Are you ready to be bad, Baltimore? Because the National touring production of Some Like It Hot is coming in hot and ready to shake up Charm City this May! In a quick phone interview with Devon Hadsell, playing Minnie on the tour, we get a full scope of why this show is so darn hot and fun!
Hello, Devon! Thank you so much for taking my call; weâre so excited to chat with you!
author: Leonard Taube
I could give you 525,600 reasons to go see Laurel Mill Playhouseâs production of RENT but that would be silly. So, Iâll give you one. How about love?
Jonathan Larsonâs masterpiece chronicles the lives of several struggling young artists/activists/musicians in New York set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic. With roots loosely in the 1896 opera La Boheme, Larsonâs tale is set in the then-thriving Alphabet City in Lower Manhattanâs East Village in New York.Â
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strifeâŚin graduations. 525,600 minutes, how do you measureâ a year in your life? Five of Childrenâs Playhouse of Marylandâs graduating seniors are measuring out their final year with the program by taking part in Rent (school edition) as their final senior show with the company. Weâve sat down with these five rising talents as theyâre about to bid CPM a fond farewell to hear what theyâve had to say about the experience.
Wouldnât you rather have 30 minutes of wonderful rather than a lifetime of nothing special? Well, this interview took about 50 minutes (and for a Al Herlinger cast thatâs short!) but it was certainly wonderful and special. Sitting down with the six talented women of Just Off Broadwayâs upcoming production of Robert Harlingâs Steel Magnolias, weâve done a deep-dive into what itâs like for these six womenâ mostly strangers to one another,
Blood and destructionâ because of one man. If that isnât ever an accurate summation of todayâs society compliments of Andrew Lloyd Webber⌠but if you strip away the myth from the manâŚwhat are you left with? A striking, and damn near award-winning production of Jesus Christ Superstar at The State Theater of Havre de Grace, thatâs what. Directed by Austin Barnes with Musical Direction by Jarrett Rettman, and Choreography by Veronica Lane, this brilliantly nuanced and extremely meticulously plotted production is a staging for the ages;
People have expectations of you because of how they see you and if you get caught up in how you are seen you become what people expect, be it good, bad, or otherwise. Powerful stuff packed heavily into the words of Dominique Morisseauâs Pipeline appearing as the penultimate production at Vagabond Players in their 109th season. Directed by Lorraine Brooks, this thought-provoking play tackles some tough subject matters and really makes you stop and think about perception,
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Shakespeare, ammiright? WRONG. Like so many of those popular âof the timesâ lines attributed to the plagiarizing bastard, this one also doesnât belong to Billy Shakes. (Itâs actually a deeply distorted misquote from William Congreveâs The Mourning Bride, 1697 but thatâs a tale for another time.) But the sentiment is definitely there. Famous. Timeless. Universal appeal. All percolating up and out of the Jacobean Era of England from that historically renowned master of page and pen,
Forget about the foxtrotâ throw away the waltz! Take away the two-step and all that other schmaltz! Are you ready for whatâs been going on in Phoenix? Itâs a doozyâŚmakes yaâ woozyâŚitâs the new phenomenonâ wellâŚnot that newâŚbut the first production of Mel Brooksâ Young Frankenstein this side of Charm City since 2022 (SLCT in Rising Sun!) And itâs all the rave and roar right in this reviewerâs backyardâ Third Wall Productions and their zany,
Everyone likes appetizers. Or hors d’oeuvres. Tapas? Small, delicious bites of flavorful morsels to tease the palette and titillate the senses. Well if that isnât exactly what Manor Mill Playhouse has on their stage this weekendâ earmarking their second-ever productionâ with Manor Mill Playhouse Shorts, three one-act plays with three different directors, three different sets of actors, and one deeply impressive evening of performances. Produced by Vanessa Eskridge, the eveningâs spread has three unique stories on offer,
Words mean what we say they mean. But whoâ whoâ areâ you? Are you who you say you are? Do you expect to believe that you are who you say you are? Are youâ Alice? Do you know Alice By Heart? Book by Steven Sater (lyrics too) & Jessie Nelson? Music by Duncan Sheik? If you werenât able to answer yes to any of those questions, then you should tumbled own the rabbit hole by way of Street Lamp Community Theatre to experience this rarely produced musical gem.
