Hilarity and Highjinks Abound in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at The Little Theatre of Alexandria
Much Ado About Nothing
The Little Theatre of Alexandria
Jordan Wright
April 2, 2025
Special to The Zebra
 Paul Brewster, Amelia Jacquat, Jess Rawls, Tameka Taylor, Judy Rolph Ebner (Photo/Mark Alan Andre) Pull up a barstool at the Bar Messina. We’re in the courtyard and a duo is playing a jazzy rendition of “A Sunday Kind of Love”. It’s present day in the French Quarter of New Orleans where this unconventionally told love story begins. Surely The Bard never envisioned his classic romcom set in the wilds of NOLA, and neither could we, but this rendition seems, well, just right, which is precisely the magic of Shakespeare – its relevancy to our modern times.
Director Joey Pierce, a New Orleans transplant, gives us all the flair and fabulousness we could ever dream of, plus a tremendous 19-actor cast that keeps the merriment at peak performance. There’s the feisty, clever-tongued Beatrice who scorns all suitors and her wordplay match, Benedick, who sets his cap for her. Claudio and his maiden, Hero, a charmer, who crushes on Claudio much to his amazement until Don Pedro, a swashbuckling soldier (who in this incarnation is gay) and his illegitimate brother, Don John who along with Borachio foments a plot against the lovers. And, lest you forget, there’s Leonato, Hero’s father who with his wife, Antonia (an introduced character), seek to protect their daughter against all slyly invented scandal.
 Smithchai Cutchainon (Photo/Mark Alan Andre) Amid all this undermining, scheming and duly faithful affection, our characters show us a festive time. There’s line dancing – the Electric Slide! – and massive doses of comedic pratfalls, secretive plots, frequent drinking, a madly funny scene with Benedick hiding behind the bar listening in to a men’s convo led by Don Pedro about how Beatrice adores him all the while pretending they don’t know he’s there. It’s the consummate set up to convince him she’s in love with him. When our heroine, Bea, hooks up with her gal pals, to share the exciting news, they all do shots. Well, it is New Orleans, after all. Make me a sazerac!
Later we encounter an ersatz sheriff with his band of nincompoops, aka “The Watch”. In fine comic form they have been deputized to arrest the duplicitous men who are lolling about engaged in a TV show about swamp creatures. Cue the Cajun accents and conjure up the Keystone Kops.
 Jaye Frazier, Brendan Chaney, Michael Townsend, Ruth Sherr (Photo/Mark Alan Andre) The whole play is witty, silly, charming and absolutely hilarious – played to the hilt and beyond. Julie Fischer’s two-level set design is oh-so-clever and Joan Lawrence’s costumes nail the styles with Benedick, Claudio and their cohorts in military camouflage, the ladies in brightly colored dresses, and Hero’s faux funeral scene that has all the hallmarks of a New Orleans’ style homegoing.
Recommended to cure what ails you!
 Tameka Taylor, Ruth Sherr, Megan Fraedrich, Amelia Jacquat & Lily Larsen (Photo/Mark Alan Andre) With Paul Brewster as Leonato, Amelia Jacquat as Hero, Jess Rawls as Beatrice, Seth Rue as Benedick, Zachary Litwiller as Don John, Michael McGovern as Don Pedro, Lily Larsen as Margaret, Brendan Chaney as Borachio, Smithchai Chutchainon as Claudio, Judy Rolph Ebner as Antonia, Jeff Elmore as Dogberry, Megan Fraedrich as Balthasar Sister/Sexton, Tamika Taylor as Ursula, Michelle Hughes as Balthasar Sister, Dan Lavanga as Verges/Friar Francis, Leo Mairena as First Watchman, Ruth Scherr as Second Watchman, Jaye Frazier as Messenger/Third Watchman and Michael Townsend as Conrade.
Assistant Director Heather Sanderson, Choreography by Melissa Dunlap, Lighting Design by Jeffrey Auerbach and Kimberly Crago (JK Lighting), Sound Design by Alan Wray, Hair and Makeup by Jennifer Finn.
