Which
Inquisitive
Theatre
Challenges
Humanity?
Not nearly as clever as some of the textual incarnations of the acronym of the show’s title— like “Why Is The Church Heretical?” or “Why Is This Continually Happening?” or “What Is This Cult Hollywood?” but I wanted to throw my broomstick in the cauldron so to speak.
Are you ready to sit in a theatre and see a play of hopes and fears? Stillpointe Theatre invites you to do exactly that. Examine the unexamined; explore the darkened recesses of the mind of the master of the macabre. They present to you the regional premiere of Nevermore, a 90-minute musical which swirls and swivels through the madness that is the mind of Edgar Allan Poe, Baltimore’s beloved poet. Directed by Ryan Haase,
When someone leaves, a piece of you leaves with them. And
while that is a generally understood pathos principal of the grieving process,
we as a society don’t fully accept or acknowledge this when it comes to suicide.
We say “suddenly” or “passed unexpectedly” or “died at home” rather than the
blunt, honest truth of “lost the battle with…depression, substance abuse,
mental illness…” and the taboo and stigma that remain shrouded around suicide
and mental illness keeps us from opening up our minds and hearts to this
grieving process.
In what ways have we cloaked, and even hidden from ourselves, the secret bargains we have made with our own devils? Don’t we all have our own junk? Isn’t it all just the bitch of living? Stillpointe Theatre understands all too well these concepts of self-discovery, these moralistic masquerades that stifle the expression youth as they blossom into adults. Preparing to round out their seventh season, Stillpointe Theatre presents Spring Awakening,
“The history of the world, my love, is those below serving those up above.” The daunting lyrics of Stephen Sondheim seem to echo through our world at present, where at the top are seated those privileged few making mock of the vermin in the lower zoo, and what better way to exemplify this than to take one of Sondheim’s darker musical classics and spin it on its head in a modern vent? Rep Stage is giving you Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with this concept firmly in mind.
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.
Sometimes what we long for is staring us right in the face. This could not be a truer example than in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble In Tahiti, Directed by David Schweitzer, with Musical Direction by Benjamin Shaver, now playing at Stillpointe Theatre.
From the moment that you enter the venue, you are captivated by Scenic/Properties Designer Ryan Haase’s transformation of an upper church room into a 1950’s “supper club”. The covered tables,
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask Stillpointe Theatre, it’s clear that they prefer to soar over the Baltimore Theatre scene with their dazlious wings, showcasing their astonishing talent in their summer musical production of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick…BOOM! Directed by Grace Anastasiadis with Musical Direction by Stacey Antoine, this primer to Rent is delivered with precision, balance, and perfection to the eye, ear, and heart.
Tick.
Unbelievable— adj. “so great or extreme as to be difficult to believe; extraordinary.” Stillpointe Theatre’s current production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is insanely engaging, incredibly entertaining, and wildly wonderful; simply put it’s unbelievable. U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E. Directed by Amanda J. Rife, this brilliantly inviting musical takes a Stillpointe twist as the company unpacks this show— with Music & Lyrics by William Finn and Book by Rachel Sheinkin— into their brand new home on Charles Street in the Station North Arts District of Baltimore.
Adventure! Amelia Earhart vanishes over the Pacific Ocean: 1937. Mystery! Agatha Christie disappears from roadside, her car is found but she is not: 1926. Spectacle! Aimee Semple McPherson disappears in the ocean without reason: 1926. All three of these enigmatic exciting tales are coming together under one roof in one brand new musical at Stillpointe Theatre Initiative this fall. As the opening show in their 2014/2015 season, Vanishing Point, a new musical with Books and Lyrics by Rob Hartmann &