Monthly Archives: November 2016

Review: Soft Revolution: Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah at Venus Theatre

Reviews

Clutch your dreams in your screwed up fists and carry them out into reality. A mantra statement that Artistic Director and Founder of Venus Theatre Deborah Randall has abided by long before those words made their way into print in Alana Valentine’s script, Soft Revolution: Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah. Appearing as the perfect conclusion to season 16 and arriving as Script#58 at Venus Theatre, this evocative new work is receiving its DC-area premiere under the Direction of Deborah Randall and the timing could not be more poignant and relevant to the cultural and political upheaval in which the city and the nation,

Read More »


James and the Giant Peach Jr. a Wheaton Arts on the Road Program

News

Come with me to see something strange unfold. Hear the weirdest tale that was ever told. From this rare depiction, some would swear it is fiction— yet— each peculiar twist I tell is true! And you shall see it in plain view! Middle school students performing theatre: not so strange. Middle school students performing and producing theatre: unusual. Middle school students performing, producing, and creating theatre to be seen for hundreds of elementary school students in Montgomery County?

Read More »


Review: The Secret Garden at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Reviews

When a thing is wick it has life about it— just come to the garden and you’ll see— The Secret Garden now appearing in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Sidney Harman Hall. Blooming with beauty and bursting with vibrant life, this newly envisioned production of Marsha Norman’s book & lyrics and Lucy Simon’s music based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel, is a sensational and mesmerizing musical experience. Directed by David Armstrong with Musical Direction by Rick Fox,

Read More »


A Christmas Story is Coming to Town: An Interview with Joey Little

Interviews 3 Comments

You’ll shoot your eye out! And the iconic leg lamp! All of the hallmarks that make an A Christmas Story, one of America’s favorite Christmas movies, are now incorporated into a live stage musical just in time for the holiday season. The touring production is landing in Charm City to kick off Christmas in the first full week of December! In a TheatreBloom exclusive interview, we have a quick chat with performer Joey Little— a native of Reisterstown— and find out just what it’s like to be a part of the iconic holiday musical show.

Read More »


Review: Schoolgirl Figure at Cohesion Theatre Company

Reviews 1 Comment

Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Marilyn Monroe was Jell-o on springs. Harsh mantras that plague the warped minds of frustrated teenage girls in Wendy MacLeod’s Schoolgirl Figure, like those just mentioned, are what fuels this black comedic drama forward at Cohesion Theatre Company this season. Refusing to be weighed-in as an ‘issues play’ under the sharp and succinct visionary approach of Director Jonas David Grey, though MacLeod’s work does address eating disorders,

Read More »


Review: The Christians at Theater J

Reviews

Brothers and Sisters of Washington DC, let us pray. Bow your heads, whether your Jewish, Christian, practicing, non-practicing, believing, non-believing; Lucas Hnath’s The Christians has got you covered anyway you look at it. It’s so simple, you might call it grace. This powerfully evocative drama, Directed by Gregg Henry, is opening the doors and challenging the community of Theater J and theatergoers across the nation’s capital to broaden their viewpoint on religion and salvation.

Read More »


Review: The Game’s Afoot at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews 1 Comment

Madhouse doesn’t begin to describe the utter shenanigans happening in William Gillette’s New England mansion on Christmas Eve. Scandal! Mystery! Murder! For god’s sake, there are actors present! What else could be expected from Ken Ludwig’s bitingly humorous and boisterously bloody play The Game’s Afoot? Directed by Fuzz Roark, this scintillating madcap comedy with just a dandy drop of blood for the murder mystery enthusiast in us all is the perfect way to ring in the holiday season.

Read More »


(L to R) Catherine Combs as Catherine, Dave Register as Rodolpho, Alex Esola as Marco, and Frederick Weller as Eddie

Review: A View From the Bridge at The Kennedy Center

Reviews

All the law is not in a book, and perhaps the oldest law of them all— that blood runs thicker than water— is what Arthur Miller truly meant to showcase in his riveting drama, A View from the Bridge. Or perhaps it was the notion of betrayal and justice that he was harping upon in this masterful classic, topics much too close to home in the present day political climate in Washington DC.

