Reviews

Legally Blonde at Phoenix Festival Theater

Reviews June 16, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Is that their show up on this site? That means they’re doing something right! They’re so much better— yes so much better— oh yes, yes, yes, yes— yes! MUCH BETTER! That’s Phoenix Festival Theater with LIVE! At Harford Community College, and they’re so much better with their production of Legally Blonde! Directed by Roger Schulman with Vocal Direction by Chris Rose and Orchestral Direction by Will Poxen, the daughters of Delta Nu are bringing to you a live and active production of the Elle Woods musical that will have you bouncing along in your seats.

Forever Plaid at Cockpit in Court

Reviews June 16, 2017 Cybele Pomeroy

Funny Foursome Performs Fabulously: Forever Plaid pleases crowd at Cockpit in Court

If you should have the urge for an evening of happily cheesy doo-wop Pennsylvania white bread happiness, you’ll enjoy Forever Plaid at Cockpit in Court on the Essex campus of CCBC, (Community College of Baltimore County), part of Cockpit in Court’s Summer Theatre lineup. The lyrics are crisp, the personalities fresh but familiar, the packaging is child- and senior-friendly,

Hedwig and The Angry Inch at The Kennedy Center

Reviews June 16, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

To walk away you have to leave something behind. Be prepared to leave your judgements behind as you walk away from mainstream life and step into the glory, the glamour and pure wonderment that is Hedwig and The Angry Inch now appearing in the Eisenhower Theatre of The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts this summer of 2017. Directed by Michael Mayer, with Musical Staging by Spencer Liff and Musical Direction by Justin Craig,

A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline at Infinity Theatre Company

Reviews June 14, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Come on in and sit right down and make yourself at home! Infinity Theatre Company is opening its doors for the 2017 summer season with a country classic— Miss Patsy Cline— though unlike you’ve seen and heard her previously on the Infinity Stage! Directed by Tommy Iafrate, A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline offers exactly as its namesake implies! An intimate jukebox musical; A Closer Walk pays tribute to the late Patsy Cline with some of her greatest hits and career highlights like performing at The Grand Ole Opry and some of Hank Williams’ covers that she really enjoyed singing!

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Reviews June 14, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

It has been 365 days— give or take a day here or there— since last the Courtyard of Reynolds Tavern was opened for their summer seasonal “Comedy in the Courtyard” series. And in those 525,600 minutes— give or take some minutes— William Shakespeare has written exactly zero news plays, absolutely no new sonnets, and penned no new roles of any sort! There are still 1,122 roles, 37 plays, and 154 sonnets to get through and there are still only three dudes to get through it!

Crazy Mary Lincoln at Pallas Theatre Collective

Reviews June 12, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

“Sic semper tyrannis!” The three words shouted in 1865 that halted the world, orphaned a nation, and widowed the First Lady of the United States. But such a toll more than just her husband did those words and one single gunshot take from Mary Todd Lincoln. In a visceral and edgy new musical by Jan Levy Tranen and Jay Schwandt, the aftermath of those left in President Lincoln’s wake is explored and the focal lens honed sharply on the president’s widow.

Seussical at Street Lamp Productions

Reviews June 10, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

If you’ve brains in your head and you’ve feet in your shoes

Then hurry up quick! There’s no time to lose!

For two hours of whimsy! For two hours of fun!

You must take a journey up to Rising Sun!

There’s a little black box theatre there, tucked away in a corner

And if you need a great show, they’re what the doctor ordered!

Mary Poppins at 2nd Star Productions

Reviews June 9, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther 3 Comments

They’re practically perfect, in every way! Almost practically perfect, that’s what we say! Mary Poppins popping up on the Bowie Playhouse Stage by way of 2nd Star Productions. Directed by Fred Nelson with Musical Direction by Sandy Melson Griese, this charming and quaint little Disney ditty is a lovely offering for the summertime. Anything can happen if you let it and they’re letting anything and everything happen on that stage; well, practically,

Arsenic and Old Lace at Cockpit in Court

Reviews June 9, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Madness, thy name is Brewster! Me thinks the aunties doth protest too much! Oh— wait a minute— the season of Shakespeare and all’s well that goes with that has concluded. Let’s try this again. Madness runs in the Brewster family; it practically gallops, though it isn’t quite the truth either. Madness doesn’t run through the Brewster family, it meanders slowly taking its time to get intimately acquainted with each and every member! And you’ll find out just how intimately insane the Brewster clan is but only if you venture out to Cockpit In Court for the first mainstage show of their 2017 season!

Sister Act at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Reviews June 8, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

The first rule of singing is to get those rafters ringing! And you can bet all the dollars in the collection plate that if Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre had rafters they would surely be ringing with all the wonderful singing that’s coming out of their current production of Sister Act. They’d raise the roof— if they had one— with the joyous noise these sensational sisters are making, under the fine Direction of Clare Shaffer and Musical Direction of Paige Rammelkamp.

