Director Jacqueline Youm puts an indelible stamp on Silver Spring Stage’s scintillating modern-dress production of Jeffrey D. Hoeper’s lively translation of Molière’s Tartuffe. Under her direction, the ensemble maintains a consistently high level of physical acting that perfectly fits and defines the playwright’s exaggerated stock characters. 

Examples abound. The title character, con man Tartuffe (Mike Kroboth), is all slovenliness. His mark, Orgon (Joseph Coracle), is all quick, self-important movement, utterly convinced of the righteousness of his feelings and his right to tell family members what to do. Orgon’s mother, Madame Pernelle (Tracye Brewer), who is fooled by Tartuffe even longer than Orgon, dramatizes her will to family power by loudly snapping her fan. 

Orgon’s wife, Elmire (Erin Gallalee), is at her best when feigning attraction toward the lecherous Tartuffe, striking odalisque-like poses. One of the funniest moments in the show occurs when Elmire, sitting on a sofa, seductively flirts with Tartuffe, while repeatedly shooing her hot-tempered stepson, Damis (Joshua Prescott), back inside a door. The self-absorbed Tartuffe never notices.

Youm herself plays a key character, the all-knowing maid Dorine. It’s a perfect role for a director, since Dorine acts as a sort of director for many of the other characters. Her dominating physical presence emphasizes who, regardless of social class position, runs the show in Orgon’s household.

It seems odd to talk of Molière and Arthur Miller in the same paragraph, but the reasonable man character in Tartuffe, Cléante (Chevell Thomas), occupies a role analogous to Charley in Death of a Salesman or Alfieri in A View from the Bridge. Each speaks reason and moderation to a main character who is blinded by his passions, failing to sway the main character from his path to destruction. But for the intervention of Prince at the end of Tartuffe, Orgon would be as ruined as Eddie Carbone. Standing tall, Thomas portrays Cléante with dignity and gravitas.

The play’s script is written in rhymed couplets, which the actors handle with aplomb, keeping the verbal rhythm going fluidly even through the frequent physical hijinks. One good example is Cléante’s heroic-length first-act monologue: Dorine at one point brings out a lectern to help him continue. 

There is a romantic subplot involving Orgon’s daughter, Marianne (Syd Johnson), and her beau, Valère (Justin Meyer). The relationship is never fully developed in the script, serving mainly as a plot device as Orgon tries to make Marianne marry Tartuffe against her wishes. Marianne and Valère have one amusing romcom-like scene, in which they quarrel and Valère repeatedly leaves, turns around, and comes back.

Two minor characters deserve mention for their physical acting. Filpote (Meagan Hinton), Madam Pernelle’s maid, manifests in intentionally over-the-top form everything her mistress, or sometimes Tartuffe, says. Laurent (Maggie Murphy), Tartuffe’s uber-subservient servant, bows and scrapes obsequiously enough to qualify for a post in the Trump cabinet.

A major theme of the play, of course, is how easy it is for someone, despite all the evidence, to be taken in by a hypocritically pious poseur. Kroboth channels the Jimmy Swaggart type of religious charlatan, laid-on-thick Southern accent and all. 

Douglas Becker’s set creates a refined living space appropriate to Orgon’s wealth, with white sofas and a highly significant table on a black-and-white checkered floor. The walls are covered in anodyne art set in elegant black squares, just the sort of space that would invite the greed of a grifter. 

Olivia Binder’s costumes are as varied as the characters that wear them. Orgon is in a natty suit, Tartuffe in sloppy white pants and a sloppy white shirt, Elmire in a tight-fitting green dress, Valère in a preppyish sport coat. It makes for colorful stage pictures. Youm’s choices for pre-show and intermission music — mostly well-known classical pieces — did not seem particularly related to the action.

Youm’s precise blocking, with an assist from movement specialist Chelsea Dee and fight coordinator Julia Rabson Harris, kept the action crisp throughout. There was a delightful moment when almost all the characters got into a melee that almost, but not quite, involved them coming to blows.

This is a funny, well-paced production that does full credit to a theater classic, without a trace of the cobwebs that can sometimes encumber a production of a classic. It’s well worth seeing, a show that should attract attention at WATCH award time.

Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission.

Tartuffe, or The Hypocrite plays through November 16, 2025 (Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm), at Silver Spring Stage, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD. Purchase tickets ($28; $25 for students and seniors) at the door, online, or by contacting the Box Office at boxoffice@ssstage.org or 301-593-6036.

Tartuffe, or The Hypocrite
By Molière
Directed by Jacqueline Youm

CAST
Syd Johnson: Marianne
Justin Meyer: Valère
Joshua Presscott: Damis
Erin Gallalee: Elmire
Chevell Thomas: Cléante
Mike Kroboth: Tartuffe
Tracye Brewer: Madame Pernelle
Joseph Coracle: Orgon
Zach Shields: M. Loyal
Jaylen Shode: Police officer
Megan Hinton: Flipote
Maggie Murphy: Laurent
Jacqueline Youm: Dorine

UNDERSTUDIES
Kimberly-Elise Recas: Dorine, Mariane, Flipote
Megan Hinton: Police officer, Elmire
Cristian Hernandez: M. Loyal, Laurent, M. Orgon, Tartuffe
Zach Shields: Valère, Damis
Maggie Murphy : Cléante, Mme Pernelle
Lillian Hall: Mariane

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The latest production in Gingold Theatrical Group’s signature dedication to the canon of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw is Pygmalion, adapted and directed by the company’s founding artistic director and leading Shaw expert David Staller. One of Shaw’s most popular plays – written in 1912, debuted in Vienna in 1913, and inspired by the ancient Greek myth of the eponymous figure, who, alone and disenchanted with the faults of people, fell in love with the sculpture of a beautiful woman he created and whose wish that she would come to life was granted by Aphrodite – takes the themes of transformation, love, and identity, and resets them in early 20^th-century London, where phonetics professor Henry Higgins makes a bet with linguist Colonel Pickering, who has a mutual interest in the sound and structure of language and a respect for Higgins’ work, that he could pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle as a duchess by instructing her for six months on how to speak properly.

While most fans are familiar with My Fair Lady, Shaw’s own 1938 screen adaptation of the play, on which the 1956 musical stage version was based, Staller returns to the script of the original pre-WWI comedy of manners combined with Shaw’s expressed intent in the notes of his drafts for the Oscar-winning movie, to frame it in the device (rejected by the film’s producers) of Greek goddesses looking down from the clouds, recounting the ancient myth, how it relates to the story of Henry Higgins, and explaining that it serves as a reminder not to hide or to distance oneself from life and love. It all takes place on a stationary set inspired by the drawings of artist Al Hirschfeld, a longtime friend of Staller, who shared a passion for Shaw, captured images of the playwright and his work over many years, and had hoped to design a production of Pygmalion – a wish that never came to fruition during his lifetime but is now represented in Gingold’s delightful set (by Lindsay Genevieve Fuori, as if drawn by the late artist, in partnership with the Al Hirschfeld Foundation) of an ancient temple with a backdrop of clouds and a winged portrait of Shaw behind the pediment, overseeing the action below.

Under the fluid direction of Staller, the scenes move back and forth between the two goddesses and two gods, enhanced with shifts in lighting (by Jamie Roderick) and the sound of thunder (by Julian Evans), directly addressing the audience, introducing the mythological tale and its message, and noting that they laugh at people – a lot! – thereby setting the cheeky tone of the show, and enactments of the fortuitous encounter of Higgins, Pickering, and Eliza, the resulting instructions to improve her speech and demeanor (here cleverly done through a fast-paced segment of voiceovers by the actors, while miming their proper talking, walking, sitting, and dancing over the initial three months), her introduction to Higgins’ well-bred mother and her friends, with stiff adherence to what she was taught, then unexpected “new small talk” about her actual family background, reversion to her native Cockney slang, and inappropriate expletive, and three months later, her more polished appearance at a formal garden party, at which it became clear that Higgins won his bet, and after which the questions arises: Now what?

A thoroughly engaging six-person cast, four playing multiple roles of both deities and humans, masterfully delivers the distinctive personalities and social classes, contrasting accents and demeanors, witty observations about human nature, the stressful constraints of society’s strictures (including the then shocking use of the word “bloody,” which, a divinity tells us, nearly resulted in the early censorship of the play), and Shaw’s feminist characterization of strong and discerning women with their own thoughts and feelings, despite the directives of the men. Each and every performance is a standout, yet completely in tune with the others and the pitch of Staller’s perfectly honed vision.

Synnøve Karlsen stars as the poor and underprivileged Eliza, with a spot-on Cockney accent and a feisty attitude, who soon metamorphoses into the lady Higgins molded, with hilarious comic timing in her slip-ups, explosive anger and profound pain at being cast aside by him, without a word of acknowledgment or praise for her, after accomplishing what he set out to do, and assertive self-assurance in deciding for herself what her future will hold, leaving us wondering if it will be with or without her mentor, not wanting his love but his respect and caring. Mark Evans embodies the problematic and hypocritical Higgins, who, though of a more prosperous descent and professionally knowledgeable about how to be well-spoken, is lacking in self-awareness and social decorum, prone to cursing and behaving improperly (e.g., sitting backwards on a chair with legs spread wide in front of guests at his mother’s tea time), losing his temper and hurling hurtful insults at Eliza (famously calling her “a squashed cabbage leaf”), generally lacking in empathy and sensitivity, and seeing her merely as one of his intellectual accomplishments, not as a human being. Will he in turn learn from her, as the gods intend? And in his role as Colonel Pickering, Carson Elrod (who also appears as one of the gods) is a kinder, more considerate, and more gentlemanly patron to Eliza and counterpoint to Higgins, who, though not without an occasional error (he, too, neglects to congratulate her on her accomplishment, not just the men’s), and inspires her self-worth by calling her “Miss Doolittle,” for which she expresses her recognition and gratitude.

