All stories by Mike Paarlberg on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Appomattox at Washington National Opera, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

Go see Appomattox—especially if you’re not an opera fan.

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 04:32PM
Monday, October 19, 2015

The Tender Land at Gala Theatre, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

The In Series' latest opera—part of its "Made In America" series—is about as dull as life on the farm.

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 05:34PM
Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at Maryland Lyric Opera, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

If you’re going to take liberties with famous works of literature, you might as well give us a happy ending or more sex and violence or something.

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 03:47PM
Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at Wolf Trap Opera, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

Cross-dressing, switched identities, and R. Kelly trapped-in-the-closet scenarios deign to prevent a count from sexually assaulting or murdering anyone.

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 06:52PM
Tuesday, March 10, 2015

I’m on a Boat: Washington National Opera’s The Flying Dutchman, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

Parallels to Wagner’s life: He once took a long boat trip and probably felt persecuted and sexually frustrated a lot.

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 12:41PM
Monday, February 23, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015

In La Sonnambula, the Perils of Translating a Foreign-Language Opera by Mike Paarlberg

Few things puncture opera’s highbrow conceit better than hearing a soprano sing “It’s my way or the highway.”

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 12:07PM
Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Isango Ensemble’s Magic Flute and Venus and Adonis at Shakespeare Theatre, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

Classical operas played with impressive talent through a South African lens.

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 01:08PM
Friday, February 28, 2014

You’ve Got Whale: Moby-Dick at the Washington National Opera, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

Opera fans don’t get many opportunities to see things that nearly no one in the audience has seen before. It’s a test of how a work of art stands up on its own, without any famous aria …

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 04:07PM
Friday, September 20, 2013

Washington National Opera’s Tristan and Isolde, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

We've all been there. Falling for the wrong guy, the one you know will break your heart, the one who killed your last boyfriend and you are scheming to kill in a murder-suicide revenge plot,…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 10:45AM
Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Washington National Opera’s Show Boat, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

The Washington National Opera’s new production of Show Boat, the 1927 musical, opened only a few weeks after the release of “Accidental Racist,” the misbegotten country-rap duet in whi…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 10:22AM
Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A Christmas Carol Smackdown! Olney Theatre vs. Keegan Theatre by Mike Paarlberg

A Christmas Carol is like crack to theater companies: do it every year or not at all, but after your first hit, you’re hooked on that sweet holiday revenue. No other play can rake in the k…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 10:00AM
Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Remembering Marvin Hamlisch, A Prodigy and a Showman by Mike Paarlberg

Marvin Hamlisch, who died Monday at the age of 68, won’t be remembered primarily as the National Symphony Orchestra’s former pops conductor, but he was the ideal man for the job. A lot …

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 03:04PM
Saturday, February 11, 2012

Virginia Opera’s Orphée at George Mason Center for the Arts, Reviewed by Mike Paarlberg

Philip Glass’s vision of hell has Orpheus and Eurydice being grilled about their love life by judges holding tea cups; it looks a lot like marriage counseling. This probably wasn’t the p…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 04:43PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards