Theater

D.C.’s spring theater scene feels like the before times

A renewed sense of excitement and embarrassment of stage riches

Published

4 years ago

March 10, 2022

Playwright Benjamin Benne; ‘In His Hands’ opens at Mosaic Theater Company in June. (Photo courtesy Mosaic)

With such a broad selection of live theater on offer this spring, it almost feels like the before times. Well, almost. Masks and proof of vaccination are still required at DMV venues, but there’s also a renewed feeling that productions will complete their runs. Here’s a smattering of some plays and musicals blossoming around town.

Through March 27, Washington Stage Guild presents George Bernard Shaw’s classic “Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” the story of a mother and daughter who sharply disagree on aspects of morality and business. When Shaw’s play premiered in 1905, it was considered scandalous for its candid discussion of the hypocrisy surrounding prostitution. Michael Rothhaar directs. Stageguild.org

Arena Stage brings a little con-artistry to its campus this spring with “Catch Me If You Can” (through April 17). First a book, then a Leonardo DiCaprio film, and lastly a Broadway musical with a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and libretto by Terrence McNally, the late great out playwright who died from COVID-19 early in the pandemic, the show is about Abagnale Jr. who “posed as an airline pilot, a lawyer and a doctor — and then escaped police custody, all before he turned 22.” Arena’s out artistic director Molly Smith directs. Arenastage.org

In Arlington, Signature Theatre presents “She Loves Me” (through April 24), a romantic musical comedy by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, the creators of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Set in a 1930s perfumery, it’s the story of quarrelsome co-workers who don’t realize each is the other’s besotted secret pen pal.

Helmed by Signature’s out artistic director Matthew Gardiner, the promising production brings together musical director Jon Kalbfleisch, choreographer Kelly Crandall d’Amboise, set designer Lee Savage, and a terrific cast that includes, among many others, Helen Hayes Award-winning actors Bobby Smith and Maria Rizzo. Sig-theatre.org

Ford’s Theatre dives into spring with “Grace” (March 19-May 14). A world premiere musical by D.C. composer Nolan Williams, Jr., “Grace” celebrates African-American tradition as experienced through a day in the life of a Philadelphia family who come together to mourn the loss of their matriarch and deal with the future of their family restaurant in a changing neighborhood. Staged by out director and choreography Robert Barry Fleming. Fords.org

Celebrated non-binary actor and queer activist Temídayo Amay plays opposite New York actor Eric Berryman in Mona Pirnot’s play “Private” (March 23 – April 17) at Mosaic Theater Company. What once might be deemed a far-fetched plot now sounds more than feasible: “Set in the not-too-distant future, Corbin has just been offered his dream job at an industry leading technology company. But there’s a catch. The terms of his employment stipulate that Corbin and his wife Georgia must both agree to round-the-clock monitoring and audio surveillance by Corbin’s potential employer.” Knud Adams directs.

Also upcoming at Mosaic, it’s young playwright Benjamin Benne’s queer romantic comedy “In His Hands” (June 22 – July 17). Directed by out director José Carrasquillo, it’s the story of video game wizard and aspiring Lutheran pastor Daniel (Michael J. Mainwariing), who develops feelings for Christian (Josh Adams), but as the pair explore relationship possibilities, voices from Christian’s past threaten to put the kibosh on shared feelings. Mosaictheater.org

Keegan Theatre presents the regional premiere of Dipika Guha’s “Yoga Play” (March 26-April 23), a sharp comedy in which fat shaming, enlightenment, and commerce collide. Keegan’s dynamic artistic director Susan Marie Rhea directs. Keegantheatre.com

At Shakespeare Theatre Company, Arin Arbus is directing a modern-dress take on “The Merchant of Venice” (March 22-April 17). The Bard’s exploration of prejudice and mercy features renowned African-American actor John Douglas Thompson making his STC debut as Shylock, the eponymous moneylender.

Following “Merchant,” it’s gay playwright Thornton Wilder’s masterpiece “Our Town” (May 12 – June 11), a poignant portrayal of shared human experience set in turn-of-the-century smalltown Grover’s Corners, N.H. Staged by out director Alan Paul, the production –rescheduled from February to May due to COVID – features a truly stunning array of local talent including out actors Sarah Marshall, Tom Story, and Holly Twyford. Shakespearetheatre.org

In April, Round House Theatre launches the National Capital New Play Festival, an annual event celebrating new work by some of the country’s leading playwrights and newer voices. Included among the premieres is playwright Charly Evon Simpson’s “it’s not a trip it’s a journey” (April 5-May 8). Four exceedingly disparate girlfriends leave behind New York City and their cell phones for an eye-opening road trip to the Grand Canyon. Nicole A. Watson directs.

