All stories by Johnna Leary on BroadwayStars

Monday, February 3, 2020

‘Loserville: The Musical’ at The FrederickTowne Players celebrates being true to yourself by Johnna Leary

A high energy musical premiere blasts onto the stage in the FrederickTowne Players production of Loserville. Excellently directed by Matt J. Bannister, with rocking musical direction from Ma…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:34PM
Thursday, November 21, 2019

‘A Christmas Story: The Musical’ comes to life at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by Johnna Leary

A Christmas Story: The Musical at Toby’s celebrates the classic charm, innocence and nostalgia of a child’s Christmas in the 1940s with plenty of high energy production numbers from the …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:36PM
Saturday, June 29, 2019

Review: ‘Intimate Apparel’ at Silver Spring Stage by Johnna Leary

Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage is a bittersweet and brilliantly acted dramedy at Silver Spring Stage, featuring insightful direction from Seth Ghitelman for this period piece with a modern…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:30PM
Saturday, December 1, 2018

Review: ‘The Crater Sisters’ Christmas Special’ at Best Medicine Rep by Johnna Leary

You can skip your one-hundredth viewing of A Christmas Carol or The Nutcracker this holiday season and, instead, laugh the evening away at the delightfully original musical comedy, The Crate…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:57PM
Sunday, October 29, 2017

Review: ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ at Other Voices Theatre by Johnna Leary

For a fantastic evening of dark comedy with hysterical individual performances that bring quirky characters to life, don’t miss Arsenic and Old Lace at Other Voices Theatre! Nicely d…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:20AM
Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Review: ‘Carrie: The Musical’ at Cumberland Theatre by Johnna Leary

Excellently directed by Kimberli Rowley with crisp musical direction from Daniel Chambers, Carrie: The Musical is an intensely emotional show not to be missed at Cumberland Theatre this Hall…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:43PM
Saturday, April 29, 2017

Review: ‘Grey Gardens’ at the Old Opera House by Johnna Leary

An unusual choice and subject matter for a musical, Grey Gardens tells the story of the dysfunctional relationship between mother Edith Bouvier Beale and daughter “Little” Edie Beale. Th…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:41PM
Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Review: ‘The Producers’ at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater by Johnna Leary

Excellently directed by Laura J. Martin with crisp musical direction from Mat Levine, Mel Brooks’ The Producers at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater is an exceptional even…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:16PM
Sunday, November 20, 2016

Review: ‘A Tuna Christmas’ at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater by Johnna Leary

Expertly directed by Scott Ruble to evoke every last bit of comedy, A Tuna Christmas, written by Jason Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard, features the charming and often chaotic holiday ev…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:01PM
Sunday, November 6, 2016

Review: ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at Other Voices Theatre by Johnna Leary

With music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein, La Cage aux Folles running at Other Voices Theatre is a splendid spectacle stuffed with laughs and many poignant moments…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:04PM
Saturday, October 22, 2016

Review: ‘Hamlet’ at Whiskey-Shine & Pantomime in Shepherdstown, WV by Johnna Leary

The recently opened Whiskey-Shine & Pantomime theater organization in Shepherdstown makes a stunning debut with an updated, modern day, and outdoor adaptation of William Shakespeare̵…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:42AM
Sunday, October 16, 2016

Review: ‘Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure’ at the Old Opera House Theatre Company by Johnna Leary

One of the opening lines to last evening’s performance of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, uttered by the world’s most famous detective, was “You see, but you do not obser…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:52AM
Saturday, October 1, 2016

Review: ‘Rock of Ages’ at the Apollo Civic Theatre by Johnna Leary

Get ready to rock out at the Apollo Civic Theatre with a rocking and energetic production of Rock of Ages! With a book by Chris D’Arenzo and orchestrations and arrangements by Ethan Po…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:49PM
Saturday, September 17, 2016

Review: ‘Guys and Dolls’ at the Old Opera House Theatre Company by Johnna Leary

If you have to take a gamble with your theatrical options this weekend, this reviewer bets you will thoroughly enjoy the classic musical comedy Guys and Dolls at the Old Opera House Theatre …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:38PM
Sunday, September 11, 2016

