{"id":365961,"date":"2025-03-25T15:52:49","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T19:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=365961"},"modified":"2025-03-25T15:52:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T19:52:49","slug":"hope-rocks-out-in-professor-wolands-black-magic-rock-show-at-spooky-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/03\/25\/hope-rocks-out-in-professor-wolands-black-magic-rock-show-at-spooky-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope rocks out in \u2018Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show\u2019 at Spooky Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you suppose now would be a good time for a theatrical parable about artists resisting totalitarianism? If your answer is yes (or even a guarded maybe) \u2014 for instance, because the U.S. today looks a lot like a reckless autocracy ascendant, and the nation\u2019s foundational democracy looks like an endangered species \u2014 you may be gobsmacked by the lavishly produced antiauthoritarian fantasia now exploding in Spooky Action Theater\u2019s modest church basement space.<\/p>\n

The transformed playing area is a marvel, a stone-walled, grottolike cabaret with caf\u00e9 and riser seating around a raised stage preset with a standing mic from the 1920s, the era we\u2019re in. An auspicious assortment of musical instruments \u2014 keyboard, cello, drum set, electric guitar and bass \u2014 can be seen at left and right. Once the performance begins, a rock concert and light show will kick in, and eye-popping animated projections will display within three upstage arches. For Spooky Action\u2019s first-ever musical, the design team (among them Abigail Copeland, scenic; Mike Durst and Helen Garcia-Alton, lighting; Luis Garcia, projections) has gone all out.<\/p>\n

Settle in and be psyched for Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show, <\/em>featuring an itinerant band of first-rate actors who all double as excellent musicians. In circusy-cartoony costumes (designed by Herin Kaputkin), they have come to town to tell a tale that takes place a century ago in Stalinist Russia (where repressive shit happened that constitutionally is not supposed to happen here).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Fran Tapia as Woland and Jeremy Allen Crawford as Behemoth in \u2018Professor Woland\u2019s Black Magic Rock Show.\u2019 Photo by DJ Corey Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A fey feline character looking like Cats<\/em>-cast cosplay (Jeremy Allen Crawford as Behemoth) takes the stage and introduces a ringleader reminiscent of a Cabaret-<\/em>emcee hopeful in horror-show makeup (Fran Tapia as the titular and satanic Woland). And just like that, the whole company jumpstarts the show with a rockin\u2019 (if enigmatic) sonic blast about \u201cblack magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show as a whole is a phenomenal sound machine. I wished this cast\u2019s soundtrack album was already on Spotify. There isn\u2019t a number that doesn\u2019t land (music by Michael Pemberton, lyrics by Michael and Andrea Pemberton, music direction and more by Marika Countouris, orchestrations by Liam Bellman-Sharpe). Even the wireless mic\u2019ing is great (Alec Green, sound design;\u2028Daniel Interiano, sound mixer).<\/p>\n

After the big opener, we start to get a story (book by Jesse Rasmussen and Elizabeth Dinkova) loosely inspired by Russian novelist Mikhail Bulgakov\u2019s banned-in-his-lifetime book,\u00a0The Master and Margarita. <\/em>The musical based on that novel is about a dissident writer (Camilo Linares as The Master), whose career arc in an unnamed oppressive state echoes Bulgakov\u2019s under Stalin: The Master has been declared an enemy of the (antireligion) autocracy on account of his novel (a pro-Jesus excursus on Pontius Pilate that questions the state\u2019s authority) and thus has been disappeared and consigned to a mental institution. The windup to The Master’s story, which requires establishing the officially suppressive context, gets a bit complex plotwise (there\u2019s a committee of writer-censors, a capitulating editor, a decapitation that left me scratching my head\u2026). Happily, the occasionally obscure storyline is propelled by a dynamite rock score that never stops gratifying. Even better, a love story begins, which shifts the show dramatically from an exposition of tyranny\u2019s heartlessness to the emotions of two hearts under siege.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jordyn Taylor as Margarita and Camilo Linares as The Master in \u2018Professor Woland\u2019s Black Magic Rock Show.\u2019 Photo by DJ Corey Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enter Margarita (an outstanding Jordyn Taylor), who is in love with both The Master and his novel. She believes in him, and their connection is deep, as when they sing in a duet, \u201cThe hope of happiness is making my head spin.\u201d Margarita is determined to rescue The Master\u2019s \u201cenemy of the state\u201d manuscript, and in one charming scene, they play-act a bit of the book, The Master as Pontius Pilate and Margarita as Yeshua (aka Jesus). Their love is arrestingly tested by external threats and internal terrors, and through it all, an extraordinary theme emerges, first voiced as a precept and prophecy by Margarita as Yeshua: \u201cAll authority is a form of violence over people and \u2026 the time will come when there will be no rule. Man will pass into the kingdom of truth and justice where there will be no more need for authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something breathtaking and stirring about that John Lennonist imagining. And though the words arose in state-sanctioned repression, they hold a hope that could be cherished here and now.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The full cast of \u2018Professor Woland\u2019s Black Magic Rock Show\u2019: Danny Santiago, Oliver Dyer, Camilo Linares, Fran Tapia, Jordyn Taylor, Stephen Russell Murray, Marika Countouris, and Jeremy Allen Crawford. Photo by DJ Corey Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Much credit to Elizabeth Dinkova, artistic director of Spooky Action Theater, who selected, developed, and impressively directed this major new contribution to American musical theater. Not unlike its precursors Hadestown<\/em> and Jesus Christ Superstar,<\/em> Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show<\/em> is made of great music matched to dense preexisting material. But while the underlying narrative this work draws from a Russian novel may be familiar to fewer \u2014 its story is neither Greek-mythic nor Christian-scriptural \u2014 there is no denying that this beautifully rebellious rock show has come to town at just the right time.<\/p>\n

