âThe truth is rarely pure and never simple.â ~Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest.
Well, say it ainât so, hon! Because Baltimore Center Stage is closing out its 2023/2024 mainstage season with a wild new adaptation of Wildeâs fanciful comedyâ The Importance of Being Earnestâ and itâs just a delightful gem, serving as the perfect sparkling cap to the five-show season. Adapted and Directed by Jenny Koons,
Step aside, Cinderella! Move over, Imelda Marcos! Because Dundalk Community Theatre is here! And they are lighting up the stage like a live wire with Lolaâs Kinky Boots! Directed by Roger Schulman, with Musical Direction by Catina Ramis McLagan, and Choreography by Rachel Miller, this stunning production of a gloriously heartwarming tale invites you to embrace yourself for who you are, live your best life, and to simplyâ just be!
Buckle up for a trip to Northampton as seasoned Technical Director Marc W.
author: Erin Tarpley
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Youâll sing, youâll laugh, youâll want to buy things!
Letâs play a little thought experiment. When I say the word âTupperware,â what is the first thought that comes to mind?
Is it âbowlsâ? Is it âplastic food preservationâ? Or is it âParty!â?
Ok, for a lot of men, the honest answer is probably âbowls;â but for so many others who had a more traditionally feminine upbringing in the later half of the American Twentieth Century,
Iâm reviewingâ the situation! Or as the case may beâ the production! Of Oliver! at Tidewater Players this spring. And it is not your grandmaâs Oliver! which is arguably one of the best things that can be said for a production of this show, as so many people write it off as either a childrenâs show or Annie with boys. This production is neither of those things and Iâll raise all the flagons of ale in the tavern in a grateful cheer to that!
author: Erin Klarner
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The Wedding Singer at Artistic Synergy of Baltimore, the company-in-residence at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Rosedale, is directed by Bryan Brown, assistant directed by Lou Otero, and music directed by Darwin Ray, with choreography by Suzy Zacker. This stage musical â book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, music by Matthew Sklar, and lyrics also by Chad Beguilin â is based on a popular 1998 movie (of the same title) which this reviewer has never seen,
It was Mr. Green! In the billiards room! With the dagger! Cue elaborate explanationâ holdâ drop lightsâ âThatâs not how it really happened. Because we know who actually did it!â REWIND! RESET! GO! It was Clue! At The Hippodrome! With a stage show! Murder, mystery, mayhem, a manor andâ six!? SIX DEAD BODIES!? Thatâs a lot of bodies piling up on the floor! Or in the lounge! Or wherever theyâre piling up!
Right and wrong donât matter in the woods⊠only feelings. And the feeling is that Woodbrook Players has some talented vocalists appearing in their current production of Stephen Sondheimâs Into The Woods. Directed by Ron Oaks with Musical Direction by Bryan Alston, this iconic fairytale-gone-wrong musical brings all of your favorite storybook characters together to unravel their stories amid the darkness of the woods. Sondheim is a bear at the best of times (not featured in this particular woodsy setting,
Plastic, glitter, and rhinestones donât shine like these stars do! And Childrenâs Playhouse of Maryland is closing out their 2023/2024 season with some of the shiniest stars around with their production of Mean Girls (High School Edition). Itâs so phenomenalâ ITâS FETCH!! Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt, with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans, and Choreography by Rachel Miller, this fabulous and cautionary tale is an extraordinary way to end their season and showcases some of the areaâs brightest and most talented stars making their way out into the theatrical universe one twinkle at a time.
The thing about songwriting is that you canât have just one catchy line. You have to tell a story and get at that truth. Enter Cynthia Kaplin, her three-man bandâ all named Mikeâ and her Cock Show, which is a metaphor. And also not a metaphor. Buckle up, kids, this one is something else! Directed by Dani Davis, this one-woman, one-hour clusterbang of chaos is quirk and off-color whilst being a little entertaining, and a whole lot of in your face politically.
Get in, Losers! Weâre goingâ interviewing!? And Shut. Up. NONE OF THEM WORE PINK. Except Regina George, of course. That is so FETCH!! Just like these fabulous, five performers that I was fortunate enough to snag before their rehearsal this morning at Childrenâs Playhouse of Maryland! If you havenât figured out whether or not butter is carb by now, you probably have no idea what weâre talking aboutâŠlikeâ DUHâ MEAN GIRLS (High School Edition) which is closing out the CPM mainstage 2023-2024 season!