Justin Lawson Isett (far right) as Old Shady, leading the company of Men On Boats in song

Men on Boats at Cohesion Theatre Company

Reviews June 7, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Water takes the boat people. Water catch ‘em. Water keep ‘em. A cautionary warning to those brave enough, or perhaps foolish enough, to strike out on a Government sanctioned expedition down the Colorado River through the uncharted “Big Canyon” (what we know now as The Grand Canyon) in 1869. Are you brave enough, or perhaps foolish enough, to join Cohesion Theatre Company as their close out their third season with Men on Boats,

Bully at Interrobang Theatre Company

Reviews June 7, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

What follows the “I am” will always come looking for you. “I am old.” Wrinkles will come looking for your face. “I am fit.” The exercises will stick to you like white on rice. “I am controversial.” The critic will have much to say in regards to your play. That last one follows soundly with Interrobang Theatre Company’s current production of Amina Henry’s Bully. An edgy 90-minute play that floats precariously around the subject of fitness,

Romeo and Juliet at The Green Globe Theatre

Reviews June 3, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Now, thou art what thou art, a production of Romeo and Juliet. Though this production, at The Green Globe Theatre (Baltimore’s only producing eco-friendly theatre) is beyond the simple notion of star-crossed lovers meeting in fair Verona. Of course, one must be full well in all five wits to endure the length of this production, but tis worth the patience and endurance for the cinematic elements and uniquely conceived approach to placing the star-crossed lover’s tragedy in WWII Nazi occupied France circa 1944.

Fred’s Diner at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews June 3, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Happiness comes only in moments. And to ensure those moments, sometimes drastic action is necessary. Closing out their 2016/2017 mainstage season, the Maryland Ensemble Theatre brings to the stage a rarely produced darkly-driven British comedy. Fred’s Diner, by Penelope Skinner, takes place in an American 1950’s themed diner in present-day Britain just off the major motorway. Everything looks hunky-dory, as the Yanks might say, but upon closer examination, things aren’t always what they seem.

Leanne Stump (left) as Katherine and Liana Olear (Right) as Alice in Henry V

She Speaks at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews June 2, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

What fire is in my ears? All of Shakespeare’s women in one show? Can it be so? Well, that might be a bit absurd, even for The Rude Mechanicals, but they do come close, featuring a varied assortment of all of the Bard’s leading ladies in just shy of two hours’ stage traffic! Conceived and Directed by Leanne G. Stump, this selection of scenes showcases some of the finer moments of Shakespeare’s female characters,

Hir at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Reviews June 2, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

We are all proof and conjecture. But proof of what? And conjecture of what? The human condition? Gender non-binary fluidity? Who can say with the plethora of topics being tackled in Obie Award-Winning playwright Taylor Mac’s Hir, now appearing on stage to conclude Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s 37th season. Directed by Shana Cooper, this edgy and evocative powder-keg of a conversation starter falls well within the wheelhouse of the sort of productions that the theatre is known for,

She Kills Monsters at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews June 1, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

The epic quest for epic theatre in Baltimore City has been going for as long as theatergoers have been seeking it out: since the dawn of theatrical time! The holy grail of theatrical mother-loads has landed at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre and it’s slaying— literally! She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen and Directed by Stephanie Miller, is exactly what thespians of Charm City have been seeking! Under-produced and rarely seen productions?

King Lear at Avant Bard

Reviews May 31, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

The king is coming! We have seen the best of our times! Fitting lines of flattery, from the Bard’s tragedy bent around such a concept, as Washington DC area acting legend Rick Foucheux makes his final journey onto the boards. Announcing his retirement from acting in theatre, Foucheux goes out with a maddening bang in Avant Bard’s King Lear. Directed by Tom Prewitt, this rich and hearty version of the mad king’s drama is modernized yet classic,

Psycho Beach Party at Stillpointe Theatre

Reviews May 26, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Cowabunga dude! Surferiffic good times and tikitastic great sets are splashing into Stillpointe Theatre just in time for summer! This outrageously bodacious trippy campy comedy— Psycho Beach Party Directed by Courtney Proctor— is a way groovy wave of a summer roller coaster for all your entertainment needs! It’s time to get funky with Chicklet, Kanaka, and the whole gang down on the sandy beaches of Station North! Don’t miss this Big Kahuna of a summer hit!

A Chorus Line at Tantallon Community Players

Reviews May 26, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

What should I say? What can I tell them? Just be honest. Don’t perform— leave that to the folks at Tantallon Community Players and their exceptional production of A Chorus Line. Raw, honest, compelling, and engaging, this stellar performance is one for the books! Directed by Christopher Gerkin, with Musical Direction by Levar Betts and Choreography by Debbie Clark & Richelle Lacewell, this timeless musical of the unsung theatrical heroes— the chorus line dancers— will solidify its placement in your heart before the evening is through.

