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.

Review: The Lord of the Flies at Annex Theater

Reviews July 25, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Welcome to The Plum Island Infectious Disease Center. In a productive partnership with The Baltimore Annex Theater, resident members of the Plum Island Infectious Disease Center would like to present you with an esteemed press badge, which you will require in order to access the Biosafety Level Four areas of the facility, as an admittance pass to an exclusive three-hour tour. You’ll know what to do when it’s time to do it. Be sure to keep all hands,

Review: Twelfth Night at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Reviews July 25, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

If music be the food of love, then play on! And play on the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory indeed does with their annual summer offering of Shakespeare in the Meadow! Starting the two-show summer repertory with The Bard’s Twelfth Night, BSF gets well underway with festive merrymaking and their signature use of natural light, basic period costumes, and timely music to suit the show. Directed by Thomas Delise, with Musical Direction by Jim Stimson,

She’s Your Dreamgirl: An Interview with ArtCentric’s Crystal Freeman on playing Effie in Dreamgirls

Interviews July 23, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Your dream is about to come true if you open your eyes to what’s in front of you! And that’s the ArtsCentric production of Dreamgirls now playing at The Motor House in Baltimore’s very own Station North Arts District. Live for one night only— well, one night each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening over the course of eight weekends— they will indeed be your Dreamgirls as only the fine talents of ArtsCentric can be!

Review: The Phantom of the Opera at The Kennedy Center

Reviews July 23, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade, masquerade…take your fill let the spectacle astound you. In the newly reimagined touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, spectacle is the one thing the show does not seem to shy away from. Directed by Laurence Connor, with Choreography by Scott Ambler, this newly approached production attempts to drive at the heart of Webber’s story, based on the novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra by Gaston Leroux.

Review: Urinetown at Monumental Theatre Company

Reviews July 21, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

What is Urinetown? Urinetown is here. It’s the town wherever people learn to live in fear. A surprisingly powerful and accurately poignant statement arising from one of Broadway’s darkest satirical musical comedies has taken up residence in Alexandria in the Black Box Theatre of the Ainslie Arts Center at Episcopal High School under the fine production of Monumental Theatre Company. Directed by Jenna Duncan with Musical Direction by Bobby McCoy, this vivaciously vigorous version of the show,

Review: The Gazebo at Cockpit in Court

Reviews July 21, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s utterly frightening how guilty one can make an innocent man look if one truly tries. But what if the innocent man isn’t so innocent? Or what if he’s guilty and innocent at the same time? Will you be able to keep up with the mayhem and calamity that unfolds in the madcap comedic thriller, The Gazebo on the cabaret stage at Cockpit in Court this summer? Only one way to find out!

Heavenly Bodies by Twisted Knickers Burlesque at Yellow Sign Theatre

News July 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Space: The Final Frontier. It is time to buckle in, hold onto your tentacles, and boldly go where no man has dared to go at Artscape 2016: aboard Starship Yellow Sign and into the vastly unexplored celestial spaces that is Burlesque Performance. Returning to their home planet of Yellow Sign Theatre, Twisted Knickers Burlesque arrived on the spacy scene with Heavenly Bodies, a show beyond the wildest imagination of even the most interplanetary dreamers!

Review: Spamalot at Cockpit in Court

Reviews July 17, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

If you trust in your soul, keep your eyes on the goal, then the prize you won’t fail— you’ll find your grail at Cockpit in Court this summer with their second mainstage production, Monty Python’s Spamalot. Directed by Laurie Sentman Starkey with Musical Direction by R. Christopher Rose, this instance of comedic musical theatre has a little something for everybody. Be you a Monty Python fan, a musical theatre fan, neither,

Review: A Tomb with a View at Bowie Community Theatre

Reviews July 16, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Mistakes can happen even with the most organized and ordinary of people. The Tomb family are a far cry from ordinary. Almost a modern day Addams Family with all of the doom and gloom that shrouds their secrets, the six Tomb children are marvelously mad and delight in the accidentally intentional misfortune of visitors who arrive at their happy haunt. The marvelously maddened transform into mysterious murderers or murder victims as the bodies pile up faster than Dora can find room for them in her flowerbeds.

Win a Pair of Tickets to see Jeff Foxworthy live at Hollywood Casino

News July 14, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

TheatreBloom Readers!!

You might be a Redneck if you find comedian Jeff Foxworthy funny! We are pleased to announce that Jeff Foxworthy is going to be performing live on Friday evening August 19, 2016 in The Event Center of the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races! Known best for his signature comedic bit “You might be a redneck if…” Foxworthy is a member of one of the most successful comedy tours of all time,

Behind the Mask: An Interview with Phantom of the Opera’s Julia Udine & Storm Lineberger

Interviews July 14, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

In sleep it sang to me, in dreams it came— dream no further for The Phantom of the Opera has arrived at last on the Opera House stage of The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center for a six-week summer engagement. In a TheatreBloom exclusive interview, we have taken a moment to talk with Storm Lineberger and Julia Udine, playing Raoul, Vicomte de Changy and Christine Daae respectively, about the Phantom experience.