Through April 19th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For tickets and information call the box office at 703-683-0496 or visit www.TheLittleTheatre.com.
What’s Onstage in the DMV – April and Early May
What’s Onstage in the DMV
For April and Early May
Jordan Wright
March 17, 2025
 Travis Kordell (Jerry) and Matt Loehr (Joe) in Some Like it Hot (Photo/Matthew Murphy) Some Like it Hot
Hippodrome Theatre Baltimore – May 6th – May 11th
www.TicketMaster.com
Sister Act
Ford’s Theatre – through May 17th
www.Fords.org
Simply Roberta: A Roberta Flack Tribute Concert
MetroStage at the Lyceum – May 12th only
www.MetroStage.org
Galatea
Theatre Prometheus – April 18th – May 10th
www.TheatrePrometheus.org
The Immigrant
a Synetic Theater production at Theatre J – April 11th – April 27th
www.EDCJCC.org
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Avant Bard Theatre – May 1st – May 24th
www.AvantBard.org
Fake It Until You Make It
Arena Stage – April 3rd – May 4th
www.ArenaStage.org
 Image via Toby’s Dinner Theater The Music Man
Toby’s Dinner Theatre – through May 18th
www.TobysDinnerTheatre.com
#Charlottesville
Keegan Theatre – through April 13th
www.KeeganTheatre.com
Sleepova
Olney Theatre Center – through Apr 27th
www.OlneyTheatre.org
Senior Class: A New Musical
Olney Theatre Center – May 16th – June 22nd
www.OlneyTheatre.org
In the Heights
Signature Theatre – through May 4th
www.SigTheatre.org
 Image via Signature Theatre Hedwig & the Angry Inch
Signature Theatre – Apr 15th – June 22nd
www.SigTheatre.org
The Magic of Hans Christian Andersen
The Puppet Company – through April 27th
www.ThePuppetCompany.org
cullud wattah
Mosaic Theatre – April 3rd – April 27th
www.MosaicTheater.org
Choke
Gala Hispanic Theatre – April 24th – May 18th
www.GalaTheatre.org
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
Washington National Opera — May 2nd – May 10th
www.kennedy-center.org
 Image via kennedy-center.org Porgy and Bess
Washington National Opera – May 23rd – May 31st
Kennedy Center Opera House
www.kennedy-center.org
Earth to Space – Arts Breaking the Sky
Kennedy Center – through April 20th
www.kennedy-center.org
Twelfth Night
Folger Theatre – May 13th – June 22nd
[email protected]
Paradise Blue
Studio Theatre – May 1st – June 8th
www.StudioTheatre.org
 Image via Prologue Theatre Muffed
Prologue Theatre – April 24th – May 18th
www.PrologueTheatre.org
Uncle Vanya
Shakespeare Theatre Company – through April 20th
www.ShakespeareTheatre.org
Annie
Broadway at the National – National Theatre – April 11th – April 20th
www.TicketMaster.com
Bad Books
Round House – Apr 2nd – Apr 27th
www.RoundHouseTheatre.org
Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
The Little Theatre of Alexandria – through April 19th
www.TheLittleTheatre.com
 Image via the Arlington Players Legally Blonde the Musical
Arlington Players – Apr 18th – Apr 27th
www.TheArlingtonPlayers.org
Beowolf
Taffety Punk – Apr 4th – Apr 19th
www.TaffetyPunk.com
Head Over Heels
Constellation Theatre – May 1st – June 1st
www.ConstellationTheatre.org
American Fast
Theatre Alliance – through April 13th
www.TheaterAlliance.com
Charlotte’s Web
Adventure Theatre – Apr 25th – May 25th
www.AdventureTheatre-MTC.org
Bump
Colonial Players – Apr 25th – May 17th
www.TheColonialPlayers.org
Synetic Theater Returns with a Brilliantly Imagined Premiere of The Immigrant
The Immigrant
Synetic Theater
Jordan Wright
March 16, 2025
Special to The Zebra
 L to R – Lev Belolipetski, Philip Fletcher, Joshua Cole Lucas, Vato Tsikurishvili, Stella Bunch, Maryam Najafzada, Natan Mael-Gray, Nutsa Tediashvili (Photo/Katerina Kato) In a heart-stirring paean to all the desperate, lonely, hopeful people who fight against all odds to come to America, Synetic Theater presents The Immigrant. Nathan Weinberger’s wonderfully imaginative adaptation of this tender story of love and struggle is told “wordlessly”. Synetic’s extraordinary and groundbreaking troupe is well known for their unspoken productions of Shakespeare’s works as well as Poe’s and other classic authors’ seminal works. Adapted and reimagined from Charlie Chaplin’s 1917, 22-minute silent short, this expanded telling more deeply explores the plight of the immigrant as he struggles to escape prejudice and hardship in a war-torn country only to face a new set of challenges in New York City.
