Testosterone at ExPats Theatre
author: Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington
The ExPats Theatre company (“a small theater that grapples with big ideas”) presents a “satirical tale on toxic masculinity”, Testosterone, at a time in which a political revival of masculinist ideals seems to be on the horizon.
Yet Testosterone is equally a satirical take on gated communities, smug elites bemoaning the violence they see on their televisions,
Romeo & Juliette at Laurel Mill Playhouse
author: Chris Pence
A Rose By Any Other Name: Romeo & Juliette at Laurel Mill Playhouse
“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.”1 It’s the classic tale of love and loss, hate and betrayal, ancient grudges to new mutiny, “[w]here civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”1 Jacqueline Youm breathes new life into the tale as old as time itself with Romeo &
Rarefied Air at The Strand
author: Erin Tarpley
Definition of “Rarefied”: distant from the lives and concerns of ordinary people
It is sometimes hard to believe that this week marks the five-year anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 “lock-down.” That time in our all too recent history where we were told that for the benefit of public health and safety, all stores, businesses, and schools would close their doors and everyone (except “essential workers”) were expected to shelter in place and wait for this new novel virus to pass.
City of Angels at Landless Theatre Company
Everybody’s got to be somewhere! Don’t vanish out of thin air— when you can be where it’s all happening. City of Angels, a rarely produced, quirky, diamond in the rough, style musical that nods to the meta notion of play-within-a-play as well as the golden, glimmering era of Hollywood in the 40’s, is now appearing at the New Spire Arts Stages for one weekend only with Landless Theatre Company. Known for their production of obscure works and putting their own unique spin on popular theatre,
Shrek at Phoenix Festival Theatre
They’re gonna shake you! They’re gonna bake you! A donkey! Pot! Whoopsie. That’s the wrong iteration of that show…now let’s see here…I made the left onto Thomas Run Road…got turned around at Maleficent’s castle— oh! Oh there it is. Phoenix Festival Theatre! Hiding out at The Amoss Center with their production of Shrek the musical! (Which does not include “Donkey Pot Pie”, not even sure that song ever made it off Broadway!) Directed by Emily Jewett with Musical Direction by Mia Bray and Choreography by Samantha Jednorski,
Clybourne Park at Spotlighters Theatre
author: Cybele Pomeroy
Clybourne Park, running at Spotlighters through March 30th, 2025, shows us two days, (two hours, really) separated by 50 years, in the life of one living room in a suburb undergoing change. It is a ‘good’ neighborhood, experiences decline and is now on the cusp of gentrification. It begins in the home just purchased by the Younger family of Raisin In The Sun, and Act I is the very same Moving Day in the home Lena Younger has just purchased,
The Wizard of Oz (Youth Edition) at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland
Follow the yellow brick road. Follow the yellow brick road? Follow the yellow brick road! Tra-la-la-la-la— follow the yellow brick road! And you too can be off to see The Wizard of Oz (youth edition) at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland this merry month of March. Appearing as the penultimate production in their 2024/2025 season, The Wizard of Oz (youth edition) will take you on a familiar journey down that yellow brick road as Dorothy,
Kinky Boots at Silhouette Stages
Shoes can protect a man’s journey but only his heart can choose the path. And your heart will take you on the path to Silhouette Stages and their impressive production of Kinky Boots! Directed by Jeremy Goldman with Musical Direction by Matthew Dohm and Choreography by Jeremy A. McShan, this much-needed story of accepting people for who they are is chock-a-block with talent, packed full of energy, enthusiasm, and will have you lit like a live wire by evening’s end.
Merrily We Roll Along at Damascus Theatre Company
author: Jake Schwartz
A show that spans multiple decades… but in reverse? Damascus Theatre Company presents Merrily We Roll Along at the famous Gaithersburg Arts Barn. Directed by Keith Edward, Merrily tells the story of three “old friends”, Franklin, Charlie, and Mary, and their writing journey. Edward’s direction was clear, the staging was clever, and his concept was fascinating (pay attention to the changes to the set over time.)
Technically,
Working: A Musical at The Colonial Players of Annapolis
Everybody should have something to point to, something to be proud of, something that says “I was there. I did that. I accomplished that.” And at the end of March 2025, ten actors, four musicians, and a whole crew of theatre tech & production crew will be able to point at a poster, archived in a frame on a wall somewhere and say, “I did that. I was there. I accomplished that.
