I’ll give you a picture, you give me a script in two weeks. Better yet, I’ll give you a play, well, I won’t give you a play, see, that’s the job of The Yellow Sign Theatre Company. And they could be giving you a love story, they could be giving you animal mutants. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then their production of Mike Jancz’ new work The Business End is surely worth one evening of your attention?
Come sing about love! And build a better city, not a city of angels but a city of man. The message is clear and in this particular moment in time it couldn’t be more relevant than what’s rolling out to the audience from Silhouette Stage’s production of Godspell. Directed by Stephen M. Deininger, with Musical Direction by Robin Trenner, this reimagined take on Stephen Schwartz’ music and John-Michael Tebelak’s original conception is exactly what the world needs in this time of destruction and man-wrought chaos.
2 Across, by Jerry Mayer of such writing fame as M*A*S*H and All in the Family, is an enjoyable evening of theatre at the Theater Project Beltsville, considering the subject you are watching is two commuters doing a crossword puzzle. Nestled in the corner of a strip mall among five storefront churches, Abiding Presence Lutheran Church offers no pretensions of being a theater.
Life is only important if you can help plenty of people. And Centerstage is helping plenty of people by jammin’ and jammin’ and jammin’ and jammin’ to the groovy heartfelt love that can only be Bob Marley. With Music and Lyrics by the Reggae legend himself and a Book written by Centerstage’s Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, this intricate examination of Marley’s life and his work to help the masses is a moving experience that shakes the soul with the chords of justice,
Red! The blood of angry men! Black! The Dark of ages past! Red! A world about to dawn! Black! The night that ends at last! Night has ended and the world is dawning at the Children’s Playhouse of Maryland. Painted in the bold barricade colors of red and black, and just a season behind the sensational trend of producing the internationally acclaimed musical, CMP brings the iconic production of Les Miserables to the stage for Baltimore to enjoy.
“Nobody puts baby in a corner.” Johnny Castle’s immortal line repeated like a wave of mantras through the pre-show audience, ranging in age from people who have older siblings who have the film memorized to people who were teenagers during the play’s setting of the summer of 1963. Now appearing in musical form, Dirty Dancing, with Book by Eleanor Bergstein and Music and Lyrics by John Morris, takes to the stage at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center as a part of the Broadway Across America— CareFirst Hippodrome Broadway series.
We go on pretending that stories like ours have happy endings. But in the game of chess, who can say where the story will end? One king conquered, one queen fallen; a gripping story of love, war, and a deceptively simple board game set to stirring music comes to live in the Kensington Arts Theatre production of Chess the musical. With their most ambitious production to date, KAT succeeds in winning over the audience with the Music of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson,
A marvelous illusion. A terrible surprise! Who knew that The Salem Players were passing themselves off as a little community theatre when in actuality they were harboring operatic talent in their repitoire? Presenting a rarely seen Gilbert and Sullivan, The Sorcerer takes to the stage at TSP and is really quite the accomplishment. The talent and voices alone that waft off that stage surpass any expectations that come to mind when one thinks of little community theatres,
In the modern dieting trends where slimming down is all the rage even the world of the theatre could not be spared from the ravages of this new craze. Shakespeare gives us a smorgasbord of poetry and imagery; beautiful and powerful and in the new diet-approved rendition of Bard-Light: tragedies in under an hour, The BOOM Theatre Company is rendering down Macbeth to its purest essence; a powerhouse of moving and monumental scenes.
A genuine princess is exceedingly rare. A genuine fairytale is exceptionally brilliant. Having both together on one stage for a musical is nothing short of a miracle. The Saint Gabriel Miracle Players have found such a miracle with the tremendously talented cast and design team of their current production of Once Upon a Mattress. A rare treat to have such a silly story told with such stellar vocal quality; the music and lyrics of Mary Rodgers and Marshall Barer come to whimsical fruition against Jay Thompson and Dean Fuller’s book— there’s a happily ever after waiting for theatergoers who enjoy sparkling singers and gorgeous costumes.
