Oh, God! I Hate Shakespeare! That’s right! I said it! I do! I really hate Shakespeare! I just don’t get it! How a mediocre actor from a measly little town is suddenly the brightest jewel in England’s royal crown! Oh, God, I HATE SHAKESPEARE! His plays are wordy— ooh. Wait. Maybe I shouldn’t sing all about it. Something is rotten in the state of— Essex!? Actually that’s sort of funny (Essex is in Shakespeare somewhere…isn’t it?) No,
John Webster is, perhaps, an even better patron saint for Brave Spirits than William Shakespeare: he brings both the verse, and the violence with The Duchess of Malfi. Katie Culligan brings the Duchess’ power from her first silent moments on stage. She is strong and self-possessed, charming and beautiful, grounded and passionate. Her performance is closely nuanced at every moment.
The villain of the piece is Ferdinand, her brother,
Fun fact: The story of Beauty and the Beast was originally published in 1740 as “La Belle et La Bête,” a French tale written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Gallon de Villeneuve (now, that’s a mouthful!) Oddly enough, there weren’t any talking clocks or candelabras involved in that iteration. Two and a half centuries later, Disney turned it into the animated classic most modern audiences are familiar with. It has also been adapted for the stage,
Silver Spring Stage’s production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, directed by Craig Allen Mummey, tells the story of a fictionalized Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 as a stark fear of witchcraft spreads through the town. Miller’s story, famously an allegory for 1950’s McCarthyism, steps audiences through the dark pervasiveness of paranoia.
Standout performances include Melanie A. Lawrence as Tituba, Sophia Stringer as Mary Warren, Lennie Magida as Rebecca Nurse, Omar LaTiri as Reverend Hale,
After their inaugural season struck gold with the latest reworking of Chess, a jubilant celebration of In the Heights, and a megawatt production of Pulitzer Prize winner How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, all of which rivaled or improved upon their latest Broadway incarnations, The Broadway Center Stage concert series at the Kennedy Center has set a high standard with their ambitious and impressive pop-up musicals.
Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Children of all ages! Step right up to The Heritage Players and see The Greatest Show on Earth! Why it’s a miracle! Of course, miracle is a pretty fancy word for humbug, or so Mrs. Barnum will tell you. But a bit of brass and humbug is just as good as silver and gold, Mr. P.T. Barnum will tell you than himself! Barnum, the musical of the circus legend tumblesaults its way up the aisles of the Thomas Rice Auditorium at the Spring Grove Hospital Campus and onto the stage of The Heritage Players,
Haute Patooties! Bless my soul! Haute Patooties! They’ve got rock-n-roll! The Haute Patooties— your very own Baltimore-based Guerilla Theatre Group— are rocking-and-rolling with their very own Rocky Horror Show and its wild, simply put. Think you know Rocky Horror? Think again; come rediscover it, see it in a new light, and experience the collaborative effort that is a cult-classic musical done up right-n-different with Haute Patooties this Halloween season.
Fall is the perfect season for love, magic, and hopeless romantics. The magical possibilities and enduring love story of Brigadoon at Rockville Musical Theatre under the direction of Laura W. Andruski and musical direction of Joseph Sorge unfortunately left me feeling flat. In a world that is full of hate, disregard, and conflict there was so much excitement as I drove down 270 to get whisked away to the magical land of Brigadoon,
While the autumn breezes finally rush in, bringing all the productions of Rocky Horror Show and Deathtrap along with them, The Maryland Ensemble Theatre defies the more conventional approach to the spooky season and instead invites a uniquely chilling entity onto its stage for the month of Halloween and beyond. Let the Right One In, a stage adaptation by Jack Thorne from the Swedish novel & film by John Ajvide Lindqvist,
How would you write your story? Would you tell the truth or a lie? Can your story change someone else or even yourself? Do you truly remember your past or is your memory altered by your perspective? So many questions to ask, a multitude of outcomes, and for a show that last 2 hours and 20 minutes plus an intermission, too much time spent unnecessarily exploring how to transmit answers. The Babylon Line by Richard Greenburg and currently being produced by The Colonial Players of Annapolis has a strong cast that does the best that they can with a show that cannot find its voice and struggles to find a conclusion to the problems proposed.
