All stories by Mary Ann Johnson on BroadwayStars

Saturday, May 15, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Berta, Berta’ at Everyman Theatre by Mary Ann Johnson

Everyman Theatre is running a heart-felt, brilliantly-acted production of “Berta, Berta,” which originally premiered in 2018 and was a part of the 2019 National Black Theatre Festival. T…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:50AM
Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘2.5 Minute Ride,’ Studio Theatre by Mary Ann Johnson

This show is a love letter. A love letter to family and to memories that bind us and both demolish and lift us up. It’s a joy to watch. It’s also clear-eyed, compassionate, and unsentime…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:21AM
Monday, May 3, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Blindness’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company by Mary Ann Johnson

I could actually sum up this review in four words: Go. To. This. Production. This is an indelible experience. …an intense and visceral…it needs to be experienced first-hand. You enter a …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:15PM
Sunday, May 2, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘First Date’ presented by NextStop Theatre Company by Mary Ann Johnson

“First Date” has a sterling cast and they all give very solid performances. The show can also be quite funny. One of the funniest moments is the song sung by Taylor Witt’s Aaron, final…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:41PM
Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘The Belle of Amherst’ presented by Little Theatre of Alexandria (LTA) by Mary Ann Johnson

  William Luce’s “The Belle of Amherst” is a lovely piece of work. It is literate, graceful, and the dialogue slides so easily into the poetry and back again as it brings Emily Dicki…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:32PM
Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Children of Medea’ presented by Constellation Theatre Company by Mary Ann Johnson

Constellation Theatre Company has started their season with a bang. “Children of Medea” is an intense, harrowing work, interspersed with moments of joy. The playwright and actor, Sue Jin…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:05PM
Thursday, April 15, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘The Fifth Date’ presented by Best Medicine Rep by Mary Ann Johnson

“The Fifth Date” has some very funny moments, particularly between the alter egos. It has been two years in the making  and was introduced at the Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage Festi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:17AM
Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Maytag Virgin’ presented by The Colonial Players of Annapolis by Mary Ann Johnson

This two-hander from Audrey Cefaly is beautifully written, acted, and staged. It doesn’t traffic in grand themes, but it does illuminate very well the complexity of humans and the fears th…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:07PM
Sunday, March 28, 2021

Concert Review: ‘Veronneau’ from Creative Cauldron’s Passport to the World Series by Mary Ann Johnson

Bon après-midi. Hier soir, le Creative Cauldron a envoyé son public à Paris. Aujourd’hui, nous sommes de retour dans le DMV. Veronneau is so assured and so adept, you sink into their sp…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:35PM
Saturday, March 27, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Love/language’ presented by Rep Stage by Mary Ann Johnson

Rep Stage had a brainstorm by commissioning ten plays and producing a world premiere. Personally, I’m glad it did. Rep Stage asked local playwrights to create ten short explorations of lov…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:01PM
Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘A Boy and His Soul’ presented by Round House Theatre by Mary Ann Johnson

Ultimately, Round House Theatre’s production of “A Boy and His Soul” is a very feel-good show. Its tight focus is on one Black family on Philadelphia’s southwest side and their bond…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:45PM
Saturday, March 20, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘A Walk in the Woods’ presented by Reston Community Players by Mary Ann Johnson

“A Walk in the Woods,” presented by Reston Community Players, is a stunning show on so many levels. With beautiful language that paints pictures, intelligent and layered performances, an…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:50PM
Friday, March 19, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘The Devil’s Disciple’ presented by Washington Stage Guild by Mary Ann Johnson

“The Devil’s Disciple” is beautifully acted. That’s the most obvious thing about this production by Washing Stage Guild. They also deserve a shoutout for creating five different back…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:14PM
Saturday, March 13, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Virtual Mock Trial’ presented by Shakespeare Theatre Company by Mary Ann Johnson

This is the 35th year the “Mock Trial” has been presented and, like last year, it is virtual. In keeping with the Shakespeare Theatre Company and the STC’s Bard Association, it is a d…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:36AM
Friday, March 5, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Cry It Out’ presented by Everyman Theatre by Mary Ann Johnson

This show is the embodiment of “Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy” (Tina Fey). It’s a joyful ode to sisterhood as well. The playwright, Molly Smith Metzler, doesn’t shy …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:58PM
Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Bad Auditions…On Camera’ by Fauquier Community Theatre (FCT) by Mary Ann Johnson