Rounding out the outstanding (and brilliantly directed) cast are Teresa Avia Lim, Lizan Mitchell, and Matt Wolpe as the deities (along with Elrod), who provide the context of the story and lessons to be learned with godly knowledge and humorous barbs at human behavior. Each also portrays two of the supporting characters, clearly distinguishing their personalities and bearings, and bringing the laughs: Lim as Clara Eynsford-Hill, the friend of Higgins’ mother, who enjoys and emulates Eliza’s aforementioned “new small talk,” and later as the modest and dutiful maid Mary; Wolpe as Clara’s brother Freddy, who is smitten with Eliza and hopes for a relationship with her, and as Alfred Doolittle, Eliza’s father, who represents a member of the “undeserving poor” and a low-class haggler, selling his daughter to Higgins for five pounds, until a surprise inheritance, triggered by a letter from the professor to his unknown benefactor, changes him into an over-dressed lecturer on moral reform, who is “ruined” by the anxiety and pressure caused by middle-class expectations of respectability and appearance; and the uproarious powerhouse Mitchell, doubling in her mortal roles as Higgins’ housekeeper Mrs. Pearce, who cleans and dresses and watches out for Eliza, and Mrs. Higgins, Henry’s discerning mother who sees his flaws and addresses them, and takes in Eliza after she leaves his house, recognizing her worth and emergence as an independent woman. The performances are enhanced by character- and class-defining costumes (by Tracy Christensen) and telling props (by Seth Tyler Black).

Whether you’re a longtime afficionado of Shaw’s socially insightful and comically critical work or are experiencing his masterpiece Pygmalion for the first time, Gingold’s stellar production is a must-see for its authentic adherence to the intentions of the playwright, its superb direction and performances, and its unique design, paying homage to a famed artist who was one of Shaw’s biggest fans. Don’t miss it.

Running Time: Approximately two hours, including an intermission.

Pygmalion plays through Saturday, November 22, 2025, at Gingold Theatrical Group, performing at Theatre Row, Theatre 5, 410 W 42^nd Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $36.50-92.50, including fees), go online.

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There are two types of audience members at any production of The Rocky Horror Show — converts and virgins. Converts are devoted fans, regulars at midnight screenings of the iconic film, who call out and call back as if their lives depended on it, elevating the experience from passive theater watching to a fully immersive one. Then there are the virgins, audience members who have no idea what they’re walking into. Much like the characters Brad and Janet, they are lured in by converts looking to shock and entice — or by theater reviewers with family visiting from out of town. Which is how I found myself on Halloween night introducing my mother-in-law to a sweet transvestite and a muscle-bound creature of the night and watching sexually repressed college students lose their virginity on the Frederick Community College Jack B. Kussmaul Theater stage.

As an introduction to the cult classic, Maryland Ensemble Theatre and Theatre FCC’s co-production of the Richard O’Brien sci-fi/horror opus more than delivers. Featuring a cast and crew composed of MET ensemble members and apprentices, Frederick Community College students, and actors and artists from the DMV, the show moves at a breakneck clip, references the movie liberally, and seamlessly incorporates audience participation.

For the uninitiated, The Rocky Horror Show follows newly engaged couple Brad and Janet as they get caught in a storm with a flat tire and are forced to seek refuge at a gothic castle in the middle of nowhere. Once inside, they find themselves unwilling guests of a mad scientist in a tight corset, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, and his eccentric staff and guests. 

(“Are they vampires?” my mother-in-law whispered. Um, no. Just hang in there.)

As Brad and Janet soon find out, they have arrived on a special night. Dr. Frank-N-Furter is about to unveil his latest creation — Rocky, a muscle man created to satisfy the doctor’s every desire. And since the young couple seems so tightly wound, why not extend Rocky’s particular brand of hospitality to them as well? There’s also a murder. And aliens. And a floor show. 

The highlight of MET and FCC’s production is the cast. Eric Jones shines as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, towering over the rest of the actors in platform heels, teasing the audience with off-the-cuff quips, and swinging from seductive to cruel. Jeremy Myers and Mallorie Stern bring to life naïve couple Brad and Janet. Myer’s Brad is deeply closeted and almost cartoonish, with impeccable comedic timing, while Stern’s Janet goes from sweet innocent housewife-in-training to confident sultry sexpot belting out “Toucha Toucha Touch Me.” Willow Kyteler and Melanie Kurstin play Riff Raff and Magenta, Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s devoted staff, with a campy, magnetic flair that is both hilarious and delightful to watch. Rounding out the main cast are Karli Cole as the tap-dancing, manic Columbia, Christian Wilson as a very traumatized and defiant Rocky, Matt Harris channeling the late Meat Loaf as Eddie/Dr. Scott, and Ron Terbush as the Narrator, who inexplicably transforms from sober academic to leather daddy because why not?

Then there’s the Ensemble (Lucy Campbell, Amari Chambers, Cade MacFee, Katie Martin, Finn Martinez, Alex Pietanza, Mars Renn, and Khadeeja Sesay), the individual members of which are known as Phantoms, who serve as Greek chorus, party guests, stagehands, and even set pieces. When they aren’t actively performing in a scene, they lurk along the periphery of the stage, throwing out callbacks or offering commentary almost as an extension of the audience. They also dominate the dance numbers choreographed by Chambers and Melrose Pyne, weaving through the audience during the “Time Warp” or surrounding Dr. Frank-N-Furter with fluttering feather fans as part of “Rose Tint My World.”

Director Tad Janes was also responsible for scenic and sound design. The set dressing was minimal; the Phantoms moved around cylindrical platforms and scaffolding that served as the various set pieces, while different lighting effects (lighting designer Will Heyser-Paone) projected onto the white backdrop. The stage felt a bit too large for the production’s scale, even as the cast did their best to make the most of it. Costume design by Madeleine Davis was on point, a mix of sexy and campy, adjusting to each cast member’s particular body type and referencing the movie while also being unique.

Audience members were also decked out in costumes (it was Halloween, yes, but this is also a thing at any Rocky event) and didn’t miss a beat as they shouted out callbacks. The production even provided props and projected images onto the curtains above the stage when needed. Bless Dr. Frank-N-Furter for working with the novices in the audience and offering “sloppy seconds” when half of us forgot we needed to get our latex gloves ready for snapping.

Trying to explain what The Rocky Horror Show is about, or why people keep shouting at the cast, to someone who has never experienced it makes you realize just how bizarre this show is, but also why it works so well. It’s a show that transcends time, space, and periodic think pieces on why it’s problematic. It’s a show that ultimately builds community and is as much about liberation as it is about queering up B-movie tropes. Like Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s castle, it welcomes and corrupts all who dare to visit.

My mother-in-law’s review? “I have no idea what just happened, but I loved it!”

Running Time is 90 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.

The Rocky Horror Show, a co-production by Maryland Ensemble Theatre and Theatre FCC, plays through November 8, 2025 (8 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday), at the Frederick Community College Jack B. Kussmaul Theater, Visual & Performing Arts Center, 7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD. Purchase tickets ($14–$30) online.

The program is online here.

The Rocky Horror Show
Music, lyrics & book by Richard O’Brien
Directed by Tad Janes

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By Valerie J. Mikles

When the curtain rises, you’ll be struck by the stunning and ambitious multi-level set. The deep maroon accents give a rich feel, the in situ lights and fire glow ominously, and you’ll never guess where all the secret compartments are hidden. Set designer Dan Lavanga and set dresser Roy Hammond have created a gorgeous interior of an old Victorian house that sets the mood for murder.

Bowie Community Theatre’s latest production, Web of Murder by Jonathan Troy, is a whodunit murder mystery in a classic style. It’s filled with family drama, creepy clues, and more than one twist to keep you guessing. 

Minerva Osterman (Jeanne Louise) is a domineering, ailing matriarch who invites her wealthy family to the mansion for a reading of her will — an event she wants to lord over them while she’s still alive. The wheelchair-bound woman lives with her spineless daughter (Melanie Belkin), her shrewd housekeeper (Rosalie Daelemans), and a mysterious doctor (Roy Hammond), all of whom are gritting their teeth so they won’t be disinherited. When Minerva’s nieces arrive with two unexpected guests, Minerva informs them that she knows she will be murdered soon and that several of them will die with her. Panic, hijinks, and murder abound in this tangled caper, though without a detective leading the case, it is up to the audience to piece together the clues. No one is above suspicion.

Jessie Duggan lights the stage as the animated, over-the-top Belle Hamilton. Duggan and Tatum Moss (playing ex-con Pete Martinelli) match their body language and stylized speech to heighten the characters’ chemistry and create an entertaining and endearing couple. Duggan foils perfectly off Dana Fleischer, who plays her sister, Mary Hamilton. Where Duggan is outrageous, Fleischer is poised and prim. Fleischer carries much of the show’s movement, being both strong and vulnerable as she draws out the clues and backstory from the other characters. 

Louise anchors the show as the mean-spirited Minerva, dominating and taunting her family, but revealing unexpected layers as the show progresses. She’s supported by a strong cast, all of whom give great performances. Melanie Belkin as the worn-down Stephanie Osterman stole my heart every time, because I really wanted her to escape the mother who treated her like a servant and held her hostage.

