All posts by Amanda N. Gunther

A full-time theatre reviewer in the Baltimore, Washington, and surrounding areas; Amanda holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Maryland Baltimore County as well as a minor in Creative Writing. Having spent two of her five years at college studying abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, she has learned a great deal about improv, devised work theatre, and interpretive movement pieces. Striving to promote theatre of all types, she can often be found in a theatre of some type, even on her nights off.
Jake Odmark (left) as Beau and Danielle Wade (right) as Maizy in Shucked 📷Matthew Murphy

Kernels of Comedy: An Earful from Shucked’s Jake Odmark

Corn is so fantastic because it has a-maize-ing friends! There. I told my corn joke. And it popped! And if you need more of that corny humor, you’re in luck! Shucked is coming to Baltimore, landing at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, and it’s bringing some local yokels with it! No joke and this isn’t an April Fools’ prank! We’ve had a phone-chat-interview with Jake Odmark, starring as Beau in Shucked, and we can’t wait to share it with you!

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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,

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Ryan Geiger as Shrek in Shrek at Phoenix Festival Theatre 📷 Matthew Peterson Photography

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,

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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,

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Kinky Boots at Silhouette Stages 📷 Shealynn Jae Photography

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.

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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.

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest at Other Voices Theatre 📷 Adam Blackstock

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,

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Pippin at Artistic Synergy

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,

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Art at Vagabond Players 📷 Shealynn Jae Photography

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,

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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,

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José J. Muñoz (center) and the cast of In The Heights at Signature Theatre 📷 DJ Corey Photography

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,

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Holly Gibbs (left) as Luce with Brendan Murray (center) as Mayor William Donald Schaefer and Kathryne Daniels (right) as Adriana in CSC’s It’s The Comedy of Errors, Hon! 📷 Kiirstn Pagan Photography.

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,

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Disney's The Lion King 📷 Joan Marcus

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,

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Gené Fouché (left) as Maureen and Julie Herber (right) as Mag in The Beauty Queen of Leenane at Maryland Ensemble Theatre 📷 Spence Photographics

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,

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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!

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Cast of The Music Man at Third Wall Productions 📷 Images Production Co.

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.

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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;

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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,

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Justin Oratokhari (left) as Christopher and Yael Schoenbaum (right) as Pegeen in The Playboy of the Western World at Silver Spring Stage 📷 Freckled Fox Photography

The Playboy of the Western World- a new version at Silver Spring Stage

As many a bleak day lay ahead, we have to remember what’s good about this part of the world. There’s information and things work. The information: Silver Spring Stage is producing a new version of John Millington Synge’s Playboy of the Western World (by Bisi Adigun & Roddy Doyle) and it’s now appearing on their stage as the first show of 2025. And it works. Directed by Seth Ghitelman, this quirky but dark comedy of incidental errors and tall tales puts a refreshing spin on the way we look at outsiders and how we value their stories.

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Tia Silver (left) as Fastrada, Dani Rizzo (center) as Leading Player, and Alex Gibbs (right) with the ensemble of Pippin at Small Town Stars Theatre Company 📷 Mort Shuman

Pippin at Small Town Stars Theatre Company

Do you like the way dreams stick to the sky? Are you ready to run where you can ramble? Then you’re ready for Pippin with Small Town Starts Theatre Company. Come journey with them through their anecdotic revue of Stephen Schwartz (music & lyrics), Roger O. Hirson (book) and Bob Fosse (also book) because STSTC has magic to do…and it’s just for you! Directed by Joel Roberson with Musical Direction by Kelly Stoneberger and Choreography by Olivia Winter,

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The Seagull at The Rude Mechanicals 📷 Rachel Zirkin Duda

The Seagull at The Rude Mechanicals

Everyone must write what they feel as best they know how. Chekhov said it. Maybe. Probably. Hard to tell what’s direct source material versus creative licensing with this rather impressive new production of The Seagull being produced by The Rude Mechanicals at The Greenbelt Arts Center. Directed by Melissa Schick, this imaginative reinterpretation and musical adaptation of one of Chekhov’s more depressing works is surprisingly charming, well-parsed and paced, and delivers a refreshing new spin on an old war-horse-staple of the theatrical canon.

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Whitechapel at Stillpointe Theatre

Welcome to the end of days…trapped willingly in Stillpointe Theatre’s maze…

Come one, come all…to Whitechapel: A New Musical, making its world premiere at The Club Car, Stillpointe Theatre’s resident home performance space, and you’re in for a salacious treat. Directed by Ryan Haase with Musical Direction by Stacey Antoine, and Choreography by Sarah Fremuth, this 80-minute sordid story drops you right into the heart of the ominous tale of Jack The Ripper.

