasels. The story twists and turns through a series of memories and reflections, prompting the audience to question if they, too, fear death, the afterlife — or the reaper.

“The script, in presenting a world apart from our own, gave way to a show where no pre-existing rules had to be followed,” Findlay said in his director’s note. “These mythical god-like creatures, different laws of nature, and questionable morals felt like a playground for visually depicting the themes of the show.”

Alex Roberts as the reaper Cecily and Claire Cable as the god-killer Lilias both give impressive performances, but Cable steals the spotlight. Her opening monologue lasts several minutes and draws the audience into the mythical world and her own meditation on mortality. Thoughtful, ironic, a little bit jaded — her voice carries the character and makes the nonsense of the speech make sense.

If the director is aiming for visual depiction, he succeeds. Findlay seats the main actor facing the audience with her back against an upturned table for the opening monologue. This blocking gives her the freedom to use physical levels and to own the space downstage before the reaper appears behind her. Elaborate costumes and makeup for the two characters also contribute to the world-building of the show.

Former superheroes take the stage next in Six Years Later, in which two former enemies meet in their civilian identities to catch up over coffee. Written by Claire Cable and directed by Rishu Nevatia, the script presents a simple but relatable concept of two people with a history trying to reconcile themselves to who they are now.

“At its core, Six Years Later is a conversation between two people trying to find their place in the world,” Nevatia said in his director’s note. “One of them was struggling and has found peace, the other thought he found peace but is struggling.”

Marre Gaffigan plays Kit Hunter, formerly known as the superhero The Red Sparrow. Hunter is thriving in the public eye after defeating his nemesis, The Ghost, six years earlier. False confidence and a red necktie thinly veil his insecurity about who he is without The Ghost in his life. Grady McDonough plays a milquetoast Peter Bennet — formerly The Ghost — who turns out to have wisdom and a quiet confidence Hunter lacks.

Gaffigan and McDonough have some genuinely funny and relatable awkward moments. But the show starts to drag in the middle before the climax, and the energy is only saved by Massimo D’Onofrio as the goofy barista who fanboys over The Red Sparrow.

In the first two shows, both pairs of actors play their relationships with a heightened tension that left me and the girls next to me during intermission asking: Was that a queer love story? Or are they just friends?

The first two shows did not disappoint, but DBMOAF saves the best for last.

Written by Eileen Miller and directed by Tommy Gaita, The Enfancia Project hits close to home for a college audience, taking on the anxiety of pre-professional culture. The brilliant script follows college student Carla and four other university students in a consulting club that specializes in crisis management. The script starts at the end of the club’s own legal crisis as Carla meets a journalist for an interview to tell her side of the story. A tale of ambition and foolishness unfolds through a series of flashbacks and interviews as all five students give their side of what happened and reveal the insecurities driving their frantic pursuit of a career in consulting.

“The Enfancia Project is a story of pressure,” Gaita said in his director’s note. “From birth, it feels like people are guided by a series of ‘so that’s.’ ‘I need good grades so that I can go to a good college so that I can get a good job so that I can make good money so that I can raise a family so that I can retire comfortably.’”

Each actor makes striking and effective character choices, but Lainey Lyle stands out. Lyle plays Carla, a driven, ambitious, bossy girl who heads up Crimerge, the college consulting club. Everything about Lyle, from the way she carries herself to the tone in her voice as she addresses the journalist to the way she fixes her eyebrows and clutches her purse, communicates a kind of stuck-up overachiever all of us have met. I was disgusted by the character, and that was the point.

The set design contributes significantly to the success of The Enfancia Project. A doorway stands at an angle at center stage between a coffee shop set-up and a library table stacked with binders, notebooks, and energy drinks. The characters pass from interviews with the journalist in the coffee shop through the door to flashbacks in the library. More than dividing the two spaces, the door gives the actors a chance to show how that character walks through a door. Do they slink or slam or scramble? Set design, paired with careful character expression and physicality, as well as the wit and pace of the dialogue, make this show outshine the others.

