British playwright Ella Road’s Fair Play speaks to the moment we are living in by tackling rivalry, friendship, female empowerment, race, and gender, and it does so brilliantly. Audiences can see the work in a dynamic production now playing at 1st Stage in Tysons through November 9.

Directed by 1st Stage associate artistic director Deidra LaWan Starnes, the two-actor play focuses on two female athletes, both training and competing in the elite world of track and field in the United Kingdom. Mahkai Dominique plays Ann, who is new to the training center and who was recruited for her high potential as an athlete. Ann is also Black. She meets Sophie, played by Camille Pivetta, who is an established athlete who exudes confidence and is white. Over the course of the 90-minute drama, race and gender roles are examined as the pair of athletes grow and bond over their shared experiences. The playwright does not shy away from loaded topics but presents them within the fabric of the realistic dialogue between Ann and Sophie.

The text moves rapidly, covering a lot of ground, and the dialogue is sharp, naturalistic, and very British: talk of watching “telly,” dining on spaghetti Bolognese, and a liberal use of expressions like “innit” (a contraction of “is it not”), which should be familiar to fans of working-class characters on British TV.

One highlight of the production is how Starnes, the director, and the designers engineered the transitions and time jumps between scenes. Sarah Beth Hall‘s scenic design evokes a stadium, a locker room, and any location needed. An asymmetrical stretch of a running track serves as a backdrop. Projections of Ann and Sophie make for smooth and eye-catching scene transitions, passing like live reenactments of Nike commercials. The actors strike poses, move to the music, and, in a snap, advance hours or days without missing a beat. Lighting designer Alberto Segarra, projection designer Mark Costello, sound designer Thom J. Woodward, and scenic designer Hall each deserve gold medals for their collaboration with the director.

Starnes, as director, has also cast the production impeccably: each actress handles the British dialect like a local (dialect coaching by Jeri Marshall). Pivetta and Dominique both have the physique of top athletes as they stretch, drill, and prepare for their time on the track; Funmi Daramola serves as track and field consultant, allowing the actors to fully inhabit the skin of athletes, lending realism to the production. Costume designer Cidney Forkpah provides simple but effective athletic wear for the actors.

Like all well-made plays, the atmosphere of athleticism and the details of their training are merely the setting and engine of the play. For all the Britishness of the dialogue, there are universal truths and issues at play here. At the heart of Road’s text are these two young women attempting to make sense of their lives, their relationships, their choices, and each other. Dominique and Pivetta take their characters on a jam-packed journey, beginning as skeptical rivals and growing into friends, perhaps even soulmates. When each character faces a challenge, the other is there to play devil’s advocate or offer a shoulder to cry on. 

In the midst of their training, Ann and Sophie face issues such as doping, body autonomy, and even the hot-button topic of gender. Road’s script seems timely and real, with one of the characters facing an issue that could jeopardize her status on the team. Major topics are handled with care, leaving some questions unanswered and allowing the audience an opportunity to consider the issues after they leave the theater. It is a powerful story of two world-class athletes brought to life by two first-class actors and is well worth a visit.

Aside from the thought-provoking play, 1st Stage’s recent renovation is another reason to visit. With a new lobby area and larger rehearsal space, 1st Stage has much to offer for patrons and audiences.

Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

EXTENDED: Fair Play plays through November 9, 2025, at 1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Road, Tysons, VA. Tickets ($15-$55) can be purchased online or by calling (703) 854-1856.

Content Warning: No content recommendations are provided, but parents should know that adult language and mature subject matter are discussed.

Fair Play
By Ella Road
Directed by Deidra LaWan Starnes
Featuring Mahkai Dominique (Ann) and Camille Pivetta (Sophie)
Understudies: Sia Li Wright (Ann) and Melissa Wilson (Sophie)

Assistant Director: Marvin Brown
Stage Manager: Sarah Usary
Lighting Design: Alberto Segarra
Projection Design: Mark Costello
Costume Design: Cidney Forkpah
Sound Design: Thom J. Woodward

Scenic Design: Sarah Beth Hall
Props Design: Justin Nepomuceno
Track and Field Consultant: Funmi Daramola
Technical Director: Jax Pendland
Dialect Coach: Jeri Marshall
Intimacy and Violence Coordinator: Lorraine Ressegger-Slone
Artistic Director: Alex Levy

SEE ALSO:
1st Stage to present ‘Fair Play’ by Ella Road (news story, October 7, 2025)

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The suffragist movement, like many fights for civil liberties, is often presented as a straightforward victory. A relay race to the top of The Hill, where Man was waiting with open arms to claim Woman as equal. Famous female activists like Dr. Anna Howard Shaw and Ida B. Wells are placed into a fairytale where all womankind unite to pass the 19th Amendment and then live happily ever after. What’s the real story? Pipeline Playwrights’ It’s My Party! takes a stab at the truth. Written by Ann Timmons and directed by Rikki Howie Lacewell, the play examines the rivalry between the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the National Women’s Party (NWP). But this is no objective history lesson. Alice Paul, founder of NWP, is the heroine, fighting a war on two fronts: the men who hoard political power and the women willing to play their games. 

It’s My Party! opens on an empty table, center stage, filled only with the disembodied voices of congressmen. “Yay.” “Nay.” It’s 1919, and the suffragists listen on the sidelines with bated breath as Congress votes on the 19th Amendment. On one side, the women of NAWSA; on the other, the women of the NWP. The House passes the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, and the respective attitudes of the actresses reveal where the pendulum swings in this retelling. 

Pat Nicklin’s haughty portrayal of Carrie Chapman Catt gives the character the acerbic aura of a wicked stepmother. Catt indulges in a smug, self-gratifying celebration. She will be the one to greet the press, not Alice and her “hooligans.” Sarah Millard embodies the fiery temperament of Lucy Burns, Alice’s right-hand woman. Every time she wrinkled her nose with joy or threw back her head in outrage, I too was carried away by the ferocity of her emotions. 

The NWP are indignant at the reduction of their importance in achieving women’s suffrage. Their complaints felt meta, as did much of the play’s dialogue, and this self-awareness of its own relevance was the production’s greatest strength. As Alice Paul, Marissa Liotta captured the audience’s unwavering attention with passionate calls to action that stiffened the spines of everyone present. Sonja Dinkins, portraying Ida B. Wells-Barnett, created an imposing presence with a steely cadence, delivering each sentence as a verbal strike. These riveting performances were aided by scenes dense with standout lines, such as “Middle-class white women think they can change the world by themselves — it’s almost funny.” 

The play jumps between important moments and locations in women’s suffrage history. Its timeline does more than highlight key points; it makes an argument. After the initial confrontation in 1919, we’re taken back to 1912, when these great minds clash for the first time. The women take center stage now. We see younger versions of Alice and Lucy join NAWSA, believing they can shift the organization’s methods from state lobbying toward direct participation, which Lucy proclaims “is the only way to get things done.” The rest is history, and the throughline is Alice’s journey. 

Timmons’ script humanizes Alice more than the other women. Beyond Alice’s monologues, presented as prayers and private musings, we’re granted full access to her mind through hallucinations as she withers away in a psychiatric ward. Her health episodes get the red-light treatment; meanwhile, Lucy’s mental breakdown is overshadowed by the disappointment her leave causes Alice. 

