Arts & Entertainment

2025-07-05 12:29 AM

From NYC to FC: ‘The Materialists’ Lights Up Paragon Theaters

FCNP.com • 2025-06-26

By Lisa Sinrod Are you in the mood for a summer rom com? This romantic comedy released in theaters nationwide on June 13 features a high-end professional Matchmaker, her many neurotic clients and two men vying for a relationship with the

Arena Stage’s Smashing Musical, ‘A Winkle in Time,’ Going Places

Nicholas F. Benton • 2025-06-26

I have a friend who said she read Madeleine L’Engle’s sci-fi novel, “A Wrinkle in Time,” as a book-wormish 10-year-old when it was published in 1961 and claims it was her favorite and changed her life. Most people have heard of

If You Could Make Three Wishes Come True, What Would They be?

Patricia Leslie • 2025-06-05

“Aladdin” is a Creative Cauldron treat to make Falls Church proud and if you know Spanish like they know Spanish, you’re in for even more enjoyment since it’s a dual- language show, certain to please all ages with constant action,

A Musical, a Classic, and Comedy Horror on High School Stages in F.C.

Mark Dreisonstok • 2025-05-01

Several plays of high interest are being presented in early May at Falls Church high schools. Falls Church High School Spotlight Theater Company is staging, for example, “The Addams Family,” the musical mixing comedy and horror and based on the

Cappies Review: Meridian’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

FCNP.com • 2025-04-10

By Ella Tysse Giggles, shrieks, and flute whistles tumble down the auditorium aisle in a flash of glitter and flowing fabrics, and so Oberon’s fairies alight the stage, merry with mischievous mirth. Come one, come all, to dance in the fairy

“Much Ado About Nothing’s” The Modern Take at LTA

Mark Dreisonstok • 2025-04-10

Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” is a beautiful, sometimes somber, and often humorous play. The story follows an angry and resentful brother, Don John, who hopes to spoil a wedding. Meanwhile, a subplot revels in the comic romance of a

Murder on the Nile performed at Trinity School at Meadow View in Falls Church

FCNP.com • 2025-03-13

Picture is the cast. The play was performed by the 12th grade Class on March 7 and 8 at 7:00 pm at Pozez Jewish Community Center, 8900 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax, VA Photo: Patty Whelpley, co-director of the play.

Lindsey Wins People's Choice Award at FCArts Show

FCNP.com • 2025-02-14

MICHAEL LINDSAY HAD his painting “Full Circle in Blue” selected as the People’s Choice Award winner at Full Circle show on display at Falls Church Arts.

Matilda Takes the Stage at Little Theatre of Alexandria

Patricia Leslie • 2025-02-13

And you thought your mama was bad? Guurrlll, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet til you see Cody Boehm as Mrs. Wormwood in Little Theatre of Alexandria’s newest show, “Matilda the Musical.” She has got to be the meanest, cruelest mother

Ringing in the New Year 2025 at Strathmore, Vienna-Style

Mark Dreisonstok • 2025-01-02

In a January 29 holiday performance so joyful that it would only disappoint the Grinch, the Salute to Vienna New Years Concert at Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda brought sheer magic to its audience of all ages. The concert was

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‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’ Comes to FC’s Trinity School

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-12-13

Trinity School at Meadow View in Falls Church is staging a play popular in the mid twentieth-century: “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” In this screwball comedy, we meet arrogant critic and radio personality Sheridan Whiteside. After slipping and injuring

‘Miracle on 34th Street,’ a ‘Live Musical Radio Play’ in Manassas

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-12-05

Rooftop Productions at the ARTfactory in Manassas, Virginia, is currently presenting a very special musical version of “Miracle on 34th Street,” directed and produced adroitly by, respectively, Deb Hansen and Kimberly Kamp. This is not the version by “Music Man“

A Vivid! Art Exhibition at Falls Church Art Gallery

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-11-27

The current exhibition at Falls Church Arts is aptly called Vivid!, a term forty-seven artists in a multiplicity of media understood in different ways as they entered their submissions. Fifty-five of these works are now on vivid display. As we

Nat’l Museum of Women in the Arts: ‘Suchitra Mattai: Myth from ‘Matter’

Patricia Leslie • 2024-11-22

For an intriguing visit to a local museum over the holidays, your family may love the exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, “Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter,” by “a multi-disciplinary Guyanese American artist of South Asian

‘Legally Blonde:’ Delights at Marshall High School

We Happy Few Streams Ground-breaking Early Science Fiction Play “R.U.R.”

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-11-22

The Capitol Hill-based theatre company We Happy Few is currently presenting Karel Čapek’s groundbreaking play “R.U.R.” Produced by Artistic Director Kerry McGee, the show was initially presented live, but the production was obliged to close early due to unforeseen circumstances.