Bienvenue sur le carnaval! Where the broken sands of time and fairy floss floats o’er the fairgrounds of The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre. You won’t recognize a single song in this flash of 21 vignettes, at least not by their lyrics, but the iconic melodies of Jacque Brell tinkle blissfully under each song inviting the audience into a cantering calliope of romanticism, cynicism, and jingly jaunts of whimsy. Directed by Timoth David Copney with Musical Direction by Michael Tan,
They’re creepy and they’re kooky! Mysterious and ookey! They’re all together spooky— and now they’re rising up from the dead over at Dundalk Community Theatre. Closing out the 2014-2015 season, DCT presents The Addams Family. All the rage in theatres across the state of Maryland, the black-clad family is putting the fun in dysfunctional as they take to the stage. Iconic characters, memorable musical numbers composed by the infamous Andrew Lippa,
When the set has five separate doors— and a pun for a title— a farce is surely in the offing. A cast of nine and five doors means many opportunities for getting away, for being clueless, and… well, a few other things you can do with doors. These five doors belong to a luxurious suite at the Palm Beach Royale Hotel, where not one but two top-grade Hollywood divas have come to raise money for the USO.
Vote yes! Vote yes! Vote for independency! For God’s sake, theatergoers, sit down! And make sure you do it over at Toby’s Dinner Theatre where history comes to life in one of her most striking productions to date. 1776, a revolutionary tale of how the great nation of America got its start is well underway as spring gets started close to the nation’s capitol. Directed by Jeremy Scott Blaustein and Shawn Kettering,
Golf if not a game. It’s a way of life. And for the spring season at the Reston Community Players, golf is all the rage as they present the hysterical Ken Ludwig comedy Fox on the Fairway. Directed by Adam Konowe, this uproarious farcical piece of comic greenery will chip away at your funny bone for the full 18 holes of the course. With outrageous characters,
How do you shut a mind? Factory449 will expose you to senseless charges, baseless allegations, and brutality in their strikingly disturbing staged adaptation of Closetland written by Radha Bharadwaj. Directed by Rick Hammerly and featuring company members Sara Barker and David Lamont Wilson, this shocking and gut-wrenching political drama permeates deep into the darkened territory of psychological torture. An unforgiving and abrasive script begging to be set in the theatre,
“Live to inspire and to be inspired.” A powerful quote that surfaced in one of five incredible plays performed at the secondary night of the Young Playwrights’ Theater’s New Play Festival on Tuesday night April 21, 2015. The second of three nights for this festival featured five different plays from the middle school category of plays. YPT, as they’re known around the district, is celebrating its 20th year of supporting young writers in and around Washington DC with this incredible opportunity.
Italia – che bella! The beautiful language, the exquisite cuisine, the sensual music – there’s a reason Italy is considered one of the most romantic places in the world! While Italy may seem worlds away, here in Baltimore we are able to experience our own little taste of the Old World culture in downtown’s Little Italy. With all of its independent restaurants, featuring charming atmospheres and top-notch foods, Little Italy is one of the most romantic places that Charm City has to offer.
Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight! Phone rings, door chimes, in comes company! Does anyone still wear a hat? Vagabond Players is wearing a sensational hat of many flavors, providing you all the company you could ask for and giving you a comedy, with hints of heart-melting sorrow, with their production of Stephen Sondheim’s Side by Side by Sondheim. A truly one of a kind Sondheim musical revue, everything’s coming up Shannon, as Director Shannon Wollman makes her directorial debut with the company’s second musical of the 99th season.
Outrageously delicious satire is being served hot as the main course over at the Howard Community College Arts Collective this spring as they present Avery Crozier’s Eat The Runt. Directed by S. G. Kramer, this zany upended play without pronouns is a brand new breed of comedic chaos that features a different cast every night! You read correctly: eight actors, eight characters but no two shows are quite the same! With a scintillating whirlwind script this installation of theatrical insanity ensures a night of rip-roaring comic displacement that will have you wriggling to the edge of your seat.
