Interviews

Interview: Keepin’ Out of Mischief with Vagabond Players Director Rikki Howie Lacewell

Interviews October 20, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Take a stroll through the square of Fells point any evening weekend this fall and you’ll hear the joint is truly jumpin’ over at The Vagabond Players. Their production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ has got the whole of Baltimore tappin’ its toes and stompin’ its feet! TheatreBloom took a quick break from doing the jitterbug waltz and sat down with Director Rikki Howie Lacewell to find out just what this crazy cool cat musical is all about!

TEAR DOWN THE HOUSE: A HOCKADOO INTERVIEW WITH THE MASTERMINDS BEHIND MEMPHIS: PART 2- Meet Actor Jonathan David Randle

Interviews October 8, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s time to say a prayer with Gator as Part 2 of the exclusive Hockadoo Interview series continues here on TheatreBloom. We’re sitting down with actor Jonathan Randle, who plays the strong but silent Gator in Toby’s production of Memphis to find out what he has to say about the role.

Let’s have a quick introduction of who you are and where the readers of TheatreBloom might have seen you around the Columbia,

Tear Down The House: A Hockadoo Interview with the Masterminds Behind Memphis: Part 1- Meet Choreographer Christen Svingos

Interviews September 26, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s time to tear down the house over at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia! Their smokin’ hot production of Memphis is burning down the roof! In an exclusive interview series featured only on TheatreBloom, we go in-depth and behind the scenes with the cast and creative team of this Tony Award-Winning musical to get the full musical experience and find out exactly what Memphis means to them.

Playwright Daria Marinelli outside of Venus Theatre premiering her work We Are Samurai.

Voices of Venus: Director Deb Randall Speaks Samurai

Interviews September 18, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

It has happened before. It will happen again. It’s happening right now. The innovative new work that is changing the way theatre is viewed right in Washington DC’s back yard. Venus Theatre is midway through ‘Fierce14’ with their production of We Are Samurai, a new work by emerging playwright Daria Marinelli. The piece itself fully supports the mission statement of the theatre company currently producing it. which is setting flight to the voices of women and children in theatre for live.

Requiem of Genius: An Interview with Bruce Randolph Nelson on Playing Salieri in Amadeus

Interviews September 18, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

What a story. What a scandal. What does he cry? Amadeus! But it is Salieri’s tale to tell. And what better a way to hear it than in an exclusive interview with Baltimore area actor Bruce Randolph Nelson, playing the lead role of Salieri in Centerstage’s production of Amadeus. The first production of their 2014/2015 season is underway and in a sit down interview Bruce gives us the real deal on what it’s like to play the lesser genius to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Interview: Unanswerable Questions- An In-Depth Look at Masquerade with Playwright and Director Bill Leary

Interviews September 16, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Unanswerable questions. Unbearable loss. This is the tagline for an evocative new drama presented by Wolf Pack Theatre Company, entitled Masquerade. Written and Directed by company founder and artistic director Bill Leary, the production tackles the tough social issue of suicide, brought to light in the face of a family tragedy. Having the distinguished honor of meeting the playwright prior to the production’s opening, I’ve sat down with Bill for an interview about what motivated him to write the play and what he hopes producing such a production will achieve in the community.

Let them Eat! Part I of Eating at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Kimberly Gilbert on being Marie Antoinette

Interviews September 16, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Let them eat cake! The infamous words that everyone attributes to Marie Antoinette. But did you know that she never actually said those words? In a full-disclosure, up-close-and-personal one-on-one interview with Woolly Mammoth Company Member Kimberly Gilbert, we go in depth with the actress about what it has been like getting ready to take on the iconic role of Marie as Woolly opens their 35th season of “Let them Eat” with the show Marie Antoinette.

Interview: On Art and Friendship- a discussion with Actors Mark Scharf, Steven Shriner, and Eric C. Stein

Interviews September 14, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Friendships come and friendships go, and sometimes a disagreement in taste can be all the difference in the world between “best friends” and the end of 15 years of friendship. Taking a moment to dissect this concept, I’ve sat down with three seasoned veterans of the stage— Eric C. Stein, Mark Scharf, and Steven Shriner— who are currently performing in the Vagabond Players production of Yasmina Reza’s Art and gotten their opinion on the matter.

Sweeney Todd: A Prog Metal Introspective Interview with the Women Behind the Show

Interviews August 29, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd, who served a prog and a metal god! With the blessing of the mastermind himself, The Landless Theatre Company has taken Stephen Sondheim’s musical thriller to new heights with their prog metal rendition of the notoriously grim show. Reinventing the classic orchestrations with a self-proclaimed ‘nerd metal’ vibe, the company has created a hybrid performance that lives up to their slogan— “theatre for the theatre-challenged.” This production has caused quite the stir around the Washington DC Theatre scene— being the first of its kind as well as providing a strong voice for female directors in both the theatrical ring as well as the metal scene.

Frederick (L- Nick Lehan) and Mabel (R- Laura Whittenberger) in The Pirates of Penzance at Toby's Dinner Theatre. Photo Courtesy of Kirstine Christiansen.

Hoist the High Notes: An interview with Pirates of Penzance Star Laura Whittenberger

Interviews August 13, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Hoist your sails and raise your colors for adventure and intrigue as TheatreBloom undertakes its first official interview! A new voice is taking the soprano stage scene by storm, though Laura Whittenberger is no stranger to performing. Currently being featured as Mabel in The Pirate of Penzance at Toby’s the Dinner Theatre of Columbia; I’ve taken a moment to sit down with Laura and find out just what this seaworthy experience has been like for her.

‘Story of My Life: The Freak Flag Chronicles’ at Toby’s ‘Shrek’: Part 1: Heather Beck (Gingy)

Interviews April 18, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Let your freak flag wave! Let your freak flag fly! Never take it down, never take it down and raise it way up high! For everyone at the Toby’s Dinner Theatre production of Shrek the musical to come and see! That’s right, folks! We’re hitting the swamp and the city of Duloc to uncover the truth behind these fairytale creatures! In a brand new interview series entitled ‘Story of My Life: The Freak Flag Chronicles’ we’ll venture into the story of six of Shrek’s characters and find out what life is all about in the land of unusual fairytales!