Articles Tagged With: The Bard

Twelfth Night at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews November 4, 2022 Joshua Bermont

In a modern context, the production of William Shakespeare’s works largely hangs upon the performers’ ability to voice these verses in such a way that the audience not only instantly and instinctually understands their meaning, but may also benefit from their specific notes of humor, tragedy, etc. In this sense, Spotlighters Theatre’s Twelfth Night – the classic gender-bending romantic comedy – is a decidedly mixed bag.

The older generation of performers seem to know exactly what they’re doing here,

Twelfth Night at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews October 4, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

What great ones do the less will prattle of— and here be the great ones: Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, in their 20th Anniversary season, presenting to you something certainly worth prattling about! Twelfth Night, directed by the company’s founding Artistic Director, Ian Gallanar, is arguably one of The Bard’s more sensible comedies and CSC does it a great justice with excellent performances, lively music, and a charming aesthetic that would float anyone’s boat.

Samuel Adams and the cast of Henry V. ????Kiirstn Pagan

Henry V at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews April 28, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

“Oh for a muse of fire that would reach the uppermost heights of creativity— the stage a kingdom…” we’ve all heard it. We all recognize it. Do we all know that it comes from one of Shakespeare’s histories? You may have heard it, recognize it, and even know that it comes from Henry V, but you’ve never heard it until you hear it slipping delicately over the lips of Lesley Malin, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Executive Producing Director— or for the purposes of this performance— The Chorus.

Cymbeline at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews November 5, 2021 Amanda N. Gunther

Hello.

My name is Amanda Gunther.

You killed all 37.

Prepare to be reviewed.

Going out with a rather impressive bang— though by no means are they finished producing or existing— The Rude Mechanicals, now in full-time residence at The Greenbelt Arts Center, have attained one of their coveted company goals: Produce all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays. Cymbeline, Directed by Erin Nealer, completes the quest of all 37.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Endangered Species (theatre) Project

Reviews July 24, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

This green plot shall be their stage! And by this, tis meant
the Hodson Outdoor Theatre of Hood College, unless of course it rains, and then
there’s an indoor option, but speak not, yet mortals, of tempests— that’s
another Shakespeare altogether! Think instead upon the season, the season of
midsummer, and attend ye well to the first-annual Frederick Shakespeare
Festival, presenting productions by Endangered Species (theatre) Project, and
in this case the production be A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The Merry Wives of Windsor at Colonial Players

Reviews March 10, 2019 John Nunemaker

The
Colonial Players of Annapolis have decided to mount a production of Shakespeare
for the first time in over 20 years and after seeing the production the one
question to ask is why have they waited so long? The Merry Wives of Windsor, running now through March 23rd
at the Colonial Players, is a fresh take on a classic Shakespearian Comedy and
a thrilling joy of a night of theatre!

Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet at The Kennedy Center

Reviews May 5, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

Words, words, words. Not to read, but to hear, and Shakespeare did write so many of them, five act’s worth for arguably his most infamous tragedy, Hamlet. Appearing now as a limited engagement, the Royal Shakespeare Company brings their evocative conflagration of a production to The Eisenhower Theatre inside The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Directed by Simon Godwin, this spellbinding, razor’s edge modernity casts new light on the Bard’s most treasured tragedy,

Othello at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Reviews April 10, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

To thine own self be true. Wrong Shakespeare; right concept. Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is being true to their MO and giving Charm City yet another Shakespearean production in Original Pronunciation, or “OP.” Othello is the latest in BSF’s OP series and handles just as well as those before it. For those vastly versed in Shakespeare think of OP as taking it to the next level or unlocking that bonus round of never-before heard jargon that truly acquaints you with the authenticity of The Bard.

Coriolanus at Brave Spirits Theatre

Reviews February 13, 2018 Joshua Engel

For a world turned upside down as 2018, Director Charlene V. Smith has crafted a riveting, provocative, explosive Coriolanus. “Are we even capable of not harming ourselves?” she asks in the director’s notes, echoing Tori Boutin as citizen of Rome: “We willingly consented to his banishment, yet it was against our will.”

Smith’s Rome is not a pinnacle of civilization. It’s violent and dirty, its citizens easily provoked to engage every whim.

Hamlet at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Reviews January 29, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

Madness in great ones must not unwatched go. By that logic, theatergoers should be rushing out to Shakespeare Theater Company for Michael Kahn’s production of Hamlet starring Michael Urie as the mad Danish prince. Disturbingly dystopian, albeit conceptually undercooked, this production marks the end of an era as Michael Kahn, the show’s director and the company’s long-standing artistic director, makes it his final production before retiring. Not without impressive performances given by the featured player and others,

The Tempest at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Reviews January 18, 2018 Joshua Engel

The Tempest should always open with a bang. It often brings out the high tech and the special effects. Baltimore Shakespeare Factory brings The Tempest back to its roots. Their space, inspired by Elizabethan theaters, holds what it needs to bring a storm inside: the imagination of the actors and the audience. It’s a high-energy opening to a high-energy show. It’s a great workout for the cast… and a bit for the audience.

Twelfth Night at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Reviews November 26, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

*bing*

Final boarding call for all passengers boarding flight STC-2017 to Illyria. All passengers please make their way to Sidney Harman Hall and follow the instructions of the flight attendant.