author: Anthony Case
Come to Scottfield Theatre Companyâs garden. Their Secret Garden, that is. Live at The Cultural Center at The Opera House in Havre de Grace, Director and Choreographer Becky Titelman and her company have put on yet another impressive showcase in their production of Marsha Norman and Lucy Simonâs intimidating and seldom-produced masterpiece: The Secret Garden. And with Musical Director LaShelle Bray and Stage Manager/Dialect Coach Sean Silence at her side (amongst others),
Folks say that things happen for a reason. I say Shucked happened for a reason. The great deities of musical theatre knew we were about to be living in the dark ages and the great deities of musical theatre knew we would need something whole-kernel-wholesome with literally a laugh-a-minute to lift us up out of the darkness and bring us into the radiant brightâ cornfield!? Who in tarnation knew that we so desperately needed a musicalâ about CORN!?
The world is cruel. The world is ugly. But there are times and there are people when the world is notâ and at its cruelest, itâs still the only world weâve got. Sing the bellsâŚbellsâŚbellsâŚbellsâŚbellsâŚbellsâ Bells of Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church!? Iâm not sure those are the lyrics that Stephen Schwartz scribbled down initially, but you can hear the bellsâ of the phenomenal orchestra, the stellar choir, and the extraordinary castâ in their current resplendent production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
author: Chris Pence
Stuck in the Middle With You: The Odd Couple at Bowie Community Theatre
Some things never change, like the frustration and camaraderie of having roommates, especially those that drive us crazier than a worm in a bowl of spaghetti (ITâS LINGUINI!!!). Neil Simonâs classic buddy comedy, The Odd Couple, screams its way onto the Bowie Community Theatre stage with hilarious consequence.
Perhaps Simonâs most well-known play,
Why do we seek out ecstasy in all the wrong places? A potent question that Jonathan Larson askes in his âstarter musicalâ TickâŚtick, BOOM! Unpopular opinion, as this show tends to be potent enough for the âtheatrical catnip crowdâ but if Larson had lived? This show would still be sitting on a shelf, collecting dust somewhere. Or at the very least been heavily rewritten, reconfigured, and modernized to feel somewhat more relevant and less self-aggrandizing/narcissistic pity-party.
Homegrown yuks getting cornier by the second! Must mean Shucked is coming to town! Checking in with Howard County native, Erick Pinnick, we do get a little earful about the poppinâ good time that is playing in the first National Tour of Shucked.
Thank you for giving us some of your time, Erick, itâs really exciting to get to talk to you!
Erick Pinnick: No problem.
Corn is so fantastic because it has a-maize-ing friends! There. I told my corn joke. And it popped! And if you need more of that corny humor, youâre in luck! Shucked is coming to Baltimore, landing at Baltimoreâs Hippodrome Theatre, and itâs bringing some local yokels with it! No joke and this isnât an April Foolsâ prank! Weâve had a phone-chat-interview with Jake Odmark, starring as Beau in Shucked, and we canât wait to share it with you!
author: Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington
The ExPats Theatre company (âa small theater that grapples with big ideasâ) presents a âsatirical tale on toxic masculinityâ, Testosterone, at a time in which a political revival of masculinist ideals seems to be on the horizon.
Yet Testosterone is equally a satirical take on gated communities, smug elites bemoaning the violence they see on their televisions,
author: Chris Pence
A Rose By Any Other Name: Romeo & Juliette at Laurel Mill Playhouse
âTwo households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.â1 Itâs the classic tale of love and loss, hate and betrayal, ancient grudges to new mutiny, â[w]here civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.â1 Jacqueline Youm breathes new life into the tale as old as time itself with Romeo &
author: Erin Tarpley
Definition of âRarefiedâ: distant from the lives and concerns of ordinary people
It is sometimes hard to believe that this week marks the five-year anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 âlock-down.â That time in our all too recent history where we were told that for the benefit of public health and safety, all stores, businesses, and schools would close their doors and everyone (except âessential workersâ) were expected to shelter in place and wait for this new novel virus to pass.
