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Barbara Papendorp
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Concert Review: STEVE WINWOOD (Wolf Trap)
Multi-Instrument Maestro Steve Winwood Closes Wolf Trap’s Season in Style Under a sky dotted with stars and the gentle glow of the Filene Center’s stage lights, Steve Winwood closed Wolf Trap’s summer season on September 20, 2025, with a performance that felt both timeless and deeply alive. The evening wove seamlessly through his extraordinary career,…
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Theater Review: DAMN YANKEES (Arena Stage)
DAMN YANKEES SWINGS BACK IN STYLE: ARENA’S REVIVAL IS MORE THAN A MUSICAL — IT’S A MILESTONE When Damn Yankees first opened on Broadway in 1955, it was the ultimate baseball fantasy: a middle-aged fan makes a Faustian bargain with the devil to turn into a young slugger for the Washington Senators and finally beat…
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Concert Review: JOE BONAMASSA (Wolf Trap, Virginia)
FROM B.B. KING TO HEADLINER: JOE BONAMASSA’S WOLF TRAP JOURNEY Joe Bonamassa made his long-awaited headlining debut at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center last night, September 13, and he didn’t just play a concert—he delivered a virtuoso clinic in modern blues-rock. For over two hours, the amphitheater was filled with blistering guitar solos, soulful vocals, and…
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Concert Review: CYNTHIA ERIVO & THE NSO (Wolf Trap)
CYNTHIA ERIVO CASTS A SPELL AT WOLF TRAP Cynthia Erivo returned to the Filene Center at Wolf Trap for two performances with the kind of fire, artistry, and vocal power that turned her into one of Broadway and Hollywood’s most luminous stars. Backed by the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) under the baton of Australian conductor…
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Concert Review: JOHN LEGEND (Get Lifted 20th Anniversary Tour at Wolf Trap)
A LEGEND AT WOLF TRAP Two decades after Get Lifted announced him as a singular voice in modern R&B, John Legend is celebrating the album with a tour that feels both polished and personal. At Wolf Trap’s Filene Center, the blend of natural beauty and architectural warmth provided a setting worthy of the music. Under…
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Theater Review: PARADE (Tour at Kennedy Center, D.C.)
A stark and haunting Parade marches into the Kennedy Center, the final stop of this Broadway tour, confronting history with stripped-down staging and searing urgency The national tour of Parade, now at the Kennedy Center, arrives with an intensity that refuses to let its audience settle. Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry’s 1998 musical has always…
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Concert Review: JACOB COLLIER (With Sammy Rae & The Friends at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center)
On a warm summer night in Vienna, Virginia, Wolf Trap was filled to capacity — both lawn and pavilion brimming with joyful fans of all ages. Young families, grandparents, couples on date nights, and groups of friends gathered under the stars to witness something extraordinary: Jacob Collier live in concert. And what unfolded was far…
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Concert Review: ONE NIGHT ONLY (Sutton Foster & Kelli O’Hara with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap)
A GLORIOUS NIGHT OF BROADWAY, FRIENDSHIP AND FEMALE ICONOGRAPHY Wolf Trap could not have conjured a more exquisite evening last night for Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara’s long-awaited joint concert with the blazing National Symphony Orchestra under Emil de Cou’s impeccable direction. After a relentless midsummer heatwave, the Filene Center welcomed its audience with a…
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Concert Review: DIANA KRALL (International Tour at Wolf Trap)
DIANA KRALL BRINGS OLD-HOLLYWOOD ELEGANCE TO WOLF TRAP On the warm evening of July 3, the Filene Center at Wolf Trap filled nearly to capacity, its 7,028 seats glowing under the soft shimmer of vintage brass footlights. Crimson velvet curtains and old Hollywood spotlights gave the stage the feel of a bygone movie palace—setting the mood…
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Concert Review: BROADWAY IN THE PARK (Signature Theatre and Wolf Trap with Lindsay Mendez and Jessie Mueller)
BROADWAY WELL-REPRESENTED IN A NIGHT OF MUSIC AND COMARADERIE From the first gleaming brass notes of Bernstein’s Candide Overture, music director Jon Kalbfleisch deftly led the Wolf Trap Orchestra through the piece’s shifting tempos and moods, setting the stage for an effervescent evening of mostly classic musical theater numbers written by Broadway’s best, including Styne, Berlin, Sondheim, and Finn….
