Articles Tagged With: Alex Brady

The Changeling at Brave Spirits Theatre

Reviews November 5, 2018 Claudia Bach

Who, precisely, is the title character in Brave Spirits Theatre’s production of The Changeling, by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, is left open to interpretation. The text of the play speculates on the question but does not provide a definitive answer. Director Charlene V. Smith takes that tone of ambiguity and plays with it brilliantly in her approach to the script. She takes a late-Renaissance play that features violence, misogyny, and sexual assault as major plot elements,

The Duchess of Malfi at Brave Spirits Theatre

Reviews October 30, 2018 Joshua Engel

John Webster is, perhaps, an even better patron saint for Brave Spirits than William Shakespeare: he brings both the verse, and the violence with The Duchess of Malfi. Katie Culligan brings the Duchess’ power from her first silent moments on stage. She is strong and self-possessed, charming and beautiful, grounded and passionate. Her performance is closely nuanced at every moment.

The villain of the piece is Ferdinand, her brother,

Casa Valentina at Colonial Players

Reviews June 1, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s bad and beautiful; it’s bawdy and bizarre! For just who is who and what is what is quite the question at— well— Harvey Fierstein’s other smash-hit show, Casa Valentina, making its community theatre area debut at Colonial Players. Directed by Mickey Lund, this edgy, inspiring, and potently poignant dramedy will give you, as the modern phrasing goes, “all the feels.” Despite its early 1960’s setting, the show’s relevance to the world of 2018 is remarkable;

Sex With Strangers at Colonial Players

Reviews February 28, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

Give one sentence that totally encapsulates who you are. Impossible. What if you’re an egomaniac? That’s simple. You don’t care what people say about you as long as they say something. What if you’re a deeply insecure and rapidly approaching middle-age writer whose rejection track record has kept your current literary prospects from being approachable? That’s a bit more complex. It might be best if you don’t try to find that sentence and instead venture to Colonial Players to see their production of Sex With Strangers.

33 Variations at Colonial Players

Reviews October 26, 2017 Spencer Nelson 1 Comment

Theme and Variations as defined by Merriam-Webster “a standard form of musical composition consisting of a simple usually harmonized melody presented first in its original unadorned form then repeated several or many times with varied treatment so based on the theme that at least some semblance of its general melodic or harmonic form is evident”. While the definition pertains to music it can also be thought that our lives are a variation on a theme or ideal of what we imagine and hope it will be.

Shiloh at Colonial Players of Annapolis

Reviews September 12, 2017 Spencer Nelson

We live in a time in history where it is almost impossible to find a new take or a new viewpoint on anything, especially something as talked about and scrutinized as the Civil War. But this is Shiloh and if you have the opportunity to head to downtown Annapolis this fall that is exactly what you will get and you will even get some laughs along the way! In a small 360° theater just off State Circle,

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Colonial Players

Reviews May 24, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther 2 Comments

An actor knows his audience and what it wants. The actors of Colonial Players of Annapolis certainly know that their audiences want comedy. And they do deliver in the finale production of the 2016/2017 season. Directed by Steve Tobin, Colonial Players proudly presents Christopher Durang’s Tony Award-Winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Beware of presentiments! Beware of Hootie Pie! Be a wild turkey!

Chock full of Chekhov,

Review: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Colonial Players

Reviews October 24, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Do people learn nothing from history? Not that there is nothing to learn but that people actively learn nothing, for surely somewhere in the annals of recorded time there are couples who engage in dark play, where not everyone in the game knows the rules. That’s exactly the mechanism that snaps to life in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? now appearing on stage at Colonial Players as the second selection in their 68th season.