Washington City Paper

Wicked: For Good Is More Serious and Less Fun Than Its Predecessor. No Wonder I Liked It More. If you like Wicked with more resignation, less singing, and less Bowen Yang, the shorter, sadder, and visually vivid second act is for you.

The eagerly awaited, inescapable, and much shorter Wicked: For Good is here. If you like your Wicked with fewer songs, more wearied resignation, and less Bowen Yang, this one’s for you. The review:

Muddying the Water: An Enemy of the People Continues to Convey the Peculiarity of Truth Amy Herzog’s reworked script complicates the hero for our current era, when frequently “the worst person you know just made a great point.”

The themes of An Enemy of the People—the pursuit of honesty, ostracization from community, and mob mentality—are just as relevant today as they were in 1882.

Theater J’s production, closing Nov. 23, "conveys the peculiarity of trying to ascertain the truth in any era." Stephanie Rudig reviews:

Think Wake Up Dead Man Can’t Top Glass Onion? Have a Little Faith. Detective Benoit Blanc encounters his most challenging case yet and gets a major assist from an unlikely partner.

Benoit Blanc is back for his toughest case yet in Wake Up Dead Man, but he can’t crack it without an unlikely partner: priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor). Critic Alan Zilberman reviews the latest Knives Out mystery:

Mosaic’s A Case for the Existence of God Offers a Muddled Argument Despite good direction and solid performances, A Case for the Existence of God is so focused on the divide that it misses the connection.

Mosaic’s A Case for the Existence of God brings two isolated fathers together in small town Idaho.

Strong performances and savvy direction anchor the production, but does the play make its case? The review:

Jem Wilde Aspires to Be the Songwriter He Never Saw Joey Schuman, the Baltimore-based dancer and musician behind Jem Wilde, is busy creating art that embraces male femininity.

Joey Schuman, as Jem Wilde, delivers a delicate take on love, life, and feeling out of place.

“Songs have changed my life, and I hope in some way that mine could be a little glitter in somebody else’s.”

Live at the Pocket tonight. Read more:

The Department of Housing and Community Development Failed to Spend $1 Million in First-Time Homebuyer Funds The D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development failed to spend about $1 million allocated for its popular first-time homebuyer assistance program, despite what the agency told applicants…

DHCD failed to spend about $1M allocated for its first-time homebuyer assistance program. The agency told applicants earlier this year that the program ran out of money. Fully story:

Swing Beat: Reginald Cyntje Refuses to Stand Still From harnessing streaming success to support live shows to teaching high school musicians how to meet the moment, Reginald Cyntje brings jazz into the modern era.

Local trombonist/composer/Duke Ellington School of the Arts teacher Reginald Cyntje is making jazz cool again.

Columnist Michael J. West chats with him about his Nov. 23 gig at Blues Alley, his streaming breakthrough, and the legacy he’s building.

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Signature Stages a Joyous, Heartfelt Fiddler on the Roof Even after 60 years, the old stalwart’s book and lyrics still shine—especially in the hands of a talented cast.

Signature Theatre remounts Fiddler on the Roof in a fun and worthwhile rendition of the iconic musical anchored by a talented cast. Read critic Allison R. Shelly’s review:

Department of Employment Services Manager Fired After She Alleged Sexual Discrimination and Retaliation Renata Naylor accused Daniel King of persistent sexual harassment and discrimination. She was fired soon after.

Renata Naylor reported “rampant sex discrimination” by her boss at DOES. She says agency leaders failed to address her complaints and fired her soon after.

Now she’s suing the District. Full story:

Olney Theatre Center’s Hello, Dolly! Feels Like a Love Letter to the DMV This Dolly revival, starring Nova Y. Payton, is a wily, nostalgia-fueled romp with a self-aware humility that lands like a warm hug.

“Hello, Dolly! is a master class in musical escapism,” writes critic Melissa Lin Sturges.

Olney’s revival is a wily, nostalgia-fueled romp with a standout local cast—a love letter to the DMV.

Lie Low’s Funny, Feminist, and Flawed Truths Are Unforgettable Solas Nua’s production of Ciara Elizabeth Smyth’s subversive play, Lie Low, will stick with you long after the lights go down.

Lie Low, Ciara Elizabeth Smyth's subversive and "thrillingly twisted" play, is “a welcome addition to the contemporary feminist theater canon,” writes critic Daniella Ignacio. Read the review:

How DHCD Forfeited $35 Million in Federal Assistance for Affordable Housing and Bailed Out a Well-Connected Developer DHCD Director Colleen Green failed to disclose the loss of funding when asked during a D.C. Council hearing earlier this year.

“DHCD is a mess.” The agency forfeited roughly $35M in federal affordable housing assistance.

Part of that money went to a “credit swap” used to bail out a well-connected developer. Full story:

What to Stream: New in November The 2025 TV season isn’t over. From Rachel Sennott’s I Love LA to David Duchovny’s new thriller, here are seven new shows to stream.

What do Rachel Sennot, Kim Kardashian, and Sarah Snook have in common? They’re all starring in shows columnist Bill Frost says you should stream right now.

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Underground But Not Hidden: A New Queer Latine Theater Company Uses Art as Resistance Victor Salinas and Gabriel de la Cruz’s La Pluma Theatre will open the doors for its first show at Dupont Underground this December.