Running Time: Approximately two hours including one intermission.<\/p>\n

Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show <\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/a>plays through April 13 (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.), presented by Spooky Action Theater <\/a>performing at The Universalist National Memorial Church, 1810 16th St NW, Washington, DC. All tickets are General Admission and range from Pay-What-You-Can to $55, with discounts available for seniors and students with ID. Purchase tickets online<\/strong><\/a>. Tickets for performances from March 26 to April 13 are $55 Cabaret Table Seats (includes free drink), $45 Riser Seats and a limited amount of ten $15 Economy price tickets (Riser Seats) for each performance (see website<\/a> for details).<\/p>\n

The program for Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span>is online here.<\/a><\/p>\n

COVID Safety:<\/strong> Masks are optional.<\/p>\n

Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show<\/strong><\/em>
\nWORLD PREMIERE
\nMusic by Michael Pemberton
\n\u200bLyrics by Michael & Andrea Pemberton
\nBook by Jesse Rasmussen & Elizabeth Dinkova
\nDirector: Elizabeth Dinkova
\nMusic Director: Marika Countouris<\/p>\n

CAST
\nFran Tapia: Woland, Stravinsky, Editor, Percussion
\nJeremy Allen Crawford: Behemoth, Editor, Cello
\nOliver Dyer: Koroviev, Berlioz, Guitar
\nDanny Santiago: Azazello, Nikanor, Bass
\nMarika Countouris: Music Director, Hella\/Frieda (thru April 6), Keys
\nStephen Russell Murray: Ivan, Flute
\nCamilo Linares: Master, Pilate, Drums
\nJordyn Taylor: Margarita, Yeshua
\nLauren Janoschka: Understudy (Music Director & Performing Hella, Frieda 4\/10-13)<\/p>\n

PRODUCTION
\nAbigail Copeland: Scenic Design
\nMike Durst & Helen Garcia-Alton: Lighting Design
\nHerin Kaputkin: Costume Design
\nAlec Green: Sound Design & Engineer
\nDaniel Interiano: Sound Mixer
\nMarika Countouris: Vocal Arrangements, Electronic Music\/Playback Design, Programmer
\nLiam Bellman-Sharpe: Orchestrations
\nLuis Garcia: Projections Design
\nElizabeth Dinkova: Dramaturgy
\nEmma Jaster: Choreographer
\nRobert Bowen Smith: Fight Choreographer
\nSam Carolla: Recorded Drums
\nMaria Mills: Production Stage Manager, Intimacy\/Fight Captain
\nTroy C. Johnson: Assistant Stage Manager
\nGillian Drake: Associate Producer
\nLauren Janoschka: Production Manager
\nZoe Tompkins: Technical Director<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/strong>
\nSpooky Action to premiere \u2018Professor Woland\u2019s Black Magic Rock Show\u2019 <\/a><\/strong>(news story, January 27, 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The musical as a whole \u2014 a lavishly produced antiauthoritarian fantasia \u2014 is a phenomenal sound machine. By JOHN STOLTENBERG<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":366189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,18],"tags":[325,326,327,328,329],"class_list":{"0":"post-365961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-reviews","9":"tag-andrea-pemberton","10":"tag-elizabeth-dinkova","11":"tag-jesse-rasmussen","12":"tag-michael-pemberton","13":"tag-spooky-action-theater"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nHope rocks out in \u2018Professor Woland's Black Magic Rock Show\u2019 at Spooky Action - 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He writes both reviews and his Magic Time! column, which he named after that magical moment between life and art just before a show begins. In it, he explores how art makes sense of life\u2014and vice versa\u2014as he reflects on meanings that matter in the theater he sees. Decades ago, in college, John began writing, producing, directing, and acting in plays. He continued through grad school\u2014earning an M.F.A. in theater arts from Columbia University School of the Arts\u2014then lucked into a job as writer-in-residence and administrative director with the influential experimental theater company The Open Theatre, whose legendary artistic director was Joseph Chaikin. Meanwhile, his own plays were produced off-off-Broadway, and he won a New York State Arts Council grant to write plays. Then John\u2019s life changed course: He turned to writing nonfiction essays, articles, and books and had a distinguished career as a magazine editor. 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