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.

Interview: Unanswerable Questions- An In-Depth Look at Masquerade with Playwright and Director Bill Leary

Interviews September 16, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Unanswerable questions. Unbearable loss. This is the tagline for an evocative new drama presented by Wolf Pack Theatre Company, entitled Masquerade. Written and Directed by company founder and artistic director Bill Leary, the production tackles the tough social issue of suicide, brought to light in the face of a family tragedy. Having the distinguished honor of meeting the playwright prior to the production’s opening, I’ve sat down with Bill for an interview about what motivated him to write the play and what he hopes producing such a production will achieve in the community.

Let them Eat! Part I of Eating at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Kimberly Gilbert on being Marie Antoinette

Interviews September 16, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Let them eat cake! The infamous words that everyone attributes to Marie Antoinette. But did you know that she never actually said those words? In a full-disclosure, up-close-and-personal one-on-one interview with Woolly Mammoth Company Member Kimberly Gilbert, we go in depth with the actress about what it has been like getting ready to take on the iconic role of Marie as Woolly opens their 35th season of “Let them Eat” with the show Marie Antoinette.

Review: Game Show at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews September 14, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Ladies and Gentlemen! Step right up and come on down! You’re the next contestant on Game Show! Taglined as “The Comedy You Play” The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre kicks off their 53rd season with a unique audience interactive show. Directed by Kristen Cooley, this zany participatory program keeps the audience laughing and involved in a real live game show while a melodramatic comic plot unwinds around the host and all the members of the production team.

Interview: On Art and Friendship- a discussion with Actors Mark Scharf, Steven Shriner, and Eric C. Stein

Interviews September 14, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Friendships come and friendships go, and sometimes a disagreement in taste can be all the difference in the world between “best friends” and the end of 15 years of friendship. Taking a moment to dissect this concept, I’ve sat down with three seasoned veterans of the stage— Eric C. Stein, Mark Scharf, and Steven Shriner— who are currently performing in the Vagabond Players production of Yasmina Reza’s Art and gotten their opinion on the matter.

Huey Calhoun (L- Greg Twomey) and Felicia Farrell (R- Ashley Lauren Johnson) meet in Delray's club for the first time.

Review: Memphis at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia

Reviews September 13, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther 1 Comment

Well, Hockadoo! Don’t touch that dial, you good folks of Baltimore and Washington DC because coming to you straight from the center of Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia is the regional premier of the smashing Broadway sensation Memphis. Winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this stunning tale of underground rock & roll and rhythm & blues comes exploding onto the stage at Toby’s with electrifying choreography,

The company of Rent at Phoenix Festival Theatre

Review: Rent at Phoenix Festival Theatre

Reviews September 11, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

How do you document real life when real life’s getting more like fiction each day? The Phoenix Festival Theatre is documenting the musical that captures that essential message with spectacular brilliance in their current production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent. Directed by Laurie Starkey with Musical Direction by Terri Mathews, this timeless musical of life, love, and humanity comes roaring to life straight off the stage in Harford County with punch,

Guy & Girl from the touring company of Once

Review: Once at The Hippodrome

Reviews September 10, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Love’s all very well but in the hands of people it all turns to soup. There is a delicious soup like no other presented in the form of Broadway’s 8-Tony Award-Winning musical Once making it’s Baltimore debut at the Hippodrome Theatre as a part of the 2014-2015 Broadway Across America— CareFirst Hippodrome Broadway series. Stunning music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markèta Irglovà and book by Enda Walsh,

Nigel Reed (l) and Valerie Leonard (r) as Bryce Cannon and Vanessa Wells- Hollywood's hasbeens.