The sound design team of Mo Gaia, Sally Dodson, and Randy Tusing brings an unexpected, but noteworthy element. The use of mood music underneath the dialogue adds intrigue to the exposition. They work in concert with the lighting design team of Collin Griese, Nicholas Mudd, and Randy Tusing to never let you forget that it is a stormy night in a gloomy mansion surrounded by ravenous, murderous dogs. The use of lamps around the set creates a wonderful, eerie vibe. As a three-act show, there are one-and-a-half acts before intermission and one-and-a-half acts after. The lighting and sound design use their elements as glue to transition between acts.

There were a few imbalances in the set that sometimes distracted me from the performance, namely the cluster of chairs blocking the fireplace and the too-small couch that often had three people squeezed onto it. While director Randy Tusing did a good job of creating balance in the blocking, at times I felt the characters were moving in circles for the sake of moving. Some perceived imbalances may have been to keep the paths wide for the wheelchair and for the sheer number of corpses that had to be hauled off the stage. 

Story-wise, a few threads never got woven into the plot, leaving the motives of the individual characters too nebulous to grasp. This led to one of my murder-mystery pet peeves: the killer’s reveal speech brought a lot of brand-new information rather than weaving in tidbits or clues that had been scattered along the way. 

Regardless, the actors truly breathe life into the characters, making the show engaging and fun to watch. Overall, it was a delightful night out and was well-received by the audience. I’m glad BCT is bringing its signature murder mystery shows back to the stage.

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

Web of Murder plays through November 16, 2025 (Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sunday matinees at 2 PM), presented by Bowie Community Theatre performing at Bowie Playhouse, 16500 White Marsh Park Dr., Bowie, MD. Purchase tickets ($25, general; $20, seniors and students) online, by phone at the BCT Hotline at 301-805-0219, or by email (boxoffice@bctheatre.com) prior to the performance date.

Web of Murder
Written by Jonathan Troy
Directed by Randy Tusing

CAST
Nora, The Housekeeper: Rosalie Daelemans
Stephanie Osterman: Melanie Belkin
Minerva Osterman: Jeanne Louise
Mary Hamilton: Dana Fleischer
Keith Latimer: Andrew Rappa
Belle Hamilton: Jessie Duggan
Pete Martinelli: Tatum Moss
Dr. Adler: Roy Hammond
The Woman: Lauren Barnes

PRODUCTION TEAM
Producers: Alan & Penni Barnett
Director: Randy Tusing
Stage Manager: Penni Barnett
Set Designer: Dan Lavanga
Costume Designer: Linda Swann
Set Dresser/Decorator: Roy Hammond
Properties Designer: Roy Hammond
Sound Designer: Mo Gaia, Sally Dodson, Randy Tusing
Lighting Design: Collin Griese, Nicholas Mudd, Randy Tusing
Sound and Lighting Crew: Bowie Playhouse Staff

Valerie J. Mikles is a Ph.D. astronomer who made a career leap to work on weather satellites. Balancing her science life, she fills her free time writing novels, playing songs on her ukulele, and vacuuming cat hair. Her motto in life is “I can be everything I want, just not all at the same time.”

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The veil is thinnest near Halloween, and through it, Noël Coward’s haunting play Blithe Spirit has returned with a bewitching ensemble. Coward’s razor-sharp 1941 comedy blurs the boundaries between the living and the dead, the dignified and the ridiculous. In keeping with British propriety, I arrived at Gunston Theatre Two in a modest black dress, my evil-eye necklace tucked underneath, ready for mischief.

Novelist Charles Condomine (Eric Kennedy) invites a medium to his home as research for a book about a fraudulent psychic. Even before the arrival of the mystical Madame Arcati (Meghan Williams Elkins), the memory of his first wife, Elvira (Mary Rodrigues), haunts his second marriage with Ruth (Fosse Thornton). The pair engage in a battle of wits, the usual manner of conflict between Coward’s characters. Prompted by Ruth’s green-eyed curiosity, Condomine compares his wives, admitting Elvira’s superior sensuality but lamenting her moral untidiness, unlike Ruth, whose “good breeding” and stiff-upper-lip bring peace to their lives. They are joined by the honorable Dr. Bradman (Stephen Wheeler) and his chirpy wife, Mrs. Bradman (Karey Hart), who want in on the amusement of Madame Arcati’s seance, which they all believe to be a farce. Yet, it is their marriage that becomes a farce when Elvira returns as a poltergeist. 

In his memoir, Graham Payne quotes Coward describing Blithe Spirit as a heartless play: “You can’t sympathise with any of them. If there was a heart it would be a sad story.” This vital lack of sentimentality relies on tongue-in-cheek performances. I applaud the cast for their humorous, lively renditions of Coward’s beloved characters.

Kennedy’s elastic movements could portray the smugness of a debonair writer or the anxious agitation of a henpecked husband with just his eyebrows. He sparked chemistry with both actresses portraying Ruth and Elvira, whose contrasting energies might have thrown off a less experienced leading man. A stiff demeanor and sharp delivery characterized Thornton’s Ruth. Her head swiveled in displeasure as she spewed icy commands, while her body remained in perfect placement — hands folded, ankles crossed — the very picture of composure. Rodrigues as Elvira was more spectacle than spectre. She flitted through the second act, pouty-faced, fingers wiggling. Her performance in Act Three maintained its necessary silliness but grew more grounded, revealing Elvira’s earthy side.

To don the beads and scarves of Madame Arcati is coveted by many actors. Elkins wears the character like a well-fitted kimono jacket, whose jewels reflected glittering lights across the dark floor that followed her around like little spirits. She acted on the tips of her toes, gesticulating each line to its fullest, throwing herself into frenzies and songs. “Away with melancholy,” she cried, and away it went as the crowd became uproarious with laughter. 

Blithe Spirit is Alden Michels’s directorial debut with Dominion Stage. Best known for his work as an actor and dialect coach, Michels must have felt at home working with the varied English accents and funky inflections this play demands. Each character’s voice skillfully reflected their apparent selves. Ruth, whom Elvira teased for “not seeing past the end of her nose,” spoke in a nasal tone, pitched high in her throat. Dr. Bradman spoke low, staying deep in his chest to produce a sensible and decisive voice, perhaps to protect the vulnerable skeptic within. This attention to detail showcases Michels’s experience with the vocal aspects of the performing arts, extending well beyond musicals.

A play like Blithe Spirit cannot be fully realized without a hard-working tech crew orchestrating blink-and-you’ll-miss-it lighting effects along with spine-chilling cues that give the audience a taste of the other realm. The set had a campier aesthetic than I was familiar with: pink pinstriped walls paired with grandma’s floral wallpaper, baroque wooden chairs, and bookshelves laden with miniature paintings of upper-class women in domestic settings. This gaudy design lent credence to Elvira’s claim that since moving in, Ruth had “ruined the place.” A touch of realism in the whimsical world of Blithe Spirit.

Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes, including two 10-minute intermissions. 

Blithe Spirit plays through November 8, 2025, presented by Dominion Stage, performing at Gunston Theatre Two, 2700 S Lang St, Arlington, VA. Purchase tickets ($30 for general admission) at the door or online. 

Blithe Spirit
By Noël Coward
Directed by Alden Michels

CAST
Charles: Eric Kennedy
Ruth: Fosse Thornton
Elvira: Mary Rodrigues
Madame Arcati: Meghan Williams Elkins
Mrs. Bradman: Karey Hart
Dr. Bradman: Stephen Wheeler
Edith, U/S Ruth: Katie Barnett
U/S Charles: Michael McCarthy

PRODUCTION STAFF
Executive Producer: Brianna Goode
Producer: Andrew Goldman
Director: Alden Michels
Asst. Director: Mel Gumina
Stage Manager: Maureen Dawson
Asst. Stage Manager: Maggi Richard
Lighting Designer: Andrew Harasty
Special Effects Designer: Allison Gray-Mendes
Special Effects Designer: Adam Ressa
Sound Designer: Janice Rivera
Costume Designer: Joan Lawrence
Hair & Makeup Designer: Maureen Roult
Set Designer: Julie Fischer
Master Carpenter: Julie Fischer
Props Designer: Emma Bowers
Set Dresser: Emma Bowers
Intimacy Choreographer: Brianna Goode

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The trials and tribulations of love are a universal truth — almost everyone has a story to tell of love gone awry or a messy first date. These universal truths are what William Shakespeare takes to new heights in this romantic comedy, and with an updated setting of a 1980s high school courtesy of director Travis Xavier, Twelfth Night is a hilarious and heartwarming tale of love, mistaken identity, and what it takes to be true to yourself.

Often regarded as one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, Twelfth Night follows twin brother and sister Sebastian and Viola; in this interpretation, they end up in Illyria High School, where Viola must disguise herself as a mime to fit in without being noticed while Sebastian looks for help with their broken motorcycle. What follows is hilarious hijinks of mistaken identity, chaotic love triangles, practical jokes that may go a bit too far, and much more lovestruck teenage chaos. 

A common concern of modern audiences with Shakespeare is the language, but this production delivered dialogue at an upbeat pace that matched the high energy of the cast and of the story. Lines were punchy, and delivery was crisp, adding to the production’s modern feel. The cast proved with hilarity and spunk that they understood the text as they worked to convey it in the modern setting. Highlights from the cast include Ally Fenton, who showed great range and emotion as Viola/Cesario; Alec Schneller, who committed fully to his role as the hilarious and gullible Malvolio; Natalia Fernandez-Davila as Olivia, whose tenacity and determination dominated scenes; and Addie Witmer as Feste, whose commentary and singing shed light on the true themes of this show — all while in a high school mascot costume! Overall, the cast dynamics were fun, funny, upbeat, and dramatic, much like any high school.

