Reviews

Circle Mirror Transformation at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews September 21, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

For a season of harmony and balance, nurture and compassion, Circle Mirror Transformation seems an odd choice, especially as the kick-starter for said season. Annie Baker’s esoteric theatrical exercise-come-stage-play is now appearing at Spotlighters Theatre through October 1st 2023 under the direction of Nick Cherone.

The play itself is deeply problematic— not because it hits on any hot-button issues or is outdated/outmoded or offensive but rather because it feels unfinished. There’s sort of a beginning,

The Sound of Music at Phoenix Festival Theatre

Reviews September 15, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

I go to the theatre, when my heart is lonely. I know I will hear what I’ve heard before. And my heart will be blessed with The Sound of Music… and I’ll review once more! Bel Air, Maryland may not exactly be the hills or the mountains, but Phoenix Festival Theater (currently across the street in the Amoss Center at Harford Technical High School) will bless your heart and your ears with Rogers &

Tick, Tick, BOOM! at State Theater of Havre de Grace

Reviews September 14, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s life affirming to own multiple accessories! Even if you don’t have the exact shade of lime-green stilettos to match your green, green dress. (Which has neither the 20 buttons nor the strap!) You know what else is life-affirming? Good, obscure-ish musical theatre at affordable prices! It renews the hope and faith in the theatrical world as we know it. If you want to feel life-affirmed, State Theater of Havre de Grace has got you covered with their production of Tick,

Ill Met By Moonlight at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews September 1, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther 2 Comments

What hempen home-spuns have we swaggering here? Tis a crew of Rude Mechanicals and they indeed find themselves Ill Met By Moonlight. Some six years in the making, TRM finally gets to bring their dream production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to light. UV light, that is. Playing at the Greenbelt Arts Center through September 9th 2023 and Directed by Joshua Engel, this judiciously rendered production of Midsummer is not your grandfolks’ fairy-tale.

The Bridges of Madison County at Signature Theatre

Reviews August 25, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

This is Albany… This is Buffalo… This is Shirlington… Not an original planned stop on the train that Francesca took with Bud on their way to Winterset, Iowa. But The Bridges of Madison County is stopping in Shirlington, Virginia for a few weeks (through September 17th 2023) as the main-stage musical opener to their 23/24 season. Jason Robert Brown’s haunting score wending through the rolling book by Marsha Norman, based on the novel by Robert James Waller,

Fiddler on the Roof at Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre

Reviews August 22, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

To theatre! To theatre! L’chaim! To Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre! L’chaim! After an eternity of waiting, they’ve finally been granted the rights from on high…up in New York or wherever MTI is headquartering these days! After many denied applications for one reason or another, Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre has finally been approved to produce Fiddler On The Roof! L’chaim! Directed by Diane M. Smith with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans Crowley and Choreography by Rachel Miller,

To Kill A Mockingbird National Tour 📷 Julieta Cervantes

To Kill A Mockingbird at The Kennedy Center

Reviews August 19, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

Our darkest days are always followed by our finest hours. One can only hope that in this current political climate, those words— belonging to playwright Aaron Sorkin— carry the burden of truth we so desperately need them to. Audiences across the nation would be fooling themselves if they didn’t think that Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, as adapted to the stage by playwright Aaron Sorkin, isn’t as— if not even more— relevant now than when it was written.

Matilda at Scottfield Theatre Company

Reviews August 13, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

You’ve got to highlight what you’ve got! Even if what you’ve got is not a lot! You’ve got to be LOUD! And they are definitely loud! Loud with their lighting, loud with their costumes, and loud with their singing! Who’s being loud? Scottfield Theatre Company with their current production of Matilda. And even if what they’ve got is not a lot (of stage space) they don’t let a little thing like little stop them!

The Sound of Music at September Song

Reviews August 11, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

I have confidence in musicals! I have confidence in rain. I have confidence that September Song will get to play again! And play again they did (despite the rain’s best efforts!) after a live-theatre hiatus, September Song Musical Theatre has returned to the stage their much-anticipated production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. And no storm or last minute venue-change is going to hold them back. Directed by Stephen Strosnider with Musical Direction by Kelly Stoneberger and Choreography by Amy Appleby,

The Music Man at Glyndon Area Players

Reviews August 10, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

76 trombones led the big parade! With 110 company players right behind! Well…maybe not 110 (just 54 including the savvy, slick-talking Professor Harold Hill himself) but the way they sing, dance, and move all around that stage in the Sacred Heart School auditorium it sure feels like 110 of ‘em! Egads! Whaddya talk? Whaddya talk? Whaddya talk? Well I’m talking ‘bout a music man! A music man? No— The Music Man! And it’s riding the Wells Fargo wagon right into the middle of Glyndon as The Glyndon Area Players finally get to present this long-awaited classic show.