Review: Four Weddings and an Elvis at Bay Theatre Company

Reviews September 9, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Just like the tides that crash into Annapolis harbor, the Bay Theatre Company is on its way back into town. Alive and kicking, though currently not producing, the company is endeavoring to raise a fund to get back up on their feet and wants the public to be aware. After a successful, albeit brief, run of Theresa Rebeck’s Bad Dates back in January, the company hosted a one-evening-only staged reading of an uproarious comedy Four Weddings and an Elvis,

Review: The Hero’s Tale at Greenbelt Arts Center

Reviews September 7, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

They’re the 1342 Dupont Circle Heroes! And they are appearing for a limited run engagement at the Greenbelt Arts Center. An evocative story of humanity and human nature written by Cheryl Poole, this one-act production is a striking performance that touches the deepest part of the audience’s souls. Directed by Gregory Poole, the story follows the memories of a quartet of men— self-proclaimed the Dupont Circle Heroes— a bumpy stumble down memory lane to a darker time that may have all but escaped their minds as time left them in the past.

The speaking cast of 'We Are Samurai' at Venus Theatre.

Review: We Are Samurai at Venus Theatre

Reviews September 7, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

It has happened before. It will happen again. Cats. Souls. Revenge. Samurai. Venus Theatre is taking a daring new leap in the middle of ‘Fierce14’ with their 49th production. Unlike anything previously staged at the Playshack, Director Deborah Randall is giving Daria Marinelli’s We Are Samurai its regional premier. As a promenade style performance, this ensemble piece takes place in five different locations set both inside and outside the theatre;

Review: Art at Vagabond Players

Reviews September 6, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

What is it that binds us to other human beings? On what do we base our friendships with others? And can something as insignificant as a disagreement in artistic tastes be the basis for ending a deep and lasting relationship with a best friend? All of these questions are answered as the Vagabond Players mount their 99th season with a production of Yasmina Reza’s Art. Directed by Howard Berkowitz,

Review: White Suit Science at Single Carrot Theatre

Reviews September 5, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Ladies and gentlemen! Step right up! The circus has come to town! Only, not exactly. Hold onto your brain-balls, it’s about to get a little bit “thinky” over at Single Carrot Theatre as they launch the first production of a brand new initiative called their ‘Featured Second Series.’ Existing outside of the Carrots’ 8th season, this second series will serve as a theatrical incubator; a safe space for shows that take big risks on tiny budgets.

Review: Yentl at Theater J

Reviews September 3, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Mysteries of appearances. Deceptions of the heart. Androgynies of the soul. These are no longer dated topics held applicable to only women of the Jewish faith. As Theater J opens its 18th season with an invigorating and refreshing new production of Yentl, theatergoers are compelled to reflect upon the change for everyone that this particular show inspires. Directed by Shirley Serotsky with Musical Direction by Jonathan Tuzman, this strikingly beautiful tale is a remarkable work,

The Understudy at Everyman Theatre featuring resident company artists Danny Gavigan, Beth Hylton, and Clinton Brandhagen.

Review: The Understudy at Everyman Theatre

Reviews September 1, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Silence is not beautiful. Understudies are not bitter. Silence is a failure of words; silence is defeat. And understudies are real actors that are failed to be recognized in light of a big name draw to a Broadway show. This riveting and uproarious concept, albeit completely true, is wrapped up in Everyman Theatre’s production of Theresa Rebeck’s The Understudy. Directed by Joseph W. Ritsch, this exciting dramadey is more than just a metaplay about real life actors and Kafka.

The Brighton Beach Memoirs Family Photo- Top Row L to R: Stanley Jerome (Mike Culhane), Eugene Jerome (Casey Baum) and Nora Morton (Sophia Speciale) Bottom Row: Blanche Morton (Jill Goodrich), Laurie Morton (Annalie Ellis), Kate Jerome (Nora Zanger) and Jack Jerome (Steve Feder)

Review: Brighton Beach Memoirs at Prince George’s Little Theatre

Reviews September 1, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Advice is free. If it doesn’t fit you can always return it. And just like any shopping endeavor, good advice is often hard to find. Prince George’s Little Theatre is a great place to go looking for it in their production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, the first of three shows in the 55th season. A poignantly witty, well received , emotionally touching comedy, the family featured in the Neil Simon classic puts the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional.

