Swept Away at Arena Stage Features Music by Grammy Winners The Avett Brothers in a Dark Tale on the High Seas
Swept Away
Arena Stage
December 11, 2023
Jordan Wright
Special to The Zebra
 Stark Sands (Big Brother), John Gallagher, Jr. (Mate), Wayne Duvall (Captain), and Adrian Blake Enscoe (Little Brother) in Arena Stage’s East Coast premiere of Swept Away. (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) Swept Away opens with a slow burn culminating into an edge-of-your-seat drama. Scored by The Avett Brothers, an American Roots band who have earned three Grammy Awards, it focusses on the waning days of the whaling trade when whale products were the primary commerce out of the New Bedford, Massachusetts port. Two brothers, named in the program as Little Brother (Adrian Blake Enscoe) and Big Brother (Stark Sands) are on the final voyage of one of the last whaling ships to ply the Atlantic Ocean. They have come from a New England farm where Little Brother ran off to seek adventure and Big Brother followed him onto the ship with the intention of convincing him to come back home. “It’s seed-planting season,” he pleads. But the ship raises anchor before Big Brother can disembark, and now the two boys must begin their adventure together.
The music, taken from the Avett’s Mignonette album, is the glue that holds the plot together with only one song written exclusively for the show. Avett Brothers’ fans, and there seemed to be many in the audience, will recognize their Roots music. Though the combination of soulful and up-tempo songs are a part of the composers’ canon, they had not been written with the show in mind but seem to dovetail seamlessly into the plot.
 Stark Sands (Big Brother), Wayne Duvall (Captain), Adrian Blake Enscoe (Little Brother), John Gallagher Jr, (Mate). Taurean Everett (Ensemble), Orville Mendoza (Ensemble), Michael J. Mainwaring (Ensemble), Tyrone L. Robinson (Ensemble), John Sygar (Ensemble), and Cameron Johnson (Ensemble) (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) It opens with three men imploring a recuperating crewmember to tell the truth, to, “Tell the whole story.” He begins with, “Twenty-one days lost at sea,” which is a familiar tale to anyone who knows the perils sailors faced in those times. Cue Moby Dick.
The story then flashes back to 1888 when the men set sail for the deepest waters of the Atlantic Ocean on their quest to harpoon the massive mammal for a king’s ransom. We meet the rowdy crew of hardened sailors, the Mate (John Gallagher, Jr.) and the Captain (Wayne Duvall). In a show of camaraderie, the sailors bond with each other and the Mate refers to the ragtag crew, “We are pagans and idolators here!” A rowdy group of hardened men unknown to these two hayseeds raised within the Church. “What are we but useless men plying a dying trade,” the Captain asks. Throughout the script and within the lyrics are multiple references to God and salvation.
 Stark Sands (Big Brother) and Adrian Blake Enscoe (Little Brother) (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) Soon the men encounter a terrible storm. The ship goes down and the Captain, the Mate and the two boys are set adrift in a lifeboat. This is where the story goes very dark and becomes well-reflected musically by the striking change in mood.
Directed by Michael Mayer and choreographed by David Neumann, it is bolstered by the talents of Set Designer Rachel Hauck who has created a ghostly ship with old fashioned rigging to fill the stage and backdrop the sailors’ merriment. Yes! There is hornpipe dancing when the men bond as they set to sea. Later Lighting Designer Kevin Adams along with Sound Designer John Shivers and Stage Command Systems’ sophisticated technology seal the dizzying drama which ensues.
Ensemble members: Hunter Brown, Matt DeAngelis, Taurean Everett (and Dance Captain), Cameron Johnson, Brandon Kalm, Michael J. Mainwaring, Orville Mendoza, Tyrone Robinson, John Sygar and Jamari Johnson Williams.
Book by John Logan; Music Arrangements and Orchestrations by Brian Usifer and Chris Miller; Music Director Will Van Dyke; Costume Designer Susan Hilferty.
 Orville Mendoza (Ensemble), Taurean Everett (Ensemble), Stark Sands (Big Brother), Adrian Blake Enscoe (Little Brother), Jamari Johnson Williams (Ensemble), John Gallagher, Jr. (Mate), Michael J. Mainwaring (Ensemble), John Sygar (Ensemble), and Matt DeAngelis (Ensemble) (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) In the Kreeger Theater through January 14, 2024 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth Street, Washington, DC 20024. Visit www.ArenaStage.org for tickets and information.