Another festival offering is Tim J. Lord’s “We declare you a terrorist…” (April 7-May 8), a taut thriller inspired by Moscow’s real life 2002 Dubrovka Theater crisis in which Chechen rebels took hundreds hostage with deadly results. Ryan Rilett and Jared Mezzocchi co-direct. Roundhousetheatre.org

In Tysons, 1st Stage presents Lisa B. Thompson’s “The Mamalogues” (April 21-May 8), a satirical comedy about three friends who share the joys, challenges, and anxieties of being middle class single Black mothers in predominantly white suburbs. Angelisa Gillyard directs. 1ststage.org

Olney Theatre presents “Black Parade: A Drag Show Tribute to the Black Icons in Music” (April 29). For one night only, queens of color take the stage for some “fabulous strutting, lip-synching and dancing.”

In May, Olney presents “The Joy That Carries You” (May 11-June 12), a drama about an interracial couple in crisis by local playwriting team Awa Sal Secka and Dani Stoller Olney’s out artistic director Jason Loewith and Kevin McAllister co-direct.

And in June, Olney’s mainstage goes to River City with Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man” (June 17-July 24), the Broadway hit about a con-artist whose best scam involves posing as a boys’ band organizer in smalltown America. Olney’s revolutionary production is performed in American Sign Language and English is staged by Michael Baron and Sandra Mae Frank and features terrific actor James Caverly who is deaf as confidence man, Professor Harold Hill. Olneytheatre.org

Studio Theatre turns the witchy history of Salem Village on its ear with the world premiere of Kimberly Belflower’s “John Proctor Is the Villain” (April 17-June 6). In present day rural Georgia, high schoolers are reading “The Crucible.” But the assignment becomes all too relevant when scandal rocks their town. Marti Lyons directs. Studiotheatre.org

At Theater J, spring brings “Nathan the Wise” (March 16-April 10). Here’s the gist of the play: In 12th century Jerusalem, Jews, Christians, and Muslims live side by side in peace. But when tensions inevitably rise, the ruling sultan asks which religion is most beloved by God. Jewish merchant Nathan attempts to answer the question. Adapted by Michael Bloom, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s 18th century fable is filled with mistaken identities, foiled romances, and relationships across cultural and religious divides. Theater J’s out artistic director Adam Immerwahr directs.

And next up, it’s “Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Other Identities” (June 9–July 3). Conceived, written, and originally performed remarkably by Anna Deavere Smith, the documentary play time travels back to August 1991 when Brooklyn’s racially divided Crown Heights neighborhood erupted into riots after a Black child was killed by a car in a prominent Orthodox rabbi’s motorcade and a white Jewish scholar was killed in retaliation. The work uses verbatim testimony from individuals throughout the diverse community. January LaVoy is the sole actor (she plays 25+ characters) and she is co-directing with Adam Immerwahr. Theaterj.org

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Magic is happening for Round House’s out stage manager

Carrie Edick talks long hours, intricacies of ‘Nothing Up My Sleeve’

Published

3 hours ago

February 14, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Carrie Edick (facing camera) with spouse Olivia Luzquinos. (Photo by Anugraha Iyer)

‘Nothing Up My Sleeve’
Through March 15
Round House Theatre
4545 East-West Highway
Bethesda, Md. 20814
Tickets start at $50
Roundhousetheatre.org

Magic is happening for out stage manager Carrie Edick.

Working on Round House Theatre’s production of “Nothing Up My Sleeve,” Edick quickly learned the ways of magicians, their tricks, and all about the code of honor among those who are privy to their secrets.

The trick-filled, one-man show starring master illusionist Dendy and staged by celebrated director Aaron Posner, is part exciting magic act and part deeply personal journey. The new work promises “captivating storytelling, audience interaction, jaw-dropping tricks, and mind-bending surprises.”

Early in rehearsals, there was talk of signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for production assistants. It didn’t happen, and it wasn’t necessary, explains Edick, 26. “By not having an NDA, Dendy shows a lot of trust in us, and that makes me want to keep the secrets even more.

“Magic is Dendy’s livelihood. He’s sharing a lot and trusting a lot; in return we do the best we can to support him and a large part of that includes keeping his secrets.”

As a production assistant (think assistant stage manager), Edick strives to make things move as smoothly as possible. While she acknowledges perfection is impossible and theater is about storytelling, her pursuit of exactness involves countless checklists and triple checks, again and again. Six day weeks and long hours are common. Stage managers are the first to arrive and last to leave.

This season has been a lot about learning, adds Edick. With “The Inheritance” at Round House (a 22-week long contract), she learned how to do a show in rep which meant changing from Part One to Part Two very quickly; “In Clay” at Signature Theatre introduced her to pottery; and now with “Nothing Up My Sleeve,” she’s undergoing a crash course in magic.

