Reviews

Review: The Laramie Project at Kensington Arts Theatre

Reviews February 6, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Hate is not a Laramie value. And either the word is sufficient or it is not. It is a strong word, a word of intolerance, a word that cannot be ignored when addressing the heinous crimes that put Laramie, Wyoming on the map. On November 14, 1998 members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled to the small town and conducted interviews with the people of Laramie, the result of which became a tragically beautiful play known as The Laramie Project.

Review: South Pacific at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Reviews January 29, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Dites-moi pourquoi la vie est belle. Dites-moi pourquoi la vie est gai. Life is beautiful and life is gay because the Rogers and Hammerstein classic South Pacific has set a course for Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia and finally landed this 2016. Directed and Choreographed by Mark Minnick, with Musical Direction by Reenie Codelka, this heartwarming, feel-good musical is just the remedy to chase away the winter blues. With stunning talent, beautiful aesthetics,

Review: Under the Skin at Everyman Theatre

Reviews January 28, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Blood is thicker than water, but it isn’t bondage— an unyielding tie to our relations— it’s more like a bond— a tie that connects us to one another in an unbreakable and inexplicable manner. Under the skin, we’re all family, tracing our roots back to the most basic of human origins, and playwright Michael Hollinger articulates that in his touching familial drama Under the Skin. Directed by Vincent M. Lancisi, this poignant and evocative drama performs explorative theatrical surgery on the construct of human relationships when it comes to the boundaries of the body and the limits of love.

Review: Flatland at Annex Theatre

Reviews January 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Stop trying to recognize. Start learning to dream. For irregularity is more beautiful than symmetry could ever be. Lost in the dimensional reality of the above statement? Hold onto your depth perception, kids, the ride over at Annex Theater is about to warp into hyperspace beyond the capacity of mere mortal minds. Transcending the borders of the dimensional continuum from dimensions D to 10thD, The Annex Theater of Baltimore is going to blow your mind,

Review: The 39 Steps at Fells Point Corner Theatre

Reviews January 18, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Ladies and gentlemen, with your kind attention and permission, I have the honor of presenting to you…well, I don’t suppose I have the honor so much as the Fells Point Corner Theatre and The Collaborative Theatre have the honor of presenting a lovely little farcical play on Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. Adapted by Patrick Barlow to the stage in comedic fashion, and Directed by Anthony lane Hinkle, some two dozen characters grace the stage as four actors wittingly work their way through the dark and tangled plot of humorous proportions.

Review: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at The Kennedy Center

Reviews January 16, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Blood may spill and spines may chill but that’s not a good enough excuse to skip town during the run of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder now appearing live— until poisoned, pushed, dispatched or otherwise— in the Eisenhower Theatre of The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Based on the novel by Roy Horniman, with Book and Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and Music and Lyrics by Steven Lutvak,

Review: All’s Well That Ends Well at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews January 15, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther 1 Comment

Girl wants boy. Boy wants different girl. Girl tricks boy into wanting her. And they live happily ever after. Other stuff happens. There’s a fool involved somehow. And a king. And a fistula. That the girl magically cures the king of with her magical powers, or her herbs and whatnot. And then they live happily ever after. Also some love letters and a ring. Maybe some secretive identities, a ten-o’clock kidnapping, and a horse?

Review: The Complete Deaths of William Shakespeare at Cohesion Theatre Company with Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Reviews January 14, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

I am slain! Well, I’m not slain, thankfully, lest you’d be reading ye ole review by someone else! But you will be slain— with comic calamity and gripping tragedy all rolled into one amalgamation of a stage production currently parading itself on the boards of the St. Mary’s Community Center. Co-produced by Cohesion Theatre Company and Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, The Complete Deaths of William Shakespeare— a devised work written by Alice Stanley (with a little help from Old Bill of the Bard)— is stirring up quite a ruckus,

Ed Dixon in Georgie at Signature Theatre

Review: Georgie: My Adventures with George Rose at Signature Theatre

Reviews January 12, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Theatre at its most basic element is storytelling. It follows logically that good theatre is simply good storytelling. Signature Theatre is not doing good theatre, but rather, exceptional and stellar theatre as they present the limited engagement run of Georgie: My Adventures with George Rose. Written by and starring Ed Dixon and Directed by Eric Schaeffer, this one-man 90-minute production delves into Dixon’s personal friendship with the most extraordinary character man known to the Great White Way— George Rose.

Josh Huff-Edsall (left) as Spike, Jo Sullivan (center) as Masha and Nicole Musho (right) as Nina in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Prince George's Little Theatre

Review: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Prince George’s Little Theatre

Reviews January 11, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Beware of Hootie Pie! Or perhaps just of being a wild turkey. Of waiting too long for the blue heron? Or perhaps just beware of missing a bizarre new comedy making its community area debut at Prince George’s Little Theatre this January. Brush up on your Chekhov before you go to see Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike for a titular and humorous evening; there is a good time of reflective musings and amusing reflections to be had even if you aren’t well-versed with the depressing antics of The Cherry Orchard,

Review: Venus in Fur at Colonial Players

Reviews January 11, 2016 Jason Crawford Samios-Uy

In the mood for something sexy, thought-provoking, and fun? Then you need to get yourself down to The Colonial Players in Annapolis for their current production of Venus in Fur by David Ives, Directed by Jim Gallagher. This reviewer likes his shows to be a little fluffy with lots of comedy, some drama, and, usually, a happy ending, but there are exceptions and Venus in Fur was QUITE a PLEASANT surprise to me.

