An Imperative, Not a Noun: Beth Henley's Laugh, reviewed.

Jacob Ming-Trent, Creed Garnick, Helen Cespedes, and Evan Zes in Laugh. (Igor Dmitry/Studio)

Pulitzer Prize-winner Beth Henley's new play Laugh is not like her other plays. It's wacky. How you feel about wacky will be a better predictor of your experience than you feel about Henley. 

My Washington City Paper review is here.

Prose and Retcons, or Don't Fear the Rewind, or Mulligans' Wake

"Well, everyone knows Ripley died on Fiornia-161. What this ALIEN movie presupposes is... maybe she didn't?"

I have a long, long "Exposition" essay up at The Dissolve today inspired by (uncertain) reports that District 9 director Neill Blomkamp's upcoming Alien movie may be a ret-con scenario that undoes the events of 1992's Alien-little-three, or Alien Cubed – anyway, the one where Ripley died. The piece is about retconning in fiction in general, and why it doesn't much impair my ability or inclination to suspend my disbelief at all.

If you're quite comfortable in your chair, and you're stout of heart and nerdy of temperament... Onward!

What's It All About, Chappie?

So Die Antwoord won't be releasing a cover of "Alfie" with the lyrics updated to promote their surprisingly substantial parts in Neill Blomkamp's new RoboCop / Short Circuit hybrid, Chappie? Disappointing.

But so's the movie. My NPR review is here.

The Hard Sells: Back to Methuselah, Part 2 and Kid Victory, reviewed.

Jake Winn and Jeffry Denman are prey & predator in Kid Victory (Margot Schulman/Signature).

In today's snow-day edition of the Washington City Paper, I review the second installment in Washington Stage Guild's three-part, three-year presentation of George Bernard Shaw's Back to Methuselah and of the world-premiere John Kander-Greg Pierce musical Kid Victory. Around Town videos wherein Robert Aubry Davis, Jane Horwitz, the gigantic lapels of my shirt, and I dissect these differently taxing shows are here and here.

On Around Town, talking King Hedley II, Mary Stuart, and Cherokee

On this trio of Around Town discussions, host Robert Aubry Davis, Washington Post arts writer Jane Horwitz, and I dissect Arena Stage's powerful King Hedley II, Woolly Mammoth's meandering Cherokee, and Folger Theatre's intriguing Mary Stuart.

(My Washington City Paper reviews of are here, here, and here, respectively.)

I'm sorry my hair wasn't as concise and insightful on this day as I strive at all times for it to be.These videos are no longer embeddable, so you'll get links and like it.

King Hedley II:

http://watch.weta.org/video/2365433218/

Cherokee:

http://watch.weta.org/video/2365433239/

Mary Stuart:

http://watch.weta.org/video/2365433276/

Feline Fatale: The Lieutenant of Inishmore, reviewed.

Megan Dominy and Thomas Keegan get bloody (Constellation Theatre Co.)

I reviewed Constellation Theatre Company's new production of Martin McDonagh's bloody 2001 farce The Lieutenant of Inishmore in today's Washington City Paper. The fine Washington Post story I cite (by David Segal, not long after he'd handed off his gig as the paper's pop music critic to my pal Josh du Lac) about the blood work in the play's U.S. premiere back in 2006 is here.

Enter the Drag: Kung Fu Elliot, reviewed.

Elliot Scott is the delusional subject of a documentary by Matthew Bauckman & Jaret Belliveau.

Kung Fu Elliot, a documentary about a man who aspires to be the Canadian Chuck Norris, turns nasty enough quickly enough to call its makers' intentions into question. I reviewed the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winner for Documentary Feature for The Dissolve.