A significant change from the original Shakespeare text to this adaptation is the more modern setting. The shift to a 1980s high school is immediately recognizable in the set, done by scenic designer Olivia Goncalves, which features trash-filled bleacher seats, a staple of many high schools. The costumes designed by Emily Vallozzi continue this modern theming with bright colors and abrasive patterns, as well as cheerleading outfits and varsity jackets that tie into the theme of power dynamics. All the design elements worked together to transport the audience to the 1980s.

This play’s themes center around love, gender, and belonging, and as is noted by dramaturg Gale Linderman, “gender and sexuality are extremely fluid in ‘Twelfth Night.’” Since queer depictions are not often written into classical theatre, “the queer community instead finds representation themselves” in characters that can be viewed through a queer lens, Linderman writes. The LGBTQ+ community faced many challenges in the ’80s as well, most notably the AIDS epidemic and the increased homophobia that came with it. The undercurrents of gender ambiguity and homosexuality featured in this play, mixed with this setting, create a compelling perspective for viewing the play with queerness in mind, and this cast and production team did an excellent job honoring the queer community through classical theater.

Twelfth Night is a spunky, modern, and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated comedies that stays true to the core of the original while leaving room for modernity and new, challenging questions and themes to be explored. 

Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission. 

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night plays through November 2, 2025, presented by the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at George Washington University performing in the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, University Student Center – 800 21st Street NW, Washington, DC. For tickets ($20 adult, $10 seniors/students, plus fee), purchase them at the door or online.

The program is online here.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
Adapted and directed by Travis Xavier

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Play readings and workshops offer a chance to see exciting new work at various stages of development. Want to see the next big thing while it’s still being crafted? Get in on the ground level and see the creative process in action. Featuring new plays and musicals by local and national artists, here are the upcoming play readings and workshops in the DMV.

NOVEMBER

The Kennedy Center presents Shamrock Tenors: Christmas in Belfast, Tuesday, November 25 through Sunday, November 30 in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets range from $39-$139 and are available here. 

Washington Concert Opera presents Iphigénie en Tauride by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Sunday, November 23 at 6:00 PM at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St NW, Washington, DC. Admission includes a pre-show talk by WCO founder Peter Russell starting at 5:00 PM. Tickets range from $45-$134 and are available here. 

Keegan Theatre Artistic Director Susan Marie Rhea will be the speaker at The Georgetowner’s November Cultural Leadership Breakfast, Thursday, November 20 at 8:30 AM at 1310 Kitchen and Bar, 1310 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are $41.54 (including fees) and available here. 

Red Hill Theatre Group presents Dressing Amelia by Chloe Whitehorn, Friday, November 14 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, November 15 at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM at Maryland Ensemble Theatre, 301 W. Patrick St, Frederick, MD. Tickets are $10 and available here. 

The Vintage Theatre Company’s Rustic Mechanicals present Macbeth one night only Friday, November 14 at 7:30 PM at BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Dr, Germantown, MD. Tickets range from $10-$36 and are available here. 

Alliance for New Music-Theatre and The Arts Club of Washington present In Flanders Fields, a music-theater retrospective of World War I, Tuesday, November 11 at 7:00 PM at The Arts Club of Washington, 2017 I St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are $65, including a small bites buffet and beverages, and are available here. 

As part of its Script Tease series, Everyman Theatre presents a staged reading of Different Words for Happiness by Everyman company member Katie Kleiger, Monday, November 10 at 7:00 PM at Everyman, 315 W. Fayette St, Baltimore, MD. Tickets are pay-what-you-can (minimum $5) and available here. Tickets for the 4-performance Script Tease season are also pay-what-you-can (minimum $20) and available here. 

Edge of the Universe Theater presents Death and the Fool, a Tarot-inspired mystery play full of slapstick comedy, medieval music, puppetry and whimsy developed and performed by Happenstance Theatre, Saturday, November 8 at 8:00 PM and Sunday, November 9 at 2:00 PM at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are sold out, but standing room-only seating will be offered at the door; first-come, first-served. Details here. 

George Mason University’s Hylton Performing Arts Center presents Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: The Musical, Saturday, November 8 at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM at the Hylton Center, 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA. Based on the beloved children’s book by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert, this production is recommended for ages 3-9. The 2:00 PM performance is sensory-friendly. Tickets are $24 and available here. 

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents Bernadette Peters in concert, Friday, November 7 at 8:00 PM at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St, Baltimore, MD. Peters will perform selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, and more. Tickets range from $42-$140 and are available here. 

The American Pops Orchestra presents The Three Broadway Tenors, Thursday, November 6 at 7:00 PM at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC. Broadway, TV, and film sensations Justin Guarini, Cheyenne Jackson, and James Monroe Iglehart perform together for the first time in this can’t-miss concert! Tickets range from $55-$130 and are available here. 

OCTOBER

Annapolis Opera presents Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Friday, October 31 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, November 2 at 3:00 PM at Maryland Hall, 801 Chase St, Annapolis, MD. Tickets range from $37-$79 (with student discounts available); purchase tickets here. Pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to showtime; register for free here.

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Ford’s Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault announced that Craig Wallace (Fences, Necessary Sacrifices, Death of a Salesman, The Guard, Driving Miss Daisy) will once again take the stage as Ebenezer Scrooge in the theatre’s beloved holiday production of A Christmas Carol.

New to the production this year is Erin Weaver, making her Ford’s Theatre debut. Erin is an eight-time Helen Hayes Award winner and will be taking the Ford’s stage as Fruit Vendor/Ghost of Christmas Present.

Also returning to the cast this season are Justine “Icy” Moral (Sister Act, Ragtime, Into the Woods) as the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Future and Joe Mallon (Sister Act, Little Shop of Horrors, SHOUT SISTER SHOUT!, One Destiny) as the Clock Vendor.

“A Christmas Carol has been a joyful tradition on our historic stage for over 40 years,” said Paul R. Tetreault, director of Ford’s Theatre. “This story reminds us that it’s never too late to change, to connect, and to embrace the generosity and warmth that define the holiday season. Each year, it inspires audiences with its timeless message of hope and renewal.”

Performances of the classic Charles Dickens story begin November 20, 2025, and run for a six-week engagement through December 31, 2025. This “musically high-spirited” and “infectiously jolly” production (The Washington Post) is adapted by Michael Wilson and directed by Michael Baron. The performance runs approximately two hours with one intermission, and features Christmas caroling, a spirited children’s company, spooky stage tricks, and cheerful holiday dancing.

The Director

Michael Baron (Director) made his Ford’s Theatre directorial debut with the 2009 production of A Christmas Carol. He also served as associate director of the 2008 Ford’s production of The Civil War. Regional directorial credits include: Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma: The Prom, Carousel, Head Over Heels, Master Class, Frost/Nixon, Titanic, Bright Star, Fun Home, Assassins, Fiddler on the Roof, Dreamgirls, Big Fish, Oklahoma!, A Little Night Music, Les Misérables, Spring Awakening, Ragtime, Oliver!; ZACH Theatre: Cinderella, Peter and the Starcatcher; Olney: ASL-integrated The Music Man; Adventure: Big River, James and the Giant Peach. Baron holds an MFA from Trinity Repertory and a BA from Wake Forest, and has taught at American University, Brown University and College of the Holy Cross. He is a two-time Helen Hayes Award winner and received the Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Award. Baron is currently the Producing Artistic Director of the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, the Official State Theatre of Oklahoma.

The Cast

Craig Wallace (Ebenezer Scrooge) was most recently featured at Ford’s in its 2024 production of A Christmas Carol and the Necessary Sacrifices radio play. A Ford’s Theatre Associate Artist, Wallace has also portrayed Troy in August Wilson’s Fences and was featured in Death of a Salesman, The Guard, Driving Miss Daisy, Necessary Sacrifices, and others. Additional recent credits include Uncle Vanya and Merry Wives at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Primary Trust at Signature Theatre, All the Way at Arena Stage, Our Town and King Lear at Shakespeare Theatre Company and Radio Golf and Ink at Round House Theatre, among others. He is an Ex-Officio member of the Ford’s Theatre Board of Trustees.

This year’s production also includes Stephen F. Schmidt as Jacob Marley, Erin Weaver as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Justine “Icy” Moral as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Ghost of Christmas Future, Joe Mallon as the Clock Vendor, Jonathan Atkinson as Bob Cratchit and Erin Driscoll as Mrs. Cratchit. They are joined by actors Michael Bunce, John Floyd, Jay Frisby, Victoria Gómez, Ayanna Hardy, Julia Wheeler Lennon, Jimmy Mavrikes, Derrick D. Truby Jr. and Kanysha Williams. The understudies are Lauren Davis, Christopher Mueller, Ashley D. Nguyen and Taylor Witt.

The children’s company features Luke Jones, Emerson Holt Lacayo, Milo Moore, Harrison Morford, William Morford, Olivia Nishimura, Tabitha Belle Popernack, Alina Santos, Teddy Schechter, Alyssa Stinnett, Alonso Waller and Valentina Waller.