Riverdance 30: The New Generation at The Kennedy Center
The 30th anniversary tour of Riverdance taps in at the Kennedy Center from March 4th – 16th, in the Opera House. In Riverdance, Bill Whelan, Moya Doherty and John McColgan have created a show that has revolutionized ethnic dance, rendering it wildly appealing to general audiences. The production is well worth a visit for anyone who loves energetic dance, visual spectacle, toe-tapping rhythm, and absurdly talented performers.
First mounted in 1995,
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at Other Voices Theatre
Society is what decides who’s sane and who isn’t. Loaded statement? Seems oddly accurate, all things considered. But if you’re ready to forget about the insane society in which we’re all presently attempting to survive and spend a couple of hours tucked away in the nice, sterile, padded safety of Nurse Ratched’s ward for the acute and chronic, self-proclaimed psycho-ceramics-the-crackpots-of-humanity, then Other Voices Theatre has just the show for you. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,
Pippin at Artistic Synergy
Sets. Costumes. Lights. Magic. They’ve actually got all of those things. Which is pretty dang impressive all things considered. Artistic Synergy of Baltimore is razzle-dazzling with their current production of Pippin, directed by Broadus Nesbitt with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans and Choreography by Samantha Reynolds. Lending itself to the cobbled-together nature that church-basement-community theatre is often expected to present, this production of Pippin sets the bar high with its full and resonant ensemble,
Art at Vagabond Players
If you’re going to call something sh*t, you have to have some standards to judge it by! A direct-ish quote from Yasmina Reza’s Art but one that I can relate to all too well; if you’re going to call something— anything (more often in my vein of critiquing, ‘brilliant, masterpiece, etc.’)— you have to have some standards to judge it by. Appearing for the second time in a decade of stage performance,
Shucked at The National
author: Erin Tarpley
“From Farm to Fable”
What did the corn say when it received a compliment?
“Aw, shucks!”
And there are so, so many compliments to shuck around this a-maize-ing show that one could say is outstanding in its field with its whirlwind of corny puns and jokes which is simply named: Shucked.
In case you have never heard of this show,
Quitting Time at Baltimore Theatre Project
author: Chris Pence
Life on The Ice Floe: Quitting Time at The Baltimore Theatre Project
In today’s world, discrimination is an all-to-prevalent problem that plagues modern society. It has many faces, including by race, sex, religion, and political affiliation. One of the faces least addressed in today’s world is age discrimination. Agism is an issue that many people face daily, yet few people are ready to discuss its true impact.
No Laughing Matter at Greenbelt Arts Center
author: Leonard Taube
Feel like a laugh? Want to get away from it all for a bit? Got the urge to guffaw? If you answer yes to all those questions, consider taking a field trip to the Roosevelt Center in historic Greenbelt where The Greenbelt Arts Center is putting on an original play entitled No Laughing Matter by local playwright Jeff Dunne. But don’t let the title fool you. This show is all about laughter and believe me there are laughs aplenty from the opening scene till curtain call.
Steel Magnolias at Tidewater Players
There’s only two rules in Truvy’s Beauty Shop. There’s no such thing as natural beauty and nobody cries alone. And if you’re coming all the way up to Havre de Grace Parish to catch that charming little production of Steel Magnolias, you won’t be alone when you’re crying through the tough moments of that screen-stage iconic story of the six female friends in small town Louisiana. Directed by Bobby Mahoney, this production will bring you Truvy’s favorite emotion— laughter through tears,
In The Heights at Signature Theatre
With patience and faith we remain unafraid; Paciencia y fe! A more profound message could not be more true in our current climate where joy is in short supply, the future is questionable, and every day we wonder what terrifying headline will cross our news feeds. Lighting up the night sky with their emotionally illuminating production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights, Signature Theatre is sending this love-letter from the Washington Heights Barrio out to the world of Northern Virgina,
for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf at 2nd Star Productions
author: Anthony Case
There is a lot to say about the play for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf by Nzotake Shange. The play, or choreopoem as she put it, was written in 1977 and has become a legendary text in black theater. Its exploration of the trials and joys and hardships of being both black and a woman in America has spoken strongly to black women,
It’s The Comedy of Errors, Hon! at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