Set To The Music of The Beatles A Hilarious As You Like at STC Tweaks Shakespeare with a Phenomenal Cast
As You Like It
Shakespeare Theatre Company
December 10, 2023
Jordan Wright
Special to The Zebra
 The cast of As You Like It. (Teresa Castracane Photography) Imagine if Gilbert & Sullivan huddled with Tom Wolfe (author of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test), and in popped Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, high as kites on Tim Leary’s little Harvard experiment, only then might you glean some insight into the mind of Daryl Cloran who adapted and wrote this madly innovative interpretation of the beloved comedy.
This wild and crazy production of As You Like It is a game changer for keeping Shakespeare relevant to both younger audiences and those of us who have seen it umpteen times and crave a fresh take. It’s creative, ultra-modern and so massively off the chain that even Lewis Carroll wouldn’t be able to claw his way out of this rabbit hole – and he wouldn’t want to. After the five minutes I thought I may never be able to see it presented in any other way. It’s that exciting, as is this dream cast who sing, act, fight and play all the instruments. Shakespeare would have sat right on stage, which is what many of the audience can opt to do. Select those seats if that’s your jam.
 Naomi Ngebulana and Matthew MacDonald-Bain. (Teresa Castracane Photography) Did The Beatles know that they wrote some of the finest musical theater tunes? Some say it was Paul McCartney’s show-biz father’s vaudeville influence. Others say it’s because by then they had enough performance experience that they could truly work a crowd into a frenzy. And frenzy is what this mash-up gets from their audience who are blissfully and happily gobsmacked.
Using the music of The Beatles, it pings our collective memories of the boho days of the mid-60’s through the mid-70’s when the British moptops ruled the music world and bell bottoms and peace signs evoked San Francisco’s Summer of Love. Here the Forest of Arden looks more like California’s Muir Woods and flower power meant all you needed was love.
Emotions go from laugh out loud to sweetly tearful with Rosalind singing velvet-voiced “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, Phoebe crooning “Something”, Orlando and Rosalind dueting on “Can’t Buy Me Love”, Silvius hamming it up to “Love Me Do”, Touchstone belting “Helter Skelter”, and the entire ensemble singing “Across the Universe”. There’s so much to take in.
 Jeff Irving, Naomi Ngebulana, Chelsea Rose, and Evan Rein. (Teresa Castracane Photography) Twenty-three original Beatles’ tunes are woven into the fabric of this wildly original musical which starts off with a WWE-style wrestling match in a full-size ring, emceed by an Elton John look-alike who plays Touchstone. Standouts are everyone in this singular cast who have tons of talent using every performance trick up their “copulatives” (a made-up term from the show) sleeves. Think of a classic Shakespeare line from As You Like It and then tack on witty asides, grunts and groans, stutters, slapstick and pratfalls. It’s all here and proves that playing it to the hilt is its own reward.
With Henry Beasley as William/Jacques de Boys/Assassin/Forest Lord; Jennifer Copping as Corin/Dame Frances’ Attendant; Andrew Cownden as Jacques/Le Beau; Ben Elliott as Silvius/Forest Lord; Matthew Ip Shaw as Mustachio; Jeff Irving as Orlando de Boys; Kayvon Khoshkam as Touchstone; Alexandra Lainfiesta as Phoebe/Eleanor Rigby; Jennifer Lines as Dame Frances/Dame Senior; Matthew McDonald-Bain as Oliver de Boys; Norman Moses as Adam/Martext; Naomi Ngebulana as Celia; Evan Rein as Amiens/Hymen/Assassin; Chelsea Rose as Rosalind; Isaiah Terrell-Dobbs as Forest Lord; Marco Walker Ng as Charles the Wrester/Forest Lord; Sally Zori as Forest Lord.
Conceived by Daryl Cloran & Christopher Gaze on behalf of Bard On The Beach Shakespeare Festival; Music Director Ben Elliott; Choreographer and Fight Director Jonathan Hawley Purvis; Scenic Designer Pam Johnson; Costume Designer Carmen Alatorre; Lighting Designer Gerald King; Sound Designer Alistair Wallace; Pre-Show Content and Comedic Contributions Kayvon Khoshkam.
Highly recommended. Don’t miss one of the best productions of the year!