Victor Salinas and Gabriel de la Cruz are honoring the queer Latine community and sparking conversation with La Pluma Theatre company.

“We cannot be silenced. We have to keep doing this,” Salinas says. “There’s not a better moment to do it.”

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t: Can You Teach an Old Franchise New Tricks? Though sometimes overstuffed, the third Now You See Me is a return to form that introduces a charismatic new generation of illusionists.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t brings a new generation of magicians together with the Horsemen of yore for the ultimate heist.

It’s a bit overstuffed, writes critic Lydia Wei, but the franchise has still got a few new tricks up its sleeve. The review:

Furlough’s Paradise Offers “Paradise” on Borrowed Time At Theater Alliance, a.k. payne’s intimate two-hander turns a one-bedroom apartment into a world of grief, tenderness, and fleeting utopia.

At Theater Alliance, Furlough’s Paradise follows cousins reunited to grieve a family loss. They're living different lives, but both are searching for freedom.

The play’s “greatest victory is its dedication to empathy,” writes Douglas Corzine. Read the review:

Margaret Hutton on the Forgotten History of D.C. That Inspired Her Debut Novel Set during World War II in a Washington absent of men, If You Leave charts the lives of two women living autonomously for the first time.

Margaret Hutton’s debut novel traces the decades-long relationship between two women who arrive in D.C. to fill the jobs left vacant by men serving in WWII.

Contributor Costa Beavin Pappas chats with Hutton about the local history behind If You Leave:

Train Dreams Is About the Kind of Man Who Rarely Gets the Epic Treatment In this moving adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella, the filmmakers never strike a false note in a logger’s quiet search for meaning and joy.

Train Dreams is a thoughtful historical drama about the struggles of an ordinary man who modernity threatens to leave behind. Critic Alan Zilberman reviews:

Predator: Badlands: Some Country for No Men Bisected bot Elle Fanning and a young-and-hungry Yautja take on interstellar capitalism in Predator: Badlands, and it slaps. I just wish I could see it a little better.

In Predator: Badlands, a bisected bot and a young-and-hungry Yautja take on interstellar capitalism. Somehow, it becomes “a borderline schmaltzy adventure about found families,” writes critic Chris Klimek.

Theater Matriarch Paula Vogel Brings Revised The Mother Play to Studio The DMV native talks to City Paper about the state of the art form, ancient Greece, and the genre of “mother plays.”

Paula Vogel, the “frank and fearless” Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, talks to contributor D.R. Lewis about ancient Greece, “mother plays,” and her third play at Studio Theatre. Read their conversation:

The People Issue 2025 Get to know a drag king, a rapper, an exotic dance expert, and more.

The People Issue is back: a nomadic chef, a persistent muralist, an exotic dance expert, a lawyer who won’t stay quiet, and one very familiar face weighing a fourth term.

We’re grateful to share their stories with you. Photos by @darrow-m.bsky.social:

From A League of Their Own to The Wild Duck, Melanie Field Knows How to Transport an Audience TV actor Melanie Field returns to Shakespeare Theatre Company for the second time in 2025 to take on Henrik Ibsen’s least-produced play.

Melanie Field opens up about motherhood, playing Gina in The Wild Duck, and her D.C. bucket list. Read the full chat with contributor Serena Zets:

Phil Mendelson Is Back at the Watergate for a Lobbyist-Fueled Fundraiser Your annual reminder that the slushy constituent services funds are available to help with bills, rent, and plastic leis, apparently.

Council Chair Phil Mendelson attended his annual lobbyist-filled fundraiser to replenish his constituent services fund last night. We took a look at spending from each elected official’s fund, and how you can access the dough:

Little District Books Begins Its Next Chapter After three years along Barracks Row, the city’s only queer-focused bookstore has moved into a bigger space with even bigger plans.

Little District Books’ new home means more room for readers, events, and a tea bar coming soon.

“We can do things that create more community,” says owner Patrick Kern. “But it’s also that now, we’re not tucked away.”

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In Its Search for Justice, It Was Just an Accident Finds No Easy Answers The latest masterpiece from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi will resonate with anyone wary of their country’s rightward shift.

The latest masterpiece from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi follows ordinary people who seek retribution against their past tormentor.

The film is “a dangerous act of defiance” from a man whose work has been banned in his home country, writes critic Alan Zilberman.

Tawny Chatmon Makes Reclaiming an Art Tawny Chatmon: Sanctuaries of Truth, Dissolution of Lies, the artist’s first solo show in D.C. offers a corrective to a history of racist imagery.

Annapolis-based artist Tawny Chatmon uses portraiture to show the reality and beauty she sees among her loved ones.

Her solo show at NMWA “doesn’t just unpack racial stereotypes but explodes them completely,” writes contributor Stephanie Rudig.

How D.C. Employers Are Stealing Millions from Their Workers From construction sites to cocktail bars, wage theft in the D.C. area has allowed some employers to cut costs by up to 48 percent while workers struggle to make ends meet.

Wage theft is costing D.C. workers millions. Suzie Amanuel reviewed dozens of local lawsuits and complaints that show how employers dodge pay—and what it’s costing workers.

“They’re not asking for a handout. They’re asking for what’s theirs,” says one local employment attorney. Full story: