Reviews

Tune In, Turn On, and Drop Dead at Do Or Die Productions

Reviews July 13, 2022 S. Wu

This month’s Do Or Die Productions’ interactive murder mystery, Tune In, Turn On, and Drop Dead was a treat to watch. It brought audience members into the scenario of a launch-party for a new and upcoming show, The Flower Power Hour, staring the icon of the Counter-Culture Movement, Timothy Weary (Pat McPartlin). Watch Weary, Acting Police Commissioner Lynette Frump (CJ Crowe), and Weary’s co-stars Buck Avari (Matt Wetzel), Noodles (Erin Tarpley) and Albatross (Amanda Gunther) butt heads in this melding of old and new,

Nadina Hassan (standing, center) as Regina George in Mean Girls. ????Jenny Anderson

Mean Girls at The Hippodrome

Reviews July 13, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Is butter a carb? Yes? Grool. I mean— that’s SO FETCH! (never stop trying to make FETCH happen!) And now you don’t have to! Now all you have to do is get your tickets to see Mean Girls on the national tour as it sweeps through Baltimore for a one-week engagement at The Hippodrome. Based on the iconic screen-gem with book by Tina Fey, Music by Jeff Richmond, and Lyrics by Nell Benjamin,

Bright Star at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Reviews July 9, 2022 Erin Tarpley

“Joy and sorrow never last, I’ll die trying not to live in the past”

Banjos, bluegrass, and bright dreams grace the stage at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre this summer with their production of Bright Star. Playing now through July 23rd, appropriately under the bright stars shining over Annapolis in the summery open air, Bright Star will delight audiences with its wholehearted Americana folksy twang.

Bright Star follows the tales of a young aspiring writer just back from war who seeks out the approval of a stern but talented editor-in-chief with an aspirational past of her own.

The Band’s Visit at The Kennedy Center

Reviews July 9, 2022 Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington

By conventional expectations of what constitutes a smash musical, The Band’s Visit shouldn’t be a success, and yet it is. It has, of course, won numerous Tony awards in the 2017-18 Season, and after seeing the production at the Kennedy Center, we can understand why it is well loved.

The musical begins with the same words that opened the 2007 Isreali movie that inspired it: “Not so long ago, a group of musicians came to Israel from Egypt.

Zanna Don’t! at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews July 9, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Garbage punctuated by art. Isn’t that what life is? Sure feels like it sometimes. If you’re feeling like the garbage part of your life is overwhelming, The Audrey Herman Spotlighters theatre has a magical hall-monitor from a parallel universe ready to wave their magic wand and give you all the wonderful art and zany comedy one could hope for in a musical called Zanna Don’t! This musical fairytale, created by Alexander Dinelaris and Tim Acito,

The Second City's The Revolution Will Be Improvised. ???? Scott Suchman

The Revolution Will Be Improvised at The Kennedy Center

Reviews July 5, 2022 Erin Tarpley

“The couch is your coffin; and social media the funeral parlor”

Are current events getting you down? Starting to feel the weight of it all? Well The Second City’s The Revolution Will Be Improvised, now playing at the Kennedy Center through July 31st, may be what you need to laugh a little while you cry (or rage).

Performed by an amazingly talented ensemble cast, The Second City’s The Revolution Will Be Improvised does a lovely job of pulling topics from the headlines and poking fun at them while also not forgetting to address the real-world effect these events have on people in the present,

To Kill a Mockingbird ????Julieta Cervantes

To Kill A Mockingbird at The Kennedy Center

Reviews June 25, 2022 Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington

If we needed a fresh take on this American classic, then playwright Aaron Sorkin has delivered it. Don’t get us wrong, this is still the Harper Lee story that most of us know and love, but it has been adapted in a 21st century manner, with some characterizations that are a bit more nuanced and, arguably, real. To summarize up front, this is a production we think everyone should see. Unfortunately, like so much entertainment with a powerful message,

Mary-Kate Olsen Is In Love at Strand Theatre

Reviews June 24, 2022 Mike Zellhofer

The current production at the Strand Theatre caused me to reflect on not who I am, but rather who I think I am. We all do it. Whether it is second guessing yourself, staying inside not because of COVID but for fear of being seen, or even trying to live up to what we think society wants us to be. Bottom line is we are far quicker to see the worth in someone else before we see it in ourselves.

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,

Falsettos at Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theatre

Reviews June 22, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Homosexuals. Women with children. Short insomniacs. Ex-ex lovers. Happy lesbians. And a teeny, tiny band. What a world they live in— welcome to ‘Falsettoland.’ Give these extraordinary performers a hand— the performers of Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theatre’s Falsettos, that is. This delightfully dizzying musical about LGBTQ+ life in New York as the AIDS crisis is getting underway features some of the most dazzling and haunting music with a striking story. With book by James Lapine &

Much Ado About Nothing at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews June 22, 2022 Erin Tarpley

“Friendship is constant in all other things, Save in the office and affairs of love.”

Love is in the air; but some may need a little meddling, I mean “help,” from their friends to realize it. As for the audience, it is easy to feel the love in Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Much Ado About Nothing. Playing under the open sky and in the ruins at the PFI Historic Park in Ellicott City now through July 24th,

Tarzan at Phoenix Festival Theatre

Reviews June 18, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Sure as the sun turns to moon— Phoenix Festival Theatre is putting on Disney’s Tarzan and it’s a world of wonder and whimsy, talent and heartfelt experiences! Directed and choreographed by Bambi Johnson with Musical Direction by Nathan Scavilla, this tremendous theatrical undertaking is swinging to wild and vivacious life at The Amoss Center in Bel Air for just three performances! A remarkably refreshing journey through all of your favorite numbers from the animated screen gem,

Night Watch at Cockpit in Court

Reviews June 17, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Are you a night owl? A moon people? Do you stay awake at night seeing bodies that nobody else sees in large, green, wingback chairs in an abandoned apartment slum across the alleyway from your own apartment? Perhaps you are secretly a part of— *gasp*— Night Watch now appearing in the upstairs cabaret performance space of Cockpit in Court. Directed by Linda Chambers, this suspenseful thriller will keep you guessing right up until the end.

Jersey Boys at The Kennedy Center

Reviews June 17, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

They’ve been working their way back to you, DC— and oh what a night do they have in store for you! That’s right— those four fellas standing under a street lamp singing together, making sounds like you never heard before? Jersey Boys is back, baby! For a two-week engagement, passing through The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the second-national tour of Jersey Boys is here, ready to refresh your memory on the heartfelt tale of Mr.

Cheryl Campo (center) as Mama Euralie and The Storytellers????Trent Haines-Hopper/THsquared Photography

Once On This Island at Cockpit In Court

Reviews June 15, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Two different worlds on one island. (Not unlike Cockpit in Court with two different productions in one theatre…one above and one below…) If you’re ready to be swept up in the most astonishing production to wash ashore on Cockpit In Court’s stages since the times of the before, then Once On This Island is the show for you. Directed and Choreographed by Tom Wyatt, with Musical Direction by Elizabeth Fink, the uplifting and joyous music of this stirring tale of love fighting to survive in the face of death is an astonishing experience all its own.

The Company of Hairspray. ????Jeremy Daniel

Hairspray at The Hippodrome

Reviews June 15, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Ever since this whole world began— the theatre found out if they shook it they could wake up the land and so they’re gonna shake and shimmy it the best that they can today— and all week long— as Baltimore’s very own Hairspray finally touches down here at Charm City’s Hippodrome Theatre. The long-awaited return of the National Tour has is finally shaking and shimmying its way into town— and you can’t stop this beat!

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;