Not a Chuckle Less: "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA," reviewed.

Clown-as-life-coach Julia Masli. (Cameron Whitman))

On HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, a clown show that was one of the most popular attractions at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, now at Woolly Mammoth for a short run.

"A Strange Loop" at Woolly Mammoth, reviewed.

Jaquel Spivey (in red) is the member of the Strange Loop cast new to Woolly’s production. (Marc J. Franklin)

“A Strange Loop” would be a pretty good way to describe the sensation of rather suddenly attending and writing about theatre again. My Washington City Paper review of Woolly Mammoth’s terrific production of Michael R. Jackson’s self-aware and semiautobiographical musical A Strange Loop—which won a Pulitzer in 2019—is here.

Call Me: The Telephonic Literary Union's "Human Resources," reviewed.

This is a panel from a David Mazzucchelli-drawn issue of Daredevil from the 80s, when phones were rotary and more suspenseful.

My first theater review—and The Telephonic Literary Union’s Human Resources is being presented by Woolly Mammoth Theater Company, its lack of resemblance to anything like a play notwithstanding—since I saw the Folger’s Merry Wives of Windsor back in January, when we all lived in another world and the population of the United States was more than 200,000 people larger than it is now, is in the Washington City Paper this week.

TL;DR: The show (or whatever it is) is an imperfect but worthy experiment in a form with a lot of possibility.

When They Stop Looking at Us: "Fairview," reviewed.

Chinna Palmer in the Woolly Mammoth production of Jacke Sibblies Drury’s Fairview. (Teresa Castracane)

When I saw Woolly Mammoth Theater Company's production of Jackie Sibblies Drury's We Are Proud to Present... in 2014, it was the worst show I'd ever seen. Five-and-a-half years later, it still is. So to say that I liked Woolly's production of Fairview, Drury's Pulitzer Prize-winner that made its debut last year, better than her previous work is of little value. But I liked it a lot. I appreciated it, more like.

I do understand that my approval is not required. It never is. My Washington City Paper review is here.

527 Dog Years: Mike Daisey Tells "A People's History"

Class is in session. (Darrow Montgomery for the Washington City Paper)

Mike Daisey is an artist I've written about more often and in greater detail than only anyone else. He's certainly the artist with to whom I've spent the most time speaking directly. The reviews I've written of his monologues and the features I've reported about how he creates them and editorial I was once moved to write in his defense all reflect my great admiration for his work.

That has not prevented me from condemning him when I think he's deserved it, and he did do something that warranted condemnation, years ago. I will say that in the third year of a Donald J. Trump administration, it seems awfully quaint that so many journalists who had never publicly discussed theatre at all before they lined up to express their outrage at Daisey in the spring of 2012 got so steamed over a guy who tells stories in theaters for a living taking some liberties with one of them.

Anyway, Daisey's wildly ambitious current show A People's History—an 18 part retelling of American history circa 1492-to-now, based heavily on the work of Howard Zinn but also on Daisey's own life—is the subject of my second Washington City Paper cover story about him, available today wherever finer Washington, DC alt-weeklies are given away for free. My 2012 WCP story detailing the problems he created for himself with his show The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, and his effort to remedy them, is here. In fact, all of my writings about Daisey are mere clicks away! How much time do you have?

Theatre of Pain: Woolly's "Gloria" and Round House's "Small Mouth Sounds," reviewed.

Megan Graves and Ahmad Kamal are two of the standout performers in Gloria. (Teresa Castracane)

After the customary late summer lull, I’m back on the theater beat. Last week’s Washington City Paper featured my reviews of two plays that first appeared in 2015, now making their regional premieres Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ stunner Gloria, at Woolly Mammoth, and Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl, at Round House.

FURTHER READING: My 2013 City Paper profile of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is here.

The Once and Future Prince: Botticelli in the Fire, reviewed.

Jon Hudson Odom and Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan (Scott Suchman)

Canuck Renaissance Man Jordan Tannahill's Renaissance fantasy Botticelli in the Fire is the quintessence of what several speakers at Monday night's tribute to retiring Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company co-founder Howard Shalwtiz referred to as "a Woolly play." I tend to like those, and this one I happened to love. Here's my Washington City Paper review.

Less Is More: John and Underground Railroad Game, reviewed.

Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard, the writers/performers of The Underground Railroad Game. (Scott Suchman)

Criticism imitating art imitating life: My Washington City Paper review of Annie Baker's John at Signature Theatre is three times as long as my review of the touring Underground Railroad Game at Woolly Mammoth, just as John is three times as long as Underground Railroad Game. And roughly a third as rewarding.

Your mileage, as ever, may vary.