Liz Weber’s Dr. Shaw, costumed in silver hair and gray, metallic clothing, is a relic of the past to be discarded, which happens without mention as she quietly disappears from the narrative. Dr. Shaw is portrayed as an outdated idea rather than a person. Her successor, Catt, embodies this same idea toward the end of the play, both in wardrobe (transitioning from earth tones to grayscale, costumes by Marty Van Kleeck) and in words. “You’ve set us back months, if not years,” they each say on separate occasions to Alice and Lucy, bookmarking the play with their anti-radical sentiments. 

Ida is perhaps the most conceptual character, representing the entirety of Black women’s suffrage and the racial tensions within the movement. The Ida we see must exist within the boundaries of a story that centers on white achievement; therefore, she is angry and nothing else. 

I do, however, understand the overall lack of complexity in the characters. Director Rikki Howie Lacewell has often said she encourages actors to “go to the door, not through the door.” I see that here, in the care taken to bring historical figures to life in a way that honors the voices they’re known for. It’s My Party! doesn’t push its heroines into the realm of historical fiction. Instead, it stands in that doorway, inviting the audience to look back at the real women who opened it first. 

Running Time: One hour and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. 

It’s My Party! plays through October 26, 2025, presented by Pipeline Playwrights performing at Theatre on the Run, 3700 S Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington, VA. Purchase tickets ($33 for general admission and student tickets for $23) online. 

The digital program is downloadable here.

Lighting Design by Alana Isaac; Set Design by Justin Nepomuceno; Costume Design by Marty Van Kleeck; Composer and Musician: Rick Bassett; Costume Coordinator and Artist: Maria V. Bissex

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The clocks are set. The line is drawn. Ann and Sophie have a chance to be champions. As their relationships, their bodies and their very identities are pulled into public scrutiny, does being exceptional come at too high a price? A gripping exploration of the underside of women’s athletics, Fair Play is the new work from Ella Road (The Phlebotomist), “the most promising young playwright in Britain.” – The Telegraph

The 1st Stage production of Fair Play features Mahkai Dominique and Camille Pivetta, and welcomes the actors to 1st Stage. The production is directed by 1st Stage Associate Artistic Director Deidra LaWan Starnes (hang, Quilters, The Rainmaker, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and others).

The design team includes: scenic design by Sarah Beth Hall, lighting design by Alberto Segarra, sound design by Thom Woodward, costume design by Cidney Forkpah, props design by Justin Nepomuceno, projection design by Mark Costello, dialect coaching by Jeri Marshall, and intimacy coaching by Lorraine Ressegger.

Fair Play runs October 16 – November 2, 2025 at 1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Rd, Tysons, VA 22102. Showtimes are Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. General admission tickets are dynamically priced at $25 (limited availability), $40 (limited availability), and $55. Student, educator, and military tickets are $15. Tickets can be purchased online at www.1ststage.org or by calling the 1st Stage box office at 703-854-1856. 

The run time is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. Captions and audio description will be offered for select performances. Check 1ststage.org/fair-play for the schedule.

About 1st Stage
1st Stage Theatre is an award-winning professional theater in the heart of Tysons, Virginia. The company serves as a cultural hub for the community producing first-rate theatrical productions as well as hosting professional musicians, orchestras, and visual artists, and providing educational opportunities for the community. 1st Stage’s production of The Nance received 4 Helen Hayes Awards in 2025, including Outstanding Production, and was the most nominated production in the region. Other awards include the American Theatre Wing’s National Theatre Company award. Additionally, 1st Stage is a renewed member of the Spur Local (formerly the Catalogue for Philanthropy) class of 2024-2025. In September 2016, The Wall Street Journal called 1st Stage “one of America’s most impressive smaller regional companies.”

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The classic novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James has influenced and informed authors, artists, and actors since its original publication in 1898. Now, this provocative psychological tale has been adapted into a new stage production — a musical written and directed by Matt Conner, with libretto and lyrics by Stephen Gregory Smith and music direction by Paige Rammelkamp. This innovative interpretation is playing now through October 26 at the Creative Cauldron in Falls Church, Virginia.

A famed gothic horror, The Turn of the Screw, tells the tale of the fragile human psyche through a warped weave of twisted threads — a delicate tapestry wherein you pull one thread looking for answers only to find you’ve unraveled a greater mess of fraying questions. The story centers on Bly Manor, a large English estate seated atop a high hill in the remote countryside, where a young governess becomes convinced that malevolent spirits lurk.

Bly Manor is home to two children, the sweet and innocent Flora (June Tuss) and her older brother Miles (John Poncy). After the death of the children’s parents, they are taken in by their uncle (Bobby Smith), who has a rather hands-off approach to parenting and, instead, prefers to employ a governess to tend to the children.

We join the story when Ms. Giddens (Susan Derry), the new governess, arrives at Bly Manor, unaware of the horrors that await her. Soon after she is employed, she begins seeing the ghosts of the former governess, Ms. Jessel (Marcy Ledvinka), and the former valet, Peter Quint (Christian Montgomery). As the show unfolds, Ms. Giddens grows fearful that the ghosts have an unhealthy, unholy hold on the children, mainly Miles.

Poncy portrays the mysterious role of Miles by embodying the dark charisma and sociopathic tendencies of a deeply disturbed and traumatized teenage boy. This is amplified even further by the specific unsettling tones of his solo songs, namely “Make Believe” and “Puzzle,” two songs rooted in eerie motifs and melodies, reminiscent of creepy carnival-esque imagery.

Ms. Giddens’ paranoid fear grows as she begins worrying that the children, persuaded by the worrisome apparitions, are working together against her. She is slowly compelled to question everything and everyone around her, including herself, and ultimately reexamine her entire reality. Derry depicts this induced state of paranoia perfectly. You can feel her emotional state gradually fall apart at an even and believable pace, which allows the climactic crescendo to pay off satisfyingly and elegantly.

Derry also builds the role through her theatrical, nearly operatic vocal performances. All three female leads (Derry, Ledvinka, and Karen Kelleher, who plays Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper and long-time resident of Bly Manor) give similar vocal performances, singing with controlled vibrato and impressive range.

The emotional highlight of the evening came near the end of the show during “Tiny Little Ship,” “Tiny Little Ship/Moment,” and “Puzzle 2.” Derry’s poignant vocals, paired with the pained expression emanating from her dark eyes, appealed to the audience as though trying to convey Giddens’ precarious truth to each of us individually.

Other excellent vocal standouts of the evening were Ledvink’s and Montgomery’s duets. The casting of our two ghosts was clearly conscious, considering how cleverly they complemented one another. Additionally, Kelleher’s confident and powerful vocals were a definite crowd favorite, as well as Smith’s eloquent and simply enjoyable performance — he may have been the only one to not miss a single note.

The musical numbers are primarily written in minor keys, which work wonders in evoking the dark nature of the era in which the story is set, as well as the haunting themes of the show. Minor keys, however, are generally more challenging to sing with technical perfection, which often results in occasional pitch issues from the performers. Further, despite the somewhat small performance space, most of the performers could have benefited from being mic’ed — if only to better balance against the resonance of the orchestral tones projected overhead.

The other production elements brilliantly heightened the show, however. Mainly the multimedia projections, lighting, and set design. Scene Designer Margie Jervis created an elaborate metaphor through her set design and use of props. At the beginning of the show, we are shown a white, boxy dollhouse with multiple square cut-outs indicating windows on each side. This dollhouse was used to depict the full exterior shots of Bly Manor.

