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: Next to Normal at Silhouette Stages

Reviews May 14, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s just another day, and it’s gonna be good at Silhouette Stages as they live life on a latte and a prayer while getting Next to Normal underway as their final production of the 2015/2016 theatrical season. Featuring the Pulitzer prize-winning Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey and Music by Tom Kitt, this emotionally evocative rock musical has a brilliant score, sensational songs, and a visual concept delivered through projection that drives home the emotional connections of the show’s overarching themes with stunning clarity.

Review: 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions

Reviews May 13, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

We’ve all got a little more homework to do when it comes to life. Learn not to judge, learn not to label, learn to be yourself! That’s the message that sixteen amazing young performers are preaching at Third Wall Productions and their current presentation of 13: The Musical. Directed by Kali Baklor with Musical Direction by Eliza Van Kan, this up-tempo life lesson of a musical is full of heart and teenage spirit and guaranteed to bring you back to middle school quicker than you can say “popular.”

Middle School nostalgia comes flooding back to the senses with Scenic Designer and Artist Amy Rudai and Set Designer Jordan Hollett,

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Pierce Elliott

Interviews May 13, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

He’s stuck in the lamest place in the world! Appleton, Indiana! And what’s worse? His Bar Mitzvah is upon him, his parents just got divorced, he’s the new kid at a new school, AND he’s about to turn 13! In the final installment of “A Little More Homework”, the TheatreBloom exclusive interview series that sat down with the cast of Third Wall Productions’ 13: The Musical, we chat with Pierce Elliott about playing Evan.

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Grace Volpe

Interviews May 13, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 2 Comments

She’d made her choice, you’re good enough! Good enough to hear what Grace Volpe has to say as the penultimate interviewee in the TheatreBloom exclusive series, “A Little More Homework” featuring the performers of Third Wall Productions’ 13: The Musical.

Thanks for sitting with us, Grace! If you’d give us a quick introduction, we can get going.

Grace Volpe: My name’s Grace. I’m playing Patrice. I go Ridgley Middle School and I’m in sixth grade.

The King & I at St. Gabriel’s Miracle Players

News May 13, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Who? Who? Who? The St. Gabriel Miracle Players. What? What? What? The King & I upon the stage as the 2016 spring musical. Directed by Chuck Dick with Musical Direction by Rob White and a live Orchestra conducted by Matt Elkey, this tried and true Rogers & Hammerstein classic comes to the community in the very merry month of May with all of its iconic music, well-loved stories, etc. etc. etc.

In true community fashion the show’s aesthetic is crafted not with one designer in each area of expertise but with a full village of visionaries who share a passion for making theatre thrive in the local scene of Woodlawn.

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Jaylen Fontaine

Interviews May 12, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

No one says no to a boy with a terminal illness! As the TheatreBloom exclusive interview series, “A Little More Homework” launches into the final three installments, we sit down with Jaylen Fontaine to talk about playing Archie in Third Wall Productions’ 13: The Musical.

If you’d like to introduce yourself, we’ll get started!

Jaylen Fontaine: I’m Jaylen Fontaine. I play Archie. I go to school at Shiloh Middle School in Carroll County and I’m in the seventh grade.

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Jake Schwartz

Interviews May 12, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

He’s the coolest kid in school and he’s never done— the T. The T? The Tongue! Bret wants to give Kendra The Tongue! Oh my god, you guys! Heading into the homestretch of our TheatreBloom exclusive interview series, “A Little More Homework” we sit down with Jake Schwartz of Third Wall Productions’ 13: The Musical to get the “t” about “The T.”

Thanks for sitting with us, Jake, would you give us a quick introduction to yourself and we’ll get started?

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Anastasia Johns

Interviews May 12, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Readers of TheatreBloom! You’re about to have an O-P-P OPPORTUNITY to find out just what is so special about Kendra from 13: The Musical that everybody wants to date her! In the 12th segment of our ongoing exclusive interview series, “A Little More Homework” we sit down with Anastasia Johns to get the details on Miss Popularity herself at Third Wall Productions.

Thanks for giving us a minute, Anastasia, if you want to introduce yourself,

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Anike Sonuga

Interviews May 11, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

She’s the gal they’re all gabbing about! Gossip queen extraordinaire— that’s Lucy, of 13: The Musical, who is simply bad, bad news! Continuing into the 11th installment of the TheatreBloom exclusive interview series, “A Little More Homework” we sit down with Anike Sonuga to learn all about what it’s like to play the bad girl in the Third Wall Productions’ presentation of 13: The Musical.

