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.

Review: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at The Kennedy Center

Reviews December 19, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther 2 Comments

Strange as it seems there’s been a run of crazy dreams, and none quite so crazy as the new touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat now appearing on the Opera House stage of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Presented by Independent Presenters Network under the Direction of Andy Blankenbuehler with Musical Direction by Wayne Green, this rebooted conceptualization of the hit musical is targeting a younger,

Review: Mary Poppins at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia

Reviews December 18, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

This Christmas season is a jolly holiday indeed over at Toby’s the Dinner Theatre of Columbia as they serve up true theatrical magic at its finest with their production of Disney’s Mary Poppins. Making its regional debut with original music by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman; new songs, music, and lyrics provided by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and book by Julian Fellowes this wondrous production brings all the magic one needs for a practically-perfect holiday and an exceptionally spirited new year.

Review: The Color Purple at ArtsCentric

Reviews December 15, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Have you heard about po’ chile Celie? Have you heard about The Color Purple? Have you heard about ArtsCentric? The blossoming Baltimore-based company is bringing a quality show to the stage this holiday season with their production of the Alice Walker Pulitzer Prize-Winning novel-inspired musical. Directed by Kevin S. McAllister with Musical Direction by Cedric D. Lyles, this emotionally provocative, gripping musical is a heart-changing, inspiring story perfect for this time of year when everyone’s heart could use a little reminder of faith,

Review: Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge at Silver Spring Stage

Reviews December 14, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Ho-ho-humbug and all that rot! Christmas is enough to make you gag. That’s the Christopher Durang interpretation, though one would expect nothing less from the satirizing parody artist. Silver Spring Stage has gone round the twist this holiday season by mounting Durang’s unusual Christmas play Mrs. Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge for a two-weekend limited engagement run over the month of December. Directed by Star Johnson with Musical Direction by Jimmy Mrose,

Review: Deathtrap at Everyman Theatre

Reviews December 13, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

There’s no place like home for the holidays. Everyman Theatre is bringing home five of their company members for a holiday performance like no other this December as they mount Ira Levin’s classic thriller Deathtrap on their stage for Christmas. Directed by founding Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi, a little suspense makes the perfect stocking stuffer this season. Equal parts comedy and suspense; the precarious balance between darkly humorous and spine-tingling is delivered exceptionally in this devilishly thrilling performance.

Review: A Revolutionary Christmas at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews December 8, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

At this festive time of year when everyone is presenting their decorated version of Dickens’ holiday classic (and yes, even MET is doing that in their family series) it comes as a revitalizing surprise to see the Maryland Ensemble Theatre producing a Christmas original on their main stage. Written by company member Reiner Prochaska, this quaint tale is richly populated with local flavor and all the right notions to tug gently at the heartstrings for this spirited time of year.

Review: The Odyssey at Baltimore Theatre Project

Reviews December 8, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

What sort of performance doth await you here? Be it civilized or savage? Humane or hateful? Before the child of morning, Rosy-fingered Dawn, arrives, well, you’ll see exactly what sort of wily adventure you’re in for at Baltimore Theatre Projects. As one of precious few non-holiday shows this December, solo artist Charlie Bethel returns to the stage with his one-man performance of Homer’s epic tale. The Odyssey is Bethel’s adaptation of Odysseus in a fashion the likes of which seems impossible.

Review: It’s A Wonderful Life at Howard Community College Arts Collective

Reviews December 6, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

No man is a failure who has friends. At this festive time of year it is easy to lose sight of such a simple message among all the decorations and holiday events. Howard Community College’s Arts Collective reminds us of the true joys of Christmas with their resplendent production of It’s A Wonderful Life. Directed by Gareth Kelly and Anthony Scimonelli, this heartwarming classic is reimagined to the stage in a most spectacular fashion.

God Bless Us, Everyone! An Exclusive Interview with Paul Morella on his one-man Dickensian Adventure

Interviews December 6, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Christmas time is a bright and wondrous holiday season. Often described as the summer of the soul in December, a great deal of classic shows mount the stage during the holiday season but perhaps none so frequent as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. At this festive time of year in a TheatreBloom exclusive interview, area actor Paul Morella took a moment to sit down with me to discuss his one-man version of the iconic Christmas classic.

Belle (L- Lauren Giglio) Tiny Tim (C-Sophia Nasreen Riazi-Sekowski) and Scrooge (R- Ray Converse) celebrating a Christmas miracle.

Review: A Christmas Carol at Wolf Pack Theatre Company

Reviews December 3, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

The bells of St. John are ringing you in for holiday season. Wolf Pack Theatre Company is proud to present an original adaptation written and directed by William Leary of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. When everyone is popping this holiday classic onto their stages this time of year as the Christmas Cash-cow, Leary’s socially brilliant commentary brings the story to modern day times and highlights the social issues that are so prevalently buried in Dickens’ original text that are all too often forgotten or overlooked in favor of spectacle.

