Reviews

Miss Bennet Christmas At Pemberley

Reviews December 9, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Is there anything more shocking and wonderful than a true literally classic done up and decked out for Christmas? I jest not; Jane Austen never had the chance to show us the festive holiday season in her romances, but Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon have done exactly that! Miss Bennet Christmas at Pemberley, now playing on the main stage of the Maryland Ensemble Theatre, nestles itself in the cozy bosom of three days before Christmas…two years after the conclusion of Pride &

Disney’s Descendants at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

Reviews December 8, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

They got all the ways to be W-I-C-K-E-D! Just get your tickets and you’ll see them be W-I-C-K-E-D! Children’s Playhouse of Maryland is bringing the house down this holiday season with their production of Disney’s Descendants. And it is living up to its wicked namesake! Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans and Choreography by Rachel Miller this thrilling, high-energy, totally upbeat and wildly twisted tale of the children of Disney’s finest ‘evils’ will have you recognizing that bad is the new good all through the holiday season.

A Christmas Carol at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews December 5, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

“I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.” We all know that one. Scrooge’s redemption track after being visited by the three ghosts during Dickens’ most famous holiday work. And of course there’s “God bless us, every one!” a la Tiny Tim from the show’s final moment. But did you know they celebrate Christmas in the workhouse? Or at the lighthouse ship at sea? Many of you familiar with Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol might be scratching your heads thinking— “I don’t remember that in any production I’ve ever seen…” and you’d probably be right.

Macabaret at Stillpointe Theatre

Reviews November 22, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Willkommen, bienvenue— spooky! Fremde! Entranger— corpses! Not exactly your grandmother’s Cabaret, now is it? That’s because Stillpointe Theatre is bringing you the rarely produced, regional premiere of Scott Keys & Rob Hartmann’s Macabaret. A saucy good time for the dead and all their ghoulish guests, this musical revue features just six putrid performers delivering cabaret and vaudeville style song and dance numbers that will set your Spooky-meter into overdrive.

The Day You Begin at The Kennedy Center

Reviews November 22, 2022 Erin Tarpley

“There will be times when you walk into a room, and no one there is quite like you, until the day you begin to share your stories”

It is difficult at any age to enter a new space. There are different sights, unfamiliar sounds, and usually, new faces who have different experiences than you. Sometimes these new spaces take time to become familiar, and sometimes it takes courage within ourselves to open up to these new experiences to create our own place within this space.

Into The Woods at Signature Theatre

Reviews November 22, 2022 Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington

Let’s start by saying that Into the Woods is one of the most accessible and beloved musicals of Stephen Sondheim. The book by James Lapine and the music and lyrics by Sondheim offer everything we want from a musical. It has catchy tunes, fascinating subplots, cleverness, magic, love stories of all sorts and a call for the audience to use their imaginations. The current incarnation of this play at Signature Theatre, directed and choreographed by Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner,

White Christmas at Scottfield Theatre Company

Reviews November 17, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Blue skies— smiling at me! Nothing but blue skies do I see! And ain’t it the truth, folks. Here Scottfield Theatre Company is trying to open their holiday production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and what does Havre de Grace, Maryland give ‘em? 71 ° weather with brilliant, bright blue skies! It’s like Pine Tree, Vermont, complete with no snow! Directed by Chuck Hamrick with Musical Direction by Nathan Scavilla and Choreography by Becky Titelman,

Chicago at The National Theater DC

Reviews November 16, 2022 Leonard Taube

In today’s crazy world, it’s no wonder that sometimes you just feel like you need to get away. No, not to someplace where everybody knows your name but, let’s face it, couldn’t we all use an excuse to rouge up our knees and roll our stockings down? Well, if that sounds appealing, I know a place where the gin is cold and the piano is hot. The Kander/Ebb/Fosse musical Chicago roars into DC this week at The National Theater in the heart of our nation’s capital.

Zurin Villanueva performing Higher as ‘Tina Turner’ and the cast of the North American touring production of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. ???? Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Tina at The Hippodrome

Reviews November 16, 2022 Mark Briner

Tina Turner is arguably the most inspirational story in the history of rock and roll. Small town country girl with a big voice becomes part of a rock and roll institution. But success seemed stacked against her between an emotionally abusive mother and the most physically abusive husband this side of OJ Simpson, as she flees everything at the height of her career to start over with nothing, making perhaps the grandest comeback in rock and roll history.

