Reviews

Cinderella at Silhouette Stages

Reviews June 7, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

In their own little corner of their own little stage— they can be whatever they want to be! That’s right, folks, Silhouette Stages is being innovative, bringing you the retooled, reimagined, “new!” revival version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Directed by TJ Lukacsina, with Musical Direction by Paige Rammelkamp, and Choreography by Rikki Lacewell, this fairytale classic has been spun around to give the titular character some more agency over her narrative whilst juxtaposing the troubles of what feels like ‘revolutionary France’ and the need for an electorate over appointed-royalism into the tale.

Sister Act at The Suburban Players

Reviews June 4, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

They’re putting the ‘sis’ back in Genesis— those holy-rolling Suburban Players over at the Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church this summer. They’ve caught that sizzling Sunday-morning fever and are bringing you one hell of a Sister Act. Directed by Lauren Spencer-Harris with Musical Direction by Steven Soltow and Choreography by Amie Bell, this joyous outcry of finding your place among your true sisters is just what the summer-season ordered.

With a live musical pit (conducted by MD Steven Soltow) there is some strong musical vibes rolling out onto the stage for this performance.

Shrek at Stand Up For…Theatre

Reviews June 3, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

They always dreamed they’d get a happy ending! And this right here— actually, contrary to the lyrics in that “Story of My Life” number from Shrek the musical, is a super-fantastic ‘happy ending’ for Stand Up For…Theatre, the theatrical arm of Erase Hate Through Art/How Do You Like Me Now Productions. Wasn’t everyone just hoping to survive this crazy two-year running pandemic, and maybe not just survive but come out the other side thriving?

Rock of Ages at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Reviews June 3, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Everybody wants a thrill! And while every rose may have its thorn— Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre is serving up flawless 80’s glam-metal reality with their stunning production of Rock Of Ages. Directed & Musically Directed by Shane Jensen with Choreography by Pauline Lamb, Kaya Harrison, Meghan McCarthy, Caitlyn Ruth McClellan, & Tia Silver, this jukebox musical featuring all those iconic 80’s rocker songs will have you bouncing along in your seat from beginning to end as these wannabe rockstars sing their souls out and ROCK to save The Bourbon Room on the Sunset Strip in the mid-to-late 80’s.

Five Women Wearing The Same Dress at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews June 2, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Dum-dum-daaah-dum. Dum-dum-daaah-dum! Always a bride’s maid and never a bride, right? But who needs to be the bride when you can be one of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress? The penultimate show in Spotlighters’ mainstage season, this oddly-out-of-sorts-with-itself comedy by Alan Ball is a unique examination of five women in the mid 90’s who all have one thing in common: they’re the bride’s maids in a wedding where the bride herself seems none too popular.

A Monster Calls at The Kennedy Center

Reviews May 28, 2022 Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington

“Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both.”
― Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls

It is hard to describe the experience that is A Monster Calls now playing at The Kennedy Center in the Eisenhower Theater. Is it theater for Children? Is it dance? Is it a play for adults?

The Fantasticks at Vagabond Players

Reviews May 27, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Plant a radish— get a radish! Never any doubt! Plant a musical— end your season— see what it’s about! The Fantasticks comes sweeping into Vagabond Players to close out their 106th season; the strangely forlorn and bittersweet musical about simple love gone wrong when the world gets in the way. Directed by Jimi Kinstle with Musical Direction by Mari Hill, with live on-stage orchestrations by Erica Rome and Stephen Deininger, this one-of-a-kind cobbled-together musical of love,

And Then There Were None at Just Off Broadway

Reviews May 27, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Three blind mice. Three blind mice. See how they— wait. No. That’s not quite right. That’s a different Christie. This is the one with the creepy little poem about how people get plucked off one by one…And Then There Were None. Currently appearing on Just Off-Broadway’s main stage, as a kickoff to their ‘return-to-live-in-person-theatre’ and the start of their 2022 season, JOB is presenting Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None,

Glitterus: Dragon Rising at Baltimore Rock Opera Society

Reviews May 20, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

The long-awaited epic adventure has finally arrived! Returning to their first, live-in-person performance, the Baltimore Rock Opera Society is rocking Glitterus: Dragon Rising onto their home stage at the Zion Lutheran Church this spring! Playing mid-May through the first weekend in June, this epic quest-rock-musical, in true BROS style has everything one could hope for from a BROS show— including a zany but impressively well-scripted plot, astonishing costumes and set pieces, giant puppets,

Something Rotten! at Scottfield Theatre Company

Reviews May 20, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Sure as the day follows into the night, sure as the sky turns blue— this much I know, this much is true— Scottfield Theatre Company’s Something Rotten is the show for you! Because above all else— to thine own selves, they’re being true! It’s a mu-si-cal! That’s right— a mu-si-caaal. And it’s the polar opposite of its namesake! Directed by Chuck Hamrick with Musical Direction by Nathan Scavilla and Choreography by Beck Titelman,

Chess at Third Wall Productions

Reviews May 19, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Everybody’s playing the game— but nobody’s rules are the same— nobody’s on nobody’s side! It may be a direct quote from one of the show’s songs, but how hauntingly true it stands to this semi-post-pandemic world we’re all trying to scrape by in as it stands. Theatre is returning, for many— despite being May of 2022— these ‘late spring’ productions are the first live-in-person performances that companies are getting to experience since closing their doors over two years ago.

