DC Reviews & Upcoming April Shows
Hello play-goers! This edition will focus just on DC theatre, including reviews and an overview of my picks for April. If any of these interest you, let me know and maybe we can go together!
Reviews
The best show I saw since my last newsletter was Pacific Overtures at Signature Theatre. I highly recommend it! This rarely-performed Sondheim musical concerns a real historical event: the landing of American troops in Japan in 1853, after 200 years of isolation. The show is atypical in that it is more focused on telling the story of this event and its repercussions than in specific characters’ stories, though there are still some compelling characters. The music is fabulous, and Signature’s stellar cast sings it beautifully. I enjoyed learning this fascinating history, told from the Japanese perspective. The show had some unexpected delights: many laugh-out-loud moments, characters in drag (riffing on Kabuki traditions), some hilarious campy numbers, fight scenes, brilliant use of puppetry, and the soaring “Someone in a Tree,” which Sondheim says was his favorite song he wrote. The Washington Post wrote a great article on some of the traditional Japanese elements in the production. Here’s a view of the stage as we were getting up to leave—it’s a super intimate set up! (Playing through April 9th.)
Last night, I saw Jagged Little Pill at the National Theatre. The show uses Alanis Morissette’s fantastic music to tell multiple overlapping, very contemporary stories: opioid addiction, transracial adoption, sexual assault, and, more generally, teens and adults trying to break free of their respective repressions. The strength of Morissette’s songwriting really shines through in the arrangements and harmonies created for the show—the music was the best part. The performances were stellar, revealing the challenges facing their characters. The choreography and constant set changes were a bit busy, but made for an engrossing experience—never a dull moment. Video and projection design is really exploding in the theatre world, and this show used them to fabulous effect. Here’s the cast taking their bows. (Playing through March 26.)
I really enjoyed the Washington National Opera’s Blue, with music from one of my favorite contemporary musical theatre composers Jeanine Tesori. The stirring production is about a Black family: a police officer, his wife, and their son, who resents that his father is a cop. When the son is killed by a white police officer, the father and mother each respond differently, and their grief is movingly portrayed. I think the opera form is well-suited to tell this story, and I liked the way it took the big issue of police brutality against Black people and refracted it through one family’s experience. It really made me feel the pain of a family losing their child in this horrible way. You can hear the score on Spotify. (Playing at the Kennedy Center through March 25.)
Over at Shakespeare Theatre, Patrick Page (“Hadestown”) makes for a brilliant King Lear. This bloody, intense tragedy was well-acted, had innovative scenic and lighting design, and was compelling from the first to last moments. The Washington Post’s theatre critic Peter Marks calls it “the best ‘King Lear’ he’s ever seen.” (Playing through April 16.)
Upcoming Shows
It’s a very exciting theatre season here in Washington! Here are my picks for April.
Shout, Sister Shout (Ford’s Theatre, playing through May 13): This is a new musical about the wonderful Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a Black singer of gospel, R&B, and one of a few who basically originated rock and roll; Elvis and many other rock artists built on her style. Check out her music here. I am very excited to hear her music and learn more about her story!
Angels in America (Arena Stage, March 24-April 23): This play is often regarded as one of the best American plays of all time. It is Tony Kushner’s epic masterpiece, covering AIDS, religion, deeply complex characters, and so much more. The first time I saw this, it was the most exhilarating experience of theatre I had ever experienced. Do not miss this classic—there’s something in here for everyone.
The Jungle (Shakespeare Theatre, March 28-April 16): This is “documentary theatre” at its finest—immersive, intense, educational, deeply human. The play tells the true story of the Calais, France, migrant camp, where people from all over Africa and the Middle East wait to board trucks through the English channel to get to the UK. I saw this in San Francisco (the night I met my partner Michael!) and was blown away. It is presented in an immersive way…I think they will reconfigure the theatre space for this.
My Fair Lady (National Theatre, April 6-9): This is a touring production of the Broadway revival of the classic musical, which I have heard tries to reframe the gender dynamics to be more feminist. The music is great and it’s a classic, so I’m planning to see it. (Check out this review of the Broadway production.)
Capital New Play Festival (Round House Theatre, March 27 - May 7): This festival will feature two full productions and many developmental readings. I am excited about both of the full productions: “On The Far End” is a one-woman show telling the family history of Muscogee leader Ella Jean Hill and “Jennifer, Who Is Leaving” is described as a “witty, dark comedy” about several women struggling to keep everything going. Also check out the developmental readings if you are excited by super new works—be the first to see something that might one day be on Broadway!
Unseen (Mosaic, Theatre March 30-April 23): I don’t know much about this, but the theatre’s description intrigued me: “When American conflict photographer Mia wakes up in her ex-girlfriend’s Istanbul apartment, she doesn’t recall how she got there but the contents of her camera might. A cross-cultural, time-shifting journey ensues as Mia pieces together the details of her past and wrestles with the costs of her profession. A heartfelt and suspenseful new play.”
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That’s it for now! My next NYC trip is at the end of March, so I’ll have fresh NY reviews for you then :)