 The cast of As You Like It. (Teresa Castracane Photography) Through January 7, 2024 at Sidney Harmon Hall, 610 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 547-1122 or visit www.shakespearetheatre.org.
Folger Shakespeare Theatre Returns with a Delightfully Raucous The Winter’s Tale
The Winter’s Tale
Folger Shakespeare Theatre
at The Folger Shakespeare Library
Jordan Wright
November 15, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 It’s birthday party time! The cast of Folger Theatre’s The Winter’s Tale in a celebratory mood. (Photo/Brittany Diliberto) After a three-year wait, Folger at last revealed its redesigned entrance and reception space to theatregoers. Don’t worry. The theatre looks the same with its beautiful walnut coffered walls and upper seating gallery. Modernizing the Folger Library is still ongoing and is on target to be completed next year.
It’s Karen Ann Daniels’s first season as Artistic Director and if this is any mark of her guidance, we are in for a treat. The Winter’s Tale is a dramedy from Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623. Considered both a romance and a comedy, it is so much more, especially in the capable hands of Director Tamilla Woodard, who breathes new life into both its dramatic and its comedic side.
 Perdita (Kayleandra White) and Florizel (Jonathan Del Palmer) share a quiet, intimate moment (Photo/Brittany Diliberto) The play opens with a fancy birthday party for Leontes eight-year-old son before morphing into an edge-of-your-seat crime drama. Who did what? What are their intentions? Who’s innocent? Who’s to blame? Who’s going to die? Who’s lying? Who will stand by King Leontes (Hadi Tabbal) even when he’s obviously gone bonkers accusing Queen Hermione (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) of being impregnated by his best pal, Polixenes (Drew Kopas)? Insert huge eyeroll here. It seems the king has cuckolding on the brain. It turns out, the men go along with him. And although they try mightily to dissuade him from murdering his wife, along with his beloved young son, Mamillius (the adorable and talented Clarence Payne), and the yet unborn babe, their lives are also in danger. The women believe Queen Hermione’s innocence and fight mightily and eloquently for her honor. Paulina (Kate Eastwood Norris), her ally, refers to the king’s delirium as “his tyrannous passion”. And that’s putting it mildly. She gives him holy hell on a plate.
Leontes’ cupbearer, Antigonus (Stephen Patrick Martin), agrees to murder the baby, but his heart aches and instead he leaves her in the forest during a hurricane. When the Shepherd (also Martin who now looks like Big Hoss from the TV show, Bonanza) finds her and takes her in, he names her Perdita (Kayleandra White). Did Shakespeare know it translates to little lost girl in Italian? After she has grown to be a beautiful young woman, Polixenes’ son, Forizell (Jonathan Del Palmer) falls head over heels for the abandoned princess.
 The roguish peddler Autolycus (Reza Salazar) sings a happy tune (Photo/Brittany Diliberto) For the entirety of Act I we are on tenterhooks – gripped by the murderous plot and riveted by the suspense. By the time intermission comes, we don’t want to leave our seats after Leontes has ordered the deaths of his wife, his son and the unborn child.
Act II is a 180. When Time announces that 16 years have passed, the plot switches to raucous comedy, in the goofiest, zaniest, laugh-your- buns-off way. Watch for cowboys and cowgirls doing the Electric Slide at a sheep shearing hoedown; the Shepherd’s no-nothing, goofball son, Camillo (Cody Nickell), and the whole lot of them now speaking with a Southern twang; and a wacky, bicycle-riding, gypsy pickpocket, Autolycus (Reza Salazar) who fires up the audience with a call-and-response “Heigh-ho!” By now, we are on the floor writhing in hysterics. The audience needed stitches after all the shenanigans.
This is a terrific cast of notable locals and Broadway veterans. Standouts are the absurdly hilarious Nickell – a super scene stealer; the marvelous charisma of the statuesque Crowe-Legacy; the undeniable acting chops of Tabbal; and our beloved local actor Norris, who pulls out all the stops to portray both fierceness and humanity.
The humor and switcheroo unpredictability of this play is the very thing that makes it so indelible. In the immortal words of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, “Go with the flow.” All the better to enjoy yourself!