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Room Service at Vagabond Players 📷 Shealyn Jae Photography

Room Service at Vagabond Players

There’s a screw loose in this theatre! (And damn skippy if it isn’t ever in the doorknob! IYKYK!) And holy heck and go-ta-war, if the Vagabond Players aren’t determined to find it with their current production of Room Service, directed by Steve Goldklang. Making its return to the Vagabonds’ stage (it appeared April and May of 2013 as a part of their 97th season!) with the same director but a brand new cast,

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Writing For Crumbs at Spotlighters Theatre 📷 Matthew Peterson Photography

Working For Crumbs at Spotlighters Theatre

What do you do all day? Sound familiar? If you’ve ever worked in a corporate office with a raging, RBF-boss whose attitude can be felt permeating walls from miles away, it might be a little too familiar. Add in the antics of a smelly, obnoxious co-worker, and the fantasy scenario we all daydream about but have no idea what to do with once it becomes a reality and you’ve got the American premiere of Working For Crumbs,

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K.S. Garner (left) as Clarisa and Kaityln Fowler (right) as Maria in Honey Bee Baby at Rapid Lemon Productions 📷 Shealyn Jae Photography

Honey Bee Baby

Words have meaning. Precision of language is everything. When you wish to communicate an idea, you use your words. And Philadelphia-based playwright Erlina Ortiz has done exactly that with her play Honey Bee Baby, receiving its world premiere this January with Rapid Lemon Productions. Directed by Jalice Ortiz-Corral, this fascinating new work takes a futuristic deep dive into a plethora of timely, relevant topics that will leave you deeply pondering and questioning where you stand on the ethical side of the dividing line when it comes to things like natural resources,

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Hazel Vogel (center) as Annie and the company of Annie 📷 Matthew Murphy

Annie at The Hippodrome

Everything’s humming now! Good times are coming now! It’— Annie! ANNIE! And Annie has returned to Charm City once more (after running their tech week at Baltimore’s illustrious Hippodrome Theatre back in November 2024 before heading out on their national touring circuit!) Annie marks the first Broadway Across America tour to grace the Hippodrome stage this 2025 calendar year and— leapin’ lizards! It’s genius! Charming and heartfelt and a perfect way to carry that holiday spirit well into the new year,

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Hazel Vogel (center) as Annie and the company of Annie 📷 Matthew Murphy

The Sun Will Come Out: Interviewing Baltimore’s Own Hazel Vogel as Annie

The sun’ll come out! TOMORROW! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow— there’ll be— well, in Maryland, it could be sun, could be snow, could be 92° with a hailstorm because this is the state where the weather changes on a dime and without much sense or warning. But Towson native Hazel Vogel, currently starring in the titular role of Annie knows all about Maryland weather. And she’s hoping to bring the sunshine with her when the National Tour of Annie returns to her home state for the first full week in January of 2025.

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Winnie-The-Pooh Christmas Tail 📷 Mort Shuman

Winnie-The-Pooh Christmas Tail at Small Town Stars Theatre Company

Oh, bother! There’s a rumbly in my tumbly and there’s something I’m supposed to do! Ooh— think, think, think, think! Hmm. Maybe if I have just a little something…aah, yes. Just a little something— some hunny, perhaps? Oh! Oh, that’s it. I’m supposed to tell you that you should venture out to the Hundred Acre Woods this weekend! Yes! Oh yes, yes, yes, that’s it! To the Hundred Acre Woods for a very lively, very charming Christmas show!

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Life of Pi at The Hippodrome Theatre Baltimore 📷 Evan Zimmerman

Life of Pi at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre

“Every soul is a piece of the Creator so every soul has a whisper of the divine within.” There were numerous quotes sprinkled liberally throughout last night’s production of Life Of Pi, that hit home, strike the heart, spark the mind, inspire the soul, and give theatergoers in Charm City a real chance to connect with a human story this holiday season. Making its national tour debut here at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre,

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The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberly at The Strand Theater 📸 Shealyn Jae Photography

The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberly at The Strand Theater

author: Erin Tarpley

“Love is about knowing the other person and allowing them to be the person they are”

With the holiday season upon us, tis the season to be merry, jolly, and joyous.  And after a wonderful evening at The Strand watching their rendition of The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, these are three adjectives that I found made even my Grinchy heart grow three sizes that very night!

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