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Concert Review: A QUIET CELEBRATION (Paul Simon on Tour With “Seven Psalms”)
A QUIET BENEDICTION FROM A MASTER SONGWRITER Paul Simon is not done speaking softly. At a time when much live music clamors for attention, his recent performance felt like a whispered benediction—one that asked the audience to lean in, listen closely, and reflect. The evening, A Quiet Celebration, was structured in two halves: the first devoted…
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Theater Review: TWELFTH NIGHT (Folger Shakespeare Library)
A WORLDPRIDE CELEBRATION OF QUEER IDENTITY, DISCO, AND SHAKESPEAREAN DELIGHT Folger Theatre’s 2025 production of Twelfth Night, directed by Mei Ann Teo, is a visually sumptuous, sonically electric, and emotionally resonant reimagining of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy. Framed through the lens of WorldPride and running through June 22, this staging boldly transforms the shipwrecked romances and mistaken…
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Theater Review: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA)
Upon entering the Ark Theater, one is immediately transported to a grungy, offbeat club where Hedwig and her band, The Angry Inch, are about to take the stage. Richie Ouellette’s set design leans into the grit and rawness of the story — with dismembered mannequin body parts strewn about, it evokes a world held together…
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Concert Coverage: 2025 SONDHEIM AWARD GALA HONORING MANDY PATINKIN (Signature Theatre at the Anthem Theatre)
A Dazzling Night of Song and Tribute Broadway took up residence on the banks of the Potomac last night as the Anthem Theatre played host to the Signature Theatre’s annual Sondheim Award Gala, this year honoring the iconic Mandy Patinkin. It was an evening where legends mingled with rising stars, and the power of live…
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Theater Review: UNCLE VANYA (Shakespeare Theatre Company)
A BEAUTIFULLY SHABBY, STARKLY HUMAN TRIUMPH From the moment the house opens, Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Uncle Vanya, directed by Simon Godwin and starring Hugh Bonneville, signals that this is no ordinary Chekhov. The “pre-show” is a quietly brilliant touch: actors drift onstage, greet the audience, lace up their boots, and half-slip into character as if the…
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Theater Review: #CHARLOTTESVILLE (Keegan Theatre in D.C.)
HAUNTING, URGENT, AND SPEAKS VOLUMES Priyanka Shetty’s #Charlottesville, currently running at the Keegan Theatre, is a searing and deeply personal exploration of one of the darkest moments in recent American history—the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. More than a mere recounting of the events, the production offers a visceral and emotionally charged portrait…
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Theater Review: THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (Arena Stage, DC)
FORBIDDEN LOVE AND THE GILDED AGE GLOW IN ARENA’S DAZZLING PRODUCTION, BUT THE AGE OF INNOCENCE LINGERS Playwright Karen Zacarías (Destiny of Desire which premiered at Arena in 2015, Native Gardens) breathes new life into Edith Wharton’s 1920 classic The Age of Innocence, blending period drama with sharp social commentary. Set in Gilded Age New…
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Theater Review: IN THE HEIGHTS (Signature Theatre in VA)
MORE THAN JUST A REVIVAL, THIS INTIMATE IN THE HEIGHTS IS A JOYFUL TRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY AND DREAMS Before Hamilton changed the face of Broadway, there was In the Heights—Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first revolution. Bursting onto the scene in 2008, it infused hip-hop, salsa, merengue, Broadway, and street-smart storytelling into a genre that never saw it…
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Theater Review: THE BEDWETTER – A NEW MUSICAL (Arena Stage in D.C.)
URINE LUCK WITH THIS NUMBER ONE MUSICAL Sarah Silverman’s The Bedwetter splashes onto Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater with a gleeful irreverence that belies its emotional depth. Adapted from Silverman’s 2010 memoir, this musical—co-written with Joshua Harmon, with music by the late Adam Schlesinger—turns childhood mortification (incontinence, self-acceptance, and family dysfunction) into comedy gold. Under Anne…
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Cabaret Review: AN EVENING WITH TITUSS BURGESS (The Barns at Wolf Trap)
DID TITUSS EXCITE US? AND HOW! You may know Tituss Burgess best for his scene-stealing performances in 30 Rock, Schmigadoon! and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as his star turns on Broadway (Little Mermaid, Guys & Dolls, Moulin Rouge). With glass of Pinot Noir (“wink” to Kimmy Schmidt), I entered the Barns Theatre with exited anticipation. The band of four…
Theater Review: AN IRISH CAROL (Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham, MA)
by Lynne Weiss | December 8, 2025
in Boston, TheaterTheater Review: THE BEATRIX POTTER HOLIDAY PARTY (Chicago Children’s Theatre)
by Croydon Fernandes | December 8, 2025
in Chicago, TheaterOff-Broadway Review: THE SLIDE IS THE NEGATIVE (The Chain Theatre)
by Dmitry Zvonkov | December 8, 2025
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER (TUTA Theatre at Bramble Arts Loft)
by Croydon Fernandes | December 7, 2025
in ChicagoTheater Review: A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD (Young People’s Theatre of Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | December 7, 2025
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: ANNIE (Wheelock Family Theatre)
by Lynne Weiss | December 6, 2025
in Boston, TheaterTheater Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL (San Diego Musical Theatre)
by Milo Shapiro | December 6, 2025
in San Diego, TheaterHOW THEATER AND GAMING ELEVATE YOUR ENTERTAINMENT LIFE
by Brandon Metcalfe | December 6, 2025
in ExtrasHOW DIGITAL STORYTELLING IS TRANSFORMING THE ARTS: FROM STAGE TO SCREEN AND BEYOND
by Aveline MacQuoid | December 6, 2025
in Virtual
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