A Chorus Line at Dundalk Community Theatre

Reviews May 13, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

“…truly a singular sensation…full of heart, full of feeling, full of beautiful sounds and amazing dance routines…”

Freestyle Love Supreme at The Kennedy Center

Reviews May 12, 2022 Charles Boyington

In name and beyond, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME pays homage to John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” with a nod to musical roots in jazz, soul, blues, and hip hop.

Improvisation games are a standard part of theatre and music. Not all theater has improvisation nor do all forms of music but they can be great training tools and occasionally create something that is performance worthy. The key to creating really good improvised performances is a set of rules and a set routine,

Young Frankenstein at Street Lamp Community Theatre

Reviews May 12, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

When it comes to making monsters— you can’t beat the Frankensteins! And when it comes to producing live musical theatre in crafty clever way that suits the uniquely intimate performance space tucked away in the corner of the state in Rising Sun— you can’t beat Street Lamp Community Theatre. Currently animating a production of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein— directed by Allan Herlinger with musical direction by LaShelle Bray and choreography by Christie Janney— Street Lamp Community Theatre is puttin’ on the Ritz;

The Sound of Music at St. Gabriel Miracle Players

Reviews May 12, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

St. Gabriel Miracle Players is alive!! With The Sound of Music! After two long years of waiting (and growing up!) the seven sweet von Trapp children are ready to sing their hearts out, and while they’ve grown a little taller and a little older (waiting for that pesky Covid to die down and let live musical theatre safely return to the stage) they’re bringing all the iconic songs of stage and screen to heartwarming life,

The National Touring Company of Ain't Too Proud. ????Emilio Madrid

Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations at The Hippodrome

Reviews May 4, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Music is the universal language that brings us all together. And you can feel the music rolling all through Charm City as The First National Tour of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations rolls on up to Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre for a one-week stop. Featuring the music & lyrics of The Legendary Motown Catalog with book by Dominique Morisseau, this show goes above and beyond the battle-cry of your ‘standard jukebox musical.’ This is the true,

Closer at Silver Spring Stage

Reviews May 3, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Everything’s a version of something else. Try lying for a change, it’s the currency of the world. With taglines like those, one hardly expects the intimate and fascinating dissection of human relationships that one gets with Patrick Marber’s Closer. Appearing now as a co-production between Cogent Theater Collective and Silver Spring Stage, Closer (a play published in 1997 and later transformed into a silver-screen feature of the same name) is produced by Diego Maramba and directed by David Dieudonne.

ATA (left- mobilized puppetry by Alex Vernon) and The Astronaut (right- Sarah Olmsted Thomas) in Marooned! ???? Glen Ricci

Marooned! A Space Comedy at Baltimore Theatre Project

Reviews April 29, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Space and time are illusions. So says the Great Cosmic Peanut.

You’ve never encountered the Great Cosmic Peanut? You mean— you’ve never crash-landed your interstellar navigational craft on an uncharted planet and are in desperate need of rescuing? You’ve never even been to space!? Well what are you waiting for? There’s an innovative new theatrical puppet experience, appropriate for all ages and audiences, appearing now at Baltimore Theatre Project— Alex & Olmsted’s Marooned!

Samuel Adams and the cast of Henry V. ????Kiirstn Pagan

Henry V at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews April 28, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

“Oh for a muse of fire that would reach the uppermost heights of creativity— the stage a kingdom…” we’ve all heard it. We all recognize it. Do we all know that it comes from one of Shakespeare’s histories? You may have heard it, recognize it, and even know that it comes from Henry V, but you’ve never heard it until you hear it slipping delicately over the lips of Lesley Malin, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Executive Producing Director— or for the purposes of this performance— The Chorus.

9 To 5 at Tidewater Players

Reviews April 27, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Well they’ve got dreams and you know they matter— they’re doing their own show and climbing that ladder— that show is finally here it’s on their stage. Two years in the makin’ with the Tidewater Players, it’s a Dolly Parton show and it’s got layers, the spring finale is here and it’s all the rage! Yes it’s 9 to 5; it’s all dancing and all singing— makes you feel alive— with toes tapping and joy ringing— through the audience— get your tickets or you’ll regret it!

Head Over Heels at St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Reviews April 21, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Arcadians swear their beat is divine! And they want you to get up and go! Go get tickets, that is, to the St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s production of Head Over Heels the musical, featuring the song-catalogue of The Go-Go’s. Based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney, conceived & original book by Jeff Whitty, with he aforementioned pop-rock band music providing the songs, this production is Directed by Matt J.