Read More »


Poultry in Motion: A Burlesque Most Fowl

News

Cluckin’ A! It’s that time of year when the feathers are flying, the dancers are free-range, and the most happening show in town hit Hampden with wings a flappin’ as Twisted Knickers Burlesque ruled the roost with their one-night feathery extravaganza: Poultry in Motion: A Burlesque Most Fowl! Produced by troupe leader Tapitha Kix and featuring the return of two of the original founding members of TKB, there was a feather for everyone’s cap!

Read More »


Review: Tune In, Turn On, and Drop Dead! at Do or Die Mysteries

Reviews

Hey, man! Time to get on the same wavelength with counter-culture, man! Wake up, millennials! It’s time to photobomb the picture of tomorrow with a wicked flashback from the past, man! It’s time to expand your mind, man, and do it the right way! With kitchen counter culture and a selfie, man! And Do or Die Mysteries has it all— if you’re just prepared to Tune In, Turn On…and Drop Dead! Written and Directed by Ceej Crowe,

Read More »


Review: The Second City’s Black Side of the Moon at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Reviews

Returning from the windy city as if often the tradition at this festive time of year, The Second City is back in the nation’s capital with Black Side of the Moon and they’re ready to put hot sauce in our pants with all of their comic antics and feel-good messages in this seemingly unending darkened political time. With roughly one third of the show being rewritten just days before opening due to the surprising political upset in the Presidential Election,

Read More »


Review: Beauty & The Beast at Charm City Players

Reviews

Tale as old as time. Executing a Disney stage musical is always a tricky endeavor because one is competing with decades of iconic memories perfected and preserved in flawless animation.  Even the best of the Disney stage shows suffer from the same stock problems: primarily easy to animate but difficult to stage scenes, added music significantly less stellar than the original scores, and inflated books from stretching the perfectly tailored 97-minute movie to two and a half hours of stage time.

Read More »


Review: Romulus at Memorial Players

Reviews 2 Comments

When tragedy only suits cold climates and comedy best suits the situation, will you find yourself prepared to— make Rome great again? I call upon you now— friends, countrymen, Baltimoreans! We call upon you in this time of irreproachable past and uncertain futures to live in the now! Live without great expectation but also without fear! Live in the present moment and presently get yourself to Memorial Players in Bolton Hill to see their production of Romulus,

Read More »


Review: The Shoemaker’s Holiday at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Reviews 1 Comment

Hey, ho! Baltimore— take heed! Take all in good worth what is intended, which is nothing but mirth, of course! How could it be anything but merriment and entertainment at this time of year? Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is embarking upon a bold new endeavor— producing for the very first time— a non-Shakespearean production! Debuting a non-Bard classic, though penned most excellently by a contemporary of Shakespeare’s— one Thomas Dekker— BSF brings The Shoemaker’s Holiday to the stage under the hearty Direction of one Tom Delise.

Read More »


The Sisters singing "Take Me to Heaven"

Little Sisters of Toby’s Dinner Theatre: Inside the Cloister of Sister Act with Ashley Johnson and Lynn Sharpe Spears

Interviews

Gloria in excelsis Deo! Hallelujah! Raise some heat— raise some Cain— raise it to a higher plane! Raise it up and rejoice— raise your voice! Closing out a sensational practically sold-out ten-week run, the very last of The Littler Sisters of Toby’s interview series has graced the readers with its arrival! Featuring Ashley Johnson and Lynn Sharpe Spears in the leading roles of Deloris Van Cartier and Mother Superior, we take one last trip into the convent to get real with the sisters of Toby’s Sister Act.

Read More »


Review: Music Man at St. Gabriel’s Miracle Players

Reviews 2 Comments

My friends! You’ve got trouble— right here in Windsor Mill! If you don’t get over to see The Saint Gabriel Miracle Players’ production of Music Man and you’ve got to know the territory, which means getting a ticket— with a capital ‘T’ which rhymes with ‘P’ and that stands for POOL! Oh yes, you’ll be in trouble! Right here in Baltimore County— if you miss a show like this, that’s simply bliss and glee!

Read More »


Review: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Heritage Players

Reviews

Ready or not, kids, the Bee is back in town—and this is one laugh riot you do not want to miss! Directed by Ryan Geiger, with Musical Direction by TJ Lukacsina & Robin Trenner, this production is a journey back to our awkward adolescence with quite a few stand-out moments and a solid cast of dynamic characters. Geiger leads the group to victory with his attention to scene-work and Lukacsina aides in finding a beautiful harmony across this vocally awesome cast. 