With the assistance of Technical Director/Lead Carpenter Edward Wiant, the walls of that dollhouse are mirrored in the set design. Several large white slabs with white square cutouts hang above the stage at various angles, resembling dismembered walls that depict Ms. Giddens’ splintering psyche. Moreover, the sharp, square pieces cut from each white slab act as the missing puzzle pieces — the pieces Ms. Giddens is attempting to solve throughout the entire show.

The set is also constructed with an entirely black and white design, alluding to the often black-and-white nature of our individual perceptions of reality. Lighting Designer Lynn Joslin highlighted the black and white design by projecting a range of bright colors in varying hues upon the monochrome set from the lights hanging overhead. The carefully crafted choice of color (from red to blue to green to purple) works gradually yet powerfully to amplify the mood of a particular scene.

Projection Designer/Stage Manager Nicholas J. Goodman also increases the overall production value by bringing the story to life through elegant, artful projections against a veiled screen, which splits the stage, allowing the ghosts to linger behind it. Close-up photos of Ms. Jessel (almost in the style of photographer Man Ray’s famous photographs of Lee Miller) were thrown up on the screen at various angles. Additionally, painted across the screen, almost in the style of a beautiful children’s book illustration, were projections of peaceful waves paired with blue lighting and rainstorms paired with red lighting.

This unique interpretation of the classic Henry James novel, The Turn of the Screw, contains not only original music but also a troubling twist ending that turns the screw a little deeper still. Creative Cauldron’s ending works to tie the traumas of our past to the perceptions of our present and, ultimately, the consequences of our future.

Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.

The Turn of the Screw: The Musical plays through October 26, 2025, presented by Creative Cauldron as part of their Bold New Works for Intimate Stages, and sponsored by Mark Werblood and Serene Feldman Werblood. Creative Cauldron is located within the Broad and Washington Building at 127 E. Broad St., Falls Church, VA 22046. Tickets are available beginning at $40 for adults and $25 for students. Tickets can be purchased online here. More information about the show as well as the cast and crew can be found in the program here.

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Aldersgate Church Community Theater presents Paul Slade Smith’s The Outsider, a farcical satire about politics and government. Director Eddie Page chose this production because it mirrors our current political climate, stating that there is “no intent to undermine or endorse any party or candidate,” but it “invites us to laugh at the absurdity we all recognize.” What the show offers is a safe space for us to collectively shake our heads, throw up our hands, and laugh — because if we don’t laugh, we’ll cry.

Since the play takes place in only one setting, designer Shah Choudhury is able to transform and flesh out the stage effectively. What we have is a governor’s office: elegant, austere, and somewhat intimidating. Centered under a golden chandelier is a veritable mountain of a desk — one that makes a character muse, “Have you seen a more governor’s-looking desk than this desk?” and effectively swallows the new governor whole — when he takes a seat, all we see is the top of his head peeking out from the polished tabletop.

When a state governor is forced to resign after a salacious affair becomes public, lieutenant governor Ned Newley (Steve Rosenthal) finds himself the unwilling new chief executive. Self-conscious and a bundle of nerves, Newley fumbles and mumbles throughout his swearing-in ceremony, an embarrassing moment that goes viral online. While he shows himself to be extremely intelligent and able when the cameras are off, Newley struggles with his public persona and falls to pieces in front of an audience. Newley’s chief of staff, Dave Riley (Jim Pearson), dives into damage control and works hard to save face, only to discover that the general public is charmed by Newley’s “realness.”

Newley’s new online fame attracts the attention of Arthur Vance (Richard Fiske), an esteemed political consultant who sees victory where Ned and Dave see a lost cause. Vance takes Ned’s “realness” and runs with it, insisting on dumbing down the new governor’s persona with flashcards and overalls and stating that Ned’s “a real phenomenon: a leader who looks like an idiot.” Political pollster Paige Caldwell (Maya Reva) shares the facts — the more inept Newley seems, the more the public adores him. Dave serves as the “straight man” in this farce, the one seemingly sane person who gets more and more bewildered by the chaotic world around him, until he ends up whimpering on the floor in the fetal position.

With things already seeming upside-down, the plot really takes off when Newley’s affable secretary Louise Peakes (Elizabeth Replogle) inserts herself into a live interview. Louise finds herself campaigning on Newley’s ticket. America wants politicians who are “just like us!” but at what cost? Dave finds himself more and more disturbed by what’s going on around him, and takes decisive action to shed light on the absurdity of it all.

The cast works well together, and while perfect polished performances shouldn’t be expected with community theater, the occasional flub wasn’t severe enough to dampen the overall experience. Rounding out the cast are Sara Joy Lebowitz as feisty reporter Rachel Parsons and Charles Dragonette as her cameraman, A.C. Peterson. Dragonette gets laughs throughout the show with his taciturn delivery as a man who can’t be bothered, only for him later to deliver the most memorable monologue of the show. Steve Rosenthal’s comical facial expressions were a hit as well, and Jim Pearson’s escalating anxiety is well done as well. 

Politics is inescapable, especially in the DC Metro area. I think it’s safe to say that a lot of us are thoroughly overwhelmed and — I’ll say it — sick of the subject overall. Still, The Outsider is charming, and it’s refreshing to find some levity in a subject that’s becoming increasingly oppressive with each headline. If there’s ever a perfect time to produce and experience The Outsiders, it’s definitely now.

Running Time: Two hours, including one 15-minute intermission.

The Outsider plays through October 19, 2025, at Aldersgate Church Community Theater, 1301 Collingwood Road, Alexandria, VA. Tickets ($17.39 with service fee for senior, student, and active-duty military; and $20.57 with service fee for general admission) can be purchased at the door or online.

The Outsider
A Comedy by Paul Slade Smith
Directed by Eddie Page
Produced by Charles Dragonette and Marg Soroos

COVID Safety:  For your health and safety, we invite you to wear your mask while in the building.  All cast and crew are fully vaccinated and boosted.

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If you are still under the illusion that online dating in 2025 is anything other than a hellscape of half-hearted swipes, scripted introductions, and painfully awkward first dates, Miriam Battye — the playwright behind Strategic Love Play, playing through November 9 in an area premiere at Arlington’s Signature Theatre — is here to absolve you of that notion once and for all.

In a trendy New York restaurant, where reddish plaster walls are offset by desilvering mirrors that evoke the screens in our hand as much as reflect the people in front of them, a Man (Danny Gavigan) and a Woman (Bligh Voth) have just sat down for drinks after matching on an unspecified dating app. We’ll eventually learn her name is Jenny (and his, Adam), but she comes in hot from the jump, prodding her uptight suitor with difficult questions and confessing less-than-generous assumptions that make him clam up quickly. Whether he’ll stick it out for the obligatory second drink is anyone’s guess. Because it’s theater, he does, and for 70 minutes the two wrestle with romantic expectations, take stock of the baggage they carry, and dream of what comes next, should this be the match they’ve been waiting for.

In concept and plot, Strategic Love Play rings loudly with echoes of First Date, a musical produced on Broadway in 2013 (incidentally, the same year Tinder introduced the swipe feature on its app) that has enjoyed a number of local productions since: the leading man is haunted by a hang-up on a former lover, the woman is prone to building emotional walls that impede her success in romance and has a friend on-call, and both of them struggle to navigate the quirks of the person in front of them, only connecting when they allow themselves to indulge in baring their souls just a bit. But the shows vary starkly — and consequentially — in how the two end up there. In Strategic Love Play, the matching medium is neither friends nor coworkers, but something inhuman, gamified, and algorithmic (which, presumably, lends the play its name). That alone makes Strategic Love Play not only more recent, but decidedly more modern, and altogether bleaker; it’s an astonishing reminder of how, in such a short amount of time, phone-based dating apps have completely changed the way we meet. “You’re a summary of a person in a phone,” Jenny says at one point. “We will sit in our apartments stacked on top of each other until the day we die.” Oy!