 Music and dance at the sheep-shearing festival in Bohemia (center pictured l to r: Sabrina Lynne Sawyer, Reza Salazar, Kate Eastwood Norris; Kayleandra White, far right) (Photo/Brittany Diliberto) Children Richard Bradford and Clarence Payne share the role of Mamillius and Time, and Shepherd’s Son is played by Nicholas Gerwitz. Sabrina Lynne Sawyer is in the ensemble.
Set Design by Raul Abrego, Jr.; Costume Design by Sarah Cubbage; Lighting Design by Max Doolittle; Sound Design and Original Music by Matthew M. Nielson; Choreography by Joya Powell.
Highly recommended. A treat for the soul and the funny bone!
Through December 17th at Folger Shakespeare Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. For tickets and information visit www.Folger.edu or call the box office at 202 544-4600.
A Powerful Cast Heads the Heart-Stirring Ragtime at Signature Theatre
Ragtime
Signature Theatre
Jordan Wright
November 6, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 Bobby Smith (Tateh), Emerson Holt Lacayo (The Little Girl) and the cast of Ragtime at Signature Theatre (Photo by Daniel Rader) Thirty-three performers make up this extraordinary ensemble in Signature Theatre’s heart-stirring musical set at the turn of the 20th century. It brings together a most unlikely confluence of characters whose lives intersect in extraordinary ways as their paths help to change the course of history in this new age. Adapted from writer E. L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel, Ragtime won four Tony Awards and proved not only its longevity but its indelible attraction to all audiences. The story focusses on the intersecting lives of three distinct elements of American society from that glittering period – Black Americans, on the rise as a strong middle class in Northern cities; upper class White Americans who enjoyed a luxe life of money and privilege; and newly-arrived Jewish immigrants living in dire conditions on the Lower East Side of New York while struggling to assimilate against all odds.
The desire to assimilate, to succeed, and to find acceptance defines all societies. As Jean Paul Sartre put it when writing on the human condition, “Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance.” This is a story of those people who stepped outside of their comfort zone to show humanity to those who have less. It is also a story of love, empathy, acceptance, success and sacrifice.
 Nkrumah Gatling (Coalhouse Walker Jr.) and Awa Sal Secka (Sarah) (Photo by Daniel Rader) They were capitalist foe and union organizer, Emma Goldman (Dani Stoller), a reformer from the days when child labor was the norm and harsh working conditions prevailed; Harry Houdini (Edward L. Simon), the Jewish immigrant who became the world’s most famous magician; and Evelyn Nesbitt (Maria Rizzo), the great beauty who carved out her vaudeville career on a velvet swing while paramour to a millionaire. Iconic Americans Booker T. Washington (Tobias A. Young), the great African American orator and presidential advisor, the financier J. P. Morgan (Todd Scofield) and even Henry Ford (Douglas Ullman Jr.) are featured in this story too. In Doctorow’s sweeping American saga, ordinary people become extraordinary people as their lives intersect and they are tested for their capacity to love.
Harkening back to the turn of the 20th Century, when ladies of a certain class carried parasols and wore stiff corsets under voluminous dresses, Ragtime was a new sound that crossed over into polite white society bringing the music of Black America into the living rooms of White America. This sultry, sexy rhythm coupled with lyrics that were of a coarser nature than most Whites were accustomed to hearing, was sweeping the nation and a certain Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Nkrumah Gatling), influenced by famed pianist Scott Joplin, was introducing that catchy, mournful sound to a wider audience.
 Nurney, Ariel Friendly, Keenan McCarter, Nkrumah Gatling, Jordyn Taylor, Theodore Sapp, and Kara-Tameika Watkins (Photo by Daniel Rader) In this story Father (Bill English) is off on a polar expedition with Admiral Peary when his wife, Mother (Teal Wicks), discovers a Black newborn abandoned in her garden and goes about finding the boy’s mother. “I never thought they had lives besides our lives,” she confesses. When at last she and her brother Edgar (Jake Loewenthal) find Sarah (Awa Sal Secka), she offers her and the baby the comfort of their home – allowing her humanity to overtake her Victorian rigidity and against Father’s strong disapproval.
Known as one of the most important musicals ever to grace Broadway, this production does Composer Stephen Flaherty’s and Lyricist Lynn Ahrens’ material (thirty-three numbers backed by a 17-piece orchestra!) justice with a strong and interconnected cast who sing their faces off. The ensemble’s voices reflect the powerful emotions of this poignant story of hope, redemption, a fight for human rights and a call to justice.