She compares her career to a never-ending education: “Stage managers possess a broad skillset and that makes us that much more malleable and ready to attack the next project. With some productions it hurts my heart a little bit to let it go, but usually I’m ready for something new.”

For Edick, theater is community. (Growing up in Maryland, she was a shy kid whose parents signed her up for theater classes.) Now that community is the DMV theater scene and she considers Round House her artistic home. It’s where she works in different capacities, and it’s the venue in which she and actor/playwright Olivia Luzquinos chose to be married in 2024.

Edick came out in middle school around the time of her bat mitzvah. It’s also around the same time she began stage managing. Throughout high school she was the resident stage manager for student productions, and also successfully participated in county and statewide stage management competitions which led to a scholarship at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) where she focused on technical theater studies.

Edick has always been clear about what she wants. At an early age she mapped out a theater trajectory. Her first professional gig was “Tuesdays with Morrie” at Theatre J in 2021. She’s worked consistently ever since.

Stage managing pays the bills but her resume also includes directing and intimacy choreography (a creative and technical process for creating physical and emotional intimacy on stage). She names Pulitzer Prize winning lesbian playwright Paula Vogel among her favorite artists, and places intimacy choreographing Vogel’s “How I learned to Drive” high on the artistic bucket list.

“To me that play is heightened art that has to do with a lot of triggering content that can be made very beautiful while being built to make you feel uncomfortable; it’s what I love about theater.”

For now, “Nothing Up My Sleeve” keeps Edick more than busy: “For one magic trick, we have to set up 100 needles.”

Ultimately, she says “For stage managers, the show should stay the same each night. What changes are audiences and the energy they bring.”

Theater

‘Octet’ explores the depths of digital addiction

Habits not easily shaken in Studio Theatre chamber musical

Published

1 week ago

February 7, 2026

Patrick Folliard

The cast of Octet (left to right): Aidan Joyce, Jimmy Kieffer, Chelsea Williams, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Amelia Aguilar (sitting upright), Ana Marcu, Angelo Harrington II, and David Toshiro Crane. (Photo by Margot Schulman)

‘Octet’
Through Feb. 26
Studio Theatre
1501 14th Street, N.W.
Tickets start at $55
Studiotheatre.org

David Malloy’s “Octet” delves deep into the depths of digital addiction.

Featuring a person ensemble, this extraordinary a capella chamber musical explores the lives of recovering internet addicts whose lives have been devastated by digital dependency; sharing what’s happened and how things have changed.

Dressed in casual street clothes, the “Friends of Saul” trickle into a church all-purpose room, check their cell phones in a basket, put away the bingo tables, and arrange folding chairs into a circle. Some may stop by a side table offering cookies, tea, and coffee before taking a seat.

The show opens with “The Forest,” a haunting hymn harking back to the good old days of an analog existence before glowing screens, incessant pings and texts.

“The forest was beautiful/ My head was clean and clear/Alone without fear/ The forest was safe/ I danced like a beautiful fool / One time some time.”

Mimicking an actual step meeting, there’s a preamble. And then the honest sharing begins, complete with accounts of sober time and slips.

Eager to share, Jessica (Chelsea Williams) painfully recalls being cancelled after the video of her public meltdown went viral. Henry (Angelo Harrington II) is a gay gamer with a Candy Crush problem. Toby (Adrian Joyce) a nihilist who needs to stay off the internet sings “So anyway/ I’m doing good/ Mostly/ Limiting my time/ Mostly.”

The group’s unseen founder Saul is absent, per usual.

In his stead Paula, a welcoming woman played with quiet compassion by Tracy Lynn Olivera, leads. She and her husband no longer connect. They bring screens to bed. In a love-lost ballad, she explains: “We don’t sleep well/ My husband I/ Our circadian rhythms corrupted/ By the sallow blue glow of a screen/ Sucking souls and melatonin/ All of my dreams have been stolen.”

After too much time spent arguing with strangers on the internet, Marvin, a brainy young father played by David Toshiro Crane, encounters the voice of a God.

Ed (Jimmy Kieffer) deals with a porn addiction. Karly (Ana Marcu) avoids dating apps, a compulsion compared to her mother’s addiction to slot machines.

Malloy, who not only wrote the music but also the smart lyrics, book, and inventive vocal arrangements, brilliantly joins isolation with live harmony. It’s really something.

And helmed by David Muse, “Octet” is a precisely, quietly, yet powerfully staged production, featuring a topnotch cast who (when not taking their moment in the spotlight) use their voices to make sounds and act as a sort of Greek chorus. Mostly on stage throughout all of the 100-minute one act, they demonstrate impressive stamina and concentration.

