Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at Arena Stage

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Arena Stage
1101 Sixth Street, SW Washington

Broadway and Arena Stage favorite Kenny Leon (every tongue confess) returns to direct a new adaptation of the beloved film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. A progressive white couple's proud liberal sensibilities are put to the test when their daughter, fresh from an overseas romance, brings her African-American fiance home to meet them. Personal beliefs clash with the mores of the late 60's in this warm and witty exploration of family and culture and knowing which of them has the greater hold on our hearts.

Thru - Jan 5, 2014

Tuesdays: 7:30pm

Wednesdays: 7:30pm

Thursdays: 8:00pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 2:00pm & 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Price: $75 - $90

Show Type: Comedy/Drama

Running Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes with 1 intermission

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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Reviews

Average Rating based on 6 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Recommended

"...When I say that the new stage version of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" is like a Tyler Perry comedy, only better, I do not mean to cast aspersions on the entertainment empire Perry's built on obvious laughs. Nor do I intend to put into a box Arena Stage's surprisingly well-handled production, distinguished by a fine writing job, masterly direction and an excellent cast led by all-grown-up "Cosby" alumnus Malcolm-Jamal Warner."

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- Peter Marks

Washington City Paper - Recommended

"...I enjoyed Lynda Gravatt's speechifying most, in the role of Tilly, the maid. Initially, she's even more suspicious of Prentiss than Mr. Drayton is. But when does a maid not get to steal every scene she's in? Monsignor Ryan, the well-lubricated man of the cloth who's on intimate terms with the Draytons even though they're not religious, finds his part much expanded from the film. When he cites the scripture of John and Paul here, he's talking about The Beatles. Michael Russotto lays the Irish accent on awfully thick, but he's warm and winning."

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- Chris Klimek

Washington Times - Highly Recommended

"...The excellence of Kreidler's scripting comes through clearly in the secondary but powerfully relevant performance of Eugene Lee as John Prentice, the long suffering educator and father who moonlights as a night watchman to send his son to med school. He still struggles with his identity, thinking of himself as a "colored man," while his son sees himself as just a man."

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- Malcolm Lewis Barnes

Washingtonian - Highly Recommended

"...Warner also shares excellent chemistry with Lind, who has a slightly less interesting character than the scheming millennial she played so well in Signature Theatre's Really Really but who manages to make Joanna's sweetness and naivete seem realistic. Kincaid is poised and complex as Christina Drayton, with an added storyline about her son giving her some extra depth, while Key is exemplary in the way he delivers the show's final monologue, a recap of sorts that almost explains his intractability in the first half of the show."

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- Sophie Gilbert

MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended

"...So if you are in need of a little optimism and a renewed sense in the power of people to sit down at a round table and discuss their differences and have those differences resolved peacefully, and productively, for the benefit of all, then you need to fly, not walk to Arena Stage and see Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a truly uplifting evening of theatre."

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- Robert Michael Oliver

DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended

It takes gumption to not only recreate a classic, but improve it: Playwright Todd Kreidler adds a new relevance to William Rose’s original screenplay in this transfixing production on Arena’s Fichandler Stage.

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- Rebecca Evans

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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at Arena Stage