 Bobby Smith (Tateh) and Emerson Holt Lacayo (The Little Girl) (Photo by Daniel Rader) Director Matthew Gardiner with his extraordinary team has assembled a brilliant crew and a cast with voices that not only complement each other but stand alone as uniquely gifted.
In all fairness I find it hard to single out one or even a few actors who shone brighter than all the rest as this is most assuredly an ensemble piece. But watch for any number sung by Wicks, Gatling, Jordyn Taylor (as Sarah’s Friend), who does a brief but deeply affecting solo turn in “When We Reach That Day”, Bobby Smith, Sal Secka and Stoller.
Highly recommended. Bring everyone you know!
 5. Matthew Lamb (The Little Boy) and the cast of Ragtime (Photo by Daniel Rader) Matthew Lamb as The Little Boy; Lawrence Redmond as Grandfather and Charles S. Whitman; Bobby Smith as Tateh; Avery Laina Harris or Emerson Holt Lacayo as The Little Girl; Keenan McCarter as Matthew Henson; Erin Driscoll as Kathleen; Gregory Twomey as Willie Conklin; Claire Leyden as Brigit.
Book by Terrence McNally; Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; Conducted by Jon Kalbfleisch; Choreographed by Ashleigh King; Scenic Design by Lee Savage; Costume Design by Erik Teague; Lighting Design by Tyler Micoleau; Sound Design by Eric Norris; and Jonathan Keith or Maxwell Kwadjo Talbert as Coalhouse Walker III. Additional ensemble; Ariel Friendly, Nurney, Theodore Sapp, and Kara-Tameika Watkins.
Through January 7th 2024 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue in Shirlington Village, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 820-9771 or visit www.SigTheatre.org.
Misery is a Gripping Psychological Thriller
from Dominion Stage
Misery
Dominion Stage
Jordan Wright
October 22, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 L to R: Ellice McCoy as Annie, Robert R. Heinly as Paul (Photo/Cleo Potter) Backgrounded by a mix of 1940’s film noir music with a smattering of classical piano, Misery reveals a dark plot. We expect exactly that from Stephen King’s horror novel. The play by William Goldman opened on Broadway in 2015 starring Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf long after Rob Reiner’s film adaptation starring James Caan and Kathy Bates premiered in 1990. Many of you will be familiar with this taut, psychological thriller from the movie in which Bates won a ‘Best Actress’ Oscar for her role.
Annie Wilkes (played by Ellice McCoy) has been described as bipolar, sadomasochistic, psychotic and schizoid. Annie describes herself to successful novelist Paul Sheldon (Robert R. Heinly) as his “number one fan”. “And trust me. There ain’t no number two,” she claims. These days we’d call her a stalker.
 Ellice McCoy as Annie (Photo/Cleo Potter) Annie follows Paul whenever he stays at a local inn where he writes his latest novels. One night in the middle of a huge snowstorm she notices his car has skidded off the road and he is trapped behind the wheel. Badly injured and unable to walk, she pries him out with a crowbar and takes him to her remote Colorado cabin. There, bed-ridden and unable to escape, Paul tries mollifying Annie, but she holds him hostage, demanding he write a better sequel to the Misery series he is so famous for. These days we’d call that an abduction. In her twisted mind she blames Paul for killing off her favorite character, Misery Chastain, and she tasks him with bringing her back to life in a sequel.
Veteran, local director Maggie Mumford keeps the tension at a high, edge-of-your-seat, burn rate. Yes, it’s terrifying, but you can’t look away, especially when Annie flips her inner switch and becomes a monster. McCoy and Heinly are especially effective in delivering the tension required for this terrifying two-hander.
 L to R: Robert R. Heinly as Paul, Ellice McCoy as Annie (Photo/Cleo Potter) Set and Properties Designer Peter Mumford expresses the tattered mind of a schizophrenic with patches of torn cloth hung like old clothes on an open screen behind which we can see Annie’s mood swings (and weapons!) before she enters Paul’s bedroom. To add further suspense to the spine-tingling atmosphere, Cleo Potter’s lighting design creates an eerie aura to spook even the most blasé among us.
If your taste runs to Stephen King’s sinister stories, this one’s for you.
With Danielle Taylor as Buster. Sound Design by Ruben Vellekoop; Costume Design by Anna Marquardt.