Believe only half of what you see and nothing of what you hear…unless of course you’re coming to see Poe’s Last Stanza with Do or Die Productions this ominous October month. Set forth as Do or Die Productions’ annual Halloween tradition, writer and director Ceej Crowe lays down her own thrilling and chilling take on the master of the macabre, bringing him to life with more than just his morose melancholy. This particular performance was hosted at the Elkridge Furnace Inn,
All that I should say seems inadequate and feeble in regards to this glorious production of Frankenstein that We Happy Few have set down to kick-start their Horror Rep in this 2018/2019 season. With spirited ensemble nature driving the life-force of the performance, this hour-long bulleted intensive of Mary Shelley’s masterwork is an engaging thriller that submerges you right in the midst of Dr. Frankenstein’s crisis. Directed by Robert Pike &
Every story, new or ancient, bagatelle or work of art…all are tales of human failing…all are tales of love at heart. The Gods love Constellation Theatre Company for spinning their storyteller’s thread into a musical theatre masterpiece production of Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida. A staggeringly powerful and stunningly beautiful production Directed by Michael J. Bobbitt with Musical Direction by Walter “Bobby” McCoy and Choreography by Tony Thomas II, Constellation’s Aida possesses the grandeur and potency of Broadway’s timeless love story and the daring familiarity of telling such a tremendous story in such an intimate space.
When you force the eye to see something in a whole new light; that’s true beauty. A pile of junk is just a pile of junk until it isn’t anymore; looking differently upon something broken, disregarded, or damaged can transform trash into treasure. In the world premiere of D. W. Gregory’s Dirty Pictures, art, beauty, and truth find new lights and the backwoods yokels of wilderness-nowhere Colorado absorb new perspective on what those things mean to their lives.
Move toward the darkness.
Don’t avoid despair.
Creep into Silhouette Stages
And you’ll see what’s there!
They’ve got family first— and family last— and family through and through! They’ve got The Addams…and now they’re waiting just for you! After its run on the circuit of community and professional houses all over the tristate area, The Addams Family musical has risen from the dead in time for Halloween and is taking up a three-week residence at Silhouette Stages.
Roll on up for the price is down, come on in for this show’s in town— see with your eyes— what this company’s done— hear with your ears— as they sing as one. Won’t you go see— their Jesus Christ? Won’t you go hear their Jesus Christ? That’s Jesus Christ Superstar, the Andrew Lloyd Webber raging rock musical version of select sections of the new testament up to and including the crucifixion of Jesus.
Raw emotions and a powerhouse of a production on display!
The 2018-2019 World Stages season opens with Measure for Measure, produced by Cheek by Jowl and the Pushkin Theatre Moscow, a production filled with raw emotions and powerful performances. This production is superbly directed by Declan Donnellan and extraordinarily designed by Nick Ormerod. In the politically charged atmosphere that we are currently living in, this timeless piece is presented in such a relatable,
To find truth you must observe with an impartial eye. But what happens if the truth is in something that simply cannot be seen? In a riveting tale that is more than a mere ghost story, Summerland by Arlitia Jones makes its Washington DC area debut at Washington Stage Guild. Directed by Kasi Campbell, this gripping drama unfolds around the true story of William H. Mumler, a spirit-photographer who rose to fame just after the Civil War.
In what ways have we cloaked, and even hidden from ourselves, the secret bargains we have made with our own devils? Don’t we all have our own junk? Isn’t it all just the bitch of living? Stillpointe Theatre understands all too well these concepts of self-discovery, these moralistic masquerades that stifle the expression youth as they blossom into adults. Preparing to round out their seventh season, Stillpointe Theatre presents Spring Awakening,
It is easy to be afraid of something when you don’t know where it is, because if it’s not there it could be anywhere. But fear not! There’s no need to be afraid of Landless Theatre Company! They’re right here— well— here being there and there being in the black-box-found-space of Best Medicine Rep inside the Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg. And they’re putting on a spooktacular children’s affair just in time for Halloween! Landless Theatre Company presents Coraline,
Scottfield Theater Company has a dream, a song to sing… and sing it they do! Running October 5-7 and 12-14 in the Cultural Center of Havre de Grace, this production of Mamma Mia is stuffed to the brim with infectious energy, uproarious laughter, and an impressive performance of pop monolith ABBA’s timeless catalog.