Review: Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol at Adventure Theatre MTC

Reviews December 1, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Fa-la-la-la-la! La-la-la— wait a minute— that’s a different Christmas story all together. Of course, so is the inventive reimagined retelling of the Dickensian Christmas classic this holiday season at Adventure Theatre Musical Theatre Center. Making its world premier in Glen Echo Park, this exciting new adaptation by Ken and Jack Ludwig engages children of all ages into the fantastical Christmas tale written by Charles Dickens so many years ago.

Review: The Wizard of Oz at Charm City Players

Reviews November 30, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Just click your heels three times and say “There’s no place like Charm City Players. There’s no place like Charm City Players. There’s no place like Charm City Players!” in the first production of their 2014/2015 calendar season, Charm City Players is taking its audience down the well-traveled yellow brick road to the Emerald City with their production of The Wizard of Oz. A timeless stage classic, the family-friendly musical offers a sweet alternative to the holiday shows popping up all across town during this festive time of year.

Review: The Nutcracker at The Puppet Company

Reviews November 29, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Now entering its 26th year as a holiday tradition in Washington DC, The Puppet Company proudly presents Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker in all its resplendent Christmas glory in a fashion that can only be seen upon the magical stage at Glen Echo Park. Originally taking the stage in 1988 with the Arlington Symphony, the production is gloriously remounted with Director and Puppetmaster Christopher Piper at the helm. Spearheading a team of performers including Joshua Aaron Rosenblum,

Review: It’s A Wonderful Life at Pasadena Theatre Company

Reviews November 29, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Every time a bell rings an angels gets his wings; so listen closely to see if you can hear the bells ringing at the Pasadena Theatre Company presents the non-musical version of the Frank Capra film It’s A Wonderful Life. Directed by Chuck Dick and Sharon Steele, this timeless holiday classic will warm the cockles of your heart as it reminds audiences everywhere of the simplest of joys at the holidays— family and friends.

Review: The Man Who Came To Dinner at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews November 23, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

During this festive season the overwhelming urge to invite friends and family around to the house for dinner creeps up out of nowhere, much like the sharp biting winter chill of the season. The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre reminds people everywhere why dinner guests are an atrocious idea, especially at this time of year with their zany and highly amusing production of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Review: Coriolanus at Cohesion Theatre Company

Reviews November 22, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

The end of war is uncertain; Cohesion Theatre Company making an impact in the Highlandtown Arts District with their inaugural production Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, is certain. Exploding onto the scene with one of the lesser performed tragedies in the Bard’s repertoire, the new Baltimore-based company settles in with an ambitious first show, delivering on their company’s namesake a hybrid of classic tragedy with modern minimalist influences. Directed by company Co-Founder Alicia Stanley,

Review: Five Guys Named Moe at Arena Stage

Reviews November 21, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

You can’t eat away the blues. You can’t wish away the blues, heck most of us can’t even sing away the blues. But Arena Stage, in a co-production with Cleveland Play House is going to blow away the blues with their production of Clarke Peter’s Five Guys Named Moe. Directed by Robert O’Hara with Musical Direction by Darryl G. Ivey, this bouncy musical zinger features the greatest hits of Louis Jordan.

Review: The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide…at Theater J

Reviews November 19, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Dreams are what sustain the human need for remaining alive. They perpetuate the notion of living until they are achieved. But what happens when one’s dream is to no longer be living? Reality implodes upon itself in a chaotic and cosmically imbalanced sense the result of which is life viewed through the lenses of comically dark reality. Everyone has problems, some more than most, and Theater J proudly presents the Washington DC area premier of The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures,

Review: Seminar at Fells Point Corner Theatre

Reviews November 17, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Fiction is fiction. The type of truth that fiction is sets a bomb off in your soul and Fells Point Corner Theatre is busy setting off emotionally and comically charged bombs galore in their production of Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar. Directed by Steve Goldklang, the biting wit of Rebeck’s esoteric literary comedy lands with grand aplomb just in time to shake up the scene for the holiday season. Not your typical Santaland story or in any way,

Review: The Little Mermaid at Olney Theatre Center

Reviews November 16, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Look at Olney’s main stage, isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think that their season’s complete? Wouldn’t you think they’re the theatre— the theatre that has everything! They’ve got singers and dancers a plenty, they’ve got talented performers galore. You want glittery costumes? They’ve got plenty! It’s amazing, it’s a big deal— and they’ve got more! Olney Theatre Center is giving audiences the chance to be a part of that spectacular magical world with the regional premier of Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