Matilda at Artistic Synergy of Baltimore

Reviews August 8, 2023 Mike Zellhofer

Roald Dahl’s Matilda is up and running at Artistic Synergy of Baltimore (ASoB). Directed by Anthony Case, the show keeps in line with other ASoB productions. There can be no question when it comes to ASoB and their dedication to the young thespians of the community. Even when the tech gremlins invaded opening night— the lights didn’t work and instead of leaving the house-lights up, the entire show was done with a follow spot on whoever was singing or speaking— the show must go on.

The North American Tour of Moulin Rouge 📸 Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade

Moulin Rouge at The Kennedy Center

Reviews August 8, 2023 Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington

Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Based on the 20th Century Studios Motion Picture by Baz Luhrmann) runs through September 24, 2023 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are currently available via the Kennedy Center website at the box office, or by calling 202-467-4600.

The real purpose of a review is to discern whether one should shell out one’s hard-earned money to see the show. The answer with Moulin Rouge!

SpongeBob: The Musical at Other Voices Theatre

Reviews August 5, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

SpongeBob! The musical!? That’s right, gentle fish-folk…or land mammals…or whoever you are that needs a good laugh and a feel-good night out at the theatre? (And that is 100% everyone right now, so everyone should come out to the theatre.) That ridiculous and absorbent, delightful yellow sponge from Nickelodeon has his own stage musical! (And it’s not new-new…it debuted back in 2016!) But it sure is splashing onto the stage at Other Voices Theatre!

Spring Awakening at Street Lamp Community Theatre

Reviews August 5, 2023 Richard Mahoney

Street Lamp Community Theatre- “The Little Theater That DOES!” presents a beautiful production of a haunting yet poignant story. Spring Awakening is a coming-of-age story of teenagers in 1905 Germany. Originally, The Awakening of Spring was written in 1891 by German playwright Frank Wedekind. Spring Awakening is the reimagined story of Wedekind’s as a rock musical by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik. SLCT’s Spring Awakening is not to be missed.

Footloose at Annapolis Summer Garden

Reviews August 4, 2023 Mark Briner

In the summer of 1984, a little movie with a big soundtrack took the world by storm and launched a young up and coming leading man (for whom at the time you’d be pressed to find movie connections of two degrees) into the stratosphere as the ubiquitous megastar Kevin Bacon. Filling out the cast with veteran actors like John Lithgow and Dianne Weist along with breakout performances from young actors like Lori Singer and Sarah Jessica Parker,

Agnes of God at The Maryland Theatre Collective

Reviews July 29, 2023 Leonard Taube

Forget Sister Act (no nuns belting out rousing choir songs). Move over Nunsense (even though it is “habit forming”). No comedy tonight. Take a seat, open your mind, and get ready for one of the most powerful, well-acted and thought-provoking pieces of theatre you will see this year. Maryland Theatre Collective’s (Brooklyn Park, MD) production of Agnes of God will leave you speechless with contemplation and full of emotion by curtain call.

The Dinner Party at Cockpit In Court

Reviews July 24, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

There are no surprises in life, only corroborations of what you suspected. Well, someone must have called Ezekiel Foster up in lighting and told him to hit me with ‘surprise pink’ when I showed up for The Dinner Party thinking it was one of Neil Simon’s shorter works that would run about 90 minutes without an intermission. Cockpit In Court, for reasons known only to them, have splashed an intermission right in the center of the production and expounded upon the show’s run-time to the tune of a little over two hours.

The Play That Goes Wrong 📷 Jeremy Daniel

The Play That Goes Wrong at The Kennedy Center

Reviews July 22, 2023 Steven Kirkpatrick

“When going to see The Murder at Haversham Manor at the Kennedy Center, presented by the Cornley University Drama Society (as made possible by the British-American Cultural Exchange Program), I was expecting an elevated evening of mystery with fine acting and a dazzling script. I confess that I loved what I saw, though what I saw was perhaps not what the playwright had intended. To say that there was a misfortunate moment or two in the production would be putting it mildly,

The Prom at Cockpit in Court

Reviews July 22, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

“And nobody out there ever gets to define the life I’m meant to lead with this unruly heart of mine.” Because love is love is love is love. And you will fall in love with The Prom at Cockpit in Court. Not because it’s an amazing story that should be told and seen and heard and embraced. Not because it has an amazing cast chock-a-block with sensational talent all across the board or because its got astonishing scenery,

What Was Done at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews July 20, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s never an easy task to tackle a difficult subject, particularly when attempting to speak about a narrative that isn’t necessarily your own. What Was Done, a world-premiere play by Jack L. B. Bohn currently being produced for the Baltimore Playwrights Festival by Miriam Bazensky and Directed by Barry Feinstein as a co-production with Spotlighters Theatre, is a play that leaves the audience with more questions and awkward comments than anything else.

