Admissions at Studio Theatre

Admissions

Studio Theatre
1501 14th St. NW Washington

Bill and Sherri are the white, progressive-and-proud headmaster and dean of admissions at Hillcrest, a mid-tier New Hampshire boarding school. Over the last fifteen years, they've worked to diversify the school's mostly white population. But when their high-achieving son Charlie's Ivy League dreams are jeopardized, the family's reaction blasts open a deep rift between their public values and private decisions. A no-holds-barred look at privilege, power and the perils of whiteness from the author of Bad Jews, Admissions comes to the Studio Theatre's Mead Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Thru - Mar 17, 2019

Tuesdays: 8:00pm

Wednesdays: 8:00pm

Thursdays: 8:00pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 2:00pm & 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm

Box Office: 202-332-3300

www.studiotheatre.org/plays/play-detail/2018-2019-Admissions

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Admissions Reviews

Average Rating based on 6 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Recommended

"...Harmon has a particular gift for letting indignant young characters cut loose, and in this case he gives full voice to whip-smart Charlie, a white high school senior aiming for Yale. Charlie is wait-listed, but his close (and never seen) biracial friend got in, which raises a blister of resentment. Charlie, played with a realistic blend of idealism and anger by the likable Ephraim Birney, gets a long, uncomfortable screed about race packed with just enough laugh lines to keep you from judging the kid out of hand."

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- Nelson Pressley

DC Theater Arts - Recommended

"...I’m not sure that Admissions is as politically useful of an artwork as it wants to be; it doesn’t gesture towards a solution or even entertain the hope of change, so much as wallow in the muck of how difficult of a position it is to be a privileged white person in a world that now sees color. What it does get right, however, is its depiction of just how elusive, how mired with martyrdom and self-interest and dead ends that merely being “not racist” can be for so many. Though there were some line delivery stumbles in the premiere performance, I left thoroughly impressed by the cast, who elevated this hopeless 1 percent sliver of life into a work of heated dramatic appeal."

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- Beatrice Loayza

MetroWeekly - Recommended

"...Joshua Harmon's biting comedy Admissions, now at Studio, bares sharp teeth, but draws surprisingly little blood as it tears into white American, progressive P.C. priggishness. Director Mike Donahue's staging is certainly taut, tart, and well-acted, even if the play's takedown of a self-righteous boarding school admissions administrator is only half as savage as it intends to be."

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- Andre Hereford

MD Theatre Guide - Recommended

"..."Admissions" is written by Joshua Harmon, who also wrote the equally funny and trenchant "Bad Jews" which Studio produced in the 2014-15 season and then brought back in 2015-2016. Just as "Bad Jews" explored the intersection of entitlement, privilege and tribalism, so does "Admissions." Only this time, the players are forced to confront the façade of their "commitment" to diversity and equality without actually interacting with any diverse people on the stage. It's a clever way to make the point that we are each responsible for our knowledge of and commitment to a society that should be diverse and equal."

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- Mary Ann Johnson

DCTheatreScene - Recommended

"...Harmon and the entire Admissions team give audiences a lot to think and talk about as they exit the theater. In fact, a gentleman behind me, when the lights went up at the end of the show, wondered aloud whether the composition of the audience itself even remotely approached the 6% Hillcrest’s student body began with. These are important conversations to be having, and while Admissions may not offer up any solutions, it does give the audience the chance to laugh—primarily at itself."

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- John Bavoso

BroadwayWorld - Recommended

"...If I am shocked by Admissions, it is not because I am unfamiliar with Charlie's frustrated delusions or because I have never met a parent or student touting Ivy League connections, but because Admissions has the audacity to premiere in late January to a predominately white, upper-middle class audience whose children are undoubtedly preparing to face the same elitist high school and college admissions process critiqued in Admissions. And in this way, Admissions, with its smart dialogue, dynamic performances, and signature Studio Theatre flare challenges its audience to re-examine the way they think, the things they say, and the actions they take this admissions season."

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- Jenny Minich

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Admissions at Studio Theatre

Admissions

Admissions Reviews

Washington Post - Recommended

DC Theater Arts - Recommended

MetroWeekly - Recommended

MD Theatre Guide - Recommended

DCTheatreScene - Recommended

BroadwayWorld - Recommended

Admissions Photo Gallery

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