Articles Tagged With: Shakespeare

Anne Shoemaker in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Fells Point Corner Theatre

Review: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Fells Point Corner Theatre

Reviews April 3, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Shakespeare’s gone wild! It’s exactly like it sounds— crazy women, 37 plays, and a whole lot of vomiting! What could make for a better evening of hysterical gut-busting entertainment than the Fells Point Corner Theatre’s production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)? Which, they are totally proud to present? Directed by Howard Berkowitz, this laugh-a-minute comedy will crack your funny bone wide open and unearth the Bard like you’ve never seen him before.

High Hopes for Theatre in Silver Spring

Interviews February 27, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Theatres all across the Washington DC and Baltimore metropolitan area are popping up like daisies in the spring time. Musical theatre companies, companies devoted to the classics, new edgy fringe-based companies; every city has a few dozen devoted to each if not more. But Silver Spring, a cozy suburb on the outskirts of the nation’s capitol proper, has a company that is truly unique. It’s almost 13 years old and was founded by Artistic Director Kevin Kearney,

Let Them Eat: John Vreeke on Cherokee

Interviews February 16, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Let them eat— s’mores? Following along through Season 35 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, their world premier of Lisa D’Amour’s work Cherokee settles nicely into the “let them eat” theme of the season. In a TheatreBloom exclusive interview we’re talking with Woolly Company Member and Director John Vreeke about his involvement with the project and why it interested him.

Thank you, John, for taking time to phone in with us for this interview.

Review: Dunsinane at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Reviews February 4, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Be very, very careful about the way in which you hear and use words. It can be the key to understanding victory or misinterpreting failure in battle. And a battle of epic proportions is what the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC has set out to display with their national premier of the National Theatre of Scotland and The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Dunsinane. A thrillingly dramatic sequel to one of the Bard’s bloodiest tragedies,

Review: Julius Caesar at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews January 8, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Friends! Romans! Washingtonians! The time has come to take a stand against the inconstant shifting nature of theatre in Washington DC! Hail The Rude Mechanicals and their rebellious production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Directed by company founder Jaki Demarest, this scandalous production takes the great Roman Empire to 1920’s soviet occupied Russia. Stalin, proletariat, rebellion; all encompassed in Demarest’s revolutionary vision of one of the Bard’s milder tragedies.

With honor in one eye and death in the other,

God Bless Us, Everyone! An Exclusive Interview with Paul Morella on his one-man Dickensian Adventure

Interviews December 6, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Christmas time is a bright and wondrous holiday season. Often described as the summer of the soul in December, a great deal of classic shows mount the stage during the holiday season but perhaps none so frequent as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. At this festive time of year in a TheatreBloom exclusive interview, area actor Paul Morella took a moment to sit down with me to discuss his one-man version of the iconic Christmas classic.

Review: Coriolanus at Cohesion Theatre Company

Reviews November 22, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

The end of war is uncertain; Cohesion Theatre Company making an impact in the Highlandtown Arts District with their inaugural production Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, is certain. Exploding onto the scene with one of the lesser performed tragedies in the Bard’s repertoire, the new Baltimore-based company settles in with an ambitious first show, delivering on their company’s namesake a hybrid of classic tragedy with modern minimalist influences. Directed by company Co-Founder Alicia Stanley,

Review: As You Like It at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Reviews November 4, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

All the world’s a stage and the men and women of the Shakespeare Theatre Company are divine players in the 2014/2015 season opening production of As You Like It. One of Shakespeare’s more amusingly confusing comedies with romantic subplots twisted hither and thither all throughout, the play entreats theatergoers to delight in the marvels that are love, folly, and foolishness whether ye be man or woman. Directed by the critically acclaimed Michael Attenborough,

Gaveston (l- Taylor Rieland) and Edward II (r- Jonas David Grey)

To Be Richard or To Be Edward? That is the Interview with Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Member Jonas David Grey

Interviews October 29, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

“But whate’er I be, nor I, nor any man that but man is, with nothing shall be pleased till he be eased with being nothing.” A profoundly Zen quote to come from the tongue of Shakespeare. Uttered by the title character of Richard II, which is now playing at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company under the direction of Kevin J. Costa, the quote brings to mind a different way of viewing life and of viewing Shakespeare’s tragic histories.

Review: Richard II at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews October 28, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

What can we bequeath save our deposed bodies to the ground? Shakespearean essence in its purest sense; we are the stuff that dust is made of and our legacy is little more than our fragile mortal coil. An innovative new way of experiencing Shakespearean tragedy is striking up discourse on the stage of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company as the 2014 season progresses. The rarely performed Richard II is reinventing the meaning of tragedy under the skillful direction of Kevin J.

Ophelia (Chelsie Lloyd) waltzing with Hamlet (Michael J. Dombroski) at the wedding reception of Gertrude and Claudius

Review: Hamlet at Off the Quill

Reviews September 28, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Everybody lies. Shakespeare was teaching it long before House. In a newly adapted physical translation of the Bard’s greatest tragedy, Off the Quill presents their interpretation of Hamlet: Believe None of Us. Fully formulating the quote of “oh what tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceive,” this new dance-based performance has all of the recognizable quotes and characters but with a few major plot altering elements that may leave you questioning what exactly happened to the crowned Prince of Denmark.

Review: Macbeth- The Instruments of Darkness at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews August 18, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Light and darkness make fools both of the eyes. But it is oft better to live in the bliss of darkness than in the harsh intelligence of the light for once a thing is known and learned it can never be unknown. The Rude Mechanicals illustrate this concept with exception as their bring their 2014 Capital Fringe Festival production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth: The Instruments of Darkness to the Greenbelt Arts Center for a limited five show engagement.

The Tempest at Olney Theatre Center

Reviews July 20, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

How beauteous mankind is! Particularly the beauty found in those willing to brave the natural tempest of Maryland’s summer weather at Olney Theatre Center this summer season. A fantastical stormy adventure, by way of the Bard, sets shore upon the Root Family Stage beneath the stars and The Tempest provides a brilliant evening of classic theatre for a warm summer’s night. Directed by Jason King Jones, this retelling of love,

Much Ado About Nothing at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Reviews July 19, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Tis indeed summer and that to the world of the Bard means Much Ado About Nothing. And the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is no exception to that rule as they mount their first in-the-round production this summer. Taking the well recognized comic back to its simplistic basics, the BSF strips away the scenery and all the other convolutions that can often clog-up Shakespeare’s wittiest comedy and present it in its original essence.