All stories by Rebecca J. Ritzel on BroadwayStars

Sunday, April 14, 2024

Lincoln’s Murder Is Often Re-enacted, but Not at Ford’s Theater by Rebecca J. Ritzel

The theater says that allowing the assassination to be recreated there would undermine the gravity and significance of Abraham Lincoln’s death.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36AM
Tuesday, February 8, 2022

The Kirov Academy, a Leading Ballet School, to Close in May by Rebecca J. Ritzel

The school, founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon more than three decades ago, told parents that the closing was related to financial issues.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:28PM
Wednesday, November 24, 2021

They Adapted ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ and Their Personal Beliefs by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick have come a long way from their beginnings in Christian rock, but they’re glad to be creating a family-friendly musical comedy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:12AM
Monday, August 16, 2021

His Theater Career Soared Like a Balloon, Filled With Hot Air by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Christopher Massimine found success as a theater executive in New York and Utah, but now he faces questions about errors on his résumé, a fictitious degree and a phony award.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:24PM
Friday, May 7, 2021

Former Dance School Official Pleads Guilty to $1.5 Million Fraud by Rebecca J. Ritzel

The former official, Sophia Kim, was a comptroller of the Kirov Academy of Ballet, a school founded in 1990 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:40PM
Friday, November 27, 2020

A Second Sudden Exit for a Hard-Charging Artistic Director by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Ari Roth founded Mosaic Theater Company after being fired by Theater J. He resigned under pressure after complaints from staff.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:24PM
Friday, January 23, 2015

Q&A: Nashville‘s Laura Benanti, Who’s Bringing a Cabaret to Wolf Trap by Rebecca J. Ritzel

"When I think, 'Where would I retire?,' I think, 'Maybe I’ll retire to Virginia.'”

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 03:47PM
Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Pippin, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

The less-successful musical numbers fail worse in D.C. given some gut-wrenching events in the news.

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 12:21PM
Friday, October 10, 2014

Evita at the Kennedy Center, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1978 megamusical Evita opens with a funeral. Spoiler alert: The first lady of Argentina, whose role has famously been sung by both Patti Lupone and Madonna, has died.…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 02:45PM
Thursday, April 24, 2014

Fiasco Theater’s Two Gentlemen of Verona, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Not since Gossip Girl went off the air has Washington been entertained by such young, attractive, well-dressed backstabbing New Yorkers. Fiasco Theater, a small troupe that specializes in co…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 02:39PM
Monday, April 14, 2014

Camp David at Arena Stage, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

The Camp David Accords might never have been signed were it not for President Jimmy Carter’s golf cart. In Camp David, the world premiere play at Arena Stage, there’s no way for characte…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 08:26AM
Saturday, November 30, 2013

if/Then at the National Theatre, Reviewed: Before It Gets to Broadway by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Review of the Broadway-bound musical If/Then from Washington City Paper. This is not just the perfect vehicle for Menzel; it's the perfect vehicle for the fans hurtling towards middle age w…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 08:57AM
Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Spin at Signature Theatre, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Say you’re a musical-theater writing duo trying to recover from the devastating failure of your first Broadway flop. What do you do? You write a musical about a former boy band star trying…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 10:59AM
Monday, June 17, 2013

Becky Shaw at Round House Theatre, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Throughout the play Becky Shaw, characters travel between Boston, Providence, New York, and Richmond. That seems plausible, but to look around at the audience in Round House Theatre one nigh…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 10:30AM
Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The Helen Hayes Awards Awards by Jonathan L. Fischer, Rebecca J. Ritzel, Benjamin R. Freed and Patrick Pho

Last night's untricked-out Helen Hayes Awards at the Warner Theatre began almost immediately with prize-giving, and that was mostly what we got: Few distractions, and lots of people talking …

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 02:16PM

Go Pair-Shaped: The Mountaintop at Arena Stage and The Next Five Years at Signature Theatre by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Interested in seeing a show this month? Hoping for one that will force you to contemplate the consequences of infidelity and the temporal nature of life, plus be entertaining to boot? Then y…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 12:14PM
Thursday, February 14, 2013

Shakespeare’s R&J at Signature Theatre, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

The less theater you’ve seen in D.C. in recent years, the fresher you may find Shakespeare’s R&J, Joe Calarco’s four-man retelling of the Bard’s tragedy—set not in ancient fair…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 11:11AM
Monday, December 3, 2012

U.S. directors looking to Shaw and Stratford for casting coups by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Tourism Ontario could not have planned a better theatre marketing campaign if it tried.

SOURCE: National Post (Canada) at 12:58PM
Thursday, June 21, 2012

Ballet Hispanico takes all-Cuban program to Wolf Trap by Rebecca J. Ritzel

If the weather cooperates Tuesday night at Wolf Trap, temperatures will be warm at nightfall, with a waft of a breeze. The curtain will rise, and the spotlight will shine on a not-so-tall bu…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:38PM
Monday, June 11, 2012

How D.C. Fared at the Tony Awards by Rebecca J. Ritzel

We’ll never know what Michael Kaiser planned to say in his Tony Awards acceptance speech, but thank goodness the Kennedy Center’s president still has his Huffington Post column. And than…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 10:52AM
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Last Chance: Theater Alliance’s Hum, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

For the first 30 minutes of the world-premiere play Hum, Theater Alliance challenges Synetic Theater in the race to create the best dialogue-free drama in D.C. There’s well-crafted choreog…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 11:27AM
Thursday, May 17, 2012

Festival celebrates French hip-hop by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Since the founding of Washington, it has been tres facile to sense the French influence in the circles, grids and diagonals bequeathed by Pierre L’Enfant, and in recent years, it seems no …

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:55PM
Sunday, May 6, 2012

‘Two Othellos’ at American Dance Institute by Rebecca J. Ritzel

The night was billed as the premiere of “Two Othellos,” meaning, presumably, that Saturday’s performances at American Dance Institute in Rockville would also feature two Iagos. But jus…

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:33PM
Thursday, April 26, 2012

Come Fly Away at the Kennedy Center, Reviewed by Rebecca J. Ritzel

Come Fly Away is perfect for anyone frustrated by bad dancing in a musical or bad acting in a ballet. In the touring version of the 2010 Broadway show now at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower …

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 09:00AM
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Helen Hayes Awards Awards by Jonathan L. Fischer, Rebecca J. Ritzel, Chris Klimek and Benjamin R. Freed

What lessons to draw from last night's Helen Hayes Awards at the Warner Theatre? There were only two ties—compare that to five in 2011. And no company dominated outright—although…

SOURCE: Washington City Paper at 04:11PM

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