To go or not to go? That is the question! Technically it’s ‘be’ or ‘not be’ but with Shakespeare being hundreds of years of dead, I’m sure he’ll grant us this liberal creative license…especially considering what the world at large is doing to his canon from a musical standpoint! I won’t extoll and wax poetic like Polonius, earning me an eyeroll from Laertes and Ophelia, no I shall to the point as brevity is the soul of wit.
Let’s play a game of pretend. We’ll pretend it’s London, England in 1904 at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies… where only the most prestigious of young girls are sent to learn schooling and etiquette. Having fun playing along yet? That’s exactly what the almost all-female cast of A Little Princess is doing at St. Gabriel’s Miracle Players this November. Adapted from the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, in special production arrangement with The Dramatist Publishing Company of Woodstock,
Ay, me! What’s in a name? Would a show by any other name still be so tragic? Probably. The Bard’s Wagon Players have surfaced for their annual summertime “Shakespeare in the Park” production! And this year— the sizzling summer of 2022— it’s none other than the infamous tragedy, Romeo & Juliet. Directed by Nathan Rosen, Produced by Bob Frank, and Stage Managed by Liana Olear, this outdoor offering has two different locations— Hannah More Park in Reisterstown and Catonsville Community Park in Catonsville— over the course of two different weekends,
All’s fair in love and war. Shakespeare said it. Well, he didn’t actually. In fact, he wrote a whole bunch of plays that seemed to prove the opposite of fairness in war and especially in love. Much Ado About Nothing, one of the less-troubled comedies, is one such that is now making its way to outdoor (and temporarily indoor) stages by way of Gypsy Wagon Theatre Company this summer. Directed by Bill Soucy,
Moriarty was dead to begin with.
Not exactly your average Dickensian start to A Christmas Carol is it?
But these are the facts:
As luck or good holiday fortune might have it,
Tis the bloody business which informs thus to mine eyes: a theatre company hath sprung up afresh in Reisterstown. But not just any theatre company, nay, but The Gypsy Wagon Theatre Company, whose full intention is to be mobile. At first appearing to be little more than a tin can on wheels, do not be deceived, this collapsible trailer-esque stage is purporting a tall order of theatrical design— when it comes to lighting especially— and currently presenting a mighty solid production of Shakespeare’s very own Macbeth.
Guess what, in his bed, Pharaoh had an uneasy night! He had had a dream that pinned him to his sheets with fright: he dreamed that you missed out on seeing The Saint Gabriel Miracle Player’s spring musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat! Directed by Kacy Conley, this fun-loving, energetic modern-day classic show has a little something for everybody. It’ll get you go-go-go-dancing up in the aisles by the time the final curtain comes down!
Isn’t it delightful when a musical does what it ought to do? When it takes you away and gives you a few tunes to carry with you when you go? A feel good, honest fun, good comedic romp with some catchy numbers that lets you disappear for a while into the decadent world of the 1920’s, why that could only be The Drowsy Chaperone now appearing on stage in the Rice Auditorium with STAR Ltd!
Come errant knights and ladies! For it is time to sally forth toward the windmill—er, castle—and into the grand and touching tale of Don Quixote de La Mancha! Man of La Mancha, Directed by Heidi Toll, with a Book by Dale Wasserman and Music and Lyrics by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion respectively, is now playing at Saint Gabriel Miracle Players and boy is it a fun time! Performed as a “play within a play” this slightly pared-down version of the musical flourishes in its simple staging and still packs a wallop for theatre-goers of all ages.
Growing up in the 80’s I had several heroes, one of whom was Dolly Parton. I saw every movie, had every album and knew everything I could about her; I was a fanboy before the term fanboy was used in normal conversation. So getting the opportunity to see one of my favorite movies turned into a musical was extremely exciting for me and overall after leaving the theatre I was not disappointed. Silhouette Stages’ production of 9 to 5: the musical,