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 showâŠnow letâs see hereâŠI made the left onto Thomas Run RoadâŠgot 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,
If youâre going to call something sh*t, you have to have some standards to judge it by! A direct-ish quote from Yasmina Rezaâs Art but one that I can relate to all too well; if youâre going to call somethingâ anything (more often in my vein of critiquing, âbrilliant, masterpiece, etc.â)â you have to have some standards to judge it by. Appearing for the second time in a decade of stage performance,
author: Erin Tarpley
âFrom Farm to Fableâ
What did the corn say when it received a compliment?
âAw, shucks!â
And there are so, so many compliments to shuck around this a-maize-ing show that one could say is outstanding in its field with its whirlwind of corny puns and jokes which is simply named: Shucked.
In case you have never heard of this show,
author: Chris Pence
Life on The Ice Floe: Quitting Time at The Baltimore Theatre Project
In todayâs world, discrimination is an all-to-prevalent problem that plagues modern society. It has many faces, including by race, sex, religion, and political affiliation. One of the faces least addressed in todayâs world is age discrimination. Agism is an issue that many people face daily, yet few people are ready to discuss its true impact.
author: Leonard Taube
Feel like a laugh? Want to get away from it all for a bit? Got the urge to guffaw? If you answer yes to all those questions, consider taking a field trip to the Roosevelt Center in historic Greenbelt where The Greenbelt Arts Center is putting on an original play entitled No Laughing Matter by local playwright Jeff Dunne. But donât let the title fool you. This show is all about laughter and believe me there are laughs aplenty from the opening scene till curtain call.
Thereâs only two rules in Truvyâs Beauty Shop. Thereâs no such thing as natural beauty and nobody cries alone. And if youâre coming all the way up to Havre de Grace Parish to catch that charming little production of Steel Magnolias, you wonât be alone when youâre crying through the tough moments of that screen-stage iconic story of the six female friends in small town Louisiana. Directed by Bobby Mahoney, this production will bring you Truvyâs favorite emotionâ laughter through tears,
With patience and faith we remain unafraid; Paciencia y fe! A more profound message could not be more true in our current climate where joy is in short supply, the future is questionable, and every day we wonder what terrifying headline will cross our news feeds. Lighting up the night sky with their emotionally illuminating production of Lin-Manuel Mirandaâs In The Heights, Signature Theatre is sending this love-letter from the Washington Heights Barrio out to the world of Northern Virgina,
author: Anthony Case
There is a lot to say about the play for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf by Nzotake Shange. The play, or choreopoem as she put it, was written in 1977 and has become a legendary text in black theater. Its exploration of the trials and joys and hardships of being both black and a woman in America has spoken strongly to black women,
Didja know that one of them actresses in that Itâs The Comedy of Errors, Hon! has a baby who shares the exact same birthday as mah nephew? Theyâre both now eight months old, hon! Thatâs Smalltimore for ya! And while I didnât invent that phrase, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is reinventing the wheel with itâs fabulously uplifting, nonsensical production of Itâs The Comedy of Errors, Hon! Directed by company founder Ian Gallanar,
It moves us allâ through despair and hope, through faith and loveâ and Disneyâs The Lion King has found its place on the path unwindingâ right here in Charm City at Baltimoreâs very own Hippodrome Theatre! The mighty tale of the circle of life returns to Baltimore once more and is the joyful uplifting theatrical experience that everyone in the world needs right now. Directed by Julie Taymor with Choreography by Garth Fagan,
May ya be half an hour in heaven before the devil knows youâre dead. May ya be half an hour into this Martin McDonagh dark drama before you know what youâve gotten yourself into. Maryland Ensemble Theatre picks up its 2025/2026 season with the deliciously dark work of McDonagh, to whom they are no strangers, this time with The Beauty Queen of Leenane, directed by Elizabeth van den Berg. Perception is a tricky thing,
author: Chris PenceÂ
Voices in My Head: Be More Chill at Rockville Musical Theatre
Itâs the classic high school drama: boy meets girl, boy fails to impress girl, boy takes pill containing supercomputer to become cooler, boy wins girl (at a cost.) Rockville Musical Theatreâs Be More Chill incorporates sci-fi, humor, and typical high school drama, to give audiences a new view on how technology and peer pressure mold students into the adults they learn to be during those endless teenage years.
author: Chris Pence
The More Things Change: âFires in the Mirrorâ at Laurel Mill Playhouse
What defines us, and what defines our views of the world? Is it our race? Gender? Religion? Culture? The community in which we live, or to which we belong? Laurel Mill Playhouse gives us a moment to reflect on these and many more questions in presenting Anna Deavere Smithâs Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights,
I canât see why people disagree each time I tell them what I know is trueâ and Iâm telling peopleâ the Suburban Players of Saint Demetriosâ production of Hairspray is where itâs at! Now run and tell that! Marking their 50th anniversary season, and the first of many area productions of Baltimoreâs iconic musical, the Suburban Players of Saint Demetrios are putting on an extraordinary showâ a true Bawlmer extravaganza, hon! And you wonât want to miss it!
Four venues and seven years agoâ they had trouble! Right there in Bawlmer County. And theyâre at it again! Further up here in Bawlmer CountyâŠwhich starts with a B and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool! Them rootinâ tootinâ gosh-darn Iowa-stubborn Third Wallers certainly know the territory! And theyâre bringing you a rollicking good musical theatre classicâ Meredith Wilsonâs The Music Man. With 76 trombones! (WellâŠone trombone, played by Harry B.
author: Leonard Taube
What do you get when you take an old classic musical from a bygone era, pepper it with a cast of Broadway stars, toss it in a sauce of catchy song and dance numbers and top it off with shavings of parody? What else but Schmigadoon!, a new musical which is holding its world premiere at The Kennedy Center in our nationâs capital. Loosely based on the 1947 Broadway musical Brigadoon (later to become a film version in 1954 starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse) about a fictitious village in the highlands of Scotland that only appears once a century,
Just when you thought Baltimoreâs Hippodrome Theatre couldnât get any more exciting for the 2025/2026 seasonâ after announcing that Andrew Lloyd Webberâs The Phantom of the Opera will be launching its National Tour right from the heart of Charm City in November of 2025â the whole rest of the season announcement has dropped and itâs a glitter bomb of spectacular proportions! Three National Tour launchesâ not one, not two, but THREE. Seven extraordinary shows;
Half of Chinquapin Parish would give their eye teeth to play opposite their real-life daughter in the iconic mother-daughter duo roles (originally made famous by Sally Field and Julia Roberts in the 1989 original film) of MâLynn and Shelby Eatenton in Steel Magnolias. Tidewater Players is giving that exact opportunity to Jessica Brockmeyer and daughter Mackenzie Brockmeyer, who are playing opposite one another as MâLynn and Shelby in the companyâs upcoming production of Steel Magnolias,