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12 Washington actors to watch Theater critic Peter Marks names his favorite Washington-area thespians.
Alexander Strain
Strain, seen here with Maia DeSanti in a performance of “Honey Brown Eyes” at Theater J in 2008, has gravitated to roles of more complexly rendered thinkers for some of his most memorable work. Strain has demonstrated a refined intelligence and a preternatural maturity, attributes that stamp him as forever watchable.
Stan Barouh
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Theater J
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Alexander Strain
Alexander Strain at Fort Fringe in Washington, D.C.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Craig Wallace
Wallace, seen here as the mayor in “[Expletive] A” at Studio Theatre in 2009, regularly turns up in productions overseen by some of the city’s most respected directors: Michael Kahn, Aaron Posner, David Muse, John Vreeke. So clearly they know what you do, too: For assured support, rely on Wallace.
Scott Suchman
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Studio Theatre
Craig Wallace
Craig Wallace with his beloved dog Storm at Fort Fringe in Washington, D.C.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Edward Gero
Gero belongs on any list reserved for pros. Though he has a knack for gruffness, as his turn as Scrooge revealed in Ford’s Theatre’s annual holiday-time “A Christmas Carol,” no actor in or around town conveys more in the way of grace.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Edward Gero
Gero, seen here as the cold-blooded killer Sweeney Todd during a 2010 production at Signature Theatre, is a man for all temperatures. As abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko in the Arena Stage bio-drama “Red,” he put audiences in touch with bona fide artistic heat.
Susan Biddle
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For The Washington Post
Dawn Ursula
Ursula played two parts in Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s production of “Clybourne Park.” Through the twin parts, audiences had the opportunity to glimpse something deeper in her talent, an ability to project, in tense cohabitation, sorrow mixed with rage.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Nova Y. Payton
Payton’s portrayals of Motormouth Maybelle in Signature Theatre’s production of “Hairspray” and as a muse with ’tude in “Xanadu” put the region on notice of a far more reliable power source than Pepco. She’s currently delivering needed spark to Signature’s revival of “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Soon, she takes on the dream role in the company’s “Dreamgirls,” playing cast-aside singer Effie White. And I am telling you, I AM going.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Nancy Robinette
Meeting Robinette in person, you encounter a gentle soul, the sort of person you see board a bus and to whom you instantly feel you should give up your seat. But onstage, she can be solid steel or its opposite, a fluttering pile of ruffles. Underneath the unassuming countenance, there lies heavy artillery.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Alex Mills
Mills appears to have a skeleton made of something spongier than bone. The actor-acrobat became a trademark Synetic Theater performer overnight, a go-to guy for the undulating style of movement the troupe has made a hallmark. The company’s wordless adaptations of Shakespeare are another of its signatures, and in them, Mills has made some of his most compelling impressions.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Floyd King
King, of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, uses his genetic gift for comedy to bring classical playwrights alive — that brass section of a voice, those eyes the shape of cymbals, those strands of hair like mangled guitar strings to orchestrate his share of laughs.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Rachel Zampelli Jackson
Zampelli Jackson, seen here in the Michael John LaChiusa musical “See What I Wanna See” at the Signature Theatre in 2009, does weird really well. In Andy Warhol's bio-musical “Pop!” at Studio Theatre she infused a wholly irritating character with some bizarrely, malevolent allure.
Scott Suchman
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Signature Theatre
Rachel Zampelli Jackson
Zampelli Jackson at Fort Fringe in Washington, D.C.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Kimberly Gilbert
Gilbert, an actress with the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, is blessed with the ineffable gift of bringing what feels like all of life with her onto the stage, and making her experience seem funny, and real. That’s something of a challenge when you’re playing a fairly ordinary person, such as playing Renee Calarco’s “The Religion Thing” at Theater J.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Stephen Gregory Smith
Don’t let his sweet expression fool you, Smith, of the of Signature Theatre, can commit serious mischief on a stage — and one can only hope that Washington theatergoers get to focus more regularly on that dark side.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Jennifer Mendenhall
With this versatile actress, Jennifer Mendenhall, there are so many Mendenhalls to choose from — the happy conundrum with which Washington theatergoers continually must find some way to cope. A passionate advocate of locally grown theater, Mendenhall exudes authority both onstage and off.
Carol Pratt
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Carol Pratt
Jennifer Mendenhall
Mendenhall at Fort Fringe in Washington, D.C.
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
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Section:/entertainment/theater_dance
![Wallace, seen here as the mayor in “[Expletive] A” at Studio Theatre in 2009, regularly turns up in productions overseen by some of the city’s most respected directors: Michael Kahn, Aaron Posner, David Muse, John Vreeke. So clearly they know what you do, too: For assured support, rely on Wallace.](/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/08/31/Style/Images/10000741H17123057.jpg)
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