*bing*

The setup is astonishing, and at first a peculiar choice, but Director Ethan McSweeny’s conceptualization of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is nothing but gob-smacking by the play’s conclusion. Not unlike a cinematic psychological thriller,

Antony and Cleopatra at Folger Theatre

Reviews October 24, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Not a minute of our lives should stretch without some pleasure in it. The Folger Theatre is stretching nearly two and a half very deliberate minutes of theatrical pleasure into their current production of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. One of the Bard’s tragic histories, or historical tragedies as it straddles both categories soundly, this alluring and tempting production is an enticing start for the 2017/2018 theatrical season at The Folger. Directed by Robert Richmond,

The Tempest at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Reviews July 9, 2017 Joshua Engel

Directors Donald Hicken and Sally Boyett have created a sparkling Tempest under the stars at the Charles Carroll house in Annapolis. With a spreading tree dominating the scene and a shrub hedge covering the back stage, the hill slopes toward the river for Shakespeare’s watery play. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair… and some bug spray and you’re ready for Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s The Tempest this July.

The early evening and the river bring a hint of cool weather to summer in Annapolis,

Romeo and Juliet at The Green Globe Theatre

Reviews June 3, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Now, thou art what thou art, a production of Romeo and Juliet. Though this production, at The Green Globe Theatre (Baltimore’s only producing eco-friendly theatre) is beyond the simple notion of star-crossed lovers meeting in fair Verona. Of course, one must be full well in all five wits to endure the length of this production, but tis worth the patience and endurance for the cinematic elements and uniquely conceived approach to placing the star-crossed lover’s tragedy in WWII Nazi occupied France circa 1944.

Leanne Stump (left) as Katherine and Liana Olear (Right) as Alice in Henry V

She Speaks at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews June 2, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

What fire is in my ears? All of Shakespeare’s women in one show? Can it be so? Well, that might be a bit absurd, even for The Rude Mechanicals, but they do come close, featuring a varied assortment of all of the Bard’s leading ladies in just shy of two hours’ stage traffic! Conceived and Directed by Leanne G. Stump, this selection of scenes showcases some of the finer moments of Shakespeare’s female characters,

Richard III at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Reviews May 24, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

“The catastrophe of power in the wrong hands.” An apt tag line for the Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s current production of Richard III as it speaks plainly to the Bard’s bloody history-borderline tragedy play and more broadly to situations at hand all around us right up to the currently political regime in the nation’s capital. Directed by Donald Hicken, this sharply rendered and quick-paced rendition of what is arguably the most violent of the history plays in Shakespeare’s canon,

Montgomery College Theatre Department's cast of Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night at Montgomery College

Reviews April 25, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Foolery does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere and in particular a wandering fool walks about the Montgomery College Theatre Department’s production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. No ordinary walker, this rambling rover, this folk-faring peregrinator, this witty fool with foolish wit, along with his ever-playing guitar and Bob Dylan songs, becomes the focal point of this production, shifting the lens through which the audience views the world and existences of Viola,

I Hate Hamlet at Dundalk Community Theatre

Reviews March 1, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

You know you’ve made it in Hollywood when your face is five stories high and six zeros wide. But what about the theatre? Can you ever truly say you’ve made it there if you haven’t played the Bard’s greatest role? Doesn’t everyone dream of playing Hamlet? Not Andrew Rally, television’s hot-shot novice surgeon who moonlights as a nature-loving chipmunk-kissing commercialist on the side. That is, of course until he finds himself in New York City in John Barrymore’s apartment,

Review: Henry V at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews September 1, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Suppose within the girdles of the Greenbelt Arts Center’s walls are now confined two mighty forces— The Rude Mechanicals: a community theatre troupe that delivers judiciously trimmed and readily accessible Shakespearean plays— and Henry V: Shakespeare’s middle Henry history play. Directed by Rebecca Speas, this muse of fire finds its place among the Bard’s canon in true Rude Mechanicals style and delivers swiftly the plot, the point, and the perfectly pared-down rendition of what is otherwise a lengthy history lesson in the trajectory arc of Prince Hal to King Harry.

Review: The Tempest at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Reviews August 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

With spirits to enforce and arts to enchant, Shakespeare Theatre Company offers up the most whimsically enchanting of the Bard’s theatrical canon with their production of The Tempest. Presented as the 26th Annual ‘Free for All’ performance, and Directed by Ethan McSweeny, Shakespeare’s final play is delivered with radiant justice, mesmerizing theatrical magic, and exquisite emotional endeavors that envelope the audience for a truly fantastical experience. The majesty of Lee Savage’s set juxtaposed against a myriad of miraculous production design elements make this a truly magnificent experience for all who are able to attend.

Teresa Spencer, Gary DeBreuil, Reed DeLisle, Megan Morse Jans, Jonathan Feuer, James Carpenter, Richard Pilcher, and Renata Plecha in Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s AS YOU LIKE IT

Review: As You Like It at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Reviews October 19, 2015 Joshua Engel

“One man in his time plays many parts,” declares Melancholy Jacques, and that definitely describes Richard Pilcher’s magnificent performance(s) in Annapolis Shakespeare Company‘s production of As You Like It. A mere eight actors pull off four pairs of lovers, two courts of lords, and an array of miscellaneous country bumpkins. Pilcher plays four separate roles, each strong, distinct, and imbued with life. His Jacques is pitch perfect: melancholy without being glum,

Review: The Life and Death of King John at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews August 25, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Ne’er so bethump’d with words has this critic found herself when staring down an amalgamation of a Shakespearean remount dipped in Pythonian humor and sprayed liberally with truncation across the Greenbelt Arts Center’s intimate black box stage, than she has in this very moment in attempting to report upon The Life and Death of King John as presented by The Rude Mechanicals. A history most boring upended ass over tea-kettle by Director Alan Duda,