Articles Tagged With: Derek Cooper

The Guy Who Absolutely Loved Musicals: Chatting with Sammy Jungwirth about CJ Productions’ The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals

Interviews October 31, 2024 Amanda N. Gunther Leave a comment

Some make you happy! Some make you sad! Some are quite big! Some are quite small! Some are too long— some are just plays with song! And they’re— all— called— MUSICALS! And CJ Productions (a relatively new and upcoming small professional theatre company based in the Baltimore area) is producing The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. Direct from Team StarKid, this 2018 viral sensation of a musical is making its Charm City debut under the Direction of Sammy Jungwirth (the J in CJ Productions) with area musical director Charlotte Evans at his side.

Matilda at Scottfield Theatre Company

Reviews August 13, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

You’ve got to highlight what you’ve got! Even if what you’ve got is not a lot! You’ve got to be LOUD! And they are definitely loud! Loud with their lighting, loud with their costumes, and loud with their singing! Who’s being loud? Scottfield Theatre Company with their current production of Matilda. And even if what they’ve got is not a lot (of stage space) they don’t let a little thing like little stop them!

A Chorus Line at Dundalk Community Theatre

Reviews May 13, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

“…truly a singular sensation…full of heart, full of feeling, full of beautiful sounds and amazing dance routines…”

The Little Mermaid at Cockpit in Court

Reviews July 23, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

Look at their set; isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think their set design is so sweet? Wouldn’t you think Michael Rasinski’s the guy— the guy who’s designed everything? Look at those lights— colors so bold! How many wonders can Lighting Designer Thomas Gardner behold? Looking around the stage you’d think— the creative team’s done everything! They’ve got James Hunnicutt designing the properties. They’ve got Brent Tomchik making splashes with sound. You want Choreography? That’s Karli Burnham.

Catch Me If You Can at Dundalk Community Theatre

Reviews April 30, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

They’re live in living color! Dundalk Community Theatre’s got something special on tonight! They’re live in living color— ‘cause life ain’t lived in black and white. Their production of Catch Me if You Can is live in living color and it’s something you should see! It’s God damn and gumbo fabulous— it won’t fit in your TV! Directed by Robert W. Oppel, with Musical Direction by Cecile Audette, and smashing choreography by Vincent Musgrave,

Heathers at How Do You Like Me Now Productions

Reviews October 20, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

The extreme always seems to make an impression, so color me impressed that How Do You Like Me Now Productions, as the theatrical producing entity of Erase Hate Through Art, is producing Heathers: The Musical this Halloween season! It’s a real scream! And totally an extreme example of what both HDYLMN and EHTA stand for, when it comes to creating a world that’s free of hate and bullying. Produced by Grant Meyers and Directed by Ed Higgins with Musical Direction by Andrew Zile and Choreography by Kristin Rigsby,

Sharkspeare: The Water Ballet at Fluid Movement

Reviews July 30, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

To swim? Or not to swim! THAT is the question! And Fluid Movement has the answer with their annual summertime Water Ballet: SHARKESPEARE! Written collaboratively by Lynda Del Genis, Todd Gardner, Rachel Kassman, and Justin Sabe, with Kassman and Sabe serving as the show’s primary producers, this laugh-out-loud watery dorsal-fin approach to the Bard will have you in stitches with laughter over the terrible puns, the brilliant ideas, and in absolute awe at some of the synchronized swimming routines the execute in the vein of the Bard’s more popular tales.

The Dancing Princesses at Pumpkin Theatre

Reviews December 6, 2016 Leanne Stump

Hidden in the winding back roads of Owings Mills lies one of the oldest and only theatres in the Baltimore area specifically geared towards young audiences. Pumpkin Theatre is currently in its 49th year of producing child-friendly performances and educational outreach. It is clear from their current production that their mission to introduce young audiences to the stage is still going strong.

The Dancing Princesses written by Jimi Kinstle with music composed by Mandee Ferrier Roberts opens with a singing Chancellor played by Roberts and a very perplex King played by Derek Cooper.

Review: Peter Rabbit and Me at Pumpkin Theatre

Reviews September 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Be anybody, anyplace, anytime! Truer and more inspirational words would be hard-pressed to come by if they hadn’t been uttered straight from the mouth of Beatrix Potter! In a delightfully imaginative stage production that nestles itself cozily into the opening slot of Pumpkin Theatre’s 49th season, Peter Rabbit and Me, by Aurand Harris, is a fantastical adventure for young audiences and those audience members who are young of heart. Directed by Jeremy Scott Blaustein,