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National Endowment for the Arts HERITAGE AWARDS | |
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"On Friday, September 19, I witnessed one of the most miraculous things I've ever seen on a stage......After about thirty bars of saints marching in, it finally took Nick Spitzer to shut things down. No one wanted to leave; I honestly believe the band could have played for an hour and no one would have moved for the exits. Staggering outside, I heard a woman say she was 'swimming in joy.' I myself was speechless. Then I heard someone say, 'God, I hope there was someone from the media there.' I thought of saying that I was in the media. But then I had the decency to admit there were times when language failed. Like everyone else, I just wanted to stay inside the joy." Mark Gauvreau Judge Christianity Today.com |
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Lazarus Syndrome by Bruce Ward (World Premiere) | |
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"Under the direction of Paul Douglas Michnewicz, Lazarus Syndrome turns into that rare beauty that manages to be moving without melodrama, heartbreaking without hysteria. It is quiet. It is comfortable. And it is exquisitely real, succeeding not with flourishes, but with the strength of its language and the confidence of its cast." Tom Avila Metro Weekly August, 2007 "Could a new author want a better production for the premiere of his new work? From set to blocking, pacing to casting, Bruce Ward's satisfying warm human comedy gets every opportunity to succeed and it ends up feeling as if the work and the theater each found complimentary properties." Brad Hathaway Potomac Stages August 2007 "The torch at Theater Alliance has been passed from Jeremy Skidmore to Michnewicz with great care, and here the interim artistic director delivers Ward’s beautifully woven story with an inspiring production that lingers. We are assured that another small theater company in Washington will continue to thrive." Jolene Munch DC Examiner August 2007 |
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3/4 of a Mass for St. Vivian by Pheobe Rusch (World Premier) | |
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"...And Michnewicz, whose sensitive staging of The Spitfire Grill two seasons back made that musical trifle seem ... wonderful, builds something genuinely moving on the sturdier foundation of this script. There’s a line, somewhere in the descending arc of the second half of Rusch’s lovely play, somewhere between the flaring and the dimming of a life, about wishing it were possible to hold beauty. If only: 3/4 of a Mass for St. Vivian is a thing worth holding close." "Paul-Douglas Michnewicz’s direction is refreshing and without fault throughout the eighty minute production. Ms. Fritzky and Ms. Woolley are delightful, entirely enveloped in their roles, they leave us with that nice feeling inside that comes from seeing a play that just feels right. The interaction between the two always seems natural and unforced almost as if they were really close friends. The staging was simple yet imaginative, a perfect match for such an intimate yet accessible story. Soft lighting with colorful shadows wash over the rooftop stage creating a setting that seemed like home." "Washington's best small theater company consistently presents their unique craft of beautiful, literate theatre that inspires. And when a theater produces something this honest -- this good -- you have to close your eyes and thank all the saints who hang out on the rooftops, one by one." |
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The Spitfire Grill | |
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“…brimming with soft country ballads and a score that sings to the heart of American dreams… as always, Theater Alliance’s strong aesthetic transforms the intimate H Street space into another world.” Metro Weekly |
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The Gorey Gallery by Paul-Douglas Michnewicz, composed by Parker Jayne | |
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Paul-Douglas Michnewicz, artistic director of the workshop's
theater programs, had directed Gorey Stories two years ago and recently
applied for permission to produce another published adaptation of the offbeat
writer's tales. But, for some reason, the rights for that show were being
withheld. After a slew of appeals from the workshop, Gorey got wind of the project, called Michnewicz from his Massachusetts home and offered him a manuscript of the unpublished stories. The result is an artistically impressive performance of 16 comic and often bizarre sketches. .....Michnewicz directs a multitalented 14 member cast through the blisteringly quick-paced production..... Leonard Hughes, The Washington Post October 31, 1996 |
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Gospel at Colonus | |
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2003 Production 2001 Production Washington City Paper |
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Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | |
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Regarding Paul-Douglas production of Don Giovanni, In
a good-sized city, theres a lot of opera in addition to the main event
downtown- and at a cheaper price. In 1995, for example, my wife and I saw
a production of Mozarts Don Giovanni at Mount Vernon College
in Washington, D.C., staged by an organization called the In Series.
It was performed in English, in modern dress, with an orchestra of a string
quintet, keyboard, and mandolin. There was no chorus. Don Giovannis
valet was changed to an accountant who devoured junk food. In a famous aria
that summarizes the sexual conquests of the hero, a long printout from a
laptop computer came down from the balcony. At twenty dollars a ticket,
on an arena-type stage...it was superb entertainment. from Ticket To The Opera, by Phil G. Goulding, p. xxii copyright 1996 |
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The Second Hurricane by Aaron Copland | |
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To further make the opera credible for todays young listeners,
the three show doctors have rearranged sections of the score, subtracting
and adding Copland music. Paul-Douglas Michnewicz simple but effective production
throws in such high-tech devices as a video camera and video screens...; John von Rhein, The Chicago Tribune November 12, 2000 |
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File updated:
12/21/11, 04:30 PM EST
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File updated:
12/21/11, 04:30 PM EST
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