Review: Moonlight & Magnolias at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews January 9, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

As God is my witness, you shall never be hungry again, at least your comedic appetite will be sated when you turn up to the Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre for their first production of 2016, Moonlight & Magnolias. A madcap malady of hilarious proportions Directed by Michael Zemarel, this play is a zany two hour trek across Hollywood’s most manic melodrama, Gone With the Wind. Only in the most truncated and hysterical fashion possible,

Review: Twelfth Night, A Trans* Voices Workshop Series Show at Cohesion Theatre Company

Reviews January 8, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

For such as we are made of, such we be! Cohesion Theatre Company is cutting right to the core of Shakespeare’s words in their co-production of Twelfth Night alongside Iron Crow Theatre. Appearing as the second staged production in the Trans* Voices Workshop Series, Twelfth Night— Directed by Phil Vannoorbeeck and Assistant Directed by Sarah Maher— is shaking up the gender dynamics of the production to show one hugely important detail of existence as we know it: everyone wants to live their life authentically.

(L to R) Chris Allen as the Rookie Gumshoe, Jeffrey Gangwisch as Theodore16, Craig Coletta as Bennington Marcus, and John Bennett as The Chief reading Haunted Chrome: A Bennington Marcus Mystery

Review: Horatio Dark’s Between The Lines: December Broadcast at Yellow Sign Theatre

Reviews December 29, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

The master of the macabre, the navigator of the netherworld, the antiquarian of the insane— why it can only mean one thing! That it’s 9:00 o’clock, Baltimore, it’s the last Monday of the month, and it’s time for Horatio Dark’s Between the Lines at Yellow Sign Theatre. Commemorating a milestone on this very last Monday of the 2015 calendar year, Horatio Dark concludes its first season of broadcasts with this latest episode.

Review: AntiKlaus at E.M.P. Collective

Reviews December 24, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

You better watch out! You better not cry! You better not pout! I’m telling you why! AntiKlaus is coming to town! Well, it’s not coming to town so much as it is returning to town. Taking up holiday residence with the E.M.P. Collective for a four-night festival engagement, AntiKlaus, as written by Alex Hacker, puts the slay in sleigh ride this Christmas season. Directed by Sarah Jacklin,

Review: Bright Star at The Kennedy Center

Reviews December 21, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Trouble and happiness tend to walk hand in hand because liars sometimes make good story tellers. Making its pre-Broadway debut with a whole lot of trouble, happiness, and one hell of a good story, Bright Star, premieres in the Eisenhower Theatre of The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts this holiday season and sets the soul ablaze with a backwoods tale of love and truth in a time the world has nearly forgotten.

Review: Matilda at The Kennedy Center

Reviews December 20, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Just because life isn’t fair it doesn’t mean that you just have to grin and bear it, and nobody but you is going to change your story. Make sure you be a little bit naughty this holiday season and get yourself a ticket, no matter how you do it, to Matilda as it appears itself on the Opera House Stage of The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Directed by Matthew Warchus with Musical Direction by Matthew Smedal,

Review: West Side Story at Signature Theatre

Reviews December 18, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Te adoro, Signature Theatre, te adoro. Blowing the minds of every theatergoer that snaps their way into the Max Theater at Signature Theatre in Shirlington, Virginia this holiday season, West Side Story is a smash-hit that steals the heart, captures the soul, and brings the audience to a standing ovation. A stunning tale of star-crossed lovers set to inspiring Music by Leonard Bernstein, with Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and Book by Arthur Laurents,

Review: A Tuna Christmas at Parlor Room Theater

Reviews December 17, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Well the Parlor Room Theater is at it again, they are, they are. They’re here for the holidays and putting on a production of A Tuna Christmas. It’s time to travel back to your Podunk backwoods town of Tuna, Texas for a holiday celebration that’ll light a firecracker under your funny bone in this festive season. A true family production Directed by Frank DiSalvo Jr. staring Dillon and Thomas DiSalvo in over 20 different character roles,

Review: Outside Mullingar at Everyman Theatre

Reviews December 12, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

You can’t live against life and avoid harm by avoiding good. And nothing will remind you of that profound philosophy while simultaneously tickling your funny bone as well as Everyman Theatre’s current production of John Patrick Shanley’s Outside Mullingar. Directed by Donald Hicken, this shadowy Irish comedy is the epitome of balance when it comes to hilariously heartwarming and deeply moving. A touching and tender tale of dying folks living, dying,

Rachel Miller (center) as Mrs. Corry and the ensemble of Mary Poppins performing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

Review: Mary Poppins at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

Reviews December 12, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Just a spoonful of sugar is all it takes! And the Children’s Playhouse of Maryland doesn’t just have a spoons— they’ve got the whole bloomin’ bottle of fantastical holiday magic all shaken up and ready to explode all over their audience with their production of Mary Poppins. It’s superb! It’s stupendous! Why, it’s— Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt with Musical Direction by Sherry Benedek, this marvelous musical features the finest young musical talent this side of Baltimore taking on the Herculean task of a Disney musical.

