Is anybody there? Does anybody care? That certainly seems to echo the sentiments of our country at present where large groups of people are concerned. When the Founding Fathers of this infantile country set out to free themselves from the tyranny of King George and the mighty English Empire… well, what we’ve got here in 2023? I’m sure they never could have dreamed of this. The story is history, that much is true.
Somebody ought to open up a window! So that they can hear
the bellowing cries of the second continental congress as they piddle, twiddle,
and resolve over whether or not to start a revolution and declare independence
from Great Britain. Ready for America’s spirited beginnings? The Woodbrook
Players, successfully settled into their new home at Govans Presbyterian Church
on York Road right near Belvedere Square, are pleased to presenting to the
masses their spring musical: 1776!
I say this with humility in this— online open space! They’re your responsibility in— good ol’ Havre de Grace! If you want to see their show and all the feelings that they spill, in Havre de Grace Opera House that’s halfway down the hill, then for God sakes get thee to it! For Congress never will! Yes, yes, it’s not even July and the Tidewater Players are calling to order the second continental congress of America with their production of 1776.
I’ll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue, and it’s hey— to the starboard, heave-ho! Look out, lad, a mermaid be waiting for you in mysterious fathoms below! Come delve the depths of the fathoms below as TheatreBloom goes on an exclusive interview journey not quite 20,000 leagues under the sea, but rather goes “Under the Sea with CCP.” Exploring the principal cast of Charm City Player’s current production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid,
The 32nd Annual Helen Hayes Awards is just around the corner celebrating live professional theatre of all shapes and sizes in the nation’s capital city of Washington DC. This year’s ceremony will be presented at the historic Lincoln Theatre on Monday evening May 23, where 236 nominees are being honored, representing 202 eligible productions produced in 2015. In a TheatreBloom exclusive interview, we’ve taken a few quick moments with nominee David James (nominated in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical— Helen Production,
He’s obnoxious and disliked, haven’t you heard? This Boston radical! This ag-i-ta-tor! This demagogue! This madman! John Adams, the poster child for revolution inside Independence Hall. As the series Vote Yes: Inside Independence Hall draws to its conclusion in this ninth and final installment, TheatreBloom sits down with Toby’s seasoned veteran Jeffrey Shankle and discusses the forgotten founding father at length.
Welcome back, Jeffrey. It’s only been a few months since we saw you last,
“Franklin did this and Franklin did that and Franklin did some other damn thing. Franklin smote the ground and out sprang George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod and the three of them— Franklin, Washington, and the horse— conducted the entire revolution by themselves.” John Adams, 1776. While Ben Franklin may stand around quoting himself and John Adams complains about it, TheatreBloom continues on in the Vote Yes: Inside Independence Hall series with an exceptionally talented actor who has returned after retiring from the stage 29 years ago.
A patriot? Or a lover? The question isn’t so easily answered when writing a yet-to-be nation’s founding declaration against the prospect of seeing a doting and loving wife of six month’s absence are the choices. But as the play and history would dictate, Thomas Jefferson at the forcible hand of John Adams became a patriot and penned the brilliant declaration and the rest as they say is history. Continuing on as the seventh installment in the Vote Yes: Inside Independence Hall series,
Pins. Saltpeter. Does love and marriage have a place in pre-revolutionary America? One had better hope so otherwise Abigail Adams and Martha Jefferson will serve no purpose in Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards’ 1776. In the sixth installment of Vote Yes: Inside Independence Hall, TheatreBloom sits down with Santina Maiolatesi and MaryKate Brouillet, the only two female performers in 1776 to find out what it’s like to be a part of the independency revolution as a woman.
Crossing the line from nay to yea in the vote for independence is more than just having Congressional Custodian Andrew McNair slide a tally marker from one side of the board to the other. Continuing on in the interview series Vote Yes: Inside Independence Hall, TheatreBloom investigates the fence-sitting, decision-making members of congress— Samuel Chase of Maryland and Judge James Wilson of Pennsylvania— as played by Toby’s veteran performer Andrew Horn and Toby’s newcomer Scott Harrison,
Does one play the villain when one simply exposes the truth for what it is? The pungent aroma of hy-pocrisy wafting down from the north as John Adams campaigns for Independence in Philadelphia exposed by the surly tongue of Edward Rutledge in what is marked as one of the darkest musical numbers in 1776. Continuing on as the fourth installment of Vote Yes: Inside Independence Hall, TheatreBloom sits down with Dan Felton to discuss his antagonistic role inside the second continental congress.
The secretary of the second continental congress will now take the attendance. Actor Russell Silber, playing the congressional secretary, present with TheatreBloom as the third installment of Inside Independence Hall gets underway, and the labored debate for the vote on independence continues at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in their production of 1776.
If you could give us an introduction to yourself, tell us a little about where we might have seen you in the area on stage over the last year,
Hey, hey! Momma, look sharp. For you might just find two of Toby’s cast members of their current production of 1776 sitting down with TheatreBloom to talk about Independence Hall from the inside out. In Part Two of Inside Independence Hall, we sit down with Matthew Hirsh and David James to discuss the importance of the battlefield briefs being delivered to congress as they debate on the most important decision of our country’s history.
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,
Somebody opened up a window over at Toby’s Dinner Theatre and all of the thrilling behind-the-scenes details of their current production of 1776 have come freely flowing out into the open. In a TheatreBloom exclusive interview series entitled Vote Yes: Inside Independence Hall we sit down with the cast and creative team of the production to find out just what it’s like to mount this iconic historical event as a musical this season.
A secret in the house: a girl, a boy, a ring! Wednesday’s growing up— she’ll be Thursday before you know it! And she’s got herself a secret! His name Lucas Beineke and he comes from the “Normies.” Watch out, Addams family, there’s a whole lot of normal coming your way! In Part 5 of “Move Toward the Darkness” we sit down with MaryKate Brouillet and AJ Whittenberger to psychoanalyze the deep dark hole that is the love between Wednesday Addams and Lucas Beineke.