Aboard the rickety steamship, Little Fellow (young Chaplin played by Vato Tsikurishvili) sees Hetty (Maryam Najafzada) who is traveling with her Sister (Stella Bunch). A violent storm rocks the boat and Sister is tossed overboard. When Little Fellow (aka Chaplin) rescues her from the roiling seas, and the sisters reunite, the three form a shipboard friendship that sets the story of their adventures from their arrival through Ellis Island to the cinematic glories of silent screen filmdom.
 Vato Tsikurishvili as the Little Fellow, Paata Tsikurishvili as The Immigrant (Photo/Katerina Kato) The casting of Maryam and Vato as co-leads is perfection. The sylph-like grace and indelibly gamin charm of Maryam has won me over throughout her numerous lead and co-lead roles at Synetic. As a classically trained ballerina and choreographer, she brings delicacy, beauty, humor and pathos to the role of Hetty, a girl who evolves from frightened immigrant to dazzling movie star. Vato, as followers know, is a highly physical performer, whose mime skills and gymnastic athleticism are gasp-worthy. He is tailor-made for this challenging role that requires not only the unique skill of silent representation, but also the exaggerated expressiveness needed to convey comedy as readily as tragedy.
Echoing the duo’s transformation, Eric Teague’s costumes reflect the couple’s meteoric rise from rags to riches expressed by Chaplin’s later adoption of signature cane, black bowler hat and mustache! to Hetty’s 20’s era beaded gown laden with glittery crystals.
 Chris Galindo, Philip Fletcher, Stella Bunch, Natan Mael-Gray, Nutsa Tediashvili, Vato Tsikurishvili as The Little Fellow, Joshua Cole Lucas (Photo/Katerina Kato) All this is performed without words yet backgrounded by sound effects and music from the 1920’s and 30’s cleverly woven together by Sound Designer, Composer and Remix Artist, Koki Lortkipanidze. His selections contrast the spirited Jazz Age of glamorous flappers against the hardships of the Great Depression. Familiar tunes from Duke Ellington and Ragtime pianist Scott Joplin are woven into the fabric of the piece as the young couple eventually find success in the movies with Charlie directing and Hetty as the pretty ingenue. Synetic favorite, Philip Fletcher, plays The Producer who discovers Chaplin and gives him his first acting job in a Keystone Kops episode, a role that truly launched his career and his first paycheck.
 Joshua Cole Lucas, Chris Galindo, Vato Tsikurishvili as the Little Fellow (Photo/Katerina Kato) Synetic co-founder, Paata Tsikurishvili, in a dramatic return to the stage after a devastating car accident several years before, plays The Immigrant, Chaplin’s inspirational mentor and fantasy guiding light who weaves in and out of his life.
Supported by eight other performers, scenes bounce between tragedy and hilarity with the brilliance of the physicality and emotional expertise that these classically trained dancer/performer mimes are famous for. If you’ve never experienced the magic that is Synetic, this premiere will blow your mind. Conversely, if you are as endeared to their multi-Helen Hayes Award-winning productions as we faithful audiences are, you will cheer wildly at this creative telling of the immigrant story in a relevant and timely reminder of the struggles faced by those fleeing oppression only to land in an uncertain world of danger, poverty and homelessness with the elusive promise of success.
Highly recommended! An absolute must-see!
