Lisa Troshinsky

WHEN THE LAW PUTS IDEAS ON TRIAL A clear-eyed revival that finds urgency in an old argument about truth and belief The recent production of Inherit the Wind at Arena Stage offers a compelling and timely revival of one of America’s most enduring courtroom dramas. Directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell, the production highlights the play’s…

A MUSICAL FABLE FOR THEN — AND NOW A cornerstone of the American musical theater canon. Corny and sexist? Undeniably. But it’s still thrilling, still brassy, still Broadway. Guys and Dolls bills itself as “a musical fable of Broadway,” and that framing matters. Based on the stories of Damon Runyon, the 1950 show doesn’t aim…

A SHTETL REBUILT IN THE ROUND Douglas Sills leads Signature’s spare, deeply felt Fiddler on the Roof that puts Anatevka’s communal heartbeat at the center The beauty of tradition, Tevye the Milkman tells us, is that “everyone knows who they are.” At Signature Theatre, where Fiddler on the Roof unfolds in the round, that certainty…

FOWL PLAY: WHEN THE TRUTH TAKES AIM IN THE WILD DUCK Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, now at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre (in a co-production with Theatre for a New Audience), is an excellent, superbly acted rendering of one of his rarely produced tragedies — a work as cynical and heavy-handed as it is…

STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY SHOULD COME WITH A WARNING As the old love adage goes: Boy meets Girl, Girl interrogates Boy, Boy tries to leave unsuccessfully, Girl and Boy reconvene… oh, wait, this is the new love adage. Or at least the modern dating app version presented in Miriam Battye’s new work, Strategic Love Play. Directed…

THREE HOURS IN THE CHURCH OF QUEER LOVE: A COMPLICATED DANCE AT ARENA STAGE Tarell Alvin McCraney (Oscar winner for Moonlight) returns to the stage with We Are Gathered, a lyrical and immersive exploration of love, commitment, and the weight of legacy. Directed by Kent Gash at Arena Stage, attending the play feels like an…

BENEATH THE SCHMALTZ IS A JOYFUL NOISE Fun, uplifting, and yes, frivolous, Sister Act is a musical remake of the famously successful 1992 hit movie starring Whoopi Goldberg. The historic Ford’s Theater, which also houses a museum based on Abraham Lincoln’s legacy, is a tourist destination and is known for producing non-controversial shows for the…

USING ART TO COMBAT GUN VIOLENCE GUAC at Woolly Mammoth is not traditional theater—it’s a powerful act of performance art that explores life and tragic loss in the wake of a mass school shooting. Manuel Oliver‘s deeply personal one-man piece concerns his son, Joaquin—nicknamed “Guac”—who was one of 17 students massacred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas…

DOWNSTATE CHALLENGES MOST BASIC ASSUMPTIONS Bruce Norris’s regional premiere of Downstate, currently at Studio Theatre, brings us up close into the forbidden world of pedophiles and shockingly presents them as both pariahs and victims. Emily Kester and Tim Getman Granted, this provocative play isn’t for everyone and it’s difficult to sit through. It may even…

A TRIUMPHANT SAGA OF A VIENNESE FAMILY Shakespeare Theatre Company, in association with Huntington in Boston, is presenting at Harman Hall an epic, haunting play about loss and survival. Grandiose in scale and complete with 23 actors who portray multiple characters, Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt is incredibly moving in that it speaks of unimaginable loss. Concerning…

A POIGNANT LOOK AT FEMALE FRIENDSHIP What are the makings of female friendships? What holds them together and what causes them to shift off course? These are just two of the philosophical questions raised by David Auburn’s latest masterpiece and recent Broadway hit Summer, 1976, currently at Studio Theater. Known best for his heady play…

THE GOOD-NATURED BUFFOONERY IN FORUM IS THE TONIC FOR WHAT AILS YOU A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, currently at Signature Theater, is knee-slapping farcical fun à la vaudeville and the Marx Brothers mixed with ancient Roman escapades, all set to the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. Sound like a…

SEEN THROUGH A LATINO CONTEXT, THE OTHER AMERICANS IS A UNIVERSAL GLIMPSE INTO FAMLY TRAUMA The world premiere of John Leguizamo’s newest endeavor, The Other Americans, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, packs a hard punch in the gut while exploring familial dysfunction and immigrant survival. John Leguizamo (Nelson) and Luna Lauren Velez (Patti) Leguizamo stars as…

BEMUSING, DISAPPOINTING, SUPERFICIAL, AND FULL OF CONTRADICTIONS After all the hype about Matthew Broderick starring in the title role of Babbitt, presented by Shakespeare Theatre Company at Harman Hall, the production — which had its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse last November —  is a disappointment. Yet, the fault doesn’t lie solely with Broderick’s acting….

AN EXCERCISE IN PURPOSEFUL FUTILITY Welcome to the world of underserved K-12 education where punitive actions abound with no end in sight. In Exception to the Rule, playwright Dave Harris (Tambo & Bones) brings us into an existential, self-imposed detention room, where its victims’ enforcer never shows up.   It’s an adolescent Waiting for Godot, where…