All stories by John Stoltenberg on BroadwayStars

Monday, November 14, 2022

You could get hooked on Kristen Bush in ‘People, Places & Things’ at Studio by John Stoltenberg

Playing an addicted actress, she gives a performance you will be intoxicated by.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 08:46PM

A resonant vision on view in ‘The Window King’ at Live Garra Theatre by John Stoltenberg

Bless ji Jaja's engrossing new play prompted by a terminated pregnancy is both timeless and right on time.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 11:54AM
Thursday, November 3, 2022

‘My job is to catch the conscience’: Antonio Michael Woodard on playing Emmett Till in ‘The Till Trilogy’ at Mosaic by John Stoltenberg

The actor talks about his indelible performance and his personal connection to the role.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 04:39PM
Saturday, October 29, 2022

Craig Houk’s near-perfect ‘Brute Farce’ skewers a theater critic by John Stoltenberg

A report on a staged reading of a new comedy that could become a theater-laughs-at-itself classic alongside 'Noises Off.'

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 06:26AM
Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Rorschach Theatre puts feminist teeth into ‘Dracula’ and it’s bloody good by John Stoltenberg

A script studded with high-stakes sexual politics and a riveting production that will give you chills.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 01:03PM
Saturday, October 8, 2022

Ari Roth’s roman à clef displays his feet of clay by John Stoltenberg

The title is long — 'My Calamitous Affair with the Minister of Culture and Censorship or Death of the Dialogic in the American Theater' — and the play is a lot.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 07:32AM
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

‘Maple and Vine’ gets lost in the past at Spooky Action by John Stoltenberg

A sendup of gender roles and happiness in the 1950s compared to now.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 04:59PM
Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Washington Improv Theater debuts at Studio and it’s don’t miss by John Stoltenberg

A year-long residency promises to tempt both theater buffs and improv nuts.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 03:46PM
Friday, September 30, 2022

Ford’s lyrical ‘Trip to Bountiful’ travels back to an illusory time by John Stoltenberg

The production showcases Nancy Robinette, Kimberly Gilbert, and Emily Kester in performances worth way more than the price of the ticket.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 10:11AM
Tuesday, September 27, 2022

‘Our Black Death,’ a fun fable from Taffety Punk, asks: Can love survive a plague? by John Stoltenberg

A comical adult fairy tale with powerful and poetic implications for anyone in love in the face of mortality.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 04:35PM
Monday, September 26, 2022

‘Heroes of the Fourth Turning’ at Studio shocks the system by John Stoltenberg

We get to hear how conservative Catholics think, and the experience is mind-blowing.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 10:15AM
Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Inside ‘The Box’: a gripping view of institutionalized sadism by John Stoltenberg

Sarah Should's powerfully immersive drama about solitary confinement comes to DC.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 01:32PM
Wednesday, August 17, 2022

The woman who freed Frederick Douglass: a Q&A with Kristolyn Lloyd by John Stoltenberg

Behind every great man is a great woman, and the actor who plays Anna Douglass in 'American Prophet' at Arena Stage reveals the power in that truth.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 11:11AM
Sunday, August 7, 2022

A fun ‘Firebringer’ at Dominion Stage is both goofy and wise by John Stoltenberg

A charming cast and a crack orchestra deliver a lighthearted tuner that sends up society and points to a better world.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 03:37PM
Monday, July 25, 2022

‘Something Rotten!’ is a joyous farce at the Little Theatre of Alexandria by John Stoltenberg

The perfect way to experience this satirical musical in all its ludicrous glory

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 05:21PM
Tuesday, July 19, 2022

2022 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Sobriety of Fear’ by Shaun Michael Johnson by John Stoltenberg

Virtuoso solo storytelling about the cycle of family violence, with a script and performance even more stunning than the play's Fringe debut four years ago.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 10:09AM
Monday, July 18, 2022

2022 Capital Fringe Review: ‘A Number’ by Caryl Churchill by John Stoltenberg

A tantalizing “what if?”: a dramatized thought experiment about the interpersonal consequences of human cloning.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 11:40AM
Friday, July 15, 2022

2022 Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Approach’ by Mark O’Rowe by John Stoltenberg

In this haunting three-hander, the pièce de résistance is the performances.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 06:20PM

Who’s the one with blue hair in ‘Hot Wing King’? A Q&A with Michael Kevin Darnall by John Stoltenberg

In the Pulitzer Prize–winning play now at Studio, the brilliant local actor plays a gender-nonconforming gay Black male who has found a new family.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 09:19AM
Friday, July 1, 2022

Scena Theatre opens transfixing and exhilarating ‘Beckett Shorts’ by John Stoltenberg

The anthology of four dark comedies is an overview of the renowned playwright’s themes and techniques.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 05:39PM
Monday, June 27, 2022

Aaron Sorkin’s scintillating rethink of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at Kennedy Center by John Stoltenberg

What the playwright has done with Harper Lee’s novel epitomizes what live theater does best: hold values up to view.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 12:10PM
Sunday, June 26, 2022

‘In His Hands’ at Mosaic asks if it’s OK with God to be gay by John Stoltenberg

The two leads — Michael J. Mainwaring as Daniel and Josh Adams as Chris — are spellbinding together. Their unabashed attraction is palpable.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 10:54AM
Thursday, June 23, 2022

What it means ‘When Boys Exhale’: A Q&A with Anthony Green by John Stoltenberg

The writer-director explains why his play about young Black gay men is titled after the movie about Black women friends.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:35PM
Sunday, June 19, 2022

‘Niagra: The Musical,’ a work-in-progress with fabulous music by John Stoltenberg

At DC Arts Center, an original musical about real-life risk-takers who went over the famous falls.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:28PM
Tuesday, May 31, 2022

‘Do You Feel Anger?’ at Theater Alliance takes on anti-woman workplace by John Stoltenberg

An absurdist, dark comedy sendup of toxicity on the job.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:49AM
Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Gen Z feminism is the hero in ‘John Proctor Is the Villain’ by John Stoltenberg

The quality of the writing and the caliber of the performances at Studio are enthralling, but here's what impressed me most. By JOHN STOLTENBERG

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:22AM
Monday, May 23, 2022

‘A Play About a Handkerchief’ is a buzzworthy doozy from We Happy Few by John Stoltenberg

Playwright Paula Vogel lifts three women from 'Othello' — Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca — and puts them in their own risqué play about today.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:18AM
Monday, May 16, 2022

Fearless and funny ‘There’s Always the Hudson’ premieres at Woolly by John Stoltenberg

Paola Lázaro’s scintillating script about two sexual abuse survivors is astonishingly entertaining and deeply moving.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:41PM
Tuesday, May 10, 2022

‘To Fall in Love’ at Nu Sass is a heart-smart revelation by John Stoltenberg

One of the most intimate, touching, and truthful relationship dramas you’re likely to experience without being in it yourself.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:43PM
Friday, May 6, 2022

A poignant visit to a spirit realm in ‘The Upstairs Department’ at Signature by John Stoltenberg

Chelsea Marcantel's gently touching and deeply satisfying new play is about a brother's and sister's quest for connection.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:16PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Rep Stage looks at ‘Glass Menagerie’ through a mixed-race lens by John Stoltenberg

Director Joseph Ritsch and Dramaturg Khalid Long on how race, queerness, gender, and ability intersect in Tennessee Williams's classic.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:27AM

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