“Bad Auditions…On Camera” is just fun. Sheer, uncomplicated fun. It has an amazingly large cast — 19 in all — that manage to create their characters and have fun with them, in abou…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:03PM
Monday, February 22, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Bad Auditions…On Camera’ presented by Fauquier Community Theatre by Mary Ann Johnson

“Bad Auditions…On Camera” is just fun. Sheer, uncomplicated fun. It has an amazingly large cast — 19 in all — that manage to create their characters and have fun with them, in abou…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:01PM
Sunday, February 21, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘The Drowning Girls’ by Strand Theatre Company by Mary Ann Johnson

This play is based on a real serial killer and bigamist who was tried, convicted, and hanged in England in 1915. He was responsible for the murders of three of his brides — Bessie Williams…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:24AM
Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Torn’ presented by AmaZing Theatre by Mary Ann Johnson

This is a new play that sheds some light on the time when Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to the White House to have dinner — an unprecedented act in the early 20th century…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:02PM
Sunday, January 31, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Hi, Are You Single?’ by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in partnership with I Am A Theatre Production (IAMA) by Mary Ann Johnson

This one-man show, written and acted by Ryan J. Haddad, has some interesting twists. It’s a gutsy play that calls attention to something that many people find discomfiting — that people …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:00PM
Thursday, January 28, 2021

Theatre Review: World Premiere of ‘The Catastrophist’ by Round House Theatre and Marin Theatre Co. by Mary Ann Johnson

I have never seen anyone as infectiously delighted with science, specifically epidemiology, as the protagonist of “The Catastrophist” — not even Bill Nye. One of the joys of this multi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:14PM
Sunday, January 24, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘After the Flood’ presented by Dominion Stage by Mary Ann Johnson

Imagine having the opportunity to interview various people who live in and around Ferguson, Missouri, and get them to really open up, even when they don’t realize how much they reveal. Thi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:43AM
Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Rosa Parks: Such A Time’ from The Essential Theatre, by special arrangements with See the Fruits, Inc. by Mary Ann Johnson

“We had no idea it would take so long, and be so hard.” There’s a hard truth in that statement, softly but emphatically delivered by Gwendolyn Briley-Strand as Mrs. Rosa Parks that see…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:35PM
Friday, January 15, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Mothers and Sons’ at MetroStage by Mary Ann Johnson

“Mothers and Sons” is being produced in memory of Terrence McNally by MetroStage, the Board of Trustees, and Carolyn Griffin, who is the producing artistic director. A study in how quick…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:44AM
Monday, January 11, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side,’ Round House Theatre in association with McCarter Theatre Center by Mary Ann Johnson

“Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side,” part of the “Work of Adrienne Kennedy: Inspiration and Influence” festival on-going at Round House Theatre, had its world premier on Sunday. T…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:27PM
Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Theatre Review: ‘The Resurrection of Alice” from The Essential Theater by Mary Ann Johnson

This one-woman show is a story-teller’s dream, and Perry Gaffney, who wrote and performs it, is a storyteller. She can have you laughing, gasping, crying, nodding your head going uh-huh, a…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:37PM
Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Theatre Review: ‘This Is Who I Am’ by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in partnership with Playco, American Repertory Theater, Guthrie Theater and t by Mary Ann Johnson

Written on an accelerated schedule (commissioned in June 2020 and ready in August 2020), then cast, rehearsed, and produced by five companies across the United States by December 2020, Sunda…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:28PM
Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Theatre Review: ‘The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs’ presented by Red Bull Theater by Mary Ann Johnson

Updated slightly for the Zoom, socially-distanced theatre era we’re in, “The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs” is a fun romp from the 17th century that has a subtle touch of feminis…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:06PM
Sunday, November 15, 2020

Theatre Review: ‘Conversations Through A Bathroom Door’ presented by Dark Horse Theatre Company by Mary Ann Johnson

Dark Horse Theatre Company has come up with an ingenious new play that uses Zoom’s strengths and still gives us an insightful, funny, and wrenching work. And they accomplish it all within …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:10PM
Monday, November 9, 2020

Theatre Review: ‘GENESIS 37,’ Genome Theatre Company, at the Talos IV Festival, The Cockpit, London by Mary Ann Johnson

Once in a while a reviewer is lucky enough to review a pre-production of a new show, and then review it again when it produced for the public. I have been privileged to watch the incarnation…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:42AM
Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Theatre Review: ‘Marisol,’ presented by Theatre Morgan, Morgan State University by Mary Ann Johnson

“Marisol,” by José Rivera, is a fever-dream of a play. It is as if the normal world has lost its moorings, or mind, and people, systems, institutions are breaking down under the strain.…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:45PM

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