Skip to main content
CANDIDA at WASHINGTON STAGE GUILD

Where else but in a play by George Bernard Shaw could extreme arguments  both about the nature of human love and on  politics (socialism vs capitalism) occur in a peaceful Victorian study of a minister and his wife.  And where else to see this play filled with wisdom and wit,  then as Washington Stage Guild opens the season with GBS’s Candida.
Emelie Faith Thompson stars as Candida, the lovely wife of Rev. James Morell, played by her real life husband Nathan Whitmer.  He is a socialist Anglican clergyman who spars off against Eugene Marchbanks, the son of a peer and Mr. Burgess, Candida’s father.  Ben Ribler spares nothing in intensity in argument as the youthful poet in love with Candida while David Bryan Jackson Candida’s father representing capitalism goes at Morell in a nipping way.
There is mystery in all of this—who will ultimately hold  Candida’s heart as she sorts through all the moments of intense anger and poetic musings.  (No surprise that in the end that Rev. Morell’s secretary played by Danielle Scott and his curate by  Danny Beason will exit as a pair.)
A rare showing of  this Shaw play  now at Washington Stage Guild until Oct. 20, 2019.

Popular posts from this blog

  Once is here again!   The Brooklyn Gallery Players reach into the treasure chest of great musicals to bring Once alive and on stage in Brooklyn (until to December 17, 2023). Director Mark Gallagher , and Music Directors David Fletcher and Brendon McCray have crafted a vibrant production, seamlessly integrating the 15 member cast in roles  as both actors and musicians. Set in Dublin, the  formula for the poignant love triangle  is simple. Patrick Newhart  plays Guy, an Irish musician who has given up  on love as he sings the award winning classic  Falling.  Newhart mastered the bombastic busking guitar style and performed each of his songs with intensity and passion Sophie Smith-Brody  is Girl,  a Czech woman  who will inspire him to try again both in  love and with music. Smith-Brody performed each of her disparate songs with aplomb,  from the opening classical piece to her plaintive solos – If You Want...
  Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando — sparkling wit and ageless wisdom —   at   Constellation Theatre — gone but not forgotten In Virginia Woolf’s Orlando A Biography ,  the eponymous hero undergoes many changes over the centuries— from roles in society and relationships to sex change.  Since the time travel gender bending work was published in 1928, this his/her story has continued to undergone adaptions to its original form, from analytical scholarly critiques to crowd pleasing  movies and stage plays.  Constellation Theatre Company continued  the tradition with its amazing presentation of Sarah Ruhl’s narrative play Orlando .    Five actors  take on dozens of roles as characters or in the  chorus to keep the story at its rapid pace,  condensing events spanning almost five centuries into 100 minutes.   Orlando (Mary Myers) is  ever the aristocrat whether as a page in the court of  Queen Elizabeth I (Alan Naylor)...
THE GREY SUIT SOCIETY   A STORY OF FAITH, FAMILY, DEVOTION, BETRAYAL AND…RATS? A message that might seem so obvious in real life turns into a magic moment of awareness when it is takes to the stage with talented directors and a fine cast. Carlos Heredia is the actor, director and writer who with David Fletcher as music director has brought together a group of actors for a family friendly opera. Together they sounded as good as the show’s beautiful theme of peace. Who is the star of a show that is about family and devotion?   Leading the cast, is Analia Heredia as Nia who must go against society’s grain, to bring human hypocrisy into the light.   As she hopes to move out of the shadows in to a bright new world, her family includes Claudillea Holloway as Jelani,  Georgia Fender as Etana,  Sonya Rice as Achi, Carly Ameling as Jane,   Codie Milford as Omari,  Liz Neitge as Janna,  andTiana Markman as Dini. The “others” are ...