By Kyle Osborne Reckoning with the fact that Black Lives Matter. Arm-twisting to get legislation passed. Preparing for possible shenanigans at the upcoming convention. Although it sounds a lot like 2016, it’s 1964. Lyndon Johnson has become President following the assassination of John F. Kennedy several months earlier. High stakes…
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Theatre Review: ‘Destiny of Desire’ at Arena Stage: Dos Thumbs Up!
By Kyle Osborne The new theatre season has just begun and it’s already feeling exceptional. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has started things off with a hilarious romp called Destiny of Desire. It’s sexy and silly and a lot of fun to experience. Please read my review and…
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Theatre Review: ‘Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery’ at Arena Stage
Is there anything wrong with a play being “Silly”? Are you kidding? Any Monty Python fan will instantly think of the “Ministry Of Silly Walks” and double over laughing. And so it is with Ken Ludwigs Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. It’s whip smart and completely sophisticated in its execution, writing and delivery.…
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Theatre Review: ‘The Shoplifters’ at Arena Stage Will Steal Your Heart
By Kyle Osborne How does one make serious commentary on the subject of income inequality and the soulless indifference of corporate chain stores? If you’re Canadian playwright and director Morris Panych, you start with a 16 ounce Rib-eye steak being hidden up an old lady’s dress. Next, have said old…
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Theatre Review: ‘Smokey Joe’s Cafe’ at Arena Stage
By Kyle Osborne When Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller met in Los Angeles in 1950, the two teenagers could never have imagined that they’d co-write dozens of songs that not only would be chart-topping hits, but would become part of Americana. Decades of pop culture have played out over a…
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Theatre Review: ‘Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner’ at Arena Stage
By Kyle Osborne When the film, “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” opened on New Year’s Day, 1968, the Civil Rights movement was just barely in the rear view mirror, many wounds still fresh, but enough distance (and change) that racial, uh, discomfort could be mined for comedy. The set-up of…
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Theatre Review: ‘The Velocity Of Autumn’ at Arena Stage
By Kyle Osborne If The Velocity Of Autumn ends up on Broadway (and that is the hope) there is one major tweak that will need to happen before it gets there—more pauses between the uproarious laughter. That’s a great ‘problem’ to have, right? Laughter so loud and sustained that the…
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Theatre Review: ‘One Night With Janis Joplin’ Must Close August 11th! See It Now.
NOTE: Just a reminder that this amazing show closes August 11th. By Kyle Osborne “One Night With Janis Joplin” is great. Two nights with Janis Joplin is even better. The musical which garnered praise and admiration at Arena Stage last fall, has returned for a summer encore. Mary Bridget Davies…
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