Thanks for sitting down with us,

Review: Beauty & The Beast at The Hippodrome

Reviews May 11, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Tale as old as time, tune as old as song! The timeless Disney classic Beauty & The Beast returns to Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre this spring as a part of the CareFirst Hippodrome Broadway Series. Presented by NETworks Presentations LLC, the classic fairytale musical brings all of your favorite characters home to Charm City for a fantastical night out at the theatre. Directed by Rob Roth, this Disney delight is geared for younger audiences and of course those young at heart,

Open Your Chest, Show Us Your Heart: An Interview with David Jennings and Justin Calhoun about Epic! Productions and Gutenberg! The Musical

Interviews May 10, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

In a world where we see four productions of Shrek within four months and four miles of each other, it takes a great big leap of faith to venture down the path less traveled, particularly in the genre of musical theatre and especially when it comes to the journey of opening a new theatre company. As Epic! Productions heads into its second season— preparing to mount it’s second musical production, Gutenberg! The Musical,

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Maren Wright-Kerr

Interviews May 10, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

They’ve been thinking. They’ve been thinking! And they’ve got to get with you— these kids of 13: The Musical— they’ve got to get with you so they can share their awesome experience of being in the middle of a middle school musical and talk all about what it’s been like! Rounding the bend past the midway point in the TheatreBloom exclusive series “A Little More Homework” we sit down with Maren Wright-Kerr to discuss her involvement with 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions.

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Aidan Slowey

Interviews May 10, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

One, two, three, here they go! These young performers of 13: The Musical are stoked to share their experience regarding the production in this TheatreBloom exclusive interview series— A Little More Homework. Sitting down for our 9th installment, Aidan Slowey talks to us about playing Malcolm in Third Wall Productions’ upcoming showing of 13: The Musical.

Thanks for taking a minute to sit with us, Aiden. Would you introduce yourself and we’ll get started?

Review: The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd at Compass Rose Theater

Reviews May 9, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Wish upon a wishbone! Pluck a four-leaf clover! That you’ll snag tickets and understanding before this production run is over. Closing out the 2015/2016 season at Compass Rose Theater, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd takes to the stage with its beautiful music and curious political statement that burbles just beneath the surface of the overarching allegory of the tale in total. Directed by Lucinda Merry-Browne with Musical Direction by Anita O’Connor,

Review: BrouHaHa at Happenstance Theater

Reviews May 8, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Is this the place?

Let me check. The map says Baltimore Theatre Project and the ticket says Happenstance Theater— this is the place! The place where imaginative engagement meets clowning around, there place where BrouHaHa happens! A fluid convergence of bodily poetry and auditory movement, this episodic clownesque escapade devised by the ensemble is making its Baltimore debut. Inspired by Samuel Beckett, and a treasury of footage from inspiring films like La Strada and The Seventh Seal as well as Edwardian works and the imagery of refugees escaping on foot,

Review: The Addams Family at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

Reviews May 8, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Crazy is underrated. Normal is an illusion. What’s normal for the spider is a calamity for the fly, and what’s crazy for normal folk is just the basic happenings of everyday life for the crazies, like the gloom and doom inside the mansion in central park. Closing out the 2015/2016 season, The Children’s Playhouse of Maryland delivers a creepy and kooky performance, with all of the iconic Charles Addams’ characters alive in their shades of gray on the lecture hall stage in The Addams Family musical.

Review: The Objection Pact at BOOM Theatre Company

Reviews May 7, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Do you really have to lose yourself to love somebody else? Sure, give them a piece of your soul, a piece of your heart, but is a total merger of two people into one person really a necessity when it comes to love and marriage, particularly the latter part? If so, at least when it comes to marriage? You’re doing it wrong. BOOM Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Samantha Allen’s first script,

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Ma’issa Wright-Kerr

Interviews May 6, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

If that’s what it is? Then that’s what it is, and this is what it is— part eight of the TheatreBloom exclusive interview series “A Little More Homework” where we’re getting to know the cast of Third Wall Productions’ 13: The Musical. Taking her turn at the microphone to give us the truth about life in middle school, we’re sitting down with Ma’issa Wright-Kerr for her take on the show.

If you’d give us a little introduction,

Broadway in Baltimore: An Epic Evening

News May 6, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Stop the presses! Epic Productions Inc. is putting on a show! And not just any show, no sir! Why they’re throwing a good old fashioned Broadway Cabaret evening full of some of the area’s most talented performers. And throw it they did. Arriving as the first annual fundraising gala hosted by the budding theatre company, the evening enjoyed a great deal of food and merriment at the classy and posh Linwoods Restaurant.

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Carly Victor

Interviews May 5, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

You see the cover and you judge the book, but don’t turn away without a brand new look! These young performers at Third Wall Productions will have you thinking twice about labels, bullying, and judging people without ever getting to know them. Continuing on the 7th part of an ongoing TheatreBloom exclusive interview series— “A Little More Homework” we sit down with 13: The Musical’s cast member Carly Victor to get her story on being a part of this fantastical teenaged musical experience.