Mamma Mia tells the story of Sophie and Donna, a daughter and her single mother in their journey to discover who Sophie’s father was and face the memories Donna has of her three old flames and potential father for her daughter.
Tale as old as— wait. No. That’s not right. The seaweed is always greener— no. That’s not it either. The cow as white as milk, the slipper as pure as— oh. Definitely not. With the flurry of various and sundry fairytale musicals being done here, there, and everywhere, who can keep them all straight? What about a lesser known fairytale? Or at least a lesser produced one? Artistic Synergy swoops in to save the day in that department,
What the f**k was that?!? The theatre’s filled with zombies!
What the f**k was that?!? And there’s blood upon your shoe!
It can only be the cult classic Evil Dead: The Musical reincarnated for its third year, now appearing live with Deer in the Spotlight Productions! This year with TWO BLOODY LOCATIONS. Directed by Bob Denton & Bambi Johnson, with Musical Direction by Shane Jensen,
Things don’t have to be true to talk about them. In fact, that’s why some people like to talk— gossip and fake news, and really anything they can jabber about, just to make noise. People make noise— with their mouths, with their words— because they can’t cope with silence. They can’t deal with quiet. But what if all you want is quiet? What if all you need is silent? In the harrowing Tony Award &
People have very different perspectives on experiences that they imagine they are sharing. What if you’re living in the exact same moment as another individual and sparking a chemistry with them but they’re experiencing something completely different? Or is it worse if you think they’re experiencing something entirely different than you when in reality they are experiencing your perspective? A sparkling Broadway gem, by Tony Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens, Heisenberg is a surprisingly meaningful romantic comedy filled with poppy quirks and a disarming amount of heart and emotional depth.
Mendacity is all around us. Just listen to the news. The fictitious fabrications of Tennessee Williams’ world know only two ways out from underneath it. Liquor is one. Death is the other. Known for works played in memory, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof makes a strike against the memory play in Tennessee Williams’ book and is debuting now at Baltimore Center Stage as the harbinger of the 2018/2019 season. Directed by Judith Ivey this aching classic harkens back to a moment that somehow outsteps time,
War! Huh! Good God! What is it good for? The age old question that is as relevant now as it was 2400 years ago when Aristophanes took words to parchment and penned Lysistrata. The classic Greek comedy where women hole themselves up in the Acropolis and refuse sex to the men until they end the war finds a retooling with a new translation by Sarah Ruden. Opening the 57th Season— A Season of Strong Voices— at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre,
Old MacDonald had a farm— wait— no…that’s not quite right. Oh! I know! The MET Fun Company had a farm— E-I-E-I-O! And on this farm they had some cows! E-I-E-I-O! While there won’t be any song quite like that one featured in Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type at the MET Fun Company production, rest assured there will be plenty of singing and dancing all throughout the production, which is geared toward younger audiences.
Phoenix Festival Theatre at Harford Community College closes out their 2018 season with a fan-favorite show that had a short life on Broadway but has quickly become a modern classic staple of community and regional seasons, The Addams Family, directed by Liz Boyer-Hunnicutt and James Hunnicutt.
It’s easy to see why New York critics reacted so harshly. Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s book is ultimately unsure of what it wants to be.
They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky – and in this case, they’re altogether entertaining! The Addams Family (created by author Charles Addams,) a somewhat unusual clan who were introduced in a comic strip, segued into television in the 1960’s and onto movie screens in the 1990’s have now made their way onto the stage in musical form – and they are just as outrageous as ever. With a stellar cast and brilliant direction by Jonathan C.