On Around Town, talking King Hedley II, Mary Stuart, and Cherokee

On this trio of Around Town discussions, host Robert Aubry Davis, Washington Post arts writer Jane Horwitz, and I dissect Arena Stage's powerful King Hedley II, Woolly Mammoth's meandering Cherokee, and Folger Theatre's intriguing Mary Stuart.

(My Washington City Paper reviews of are here, here, and here, respectively.)

I'm sorry my hair wasn't as concise and insightful on this day as I strive at all times for it to be.These videos are no longer embeddable, so you'll get links and like it.

King Hedley II:

http://watch.weta.org/video/2365433218/

Cherokee:

http://watch.weta.org/video/2365433239/

Mary Stuart:

http://watch.weta.org/video/2365433276/

Bleak-Ass House: King Hedley II and Cherokee, reviewed.

My reviews of Arena Stage's unsparing new production of August Wilson's "century cycle" tragedy King Hedley II and Woolly Mammoth's premiere of Lisa D'Amour's shaky Cherokee are in today's Washington City Paper, available wherever finer alt-weeklies are given away gratis.

This Was Supposed to Be the New World: Theater J's After the Revolution and Woolly Mammoth's Detroit, reviewed

Nancy Robinette & Megan Anderson in After the Revolution. Photo: Stan Barouh/Theater J. 

I was a bigger fan of Studio Theatre's production of Amy Herzog's 4,000 Miles earlier this year than I am of Theater J's new staging of its companion play, After the Revolution.

I can't fault director Eleanor Holdridge's staging of the latter for that; I just connected more strongly to the material in 4,000 Miles. Getting to see two marvelous actors, Tanya Hicken and Nancy Robinette, offer their takes on the same character -- a close approximation of Herzog's grandmother -- in 4,000 Miles and Revolution, respectively, within a half-year of each other was fun.

I review After the Revolution in today's Washington City Paper, along with Woolly Mammoth's production of Lisa D'Amour's Detroit, which is a nice showcase for some of Woolly's favorite actors -- and mine, too.