That the characters are listed in the program as Man and Woman is an obvious extension of what seems to be Battye’s thesis: we are ceding our humanity in what is otherwise our most human connection, falsely allowing ourselves to believe that love can be manufactured by a computer. It’s hard to argue with that, but the irony in Strategic Love Play is that Battye fixates so fully on making that argument that she can’t help but sacrifice nuance in characterization in the humans who are her Exhibits A and B. There is obligatory specificity, of course: we hear of their jobs, the names of their friends and past lovers, the good and bad behaviors that shape their dating experiences. But Battye leans so heavily on the adage that opposites attract, which ultimately results in the characters being broad outlines of tropes that must be taken at their word for the whole thing to work. We see them do little, though they talk endlessly about themselves, which is, to be fair, an inherent challenge in a real-time two-hander. But occasional breakout moments of intimacy only underscore the otherwise heavy-handedness. In a lovely sequence that has Man and Woman envision attending a barbecue together, they do things as mundane as handing each other a beer, and the dreaming is ecstasy for them. For a moment, we get a real glimpse of why people put themselves through the online gauntlet, and in seeing the space between that moment of organic personal connection and the algorithmic matching of profiles, Battye makes her point clearer than in any of the more argumentative sequences.

The briskness of the play gives Signature Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner little room to show off the kind of strong directorial vision he’s imprinted with tremendous success onto musicals like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Ragtime, and Hair, but the design team had more room for expression. Scenic designer Paige Hathway’s restaurant set, though simple, could double for any bigger-than-it-looks-on-the-outside spaces west of Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, with a lingering sense that any moment a loud beat will drop and the whole thing will transform into a nightclub. Lighting designer Andrew Cissna’s deep red washes could signal the coming Valentine’s season, or perhaps something a bit more sinister (online dating is a hellscape, remember?), though to singles, they could be one and the same. And Kathleen Geldard’s costumes give the sense that the pair are still trying (but not as hard as they once did) to put their best foot forward. Of all the design elements, Geldard most successfully (though perhaps unintentionally) amplifies the subtext that these exhausted late millennials are feeling the urgency of aging as single people.

Gavigan and Voth work incredibly hard to wring as much from the play as they can and elevate the text. Gavigan rises to the challenge of portraying an initially reserved character, biding his time until he is finally able to open up. He plays distraction well, and finds an easy, but earnest pathos when Adam shares the pain of both lost and unrequited love. Voth channels Jenny’s freneticism consistently throughout the play, and transforms the character’s more self-pitying moments to something darker and, thankfully, more satisfying. Though it falls to Gardiner to balance the production, Voth seems a good partner; the character is a steamroller to her core, and Voth smartly senses when to pull back. In doing so, she allows a surprising decision near the end of the piece to feel earned.

There’s another thread in Strategic Love Play adjacent to the notion that the apps are robbing us of organic connection: that we are too quick to judge whether someone is or is not “the one,” and, further, that we can’t ever explain what draws or repels us from something. In Battye’s world, we just have to give it a try and see for ourselves. Strategic Love Play is one of a number of new works and premieres at Signature this season. If this isn’t “the one,” keep swiping and showing up. There may be a perfect match yet.

Running Time: Approximately 70 minutes without an intermission.

Strategic Love Play plays through November 9, 2025, in the ARK at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA. Tickets ($47–$97) are available by calling the box office at (703) 820-9771, online, or through TodayTix. Information about ticket discounts is available here.

The program for Strategic Love Play is online here.
Closed captions are available via the GalaPro app.

Content Warnings: This show contains adult language and themes.
Age Recommendation: Recommended for ages 13+. Signature does not admit anyone under 6.

Special performances include Discussion Nights on October 7 at 7:30 p.m. and October 29 at 7:30 p.m., Pride Nights on October 17 at 8 p.m. and October 24 at 8 p.m.

COVID Safety: Masks are optional in the lobby and other public areas of the building except that face masks are required inside the performance spaces on October 26 at 2 p.m. Signature’s COVID Safety Measures can be found here.

Strategic Love Play
By Miriam Battye
Directed by Matthew Gardiner

SEE ALSO:
Signature Theatre announces cast and creative team for ‘Strategic Love Play’ (news story, September 11, 2025)

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It is one thing to read “Dog bites man,” and somewhat of a curiosity to read “Man bites dog.”

But in the annals of the stage, it is rarer — an epochal event, in fact — to read “Man upstages dog.”

Shakespeare aficionados know all about this centuries-long battle between dog and man onstage, the eternal struggle for attention between a charmingly clueless pup named Crab (the Elizabethan equivalent of Rex or Fido?) and his utterly doomed owner, Launce, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Launce, you see, is the servant of a feckless dude by the name of Proteus, and he has just been ordered to leave hearth and home in Verona to travel with his master to the big city of Milan. As Launce recounts his tearful departure — mom, dad, heck, even the cat drops a tear — he turns to Crab repeatedly for any sign of empathy only to find, well, a perfectly pleasant, indeed blissed-out, Zen of a dog who shows no emotion whatsoever.

And we in the audience, of course, have no sympathy for Launce whatsoever; after all, it was bone stupid to bring the dog onstage to begin with, all eyes will be on Crab for the duration.

Or so we thought…

There is, actually, a storyline built around this dog show, which I’ll get to in a minute; but first we must doff our caps to Geoffrey Warren Barnes II, whose charismatic turn as Launce manages the seemingly impossible feat of drawing focus away from Lady, the lovable mutt who often plays Crab’s role, and who would rather go paws-up in your lap than pay any attention whatsoever to Barnes. It is a signal achievement, peak-career stuff, to see anyone top this dog; the comedic chops required, the impeccable sense of timing, the ability to play along with the most impossible of scene partners, are golden.

What makes this canine spectacle even more charming is that the American Shakespeare Center is partnering with two local rescue organizations, the Friends of Staunton Augusta Waynesboro Animal Shelter ( https://friendsofsawas.org/ ) and the Augusta Regional SPCA (https://arspca.org/) to help find forever homes for Lady and her mates back at the shelter. There’s a nice display in the upstairs lobby, and numerous opportunities to interact with Lady both during and after the show at each performance. A worthier cause is hard to think of.

So now back to the storyline, if you’re at all interested in stuff like that: We find ourselves with two Gentlemen (i.e., dudes with trust funds) named Valentine and Proteus, who will soon find themselves on the road from Verona to Milan, where the bright lights and big city await. Proteus leaves The Love of His Life behind (Julia), swapping rings and all that. But once in Milan, Proteus forgets all about that ring business and decides he would much rather plot against his BFF Valentine, in order to get Silvia (who is daughter of the Duke of Milan and Valentine’s true love, naturally).

Plots ensue and Valentine is driven out of town, where he falls in with an amiable band of gentlemen-outlaws (think: Pirates of Penzance, in Renaissance drag). Back in Milan, Proteus’ plot fails miserably, and it doesn’t help that Julia, disguised as a boy, and now in Milan herself, has witnessed his perfidy. As the finale plays out, and as Valentine and Proteus exchange accusations and forgiveness, we’re left with the same two dudes alone onstage, and we have to wonder how on earth they’re going to get out of trouble with their respective mates, because it’s obvious to Julia and Silvia (not to mention the audience) that neither of them is an especially good catch.