 L to R: Robert R. Heinly as Paul, Ellice McCoy as Annie (Photo/Brian Knapp and Natalie Fox) Through November 4th on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm by Dominion Stage at Theatre on the Run, 3700 South Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information visit www.DominionStage.org.
Young Frankenstein is The Funniest, Most Risque, Goofball Comedy Now Playing at The Little Theatre
Young Frankenstein
The Little Theatre of Alexandria
Jordan Wright
October 22, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 Joshua Nettinger as the Monster; Noah Mutterperl as Dr. Frankenstein (Photo/Matt Liptak) If your taste runs to wacky sendups and zany schtick, you could do no better than Young Frankenstein at The Little Theatre. According to the program’s synopsis the comedy picks up where most tales of the famed monster leave off. This introduces us to his grandson, the young Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, a young scientist and man about town who travels to the family castle in Transylvania, bent on claiming his inheritance before racing back to his fiancée Elizabeth. With the encouragement of the adorably sexy, Inga, his grandfather’s laboratory assistant and hunchback Igor, and his grandfather’s former paramour the stern-faced Frau Blücher, Frederick agrees to stay and complete his grandfather’s experiment by bringing the monster back to life with a new and improved brain. What a life! And what a premise! When the monster is given life, we discover he’s a veritable vaudeville trooper!
 Young Frankenstein Cast in “Putting on the Ritz” (Photo/Matt Liptak) Thanks to Mel Brooks who wrote the music and lyrics and shared credit for the book with Thomas Meehan, we’ve got a rollicking musical comedy with more sight gags, double entendres, mashups and old-time burlesque jokes than you can count.
Director Frank D. Shutts II has rounded up some of the best local talent in the biz to bring his vision to the mainstage. Eighty-one actors came to the casting call – sixteen were chosen. He’s also chosen London’s West End version of the show which is more finessed than the original Broadway version. Twenty-one musical numbers backed by fourteen instruments create a big sound in the little theatre. A tricked-out stage set features a revolving library door, grand castle gates, a farmer’s wagon pulled by two “horses” and multiple surprises I want you to discover for yourself.
 Noah Mutterperl as Dr. Frankenstein (Photo/Matt Liptak) The acting, dancing and singing are excellent. As far as I’m concerned Noah Mutterperl who plays Frederick, could get on a train and open on Broadway tomorrow night. His style, indefatigable energy, talent and comic timing are spot on in every way. As for Joshua Nettinga who plays The Monster, he too could snag a lead role in a heartbeat. Performing in seven-inch lift monster shoes while pratfalling, getting up and tap dancing in top hat and tails, would grant him major street cred on the Great White Way. That doesn’t mean to throw shade on the three female leads – Claire Jeffrey as Inga who is as precious as she is hilarious, Liz Colandene as Elizabeth Benning who belts like a young Ethel Merman and Judy Lewis as Frau Blücher who is deadpan-perfect as the cigar-smoking chatelaine. Not to leave out James Maxted who plays The Hermit and croons “Please Send Me Someone” in the style of Al Jolson’s “Mammy” and Brian Ash as Inspector Hans Kemp whose chorus of Bavarian villagers rise up with torches and pitchforks in “He’s Loose”.
In the immortal words of Mel Brooks, “You’ll laugh till you plotz!” (He didn’t really say that. I did.)
 Joshua Nettinga and Liz Colandene (Photo/Matt Liptak) Ensemble – Daria Butler (Swing), Emily Carbone, Andrew Edwards, Lewis Eggleston, Odette Gutierrez del Arroyo, Patrick Kearney, Evie Korovesis, Luke Martin, James Nugent (Swing), Lourdes Turnblom.
Music Directors Francine Krasowska and Christopher A. Tomasino; Choreographer, Stefan Sittig; Dance Captain Evie Korovesis; Set Design by Robert S. Barr Jr.; Lighting and Special Effects Design by Ken and Patti Crowley; Costume Design by Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley; Hair/Wig Design by Kadira Coley; and Makeup Design by Natalie Turkevich.
Highly recommended. The funniest, most risqué, goofball comedy since the Marx Brothers spent the night at the opera!
 Andrew Edwards, Lourdes Turnblom, Joshua Redford, Patrick Kearney, Emily Carbone (Photo/Matt Liptak) Through November 11th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For tickets and information visit www.TheLittleTheatre.com or call the box office at 703 683-5778.
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