The Mousetrap at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews April 16, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

The wonder.

The mystery.

The Mousetrap.

While the ending may be the world’s best-kept secret, there’s no wonder or mystery that it is London’s longest-running performance in The West End. This Agatha Christie stage play is loaded with intrigue, deception, suspense, and— of course— mystery. And it’s now appearing on The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre stage, directed by Paul Saar. With edgy moments of suspense, thrilling moments of spine-tingling terror,

The North American Tour of 'Come From Away' ???? Matthew Murphy

Come From Away at The National Theatre

Reviews April 13, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Welcome to the rock if you come from away! You’ll probably understand about half of what they say— if you’re coming out to DC— then let The National point the way— be sure to get your tickets to see Come From Away. The remarkable and outstanding musical with music, book, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff & David Hein, Come From Away is a stunning experience of the stories that were started when the world stopped on September 11,

Beastgirl at The Kennedy Center

Reviews April 10, 2022 Erin Tarpley

“What does it mean to be a girl, Dominic Republican, a Beastgirl?”

Don’t be fooled. You may think you are entering Studio K at the Kennedy Center, but you are actually on the rooftop of the Amsterdam Ave. Apartments in New York City. From the moment you scan your ticket, you are transported to the rooftop of this humble apartment building in NYC; though you may not be sure at first why you are there.

(L to R) Adam Grabau as Paulie, Patrick Gover as Rocky Balboa, Robert Biedermann as Mickey, and Ryan Sellers as Cornerman. ????Jeri Tidwell Photography

Rocky at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Reviews April 10, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Yo, Columbia! It’s Rocky and it’s here for you— live on stage at Toby’s Dinner Theatre. This is a knockout musical that will pull you to the edge of your seat by the end of the show. Directed by Toby Orenstein & Mark Minnick, with Musical Direction by Ross Scott Rawlings, and Fight Choreography by Justin Calhoun, Rocky is not just a musical with boxing, it’s a story— an honest to God story about how one man wants to make something of himself,

(L to R) Danielle Wade as Cady Heron, Megan Masako Haley as Gretchen Wieners, Nadina Hassan as Regina George, and Jonalyn Saxer as Karen Smith in Mean Girls. ???? Jenny Anderson

Mean Girls at The Kennedy Center

Reviews April 9, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Welcome to High School! Get in, losers— we’re going to The Kennedy Center! Because their production of Mean Girls the musical, Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw is just so FETCH! And they are absolutely making FETCH happen!!! Based on the Paramount Pictures film from 2004 with book by Tina Fey, music by Jeff Richmond, and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, this high-octane, high-quality Broadway musical is a trip down memory lane for some and a totally relevant look at the uncivilized jungle that is American public high school.

Small Town Stars Theatre's production of The Odd Couple (Female Version)

The Odd Couple (Female Version) at Small Town Stars Theatre

Reviews April 8, 2022 Ashley Gerhardt

There’s something “Odd” going on in Hampstead, Maryland…. Actually, “Odd” isn’t necessarily a bad thing for local community theatre; Small Town Stars who are currently producing The Odd Couple (Female Version). For those unfamiliar with the show, The Odd Couple written by Neil Simon had its original debut in 1965 on Broadway, and with its success, spurred a film in 1968, and then a TV series from 1970 – 1975.

The company of Oklahoma! ???? Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Oklahoma at The Kennedy Center

Reviews April 8, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Oklahoma! is now appearing on stage at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theatre. Directed by Daniel Fish, this ‘reimagined’ and ‘retooled’ production of the Rogers & Hammerstein classic is certainly unlike no production of Oklahoma! ever seen before. With questionable composition, extremely disjointed and half-finished concepts, mediocre talent across the vocal performance board, and an overall sloppy and unprofessional aesthetic, the production is one of the biggest disappointments since the return of live theatre to in-person viewing.

(L to R) Louis B. Murray as Troy, Ryan Willis as Lyons, Tillmon Figgs as Bono and JoAn Monplaisir as Rose in August Wilson's Fences at Bowie Community Theatre ???? Reed Sigmon.

Fences at Bowie Community Theatre

Reviews April 7, 2022 Wes Dennis

As I watched this long-awaited production of August Wilson’s Fences from the Bowie Community Theatre (it was set to open in March 2020 before life got so much more… interesting), I couldn’t help recalling lines from Philip Larkin’s “This Be the Verse”:

They f*ck you up, your mum and dad.

They may not mean to, but they do.

They fill you with the faults they had

The Company of Pretty Woman: The Musical. ???? Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade

Pretty Woman at The Hippodrome

Reviews April 6, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Tell me what’s your dream! I know you got one— if your dream is to see a magnificent Broadway show right in your back yard, well guess what, Baltimore? The Hippodrome is making that dream come true! Touring through for a one-week limited engagement, Pretty Woman, the musical based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture from 1990, is a joyful, powerful, wondrous dream come true with all the hallmarks of a perfect screen-to-stage production.