News

Peter Rabbit and the Secret Garden Gate at MET Fun Company

News February 24, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther Leave a comment

This is passing extraordinary! This lovely, whimsical adventure— Peter Rabbit and the Secret Garden Gate, which is now appearing in the Stage II space at Maryland Ensemble Theatre as a MET Fun Company production! Charmingly devised and Directed by Shea-Mikal Green, a cast of four performers tumble around in the world of Beatrix Potter, most notably with the Peter Rabbit character and it’s delightful; a remarkably felicitous escape into the nostalgic world of childhood,

Macbeth at Endangered Species Theatre Project 📷 Sam White

Something Wicked This Way Comes: Macbeth bloodies Frederick at Endangered Species Theatre Project

News January 9, 2026 Amanda N. Gunther

By the pricking of my thumb… a wicked new year does this way come!

Not exactly what Shakespeare had in mind, but the dude had a lot going on with thumbs. I mean biting them started a whole street brawl in that other bloody tragedy, so why shouldn’t pricking them bring about the end of days? Seems par for the course with the country’s current climate. What better way to welcome the new year than with a production of the bloody and iconic,

The Grinch Tea: A Holiday Hoorayness Experience at Street Lamp Community Theatre

News December 11, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther

‘Twas the night before opening and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a—

Whoops. Not that one. Lemme try again.

Marley was dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his—

Oh. Oh… not that one either? (Whew!) Let’s see…uh—

All I want for Christmas is a Red-Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun— no way, kid, you’ll shoot your—

Still no!?

A Christmas Carol at The Colonial Players of Annapolis: A Holiday Tradition

News December 8, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther

In the 10,000 or so productions of A Christmas Carol that I’ve seen over my ~15 years a reviewer, I have never seen one (and I’ve even seen the Richard Wade-Richard Gessner adaptation at Colonial Players a time or two before…) that had such a strikingly profound moment— a momentary minutia that hit with such heartfelt intent that I both gasped and wept in utter shock. But let’s back it up in true Dickensian style.

The Little Mermaid at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

News September 25, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther

Down here all the fish is happy! As aft ‘cross the stage they roll! They bringin’ you lotsa joy here— having fun in this show and that’s their goal— such wonderful things surround them— right there on the Children’s Playhouse of Maryland floor! They’re talented an havin’ a blast there! What more is your looking for? Are you ready to go under the sea with CPM’s season-opener for their 2025/2026 season— Disney’s The Little Mermaid?

The company of Ceilidh in rehearsal at the M&T Bank Exchange performance space 📷 Amanda Gunther

The Magic of Ceilidh Arriving at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Exchange

News August 22, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther

Companion.

Not exactly the first thing that pops to mind when you see the word Ceilidh in print. For most of us, we’re scratching our heads wondering what in the world it is and how in the world you pronounce it. Unless you speak Gaelic, then you know. And in ancient Gaelic, the word means ‘companion.’ Known more readily now as ‘…a traditional Scottish social gathering involving dancing, music, and storytelling…’ Ceilidh is now a new musical (for those wondering,

Six (Teen Edition) at Storytellers Theater Arts

News July 20, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther

Welcome to the show— to the coronation!

Who will take the crown? Be the pop sensation?

Only one way to find out which of the half-dozen wives of Henry VIII will emerge victorious in this showdown of ‘which wife had it worst’ and that’s to attend Storytellers Theater Arts’ production of Six (Teen Edition.) Running through July 26th 2025, this high-octane, Broadway sensation has been brought to the young-artists arena,

Beetlejuice Jr. at Cockpit in Court’s Court Jesters

News July 14, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther

If you don’t take a chance then you don’t have a chance because you didn’t take it! Sound advice, especially when it comes to taking a chance on Cockpit in Court’s Court Jesters’ production of Beetlejuice Jr. It’s a show about death! As explicitly explained in the second number of the performance and it’s a hilarious wild ride featuring that iconic black-and-white-striped clad ghoulish guy from the Netherworld— beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. BEETLEJUICE!!* Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans and Choreography by Amanda Poxon,

Storyline at Apex Arts Spring Showcase

News May 17, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther

The past, present, and future walked into a bar. It was tense. The sixth grade creative-writing students/acting students of Anne Arundel County Public School’s Apex Arts program might find that amusing. Just like I found their production of CJ Crowe’s Storyline to be amusing. It was certainly chuckle-worthy and well-acted, which is saying something for young students who are just starting off their arts-journey in middle school! Presented as a part of their spring showcase,

Company at Players On Air

News January 30, 2025 Leonard Taube

author: Leonard Taube

Somebody hold me too close. Somebody hurt me too deep. Somebody sit in my chair and ruin my sleep and make me aware of being alive. That’s the plea of protagonist Bobby in Stephen Sondheim’s musical Company (book by George Furth) which is being produced by community theatre group Players On Air and gracing the stage of the Coppermine Pantherplex in Hampstead, MD. Originally produced in 1970 Company was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won six.