Valentine and Proteus, in other words, end up in the dog house. (Sorry, couldn’t resist)

As Valentine, we have Joe Mucciolo, who has such a fine turn as the malevolent Tybalt in this fall’s Romeo and Juliet, but here he turns into a seemingly able suitor, calm and dignified, handy with a rapier, in fun or in earnest. And it’s a sign of the ASC’s deep bench that for the performance I just watched, understudy Pete Sheldon nails it as the duplicitous, scheming Proteus. Given the interactive nature of Blackfriars, when Proteus reveals his dastardly plans, he is met with a chorus of boos and hisses — which Sheldon takes in stride, almost as a compliment. Very nicely done indeed.

Directing this production is ASC veteran Aidan O’Reilly, who expands remarkably beyond his acting work, thanks to ASC’s Artists Development Initiative. Given his track record on the boards at Blackfriars (his Petruchio looms large in my mind), he’s an excellent fit for mining the comic potential of this play. There is much else to delight in here, in particular when contrasted with the other characters they play in the ASC’s fall repertory. As Proteus’ hometown sweetheart, Sara Linares’ Julia is joyful, and is as demure and self-respecting here as she is boisterous and bawdy as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Ditto Maya Danks, whose Sylvia is as reserved and self-respecting as her Nurse in Romeo and Juliet is earthy.

As Speed, Valentine’s servant, Isabel Lee Roden has a similar reversal of character; no sooner do we see them as the modest Juliet one night, than we see them as outspoken, and fully capable of making us laugh ourselves silly, here in Two Gents. The one throughline, so to speak, is Christopher Seiler as the Duke of Milan, who is fittingly naïve even as he makes a big show of his authority; he is as clueless as Juliet’s dad in R&J as well (dads generally get short shrift with the Bard — wonder why).

This being Milan, and Sylvia being the Duke’s daughter and therefore an excellent catch, even though Valentine has caught Julia’s eye, he’s got competition in the form of an impossibly vain and foppish Thurio — played in completely over-the-top fashion by Nick Ericksen. His Thurio is as ridiculous as his Romeo (in, you know, that other show in the rep) is earnest. The guy’s talent for physical comedy is obvious just standing there — seriously, he doesn’t have to say a word to have you in stitches with his attitude.

And lest we forget that Milan is the very heart and soul of the fashion industry, this production also features some stand-out costumes; Elizabeth Wislar astonishes the eye with her textured fabrics, nicely cut to advantage, and she also isn’t above having fun at the expense of one of the spear-carrier roles, putting Nick Ericksen in a robe that fully matches the upstage curtain, creating the ever-popular “blends with the scenery” effect.

The pre-show and intermission tunes are a great fit, golden oldies all; there’s a touching tribute to the Turtles with “Happy Together,” led by Chris Seiler, and a girl-group tribute with Sara Linares leading her backup singers in a nicely-choreographed “Be My Baby.” Intermission, however, brings out the awesome showman Barnes as he proceeds to flirt with half the audience, singing Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” (minus the dog this time), and Isabel Lee Roden rounds out in a tribute to Virginia’s own Patsy Cline with a heartfelt “She’s Got You.” Music Director Seiler has found a way to pinpoint songs that can serve an overarching theme, and Cline’s ballad works nicely at several points in the second act here.

As the title suggests, this comedy makes an interesting pairing with the tragic events of this ASC’s rep partner, Romeo and Juliet – in fact, Friar Lawrence gets mentioned here as if he were just down the block — and if you look closely, you just might see him for a split second! So you can think of this romantic comedy as R&J’s inverse, with intrigues of an amorous kind, but one in which the ending (thankfully) doesn’t involve a body count.

One last note, and a preview of coming attractions: If you like the lovable outlaws in Two Gentlemen of Verona, you’re gonna love the crowning production of this fall’s repertory, The Pirate Ballad of Bonny & Read, a new musical play based on the true story of two accomplished women who ruled the high seas.

What are you waiting for?

Running Time: Two hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona plays to November 15, 2025, in repertory with Romeo and Juliet (to November 15) and the world premiere of The Pirate Ballad of Bonny and Read 2025 (October 16 to November 16) presented by American Shakespeare Center at the Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 South Market Street, Staunton, VA. For tickets (starting at $39), call the box office at (540) 851-3400 or purchase them online. ASC also offers a Local Rush deal of 50% off tickets on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Learn more here.

Cast and artistic team credits for Two Gentlemen of Verona are online here.

The fall season program is online here.

SEE ALSO:
‘Romeo and Juliet’ as endearing tweens at American Shakespeare Center (review by Andrew Walker White, September 11, 2025)

The post ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ at American Shakespeare Center is doggone good appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

Compass Rose Theater’s production of Annie is a colorful celebration of singing and dancing with an optimistic outlook even in the darkest of times. The beloved musical, with book and lyrics by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Martin Charnin, features the loveable red-headed orphan Annie during the Great Depression. Directed by Tracy Adler, with musical direction by Barrett Johnson and choreography by Tori Farnsworth, the show is a fun way to kick off the new season.

Jules Kanarek plays Annie with equal parts love and determination, breaking up fights between the orphans and comforting one of them. She repeatedly breaks out of the orphanage to find her parents, defying the threats of Miss Hannigan (Hayley Adler). She wins over Warbucks (James M. Toler) by leaning against him and sighing. Throughout the show, she changes the tone of “Maybe” from a sweet, hopeful song to one filled with disappointment. “Tomorrow” is full of joyful hope.

The girls playing the other orphans are impressively talented. Baylor Cherneski gives a rough edge to Pepper, arguing with the others and fighting them. Tabitha Belle Popernack as July fights her back in a wonderfully staged scene. Sophia Vincent as Tessie seems innocent but pulls pranks on Miss Hannigan. Julia Ballenger as Molly ends up in comical places such as a laundry hamper and a pail. Their “It’s the Hard Knock Life” is defiant against their harsh treatment, while “Fully Dressed” is a fun reprise of a radio song, all while doing handstands, lifts, leaps, and somersaults.

Hayley Adler brings excellent comic timing to orphanage manager Miss Hannigan. She blows a whistle and yells at the girls while sipping from a flask. “Little Girls” shows her exasperation with her charges, in a sultry, jazzy mood. Tyler M. White plays her conman brother Rooster with a zest for the next score, while Tori Farnsworth brings a comic ditziness to his moll Lily. They slide across the stage in “Easy Street” figuring out get-rich-quick schemes.

James M. Toler plays billionaire Warbucks with authority, barking for his secretary and butler, and making snap decisions on artwork and phone calls. His phone call to President Roosevelt is hilarious, as he tries to hide his distaste for the Democrat Roosevelt. Though he’s initially comically awkward with Annie, they quickly bond, and he twirls her around while singing “I Don’t Need Anything but You.” He sings of his love for the noisy, hustling city in “N.Y.C.” and shows his love for Annie in “Something Was Missing.”

