All stories by Ravelle Brickman on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Director Margot Bordelon on ‘POTUS,’ the bawdy feminist farce at Arena Stage by Ravelle Brickman

The first thing audiences will see, when they enter the four-sided Fichandler theater at Arena Stage, is a giant chandelier in the form of a plexiglass White House, looming over the darkened…

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 09:05AM
Monday, October 9, 2023

‘I wanted to create a Jewish superhero’: Jenny Rachel Weiner, whose play ‘The Chameleon’ premieres at Theater J by Ravelle Brickman

The wickedly funny playwright talks about assimilation and Jewish identity. Interview by RAVELLE BRICKMAN

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 08:22AM
Friday, September 22, 2023

‘It’s obscene but true’: Kelsey Mesa on her terrifying new play, ‘La Salpêtrière’ by Ravelle Brickman

The Taffety Punk production portrays women, diagnosed as ‘hysterics,’ who were confined to a prison-like hospital in Paris in the 19th century. By RAVELLE BRICKMAN

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 07:46PM
Sunday, April 23, 2023

‘When I like a play, I get obsessed’: Karin Rosnizeck on ‘The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield’ by Ravelle Brickman

The Expats Theatre founder tells why she is directing a play about the weaponization of rape in war.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 11:23AM
Saturday, April 1, 2023

Morgan Gould on her new feminist comedy with bite, now at Round House by Ravelle Brickman

How the playwright and director came up with 'Jennifer Who Is Leaving.'

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 08:01PM
Saturday, March 25, 2023

Mona Mansour on humor, loss, and not seeing in ‘Unseen’ at Mosaic by Ravelle Brickman

The award-winning playwright talks about her sharp-edged thriller set in the fragile world of today’s Middle East.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 03:05PM
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

‘Optimism is her legacy’: Holly Twyford on directing ‘Gloria: A Life’ at Theater J by Ravelle Brickman

‘The personal is the political’ in this closeup on Gloria Steinem, who championed the cause of women’s rights at a time when most people thought they had none.   

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 10:39AM
Friday, February 17, 2023

On the richness of readings: Mosaic’s Catalyst Festival in retrospect by Ravelle Brickman

From Hollywood to the halls of local high schools, playwrights talk about the joy of trying out new work for audiences eager to see live theater. 

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 02:04PM
Monday, November 21, 2022

A storyteller at the Steinway: Acclaimed pianist returns to DC at Theater J by Ravelle Brickman

Mona Golabek delivers a tour de force performance in the musical memoir ‘The Pianist of Willesden Lane.'

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 07:00PM
Saturday, October 1, 2022

My lunch with Ari Roth, who appears barely disguised in his own new play by Ravelle Brickman

A conversation with playwright Ari Roth and dramaturg Debbie Minter Jackson previews 'My Calamitous Affair with the Minister of Culture and Censorship.'

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 05:39PM
Tuesday, August 30, 2022

A refugee story set to Jewish wedding music? Christian Barry explains. by Ravelle Brickman

The coauthor and director of ‘Old Stock’—coming to Theater J—talks about how the acclaimed klezmer musical merges comedy and sex with the sorrow of loss.

SOURCE: dctheaterarts.org at 08:30PM
Friday, May 27, 2022

Tina Fabrique talks about ‘Marys Seacole,’ closing soon at Mosaic by Ravelle Brickman

The Broadway actor and singer—known for her roles as Ma Rainey and Ella Fitzgerald—on the most sophisticated play she's ever been in.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:15PM
Sunday, May 15, 2022

Urban Arias’ ‘Why I Live at the P.O.’ is a glorious spoof of grand opera by Ravelle Brickman

The world premiere comedy about small town life in the South came and went in a flash, leaving laughter, applause, and hopes for a revival in its wake.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:51PM
Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Molly Smith on the allure of the con man in ‘Catch Me If You Can’ at Arena by Ravelle Brickman

Terrance McNally’s 1960s-style musical comedy is now in its final week. Two powerful dramas are coming next—‘Drumfolk’ and ‘American Prophet.’

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:33PM
Thursday, March 31, 2022

How ‘Nathan the Wise’ — ‘the anti-Shylock’ — got onstage at Theater J by Ravelle Brickman

The story behind a witty rewrite of an 18th-century classic by Adapter Michael Bloom, with Director Adam Immerwahr

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:50PM
Friday, March 11, 2022

‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ comes alive in stunning Stage Guild production by Ravelle Brickman

Washington Stage Guild draws out the humor and the horror in George Bernard Shaw’s classic take on hypocrisy and deceit.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:49PM
Friday, February 11, 2022

Theater J’s Johanna Gruenhut on why ‘Compulsion’ matters now by Ravelle Brickman

The director points to the role of antisemitism in the whitewashing of 'The Diary of Anne Frank.'

