Post-Racial? Not Really. Woolly Mammoth's "Ain't No Mo'," reviewed for WCP

Shannon Matesky, Brandi Porter, Shannon Dorsey, and Breon Arzell in Jordan E. Cooper’s post-”post racial” satire. (DJ Corey/Woolly Mammoth)

“I quote [director Lil-Anne Brown] to acknowledge that, as a White person born during the Carter administration, I am by no means the primary audience for this, and that my modest critique must and shall be taken with a grain (or possibly a mine) of salt. For what it’s worth: I liked the show a lot. Cooper is a visionary writer, equal parts Jordan Peele and Tony Kushner.” That’s me on Jordan E. Cooper’s Broadway-bound satire Ain’t No Mo’ in the Washington City Paper.

StoryDistrict's 25th Anniversary Celebration

My Story District feature from the old newsprint days of WCP.

My contribution to the Washington City Paper’s Fall Arts Guide was a preview of Story District’s 25th birthday party at the Lincoln Theatre on October 2. I wrote a cover story on how the organization has grown up a million years ago back in 2017.

"The Outsider" at Keegan Theatre, reviewed

Michael Innocenti and Zach Brewster-Geisz are principled pols in The Outsider. (Cameron Whitman)

As satire, it’s yesterday’s news, but as farce, it works. My Washington City Paper review of Paul Slade Smith’s The Outsider at Keegan Theatre is here.

Hail to "The Hot Wing King"

Derrick Sanders III, Michael Kevin Darnall, Bjorn DuPaty, Brian Marable, and Blake Morris. (Jati Lindsay)

Wherein I beat my farm-to-table breast and yell at artisanal clouds about foodie folderol having summited the arts-and-culture food chain, and then eventually find my way into talking about how terrific Studio Theatre’s production of Katori Hall’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hot Wing King is. For The Washington City Paper.

Pressing the (Pound of) Flesh: STC's "The Merchant of Venice," reviewed.

John Douglas Thompson’s revelatory and captivating Shylock is not the problem. (Henry Grossman)

I struggled with the John Douglas Thompson-starring The Merchant of Venice at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. I think director Arin Arbus intended that we should. There’s no arguing with Thompson’s revelatory Shylock, but I wonder if all that power could’ve been shaped into something more, well, directed had Arbus done some liberal cutting. That’s the précis of my WCP review.

Don't Fly With Me: Arena's "Catch Me If You Can," reviewed.

Hayley Podschun, Alexandra Frohlinger, Christian Thompson and Rhett Guter in Arena’s revised-but-still unsatisfying Catch Me If You Can. (Margot Schulman)

Catch Me If You Can, the Hairspray songwriters’ attempt to musicalize Steven Spielberg’s beloved 2002 film, didn’t take off on Broadway 11 years ago. The revised version now at Arena Stage doesn’t work, either. For the Washington City Paper.

"A Strange Loop" at Woolly Mammoth, reviewed.

Jaquel Spivey (in red) is the member of the Strange Loop cast new to Woolly’s production. (Marc J. Franklin)

“A Strange Loop” would be a pretty good way to describe the sensation of rather suddenly attending and writing about theatre again. My Washington City Paper review of Woolly Mammoth’s terrific production of Michael R. Jackson’s self-aware and semiautobiographical musical A Strange Loop—which won a Pulitzer in 2019—is here.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: "In & Of Itself"

From Isabel Greenberg’s The Encyclopedia of Early Earth (Bond Street Books, 2013)

I was delighted to join my pal Linda Holmes to discuss the just-released-on-Hulu filmed version of illusionist/storyteller/railer-against-the-labeling-of-people Derek DelGaudio’s stage show In & Of Itself, which he performed several hundred times over engagements in Los Angeles and New York circa 2016-2018. You can listen to the episode below. I also recommend Claire McNear’s 2018 profile of DelGaudio in The Ringer.

Naturally, Linda mentioned my onetime employment by the great illusionist Ricky Jay. I wrote about my time in RJ’s employ shortly after he passed away in November 2018.