Review: Fiddler on the Roof at Arena Stage

Reviews November 13, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Sunrise. Sunset. Do not let too many of those pass between now and when you attend the Arena Stage production of Fiddler on the Roof. An exceptional reboot of the virtually timeless classic written by Joseph Stein, with Music by Jerry Bock and Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, this time-honored tradition is now being displayed under the Direction of Molly Smith and Musical Direction of Paul Sportelli. Featuring original choreography created by Jerome Robbins now adapted and restaged in Arena’s Fichandler stage in the round by Parker Esse,

Review: Virus Attacks Heart at Venus Theatre

Reviews November 10, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Words are everything. Everyone wants everything and words are everything. The profundity of such statements and similar can be found in Venus Theatre’s edgiest work to date. Concluding their 14th season with their 50th production, Venus is proud to present Virus Attacks Heart, a new work by Shannon Murdoch. In alignment with the company’s mission statement of setting flight to the voices of women, this production features a strong female character coping with life in the face of mortality.

Review: Gruesome Playground Injuries at Boom Theatre Company

Reviews November 9, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Scars heal, glory fades, and all we are left with are the memories made. Boom Theatre Company is assuring that you make potent new memories of what intense emotional theatre is meant to feel like with their production of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries. Directed by Ryan Nicotra, this two-person show is an intense look at the way traumatic injury experiences can inexplicably bind friends in emotions that dig much deeper than the surfaces of the average friendship.

Every Member of the Kensington Arts Theatre Addams Family Clan: The Dead- Meet the Addams

Interviews November 7, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Moving further toward the darkness in Part II of TheatreBloom’s 3-part family interview series with the Kensington Arts Theatre’s projection of The Addams Family, we meet The Addam as only we can meet them! Representing the “dead” in the trio of “Living…dead…and undecided…” Morticia, Gomez, Wednesday and Pugsley all come out to play in a creepy and kooky fashion. Let’s hear what they have to say.

We’ll start off with introductions,

Review: As You Like It at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Reviews November 4, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

All the world’s a stage and the men and women of the Shakespeare Theatre Company are divine players in the 2014/2015 season opening production of As You Like It. One of Shakespeare’s more amusingly confusing comedies with romantic subplots twisted hither and thither all throughout, the play entreats theatergoers to delight in the marvels that are love, folly, and foolishness whether ye be man or woman. Directed by the critically acclaimed Michael Attenborough,

Every Member of the Kensington Arts Theatre Addams Family Clan: The Living- Meet the Beinekes

Interviews, Uncategorized November 3, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Move toward the darkness and embrace your inner Addams! In a three-part family interview series, the readers of TheatreBloom get to go in-depth with the “living”, “dead”, and “undecided” members of Kensington Arts Theatre’s production of The Addams Family musical. Find out what it’s like to be normal, what it’s like to be an Addams, and read some of the cast’s “full disclosure” confessions! We start with the clan of the living,

Review: The Addams Family at Kensington Arts Theatre

Reviews November 3, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s family first and family last and family by and by! And the Kensington Arts Theatre knows all about families of all varieties as they present their fall musical, featuring one of the creepiest and kookiest families of all times! Andrew Lippa’s The Addams Family comes to the KAT stage under the Direction of Craig Pettinati and Musical Direction of Stuart Y. Weich. With Wednesday all grown-up and in love with an outsider,

Gaveston (l- Taylor Rieland) and Edward II (r- Jonas David Grey)

To Be Richard or To Be Edward? That is the Interview with Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Member Jonas David Grey

Interviews October 29, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

“But whate’er I be, nor I, nor any man that but man is, with nothing shall be pleased till he be eased with being nothing.” A profoundly Zen quote to come from the tongue of Shakespeare. Uttered by the title character of Richard II, which is now playing at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company under the direction of Kevin J. Costa, the quote brings to mind a different way of viewing life and of viewing Shakespeare’s tragic histories.

Review: Richard II at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews October 28, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

What can we bequeath save our deposed bodies to the ground? Shakespearean essence in its purest sense; we are the stuff that dust is made of and our legacy is little more than our fragile mortal coil. An innovative new way of experiencing Shakespearean tragedy is striking up discourse on the stage of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company as the 2014 season progresses. The rarely performed Richard II is reinventing the meaning of tragedy under the skillful direction of Kevin J.

Review: The Cabaret Macabre at Happenstance Theatre

Reviews October 26, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s creepy and it’s kooky! Mysterious and spooky! And it isn’t The Addams Family! When so many other theatres are mounting musicals or late night zombie shows, Happenstance Theatre is presenting their 4th Annual Cabaret Macabre to delight audiences all over Baltimore. The deliciously ‘Gorey’ show is a series of darkly comic vignettes created by the Happenstance Theatre company ensemble, featuring inspiration from all sorts of fantastically dark and dreary places including the tales of Edward Gorey.