author: Rick Bergmann
Comic Chaos at its Finest: Moon Over Buffalo at MAD
There are certain classics in community theatre that, when done well, always bring joy to the stage. Ken Ludwig’s Moon Over Buffalo is one of them. This fast-paced comedy follows fading stage couple George and Charlotte Hay as they perform repertory theater in Buffalo while desperately hoping for a big Hollywood break. When they learn that a famous director might attend their show,
Powerful Acting Carries Sweat at Greenbelt Arts Center
author: Rick Bergmann
We often imagine theater audiences as “predominantly white, affluent, middle-aged or older, and highly educated,” and the stories on stage as far removed from everyday struggle. Lynn Nottage’s Sweat, now playing at the Greenbelt Arts Center, dismantles that assumption. Centered on flawed, hard-working individuals clinging to the promise of the American Dream, the play lays bare how quickly that promise can unravel—and how easily anyone can break.
author: Rick Bergmann
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark Balances Screwball Comedy and Sharp Cultural Reckoning
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage, now showing at Laurel Mill Playhouse, sets out to do a lot—and nearly pulls it off. First produced in 2011, the play examines the legacy of African Americans in Hollywood, skewering racial stereotypes while reveling in the conventions of classic cinema and theater.
author: Rick Bergmann
A Stage for the Soul: Save My Black Soul Shines at Laurel Mill Playhouse
One of the great joys of being immersed in the community theater scene is the occasional chance to encounter something genuinely new. New works are always a risk—sometimes rough around the edges, sometimes still finding their voice—but they offer the rare thrill of discovery. It is therefore a pleasure to report that Save My Black Soul,
author: Rick Bergmann
Conscience on Trial: A Man for All Seasons at Kentlands Community Players
One of the ongoing frustrations of community theater is how often companies return to the same familiar titles. Box-office logic tends to favor what is popular and proven, even if it means repeating shows audiences have seen many times before. That is why it is genuinely exciting when a theater announces a new work—or, as Kentlands Community Players has done this week,
author: Rick Bergmann
Rockville Musical Theatre’s Urinetown Flushes Out The Truth With Glee
Jonathan Swift once wrote, “Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own.” That idea perfectly captures what makes Rockville Musical Theatre’s production of Urinetown The Musical—now playing at the newly renovated F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater—so successful.
Originally produced in 2001, Urinetown remains strikingly relevant today.