Tarzan(Frankie Rowles) and Jane (Carli Smith)

Review: Tarzan at The Milburn Stone Theatre

Reviews August 29, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

With every ending comes a new beginning and that’s exactly what is swinging into town up at The Milburn Stone Theatre as they present Tarzan, the stage musical based on the epic Disney film. With book by David Henry Hwang, and Music and Lyrics by Phil Collins, this catchy family show is filled with fun for everyone. Directed by Bambi Johnson, this production is quickly earning a spot in the hearts of audiences everywhere.

Sweeney Todd: A Prog Metal Introspective Interview with the Women Behind the Show

Interviews August 29, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd, who served a prog and a metal god! With the blessing of the mastermind himself, The Landless Theatre Company has taken Stephen Sondheim’s musical thriller to new heights with their prog metal rendition of the notoriously grim show. Reinventing the classic orchestrations with a self-proclaimed ‘nerd metal’ vibe, the company has created a hybrid performance that lives up to their slogan— “theatre for the theatre-challenged.” This production has caused quite the stir around the Washington DC Theatre scene— being the first of its kind as well as providing a strong voice for female directors in both the theatrical ring as well as the metal scene.

ImprovAcadia: Theatre on Vacation

News, Reviews August 21, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

When one takes a vacation the last thing one thinks about is work, generally speaking. But when you work in and around the theatre it is hard not to enjoy the chance to see performance at an out of town venue. Especially when it’s the only little Improv Troupe in all of Bar Harbor— if not the whole of Mount Desert Island up in Maine. Ten years in the running, ImprovAcadia has a brilliant little hybrid form show that they have compiled right in the main thoroughfare of downtown Bar Harbor.

Review: Macbeth- The Instruments of Darkness at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews August 18, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Light and darkness make fools both of the eyes. But it is oft better to live in the bliss of darkness than in the harsh intelligence of the light for once a thing is known and learned it can never be unknown. The Rude Mechanicals illustrate this concept with exception as their bring their 2014 Capital Fringe Festival production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth: The Instruments of Darkness to the Greenbelt Arts Center for a limited five show engagement.

Review: Godspell at Pasadena Theatre Company

Reviews August 17, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

To see thee more clearly, to love thee more dearly, to follow thee more nearly, day by day. These three things I pray, and you will find them all at the Pasadena Theatre Company’s production of Godspell. Reimagined, reinvented, and completely remarkable the performance, which is Directed by Chuck Dick and Musically Directed by Kim Murray,is opening the eyes of theatergoers everywhere. Proving that small community theatres can do exceptional work that really motivates people to feel honest emotions while still enjoying tried-and-true musicals,

Review: MotherSon at Baltimore Theatre Project

Reviews August 15, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

No one comes out alone. The tag line for a thrilling solo work that is taking to the stage at Baltimore Theatre Project for just four short engagements! MotherSON, an innovative solo work written and performed by Jeffrey Solomon, is making its Baltimore debut at the Preston Street stage. A show 16 years in the making— first performed in 1998— it has received a great deal of recognition for its subject matter and motivational message laid right into the plot and themes of the show.

Review: Under The Poplar Trees

Reviews August 14, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Children are history moving forward. History is but words on a page. A brilliant and poignant message layered into the finely honed theatrical drama written by Baltimore area playwright Rosemary Frisino Toohey, Under the Poplar Trees makes its Baltimore debut as a part of the Baltimore Playwrights’ Festival 2014 at the Fells Point Corner Theatre. An intensely compelling and evocative tale of life focused through the lens of struggling to survive in Dachau— the first Nazi concentration camp— this play is a startling gem;

Frederick (L- Nick Lehan) and Mabel (R- Laura Whittenberger) in The Pirates of Penzance at Toby's Dinner Theatre. Photo Courtesy of Kirstine Christiansen.

