Theater
‘Spring Awakening’ choreographer Paul McGill had a promising start in the spotlight but moved behind the scenes
Rocky stint in accident-prone ‘Spider-Man’ show inspired him to rethink career


‘Spring Awakening’
Through Feb. 23
Round House Theatre
4545 East-West Highway
Bethesda, MD
$56-88
240-644-1100
Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” was troubled from the start. Plagued with delays, stunts gone wrong and injuries, some considered the show cursed.
During his two years playing various parts in the musical, Paul McGill saw a lot of the craziness up close. He remembers after one castmate suffered a particularly serious injury, walking the streets of Manhattan and contemplating his own future as a dancer.
“I asked myself if my career ended today, would I have done what I wanted?,” McGill says. “The answer was no. That day I decided to use my skill in a way that I could best serve and I knew it wasn’t onstage.”
It was 2014, and McGill, not yet 30, stopped performing and focused exclusively on choreography, an art that interested him greatly.
In the ensuing years, a rush of choreography jobs followed including the revival of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, “The Legend of Georgia McBride” off-Broadway and in Los Angeles, and working with Laverne Cox for Fox’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
His most recent gig is “Spring Awakening,” Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s Tony-winning adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s 19th-century drama about the agonies of adolescence, now playing at Round House Theatre in a production directed by busy, out director Alan Paul.
Recently in the theater’s newly renovated lobby, McGill, 32, spoke about his approach to the show.
While it’s true that audiences come expecting to see the show’s trademark angsty stomping dance moves, McGill has tried something different: “It definitely calls for some stomping, but in my work, I try to find the cliché version and avoid that.”
Instead, he focuses on the meaning of the play. Here, it’s the relationship between parents and children and the love, or lack thereof, passed from generation to generation.
“For me, the metaphor is a season of crops,” he says, “the pain just before blooming and what happens after that. I hope it comes across.”
The Pittsburgh native got into showbiz early. McGill started dance lessons at 3 and spent his youth acting in local professional theater and school musicals. Then, when he was a junior in high school, McGill was cast in the Broadway revival of “La Cage Aux Folles,” prompting his immediate transplant to New York City and a professional performing arts school. Next, he played Mark in “A Chorus Line,” another high-profile Broadway revival.
“For me that was college, “he says. “The cast members were my best friends. It was an incredible learning time.”
In 2009, he played Kevin, the gay teen dancer, in the 2009 feature film remake of “Fame.” At the time, McGill, who came out at 16, was cagey with the gay press.
“I wasn’t sure about my character and was evasive in interviews,” he says.
In retrospect, he sees the character as categorically gayer than himself.
“I guess I’d call myself ‘out and open,’” says McGill who’s been with his boyfriend for four-and-a-half years. “It really is about the person to me. Doesn’t matter if they’re a man or woman, cisgender, nonbinary or trans.”
Career changes don’t come without sacrifices.
“If I’d continued performing, I’d be better off financially. But I wholeheartedly believe my decision will pay off. A lot of people dabble in performance and choreography, but I want to send a clear message to myself and the universe about my true investment.”
Ideally, McGill aspires to have a career like Kenny Ortega, the famed director/choreographer behind hit films like “Hocus Pocus,” “High School Musical,” “Dirty Dancing” (choreography only), and numerous concert tours, including tours for Cher and Michael Jackson.
McGill’s interest spans stage to TV to film — “whatever is the most accessible medium for that story.” Shows he’d like to choreograph include “Cabaret” and “42nd Street.” Not so much “The Wedding Singer.”
Looking back, McGill doesn’t see his stint with “Spider-Man” as time wasted. Now at work, he strives to ensure that the cast is safe but not overly cautious or too wary. And it inspired him to become his most authentic self.
“Sometimes,” he says, “I wear my ‘Spider-Man’ shirt for good luck.”

“Fuenteovejuna”
Through March 2
GALA Hispanic Theatre
3333 14th St., N.W.
$27-$50
Galatheatre.org
Inventively staged and strongly acted, GALA Hispanic Theatre’s production of Lope de Vega’s classic “Fuenteovejuna,” vividly brings to life an old but timely tale of injustice and power. A lot of theatergoers will find this work (first published in Madrid in 1619) painfully relevant.
Possibly Lope de Vega’s most produced play, this version of “Fuenteovejuna,” penned by renowned contemporary Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga, is markedly shorter than others you might have seen. While purists may not concur, it’s generally agreed that Mayorga has effectively condensed the plot and modernized the verse.
The action kicks off with cast members jovially sharing jokes that are mostly lost on those of us relying on the production’s English surtitles, but no matter, it creates a happy mood of a contented townsfolk whose lives are soon to be horribly disrupted. (From there on, all translation is clear and presents no difficulties.)
Lope de Vega based the play on a true incident. In 1476 in Southern Spain, village residents, unwilling to accept ongoing abuse, banded together and overthrew a brutish commander.