 Vato Tsikurishvili as the Little Fellow, Joshua Cole Lucas, Stella Bunch, Natan Mael-Gray, Nutsa Tediashvili, Philip Fletcher, Lev Belolipetski, Chris Galindo (Photo/Katerina Kato) With a phenomenal ensemble of Natan Maël-Gray, Lev Belolipetski, Nutsa Tediashvili, Joshua Cole Lucas, Chris Galinda, Camille Pivetta, Rodin Alcerro and Kaitlyn Shifflett.
Co-Directed by Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili; Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili; Lighting Design by Brian S. Allard; Assistant Costume Design by Channing Tucker; Scenic Artist Tim Grant; Assistant Director and Co-Sound Design by Iko Kavsadze; Additional Music by Aaron Kan.
Through March 23rd at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre, 125 South Old Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22204. For tickets and information visit www.SyneticTheater.org.
The Immigrant will move to Theatre J where it will run between April 11th – April 27th. Theatre J is located at 1529 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. For tickets and information for Theatre J contact the box office at 202 777-3210 or visit www.EDCJCC.org.
Lauren M. Gunderson’s A Room in the Castle Flips the Script on Hamlet with A Feminist Twist
A Room in the Castle
Folger Shakespeare Theatre
Jordan Wright
March 11, 2025
Special to The Zebra
 Sabrina Lynne Sawyer, Burgess Byrd, and Oneika Phillips in Folger Theatre’s world premiere of A Room in the Castle, written by Lauren M. Gunderson, directed by Kaja Dunn, co-produced with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, on stage at the Folger Shakespeare Library, March 4-April 6, 2025. (Photo/Erika Nizborski) In A Room in the Castle playwright Lauren M. Gunderson flips the script on Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Hamlet. In her version the women get to be empowered, join forces and abandon the murderous prince. That’s novel, right? Gunderson, as America’s most produced American playwright, is known for her empowered females. Gals with strut and guts – smart cookies who could rule the world and dress nicely too.
In these original portrayals Ophelia is a confused, lovestruck teenager who composes songs to Hamlet with whom she is betrothed. Although, she’s not at all certain she should go through with her wedding. She’s miffed by his lack of attention to her. Queen Gertrude is a glamorous, power-mad diva who defends her son, yet eventually decides to bag it all and rescue our poor ingenue. “I am your protector now,” she tells Ophelia. Anna is Ophelia’s wise, tough-talking and supremely confident handmaid who has Ophelia’s back in matters of life and love. Together these unlikely compatriots plot to save Ophelia from marrying Hamlet and to whisk her off to parts unknown.
 Oneika Phillips, Sabrina Lynne Sawyer, and Burgess Byrd (Photo/Erika Nizborski) You may ask about the Prince. In this three-hander Hamlet’s actions are imagined through video projections depicting which Act and Scene they relate to. It’s up to you to suss it out. As a huge fan of Shakespeare’s works, Gunderson seeks to reinvent the story from a woman’s angle in order to reimagine how these women might truly react to Hamlet’s madness, the interminable wars, the palace intrigue and the murders that surround them, to finally take charge of their own destinies.
 Sabrina Lynne Sawyer, Oneika Phillips, and Burgess Byrd i(Photo/Erika Nizborski) The women banter about how much power the men have over them, “All of it!” exclaims Anna, and the three of them get tanked on bottles of wine while plotting their escape. Sitting together in Ophelia’s tiny bedroom, lightly furnished with a desk, a single bed and her treasured guitar, they eagerly trash-talk the men in their lives and bond over discussions of male domination and sex. “Do you like sex?” Ophelia quizzes the Queen. This feminist viewpoint of Shakespeare’s classic work is an interesting approach written with humor and wit. Yet, after all is said and done between these newly empowered women, it doesn’t turn out so great for Gertrude, but I leave it you to imagine her denouément.
 Sabrina Lynne Sawyer, Oneika Phillips, and Burgess Byrd (Photo/Erika Nizborski) The excellent cast consists of Oneika Phillips as Queen Gertrude, Sabrina Lynne Sawyer as Ophelia and Burgess Byrd as Anna.