Mister Roberts at The Salem Players

Reviews November 12, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

As the Christmas season runs rampant, many, many weeks before it’s really even Christmas season, a particular song from Irving Berlin’s White Christmas comes to mind. And yes, while White Christmas is no doubt on a theatre somewhere this early November weekend, it’s not at The Salem Players, and I promise, I’m making a point. It’s a ditty that the soldiers sing, “…we’ll follow the old man wherever he wants to go…” and it swells the heart a little because it showcases the loyalty (albeit humorously at first) of men in service to their leader.

Cinderella at Street Lamp Community Theatre

Reviews November 11, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

In their own little corner, on their own little stage, they can produce whatever they want to show.

And with their own type of magic, they invite you to enjoy, Cinderella, a sweet fairytale that you love and know. Why, bippity-boppity-boo! It’s Street Lamp Community Theatre’s production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. (The original as it stands, not the more recently ‘updated’ version.) Sweet and charming and simplistically joyful,

Love & ROAR! at Baltimore Rock Opera Society

Reviews November 8, 2022 Erin Tarpley

“So how can I deny? I’ve got a monster, I’ve got a monster inside”

Are you in the mood for love? How about giant kaijus smashing the city while rocking out to some stellar music… and in the mood for love? Well, with the Baltimore Rock Opera Society’s Love & ROAR! you get all this and more! Playing through November 19th at the old (previously vacant) bank building at 1 E.

The Last Five Years (Book Cast) at Greenbelt Arts Center. AnnaBelle Lowe (left) and Matt Wetzel (right). ????Kris Northrup

The Last Five Years at Greenbelt Arts Center

Reviews November 5, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

I’ve got a feeling— things are moving way too fast! And by things I mean the weekends left in this 2022 calendar where you can see The Last Five Years at Greenbelt Arts Center! It’s the first, fully staged, live, in-person production since January of 2020 and it’s a sensational one. Directed by Meg Nemeth, with Musical Direction by Rolanda Brown, this emotionally astonishing musical is a two-person show weaving the experience of a relationship over the last five years between Jamie and Cathy.

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,

SHOUT! The Mod Musical at Vagabond Players

Reviews October 28, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Are you ready to color your world with sunshine yellow today? Color your world with musical theatre happiness all the way? Just take the green from the grass and the blue from the sky up above and you can color your world just paint it with their love! Who’s love? SHOUT! The Mod Musical and their colorful singing quintet, that’s who. The quirky 60’s musical (jukebox variety style) SHOUT! The Mod Musical has made its way to The Vagabond Players in Fells Point as the opening musical (and second total show) in their 107th season.

A Bronx Tale: The Musical at Dundalk Community Theatre

Reviews October 28, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

This a Bronx Tale and just like they all do, it starts right here on Belmont Avenue. Well, the mockup of Belmont Avenue by way of Dundalk Community Theatre. Making its area premiere, A Bronx Tale: The Musical (Book: Chazz Palminteri, Music: Alan Menken, Lyrics: Glenn Slater) is based on the play of the same name and has the musical atmosphere of Hairspray and Jersey Boys with some plot structures along similar lines.

The Rocky Horror Show at Stand Up For Theatre

Reviews October 23, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s a science fiction— whoa-ooh-ooh double feature— well… maybe just a singular two-act musical feature? It must be spooky season because Stand Up For… Theatre has got The Rocky Horror Show bouncing all over its stages! Directed by Ed Higgins with Musical Direction by William Zellhofer & Andy Kay Wojciehowski, and Choreography by Lilou Altman, this bawdy cult classic has all the iconic, recognizable numbers and some of your favorite Halloween characters to make your evening wild.

Mike Bliss/Dorian Gray as Ash with the cast of Evil Dead at Deer in the Spotlight. ????Matthew Peterson

Evil Dead: The Musical at Deer In The Spotlight

Reviews October 21, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Look who’s evil now!! Wait— no— they’ve always been evil. Evil Dead: The Musical, that is. Deer In The Spotlight Productions returns for its annual Charm City tradition of bathing audiences in blood, blasting music and guts (quite literally) all over their Deadite-fan-groupies, and a hellishly good time guaranteed.* Directed by Bob Denton with Musical Direction by Shane Jensen, and choreography shambled, re-animated, and assembled by Tigga Smaller, Parker Bailey Steven, and Lanoree Blake,

Hellbent at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Reviews October 20, 2022 Mike Zellhofer

Nine. The number of positions to be fielded in baseball. Nine. The ball that kept hitting the poor mouse as we learned multiplication from School House Rock. Nine. The levels of Dante’s hell. Nine. The number of actors needed for Jeff Dunne’s Hellbent at Laurel Mill Playhouse.

