author: Lilou Von Kokoro
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Friday night was cold, raw and blustery, but as I entered The Strand Theatre, I was warmly welcomed by Producer Elena Kostakis. I wasn’t sure what to expect but let me tell you— this was not just a performance; it was an experience. Interactive would be an understatement! To quote their program, “Welcome to the immersive production of alight, Sweet hearted.”
alight,
In a time in our history when yet again we are faced with a growing divide of “us” vs “them,” we are challenged to ask ourselves if the old proverb about how a “house divided against itself shall not stand” is indeed truth. Suzan-Lori Parks’ play The Book of Grace, making its Baltimore debut with Rapid Lemon Productions, tackles that notion.
Before continuing, a warning: this production contains depictions and descriptions of domestic violence,
“That when I come back to them I may be fonder and prouder than ever of my little women”
Ever since its first publication in 1868, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has captured the hearts of millions of readers all over the world. But considering at its face value the story of Little Women seems to be a mere fictional story focused on the 19th century domestic lives of four young American women living in genteel poverty,
From the very first millisecond of Barbara Khan’s The Lady was a Gentleman, I knew I was in for a wonderful treat! In an instant, the production begins and the audience is swept into an aura of light, and energy, and laughter. Led by a brief dumb show that allows the characters to take the stage and give a silent, yet physically over exaggerated sense of who they are, the production immediately becomes alive and allows for a fantastic transposition from the mundane world into the world of a St.
Crisis Mode: Living Pilipino in America at the Strand Theater
“If every Filipino lit a candle at the same time, we would light up the world”
The popular American narrative is one based around how this nation was built on people immigrating to these shores from a variety of other lands in search of work, opportunity, or security (whether by choice or by force). Additionally, the brutal historic reality is that this narrative has always been carefully focused on specific populations at specific points in time,
Curse, comfort, conjure; three words that Director Lee Conderacci uses in her “feminist practice and in her theatre art.” (words directly from Conderacci.) This time her artistic undertaking is Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin’s High School Coven, at The Strand Theater. Three words that individually bring forth a myriad of thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Three words that together allow us to see the world through the eyes of Conderacci, even for a brief two hours;
“Madness is that much closer to death”
A Shayna
Maidel is a play I had never heard of, and that’s really a shame,
because it was a powerful experience that left me thinking, for days. I’ve seen favorite plays performed in an
underwhelming way, and also saw a play I didn’t anticipate liking performed by
such talented thespians that I was converted to a fan, but the real treat with
this particular production of A Shayna Maidel,
When I was
considering attending Tanya Barfield’s Bright Half Life, I committed a
horrendous crime, in that I read a review containing a summary. A couple starting out like a fire caused by a
comet. The marvelous beginning, the slow
and painful waning, and an end showcasing the doom that was always in store, as
if asking us if it was really worth the good times. Knowing the half-life referred to a
relationship and not a radioactive isotope was all I was after!
Tis the season to stuff your face be it with chestnuts roasting on the open fire, grandma’s pumpkin pie or the Heavy Hors D’Oeuvres that The Interrobang Theatre Company his throwing down this holiday season! In its third incarnation, The Interrobang Theatre Company is proud to present Heavy Hors D’Oeuvres 3: Interrobang’s Holiday Dinner. But don’t be fooled, this isn’t your ordinary Christmas comedy or holiday hilarity, it’s actually some delicious bite-sized semi-dramas that all come together for one intriguing local playwright sampler this time of year.