Hoist the High Notes: An interview with Pirates of Penzance Star Laura Whittenberger

Interviews August 13, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Hoist your sails and raise your colors for adventure and intrigue as TheatreBloom undertakes its first official interview! A new voice is taking the soprano stage scene by storm, though Laura Whittenberger is no stranger to performing. Currently being featured as Mabel in The Pirate of Penzance at Toby’s the Dinner Theatre of Columbia; I’ve taken a moment to sit down with Laura and find out just what this seaworthy experience has been like for her.

Monkeying around with a few members of the cast of All in the Timing. Photo courtesy of Joshua McKerrow.

All in the Timing at Heritage Players

Reviews August 10, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Life is but a moment? Or life is what you make of it. Heritage Players are making life out to be a hilarious evening of comic curiosities with their summer production of David Ives’ All in the Timing. Co-Produced by Ryan Geiger and Stephen Deininger, this grouping of six one-acts is a hilarious series of unrelated vignettes that examine the minutia of life in an absurd fashion. Treating the project like a theatrical incubator of sorts,

The Company of Glyndon Area Players production of Les Miserables. Photo courtesy of Kevin Grall.

Les Miserables at Glyndon Area Players

Reviews August 9, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Here upon the Sacred Heart stage they will build their barricade. And build a barricade they did! Presenting in its entirety the international musical sensation, the Glyndon Area Players take on Les Miserables as their 2014 production selection. Directed by Homero Bayarena with Orchestral Direction provided by Matthew Hartman and Vocal Musical Direction provided by Jeff Morrison, audiences everywhere will hear the people sing if only for nine performances.

Stupid Fucking Bird- (left to right) Rick Foucheux, Brad Koed, and Darius Pierce- photo by Stan Barouh

Stupid Fucking Bird at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Reviews August 3, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

This review will begin when you say “Start the fucking review!”

Presuming you’ve said that— or at the very least read that— then you’re in the right mind frame to enjoy the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s remount of Aaron Posner’s original work Stupid Fucking Bird. Inspired by and loosely adapted from Chekhov’s The Seagull, the production’s initial popularity has called for a resurgence in its existence.

A new site is beginning to grow!

News August 3, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Greetings from the world of TheatreBloom!

A new and exciting project is underway here at TheatreBloom- a site dedicated to reviewing theatre in Baltimore, Washington, Maryland, DC, and Virginia- to encourage theatres of all shapes, types, and sizes to thrive!

My name is Amanda Gunther and I have been reviewing theatre in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area since 2011 and I am embarking on a new adventure with this independent publication.

The Cast of "Sincerely, Me!" at ArtsCentric

Sincerely Me! at ArtCentric

Reviews July 28, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

This is all the music that your grandma ever prayed to. This is all the music that your mama ever cooked to. This is all the music that your aunt ever sang karaoke to. And this is all the music that your little sister ever twerked to. This music is the music that made music what it is today. The stories of African-American female artists who paved the way, set the tone, and made pop,

The cast of Purple Light Theatre Company’s ‘Into The Woods.’ Photo by Brighter Future Photography.

Into The Woods at Purple Light Theatre Company

Reviews July 27, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Be careful what you wish for! Or you might just find yourself tumbling into a fairytale at the Purple Light Theatre Company. Of course, all fairytales have happy endings, don’t they? Or perhaps an ending that is a little more interesting as Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods comes to life in this new minimalist approach. Directed by Tommy Malek with Musical Direction by Benjamin Nabinger, this musical is the company’s second production;

The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife at Cockpit in Court

Reviews July 22, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

An afternoon or evening of obfuscation and intellectual calisthenics with a little bit of adult humor and a lot of good life lessons stirred in gets you the final offering in the upstairs cabaret series at Cockpit in Court for the 2014 summer season. The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Directed by Linda Chambers, is a poignant and edgy comedy that puts a spin on how to live life deeper than just what is on the surface.