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:25PM
Thursday, January 27, 2022

Psalmayene 24 on ‘Dear Mapel,’ his elegy for a father he hardly knew by Ravelle Brickman

Shaped by memory and imagination, the autobiographical play by the award-winning writer and performer premieres next week at Mosaic

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:07PM
Thursday, December 23, 2021

In lipstick and hip schtick, the Kinsey Sicks tickle at Theater J by Ravelle Brickman

'Oy Vey in a Manger,' their adults-only holiday special, is not for the pious or prudish—let alone right-wing fanatics—but it’s hilarious for everyone else.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:10AM
Saturday, November 13, 2021

Inside ‘Birds of North America’ at Mosaic with its cast and director by Ravelle Brickman

Regina Aquino, David Bryan Jackson, and Serge Seiden talk about time and its loss and life's precious moments.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:05PM
Saturday, November 6, 2021

Arena’s ‘Celia and Fidel’ could not be more timely: Heather Velazquez by Ravelle Brickman

The deliciously comic young actress, who aspires to be Castro’s comrade (and stand-in for his late mistress), talks about her role in her cousin's play.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:59AM
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

How to fight injustice? Felicia Curry on the crux of ‘My Lord, What a Night’ by Ravelle Brickman

The incisive and inspiring play filmed at Ford’s Theatre is now streaming through November 4.  

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:39AM
Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Studio Acting Conservatory celebrates new home with open house August 28 by Ravelle Brickman

A landmark acting school settles into a former church—home of the long-lost Black Last Supper—and welcomes the return of in-person classes.

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:02PM
Saturday, July 31, 2021

For Quotidian’s farewell, an encore of its Horton Foote world premiere by Ravelle Brickman

Theater grande dame Jane Squier Bruns, starring in 'The Day Emily Married,' talks about the challenge of playing 'the mother from hell.'

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:59PM
Thursday, February 11, 2021

Ken Ludwig on his parents’ love story and the lost art of letter-writing by Ravelle Brickman

When I interviewed Ken Ludwig about his latest play, Dear Jack, Dear Louise, which opened at Arena Stage more than a year ago, I was curious about his parents—the Jack and Louise of the ti…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:58PM
Thursday, September 24, 2020

A preshow chat with Felicia Curry and Naomi Jacobson, cohosts of the Helen Hayes Awards by Ravelle Brickman

Screens will be lighting up all over Metro DC as theater lovers, supporters, and luminaries gather online for the 2020 Helen Hayes Awards Friday, September 25. The red carpet unrolls at 6 pm…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:21PM
Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Camp Arena Stage—DC’s longest-running daycamp for the arts—goes online by Ravelle Brickman

When COVID-19 first struck last winter, most of us in the theater world—audiences as well as those on or off stage—thought the crisis would end in a couple of weeks. No such luck. Theate…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:56PM
Sunday, May 24, 2020

The vision and resurrection of Studio Acting Conservatory by Ravelle Brickman

 When Joy Zinoman—the doyenne of DC theater and founder of Studio Acting Conservatory—describes the training center’s new home as a “sacred place,” she’s not exaggerating.   …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:00PM
Saturday, March 7, 2020

Behind the lines: A pre-opening peek at 4615 Theatre’s ‘Museum 2040’ by Ravelle Brickman

When Jordan Friend, the highly inventive founder of 4615 Theatre Company, invited me to attend a rehearsal of Museum 2040 a few weeks ago, I jumped at the opportunity. The show, billed as an…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:45AM
Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Beyond the script: fine-tuning farce in ‘The 39 Steps’ at Constellation by Ravelle Brickman

“I’ve never laughed so hard in rehearsal,” said Nick Olcott, describing some of the antics performed by a tiny but talented cast — four actors in 48 roles — in the wickedly funny s…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:41PM
Sunday, February 9, 2020

Behind the lines: Laura C. Harris talks about seeing stars in ‘Silent Sky’ at Ford’s by Ravelle Brickman

When Laura C. Harris bursts onto the stage in Silent Sky at Ford’s Theatre, she is Henrietta Leavitt—hoop skirt and all—fresh out of college, brimming with confidence, and determined t…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:08PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
TBA: Titanic