All posts by Amanda N. Gunther

A full-time theatre reviewer in the Baltimore, Washington, and surrounding areas; Amanda holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Maryland Baltimore County as well as a minor in Creative Writing. Having spent two of her five years at college studying abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, she has learned a great deal about improv, devised work theatre, and interpretive movement pieces. Striving to promote theatre of all types, she can often be found in a theatre of some type, even on her nights off.

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

Interviews November 25, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 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.

Review: Schoolgirl Figure at Cohesion Theatre Company

Reviews November 24, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 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,

Review: The Christians at Theater J

Reviews November 23, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

Review: The Game’s Afoot at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews November 23, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 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.

(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 November 23, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

Poultry in Motion: A Burlesque Most Fowl

News November 23, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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!

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

Reviews November 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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,

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

Reviews November 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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,

Review: Romulus at Memorial Players

Reviews November 14, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 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,

Review: The Shoemaker’s Holiday at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Reviews November 13, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 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.

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

Interviews November 12, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

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

Reviews November 12, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 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!

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

Reviews November 5, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

Review: Cabaret at Kensington Arts Theatre

Reviews November 5, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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!

Edgar Allan Poe at Yellow Sign Theatre

Reviews November 4, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 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,

Review: Cabaret Macabre: The Return Visit at Happenstance Theater

Reviews November 3, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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,

Review: The Who’s Tommy at Open Circle Theatre

Reviews November 3, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

Review: Cinderella at The Hippodrome Theatre

Reviews November 2, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

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

News November 2, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

(L to R) Cthulhu, Liz Christmas, Lucas Gerace, and Agent Coletta in Spooked Out Magic

Spooked Out Magic at Yellow Sign Theatre

News October 31, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

They’re baaaaaack! Let’s do the time-warp back three months to Artscape 2016 and recall fondly Lucas Gerace, those adorable Area51 alien abductees that Agent Coletta didn’t want you to know about! Well, grumpy Agent Coletta is still hanging around— clearly needing to work out his anger issues— and so are Gerace and Christmas, only as it turns out? The whole alien scenario? It was a sham! Scandal! Aliengate 2016 might be the biggest upset this political season except Gerace and Christmas can explain!

Review: Brides of Tortuga at Baltimore Rock Opera Society

Reviews October 31, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Taut sails and fair winds! Load the cannons and hone blades— you’re bound for Tortuga! Baltimore Rock Opera Society is taking to the high seas with their second all-original work of 2016, Brides of Tortuga. Debuting on the successful tailwinds of Chronoshred: The Adventures of Stardust Lazerdong and the remount of Amphion, this swarthy conclusion of the 2016 season serves as a female-empowering vessel of nautical revelry with great creative potential sprinkled liberally throughout the production.

Review: Rocky Horror Show at Iron Crow Theatre

Reviews October 29, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Are you ready to shiver with antici—

—PATION?

Stamping their hallmark all over The Rocky Horror Show, as Baltimore’s queer theatre, Iron Crow Theatre is starting their very own annual tradition in this historic season of new discoveries. Taking Richard O’Brien’s cult-classic musical to the stage is the Christmas Carol of Halloween this time of year, but what’s making ITC’s production stand-out from others popping up in the area or even in your living room view the television screen?

Review: Savage/Love at Single Carrot Theatre

Reviews October 28, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

From the first moment I saw it, I knew I could love it, if it could love me. And love it I did, Single Carrot Theatre’s first offering of their 10th Anniversary season: Savage/Love by Sam Shepard & Joseph Chaikin. When we’re tangled up in love it’s easy to experience all the flavors and sensations of the limitless emotional potential that life has to offer. Capturing the dizzying dervish of love and all of its varieties,

Baltimore is Giving a Ball: A Fairytale Interview with Sarah Primmer of Cinderella

Interviews October 28, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Bippity-boppity-BAM! This isn’t your mother’s Cinderella. In the newly woven magic spell of the Rogers & Hammerstein classic, the shiny glass-slippered fairytale gets a retelling, a retooling, and a new look on how the story happened. Sitting down with us for an exclusive TheatreBloom interview, we chat with Sarah Primmer, playing Madame (aka the evil Stepmother), about the story and what her journey has been like so far.

Thanks for joining us,

Review: Freaky Friday at Signature Theatre

Reviews October 27, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

So you’re never going to believe me— but I guess you will if you go and see it for yourself— but there’s a crazy world premiere musical happening in the Max at Signature Theatre this fall! Debuting— after previous incarnations as a novel and two major motion pictures (about 25 years apart)— as a stage musical, Freaky Friday lands in the Max with a propulsive rock sound, a textbook Disney outline, and a sensational story that you just have to see to believe.

John Kelso (left) as Edgar Allan Poe and Erin Tarpley (right) as The Barmaid

Review: Poe’s Last Stanza at Do or Die Mysteries

Reviews October 26, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.” It is, of course, October in Charm City and thereabouts, which can only mean that it is time once more for the dark and dreary Edgar Allan Poe to revisit his beloved Baltimore. Returning to the Sunset Restaurant and Lounge in Glen Burnie with Do or Die Mysteries, Poe’s Last Stanza written by Ceej Crowe takes up roost in the front dining room for Monday evenings in the month of spooks and spirits,

Review: The Night Alive at Quotidian Theatre Company

Reviews October 26, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

What if life is just going round and round in a place where there is no time? A dense notion applied to the logic of living when it comes to Conor McPherson’s new work The Night Alive now debuting at Quotidian Theatre Company. Directed by Jack Sbarbori, this darkened Irish drama is a cross-sectional of the struggle of life for everyday ordinary people explored through curious circumstances that unfold in the wee hours of the night.

Review: Hamlet at Compass Rose Theater

Reviews October 24, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. Thinking on the whole that Compass Rose Theater is delivering a good production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is not a bad thought to have. Directed by Lucinda Merry-Browne, one of the Bard’s most iconic tragedies treads the boards in its most simplistic form. A harkening back to basic Shakespeare in the intimate black-box theatre, the production plants itself on solid ground and delivers a curious approach to madness as a central focus of these time-tested characters.

Review: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Colonial Players

Reviews October 24, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Do people learn nothing from history? Not that there is nothing to learn but that people actively learn nothing, for surely somewhere in the annals of recorded time there are couples who engage in dark play, where not everyone in the game knows the rules. That’s exactly the mechanism that snaps to life in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? now appearing on stage at Colonial Players as the second selection in their 68th season.

Little Sisters of Toby’s Dinner Theatre: Inside the Cloister of Sister Act with Teresa Danskey and Amy Haynes

Interviews October 21, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

If you want the world to listen, stand up tall and proud! And these sisters have the whole world listening as they raise their voices on the fourth installment of the Little Sisters of Toby’s interview series. This time around we’re featuring Sister Mary Robert and Sister Mary Patrick, played by Teresa Danskey and Amy E. Haynes. We sit down with both ladies to hear their take on the Sister Act experience.

Thank you both for joining us!