author: Jake Schwartz
Anyone need a shave? Why not come on down to Fleet Street? Or even better – why not come down to Rockville Musical Theatre’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
We need to start by saying Director Karen Fleming does a PHENOMENAL job with this production. The show was a well-oiled machine, and while the run time was nearly 3 hours: it didn’t feel that way at all.
Girls never marry the men that they flirt with! Unless they’re flirting with a handbag! There’s something to be said for a tried and true chestnut of the stage. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, in its originality, is tried and true and presently on the stage at Greenbelt Arts Center under the direction of Stephen Cox. Humorous, salty, and often silly— the three best things one could want for a period comedy of romance and frivolity— this production is charming and well-paced and will tickle your fancy whether you’re new to Wilde and his wondrous strange notions of romantic comedies or cherish his work with great fondness.
As I
watched The Last Night of Ballyhoo, written by Alfred Uhry and directed
by Ilene Chalmers, at the Bowie Community Theatre, I had a thought somewhere during
Act I, Scene 4: “This play really is about something.” This is
not to say that I disliked the production before that; even before coming to
that revelation I would have acknowledged the stellar set and the faultless
performances from the cast.
During
the late 1800s in London, England – in a climate of prudishness and classism – especially
among the aristocratic elite – playwright Oscar Wilde turned social convention
on its ear by penning his farcical tour de force, The Importance of Being Earnest – subtitled, “A Trivial Play for
Serious People.” Director Bill Hurlbut is currently taking on this scandalous comedy
of manners at the highly lauded Silver Spring Stage, but instead of keeping it
in the Victorian era,
How goes the world? A loaded question if ever there was one to be asked, especially in this day and age. But set yourself back from this day and age, set your dial of existence back to 1978 in order to prepare yourself to digest The Rude Mechanicals’ latest offering: Timon of Athens. Directed by Joshua Engel, this miscreant play of Williams Shakespeare’s is finding a new lens through which to be viewed in the hands of The Rude Mechanicals.
Who is going to believe a con artist? Everyone, if she [he] is good. – Andy Griffith
In the 18th century, a grifter named Samuel Thompson tried to swindle people out of their money and watches by attempting to gain their confidence. Though in the end he was not highly successful, the New York Herald publicized the story, dubbing him the “Confidence Man.” The term took off and was eventually shortened to simply – “con man.” In 1988,
While there’s nothing that’s formal and nothing that’s normal, there is something for everyone at Silhouette Stages—a true comedy tonight! Old situations! New complications! Nothing portentous or polite! There may be tragedy tomorrow but, thankfully, there is A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum tonight! Smartly directed by Conni Ross, with superb Musical Direction by William Georg, and entertaining Choreography by Tina DeSimone and her assistant Maddie Bohrer,
Just the name alone brings an image to the mind, Frankenstein. What did you picture? A large green man with stitches covering him and bolts in his neck? While that is the general depiction of Frankenstein in our society today, the reality is that the name actually belongs to the doctor that gave life and not to his creation. Though it could be said that Doctor Frankenstein himself is the monster all along, a thought that drives the current production of Frankenstein at the Bowie Playhouse.
Tis the season for businesses to capitalize on the holiday season, and the business of show is no exception. Local theatre listings for December are replete with Dickensian tales, miracles on some street or another, and Red Ryder BB guns. And then there are the companies that stage a piece that is a “holiday show” only insofar as it takes place on or around Christmas, thereby giving them an excuse to deck the set with boughs of holly and play carols in the lobby.
They’re practically perfect, in every way! Almost practically perfect, that’s what we say! Mary Poppins popping up on the Bowie Playhouse Stage by way of 2nd Star Productions. Directed by Fred Nelson with Musical Direction by Sandy Melson Griese, this charming and quaint little Disney ditty is a lovely offering for the summertime. Anything can happen if you let it and they’re letting anything and everything happen on that stage; well, practically,
Something funny’s going on and it isn’t very pretty.
This is how it all began: with a murder of a man!
In Columbia City, Maryland— something funny’s going on. There’s a lot I haven’t told yet— there’s a musical, a show, and it’s real important you go! To Silhouette Stages to see their production of Lucky Stiff, a delightfully humorous musical farce based on the book The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo by Michael Butterworth.
Who? Who? Who? The St. Gabriel Miracle Players. What? What? What? The King & I upon the stage as the 2016 spring musical. Directed by Chuck Dick with Musical Direction by Rob White and a live Orchestra conducted by Matt Elkey, this tried and true Rogers & Hammerstein classic comes to the community in the very merry month of May with all of its iconic music, well-loved stories, etc. etc. etc.
In true community fashion the show’s aesthetic is crafted not with one designer in each area of expertise but with a full village of visionaries who share a passion for making theatre thrive in the local scene of Woodlawn.
Misery. Grief. Despair. These are the ailments with which English housewife Charlotte Wilson finds herself plagued in the suffocating confines of dreary, rainy London. She needs a break. She needs to bring purpose into her life, which she feels like she is fast losing. One day, as she is contemplating this, she reads an advertisement in the paper, and Charlotte Wilton finds herself swept up in the enchantment of an up-for-rent village on the coast of Italy,
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.
Hear ye! Hear ye! The royal proclamation has been set down by Prince George, and his little theatre, that those interested in a most fanciful retelling of a treasured fairytale find their way by foot, horse, hired carriage, fairy godmother, and any other means necessary to the quaint little playhouse in the woods and witness the whimsically enchanting production of Once Upon a Mattress, being performed by the aforementioned Prince George’s Little Theatre.
Brush up your Shakespeare! You might need it to thoroughly enjoy each and every hysterical joke featured in 2nd Star Productions current performance of Kiss Me, Kate, the musical whose focus revolves around the Bard’s Taming of the Shrew. Directed by Roy Hammond with Musical Direction Joe Biddle, the show is a smash-hit sensation with an extraordinarily talented cast that makes an afternoon at the theatre thoroughly enjoyable.
It’s that time of year, folks! The Washington Area Theatre Community Honors have come around again to honor all of the truly exceptional theatre being performed in community venues across the Washington DC and surrounding metropolitan area. The 2014 award nominations were presented live this evening at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA.
There were 111 different productions– 34 musicals and 77 plays– adjudicated over in the 2014 theatrical season. 31 community theatre companies participated in WATCH adjudication in 2014.
The pure science of criminology will bring about the truth of the matter in this delicate situation: Prince George’s Little Theatre has filled their stage with disastrously hilarious mayhem by mounting A Shot in the Dark. Directed by Keith Brown, this dated whodunit mystery is receiving a refreshing makeover upon the PGLT stage this winter season. An honest hoot, this murderous marvel is packed full of laughter, surprise, and a rousing good time for all.