Review: Spaced Out Magic with Lucas & Liz at Yellow Sign Theatre

Reviews July 14, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 1 Comment

They’re zany in the brainy, and totally insaney! They’re the— well— the alien abductees of Area51 that Agent Coletta doesn’t want you to know about! That’s right, folks, Baltimore’s Artscape 2016 has been invaded— by aliens! Or at least— Lucas Gerace and Liz Christmas have been invaded by aliens— or maybe not— it’s all a bit wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey— and now have permanent alien technology vibrating inside of them! Produced by Yellow Sign Theatre at this year’s space-themed Artscape,

Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Reviews July 13, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Lord, what fools these mortals be— thinking that summertime theatre in Annapolis need only involve outdoor musicals! Annapolis Shakespeare Company has set up shop, for a two-weekend limited engagement, in the luxurious Gardens of The Charles Carroll House for their current production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by Sally Boyett and Donald Hicken, the performance is a tightly trimmed rendition of the whimsical faerie-laden comedy, which showcases mesmerizing costumes,

Spring Awakening at ArtsCentric Summer Institute

Reviews July 13, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

All shall know the wonder of purple summer who are lucky enough to have attended the ArtsCentric Summer Institute’s production of Spring Awakening. Presented as a final showcasing of the Summer Institute’s hard-working students under the Direction of Artistic Director Kevin McAllister and Musical Director Cedric D. Lyles, this stellar production of young performers brings their radiant vocal talents to light in a show that rings true for adolescents of today despite being set in a time long ago.

Review: The Sound of Music at The JC Summer Community Theatre

Reviews July 11, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Talented performers and lots of new faces, wondrous fun costumes and well lit-up stages, Rogers & Hammerstein for a summertime fling, these are a few of my favorite things! And The JC Summer Community Theatre, now appearing live at The John Carroll School, has them all in their inaugural production of The Sound of Music. Directed and Choreographed by Kimberly Brueggemann, Orchestral Direction by Richard Hauf and Vocal Direction by Bonnie Dubel Burns,

Review: Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play” at Infinity Theatre Company

Reviews July 11, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Zip! Zoom! Wowee— does Infinity Theatre Company ever have the most precious and invigorating dose of Saturday morning entertainment that you’ll find this side of the Bay Bridge for the 2016 summer season. Proud to present this musical play with plenty of panache, ITC brings Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play” to the main stage for children and children at heart under the energetic Direction of Tommy Iafrate. With script and lyrics by Mo Willems and music by Deborah Wicks La Puma,

Review: Tick Tick BOOM! at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews July 11, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Stop the clock. Take time out. Hear the Tick Tick BOOM! as it explodes on the stage of The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre to close out their 54th season. Jonathan Larson’s pre-Rent musical arrives under the Direction of Jillian Locklear Bauersfeld with Musical Direction by Michael W. Tan and features an intimate cast of three just living the real life of 1990 New York City. Big dreams, big goals,

Space: Magic’s Final Fronteir- Lucas & Liz Make Magic in the Milky Way

News July 8, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Space. The final frontier. Boldly going where no man has gone before. That was before Lucas Gerace and Liz Christmas got abducted by aliens, returned to Area51 impregnated with alien technology, and dropped upside their heads in the throng of Baltimore’s Artscape 2016. In a brand spanking new magical show called Spaced Out Magic with Lucas & Liz, L. G. Gerace Most Marvelous and his new magical assistant, Liz Christmas, will take on the terrestrial-extraneous,

Review: Million Dollar Quartet at Infinity Theatre Company

Reviews July 6, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Well it’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat go! Go directly to Infinity Theatre Company this summer as they bring on some great balls of fiery talent all wrapped up in the second half of their repertory season! One magical night— December 4, 1956— brought four of the greatest rock-n-roll performers the musical charts have ever known together for an unspeakably sensational jam session. Now Infinity Theatre Company is bringing that phenomenal night to you with their production Million Dollar Quartet.

Review: The Bridges of Madison County at The Kennedy Center

Reviews July 6, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Striking and inspiring beauty isn’t just in the covered-bridge landscape of Winterset, Iowa. It’s possessed wholeheartedly in the stellar music of Jason Robert Brown’s The Bridges of Madison County musical, now appearing live on stage in the Eisenhower Theatre of The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Based on the novel by Robert James Waller with Book by Marsha Norman, Brown’s stunning score of the heart-melting and utterly emotionally mesmerizing love story is populated with bittersweet poignancy and the closest thing to true American Opera the stage has heard since the 80’s.