The Director, and Playwright of Hellbent has really out Dunne himself. Having read several of Dunne’s plays through the Baltimore Playwrights Festival,

Blood, Sweat, and Fears at The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre

Reviews October 20, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Are you ready for your one-way ticket to nightmarish places? Ghastly things and ghoulish notions to put you in the mood for the season of the macabre? In their live-stage-performance debut, The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre brings Blood, Sweat, and Fears to the FPX Events stage just east of Poe’s beloved Baltimore. Directed by Jay Brock the conceptualized work formulated by Jennifer Restak and Richard J. Hand with Alex Zavistovich, will have some of Poe’s lesser known works on display for your darkened sense of entertainment.

The Lightning Thief at Silhouette Stages

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical at Silhouette Stages

Reviews October 14, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Do you suffer from ADHD and Dyslexia? Does trouble follow you everywhere you go? Do seemingly random people in your day-to-day life that nobody else can remember being there spontaneously turn into scary monsters trying to kill you? You might be a Demigod! A word of caution: when attempting to self-diagnose Demigodism, move at the speed of a mortal: very, very slowly. Or maybe you’re just thrillified that Silhouette Stages is producing The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.

National Touring Company of Hamilton ????Joan Marcus

Hamilton at The Hippodrome Theatre

Reviews October 14, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

This is not a moment; this a movement. Though it really feels like it’s only here for a moment— the movement inside will move you. And everybody wants to be in the room where it happens. And Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre is the room where it’s happening— Hamilton— now through the end of the month. The Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation, directed by Thomas Kail with musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler,

The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra on stage for Guys & Dolls ???? Jeremy Daniel

Guys & Dolls at The Kennedy Center

Reviews October 12, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

What’s playing at The Kennedy Center? I’ll tell you what’s playing at The Kennedy Center! A musical by Frank Loesser set in New York in the 20’s & 30’s with sinners and saints at the plot’s center— that’s what’s playing at The Kennedy Center. What’s in the Eisenhower Theater? I’ll tell you what’s in the Eisenhower Theater! It’s a star-studded cast, singing and dancing their hearts out to entertain you— that’s what’s in the Eisenhower Theater.

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,

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at The National Theater DC

Reviews October 7, 2022 Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington

We love a good night at the theatre, especially when time flies. With a running time of over 2.5 hours with intermission this musical, Tina, still just flew by and had the audience on their feet, at the end. To be honest, the audience would have been just as happy if the lead, Naomi Rodgers playing Tina Turner, had simply recreated a Tina Turner concert. The book for this musical by Katori Hall isn’t bad,

Twelfth Night at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews October 4, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

What great ones do the less will prattle of— and here be the great ones: Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, in their 20th Anniversary season, presenting to you something certainly worth prattling about! Twelfth Night, directed by the company’s founding Artistic Director, Ian Gallanar, is arguably one of The Bard’s more sensible comedies and CSC does it a great justice with excellent performances, lively music, and a charming aesthetic that would float anyone’s boat.

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.

Sean Byrne (left) as Jim Fingal and Jack Evans (right) as John D'Agata in The Lifespan of a Fact. ????michaelmasonstudios

The Life Span of a Fact at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews September 30, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Story is the way organize our lives. Narrative is how we make sense of what’s happening around us; it serves as a way to conceptualize, to frame our existence. But what about truth? What about facts? And where do they fit into our narrative? Our story? Opening their 25th Anniversary season with a play that feels topically relevant to this day and age, with a prescience that is unmistakable given that the essay, book, and play itself predate the concept of ‘fake news’,

42nd Street- Youth Edition at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

Reviews September 23, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Hey— y’all hear? CPM is doin’ a show! Children’s Playhouse of Maryland is doing a show! So get ready to come and meet those dancing feet— on the avenue they’re taking you to—42nd Street (youth edition.) All the glamor, glitz, and glory of your favorite tunes, with all of the dusty treacle trimmed out for a succinct bullet (over-Broadway) point version of the iconic musical with a sensational score of tap-dancing youth ready to knock your socks off!

Cats at Tidewater Players

Reviews September 17, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

With Cats some say one rule is true: get your tickets for Tidewater Players’ production this fall. It is like no other production of Cats ever seen or that will ever be seen. The stunning immersive world of T.S. Eliot and Andrew Lloyd Webber come swirling together in a mystical, magical, Jellicle production directed and choreographed by Bambi Johnson with musical direction by Chris Rose. There are singing cats, there are dancing cats,