Throw the rulebook right out the window. It won’t help you anyway. And forget what you think you know about Chess as that won’t help you here either. Can’t even say “not your Grandfather’s Chess” because there are so many different variations on this concept album-turned-musical-come-concert-album that it’s hard to pinpoint which one is the one for a standard basis of comparison. Based on an idea by Tim Rice, inspired wholly if not incompletely by historical events.
Christmas bells are ringing! Christmas bells are singing! Somewhere else— Bal-ti-more! That’s right, the Christmas bells— from Jonathan Larson’s Rent are ringing (in July, no less!) at The Heritage Players, set currently in The Chesapeake Arts Center’s black box theatre. Directed and Choreographed by Tommy Malek with Musical Direction by Rachel Sandler, Rent is an iconic tale from the musical theatre canon which reminds us all of how precious life truly is,
Nothing says ‘welcome back to live theatre’ like watching four-grown adults devolve over the course of 90-minutes into childish selfishness and chaotic dark humors. Finally reopening its doors after an almost two-year darkness, The Vagabond Players usher in their 106th season with Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage. Directed by Stephen Deininger, this curious and enigmatic story showcases the simplistic nature of humanity— childhood never truly ends and all your problems can be solved by shouting,
Baltimore is full of theatre shows; some comedies, some with
duels, but I prefer a company that produces flashy jewels! A show on your stage
might be quite continental— but “in concerts” are your new best friend! At
least, they are for The Heritage Players this winter. On their third annual “musical
in concert” The Heritage Players breathes new life into a golden oldie— Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes. Directed and Choreographed by Tommy Malek (with Lori
Struss-Weatherly),
Talent. Either you’ve got it. Or you don’t. Luck for you,
The Heritage Players production of Ruthless! has got it. And they’ve got
it pouring out of their wazoos in spades. Directed & Choreographed by
Ashley Gerhardt with Musical Direction by Michael Clark, this zany and
uproarious musical send-up will have your gut aching with laughs. Nobody’s in
the mud, nobody’s in distress in this production— except the characters
themselves— and it’s a madcap scream from simple start to diabolical finish.
The seaweed is always greener, on somebody else’s stage. You’ve
seen a bunch of productions, cause last year it was all the rage. But look at
the show that’s happenin’— right there on the Carroll Arts Center floor, such
different things about it— what more is you looking for? The Little Mermaid
is splashing on stage as the 45th anniversary production of
September Song. Directed by Debbie Mobley with Musical Direction by Kelly
Stoneberger,
Attend the tale of Sweeney
Todd. The opening line should be enough to entice anyone to visit this dark
and bloody Sondheim event at The Heritage Players. The second in their annual “musical
theatre concert” series, this year’s devious stage offering is none other than
the bloody demon barber of fleet street. Sweeney
Todd, Directed by John Gary Pullen with Musical Direction by David Zajic,
and Vocal Direction by Sharen Camille,
Close your eyes and try to conceive, the most outrageous story to ever be believed! If you can just believe, it’s beautifully bizarre, a story about a boy— and a giant peach, and that’s just the way things are! Right before your eyes— James and The Giant Peach is now appearing on stage at The Heritage Players as their summer engagement. Directed by Elizabeth Tane Kanner with Musical Direction by Emily Taylor &
The line forms, on the right, babe— now that Macheath is back in town! The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre is sending scarlet billowing all over the stage, kicking off 2017 with a flash of those pearly white sharks teeth as they bring the iconic Bertolt Brecht adaptation, The Three Penny Opera to the stage. Directed (with new editing, adapting, and translating) by Michael Blum with Musical Direction by Erica Rome, this poor man’s opera is certain to put the tingles up your spine.
Take me out to the ballgame! Take me out to the crowd! Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks! I don’t care if I ever come back! And it’s root— root! Root for The Heritage Players as they pitch a wild one onto their stage at the Rice Auditorium with their production of Damn Yankees. Directed by Michael Hartsfield with Musical Direction by Stephen Michael Deininger, this classic musical with a time stamp of fond nostalgia slides into home plate under these two dedicated men and the company they plant onto the stage.
Come sing about love! And build a better city, not a city of angels but a city of man. The message is clear and in this particular moment in time it couldn’t be more relevant than what’s rolling out to the audience from Silhouette Stage’s production of Godspell. Directed by Stephen M. Deininger, with Musical Direction by Robin Trenner, this reimagined take on Stephen Schwartz’ music and John-Michael Tebelak’s original conception is exactly what the world needs in this time of destruction and man-wrought chaos.
Life is but a moment? Or life is what you make of it. Heritage Players are making life out to be a hilarious evening of comic curiosities with their summer production of David Ives’ All in the Timing. Co-Produced by Ryan Geiger and Stephen Deininger, this grouping of six one-acts is a hilarious series of unrelated vignettes that examine the minutia of life in an absurd fashion. Treating the project like a theatrical incubator of sorts,