The Creative Team

José Carrasquillo recreates Michael Baron’s original direction, assisted by Associate Directors Craig A. Horness and Erika Scott. Designers for A Christmas Carol include Scenic Designer Lee Savage’s striking iron work, which evokes London’s Covent Garden marketplace. The cast is outfitted in Alejo Vietti’s festive Victorian costumes. The design team also includes Lighting Design by Rui Rita, Original Music and Sound Design by Josh Schmidt, Wig Design by Charles G. LaPointe, Choreography by Shea Sullivan, Choral Direction by Jay Crowder and Dialects and Vocal Direction by Rachel Hirshorn-Johnston. The creative team is completed by Production Stage Managers Craig A. Horness and Brandon Prendergast, and Assistant Stage Managers Taryn Friend and Julia Singer.

A Christmas Carol runs November 20-December 31, 2025, at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are now on sale and range from $42-$156. Tickets, showtimes, and further information are available at fords.org/performance/a-christmas-carol-2025.

Special Performances and Events

A sensory-friendly performance of A Christmas Carol is scheduled for November 23 at 2 p.m. ASL sign-interpreted and audio-described performances of A Christmas Carol are scheduled for December 4 at 7 p.m. and December 13 at 2 p.m. Military Appreciation Night is scheduled for December 11 at 7 p.m. Tickets are distributed through the USO Metro Ticket Line.

Beginning November 20, 2025, performances of A Christmas Carol will be captioned via the GalaPro App. GalaPro is available from the App Store or Google Play and allows patrons to access captioning on demand through their phone or tablet device. Patrons set their phones to airplane mode and connect to the local GalaPro WiFi network before the performance begins. More information is available at www.fords.org/visit-us/accessibility/galapro-captioning.

First Free Preview

Ford’s Theatre partners with TodayTix to give out free tickets for the first preview of each mainstage production in its theatrical season. 150 tickets will be available via the TodayTix app, beginning November 12 at noon ET and closing November 19 at 10 a.m. ET for the November 20 performance of A Christmas Carol at 7 p.m. The TodayTix app is available in the Apple App Store, Google Play and Amazon App Store. Visit www.fords.org/whats-happening/discounts/first-free-preview for lottery entry details.

Donation Drive for Local Charity

For the 16th year, the company of A Christmas Carol will devote time and energy to raising money for a Washington charity. Their efforts, coupled with audiences’ generous support, have raised $1,117,555 for local charities including Hope for Henry, Hope and a Home, Bright Beginnings, Homeless Children’s Playtime Project, House of Ruth, N Street Village, Bread for the City, Covenant House Washington, Food and Friends, Martha’s Table, Miriam’s Kitchen, So Others Might Eat, Thrive DC, TheatreWashington’s Taking Care Fund and For Love of Children (FLOC). This year’s company of A Christmas Carol will announce its selected charity in November.

Ford’s Theatre Society One of the most visited sites in the nation’s capital, Ford’s Theatre reopened its doors in 1968, more than a hundred years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Operated through a partnership between Ford’s Theatre Society and the National Park Service, Ford’s Theatre is the premier destination in the nation’s capital to explore and celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s life and legacy.

Ford’s Theatre Society was founded under the guidance of executive producer Frankie Hewitt, who, during her 35-year tenure, established Ford’s as a living, working theater producing performances that highlighted the diversity of the American experience. Since the arrival of Paul R. Tetreault as Director, critics and the theatergoing public have recognized Ford’s for the superior quality of its artistic programming. With works from the Tony-nominated Come From Away and the nationally acclaimed Big River, to the world premieres of The American Five, Meet John Doe, The Heavens Are Hung In Black, Liberty Smith, Necessary Sacrifices, The Widow Lincoln, The Guard, Grace and Something Moving, Ford’s Theatre is making its mark on the American theater landscape. Under the current leadership of Board of Trustees Chairman Phebe N. Novakovic and through the lens of Lincoln’s leadership and legacy, Ford’s today endeavors to advance Lincoln’s “unfinished work” with programs and performances that cultivate empathy, encourage dialogue and bridge divides in American life.

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I summarize Yasmina Reza’s play ‘Art’ to my companion as a play about three dudes bitching about stuff, and a painting. I’m not even sure there’s a plot. At least, I don’t remember a plot.

It’s more of a premise. And the premise is that three grown men are having an existential meltdown over a white painting. Serge blows a fortune on what looks like a blank canvas, Marc can’t believe his friend spent money on the thing, and poor Yvan is stuck trying to keep the peace while both sides take turns losing it. What starts as an argument about modern art turns into a hilarious, petty, and painfully honest showdown about ego, friendship, and who’s the real intellectual in the room. In spite of this, it’s great fun. 

Everyman Theatre puts on a lot of highbrow theatrical performances. Honestly, I was stunned (delighted, but also stunned) to see them doing Harvey in 2023, a distinctly lowbrow play about a man who befriends a six-foot-tall invisible rabbit. But even Harvey was highbrowed-up significantly at Everyman. Reza’s ‘Art’ script is already pretty highbrow, which is, I suppose, one of the things people like about it, at least, the sort of people who use the word ‘sportsball’ unironically in a sentence. Snazzing it up further with a posh set stretches the limits of relatability, which is forgivable as the set is a visual delight.

Kyle Prue, Bruce Randolph Nelson, and Tony K. Nam as Marc, Serge, and Yvan (respectively, in order of appearance) are all splendid performers who, as characters, take themselves dreadfully seriously. If there were even a hint of a twinkle, the comedy wouldn’t work. The comedy works. Each performer has excellent timing and good interplay with the others. What they don’t have as characters is any particular likability. I acknowledge that my preference for likable characters is a personal quirk, so this won’t be a problem for everyone. Prue stops just shy of sarcasm, and I’ve never not enjoyed Bruce Nelson in anything. Nam, who was absolutely magnificent as George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? this past spring, portrays a very different sort of character in ‘Art’. Director Noah Himmelstein delivers restrained character movements while keeping the piece from being static, a real risk in such a “talk-y” show. 

The sound quality is crystal clear. It helps that the audience is very quiet, but with the crisp and rhythmic dialogue Reza has written, missing any of it would be disastrous to comprehension.

Scenic Designer Paige Hathaway, whose turntable candy-boxes for Primary Trust thrilled me earlier this year, presents a single set that emits a luxurious gleam through subtly burnished furniture and glorious trappings. Tastefully elegant brass chandeliers and sconces, hung very high, suggest vaulted ceilings and enormous mansions, and whisper “spared no expense.” Smooth sliding panels glide back and forth to indicate scene changes. A particularly beautiful piece of the set is the scrim behind the panels, which catches color like a skylit lake. Lighting Designer Harold F. Burgess II creates mesmerizing glows on that backdrop, setting the tenor of each scene, moving rapidly through briefly fascinating ombre color shifts during scenic changes, then settling down so we can watch the actors.

‘Art,’ was originally written in French and translated into English almost immediately by Christopher Hampton. At this point, it has been performed in at least 30 languages. It opened in the West End (London) in 1996 and ran for six years. ‘Art’ gathered a number of awards, including a Moliere (France), an Olivier (England), and a Tony (USA). Reza’s following play, God of Carnage (2008), and its subsequent film adaptation may have brought renewed attention to this quiet show. Learn more about the playwright and translator when you have a peek at Everyman’s online program. 

The pre-show bar offers thematic drinks — I choose “Blank Canvas,” which I enjoy very much, though it is a bit sweeter than my usual preference. There are also alcohol-free specialty beverages. Don’t wait until intermission: there’s not one in this show. Drinks with lids are permitted in the theater, but snacks are not. 

One of the entertaining things about art is that people disagree about art. Yasmina Reza’s ‘Art’ at Everyman places that tempest in a pretty china teapot. It’s sharp, it’s smart, it’s short, and it might make you appreciate your friendships more and your decor less, or, possibly, the reverse.

Running time: 90 minutes, with no intermission. 

‘Art’ plays through November 16, 2025, at Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD. For tickets (starting at $60, with student discounts and Pay-What-You-Choose tickets at every performance), call the box office at (410) 752-2208 (Monday-Friday, 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday 12 to 4 pm), email boxoffice@everymantheatre.org, or purchase them online.

The playbill is here.

‘Art’
By Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Noah Himmelstein

CAST
Tony K. Nam: Yvan
Bruce Randolph Nelson: Serge
Kyle Prue: Marc

CREATIVE TEAM
Noah Himmelstein: Director
Paige Hathaway: Scenic Design
Jeannette Christensen: Costume Design
Harold F. Burgess II: Lighting Design
Sun Hee Kil: Sound Design
Lewis Shaw: Fights/Intimacy
Molly Prunty: Stage Manager

Final Factoids: When I reviewed Art at Vagabonds Theatre in 2014,  the production had a completely different ethos.  A revival of Art on Broadway, starring Neil Patrick Harris, plays through December 2025. 

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Round House Theatre continues its 2025/26 season with the U.S. premiere of Rules For Living, a wickedly funny yuletide farce about family dysfunction and societal norms. Written by British playwright Sam Holcroft, the play has been newly adapted for American audiences and is directed by Round House Artistic Director Ryan Rilette. It will run from December 3-January 4. More information and tickets here.

The play follows a family preparing Christmas lunch. As the matriarch of the house puts everyone to work to create the perfect meal, what seemingly starts as a pleasant Christmas tradition descends into chaotic revelations of secrets, hostilities, and bitter grudges. As the story unfolds, the audience uncovers the hidden “rules” each character follows to cope with family dynamics, offering a sharp, funny look at how we handle pressure and conflict.