Are you asleep? Good. Let us begin. A vestibule awaits your arrival inside the doors of the Enoch Pratt House; a house preserved in time and seldom available to the public. Instructions await you from one of the house’s many stewards— exploring is encouraged, speaking unless spoken to is prohibited, unearthly events may occur. An intensely immersive theatrical experience like no other in Baltimore, Washington, or any of the surrounding metropolitan areas, The Mesmeric Revelations!
What is language if not an act of faith? Take a leap into the language of the theatre and you’ll find yourself pleasantly pleased with Silver Spring Stage’s current production of Julia Cho’s The Language Archive. Directed by Joseph Coracle, this tender tale of words and love finds the soft spot of your heart and whispers the language of true understanding. A carefully crafted touching drama with an exceptional cast guiding the story through an ocean of linguistics,
Artists make illusions of illusions of heaven and the artists dreaming with the voices loud as thunder in the minds at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre have fabricated an illustriously dark and decadently dark distortion of heaven in their current production of Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man. Directed by visionary and company member Julie Herber, this nightmarish dreamscape of fascination entreats the senses, tugs at the heartstrings and ensnares the soul in a fashion most mesmeric.
From the moment Kecia Campbell strides on stage as Sophie Washington in a plain, sensible dress and sturdy boots, toting a shotgun, Flyin’ West presents realistic, incisive portrayals of the women of color who settled the West in the 19th century. It’s set in the real-life town of Nicodemus, Kansas where newly-freed African Americans created a community following the Civil War. Presented by Bowie Community Theatre at The Bowie Playhouse and Directed by Estelle Miller,
Glory to God in the highest and peace to those Nuns who have taken over St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Riverdale, Maryland. (Generously sponsored by the Wolf Pack Theatre Company and Directed by William Dean Leary, this comedic production of Nunsense benefits Bountiful Blessings and Men Against Breast Cancer) According to Reverend Mother, the sisters were originally going to use the Spanish church across the street from St. John’s for their fundraiser BUT due to a language barrier,
There is a blurry shadow that exists between this world and the next. Dreams and Nightmares Aerial Theatre lives up to their company’s namesake as they explore this veil of death and humanity with a dark and cautionary, but exquisitely beautiful fairytale. Crafted from a dream, Baltimore writer Annelise Montone brings language to the sleepy vision of the company’s Artistic Director Kel Millionie. Directed by Millionie, this phantasmagorical performance blends the lines of dreams and nightmares to create a unique and emotionally evocative experience that plagues the mind with curious questions.
It’s a long road, but a good one; the journey through The Herzog Festival at Centerstage this spring. At least, the back end of the road is worth the journey. Debuting as the second half of the repertory cycle, 4,000 Miles, makes a more lasting impression and is overall more tolerable and enjoyable as a production than its counterpart, After the Revolution. This work, though it is unclear as to where it sits in time in regards to the aforementioned play,
Shakespeare’s gone wild! It’s exactly like it sounds— crazy women, 37 plays, and a whole lot of vomiting! What could make for a better evening of hysterical gut-busting entertainment than the Fells Point Corner Theatre’s production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)? Which, they are totally proud to present? Directed by Howard Berkowitz, this laugh-a-minute comedy will crack your funny bone wide open and unearth the Bard like you’ve never seen him before.
The more insane a man is, the more powerful he becomes. To experience the ultimate theatrical power in action join the Psychoceramics— humanity’s crackpots— at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre for their production of Dale Wasserman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Directed by Greg Bell, this gripping off-kilter psycho drama, adapted from the novel by Ken Kesey, delves deep into the human psyche and confronts the inner pollutions of the minds of society’s outcasts: the insane.
You can’t fight for change and be nice. But how will you feel at the end of your days when you look back to see how your time was spent? Will you be proud, or will the blanket coverall statement of “we did what we had to do” come to mind? An evocative, albeit esoterically focused, drama kicks off The Herzog festival at Centerstage this spring. After the Revolution, written by Amy Herzog and Directed by Lila Neugebauer,