Review: Moxie at Happenstance Theater

Reviews July 5, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

A quick glance to a dictionary— or in our technologically adept modern day world, Merriam-Webster’s website— reveals the simple definition of the word Moxie to be: the ability to be active; courage or determination. And by golly, if Happenstance Theater doesn’t have the ability to be active and have plenty of courage and determination, I’ll eat my hat! Presenting, as only Happenstance Theater can, a theatrical collage of movement, mystery, marvel, and magic: Moxie: A Happenstance Vaudeville comes to the main stage of Round House Theatre this summer to delight,

Horatio Dark’s Between The Sheets: Special June Edition

Reviews July 5, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Hey there, Charm City. Are you ready for a night of naughty entertainment? Then just pick up the phone and dial the party line. That’s right, it’s back. Horatio Dark’s Between the Lines has taken that naughty delve once more and plundered its way Between the Sheets! Just four months after the initial Between the Sheets broadcast, which was a Valentine’s Day special event, the antiquarian of the insane,

Review: Rent at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Reviews July 5, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 2 Comments

525,600 minutes— that’s how you measure a last year on earth. And Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre is measuring the second slot of their 50th Anniversary season with their production of Rent, which is currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary of debuting on Broadway. Directed by Andy Scott, with Musical Direction Paige Austin Rammelkamp, this moving and evocative musical about real life in New York City circa the early 90’s is more relevant now than ever in a world that cannot seem to realize there is no day but today.

White Christmas at Howard County Summer Theatre

News July 2, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

May your days be merry and bright! And may all your Christmases— in July— be white! Unthinkable! Unheard of! Until now, of course. Ever wanted to feel the crisp chill of winter air blustering through a muggy hot Maryland summer day? Or wash your hair in the snow as you set off for the 4th of July picnic? Howard County Summer Theatre is giving you that exact opportunity with their sensational, albeit off-seasonal, production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

Review: Hairspray at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Reviews July 1, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Styles keep a changing, the world’s rearranging, but Toby’s Dinner Theatre is timeless as can be! Welcoming in the 60’s with their superior production of Hairspray, the summer stage-blockbuster is marching in through the front door in Columbia and is ready to shimmy and shake-up all of the theatergoers in the area. Directed and Choreographed by Mark Minnick with Musical Direction by Ross Scott Rawlings, this sensational production is the must-see musical of Baltimore’s hot season!

Million Dollar Interview: Meet the Infinity Theatre Company Actors of Million Dollar Quartet

Interviews June 24, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Everybody’s got the fever, that is something you all know. Fever isn’t such a new thing. Fever started long time ago! And the fever is spreading like a burning ring of fire! The fever is spreading like great balls of fire! The fever is rocking its way into the Infinity Theatre Company this summer as Million Dollar Quartet sets to open this weekend, now in repertory with Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver.

They’ve Got MOXIE! An Interview with Happenstance Theatre

Interviews June 22, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Those folks have Moxie! And we ain’t talking nerve tonic, kid, though boy oh boy do them Happenstance Theater folks got plenty of nerve! And gumption. And chutzpah! And, well— Moxie! A brand new theatrical collage arrives this summer for the ensemble-based performance company, and if you haven’t already guessed, it’s going by the title of Moxie: A Happenstance Vaudeville. The company has taken their much cherished vintage aesthetic and much celebrated performance nature and steered it in the Vaudevillian direction.

Under the Sea with CCP: Meet Joseph Mannherz playing King Triton

Interviews June 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

…where Triton is King! And the Merpeople sing! In mysterious fathoms below! Plunging into the third part of “Under the Sea with CCP” as opening weekend rests upon us, TheatreBloom sits down with Joseph Mannherz to discover what it’s like to play the almighty ruler of the sea in this fun-filled Disney musical.

Thank you for taking a moment of your time to sit with us! If you’d give us a little introduction,

Review: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at Stillpointe Theatre

Reviews June 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

An audience knows what to expect and that is all they are prepared to believe in. Such a premise as this is where the initial notion of “suspending one’s disbelief” came from, and thus theatrical extemporanea, et. al and so forth. When playwright Tom Stoppard dared the audience to believe in his tertiary character-exploration of Hamlet, he had no idea that Stillpointe Theatre would be putting their hands all over Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in only a way that this innovative,

Review: Kinky Boots at The Kennedy Center

Reviews June 18, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Do you know what the most beautiful thing in the world is? Why, it’s a shoe! And the world at The John F. Kennedy Center is brighter because it’s six inches off the ground right now as Kinky Boots settles into the Opera House stage for the first half of the 2016 summer. Preaching a powerful message, this Tony Award-winning musical— with Book by Harvey Fierstein and Music & Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper— is a sizzling sensation of a show that will blind you with how brilliantly it shines.