Phillips’ ‘Breaking It Down: Conversations from the Vault’

Patricia Leslie • 2024-11-22

The Phillips Collection’s newest exhibition features 90 plus works from its permanent collection by its biggest and brightest stars to mix the old with the new in “Breaking It Down: Conversations from the Vault.” The museum says its mission is

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Cappies Review: Radium Girls, Mount Vernon High School

FCNP.com • 2024-11-20

Written by Mary Campbell, Westfield High School At fifteen, aspiring artist Grace Fryer dropped out of school to ease her family’s financial burden; little did she know that decision would lead to a cursory and feeble life. Mount Vernon High School’s

'Metamorphoses' on Stage at George C. Marshall High School

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-11-14

The tale of the daughter of greedy King Midas turning into gold. Orpheus, “the greatest musician of all time,” seeing his lover Eurydice die and come back to life—only to be lost in the Underworld again. The handsome youth Narcissus,

Creative Cauldron’s Enchanting Cast Puts on Alice in Wonderland

Patricia Leslie • 2024-11-14

One of the most enduring works in Victorian literature is Lewis Carroll’s 1865 “Alice in Wonderland” presented by Falls Church’s Creative Cauldron in its newest production which has a Spanish title, too: “Alicia en el Pais de las Maravillas.” Big, flowery

Cappies review of the performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - High School Edition at Riverside High School

FCNP.com • 2024-11-07

By Cecelia Meza of Herndon High School Stakes, nostalgia, and some good ol’ high school theatre grit combine to create the wonderfully potent potion that is Riverside High School’s rendition of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. A beloved story becomes

Providence Players Puts on ‘Love Letters’ at James Lee Community Center

Patricia Leslie • 2024-10-24

Jayne L. Victor and Michael Donahue in Providence Players’ “Love Letters” (Photo: Chip Gertzog) What’s love got to do with it? It’s a lot more than what you’d expect when two people sit on a dark stage and take turns reading “love

LTA’s Production of ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Is Transformative

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-10-24

Cristina Casais, Shannon Hardy, Dani Lock, and Melanie Campbell as the Red Rat Girls, one of the many additions the musical makes to the classic tale. (Photo: Mark Armstrong) “I had now two characters as well as two appearances, one was

“You Can’t Take It with You” Revival at FC’s Trinity School at Meadow View

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-10-17

Comic hijinks abound in “You Can’t Take It with You” at FC’s Trinity School. Photo by Annie Ryland. The 1936 comedy and love story for the stage, “You Can’t Take It with You” by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, is

Anime USA: Crafts, Cultures, and Cosplayers Convene in Crystal City

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-10-17

Himeno and Makima of the manga “Chainsaw Man.” Photo by Cordelia DreisonstokCaption: Kishibe (“Chainsaw Man”), Lynette (“Genshin Impact”), and “Jekyll/Hyde.” Photo by Cordelia DreisonstokCaption: Jill from the game/manga “Final Fantasy.” Photo by Cordelia Dreisonstok The Anime USA Convention was held in

Falls Church Arts’ Diverse Approach to Diversity

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-10-10

Cardellino_190816#1, 8/16/19, 1:43 PM, 8C, 9000x12000 (0+0), 150%, Repro 2.2 v2, 1/40 s, R54.8, G30.0, B51.1 Falls Church Arts Gallery has a new exhibition for autumn as fifty-three artists explore the beauty and strength of diversity, with sixty-seven works

Sondheim Tribute Revue Opens Creative Cauldron’s Season with a Magical Journey

FCNP.com • 2024-10-10

By Belen Quellet Sondheim Tribute Revue At Creative Cauldron Performances until October 27. (Photo: William T. Gallagher) If you’re expecting just another musical, think again. You’ll leave Creative Cauldron’s latest production not only reflecting on the genius of Stephen Sondheim but also

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‘The Addams Family’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre: Halloween Spirit Arrives!

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-10-10

Uncle Fester (Shawn Kettering) and the Addams Ancestors at Toby’s Dinner Theater. Photo courtesy of Toby’s. (Photo: Courtesy of Toby’s) We know not if supernatural influence is involved, but time has been exceedingly kind to “The Addams Family.” Originally a one-panel

Paris 1874, Now On Display at the National Gallery of Art

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-10-03

“On April 15, 1874,” the National Gallery of Art’s press release informs us, “an exhibition by the ‘Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers, etc.’ opened at the Parisian studio of the photographer Nadar on the Boulevard des Capucines. […]

'Fasten Your Life Jacket, It’s Going to Be a Rollicking Ride'

Patricia Leslie • 2024-09-26

Cast of Comedy of Errors. (Photo: Teresa Castracane Photography) Who would have ever thought William Shakespeare could be so much fun? The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s artistic director, Simon Godwin, has reshaped the master’s 1594 “Comedy of Errors” into a

Hidden Thriving Arts Hub in the Heart of Falls Church

Mark Dreisonstok • 2024-09-26

Dara Friel's "Nautilus." (Courtesy Photo)Dave Curtis’s "Percivale." (Courtesy Photo)Mara Flynn's "Fjords in Winter." (Courtesy Photo)Cynthia Miller's "My Secret Garden." (Courtesy Photo)Stuart Allison Hindle's "Jefferson Memorial Cherry." (Courtesy Photo)Stuart Allison Hindle's "Prague Mala Strana Across the