Taryn Murphy brings an eagerness to Grace, Warbucks’ secretary, confidently helping any way she can. She has great comic tension with Miss Hannigan, as she politely but firmly tells the orphanage manager Warbucks’ plans for Annie. C.C. Gallagher plays Bundles the laundry man with cheer, casually dismissing Miss Hannigan’s flirtations. As FDR he is aristocratic and charming, welcoming Annie. He can be commanding as well, ordering his Cabinet to sing in “Cabinet Tomorrow.” Jewel Freeman shines as a star-to-be in “N.Y.C.,” singing of her hopes for the big city. C.C. Gallagher radiates authority as officer Lt. Ward, the beat cop, who confronts Annie. Andrew Agner-Nichols as Drake, the butler, is comically eager, popping up as soon as Warbucks calls for him, and as radio announcer Healy, he smoothly transitions from dramatic to charming as his subject changes. “Fully Dressed” is an amusing, memorable jingle. Lizzy Grice is quietly efficient as the maid Sophie. Sequel is clever as the dog Sandy, doing little tricks as Annie sings “Tomorrow.”

Set Designers Kerry and Laurie Brandon and Philip Aaron have large blocks throughout the stage for multiple uses, from beds at the orphanage to the call letters of the radio studio and as seats. A chair, table, and telephone sit off in the front corner, while desks, chairs, and other items come in as needed. Costume and Prop Designer Susan Flynn evokes the Depression era with outfits that distinguish each character, with Grace in elegant business wear, Miss Hannigan in less-expensive-looking dresses, and Rooster in a loud, striped blue suit. Annie wears several dresses throughout, including her famous red one.

Lighting Designer Marianne Meadows turns off the lights during scene changes. Spotlights shine on the actors during emotional moments. Sound Designers Ryan Squires and Barrett Johnson, also Music Director, ensure the music never overwhelms the singing. Choreographer Tori Farnsworth creates beautiful and athletic dances, with clever swings, twirls, and lifts. Director Tracy Adler gives the show lots of movement, with actors using all parts of the stage. They hit all the right comic and vulnerable moments, singing and dancing with high energy and emotion. Annie exudes something for audiences of all ages, especially hope and love, at a time when both are sorely needed.

Running Time: Two hours and 45 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.

Annie plays through October 19, 2025, presented by Compass Rose Theater, performing at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts (third floor), 801 Chase Street, Annapolis, MD. For tickets ($15–$55 plus fees), call the box office at 410-980-6662 or purchase online. 

A virtual playbill is available here.

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The concept of the “American Dream” is tossed around quite a lot. It’s a concept that was originally dreamt up hundreds of years ago and has paved the way for an idealistic nation. It would have us believe that, despite where you come from, anything is possible in the land of the free and the home of the brave. But now, in a world that is rapidly changing, how might our image of this dream of American success differ, and what might it cost us to achieve?

Dream Hou$e, playing now at NextStop Theatre through October 5, is a surprisingly comedic yet darkly poetic surrealist satire that forces audiences to confront the insidious nuances of today’s deepening racial, social, and economic divides, where personal identity is constantly challenged by the limitations of the boxes we are forced to inhabit. Directed by Dylan Arredondo, this meta piece from playwright Eliana Pipes is a modern moment that shouldn’t be missed.

The story centers around the complicated dynamics between two fourth-generation Mexican American sisters, Patricia (Cristina Sanchez) and Julia (Ixchel). Following the death of their mother, the two sisters reunite in their ancestral home, which will be the focus of the next installment of an HGTV-type show called Flip It and List It. As the show — along with its dangerously disarming host, Tessa (Jule Nelson-Duac) and her team — slowly infiltrates the Castillo family home, the two sisters find themselves forced to face several bitter truths, unable to repress or run any longer.

The elder sister, Patricia, is an ambitious caretaker who put her career and dreams on hold to move back home and tend to her dying mother. With her mother now gone, she is anxious to rid herself of the house filled with so many difficult and dark memories and, with the money she’d make from selling the house, begin building a life of success, luxury, and power. In a rather visceral scene near the end of the show, Sanchez gives a truly raw and (literally) stripped-back performance that shows us just how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to gain that prominent lifestyle — the one she’s coveted since her youth.

On the other hand, Patricia’s younger sister, Julia, is a free-spirited, emotionally driven soon-to-be single mother who relies on homeopathic and herbal remedies (yet prefers the new, gentrified coffee shop in the neighborhood over the traditional one next door). Ixchel’s energetic yet grounded performance showcases the contradicting ideologies battling inside Julia. Despite leaving home as soon as possible and abandoning familial responsibilities, Julia now finds herself overly nostalgic for the life she left behind, romanticizing the history and culture of her Mexican roots which, allegedly, run deep in that house.

The play is performed without an intermission, which allows the tension and darkness in the story to build and consume the audience in a psychedelic whirlpool of electrically charged emotions. However, the dark undertones are balanced by some truly hysterical moments — albeit often dark humor. There were several occasions where I, actually, found myself laughing out loud — which, in my case, is a pretty high bar.

The show was elevated even further by the novel, yet incredibly successful, sound and light design elements courtesy of Sound Designer Madeline “Mo” Oseljsek, Lighting Designer Alberto Segarra, and Multimedia Designer Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor. Indicative of HGTV Reality Show tropes, various lighting effects were painted across the rustic home’s original adobe walls, displaying cartoonish images and writing, purposefully undercutting while also underscoring the moments of appropriation and assimilation. The images displayed on the backdrop grow darker as the characters’ (as well as the house’s) demons are revealed.

The lighting was also used to weave in moments where the sisters halted the main conversation with a wave of their hand, allowing them to have private conversations in which they relinquished the pretenses put on for the cameras and let their true opinions and emotions be heard. Each time this happened, the room transformed under a silent blue haze that swept the stage as everyone else stilled until one of the sisters flicked their hand once more and reality resumed.

Costume Designer Ilyana Rose-Dávila, Props Designer Jason Dearing, and Scenic Designer Grisele González also played a large role in enhancing the overall success of the narrative. For instance, immediately upon arrival (or, rather, invasion), the production crew of Flip It and List It dressed up the house with offensive, stereotypical items, such as random sombreros and porcelain donkeys, and then forced the sisters into brightly colored, stereotypical clothing. Patricia awkwardly accepted the clothing, while Julia was a bit more reluctant. This dynamic was felt throughout as they debated the complexities of respecting one’s past while still striving for a “better” future.

The production, construction, camera, and design crew of Flip It and List It (played by Leela Avilés-Dawson, Carianmax Benitez, and Sadie Koopman) maneuvered across the stage, always present but never heard, a dance that magically mirrored and enforced the tone of the show. When they weren’t frozen in place during the sisters’ private moments, they were strategically moving about the set, carefully manipulating each piece of furniture, drawing curtains, spreading plastic sheets across the floor, stripping the once-inviting and loving home of its remaining life force.

Dream Hou$e is a truly unique experience. It hops agily through a course of artful metaphors without ever feeling pretentious or cliché. It explores complex realities such as generational trauma, gentrification, cultural assimilation, cultural appropriation, rampant consumerism, and mass desensitization. This desensitization is mirrored for us directly when the show’s metastructure turned in on itself one more time. Directly following the darkest moment in the show, Host Tessa suddenly emerged from behind the seats at the top of the stairs, her eerily wide smile appearing first like the Cheshire Cat. She descended through the audience and began speaking to us as though we were a studio audience. She encouraged us to clap and chant along with “Flip It and List It!” Despite the two sisters standing broken and defeated on either side of the stage, several members of the audience joined in with Tessa’s big clap and loud chant.

There’s, honestly, quite a lot I could say about this show, but won’t for fear of spoiling any of the shocking twists and turns. It’s a show that simply must be experienced firsthand.

Running Time: 90 minutes, without intermission. 

Dream Hou$e plays through October 5, 2025, at NextStop Theatre Company, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA. Tickets are $45 and available online or by calling 703-481-5930 x1.