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Christopher Owens

Interviews May 5, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

With a voice, and a choice, and incentive to succeed, these kids are certainly going to get you what you need! In this case that’s Part 6 of the TheatreBloom exclusive interview series, “A Little More Homework.” Working our way through the cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions, we sit down with Chris Owens and talk about the show.

Hi Chris! If you’d tell us a little bit about yourself,

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Margaret Hamilton

Interviews May 4, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Any minute, we’ll be getting closer, and we’ll be where we want to be! Which is right here at Part 5 of the TheatreBloom exclusive interview series, “A Little More Homework.” Sitting down with Margaret Hamilton, we get the skinny on Molly and being Patrice’s understudy.

Hi Margaret, thanks for sitting with us. If you’d like to introduce yourself, we’ll get going.

Margaret Hamilton: My name is Margaret Hamilton, and I play Molly and Patrice’s understudy.

Review: The Body of An American at Theatre J

Reviews May 4, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

This is fresh air. A play so horrifically captivating that it fuses your eyeballs to every flicker of movement, melds your eardrums to every shock of sound, and merges your mind to every explosive thought and disruptive emotion as they occur. Dan O’Brien’s The Body of an American seizes audiences of Theater J with captivating force, tumultuously upending their emotional equilibrium in the exploitative journey of a playwright and his relationship with Canadian Photojournalist Paul Watson.

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Morgan Hewitt

Interviews May 3, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

A friend is a person who most of all cares about what you feel. And we’re making friends fast here with the cast of Third Wall Productions teenage ensemble of 13: The Musical. In the fourth installment of the TheatreBloom exclusive interview series, “A Little More Homework” we sit down with ensemble member Morgan Hewitt to discuss what it’s like being a part of the show.

Hi, Morgan! Thanks for sitting down with us!

Review: Horatio Dark’s Between the Lines- May Broadcast at Yellow Sign Theatre

Reviews May 3, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Good evening, Charm City! After a month’s brief pause, the Master of the Macabre, the Navigator of the Netherworld, the Antiquarian of the Insane as returned to WYST (taking up residence at the old Yellow Sign Theatre on Charles Street in Station North) to bewitch your ears for the evening. Yes, oh yes, it’s the May Broadcast edition of Horatio Dark’s Between the Lines! Featuring four new radio plays to entreat the ear (and should you be lucky enough to attend in person— ensnare the eye),

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Andi Rudai

Interviews May 3, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

They’re getting ready stay, they’re getting ready today! These movers are ready to prove that they’ve still got a little more homework to do! Arriving as Part 3 of the TheatreBloom exclusive interview series, we sit down with ensemble member Andi Rudai and talk all about her involvement with 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions.

Hello there, Andi! Thanks for sitting down with us.

Andi Rudai: Hi! I’m Andi Rudai and I’m just in the ensemble.

Review: Romeo & Juliet at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Reviews May 3, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Dreams are the children of idle brain, but let your mind sit still no longer! It is time for your imagination, your mind, your brain, and every other part of one’s thinker that by any other name reasons just as soundly, to engage with the Bard’s most iconic romantic tragedy. Tightened for core efficiency and pared to its essence, Romeo & Juliet is now the two hours’ traffics upon the Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s stage.

Review: Rumors at The Woodbrook Players

Reviews May 2, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 1 Comment

There sure is a lot of excitement banging into action over at The Woodbrook Players this spring! Presenting the snappy wit of Neil Simon’s Rumors, The Woodbrook Players are in the know when it comes to gossip, stories, and wildly insane tall-tales! Directed by Ron Oaks, this zany madcap comedy puts the stitches in your side with situational humor you just have to see to believe!

Director and Set Designer Ron Oaks paints a pretty picture inside the home of Deputy Mayor Charles &

Amy Luchey (top left) as Meg and Sherry Benedek (top right) as Jo, with Jennie Phelps (bottom left) as Amy, Eileen Keenan Aubele (center) as Marmee, and Allison Comotto (bottom right) as Beth in Little Women

Review: Little Women at Dundalk Community Theatre

Reviews May 2, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Astonishing! It’s astonishing how sometimes when you dream your dreams come true in extraordinary ways. And Charm City was dreaming of a musical that would awaken the soul for springtime. Dreams are coming true with Dundalk Community Theatre’s production of Little Women. A remarkably performed, sensationally sung, and overall impressively handled musical Directed and Choreographed by Tom Wyatt with Musical Direction by Nathan Scavilla, this riveting story, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott,

A Little More Homework: Studying the Cast of 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions- Meet Jake Clark

Interviews April 30, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

You get a little bit taller, a little bit older, a little bit better…all when you’re turning 13! Arriving as the second the a multi-part interview series, “A Little More Homework” TheatreBloom sits down with Jake Clark to discuss life at 13, middle school, and what being a teenager is all about.

Thanks for sitting down with us today! Why don’t you start by telling us who you are, where you go to school,