Here, the Commander/Comendador (played menacingly by Iker Lasker) sets upon the town and specifically the mayor’s daughter Laurencia (Julia Adun in her GALA debut). In short, the all-powerful bully makes the brave young woman’s life miserable, and as he grows increasingly insistent the situation becomes perilous.
Initially she relies on the protection of her male friends. But it’s not enough.
As Laurentia is further harassed and ultimately assaulted, she somehow becomes stronger, and emboldened. Disappointed by the town’s men, she calls on the women to rebel: “Sisters, take your places, and let’s do something that will shake the whole world.”
Like all the classics, the work’s themes are enduring. Justice, decency, and collective identity are among the pressing topics explored.
Also, integral to the play’s story is the love between Laurencia and her fiancé who becomes a target of the Comendador’s savagery. Additionally, there are fine examples of familial love and genuine friendship.
There’s a lot to love about out director Juan Luis Arellano’s glowing production. It moves swiftly and excitingly. He’s assembled a large cast of talented, experienced actors (including Luz Nicolás, who plays Flores, the Commander’s right-hand man) and an outstanding design team.
Arellano has thoughtfully imbued the piece with exceptional modes of storytelling.
For instance, off to the side but still clearly seen, DJ (Aldo Ortega) provides both mediaeval and rock music. Occasionally characters step away from the other players to narrate from a standing mic beneath a dramatic spotlight.
Scenic designer Giorgos Tsappas’s set is both a thing of beauty and unexpected functionality. Comprised of different elements that include a huge silver pendulum, a sandy floor, a curved wooden bench backed by a concrete-esque curved backdrop. All of its parts are smartly and organically integrated into the staging.
At the top of the second act, a door rather surprisingly opens, allowing the Commander surrounded by actors costumed in dark sheep masks, passage to the stage. It’s a striking image.
The set is compellingly lit by stalwart designer Jesús Díaz Cortés. He’s also responsible for the captivating visuals shot from overhead and projected on the imposing back wall. All the visual design work looks subtly expensive.
“Fuenteovejuna” is Lope de Vega at his best, and GALA’s production is the perfect means of introduction or a revisit.
Theater
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with one of these three plays
‘Waitress,’ ‘Love Birds,’ ‘Fuenteovejuna’ offer differing takes on love

For theatergoers seeking to mark Valentine’s Day with live music, love, and friendship, the DMV offers some new spins on traditional themes.
Poised to make its regional debut at Olney Theatre Center, Sara Bareilles’s hit musical “Waitress” (Feb.13-March 30) may not seem like a usual love story, but it’s a love story nonetheless.
“It’s about learning to love and value yourself,” says MALINDA who plays Jenna, the show’s titular server/baker with aspirations to bake prize-winning pies and change her life. “It’s also about sisterhood. From the start, the women involved in the show decided to be there for each other onstage and off, and it shows. For anyone with girl group love in their lives, this is an especially good show to see.
“Jenna doesn’t get a lot of satisfaction out of her primary partnership. Along with self-love she explores the antithesis of that — partner violence. Our director [Marcia Milgrom Dodge] took the lesson of community support and community love to heart.”
Prior to coming out as bisexual in 2022, MALINDA considered herself more of a “quiet queer.” However, the inspiration derived from Irish music (“music of the oppressed”), which she’s famed for singing on TikTok, compelled her to go public.
She didn’t always believe her queerness to be special: “For me,” MALINDA says, “it was like saying my eyes are hazel. There wasn’t much to celebrate. But then I realized there were missing voices in my community. Felt like the right thing to do, and it’s been one of the great blessings of my life.”
Six years ago, after her Helen Hayes Award-winning turn in “Once,” MALINDA took a break from musical theater. She needed time to age into dream parts, and one of those roles was Jenna. She recalls, “Going back to theater was prominently featured on my vision board, so when Marcia asked me to commit to ‘Waitress,’ I happily agreed.”
For her, Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to reach out and tell friends, family, and, of course, romantic partners, just how much you love them.
And she adds “that’s exactly how I plan to celebrate.”
D.C.’s delightful Holly Twyford is spending Valentine’s Day working at the Folger on Capitol Hill. She’ll be on stage, her wife will be in the audience, and depending on the length of the program, they’ll go out to dinner afterward.
For four performances, the multi-Helen Hayes award-winning actor is serving as narrator for “The Love Birds” (Feb. 14-16), a new Folger Consort work that blends medieval music with a world-premiere composition by acclaimed composer Juri Seo and readings from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “A Parlement of Foules” by Twyford.
Standing behind a podium, she’ll read Chaucer’s words (translated from Middle English and backed by projected slides in the original language), alternating with music played on old and new instruments.
“The new music is kind of dissonant with the sounds of birdcalls and nature sounds, painting a picture of what’s going on in Chaucer’s poem that’s beautiful and funny. Chaucer describes the male eagles pleading for the hand of the female eagle. Chaucer seems almost unwittingly feminist when he has the female eagle ask her eagle suitors to give her a year to think about it.”
GALA Hispanic Theatre in Columbia Heights presents “Fuenteovejuna” (through March 2), a timely production staged by out director José Luis Arelleno. Penned in 1613, this work from the Spanish Golden Age ranks among playwright Lope de Vega’s most performed plays.