Didja know that one of them actresses in that It’s The Comedy of Errors, Hon! has a baby who shares the exact same birthday as mah nephew? They’re both now eight months old, hon! That’s Smalltimore for ya! And while I didn’t invent that phrase, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is reinventing the wheel with it’s fabulously uplifting, nonsensical production of It’s The Comedy of Errors, Hon! Directed by company founder Ian Gallanar,
Disney’s The Lion King at The Hippodrome
It moves us all— through despair and hope, through faith and love— and Disney’s The Lion King has found its place on the path unwinding— right here in Charm City at Baltimore’s very own Hippodrome Theatre! The mighty tale of the circle of life returns to Baltimore once more and is the joyful uplifting theatrical experience that everyone in the world needs right now. Directed by Julie Taymor with Choreography by Garth Fagan,
The Beauty Queen of Leenane at Maryland Ensemble Theatre
May ya be half an hour in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead. May ya be half an hour into this Martin McDonagh dark drama before you know what you’ve gotten yourself into. Maryland Ensemble Theatre picks up its 2025/2026 season with the deliciously dark work of McDonagh, to whom they are no strangers, this time with The Beauty Queen of Leenane, directed by Elizabeth van den Berg. Perception is a tricky thing,
Be More Chill at Rockville Musical Theatre
author: Chris Pence
Voices in My Head: Be More Chill at Rockville Musical Theatre
It’s the classic high school drama: boy meets girl, boy fails to impress girl, boy takes pill containing supercomputer to become cooler, boy wins girl (at a cost.) Rockville Musical Theatre’s Be More Chill incorporates sci-fi, humor, and typical high school drama, to give audiences a new view on how technology and peer pressure mold students into the adults they learn to be during those endless teenage years.
Fires in the Mirror at Laurel Mill Playhouse
author: Chris Pence
The More Things Change: “Fires in the Mirror” at Laurel Mill Playhouse
What defines us, and what defines our views of the world? Is it our race? Gender? Religion? Culture? The community in which we live, or to which we belong? Laurel Mill Playhouse gives us a moment to reflect on these and many more questions in presenting Anna Deavere Smith’s Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights,
Hairspray at Suburban Players of Saint Demetrios
I can’t see why people disagree each time I tell them what I know is true— and I’m telling people— the Suburban Players of Saint Demetrios’ production of Hairspray is where it’s at! Now run and tell that! Marking their 50th anniversary season, and the first of many area productions of Baltimore’s iconic musical, the Suburban Players of Saint Demetrios are putting on an extraordinary show— a true Bawlmer extravaganza, hon! And you won’t want to miss it!
The Music Man at Third Wall Productions
Four venues and seven years ago— they had trouble! Right there in Bawlmer County. And they’re at it again! Further up here in Bawlmer County…which starts with a B and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool! Them rootin’ tootin’ gosh-darn Iowa-stubborn Third Wallers certainly know the territory! And they’re bringing you a rollicking good musical theatre classic— Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man. With 76 trombones! (Well…one trombone, played by Harry B.
Schmigadoon! at The Kennedy Center
author: Leonard Taube
What do you get when you take an old classic musical from a bygone era, pepper it with a cast of Broadway stars, toss it in a sauce of catchy song and dance numbers and top it off with shavings of parody? What else but Schmigadoon!, a new musical which is holding its world premiere at The Kennedy Center in our nation’s capital. Loosely based on the 1947 Broadway musical Brigadoon (later to become a film version in 1954 starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse) about a fictitious village in the highlands of Scotland that only appears once a century,
Phantom and Elephants and Gatsby, Oh My! Talking with Ron Legler on The Hippodrome’s 2025/2026 Season Featuring Three National Tour Launches
Just when you thought Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre couldn’t get any more exciting for the 2025/2026 season— after announcing that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera will be launching its National Tour right from the heart of Charm City in November of 2025— the whole rest of the season announcement has dropped and it’s a glitter bomb of spectacular proportions! Three National Tour launches— not one, not two, but THREE. Seven extraordinary shows;
30 Minutes of Wonderful: An Interview with Jessica & Mackenzie Brockmeyer on playing M’Lynn & Shelby Eatenton in Steel Magnolias at Tidewater Players
Half of Chinquapin Parish would give their eye teeth to play opposite their real-life daughter in the iconic mother-daughter duo roles (originally made famous by Sally Field and Julia Roberts in the 1989 original film) of M’Lynn and Shelby Eatenton in Steel Magnolias. Tidewater Players is giving that exact opportunity to Jessica Brockmeyer and daughter Mackenzie Brockmeyer, who are playing opposite one another as M’Lynn and Shelby in the company’s upcoming production of Steel Magnolias,