All posts by Joshua Bermont

Twelfth Night at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews November 4, 2022 Joshua Bermont

In a modern context, the production of William Shakespeare’s works largely hangs upon the performers’ ability to voice these verses in such a way that the audience not only instantly and instinctually understands their meaning, but may also benefit from their specific notes of humor, tragedy, etc. In this sense, Spotlighters Theatre’s Twelfth Night – the classic gender-bending romantic comedy – is a decidedly mixed bag.

The older generation of performers seem to know exactly what they’re doing here,

Mankind at Iron Crow Theatre

Reviews October 10, 2022 Joshua Bermont

Representing the triumphant return of the Iron Crow Theatre after their long pandemic hiatus, Mankind – written by Robert O’Hara, and directed by Ann Turiano – is a bold and beautifully-presented madcap satire that throws stones at such formidable topics as religion, anti-abortion legislation, and an upside-down world where “FEMINISM!” is a battle cry while women themselves are an afterthought.

This frenetic cyclone of ever-escalating absurdity takes place in a future where women have been extinct for over a century,

Hoodoo Love at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews September 30, 2022 Joshua Bermont

Set in Memphis during the Great Depression, Hoodoo Love – written by Katori Hall, directed by Rain Pryor, and currently playing at the Spotlighters Theatre – exists at the seamy and sultry crossroads where superstition, the blues, and matters of the heart converge… the sort of crossroads where Tommy Johnson, referenced in this piece (along with a great many other blues legends), might well have stood at midnight and sold his soul for his music.

Kiss Me, Mr. Musk: A Climate Change Parable at Single Carrot Theatre

Kiss Me, Mr. Musk at Single Carrot Theatre

Reviews August 24, 2022 Joshua Bermont

Experimental, absurd, and downright surreal new works seem to be dominating playhouses lately, and why not? If art reflects the times in which it is conceived, then it’s no wonder that the larger-than-life senselessness we’ve collectively been adrift in for the past several years has provoked playwrights and directors to express themselves in weirder ways, eschewing formal dramatic structures and revivals of familiar shows for endeavors which feel more like cultural primal screams.

Pieces meant to confuse and challenge us – to shake us out of our complacency and remind us of the horribly high stakes of just being alive at this precarious point in history.

Captain Hook, My Story or How I Clawed My Way To The Top at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews August 16, 2022 Joshua Bermont

In the program for Captain Hook: My Story, Or How I Clawed My Way To The Top – currently playing at Spotlighters Theatre, in partnership with the Baltimore Playwrights Festival – Writer Peter Boyer tells us that he penned this script based on his curiosity and fascination with the backstory of the legendary storybook villain and his antagonistic relationship with his ever-youthful nemesis. He sifted through the tidbits of Hook’s history mentioned here and there in the source material,

Rent at ArtsCentrics

Reviews August 8, 2022 Joshua Bermont

One would think that even 26 years after its creation, Jonathan Larson’s opus Rent would be more relevant than ever in these days of widespread poverty, desperation, unction toward landlords, and overall societal decline. It certainly seems to be evergreen due to its inherent diversity, minimalist set, and countercultural appeal. Nevertheless, from the pre-show playlist to the excessive flannel of the costumes, ArtsCentric’s production – Directed by Kevin S. McAllister – has a strong feeling of romantic anachronism,

AntiCone at Baltimore Theatre Project

Reviews June 24, 2022 Joshua Bermont

What can be said about something as bizarre, unexpected, and unapologetically ridiculous as AntiCone, the performance art spectacle written, produced, and directed by Tia Shearer and Natasha Mirny (Happy Theater) currently on offer at Baltimore Theatre Project?

At some point in one’s life – generally when one visits friends who have, in recent years, become parents – one is approached by a group of little kids and breathlessly invited to “see a play they’ve just written.” Naturally,