Macbeth at Susquehanna Shakespeare Ensemble

Reviews May 26, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

To beguile the time, look like the time. Ambitiously and bolding tackling the Bard’s Scottish tragedy as their inaugural production, Susquehanna Shakespeare Ensemble brings Macbeth to the stage in a post-apocalyptic Scotland that exists only in a theatre of the audiences’ imagination. Directed by the company’s Founding Artistic Director, Marshall B. Garrett, the spirited pacing and judicious rendering of the five-act tragedy comes smoldering over the stage in just 90 minutes. Something wicked this way runs!

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Colonial Players

Reviews May 24, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther 2 Comments

An actor knows his audience and what it wants. The actors of Colonial Players of Annapolis certainly know that their audiences want comedy. And they do deliver in the finale production of the 2016/2017 season. Directed by Steve Tobin, Colonial Players proudly presents Christopher Durang’s Tony Award-Winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Beware of presentiments! Beware of Hootie Pie! Be a wild turkey!

Chock full of Chekhov,

Richard III at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Reviews May 24, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

“The catastrophe of power in the wrong hands.” An apt tag line for the Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s current production of Richard III as it speaks plainly to the Bard’s bloody history-borderline tragedy play and more broadly to situations at hand all around us right up to the currently political regime in the nation’s capital. Directed by Donald Hicken, this sharply rendered and quick-paced rendition of what is arguably the most violent of the history plays in Shakespeare’s canon,

Timon of Athens at Folger Theatre

Reviews May 19, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

He that loves to be flattered with worthy of the flattery. What if that being flattered is deserving of the flattery? Are they too then still worthy of the flattery? Perhaps even more so! Folger Theatre, in particular Director Robert Richmond, deserves a great deal of flattery for the current production of Timon of Athens, closing out the 2016/2017 season upon the stage inside the great Folger Shakespeare Library. Under Robert Richmond’s judiciously rendered vision and modernization,

Jesus Christ Superstar at Signature Theatre

Reviews May 19, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Jesus Christ Superstar, do you think you’re what they say you are? Now appearing for a limited engagement at Signature Theatre, the Andrew Lloyd Webber that defined rock musicals is now being presented as sleek and modernized. But before you cast your first stone of judgement, take a step back and look at what you’re witnessing. Directed by Joe Calarco with Musical Direction by William Yanesh and Choreography by Karma Camp,

Little Women at Third Wall Productions

Reviews May 18, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Christopher Columbus! It’s astonishing! Little Women playing now through May 21, 2017 at Third Wall Productions in the Hamilton neighborhood of Baltimore City. Directed by Christine Thomas with Musical Direction by Eliza Van Kan and Orchestra Conduction by Andrew Zile, this American classic story, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, will have a fire burning inside your soul for the bond of sisterhood! An exceptionally performed community theatre production with talent that rivals touring companies that visit Charm City,

Dear Friends at Just Off Broadway

Reviews May 18, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

What if it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year? You’ve got friends who will be there for you! Right? What of those friends are just meddlesome, busybody, buttinski folk who can’t leave well enough alone and have to knit-pick at your problems to make them feel better about their own? In the east coast premiere of Reginald Rose’s Dear Friends, that recipe for disaster is exactly what’s brewing up in the Lambert’s Living Room.

Robin Hood at Pumpkin Theatre

Reviews May 18, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

What is life without taking a few risks? How could you pass up this rare opportunity to see a theatre for young audiences’ dramatization of the classic story Robin Hood? Now appearing at Pumpkin Theatre to close out their mainstage 2016/2017 season, Robin Hood, adapted to the stage by Cathryn Pisarski and Directed by Bobby Harris, is galloping and gallivanting onto the stage to entice young audiences and audiences young at heart for an afternoon of daring swordfights,

Legally Blonde at Silhouette Stages

Reviews May 15, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Love! They’re doing this for love! And love will see them through— the incredibly talented cast of Legally Blonde at Silhouette Stages! Yes, love! They’ve got a lot of love— and with love on their side they can’t lose! Now appearing in the Slayton House Theater of Wilde Lake Village Center, Silhouette Stages’ final production of the 2016/2017 season— Legally Blonde is here to show you a thing or to about pop-modern movie-musicals!

Voices In The Rubble & Endgame at Rapid Lemon Productions

Reviews May 14, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Something is taking its course. I don’t know how I feel today. There is no one else. There is nowhere else. It must be an absurdist cycle. Rapid Lemon Productions, under producer Max Garner, presents an evening of absurdism at The Motor House in the Station North Arts District of Charm City. A double-bill of two one-acts that are threaded loosely together in their absurdism roots, the classic Samuel Beckett’s Endgame is paired with the American premiere of Darren Donohue’s Voices in the Rubble.