I was eager to talk with Peter Marks on the occasion of the tribute he will receive at the 2024 Helen Hayes Awards ceremony at The Anthem on May 20. As chief theater critic at the Washington Post for 21 years (he left in December 2023 on a buyout), Peter Marks has had a singular and probably unreplaceable influence on theater and theatergoing in the DC region. Having read his profile features in print and followed him on podcasts, I knew something of his chops as an interviewer, so I braced myself. I needn’t have worried. When we met on Zoom, he from his home in New York, I found in him a war ..read more

More than 200 people packed into Songbyrd, DC’s best live-music venue, to welcome back Roz White to her hometown. It was a one-night affair at the invitation of long-time friend and producer Eric Richardson, who flew the singer in to headline a Jackie Mars’ Mars Arts DC Arts concert. “Why is it always hot when I sing in DC?” she asked. Backed by “The Band,” she soon raised the room temp even further to smoldering. Roz White. Photo coutesy of Washington Performing Arts. It’s been a minute since this gifted singer-actress followed her bliss and went off on the national tour of The Tina Turner M ..read more

Nominations for the 13th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards, honoring commercial and not-for-profit productions that opened Off-Broadway during the 2023-2024 season, were announced today. In addition to the six competitive categories (Best New Musical, Best New Play, Best Revival, Best Unique Theatrical Experience, Best Solo Performance, and Best Family Show), the OBA – an organization of Off-Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents, and marketing professionals – has announced its honorees for three special awards. Legend of Off-Broadway Awards will be presented to actor ..read more

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces its 2024–2025 Performances for Young Audiences season, filled with everyday heroes in unforgettable adventures in theater, dance, music, circus, and comedy that will empower and entertain audiences of all ages. Subscriptions are now on sale for this season replete with astronauts, terrible monsters, sharks, and Navajo legends via the Kennedy Center website or by calling (202) 416-8500. “There is great power in a great story. Each year we strive to engage our young audiences with exciting narratives told from a wide range o ..read more

This show at the Hippodrome — based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn and written by Sandy Rustin — brings to life one of my favorite games I played as a child, the board game Clue. The game itself is British, but this play and all its comedic wit are all American. The premise of this production is that several suspicious characters come together for an auspicious dinner party where they find themselves surrounded by secrets, intrigue, and of course the occasional murder. What’s a dinner party without a murder? Or two? Or more? And an extra fun fact: All the characters are based in Washingto ..read more

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces its 2024/25 theater season featuring a world premiere, exclusive engagements, and the latest Broadway hits. Season subscriptions are now on sale via the Kennedy Center website. Since 2018, the Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage series has become DC’s must-have theater ticket, garnering national attention. Last season, its rapturously received production of Monty Python’s Spamalot transferred to Broadway’s St. James Theater, where it opened to rave reviews and was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick. Spamalot will embark on a Na ..read more

A roster of stars from the stage and screen will come together at NYC’s Haswell Green’s on Monday, May 13, for the second annual fundraising concert The Janice Jam, benefitting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). Begun by Broadway’s Matt DeAngelis (Waitress), who lost his mother Janice to metastatic breast cancer in 2022, the event is an evening of celebration, remembrance, and awareness, to honor Janice, her love of theater, and the countless people affected by the disease. 100% of the net proceeds will go to funding metastatic breast cancer research grants through BCRF – the large ..read more

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. MAY African American Collective Theater (ACT) marks its 32nd anniversary with its 2024 DC Black Pride Weekend Showcase, Sunday, May 26 at the Undercroft Theatre, 900 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC. Over 25 talented local “ACT’ers” pre ..read more

Director Jonathan McCrory is a talkative, learned, and energetic man. He is the perfect choice to direct Kennedy Center’s The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout, a concert and collaboration with the Kennedy Center and National Black Theatre (NBT). The concert plays June 1, but there are exhibits leading up to and after the show running May 26 through May 31, and June 2, 2024. “It’s not a play. It’s a quest; it’s a journey; it is a concert,” said McCrory, a DC native and the NBT executive artistic director. The show incorporates soul, choral, gospel, and orchestral music — and poetry tha ..read more

Natsu Onoda Power’s Postcards from Ihatov, coming to 1st Stage from June 6 to 23, is adapted from the works of Kenji Miyazawa, including the classic “Night on the Galactic Railroad.” This spellbinding tale of friendship, self-discovery, and the transcendent power of imagination takes audiences on a cosmic journey through the stars. This world-premiere production of visual theater is bursting with imagination and spectacle that the whole family can enjoy. The 1st Stage production of Postcards from Ihatov features Pauline Lamb, Matthew Marcus, Ethan Miller (The Chosen, The Last Match ..read more