An immersive production, “Octet” invites audience members to feel a part of the meeting. Studio’s Shargai Theatre is configured, for the first, in the round. And like the characters, patrons must also unplug. Everyone is required to have their phones locked in a small pouch (that only ushers are able to open and close), so be prepared for a wee bit of separation anxiety.

At the end of the meeting, the group surrenders somnambulantly. They know they are powerless against internet addiction. But group newbie Velma (Amelia Aguilar) isn’t entirely convinced. She remembers the good tech times.

In a bittersweet moment, she shares of an online friendship with “a girl in Sainte Marie / Just like me.”

Habits aren’t easily shaken.

Theater

Out dancer on Alvin Ailey’s stint at Warner Theatre

10-day production marks kickoff of national tour

Published

2 weeks ago

February 1, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Renaldo Maurice (Photo by Dario Calmese)

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Through Feb. 8
Warner Theatre
513 12th St., N.W.
Tickets start at $75
ailey.org

The legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to Washington’s Warner Theatre, and one of its principal veterans couldn’t be more pleased. Out dancer Renaldo Maurice is eager to be a part of the company’s 10-day stint, the kickoff of a national tour that extends through early May.

“I love the respectful D.C. crowd and they love us,” says Maurice, a member of esteemed modern dance company for 15 years. The traveling tour is made of two programs and different casting with Ailey’s masterwork “Revelations” in both programs.

Recently, we caught up with Maurice via phone. He called from one of the quiet rooms in his New York City gym where he’s getting his body ready for the long Ailey tour.

Based in North Newark, N.J., where he recently bought a house, Maurice looks forward to being on the road: “I enjoy the rigorous performance schedule, classes, shows, gym, and travel. It’s all part of carving out a lane for myself and my future and what that looks like.”

Raised by a single mother of three in Gary, Ind., Maurice, 33, first saw Alvin Ailey as a young kid in the Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago, the same venue where he’s performed with the company as a professional dancer.

He credits his mother with his success: “She’s a real dance mom. I would not be the man or artist I am today if it weren’t for the grooming and discipline of my mom. Support and encouragement. It’s impacted my artistry and my adulthood.”

Maurice is also part of the New York Ballroom scene, an African-American and Latin underground LGBTQ+ subculture where ball attendees “walk” in a variety of categories (like “realness,” “fashion,” and “sex siren”) for big prizes. He’s known as the Legendary Overall Father of the Haus of Alpha Omega.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Like many gay men of his era, Ailey lived a largely closeted public life before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989.

RENALDO MAURICE Not unusual for a Black gay man born during the Depression in Rogers, Texas, who’s striving to break out in the industry to be a creative. You want to be respected and heard. Black man, and Black man who dances, and you may be same-sex gender loving too. It was a lot, especially at that time.

BLADE: Ailey has been described as intellectual, humble, and graceful. He possessed strength. He knew who he was and what stories he wanted to tell.

MAURICE: Definitely, he wanted to concentrate on sharing and telling stories. What kept him going was his art. Ailey wanted dancers to live their lives and express that experience on stage. That way people in the audience could connect with them. It’s incredibly powerful that you can touch people by moving your body.

That’s partly what’s so special about “Revelations,” his longest running ballet and a fan favorite that’s part of the upcoming tour. Choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1960, it’s a modern dance work that honors African-American cultural heritage through themes of grief, joy, and faith.

BLADE: Is “Revelation” a meaningful piece for you?

MAURICE: It’s my favorite piece. I saw it as a kid and now perform it as a professional dance artist. I’ve grown into the role since I was 20 years old.

BLADE: How can a dancer in a prestigious company also be a ballroom house father?

MAURICE: I’ve made it work. I learned how to navigate and separate. I’m a principal dancer with Ailey. And I take that seriously. But I’m also a house father and I take that seriously as well.

I’m about positivity, unity, and hard work. In ballroom you compete and if you’re not good, you can get chopped. You got to work on your craft and come back harder. It’s the same with dance.

BLADE: Any message for queer audiences?

MAURICE: I know my queer brothers and sisters love to leave with something good. If you come to any Ailey performance you’ll be touched, your spirit will be uplifted. There’s laughter, thoughtful and tender moments. And it’s all delivered by artists who are passionate about what they do.

BLADE: Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of your life. Thoughts on that?

MAURICE: I’m a believer in it takes a village. Hard work and discipline. I take it seriously and I love what I do. Ailey has provided me with a lot: world travel, a livelihood, and working with talented people here and internationally. Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of my life from boyhood to now. It’s been great.