The atmosphere of DBMOAF is just plain fun. Georgetown students pack the seats in the black box theater, chatting and laughing between shows. I had almost as much fun watching them react to their friends as I did watching the shows themselves. Sitting there on opening night, I could feel the palpable sense of community built only through college theater.

Oh, and “Upside Down” by Jack Johnson during the curtain call was a nice touch.

Running Time: Two hours, including two 5-minute intermissions.

The Donn B. Murphy One-Acts Festival plays through February 16, 2025, presented by Mask and Bauble Dramatic Society performing at Georgetown University in Poulton Hall, Stage III, 1421 37th Street NW, Washington, DC. Tickets ($10, $5 for students) are available online.

The program for The Donn B. Murphy One-Acts Festival is online here.

COVID Safety: Masks are optional.

The 39th Donn B. Murphy One-Acts Festival

DIRECTING STAFF
Director, The Enfancia Project (Tommy Gaita)
Director, Ouroboros (Nate Findlay)
Director, Six Years Later (Rishu Nevatia)
Producer (Stratton Rebish)
Stage Manager (Elle Marinello)
Tech Director (Avelyn Bailey)
Assistant Director, The Enfancia Project (DB Won)
Assistant Director, Six Years Later (Alexandra Risi)
Assistant Stage Manager (Dylan Shapiro)
Assistant Stage Manager (Ariane Barth)

CAST
Ouroboros (written by Anastasia Kelly)
Lilias (Claire Cable)
Cecily (Alex Roberts)
Living Death (Reilly Souther)
Living Death (Celeste Viana)

Six Years Later (written by Claire Cable)
Kit Hunter (Marre Gaffigan)
Peter Bennett (Grady McDonough)
Waiter (Massimo D’Onofrio)
Radio Announcer (Autumn Rain Nachman

The Enfancia Project (written by Eileen Miller)
Carla (Lainey Lyle)
Leane (Briana Sparacino)
Jenny (Anivka Deva)
Francis (Aidan Green)
Rachel (Molly Meehan)
Daieele (Celeste Viana)
Employee (Massimo D’Onofrio)
Employee (Reilly Souther)

PRODUCTION STAFF
Lights Designer (Apara Chandavarkar)
Co-Lights Mentor (Cliff Stern)
Co-Lights Mentor (Lily Marino)
Set Dresser (Julien Catalon)
Sound Designer (Alexis Giaquinta)
Props Designer (Hailey Ahn)
Assistant Props Designer (Katie Merrill)
Costume Designer (Kait Delaney)
Assistant Costume Designer (Sophie Mayle)
Hair and Makeup Designer (Molly Jenkins)
Publicity Director (Charlotte Hibbert)
Graphic Designer (Massimo D’Onofrio)

The post Mask and Bauble’s one-act festival opens with heart at Georgetown University appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

When audience members step into Theater Alliance’s theater space, they are immediately confronted by a full-scale green and white trash truck with glowing headlights. Bulky black bags, discarded bird cages, and an old mattress litter the rest of the stage — in addition to other bits and bags of garbage, partially contributed by theatergoers for the production. I felt too close to the truck and the trash on stage, almost at my feet. But that discomfort is exactly the point.

Written by Lindsay Joelle and directed by Shanara Gabrielle, The Garbologists follows the unfolding of an unlikely friendship between two New York City sanitation department workers: a highly educated African American woman named Marlowe (Yesenia Iglesias) and a blue-collar, recently divorced white man named Danny (Chris Genebach). Danny has been wearing his DSNY uniform for nine years, but the show begins on Marlowe’s first day in the truck. When Marlowe reveals early on that she graduated with two degrees from Columbia, she prompts the audience and Danny to ask why she is there. Those questions build as the show moves beyond the surface into the characters’ lives, little by little.

The regional debut of The Garbologists uses an expertly designed set and strong acting to confront the audience with the messiness of human life, uncovering the hope of friendship in a chaotic and disordered world.

Theater Alliance repurposes a vacant retail space at 340 Maple Drive SW for this intimate show, which brings the audience face-to-face with parts of life they would rather not see. The garbage truck, designed by Jonathan Dahm Robertson, features what appears to be a functioning trash compactor as well as personal details like a child’s drawing pinned in the inside of the cab. The whole truck rotates between scenes to change location and indicate passage of time, lending a dynamic element to an otherwise tight, static space.