The Taffetas in A Taffeta Christmas at Dundalk Community Theatre

Review: A Taffeta Christmas at Dundalk Community Theatre

Reviews December 12, 2015 Jason Crawford Samios-Uy

This time of year, it seems as though every theatre company is trying to take advantage of the holiday season by producing kitschy holiday shows full of traditional Christmas songs, gaudily decorated artificial Christmas trees, and folks dressed up like Eskimos. And you know what I say to that? BRING IT ON! This is one of my favorite times of year and I adore the kitsch! I had the honor and pleasure of attending Dundalk Community Theatre’s holiday offering,

Review: A Christmas Carol at WolfPack Theatre Company

Reviews December 12, 2015 Jason Crawford Samios-Uy

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a staple during the holiday season and many theatre companies all over the world are cashing in on it with traditional productions as well as new adaptations. Directed and Adapted by William Leary with Music Direction by Lauren Giglio, this new adaptation produced by the Wolfpack Theatre Company out of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Prince George’s County is set in present day at a homeless shelter operating in a church.

Review: The Holiday Special at Baltimore Theatre Project

Reviews December 11, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Tell me everything you think you know about Santa Claus. Of course, the only truth that resonates 100% inside the legend, the myth, and the mighty man that is Kris Kringle, is that Santa Claus is giving directly from the heart without expecting anything in return. So what if he also happens to be a homosexual? That’s the first half of The Holiday Special now appearing live on stage at The Baltimore Theatre Project.

Review: Year of the Rooster at Single Carrot Theatre

Reviews December 10, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Nothing can hurt you when you’re a rooster. Except another rooster. A blood-thirsty, hormone-pumped, cock-fighting rooster who has defeated the sun. Fight night is tonight, sun! You bring your little chickadee on down to Single Carrot Theatre to see their regional premiere of Year of the Rooster, written by Eric Dufault. Directed by Dustin C. T. Morris, this provocative drama may be the most straight-forward piece of theatre to be mounted upon STC’s stage in years.

Review: A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular at Pointless Theatre

Reviews December 10, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Ho! Ho! Holiday-mamma-freaking-ho! The Pointless Theatre is bringing their annual tradition, A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular to the stage for 2015 and they’re going to sack it to you, Santa babies! It’s the North Pole’s 239th annual talent show and Mrs. Claus and the elves are ready to get down, boogie, and go to town on the one night a year that they get off— and holy holiday moly do they get off!

Review: Dead Ringer at Do or Die Mysteries

Reviews December 10, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Jingle bells! Elf feet smell! Santa’s lost his mind! The North Pole’s stuck in a mighty rut and there’s murder close behind! When Mrs. Jingle Claus up and died a decade ago, the elves of the North Pole never thought it would lead to a befuddled and depressed Santa signing away the rights to a greedy corporation whose sole interest was profitizing toy production in the happiest place on earth. With Christmas just days away and a hostile takeover eminent,

Review: Seussical: The Musical at NextStop Theatre Company

Reviews December 9, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

When the holidays are frantic or your Christmas is blue—

You should pack up the family and do what I do!

Head to NextStop Theatre Company this holiday season

Just keep on reading I’ll give you plenty of reason!

It’s their family production, suited for people of every age

It’s Seussical: The Musical now appearing live on the NextStop stage!

Directed by Jennifer Lambert with Evie Korovesis as Musical Director

These champions of family fun are this holiday season’s protector!

Review: The Gifts of The Magi at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews December 8, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther 1 Comment

You can’t tell Christmas from the Fourth of July without snow! And the snowflakes are falling on the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Main Stage with their musical and magical production of The Gifts of the Magi. Directed by Suzanne Beal with Musical Direction by Alison E. Shafer, this charming production is a perfect reminder of what the true spirit of Christmas is meant to feel like for the holiday season.

Review: A Cactus Christmas at Off the Quill

Reviews December 8, 2015 Rachel Zirkin Duda

What if Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol had a modern-day spinoff featuring Jacob Marley – only this time, Marley was a gumshoe? Okay, a “dead as a doornail” gumshoe? It might be called A Christmas Cactus, an Off The Quill production written by Eliot Byerrum and Directed by Leanne Dinverno at the Greenbelt Arts Center.

In this holiday comedy, it is not Ebenezer Scrooge, but Cactus O’Riley (Shannon Riley) who owns the business,