The program is online here.

Dream Hou$e
By Eliana Pipes
Directed by Dylan Arredondo

SEE ALSO:
NextStop Theatre kicks off 2025/26 season with ‘Dream Hou$e’ (news story, August 26, 2025)

The post Two sisters wrestle with the American dream in ‘Dream Hou$e’ at NextStop appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

I have never started a review with a rave about bathrooms — but, wow, the newly renovated 1st Stage now has four beautiful ones, plus an airy, artful, stylish, and expanded lobby. It was all lovely, making the experience of discovering this theater and its expansive offerings feel fresh and new.

Now, on to the business of reviewing the plays in the annual Logan Festival of Solo Performance, which began on September 18 and continues through September 28.

George – Don’t Do That! is a bonhomie of song, sketches, anecdotes, and narration on the life and work of the beloved British entertainer Grenfell from the 1940s to the 1970s. I learned something I didn’t know about this charming, witty, upper-crust Brit (granddaughter of an American railway magnate) who entertained British troops in World War II in Italy and the Middle East, who earned one of the highest honors from the British Crown for her war work, and who in 1954 starred in her own hit one-woman West End show, Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure, then brought it to Broadway, where it was also a hit. After a career as one of Britain’s most beloved performers, Grenfell passed away on November 30, 1979.

I also learned that Catherine Flye, performer and deviser of this show, is an absolute delight on stage. Flye has a deep résumé with extensive acting and directing credits throughout the DC area and numerous honors for excellence, and I might be one of the few in the audience learning this for the first time.

In fact, she has been playing Joyce Grenfell in productions throughout the United States, British Isles, and South Africa since 2003. She channeled all Grenfell’s charm into this production. While George – Don’t Do That! leaned heavily into nostalgia, with a voice, especially a singing voice, scratchy like old-time radio, and with a script that held little introspection, Flye’s performance was still splendid. I yearned for a cup of tea and a crumpet afterward.

A much different look at the past followed in The Jewish Dog. In a breathtaking performance of 28 characters by Adam Meir, including the central point of view of a dog, Cyrus, the devastation of European Jews from the 1930s through the founding of the state of Israel in 1948 comes alive in the heartbreaking insight and simplicity of man’s best friend.

The play is adapted by Yonatan Esterkin from the acclaimed 2007 novel of the same name by Asher Kravitz. Estherkin also directs the play with such meticulousness that as Meir inhabits the characters,  moving rapidly through horrific events from freedom to imprisonment, to transport to the concentration camp Treblinka, to fighting in the forest with partisans, to hiding out the last weeks of war on a farm, the audience knows exactly who is talking and where we are — in unexpectedly tender and funny moments — and in moments of despair. It is a brilliant feat of directing a solo performance that delineates a range of friends and foes, as well as a brilliant acting performance.

The cast of characters includes the dog’s first owners, a German Jewish family, notably a young boy, who must give up his puppy as the Nuremberg Laws in Hitler’s Germany tighten around them, to the sympathetic Nazi who trains the dog to hunt down Jews, to the much less sympathetic, and historically accurate, commandant of Treblinka. The most touching scenes are those of a young man who reunites with his dog while a prisoner in Treblinka and escapes with him.

Ultimately, we are rooting for Cyrus to find food, safety, and love, though first food, as he notes wryly — he is a dog. As Cyrus shares, “Food. Food. Food. The most important thing in life — especially if you have experienced starvation.”

Of course, a dog may not be able to think or feel as fully as the one portrayed on stage. However, through his dedication to physical acting and the clever use of a versatile trapper hat and a drab bathrobe as costume, Meir becomes Cyrus, and in doing so, offers us another perspective on history. Even more so, I do believe that dogs show us how we should care for one another —  how we should be better humans — and The Jewish Dog certainly does that and so much more. 

Spadura is the third play in this year’s Logan Festival, written and performed by Dahéli Hall, an acclaimed Los Angeles–based performer, writer, and producer who performs a show that has been touring nationally and was recently adapted into a docu-comedy special. I wish I had seen this — as someone who fought infertility in my early 40s for several years, I am sure I could have related. I am confident that I would have appreciated the mix of comedy and tragedy that goes into a show, which, as the notes share, is about “fertility, aging, and the baby industrial complex.” I am also sure that I would have wanted nothing less than to call my daughter immediately afterward.

This year, I could carve out enough time for a double-header of theater, but next year, I will plan better. Though in sharing some of my fertility travails, one might guess that I am not a planner. Be one. Go see all three plays in the Logan Festival of Solo Performances. 

Running Times
George Don’t Do That!: Two hours with a 15-minute intermission.
The Jewish Dog: 75 minutes, no intermission.
Spadura: 75 minutes, no intermission.on.

The Logan Festival of Solo Performances plays through September 28, 2025, at 1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Road, Tysons, VA. Purchase tickets ($10-$20 for individual seats; special Logan pass for all three shows $36) online.

SEE ALSO:
1st Stage announces 2025 Logan Festival for Solo Performances lineup (news story, August 1, 2025)

The post This year’s ‘Logan Festival of Solo Performances’ impresses at 1st Stage appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

When a celebrity like Steve Martin co-writes a musical, it’s probably worth a look.

From his early days as the “wild and crazy guy” with a huge comedy following in the 1970s, into his starring roles in motion pictures, to his more recent fame as producer, creator, and costar of the Hulu streaming hit Only Murders in the Building, Martin has been part of the public consciousness for decades.

He is also an excellent musician, a banjo player of note, winning three Grammy Awards for his recordings, and he has toured extensively over the years. Martin and one of his collaborators and fellow musicians, Edie Brickell — remember The New Bohemians? — came together to create some beautiful music in the American Roots-style, encompassing bluegrass, country, and blues. Which led them to Bright Star, the musical they created that opened on Broadway in 2016.

Inspired by a vintage newspaper article about “the Iron Mountain baby,” Bright Star focuses on two mysteriously intertwining stories. Alice Murphy, a successful literary editor with humble roots in rural North Carolina, crosses paths with a WWII veteran and aspiring writer, Billy Cane, looking for his first stories to be published. The story flashes back from 1945 to 1923, when Alice was a free-spirited young woman longing to break free from her strict, Christian daddy and small-town life. She has her eye on local boy Jimmy Ray Dobbs, and they have a brief and star-crossed romance, yielding a love child. An unwed mother in the early 1920s was not widely accepted, emotional fireworks ensue, and the fate of Alice and Jimmy Ray’s infant son propels the story forward.

This original story, weaving forward and backward through time, is accompanied and supported by the Martin and Brickell songs, which evoke the era of old-time radio, Hank Snow, Bill Monroe, and the folk era. The tunes can be infectious (even when the lyrics are repetitive) and offer many chances for the Fauquier Community Theatre cast to shine.

From the opening musical selection, “If You Knew My Story,” Becca Harney as Alice provides a strong, clear voice that recalls the great ladies of both Broadway and country music. Her rendition of “Sun’s Gonna Shine,” one of the standout songs, is another Harney highlight.

As her love interest, Jimmy Ray, Noah Sariñana mingles his expressive voice with Harney’s on the romantic “What Could Be Better.” He pours out his character’s pained soul during the solo spot “Heartbreaker,” reacting to the ultimate tragedy Jimmy Ray has had to face.

