Doctor Caligari at Mead Theatre Lab

Doctor Caligari

Mead Theatre Lab
916 G Street NW Washington

Like seeing Tim Burton's nightmares come to life, Pointless Theatre's production of Doctor Caligari brings one of the first horror films to the stage in a visually stunning adaptation. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, with its distorted, Gothic visual design and creepy carnival plot, was one of the key films of the German Expressionist movement in silent cinema. Pointless Theatre draws on its unique puppetry style, using life-size puppets operated by masked puppeteers, plus stylized set design and a live string trio to capture the distinctive look and feel of the original. Journey into madness as Doctor Caligari takes over Washington, D.C.'s Mead Theatre Lab.

Thru - Apr 4, 2015

Price: $25

Running Time: 1 hr,10 mins no intermission

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Doctor Caligari Reviews

Average Rating based on 4 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended

"...The problem is that, despite a new score by Michael Winch and puppet design by Genna Davidson, the 70-minute play hews too closely to the movie, so much so that it often seems more of a clever technical accomplishment than an eye-opening piece of original art. One longs for ideas and theatrical touches that would add layers of meaning to the original material."

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- Celia Wren

MD Theatre Guide - Recommended

"...There is something, too, about the black-eyed makeup and exaggerating acting that are true to silent film but also some kabuki theatre. The splendid cast throws itself into it all, with Frank Cevarich as the damaged, delusional Francis who conjures up this horror in his head, to Lex Davis as the maniacal doctor. Matthew Sparacino and Rachel Menyuk are also luminous in their roles, even as they join the ensemble of Zachary Fernebok, Lee Gerstenhaber, Madeline Key and Scott Whalen in inhabiting any number of citzens, passerby or curious spies - sometimes in the masks of Kyra Corradin."

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- Roger Catlin

Theatre Bloom - Highly Recommended

"...Ladies and Gentlemen! Step Right up! Witness the marvelous morose, the wondrous strange, the nightmares that inspire ephemeral fantasticality! Pointless Theatre presents an honest theatrical masterpiece with their production of Doctor Caligari, a devised theatrical ensemble extravaganza that entrances the mind, stimulates the senses, and shakes the core of reality in a surreal and fascinating fashion. Directed by Matt Reckeweg, this homage to the 1920 German Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari unsettles the nerves, unwinds the psyche, and disfigures reality in such a way that will haunt your imagination for many nights to come."

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- Amanda Gunther

DCTheatreScene - Recommended

Pointless Theatre’s stage reproduction of the movie – here called only Dr. Caligari – is an act of homage and fealty, although there are some variations I’ll get to in a few minutes. The set (Patty Kalil) reproduces the foreboding spirit of Walter Reimann’s and Walter Röhrig’s design, i

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- Tim Treanor

Doctor Caligari at Mead Theatre Lab

Doctor Caligari

Doctor Caligari Reviews

Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended

MD Theatre Guide - Recommended

Theatre Bloom - Highly Recommended

DCTheatreScene - Recommended

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