Romance. Tragedy. Primal Murder. The urge of revenge. This looks like a job forâ
Well it isnât Sherlock Holmes, thatâs for sure! In a Christie? He would never!
Hercule Poirot, but of course! And ooh la la, ooh la la, ooh la la, does he have a case for you! Erâ a show. Yes, thatâs it! A show! Murder On The Orient Express, based on Agatha Christieâs novel of the same name and adapted to the stage by Ken Ludwig,
The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances! That feels a little like any given week of theatre in the Baltimore area theatre scene! At any one time it feels impossibly like 100 shows are opening, closing, mid-run, in tech, or about to start rehearsals! So itâs no wonder that we found the second person ever to be featured in our âLocal Limelightâ seriesâ Kelly Rardon, a well-known area performer for quite some timeâ at the start of her tech-week for the show sheâs currently performing in,
Small pleasures! Small pleasures! Who would deny us these? (Not me!)
Two kiddosâ large measures! No skimpinâ if you please! When you get to sit down and have a chit-chat with BOTH Colton Roberts and Hazel Vogel, itâs a fine, fine life! And these two young performers couldnât be more of a delight to chat with! I got the pleasure of catching them at the end of their rehearsal for Oliver! to talk to them about playing the titular role,
The grass is green and dense! On the right side of the fence! And itâs a fine life! A fine lifeâ to be doing Oliver! at Tidewater Players this spring. Youâre always going to get the raw and nitty gritty of a dark show when it comes to one directed by Bambi Johnson and thatâs what weâre here for! Sitting down with Ryan Geiger and Emily Jewett, playing Bill Sikes and Nancy, respectively,
Theyâll feed your fire! Theyâll take you higher! Theyâll light you up like a live wire! In those sexy, stunningâ Kinky Boots! And weâre doing a TheatreBloom live, sit-down exclusive interview with J Purnell Hargrove, playing Lola, and Rob Tucker, playing Charlie Price! Itâs fierce! Itâs fabulous! And theyâre both on fire!
Thank you both so very much for taking time out of your busy rehearsing schedule to show up today and sit down for this interview!
Sex and games in Brooklyn Parkâ gotta be played with flare and passion! Songs and dance at Chesapeake Arts (Center)â gotta be played with flare and passion! Welcome to Falsettoland! Itâs so much more than just a âmarch of the Falsettosâ itâs the whole damn showâ Falsettosâ a half-decade in the making for The Maryland Theatre Collective, currently in residence at CAC. This brilliant production is the perfect close to their first,
If love be roughâ be rough with love! Or get on down to Club Escalus for Mercutioâs Funky Boogie Woogie! Or both! All of the above. Groove to rhythm of â75, babyâ and nah, we donât mean no 1575. Weâre talkinâ 1975, ya dig? And weâre talkinâ Baltimore Baby! Closing out their 2023/2024 season on their Main Stage (and please join them for their fabulous summer fling out at the PFI in Ellicott City when R&J closes) Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is bringing you the grooviest production of Romeo &
Tell your children! Fight the menace! Kill the devil! Save our country! Because itâsâ
Reefer Madness!
Now live on stage at The State Theater of Havre de Grace for two weekends only! Directed by Marion Jackson with Musical Director Jerrett Rettman and Choreography by Katie Gordon, this âcult-classicâ black-comedy musical has all the warnings you need to protect America from THE REEFER!
One of the most impressive things about the performance is how well-balanced the orchestra pit is.
author: Alan Duda
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âItâs not Immodest, itâs Art!â
Alfie Byrne loves art. Specifically the works of Oscar Wilde. Which he reads daily to the commuters of the Dublin bus he conducts. And nightly as he conducts Wildeâs plays for his community theater at St. Imeldaâs church. And everyone loved their Importance of Being Earnest. But as Wilde himself discovered, not everyone loves the idea of them putting on Salome.
Whodunnit!? Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center that’s who!! They’ve got CLUE coming the first full week in May! And you won’t want to miss your chance to see this comic thriller in action!
đ·Evan Zimmerman
“Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night theyâll never forget! 