Directed by Kaja Dunn; Scenic Design by Samantha Reno; Costume Design by Nicole Jescinth Smith; Assistant Director and Dramaturg Shana Laski; Lighting Design by Max Doolittle; Sound Design and Composer Sarah O’Halloran. In a co-presentation with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.
Through April 6th at the Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 544-7077 or visit www.Folger.edu.
Winning Cast in a Must-see, Superbly Designed and Brilliantly Written Play at Arena Stage
The Age of Innocence
Arena Stage
Jordan Wright
March 9, 2025
Special to The Zebra
 Delphi Borich (May Welland), A.J. Shively (Newland Archer), and Shereen Ahmed (Countess Ellen Olenska) in The Age of Innocence at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater running February 28 – March 30, 2025. (Photo/Daniel Rader) Karen Zacarías’s brilliantly imagined stage adaption of Edith Wharton’s classic novel is an absolute gem with Tim Mackabee’s elaborate set replete with floating chandeliers, theatre boxes that jut out above the stage from all four corners to reveal high society opera attendees dressed to the nines in Victorian splendor, and a separate center stage that rises and falls with each new intimate scene. If you are wistful to see this novel come alive, you’ll swoon for it. It’s sophisticated and elegant, as expected, wrapped around a tragic story of unrequited love.
The Age of Innocence is brilliantly cast with huge Broadway actor and local beloved Felicia Curry in the starring role of Granny as well as serving as the story’s narrator, the ravishing Shereen Ahmed, another Broadway luminary as femme fatale Countess Ellen Olenska and the very debonair and impressive actor A. J. Shively as the impassioned lover, Newland Archer. He will sweep you off your feet!
 A.J. Shively (Newland Archer) and Delphi Borich (May Welland) (Photo/Daniel Rader) Intrigue abounds in the salons of New York high society and this story has it in spades. The “Old Four Hundred” as they were known in the Gilded Age, ruled like royalty. Four hundred families set the tone for proper manners and acceptable behavior in society. These strict societal edicts were etched in stone like the sermon on the mount and impossible to adhere to due to the vagaries of love and human emotion.
Slimy mountebanks with questionable titles swept in from overseas to relieve these august families of their wealth or young heiresses of their dowries. Pretentious fops and empty-headed debutantes fill out the inner circle. It wasn’t as unruffled as it seemed to those looking in from outside the gates. And that’s exactly what makes this fast-moving plot so delicious. Because in this microcosm of the well-to-do, gossip reigned supreme and these elegant dowagers are superb at taking each other down.
 Shereen Ahmed (Countess Ellen Olenska) and Delphi Borich (May Welland) (Photo/Daniel Rader) Only Newland Archer seems to rail at society’s hypocrisies “Women ought to be free,” he announces to one and all. Everyone else just goes along with the unspoken rules imbuing Granny as the arbiter of all family disputes. When Ellen appears at a dinner Granny refers to her parents as “Continental wanderers” (Heaven forfend!) alluding to her failed marriage to a brutal Count. You may recall Newland’s sister, Janey, who poses the query, “We can’t behave like people in novels, can we? We can’t be vulgar.”
Fabio Toblini’s costumes are drop dead fabulous. Outstanding is Ellen’s full-length red satin dress that calls to mind John Singer Sargent’s portraits of the period.
This is a winning cast in a must-see, profoundly creative, superbly designed and written play.
Highly recommended!
 Shereen Ahmed (Countess Ellen Olenska) and A.J. Shively (Newland Archer)(Photo/Daniel Rader) With Regina Aquino as Mrs. Archer and Others; Delphi Borich as May Welland; Lise Bruneau as Mrs. van der Luyden; Anna Theoni DiGiovanni as Janey Archer and Others; Paolo Montalban as Julius Beaufort and Others; Noah Mutterperl as Valet and Others; Anthony Newfield as Sillerton Jackson and Others; Natalya Lynette Rathnam as Mrs. Welland and Others; and Jacob Yeh as Dallas Archer and Others.