Matilda Jr. at Cockpit Court Jesters

Reviews July 11, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

They are revolting children! Living revolting times! They sing revolting songs! Using revolting rhymes! And you’ve got to get your tickets to see them do their thing— they’re stupendous, they’re great— they are REVOLTING! Only in a Roald Dahl musical could you use an adjective like revolting as a pride-of-place badge to describe a wildly talented bunch of kids as they bounce all around the stage with exuberant energy and smashing voices. Which musical is that you ask?

Zac Brightbill (left) as Aaron and Cera Baker (right) as Casey in First Date 📸 Alison Harbaugh, Sugar Farm Productions

First Date at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Reviews July 5, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

Delicious, well-seasoned, and rare. And a big enough portion to share! Bring me all of the heartache, a small side of woe— that flavor of longing that I long to know— yes I’d order love! Well, maybe that’s a tall order for a— *gasp* First Date! But it happens. Sometimes. Almost never. But sometimes!! The fairytales we all grew up on, the soap operas and prime-time dramas we’re all addicted to— the fiction books and even the musical librettos.

The National Tour Cast of 1776. 📷 Joan Marcus

1776 at The Kennedy Center

Reviews July 4, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

Is anybody there? Does anybody care? That certainly seems to echo the sentiments of our country at present where large groups of people are concerned. When the Founding Fathers of this infantile country set out to free themselves from the tyranny of King George and the mighty English Empire… well, what we’ve got here in 2023? I’m sure they never could have dreamed of this. The story is history, that much is true.

Hello, Dolly! at Howard County Summer Theatre

Reviews June 27, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

They’re going to raise the roof! They’re going to carry on! Give them that old trombone! Give them the old baton! They are the parade— Howard County Summer Theatre— with their 47th annual production and this year it’s a true classic. Hello, Dolly! graces their summertime stage (this year in the auditorium at Marriotts Ridge High School) and it’s a real whizbang! It’s a wonder! It’s a sensation! And it’ll only take a moment for you to fall in love with the tremendously impressive,

The Lion King North American Tour. 📸 Joan Marcus

The Lion King at The Kennedy Center

Reviews June 26, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer…

And where does it feature? Just listen to teacher…

It’s the main stage feature of The Kennedy Center’s Opera House stage. Disney’s The Lion King, one of its most spectacular touring productions to date (and that’s saying something considering all of the fantastical magical enchantment that’s rolling around the country with Aladdin and Frozen), has arrived in the nation’s capital for a month-long summertime engagement!

Daniel Dausman (left) as the Scarecrow and Marianne Virnelson (right) as Scraps 📷 Andy Culhane

The Patchwork Girl Of Oz at Greenbelt Arts Center

Reviews June 23, 2023 Alan Duda

The Woozy and Yoop and Mangaboos – Oh My!

The Patchwork Girl of Oz is L. Frank Baum’s seventh book in the series. Dr. Pipt brings to life Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, but accidentally petrifies Unc Nunkie. So, along with Ojo the Unlucky, Scraps sets off on a component quest to find the remedy and meet and make many friends along the way. Don’t worry if you can’t at first remember the list of items they need to find,

Mecca Verdell, Keri Anderson, and Jordan Stanford as the Three Weird Sister in Macbeth 📷 Kiirstn Pagan Photography

Macbeth at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Reviews June 22, 2023 Erin Tarpley

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”

“Now is the Winter of our discontent”…. No wait, nevermind. That’s a different Shakespeare show, and a different season entirely. But Summer is here in Maryland and when it comes to the Macbeths, “discontent” is an apropos word to define their predicament, but the exact opposite to describe how you will feel as you enjoy this timeless production of the Scottish Play;

The Game’s Afoot at Cockpit In Court

Reviews June 13, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

Everyone wants publicity, daaahlings. Even the bad kind is the good kind, because any kind beats no kind, right? Lucky for Thomas “Toby” Hessenauer and the company of Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot it’s the good kind. Mostly. I’m no Daria Chase, daaahlings, but for God’s sake, I am a theatre critic. Launching the ‘upstairs’ half of the upstairs-downstairs-summertime-palooza that we all know to be Cockpit in Court, this zany little Baskerville-wannabe is two parts mystery,

The Wizard of Oz at StandUp For… Theatre

Reviews June 13, 2023 Ana DePina

Stand Up For…Theatre (SUF…T) is bringing its stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz to the DoodleHatch Interactive Art Museum in Columbia from June 9 to June 18. This timeless tale, in which Dorothy travels from Kansas over the rainbow to the magical Land of Oz, is sure to delight kids of all ages who want to join in on the adventure and follow the yellow brick road to see the great Wizard of Oz!

Something Rotten at Cockpit in Court

Reviews June 13, 2023 Jimi Kinstle

BAWDY-LICIOUS! Something Rotten Brings Down the House.

Cockpit In Court opens its summer season with the ribald musical, Something Rotten, by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell with music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, in the F. Scott Black Theater. The show runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays till June 25th and from the response of the audience at the Sunday matinee I attended, I would suggest purchasing your tickets in advance.