As Billy Cane, the returning soldier and budding author, Garrett Tucker is charming as the wide-eyed and witty young man seeking literary fame. Tucker’s Billy handles the title song — quite the earworm — and gets to show his romantic side with his duet with Margo, his childhood sweetheart played gracefully by Camden Gillespie, “Always Will.”

The supporting characters do not get the most memorable songs to perform, but their commitment and enthusiasm are endearing. Val Kupperman (Billy’s dad), Stub Estey, and Pam Gordet (Alice’s parents) all make a strong impression. Nathan Dalpezzo is a versatile actor who plays two distinct figures: quirky Max, a hometown nerd, and Stanford Adams, a local official who works for Jimmy Ray’s father, the Mayor. W. Gregory Smith plays the slightly villainous role of Mayor Dobbs with relish.

Providing some winning comedic turns as Alice’s editorial staff members, Lucy and Daryl, Campbell Mason and Weston Weber turn on the Southern charm and plenty of snark in their memorable roles. Mason has fun as the forward, modern woman, and Weber, as the genteel but sassy “bachelor type,” has plenty of quips to impart.

The talented ensemble provides much-needed vocal support and appears as various townspeople, passengers, and even set movers. They handle their tasks efficiently.

Director Scott Olson, remembered for FCT’s recent The Play That Goes Wrong, among many other productions, creates a nostalgic atmosphere for the story to unfold. Olson’s lighting designer, Stacy King, provides some of her best work here, providing atmospheric color and mood suiting the changing times and settings. Carefully selected and not overused projections (including a bright star) complement the staging, as well.

Designed by Maggie Swan, Steve Cooper, and Jarrett Baker, the set — a rustic, open barn structure — makes for the perfect setting for the shifting time periods. Hopefully, by the last week of their run, the stage crew and cast could smooth out the scene transitions.

For Southern lore, some catchy music, and winning performances, you can’t go wrong with letting Bright Star shine its light on you.

Running Time: Two hours and 15 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.

Bright Star plays through September 28, 2025, presented by Fauquier Community Theatre, performing at the Vint Hill Theater on the Green, 4225 Aiken Dr, Warrenton, VA. All tickets ($18 youth, $20 seniors, $24 adults) are for reserved seating. Purchase tickets online or call the box office at (540) 349-8760. Tickets can sell out quickly, so plan ahead.

Programs are available at the performances and online.

Bright Star
Music, book, and story by Steve Martin
Music, lyrics, and story by Edie Brickell

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How far might we be willing to go to improve our circumstances in life? How much might we be willing to sacrifice in order to feed our ambitions and desires? For decades, these questions have enticed the audiences of Little Shop of Horrors — the classic, quirky, and quixotic musical that beautifully blends humor, horror, and heart.

This delightfully dark comedy is now playing at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on the George Mason campus. The show is produced by Kimberly Kemp and directed by Chris Maulden, who, in addition to directing, is no stranger to performing himself! I had the pleasure of seeing Maulden embody the role of the Emcee in Cabaret and look forward to any other future productions he may have a hand in!

Little Shop of Horrors debuted on stage in 1982, with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken. It was later adapted into a film in 1986 by Roger Corman with screenplay by Charles Griffith. The story takes place in 1962 and is set in downtown New York City within the sleazy, rundown neighborhood of Skid Row — a place where many of its denizens ache to escape but find themselves forever stuck by the limitations of their circumstances.

Seated within the streets of Skid Row is the struggling business Mushnik’s Flower Shop, owned by Mr. Mushnik (Timothy R. King) and tended to by his two employees, Audrey (Becca Parsons) and Seymour Krelborn (Mylo Cluff, who approached the role with an almost child-like purity and enthusiasm). When Seymour acquires a new and rather odd plant that he names Audrey II (as a nod to his coworker and long-time crush), Mushnik’s struggles are entirely alleviated. Curiosity about the wildly unique and mysterious plant instantly brings customers to the shop, causing the business’s success — as well as Seymour’s own success and fame — to skyrocket.

Everything seems great until Seymour discovers a disturbing element involved in tending to Audrey II’s development: an insatiable need for human blood! Seymour begins feeding it his own blood, but things quickly spiral out of control when Seymour is forced to confront just how far he’ll go to keep his burgeoning success and fame, as well as gain the attention and affections of the woman he has been in love with for years.

Although perhaps the most famous number from the show’s soundtrack, “Suddenly Seymour,” succeeded in exciting and engaging the audience, the standout vocal performance of the night came from Kareem Taylor — the voice behind Audrey II. It isn’t until nearly the end of the first act that we first hear him, but the game changes when he breaks out with “Git It.” The first few verses of that soulful song were performed with command of the vocals while still feeling smooth and effortless. I was so captivated by Taylor’s powerful tone that instead of focusing on the giant, carnivorous, singing plant, I often found my eyes drifting to the balcony resting above the stage (where the orchestra was positioned) to watch Taylor’s passionate performance directly from the source as he vividly energized the wacky personification of a monstrous, felt plant.

Other vocal standouts came from some of the smaller roles. First, Iris DeWitt, who played Ronette — one of the three “Urchins” of Skid Row — delivered every line and note with professionally perfect pitch, strong confidence, and fluid range. Even though her few solo snippets within several larger songs were short and scattered throughout the show, each time she stepped out to sing created a memorable moment.

Second, a surprising vocal standout came from the smooth baritone sounds of Chris Beatley during his first number, “Be a Dentist.” His performance as Orin Scrivello, the malicious, abusive, and vain dentist with an obsession with torture, was enjoyably unsettling.

Little Shop of Horrors is told through animated musical stylings with a soundtrack that for decades has reached a myriad of audiences through its unique combination of soul/funk, doo-wop/Motown, and rock. This beloved soundtrack was brought to life again last night through the brilliant direction and performance of Music Director, Conductor, and Keyboardist Matthew Scarborough. He led the entire orchestra to perfection, even maintaining a precise beat in between songs through a gentle, rhythmic tapping of his chest.

Although occasionally the actors’ mics had trouble regulating, the overall production elements of the night were a success. The lighting (specifically the spotlight, courtesy of Susu Bailey) aided in the emotional storytelling of certain songs. When Audrey (Parsons) sings “Somewhere That’s Green,” the single spotlight projects her silhouette against the faux brick backdrop and creates an illusion that there’s almost two of her on stage, representing the two versions of Audrey in that song: the healthy version of herself she envisions as she fantasizes about a life with Seymour, and the abused, submissive version of herself that’s trapped in reality.

Although perhaps the most successful production element of the evening was the props. Those props deserve definite props! Properties Manager Lissa Unrue did an excellent job of overseeing the unique yet infamous and entirely essential items associated with Little Shop of Horrors. There were four different versions of Audrey II (courtesy of the creative props team at Theatre Winter Haven in Winter Haven, Florida), each one substantially larger than the last. And there was the fake severed head of the villainous dentist, our first victim of the night! Created by Charlynn Mills and Carolina Maholic, that head, in addition to several other body parts, was made in Beatley’s likeness and was incredibly impressive.

As we find ourselves nearing the spooky season once more, this humorous, heartfelt horror is a wonderful way to dip your toes in the fun!

Running Time: Approximately two hours with a 10-minute intermission.

Little Shop of Horrors plays through September 28, 2025, presented by ARTfactory’s Actors Theatre performing in the Gregory Family Theater of the Hylton Performing Arts Center located at 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA. Tickets are $35 for adults and $30 for seniors, students, and youths ages 2–18. Tickets can be purchased online, and more information about the show, as well as the cast and crew, can be found here.

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