Expertly directed by Hana S. Sharif; Lighting Design by Xavier Pierce; Wig and Hair Design by Tommy Kurzman; Original Music and Sound Design by Charles Coes & Nathan A. Roberts; Dramaturg Otis-Ramsey-Zöe.
Through March 30th at Arena Stage, 1101 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 488-3300 or visit www.ArenaStage.org.
Shucked is the Perfectly Corn-Fueled Laugh-a-Thon at the National Theatre
Shucked
The National Theatre
Jordan Wright
February 26, 2025
Special To The Zebra
 Jake Odmark as Beau and Danielle Wade as Maizy in The North American Tour of SHUCKED (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman) You could see Shucked for the love story of Maisie and Beau in a plot with more twists and turns than a country road. Or maybe it appeals for the downhome guffaws and “corny” puns. What I liked best is that Shucked is a non-stop laugh-a-palooza set to a super catchy score by the brilliant composing duo of Grammy, CMA and 2023 Tony nominee Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally whose multi-Grammy awards and Number #1 hits have had him writing for and/or producing for Kelly Clarkson, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton and Kenny Chesney to name just a few of the country music superstars he’s written for. McAnally also wrote the mega-hit “Fancy Like” which very much captures the vibe in Shucked. It’s no small wonder the show earned nine Tony Award nominations!
 The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman) Described in the show as “farm to fable”, Cobb County could be any farm town, USA. Maisie is a corn-fed cutie whose love story with the strapping farmer Beau is, let’s just say it’s complicated. The corn is dying, and the townsfolk don’t know why. Maizy volunteers to fly to the exotic city of Tampa, Florida and soon falls into the arms of a grifting chiropodist, Gordy, who cures “corns”. In her naivete, Maizy decides Gordy will be the savior to the farmers in Cobb County and convinces him to go back with her, much to Beau’s chagrin.
 Maya Lagerstam as Storyteller 1 and Tyler Joseph Ellis (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman) There are magical and dangerous rocks involved; Maizy’s liberated corn liquor-producing cousin Lulu, “I’m independently owned!”; Beau’s hayseed-hilarious brother, Peanut, a king in the land of non sequiturs; Tank the town meth head; two narrators to explain the silliness and provide endlessly giddy puns; Grandpa, a man of soul and wisdom, and a cast of thousands – not numerically but seemingly.
In true Vaudevillian style there are silly jokes and spoofs, goofy set ups and a raft of corn-centric tunes, all geared to a denim-filled, hee-haw hilarious show that will guarantee your funny bone will cheer on this terrific cast. Cue the clever choreography of Rockettes-inspired dancing corn cobs, a drunken bong party and 17 perfectly themed tunes. Let’s just say that Maizy gets her man, and we get a crazy-wonderful musical perfectly tuned to lift our spirits.
 Quinn VanAntwerp as Gordy and Miki Abraham as Lulu (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman) With Danielle Wade as Maizy; Jake Odmark as Beau; Miki Abraham as Lulu; Quinn Vanantwerpas Gordy; Mike Nappi as Peanut; Erick Pinnick as Grandpa; Kyle Sherman as Tank; Tyler Joseph Ellis as Storyteller #2; Maya Lagerstam as Storyteller #1. Ensemble of Zakiya Baptiste, Cecily Dionne Davis, Ryan Fitzgerald, Jackson Goad, Erick Pinnick, Celeste Rose, Kyle Sherman and Chani Wereley.
Book by Robert Horn; Directed by Jack O’Brien; Music Supervision, Orchestrations and Arrangements by Jason Howland; Scenic Design by Scott Pask; Choreography by Sarah O’Gleby; Costume Design by Tilly Grimes; Lighting Design by Japhy Weideman; Sound Design by John Shivers and Wig Design by Mia Neal.
Highly recommended for rib-tickling hilarity!
Through March 2nd at Broadway at the National Theatre, and if you miss it there it comes to the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore April 1st through April 6th. For tickets and information at the National Theatre, DC call the box office at 877-302-2929 or visit www.ShuckedMusical.com.
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