“I’m so excited to tackle this hilarious holiday comedy with a dream team of comedic actors. Rules for Living takes the typical dysfunctional family holiday story into new territory by drawing attention to the unspoken rules we all follow, often unconsciously, and the coping mechanisms we rely on when navigating the complexities of family dynamics. It’s an entertaining and relatable story told with wit, heart, high energy, and a lot of laughs,” says Artistic Director Ryan Rilette.  

The cast includes Will Conard, Jonathan Feuer, Avery Harris, Naomi Jacobson, John Lescault, Maisie Posner, Dani Stoller, and Dina Thomas.

The cast is joined by a brilliant creative team, which includes Scenic Designer Jimmy Stubbs, Costume Designer Ivania Stack, Lighting Designer Emma Deane, Sound Designer Delaney Bray, Fight Director Casey Kaleba, Dramaturg Naysan Mojgani, Casting Director Sarah Cooney, Assistant Director Michael Glenn, Production Stage Manager Tori Schuchmann, and Production Assistant Ellen Mitchell.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Sam Holcroft (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Theater credits include A Mirror (Trafalgar Theatre, West End), co-produced with Second Half Productions; the musical Fantastic Mr. Fox (Nuffield Theatre, Southampton and Lyric Hammersmith); Rules for Living, The Wardrobe, and Edgar and Annabel (The National Theatre); While You Lie (Traverse Theatre); Pink (Tricycle Theatre); Vanya (Gate Theatre); and Cockroach (National Theatre of Scotland). Television work includes The Rook (Lionsgate). Awards include the Windham Campbell Prize for Literature in the Drama category and the Tom Erhardt Playwriting Award for Most Promising Writer. Sam is currently writing on an HBO series, is developing a new play for Second Half Productions, and is under commission to the National Theatre. 

Ryan Rilette (Director) is in his fourteenth season as Artistic Director of Round House Theatre. For Round House, he has directed Bad Books (world premiere), The Seafarer, “We declare you a terrorist…” (world premiere), Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up, Homebound, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Oslo, Small Mouth Sounds, “Master Harold”…and the Boys, The Book of Will, Angels in America: Perestroika, The Night Alive, Fool for Love, This, and How to Write a New Book for the Bible. He also acted in Ink and Uncle Vanya at Round House, has directed at theatres throughout the country, and has acted in a handful of TV shows and films. During his tenure at Round House, he has produced seven of the 10 highest grossing seasons and 17 of the top 20 highest grossing productions in the theater’s history. His productions have received 99 Helen Hayes Awards nominations and 30 Helen Hayes Awards. Ryan created the theater’s Equal Play commissioning program, Resident Artist program, Fair Play pay scale for artists, and Free Play ticketing program. Prior to joining Round House, Ryan served as Producing Director of Marin Theatre Company, Producing Artistic Director of Southern Rep Theatre, and co-founder and Artistic Director of Rude Mechanicals Theatre Company. He is the former Board President of the National New Play Network. 

CAST INFORMATION (ALPHABETICAL)

Will Conard (Matthew) is a recent graduate of NYU’s Grad Acting MFA program and is very excited to begin his theatrical career at Round House Theatre in this production of Rules for Living. Film/TV: Lapsis. BA: Brown University.

Jonathan Feuer (Adam) is making his Round House Theatre debut. Local credits include Richard III and As You Like It at Shakespeare Theatre Company, John at Signature Theatre, Monumental Travesties and Charm at Mosaic Theater Company, Antigone Project at Rep Stage, and The Call at Theater J. He has also worked at Arena Stage, Studio Theatre, Kennedy Center TYA, Imagination Stage, Prologue Theatre, Solas Nua, Spooky Action Theater, The Keegan Theatre, Adventure Theatre, and more. Jonathan is an MFA graduate of the Academy for Classical Acting at GW. He will next appear in Eureka Day at Theater J in the spring.

Avery Harris (Emma) is delighted to be stepping onto the Round House Theatre stage for the first time. Her most recent credits include The Bedwetter (Laura) at Arena Stage and Ragtime (The Little Girl) at Signature Theatre (Helen Hayes Nomination for Best Ensemble). Other theater credits include The Little Mermaid (Ariel) and Matilda (Matilda).

Naomi Jacobson (Deborah) has appeared at Round House in Caroline, or Change; The Lyons; Wintertime; The Talented Mr. Ripley; Smell of the Kill (all married to actual husband John Lescault); The Tempest; and Mere Mortals. She has performed at most of the DC-area Equity theatres, including The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre. Regionally, she has performed at the Guthrie Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Indiana Rep, Arizona Theatre Company, Village Theatre, Maltz Jupiter, and the Berkshire Theatre Festival. Her voiceover work includes NPR, PBS, Discovery Channel, and the Smithsonian. She has received three Helen Hayes Awards, numerous nominations, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, the Anderson-Hopkins Award, and a DC Arts Individual Artist grant. 

John Lescault (Francis) Previous credits at Round House include Shakespeare, Moses, and Joe Papp; Our Town; Wintertime; The Lyons; Caroline, or Change; A Prayer for Owen Meany; and Handbagged. International credits include Defiant Requiem (Prague Spring Music Festival) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare Theatre Company/Macau Arts Festival). New York credits include Handbagged (59E59/ Round House Theatre) and Le Deserteur (Opera Lafayette at Lincoln Center). Regional credits: Native Gardens and A Prayer for Owen Meany (Cincinnati Playhouse); The Second City’s Twist Your Dickens, Love Factually, and Opera Lafayette’s Sancho Ponca (The Kennedy Center), as well as productions at Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Studio Theatre, Olney Theatre, and CATF (among many others). Film/TV: Lincoln, The Day Lincoln Was Shot, Unsolved Mysteries, Beautiful Something, The Fox Hunter, and Dakota. John has been a narrator of commercial audiobooks and for the Library of Congress’s Talking Books program for 30 years. He is a graduate of The Catholic University of America.

Maisie Posner (Emma) is ecstatic to be making her Round House Theatre debut in this hilarious and heartfelt play. Previous professional roles include Bielke in Fiddler on the Roof at the Olney Theatre Center and Rebecca Gibbs in Our Town at the Shakespeare Theatre. She has also done professional readings of The Story of Walter for Signature Theatre and Shakespeare & the Zombie Plague of 1590. Maisie is a 9th grader in the CAP Program at Montgomery Blair High School. 

Dani Stoller (Carrie) is an award-winning playwright and actor currently based in Washington, DC. Performance credits include This Much I Know (59E59 Off-Broadway); Which Way to the Stage and Ragtime (Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes Nomination for Best Supporting Performer); My Body, No Choice (Arena Stage, Helen Hayes Nomination for Best Supporting Performer); As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and District Merchants (Folger Theatre); The Joy That Carries You, The Humans, The Diary of Anne Frank, and The Crucible (Olney Theatre Center); and This Much I Know, Hester Street (Helen Hayes Nomination for Best Supporting Performer), and Prayer for the French Republic (Helen Hayes Nomination for Best Supporting Performer)(Theater J). She has also performed at Studio Theatre, 1st Stage, Keegan Theatre, and The Kennedy Center. Playwriting credits include Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes (Signature Theatre), Just Great: an adaptation of some book by F. Scott Fitzgerald (recently published by Broadway Licensing), The Voices of Blackwell Island, The Possumneck Playhouse Presents…, Failureland (Signature Theater SIS Program), Girlhood (Round House Theatre Teen Performance Company commission), and The Joy That Carries You, co-written with Awa Sal Secka (Olney Theatre Center, winner of the Helen Hayes Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play). Education: BFA Ithaca College, MFA CUA.

Dina Thomas (Nicole) is a DC theater artist and real estate agent who is thrilled to be back after making her Round House debut earlier this year in the reading of Baby Shower Katie. Other DC credits include At The Wedding, Cry It Out and 2.5 Minute Ride at Studio Theatre; The Berlin Diaries, Chameleon, and The Wanderers at Theater J; Much Ado About Nothing and The Metromaniacs at Shakespeare Theater Company. Her Off-Broadway credits include The Metromaniacs at Red Bull Theater, Clever Little Lies at Westside Theatre, and Tribes at Barrow Street Theatre directed by David Cromer. Regional credits include Everything You Touch at Contemporary American Theater Festival; The Metromaniacs at The Old Globe; See How They Run and 10×10 New Play Festival at Barrington Stage Company; and Bad Jews (BroadwayWorld Award, Best Actress), I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard, and Miss Witherspoon at Unicorn Theatre. She has an MFA in Acting from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a B.A. in Theatre from Binghamton University.

Ari Post (Understudy, Matthew/Adam) is thrilled to make his Round House Theatre debut with Rules for Living. DC credits include The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, and The Rover at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Electionland at Storyworks Theater; and The Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Odyssey at Shakespeare Theatre Company (MFA). Other credits include Now to Ashes at the DC Fringe Festival (Best of Fringe), and Venus in Fur, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Side Man at local area theaters. Upcoming credits include Appropriate at Olney Theatre Center and Once at NextStop Theatre Company. Training: MFA in Acting, Shakespeare Theatre Company at George Washington University.

Vince Rossano (Understudy, Francis) is back for his second understudy gig at Round House.  He is a recent arrival in the DMV area, having spent most of his nearly-60-year theatrical career performing in regional theater in his home state of Vermont. In the past few years, he has appeared in Much Ado About Nothing, The Seagull, and The Father at Unadilla Theater, Taming of the Shrew at the Vermont Shakespeare Festival, Native Gardens and A Number at Vermont Stage, and To Kill a Mockingbird and Kiss Me Kate at the Mirror Repertory Theater. He and his wife have also toured the Eastern Seaboard with their production of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters. He has a degree in theatre from the University of Vermont and also studied theatre at Goddard College.