Everybodyâs got to be somewhere! Donât vanish out of thin airâ when you can be where itâs all happening. City of Angels, a rarely produced, quirky, diamond in the rough, style musical that nods to the meta notion of play-within-a-play as well as the golden, glimmering era of Hollywood in the 40âs, is now appearing at the New Spire Arts Stages for one weekend only with Landless Theatre Company. Known for their production of obscure works and putting their own unique spin on popular theatre,
Theyâre gonna shake you! Theyâre gonna bake you! A donkey! Pot! Whoopsie. Thatâs the wrong iteration of that showâŚnow letâs see hereâŚI made the left onto Thomas Run RoadâŚgot turned around at Maleficentâs castleâ oh! Oh there it is. Phoenix Festival Theatre! Hiding out at The Amoss Center with their production of Shrek the musical! (Which does not include âDonkey Pot Pieâ, not even sure that song ever made it off Broadway!) Directed by Emily Jewett with Musical Direction by Mia Bray and Choreography by Samantha Jednorski,
author: Cybele Pomeroy
Clybourne Park, running at Spotlighters through March 30th, 2025, shows us two days, (two hours, really) separated by 50 years, in the life of one living room in a suburb undergoing change. It is a âgoodâ neighborhood, experiences decline and is now on the cusp of gentrification. It begins in the home just purchased by the Younger family of Raisin In The Sun, and Act I is the very same Moving Day in the home Lena Younger has just purchased,
Follow the yellow brick road. Follow the yellow brick road? Follow the yellow brick road! Tra-la-la-la-laâ follow the yellow brick road! And you too can be off to see The Wizard of Oz (youth edition) at Childrenâs Playhouse of Maryland this merry month of March. Appearing as the penultimate production in their 2024/2025 season, The Wizard of Oz (youth edition) will take you on a familiar journey down that yellow brick road as Dorothy,
Shoes can protect a manâs journey but only his heart can choose the path. And your heart will take you on the path to Silhouette Stages and their impressive production of Kinky Boots! Directed by Jeremy Goldman with Musical Direction by Matthew Dohm and Choreography by Jeremy A. McShan, this much-needed story of accepting people for who they are is chock-a-block with talent, packed full of energy, enthusiasm, and will have you lit like a live wire by eveningâs end.
author: Jake Schwartz
A show that spans multiple decades⌠but in reverse? Damascus Theatre Company presents Merrily We Roll Along at the famous Gaithersburg Arts Barn. Directed by Keith Edward, Merrily tells the story of three âold friendsâ, Franklin, Charlie, and Mary, and their writing journey. Edwardâs direction was clear, the staging was clever, and his concept was fascinating (pay attention to the changes to the set over time.)
Technically,
Everybody should have something to point to, something to be proud of, something that says âI was there. I did that. I accomplished that.â And at the end of March 2025, ten actors, four musicians, and a whole crew of theatre tech & production crew will be able to point at a poster, archived in a frame on a wall somewhere and say, âI did that. I was there. I accomplished that.
The 30th anniversary tour of Riverdance taps in at the Kennedy Center from March 4th – 16th, in the Opera House. In Riverdance, Bill Whelan, Moya Doherty and John McColgan have created a show that has revolutionized ethnic dance, rendering it wildly appealing to general audiences. The production is well worth a visit for anyone who loves energetic dance, visual spectacle, toe-tapping rhythm, and absurdly talented performers.
First mounted in 1995,
Society is what decides whoâs sane and who isnât. Loaded statement? Seems oddly accurate, all things considered. But if youâre ready to forget about the insane society in which weâre all presently attempting to survive and spend a couple of hours tucked away in the nice, sterile, padded safety of Nurse Ratchedâs ward for the acute and chronic, self-proclaimed psycho-ceramics-the-crackpots-of-humanity, then Other Voices Theatre has just the show for you. One Flew Over the Cuckooâs Nest,
Sets. Costumes. Lights. Magic. Theyâve actually got all of those things. Which is pretty dang impressive all things considered. Artistic Synergy of Baltimore is razzle-dazzling with their current production of Pippin, directed by Broadus Nesbitt with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans and Choreography by Samantha Reynolds. Lending itself to the cobbled-together nature that church-basement-community theatre is often expected to present, this production of Pippin sets the bar high with its full and resonant ensemble,