Review: ‘Dog Sees God’ at East Street Arts Center by Johnna Leary

We all have those childhood cartoons and characters we loved in our youth, whose innocence and wholesome comedy are branded in our memories and popular culture. But what happens if those who…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:52AM
Sunday, July 24, 2016

Review: ‘The Dixie Swim Club’ at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater by Johnna Leary

Written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, better known to theater goers as the Jones Hope Wooten comedy team, The Dixie Swim Club at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Th…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:16PM
Friday, July 22, 2016

Review: ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre by Johnna Leary

The Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre’s (SSMT) production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance breathes fresh and hysterically contemporary life into an older operett…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:19AM
Saturday, July 2, 2016

Review: ‘Sweeney Todd’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre by Johnna Leary

  In an interestingly unusual choice for the typical light-hearted summer stock musicals at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, Sweeney Todd is an exceptional production with strong perf…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:23PM
Friday, June 17, 2016

Interviews from The Woods: Inside ‘Into the Woods JR.’ at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater by Johnna Leary

Be careful what you wish for! This weekend, Into the Woods JR. opens at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater, featuring talented students from the tri-…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:28PM
Sunday, May 8, 2016

Review: ‘Perfect Wedding’ at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater by Johnna Leary

Perfect Wedding at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater is a laugh-out-loud riot. Written by Robin Hawdon and directed by Shawn R. Martin, Perfect Wedd…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:05AM
Sunday, May 1, 2016

Review: ‘Skin Deep’ at the Old Opera House by Johnna Leary

Skin Deep at the Old Opera House proves love comes in all shapes and sizes and the message is easily displayed with some outstanding performances from the small ensemble cast in this clever …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:03AM
Monday, April 11, 2016

Review: ‘Dogfight’ at the Apollo Civic Theatre by Johnna Leary

The cast of Dogfight at the Apollo Civic Theatre tackles an unusually difficult subject, especially for a musical, with great aplomb, assisted by excellent direction and unique technical eff…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:19PM
Monday, February 15, 2016

Review: ‘Our Town’ at the Apollo Civic Theatre by Johnna Leary

One of the American theatrical classics, Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, and well-directed by Amanda Hartman, comes to life in a charmingly simplistic and emotionally resonant producti…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:47AM
Saturday, February 13, 2016

Review: ‘Stupid F**king Bird’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre by Johnna Leary

Written by Aaron Posner and “sort of adapted from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull,” Stupid F**king Bird is a highly imaginative and humorous depiction of the love triangles and life l…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:16PM
Sunday, February 7, 2016

Review: ‘One Slight Hitch’ at the Old Opera House by Johnna Leary

One Slight Hitch at The Old Opera House, directed by Glenn Frail, is a wonderfully romantic comedy. In this delightfully sharp farce by Lewis Black, it’s 1981 and Courtney’s wedd…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:41PM
Saturday, February 6, 2016

Review: ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ at Other Voices Theatre by Johnna Leary

In time for Valentine’s Day, Other Voices Theatre presents a hysterical look at modern relationships, set to some catchy songs, in a series of vignettes forming the musical I Love You,…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:05PM
Sunday, January 31, 2016

Review: ‘St. Nicholas’ at Washington Stage Guild by Johnna Leary

Theater critics can sometimes be vicious and bloodthirsty…… and that’s before one of them gets employed by a bloodsucking vampire in the Washington Stage Guild production o…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:12PM
Sunday, January 17, 2016

Review: ‘Deathtrap’ at The Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater by Johnna Leary

A play-within-a-play, a comedy and a thriller, individually, are all standard forms of theater easily accepted by audiences today. But can they successfully be combined into a single enterta…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:01PM
Saturday, December 5, 2015

‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by Johnna Leary

It is normally difficult to translate classic Christmas movies to the stage because comparisons with the beloved films are inevitable. However, It’s A Wonderful Life at Toby’s Di…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:54PM
Saturday, November 7, 2015

‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ by Other Voices Theatre at the Performing Arts Factory by Johnna Leary

Fantastically directed by Susan Thornton and excellently musically directed by Pete Meyers, Other Voices Theatre’s Legally Blonde: The Musical is an extremely high-energy show with ou…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:00PM
Monday, September 28, 2015

‘Cabaret’ at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater by Johnna Leary

In a moving production and stark departure from its usual light-hearted dinner theater offerings, Cabaret at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater is br…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:27AM

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