Read More »


Review: Tick, Tick…BOOM! at The Highwood Theatre

Reviews

Order. Tension. Balance. Stop the clock. Listen. Hear the tick…tick…BOOM! Venture inside Jonathan’s head as he’s about to turn the big 3-0. With nothing to show for it but promises he’s broken to his high-bar expectations, Tick, Tick…BOOM!— Jonathan Larson’s pre-Rent sensational musical— is a high-octane emotional journey that tells the story of life in SoHo in 1990 where one artist struggles to make his dreams come true on Broadway.

Read More »


Review: Cabaret at Kensington Arts Theatre

Reviews

Leave your troubles outside. Life is disappointing? Forget it! The Kensington Arts Theatre have no troubles here. Here…theatre is beautiful…their production of Cabaret is beautiful. Even the orchestra, conducted by Musical Director Stuart Y. Weich, is beautiful. And now presenting their 2016/2017 season opener, Directed by Craig Pettinati, the toast of Washington Community Theatre— Kander and & Ebb’s Cabaret! Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome— Im Cabaret! Au Cabaret!

Read More »


Edgar Allan Poe at Yellow Sign Theatre

Reviews 2 Comments

Producer Joy Martin says it’s going to be a good year at Yellow Sign Theatre if David Keltz performs on Halloween. An annual tradition since the theatre’s inception five years ago, one of America’s leading Poe performers, David Keltz, returned to the well-trod boards of Yellow Sign to deliver a thrilling tale of the macabre. The performance started just moments after 11:30 on Sunday October 30, and finished a few moments after midnight on Halloween of the 2016 calendar,

Read More »


Review: Cabaret Macabre: The Return Visit at Happenstance Theater

Reviews

Like an old friend autumn greats Baltimore with its crisp chilly nights, its darkened spirits and shades of Halloween, and its spine-tingling tales of doom and gloom. So too does Happenstance Theater great its faithful followers on its annual return to Baltimore Theatre Project. Cabaret Macabre: The Return Visit materializes from the theatrical ether to haunt, mesmerize, and enchant its audience, both newcomers and fond friends. A living theatrical collage of macabre inspiration in fluid,

Read More »


Review: The Who’s Tommy at Open Circle Theatre

Reviews

That deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball! The lyrics to the iconic “Pinball Wizard” lead the Act I Finale to The Who’s Tommy in Open Circle Theatre’s triumphant return to production. After several years’ hiatus, the theatre company— whose vision is to advance the idea that disability can enhance the artistic experience, inspire aesthetic innovation, and influence a community to become accessible for all— marks their return during National Disability Employment Awareness Month by bringing their production of Tommy to the Silver Spring Black Box Theater.

Read More »


Review: Cinderella at The Hippodrome Theatre

Reviews

Impossible things are happening every day! Think you know Cinderella? Think again! An impossibly enchanting, delightfully reimagined retelling of the classic fairytale has made its way to Charm City— as a part of the CareFirst Hippodrome Broadway Series— at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre! Remarkably re-envisioned, this Rogers & Hammerstein classic receives an edge of modernity that flitters with warm humor into our present day reality without ever leaving the realm of the fairytale.

Read More »


The Rocky Horror Show at How Do You Like Me Now Productions

News

The sword of Damocles is hanging over your head! And you’ve got the feeling someone’s gonna be cutting your thread if you don’t take a jump to the Brooklyn Park and then a step down Hammonds Lane to the black box theatre of the Chesapeake Arts Center to see The Rocky Horror Show. Presented by Erase Hate Through Art and How Do You Like Me Now Productions, the Richard O’Brien cult classic stage musical comes to life under Director Ed Higgins and Musical Director Eliza Van Kan.

Read More »


Review: Rocky Horror Show at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews

In the early 70’s, an out of work British actor, Richard O’Brien, amused himself during his hiatus by writing a campy ode to indulge the passions of his youth— science fiction, B horror movies, Steve Reeves muscle flicks, and 50’s rock and roll. Accentuating the unintentional humor and over-the-top dialogue of the so-bad-they’re-good movies he was saluting, he paired it with a catchy pop/rock score and wrapped it in layer after layer of camp to create The Rocky Horror Show.

Read More »


Advertisment ad adsense adlogger