While the two characters clean up the snowy streets of New York City, they must confront the messiness of their own lives and learn to find commonality — and even friendship — despite their differences. This friendship is bred through manual labor, shared moments of tears and laughter, and the common pain of loss.

Iglesias, as Marlowe, plays a self-assured, confident, but deeply wounded woman. She is quick to defend herself, lashes out at Danny, and wants to be left alone. Over the course of the play, she softens and becomes more likeable as she opens up to her coworker.

Genebach, as Danny, contrasts in almost every way with his partner: he mansplains, makes dad jokes, and lives by a string of maxims and “house rules.” But as the show progresses, his gruff exterior gives way to reveal a sensitive and protective father who cares about his job and his son.

As the show’s only two actors, Iglesias and Genebach play off each other well in a spirited and increasingly natural back-and-forth. The action of lifting, lugging, and tossing bags into the truck keeps the energy high as the characters wrestle with the garbage and with themselves in a desperate attempt to understand one another. The play begins as a comedy — and is genuinely funny in its first moments — but quickly becomes dramatic when Marlowe breaks down in one scene and reveals more about her past. As the stage clears of trash, the relationship between the two moves from hesitant coworkers to true friends who draw out the best in each other.

The friendship evolves through conflict, which feels overwhelming at times.

While the almost constant verbal conflict between the actors supports the struggle to connect across boundaries, the tension lacks a depth and subtlety that could make the performance more effective. Discomfort is good, but the emotional rollercoaster of two people having shouting matches again and again can become grating.

The humorous scenes, though, are genuinely funny — largely thanks to Genebach’s antics. (Note that the play contains adult content that may be confusing for younger audiences.)

The costume design by Jeannette Christensen, lighting by Alberto Segarra, sound by Madeline “Mo” Oslejsek, and props by Isabel Simoes Decarvalho all fit with the show’s task of bringing the audience into the day-to-day world of NYC sanitation department workers. The story was largely inspired by interviews with DSNY workers conducted by the playwright, and details of the script and the set reflect an in-depth knowledge of the job. Displays in the lobby help set the scene by offering insight into the life and lingo of these vital workers.

According to the director, audiences should leave The Garbologists with more questions than answers. The show achieved this goal by directing attention to the individual stories, pains, and joys of two apparently different and overlooked members of society. The Garbologists shows how individual human lives are beautifully and intricately intertwined in ways we easily ignore. The show prompts the audience to look beyond first impressions, to ask questions, and to find common ground with people in their everyday lives they may not otherwise think of as friends. Everyone has a life to live and a story to tell. As Danny tells Marlowe in one scene: “Just because we pick up trash, that don’t make us garbage.”

Running Time: 80 minutes with no intermission.

The Garbologists plays through February 23, 2025, presented by Theater Alliance performing at The Westerly, 340 Maple Drive SW, Washington, DC. Tickets ($40) are available online, from the box office at boxoffice@theateralliance.com, or at (202) 241-2539.

The program for The Garbologists is online here.

COVID Safety: Masks are optional.

The Garbologists
By Lindsay Joelle
Directed by Shanara Gabrielle

CAST
Danny (Chris Genebach)
Marlowe (Yesenia Iglesias)

CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright (Lindsay Joelle)
Director (Shanara Gabrielle)
Scenic Designer (Jonathan Dahn Robertson)
Lighting Designer (Alberto Segarra)
Sound Designer (Madeline “Mo” Oslejsek)
Props Designer (Isabel Simoes Decarvalho)
Asst. Director/Dramaturg (Theo Yu)

PRODUCTION TEAM
Stage Manager (Regina Vitale)
Assistant Stage Manager (Niki Sears)
Wardrobe Supervisor (Nyasha Klusmann)
Lighting Supervisor (Ben Harvey)
Audio Supervisor (Allison Pearson)

The post ‘Garbologists’ at Theater Alliance finds humor and hope in the messiness of life appeared first on DC Theater Arts.