Jaya Ghosh

Folger Theatre opens the 2019/20 season with Henry IV, Part 1

Rosa Joshi delivers an electric 1 Henry IV

September 9, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Theatre, Theatre Reviews

Henry IV’s reign isn’t going as planned. Instead of building his empire, his armies are focused on extinguishing rebellions led by those around him.

But 1 Henry IV isn’t really about its titular character. Instead young Prince Hal (future Henry V), his rotund sidekick Sir John Falstaff, and their adversary, Hotspur, dominate the action, literally and figuratively, in one of Shakespeare’s most popular histories.

Steven Levenson’s Dear Evan Hansen at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater thru Sept 8

Dear Evan Hansen Finds Us in DC

August 10, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Theatre, Theatre Reviews

Ben Levi Ross as 'Evan Hansen' and the Company of the First North American Tour of Dear Evan Hansen. Photo by Matthew Murphy. 2018

Dear Evan Hansen is the story of the individual struggles we hide under the facade of our public images.

Evan Hansen finds himself propelled to fame as a lie that he was best friends with Connor Murphy, a troubled student that committed suicide, spirals out of control. The heartbreaking part is that we can’t even fault Evan for his lie, he just wants to belong and has struggled for so much of his life to do so.

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free For All Production of Hamlet at Sidney Harman Hall

Accessible Arts: Bringing a Wily Hamlet to the People

July 17, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Theatre, Theatre Reviews

Photo of Keith Baxter as Ghost and Michael Urie as Hamlet in Hamlet by Scott Suchman.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) returns for its 29th season of Free For All, with a classic tragedy, Hamlet. Each summer, with the support of community sponsors, the STC is able to present two weeks of ABSOLUTELY FREE exemplary Shakespeare.

The Second City’s production of America; It’s Complicated! at the Kennedy Center Theater Lab

The Second City Makes its Second Home in Washington, DC

June 26, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Arts & Entertainment, Comedy Shows

Two men, one standing, and one sitting in a chair in a Capitals jersey, participate in a sketch.

The Second City’s politically charged tour of America; It’s Complicated!, proves the age-old adage, we laugh so as not to cry.

Ellen McLaughlin’s adaptation of The Oresteia at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Sidney Harman Hall

The Oresteia: Michael Kahn’s Swan Song

May 10, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Theatre, Theatre Reviews

Orestes dispenses justice. Photo of the cast of The Oresteia by Scott Suchman.

The Oresteia shows us that the trials and tribulations faced by the ancient Greeks still maintain relevance to our moral and political dilemmas today, and that much can still be learned from these historic texts.

In addition to being Michael Kahn’s piece de resistance after an accomplished 33 year career with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, this performance is the world premier of Ellen McLaughlin’s adaptation of The Oresteia, three Greek tragedies by Aeschylus. Aeschylus’ Oresteia include Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, and tell the story of the ill-fated House of Atreus following the Trojan War.

Theatre Review: Shakespeare's Love’s Labor’s Lost at the Folger Theater

Love’s Labor’s Lost: What would you do for love?

May 8, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Theatre, Theatre Reviews

The King of Navarre (Joshua David Robinson, top) proclaims his court as a place of scholarly pursuit to his companions (Zachary Fine, Jack Schmitt, Matt Dallal) in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s comedy Love’s Labor’s Lost. On stage April 30 – June 9, 2019. Photo by Brittany Diliberto.

Love’s Labor’s Lost is is a hilarious and raucous romantic comedy of errors, deception, and wit.

It’s the tale of the King of Navarre and his fellow scholars who have taken a vow to distance themselves from women and other bodily pleasures for three years during their course of study. This vow is immediately put to the test when the Princess of France arrives at the academy with her very female entourage.

7th Annual Awesome Con at Washington Convention Center

3 Can’t Miss Awesome Con Activities that aren’t the Main Stage

May 2, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Conventions

While we’re all still crying ugly tears that Matt Smith (my first Doctor) didn’t make it to Awesome Con this year as originally planned, I’m here to tell you that there is so much more to this Con than the big name celebrities. Here’s my secret sauce to a great convention that isn’t the Main Stage programming:

Revue: STOMP 25th Anniversary Tour at the National Theatre

Yes, you can make music with that.

April 25, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Theatre, Theatre Reviews

STOMP. Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. © Steve McNicholas

STOMP, a New York and London-based percussive dance troupe, uses everyday objects, literally including the kitchen sink, to create harmony, melody, and comedy. The bangs of broomsticks, swishes of sand, and clangs of cans are transformed into complex syncopated rhythms that rival full symphony orchestras. The beats ranged from so loud that you could feel them in your chest to subtle clicks of lighters that had the audience holding their breath.

A Conversation with Justice Sonia Sotomayor & Eva Longoria Bastón at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium

Storytime with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

March 3, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Arts & Entertainment, Family Events

A Conversation with Justice Sonia Sotomayor & Eva Longoria Bastón. Photo Credit: Jaya Ghosh

I kicked off celebrations for Women’s History Month by hearing from an inspirational and trailblazing woman: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and only the third woman to hold that title out of the 111 Supreme Court Justices in U.S. history.

In September, Justice Sotomayor published two books for young audiences, TURNING PAGES: My Life Story and THE BELOVED WORLD OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR, both also available in Spanish. The event itself was a family-friendly one, with a bulk of the audience made up of school-aged children and those of Latino heritage.

Jessica Swale's Nell Gwynn at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Nell Gwynn: Breaking Glass Ceilings at a Time when Theaters Didn’t Have Ceilings

February 10, 2019 Jaya Ghosh Theatre, Theatre Reviews

“They’ve put a woman on the stage!” Nell Gwynn (Alison Luff) becomes a stage sensation in England. (Also pictured l to r: Catherine Flye, Quinn Franzen, Christopher Dinolfo, Kevin Collins.) Photo by Brittany Diliberto.

Nell Gwynn is the tale of one of the first female actresses in Shakespearean times, and her journey from orange seller, to actress, to mistress of King Charles II, and back to the theater. It’s a lighthearted, feel good performance, that’ll have you laughing out loud while celebrating the eponymous heroine.