Amy Benson (Understudy, Carrie/Nicole) is thrilled to be understudying at Round House Theatre once again! Amy is Round House’s Artistic and Executive Associate, was the assistant to director Alan Paul on Round House’s production of Next to Normal, and understudied the incomparable Kimberly Gilbert in What the Constitution Means to Me. She is also the Festival Producer for the workshops during the Bonnie Hammerschlag National Capital New Play Festival. She was the Founding Artistic Director of Walking Shadow Readers Theatre, a new play development company, and has directed Best Medicine Rep, Too Much Damn Theater, and the Philadelphia Dramatists Center.  Amy also has extensive teaching experience as a teaching artist at Imagination Stage, Adventure Theatre, and Epworth Preschool. She has taught in Beijing, China, and Berlin, Germany, where she founded her own acting studio, Amy Benson Studios. Amy has a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Mara Rosenberg is delighted to return to Round House Theatre, where she understudied the role of Nan in Jennifer, Who is Leaving. Since relocating to the DMV from Charlotte, NC, Mara has been seen in productions at Silver Spring Stage (Circle, Mirror, Transformation), NOVA Nightsky Theater (Picnic and The American Plan), The Arlington Players (A Daughter’s a Daughter), Greenbelt Arts Center (Motherhood Out Loud), and Pipeline Playwrights (Wednesdays in Mississippi). Mara spends her days making silly voices as a school librarian.

Rules for Living runs December 3, 2025-January 4, 2026, at Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 8:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Tickets start at $50 with ticket discounts available. Purchase tickets by calling 240.644.1100, ordering online, or visiting the box office.

Available ticket discounts include:

• Pay-What-You-Can performances: PWYC tickets go on sale online or by phone only (no walk-up sales) beginning three weeks before the first performance of each show. The patron decides the admission price. Limit of two tickets per order. PWYC tickets are available for performances on Wednesday, December 3 (7:30pm) and Saturday, December 6 (2pm) and are subject to availability.

• 2-For-1 Tuesday: For all Tuesday performances of Rules for Living, all seats are buy one, get one free. 2-for-1 Tuesday tickets are available online or by phone (240.644.1100) with promo code TWOFORONE. Discounts may not be combined. Not valid on previously purchased tickets.

 • Free Play: Free Tickets for students ages 13 through college: Round House Theatre’s Free Play initiative ties into its greater strategy to develop theater audiences of tomorrow by providing rich, meaningful arts experiences today. For more information, visit RoundHouseTheatre.org/FreePlay or email Education@RoundHouseTheatre.org.

• On the House community ticket access program: Round House’s next step to remove barriers that can make it difficult for some community members to experience its work is On the House, which provides complimentary group tickets to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and community-serving organizations with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. For more information, visit RoundHouseTheatre.org/On-Stage/On-The-House or email Community@RoundHouseTheatre.org.

• Blue Star Theatre Program: Active-duty military personnel, veterans, and their immediate family qualify for a $10 discount off the single ticket price. Learn more at RoundHouseTheatre.org/On-Stage/Tickets.

• Group Sales: Groups of 10 or more can save 10% off the single ticket price and are exempt from single ticket fees. These tickets must be reserved and purchased in advance by calling 240.644.1100 or emailing GroupSales@RoundHouseTheatre.org.

ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

• Audio-Described performances: December 13 (matinee)
• Open-Captioned performances: December 14, December 20 (matinee)
• Masks are required at the following performance: January 3 (matinee)

POST AND PRE-SHOW DISCUSSIONS

• Post Show Discussions: Dec 3, Dec 4, Dec 14, Dec 21
• Director Discussion: Dec 5 at 6:45 pm
• Designer Discussion: Dec 3 at 6:45 pm
• Teen Night: Dec 5: Join Round House for dinner followed by a pre-show discussion before the show and attend a performance of the play followed by a post-show activity.

ROUND HOUSE THEATRE HEALTH & SAFETY POLICIES

Round House Theatre no longer requires that audience members wear masks for most performances in its theater. However, masks are required for certain performances and for events in other Round House spaces, including the Event Room. Round House continues to strongly recommend masks as the best way for individuals to protect themselves from COVID-19 and other seasonal viruses, and asks audience members to respect the choices of others. Round House will offer a limited number of mask-required performances for audience members who may prefer a fully masked environment. Masks are required for the matinee performance on January 3.

ABOUT ROUND HOUSE THEATRE

Round House Theatre is one of the leading professional theaters in the Washington, DC area, producing a season of new plays, modern classics, and musicals for more than 50,000 patrons each year at its theater in Bethesda. Round House has been nominated for 235 Helen Hayes Awards and has won 54, including four Outstanding Resident Play Awards and the Charles MacArthur Award for Original New Play in 2016. Round House’s lifelong learning and education programs serve more than 5,000 students each year at its Education Center in Silver Spring, in schools throughout Montgomery County, and at its Bethesda theater. Cornerstone programs include Free Play, which provides free tickets for students age 13-college, the Teen Performance Company, which culminates in the student-produced Sarah Metzger Memorial Play, Summer Camp for students in grades K-12, and a full slate of classes for adults and youth.

The post Round House Theatre announces cast for U.S. premiere of ‘Rules for Living’ appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

Established in 1978, NYC’s West Bank Cafe, located on West 42^nd Street, has been a favorite hangout for the theater community and theater-goers, known for its quality food, including its legendary risotto balls. In the early ‘80s, The Downstairs Theatre was opened, featuring nightly events and staged plays, and attracting such luminaries as playwrights Aaron Sorkin, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller, and emerging stars like Tony Shalhoub, Nathan Lane, Holly Hunter, and Mark Linn-Baker. After the loss of Tony-nominated actress and singer Laurie Beechman in 1998, the underground hotspot was renamed in her honor, and The Laurie Beechman Theatre became one on the city’s premiere cabaret venues, presenting everyone from Broadway’s André De Shields, Donna McKechnie, and Joe Iconis, to pop-rockers Ariana Grande, Cyndi Lauper, and The Who, and comedian Joan Rivers, who played more than 200 sets there, including her final performance.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York and forced everyone to shelter in place and live venues to go on hiatus, producers, directors, and impresarios Michael and Tom D’Angora spearheaded a series of star-studded fundraising livestream events to prevent the WBC and The Beechman from shuttering permanently. The successful campaign kept it open, until owner Steve Olsen, then 70, announced in July of 2024, that it would close in August, “due to the high cost of conducting business and the continuing fallout from the pandemic.” That’s when the D’Angoras stepped in once again and saved the day by becoming its new proprietors, revamping the building, updating the menu, adding the popular all-day happy hour at the bar, and curating the array of shows downstairs.  

I spoke with Tom and Michael about their journey with the venue and the events we can see there.

What is it about the West Bank Cafe that urged you to save it and to become its new proprietors?

Tom: We live across the street and ate here, as customers, all the time. When I was producing NEWSical across the street at Theatre Row, we had a million cast parties here. We even had our wedding rehearsal dinner in The Beechman! So the place was always special to us, and we knew how much it meant to the entire community.

Michael: Having lived in NYC for the last 25 years, we’ve watched a lot of popular mom and pop restaurants, theater hangouts, and legendary venues become high-rise buildings, banks, Duane Reades, etc. We were part of a large effort a few years ago to save the historic Cafe Edison, and we weren’t about to lose another favorite haunt of ours.  

Tom: We have always lived by the theory that we might not be able to put out the entire forest fire, but we can at least save one tree. So, this was our tree to save. 

Michael: When we were helping the original owner, Steve, by updating the business model for a post-Covid NYC, we saw that, sure, there was a lot of work that needed to be done, but also a lot of exciting potential. After a lot of deep thoughts and hard conversations, Steve decided he was ready to call it a day, and we are honored that we’ve been trusted to carry this incredible venue that he created into a new chapter.

What’s the significance of the hat on the WBC logo?

Michael: Steve was buddies with the artist Tom Slaughter who created the fedora as the logo for the venue. Slaughter then went on to become a very well-known artist. Over time, the fedora became Tom Slaughter’s calling card, or tag, sort of like Keith Haring’s “Radiant Baby.”

Tom: It’s fun because every now and again you’ll spot one of his fedora paintings somewhere, like in the background of an interview we saw with Liza Minnelli filmed at her house. Just a Tom Slaughter “Fedora” in the background.

Can you describe the vibe upstairs and downstairs?

Tom: Upstairs is essentially Broadway’s Cheers.  It’s timeless, a little chic, but also easy, unpretentious, and a neighborhood hangout. You’ll see celebs dining next to tourists. You’ll see people dressed to the nines dining next to backstage crew members unwinding after a long day at the theater. Everyone is treated like family here, and if you work in theater or entertainment, the chances of you bumping into someone you know is, like, 99%. It feels like home when you are at The West Bank Cafe and that is a vibe.

Michael: Downstairs is The Laurie Beechman Theatre, and it was recently renovated by David Rockwell’s AMAZING team.

Tom: Or, as we call it, re-glammed – because it’s GLAM. It feels like a secret little supper club straight out of the early ‘80s on 42^nd Street. 

Michael: What’s fun is that the vibe is always changing. One night we might have a really classy jazz act on stage or a Broadway diva belting her face off, and the vibes are sophisticated and upscale. The next night, we might move all the tables out and the room turned into a ’90s-themed dance party. And the next night it’s a rock show and the vibes are sexy and rock star, or you may even see the world premiere of a new play or musical. You can dress her up or dress her down, but no matter what, the vibe is always about fun.  