Don’t miss Clue on Tour at the Hippodrome Theatre May 7-12. Get tickets to the ultimate whodunnit inspired by the classic Hasbro board game.
author: Charles Boyington & Steven Kirkpatrick
Round House Theatre launches the premiere of Inda Craig-GalvĂĄnâs play A Jumping-Off Point. It is a great launch and worth seeing! The new piece focuses on Leslie Wallace (Nikkole Salter), an African American writer newly hired to develop a series for HBO, whose personal victory is compromised by the return of Andrew (Danny Gavigan), a white man from her graduate school days, who accuses her of plagiarism.
author: Wes Dennis & Liana Olear
How shall you beguile the lazy time, if not with some delight? Perhaps by running off to Silver Spring Stage for their performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and spending the evening with besotted Athenian lovers, pranking fairies, and those oddest of creatures, amateur actors!
The Director, Emma Hooks, shows a solid understanding of Shakespeare’s language, and her actors illustrate the words with enthusiastic action (though language purists â or audience members not expecting to hear multiple F-bombs punctuating the iambic pentameter â may not appreciate the choice to also insert modern phrases to add reactions where the bard neglected to spell them out).
Lessons can be blessings. Mistakes can be good. Finding a way to learn the lessons and take the âBeyoncĂ©â approach to making lemonade when life wonât stop raining fiery hot lemons down on your head is exactly what the Pulitzer Prize-Winning play The Hot Wing King, by Katori Hall is serving up in the Pearlstone Theatre of Baltimore Center Stage. Itâs a limited engagement, playing through the end of the month of April but itâs a powerhouse piece thatâs equal parts funny and heartfelt,
âItâs a song I was waiting to hear so long, so long ago.â
Five years in the makingâ a show that was planned and cast and ready to go before the pandemic, now finally appearing on the Maryland Theatre Collective Stageâ Falsettos is rounding out MTCâs first full season in production and itâs a proper doozy well worth investigating! In a few minutes following their sitzprobe, Director and Musical Director Rachel Sandler and Associate Director and Performer Tommy Malek sat down to discuss the production and how thrilled they both are to finally be getting it up on its feet for an audience in 2024.
author: Jamie Gerhardt
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Fag Gods is a mythic camp comedy making its worldwide performance debut at Spotlighters in their 61st season in Baltimore, and it truly couldnât have had a better opening. Written by John Bavoso and presented at the Baltimore Playwrightâs Festival last year, it was the highest-rated selection of that season, and Spotlighters (very thankfully!) decided to give this wonderful little show its debut. The show is highly representative of the LGBTQIA+ communityâ as you might be able to discern from its titleâ and as someone who came out as transgender myself within the past year,
author: Chris Pence
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 On the 12th day of the month of April, in a small auditorium not too far from your home, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence, and this terrifying enemy surfaced, as such enemies often do, in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places⊠Anne Arundel Community College! Howard Ashmanâs cult classic Little Shop of Horrors creeps with terrifying new life onto the AACC stage.
Broadway dreams. Weâve all had âem. And Scottfield Theatre Company is havinâ âem right now. Theyâve got all you need to cheer you up right on the ends of their ankles! Side by sideâ theyâre glorifiedâ that amazing tap corps that makes up the splashiest, flashiest dance routines of 42nd Street. Directed and Choreographed by Becky Titelman, with Musical Direction by LaShelle Bray, this iconic golden-era Broadway musical is a true dancerâs dream and every bit the spectacular dance show one expects.
With the solar eclipse having just passed us by, hereâs hoping everybody counted their plants both before and after! And that nobody ended up with any extra!! And if you did end up with an extra plantâŠperhaps one that has teeth and looks sort of oddâŠwell you can bring it with you to see Little Shop of Horrors at Anne Arundel Community College Theatre opening this weekend and playing through April 21st 2024.
author: Charles Boyington
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Delightful! So much fun! Run and get tickets!
Peter Pan at the National Theatre through April 21st, 2024Â is surprisingly fresh and relevant. The first surprise of the evening was how excited the audience was. I honestly did not think that kids knew anything about Peter Pan anymore. However the youngsters were applauding and screaming as the overture started, and it continued to grow.
Innocence is only wisdom in a world without evil. But why is it we are so quick to believe that of which we are not certain? Why are we so quick to judge? The most innocent interaction can see seem sinister to a poisoned mind. Why do we let our minds be primed so readily with poison? In a striking and evocative drama now appearing on the Vagabond Playersâ stage as the penultimate production of their 108th season,