It’s about tyranny and love, Arellano explains. Within Lope de Vega’s timely tale of brutish power lies an intense love story. In fact, at the top of the show, four characters, two males and two females play a game. What is love? One of the players asserts that love doesn’t exist, while the others disagree. It’s a charming way to kick off the play.
The celebrated director isn’t one to telegraph messages, preferring audiences think for themselves. That said, he does, of course, make strong directorial choices: “If I have to choose between love or war, it’s more important to talk about love. For me, it’s a revolution.”
And apropos of a Valentine’s Day date, GALA’s production of “Fuenteovejuna” (performed in Spanish with English surtitles) is imbued with live music and verse, an important part of any romantic experience, adds David Peralto, the production’s poetry and verse consultant as well as Arellano’s longtime partner.
The busy Spain-based couple will celebrate Valentine’s Day in Seville and couldn’t be happier. Arellano describes Seville as the most romantic city in the world.
Theater
Broadway vet Ashley Blanchet tackles ‘Bedwetter’ at Arena
Sarah Silverman memoir a funny, poignant story of struggling with depression

‘The Bedwetter’
Feb. 4-March 16
Arena Stage
1101 6th St., S.W.
$69-$119
Arenastage.org
Skilled and experienced at comedy and drama, Broadway vet Ashley Blanchet says there’s a big difference between the two. She explains, “Comedy is right or wrong, you nail it or you don’t; whereas with drama there’s room for subjectivity. Because I started out as a dancer, being able to hit the mark makes a lot of sense to me. There’s a lot of rhythm to comedy.”
Currently Blanchet is eliciting laughs as Miss New Hampshire in “The Bedwetter” at Arena Stage. A musical based on comedian Sarah Silverman’s bestselling memoir, it’s the funny yet poignant story of a hairy 10-year-old girl’s struggle with clinical depression and bedwetting.
Blanchet’s Miss New Hampshire is a kind of fairy godmother character.
“Most of the time I’m in Sarah’s head. She first sees me on TV in Miss America, and soon I start talking to her.”
By the end of the piece, Sarah learns that Miss New Hampshire is also a bedwetter. Subsequently, the future comedian turns her weaknesses into strengths, taking her depression and bedwetting and using it to fuel her creativity and eventual career.
This isn’t Blanchet’s first time as Miss New Hampshire. She initially auditioned in 2019 and eventually created the role off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company in 2022.
She recalls going into the audition mostly cold. Only knowing that Miss New Hampshire is a pageant girl who unwittingly says some funny things, she partly fashioned her on Kristin Chenoweth’s ditzy Glinda in “Wicked.”
“Sarah [Silverman] and the show’s director Anne Kauffman, were laughing. I thought they were just being polite. Turns out, they really liked what I did.”
Although Blanchet, 37, doesn’t claim a personal connection to bedwetting, she can relate to the depression described in the show. Like Sarah, she had a difficult time transitioning into her teenage years. In fact, she credits theater with saving her life.
At 14, Blanchet left home to attend Walnut Hill School, a private performing arts high school in Massachusetts. From there, she moved on to University of Michigan, a great preparatory place for theater, she says. After graduating with a BFA, she went straight to New York where she made her Broadway debut as part of the ensemble in “Memphis.” Soon she began progressing to parts with words and songs.
Because so many musicals thematically touch on being different, Blanchet says bisexuality helps in her work.
“I’ve always felt a little bit of an outsider, so the concept of acceptance and learning to love yourself found in ‘The Bedwetter’ is something I can relate to from both a queer perspective and from being Black. As I get older, I’m increasingly grateful to be who I am.”
Going into college, Blanchet assumed she was straight, but after becoming exceptionally fond of a female friend, growing excited whenever they made plans to hang out, it became clear to her that her feelings were romantic. They were together for three years.
“Being bisexual, there wasn’t like a community waiting for me despite there being many bi people. I didn’t have what my gay guy friends seemed to find. For me, sexual attraction is more about energy than body parts. Coming to own that and be proud of it was a journey and is relatable to different situations including acting.”
Blanchet has played Elsa in “Frozen” on Broadway. She was the also the first Black actor to play the title role in “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Paper Mill Playhouse, a well-known regional theater in New Jersey. And Blanchet very happily led the cast as Maria in “The Sound of Music,” also at Paper Mill.
“These are parts that I never knew I’d do it. That’s kind of what it’s like to be Black in this business,” she says.
Scheduled to be in D.C. at Arena this winter, “The Bedwetter” cast assumed they’d be in for a wild time no matter how the election played out. They weren’t wrong. Fortunately for Blanchet, she’s immersed in her work and comfortably sharing digs with her big, beloved mixed-breed dog Cosmo.
Returning to the show, a Broadway-bound production, is proving an exciting challenge. “I’m like, ‘what did a I do last time? What made this joke work?’ I can’t remember,” she says laughing. “But it’s always good to return to the show, making tweaks and changes. I’m always trying to do anything I can to improve my performance.”
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