Tom: I don’t know how to perfectly describe “the vibes” of either space, but I’m proud that we’ve received a lot of great compliments on our good vibes!

How do you decide which shows to book at The Beechman and what are some of the genres and performances that we can look forward to seeing there?

Michael: The Beechman has a really eclectic history and we wanted to reflect that in our current programming. The first 20 years it was a home for play development, and in the past few months we’ve presented new works from legends like Douglas Carter Beane and hot up-and-comers like Kevin Zak and Sara Chase. Joan Rivers famously did 200+ sets here, and we’ve brought stand-up back with icons like Judy Gold and social media superstars like Heartthrob Anderson and Mitch Wood. There’s drag, there’s cabaret, there’s Broadway stars. We are open to booking it all and want to honor all forms of entertainment. This venue was created as a place for people to explore, experiment, fail (which is sometimes important in the arts – learn what DOESN’T work), take big swings, and have fun.  

Tom: We love creative people and want them to feel like this is their home.  We want them to feel like celebrated superstars every time they step on that iconic stage where so many legends have performed. 

Michael: What genre WON’T you find on The Beechman stage might be an easier question to answer! 

Tom: We are incredibly excited to welcome Lorna Luft to The Beechman in November and Andrea McArdle’s monthly residency is quickly becoming one of the most iconic evenings in NYC, so we always look forward to her monthly show. Definitely check out the website for the full November lineup.

Many thanks, Tom and Michael, for sharing your love of the WBC and The Beechman with our readers, and for keeping the iconic restaurant and theater alive!

The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located downstairs in the West Bank Cafe, 407 W 42^nd Street, NYC. For the upcoming schedule and tickets (including fees, plus a $25 per person food/beverage minimum), go online.

The post Proprietors Michael and Tom D’Angora discuss the revival of NYC’s West Bank Cafe and The Laurie Beechman Theatre appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

“Okay, cats, throw your mittens around your kittens, and away we go!” Deejay Vince Fontaine, the “Main Brain” from WAXX, implores the crowd to get with it and dance up a storm. Gals in gowns and guys with slicked-back hair tear up the gymnasium floor and hand-jive like there’s no tomorrow.

This can only be describing one legendary musical: Grease. Yes, the show that really reignited the 1950s nostalgia craze in the early 1970s and has been entertaining audiences the world over ever since. The show’s reputation only grew when the 1978 film adaptation blew up and propelled John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John into the heavens, driving their magic hot rod into the sunset.

But we’re here to talk about the original Grease — the stage musical, now playing to capacity crowds at Little Theatre of Alexandria. This distinction needs to be addressed because if you want to hear “Hopelessly Devoted to You” or “Sandy” or the show-stopping “You’re the One that I Want,” pull out your DVD and watch. Those songs were added to the over-stuffed 1978 film, along with other 1950s tunes thrown in for atmosphere.

Director Frank D. Shutts II and his production have returned to the source, i.e., the original book and score of Grease, by sole authors Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Loosely inspired by their own high school adventures from the late 1950s, this show was bottom-line their creation: story, music, and lyrics. The tunes echo pop hits from the old juke box, and the story is nearly as old as time: Will the pure good girl end up with the handsome bad boy? 

Before we talk about performances and performers, a note about the content. This show was made by grown-ups for grown-ups. Sure, Grease is wildly popular with schools as well as community and professional theaters — mostly because it usually guarantees big box office returns. But schools have the option to choose a toned-down version of the script. This is not the “school version.” The language and innuendo are wide open here. This is not a criticism but just a note about the language and subject matter. Take it or leave it.

Grease is a total trip down memory lane. The show goes beyond nostalgia, since many of us were not alive when Eisenhower was president and black-and-white televisions showed “The Mickey Mouse Club.” But we can all relate to those days of high school angst and fun, no matter what year we graduated. All anyone has to do to enjoy Grease is sit back and let the music and characters take you back to a simpler time. Shutts knows this and allows the show and his talented cast to get on with the action. 

Suzy Alden, Shutts’ choreographer, keeps the movement lively and period-perfect, with step-touch-step-touch, doo-wop footwork, and grander lifts and thrills for the big numbers. Adding punch and drive to the show is the live band, tucked away onstage above the action, snappily led by Mark V. Deal. The seven-piece ensemble rocks out and makes the show sound right in step with the ’50s-pastiche tunes, supporting the actors with every number.

Leading the cast of greasers and bobby-soxers are Shannon Hardy and Jake C. Schwartz as Sandy and Danny, respectively. Hardy, complete with blonde ponytail, is the essence of the sweet, fish-out-of-water, sheltered school girl, fresh from Catholic school, now fending for herself in a rough and tumble public school. With thick, wavy hair and the requisite leather jacket, Schwartz strides through his scenes with an easy, swaggering charm; Danny might be a bad boy to his pals, but he’s mostly a pussy cat around Sandy. Hardy and Schwartz also have the vocal chops to handle their big numbers, starting with “Summer Nights,” recounting their vacation rendezvous, joined by their classmates eager for the juicy details. They also impress with their penultimate number together, “All Choked Up” (the original song replaced with “You’re the One That I Want” for the movie). 

Flying solo, Hardy tugs the heartstrings with her reprise of “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” revealing the wounded bird inside yearning to embrace her wild side. And Schwartz, backed up by his gang, evokes pop idols of yesteryear with his rendition of “Alone at the Drive-in.”

Danny and Sandy’s fellow Rydell Ringtails are a lively bunch, each bursting with energy and youthful pizzazz. Danny’s entourage, going by the original moniker “The Burger Palace Boys” (“T-Birds” in the movie), fill up the stage with friendly shenanigans and work together like ringedy-ding-dong, to quote one of the songs. Matt Yinger is wild as the second-in-command Kenickie, who leads the showstopping “Greased Lightning.” As innocent and goofy Doody, Jonathan Grygiel is endearing. His ringing tenor voice brings to mind Paul Anka singing “Those Magic Changes.” Ryan Walker is an even bigger goofball as Roger, known as the king of the mooners who gets to (ahem) bare himself in the charming duet “Mooning,” with Allyson Markussen’s food-obsessed Jan. Rounding out the Burger Palace Boys is Hugo Del Pino Jr. as Sonny La Tieri, the resident lady-killer — or so he thinks.

Their feminine counterparts, the “Pink Ladies,” are a mix of sassy, brassy, ditzy young broads, and they are always entertaining. Markusson’s food-obsessed Jan is everyone’s friend. Not the best student, Frenchie is the one who tries beauty school only to drop out and return to Rydell. Sydney Morefield plays Frenchie endearingly, complete with thick, New Yawk-ish accent. As the fashion-plate of the bunch, stylish Marty is brought to life by Gabrielle Priest, who makes the most of her scenes and her featured number “Freddy, My Love,” bringing back memories of Connie Francis or Etta James. 

And as the prime “Pink Lady,” Lourdes Turnblom is Rizzo, the bold and mouthy alpha-dog, quick with a quip and withering look to all beneath her. Turnblom’s turns bloom when she pops out her signature song, “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” poking fun at Sandy and her squeaky image. She also shines with the 11 o’clock number, “There Are Worse Things I Can Do,” pouring out her heart and soul.

Other Rydell Ringtails that make the grade are Mollie Becker as the uppity cheerleader Patti, Ryan Brown as Vince Fontaine, the slick radio announcer, and Cha-Cha, a chick from a rival school who crashes the big dance. These actors bring laughs galore and embody the spirit of the exaggerated nostalgia on display.

Stepping out of the lively ensemble, Brady Misustin is the boy singer Johnny Casino (“Born to Hand-Jive”), Garret Rinker warbles winningly as Frenchie’s teen guardian angel, with the song “Beauty School Dropout,” and as a radio singer, Marissa Michaels duets with Hardy’s Sandy for the sweet and sad “It’s Raining on Prom Night.” 

The action and fun all take place on a unit set that brings back memories of cinderblock walls, lockers, and the smells of the school cafeteria — all courtesy of Julie Fischer’s functional set design. The actors are aided in their performances by the period-perfect wigs and hair designed by Andre Hopfer, and the wardrobe by the design team of Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley, with assistance from Janis Johnston. The busy Ken and Patti Crowley provide a colorful lighting design that enhances the production. The award-winning lighting duo are currently also represented at Prince William Little Theatre’s Woman in Black.

No matter what era you grew up in — for some of us, it was the MTV-era of the mid-1980s — those days when your entire life was still before you and the biggest decisions you had were whether the cute girl from the marching band had a date to the prom were golden. Grease celebrates the innocence (accented by a little raunchiness, of course) of the late 1950s and does it very well. Shutts’ production and cast are ready to welcome you to Rydell for a drive down memory lane.

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

Grease plays through November 15, 2025, presented by Little Theatre of Alexandria, performing at 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA. To purchase tickets ($36, reserved seating), go online or contact the Box Office via phone (703-683-0496) or email (boxoffice@thelittletheatre.com).

The program for Grease is online here.

LTA is holding a 1950s costume contest with prizes for the October 31 Halloween performance. Patrons are invited to come dressed to impress in their best 1950s threads and enjoy a night of music, dancing, and Halloween fun.

Grease
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey
Producer: Kadira Coley
Director: Frank D. Shutts II
Music Director: Mark Deal
Choreographer: Suzy Alden

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