Jimi Kinstle as Charles Dickens in A One-Man Christmas Carol at The Carroll Arts Center

A Christmas Carol at Carroll Arts Center Starring Jimi Kinstle as Charles Dickens

News December 5, 2024 Amanda N. Gunther

The originator. The fabricator. The one and only…Charles Dickens. While he’s no Gonzo, (because everybody loves a furry, blue Charles Dickens this time of year) Jimi Kinstle certainly makes quite the impression as the legendary author, out pitching his wares— and by wares we mean his stories, and by story we mean the popular story associated with Dickens at Christmas time…

“Marley was dead to begin with.” The second most-recognized line in the Dickensian classic,

Spotlight on Street Lamp Productions: 10th Season Announcement

News September 7, 2024 Amanda N. Gunther

Nice work, if you can get it and if you’ve got, flaunt it and all that jazz? Musical theatre— it’s that labor of love, that essence of existence for so many— and at the end of the day, it’s no small feat to have a small, grassroots theatre organization make it to its tenth anniversary season! Street Lamp Productions— the main operating umbrella for Street Lamp Community Theatre, Street Lamp Performing Arts Academy, and Street Lamp Arts Academy Teen Pre Professional Group— has a whole bunch of exciting and thrilling news to announce for their tenth anniversary season!

CLUE COMES TO BALTIMORE’S HIPPODROME THEATRE

News April 18, 2024 Amanda N. Gunther

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!

????Evan Zimmerman

“Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll 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.

Finding Nemo Jr. at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

News March 3, 2024 Amanda N. Gunther

Just below the coral— sea parents dream of who their kids will be! And live on the stage of Children’s Playhouse of Maryland— you can see how wondrous these talented kids can be! Just as long as you— JUST KEEP SWIMMING, JUST KEEP SWIMMING, JUST KEEP SWIMMING! And you’d better swim fast if you want a chance at catching this production of Finding Nemo Jr.— several of the performances have sold out!

US premiere of Théâtre de la Dame de Coeur's performance of Acupunk

Acupunk at The Kennedy Center

News February 23, 2024 Erin Tarpley

On a chilly winter’s evening, a gathering took place at the Kennedy Center’s Reach Plaza this week. Bathed in darkness (but luckily not bathed in rain), the audience gathered with rapt attention focused on the two giant figures set off to the side of the Plaza grounds. But as the showtime began, these two 18-foot puppets sprang to life in movement, sound, smoke, and light to present the US premiere of Théâtre de la Dame de Coeur’s performance of Acupunk.

Pat McPartlin (left) as Santa Claus, with Talis Tighe (center) as Mac Adamia, and Josh Handal (far right) as Felix Navi-Dodd in 'Murder on 34th Street' ????ANG Pix

Murder On 34th Street at Do or Die Productions

News December 13, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

They’ve lived to kill another day! After a tumultuously ubiquitous 30th Anniversary Season, Do Or Die Productions has landed steadily in their Monday Night Mystery venue— Perry’s Restaurant of Odenton— and is thrilling and killing just in time for Christmas! Making its world-premiere, new script Murder on 34th Street, written and directed by the company’s founder, CJ Crowe, is— as the tag-line promises— a killer show with a dinner to die for!

The Prom at STAR Ltd. Apples & Bees Casts

News August 4, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

You can predict what the reviews will say before the next notice arrives!

These YA-kids over are STAR Ltd. are nightly changing lives! It’s such an important show to be producing right now that literally every theatre and their mother is doing it. Including STAR Ltd. (And they’ve got the ‘Apples’ and ‘Bees’ cast and this reviewer saw them both!) and their YA summer production, in partnership with the Chesapeake Arts Center. It’s the show of 2023 (every year gets one,

Kerri Heineman as Mrs. Claus in A Christmas Story. ????Jason Q Standish

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Local Actress Makes Off-Off-Broadway Debut!

News December 9, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Local Actress Makes Off-Off-Broadway Debut!

Look out, Hollywood! Move over, Tinseltown! Because Kerri Heineman is making her Off-Off-Broadway debut this weekend! As a featured ensemble member in Tidewater Players’ A Christmas Story, Miss Heineman will be playing not one, not two, but three different characters for her stage debut!

Playing a dashing devil during a daring dream sequence, a towns-person, and the most important ensemble role of all- Mrs.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas at Pasadena Theatre Company. ????Kathleen Swain

Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas at Pasadena Theatre Company

News December 1, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot…

But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville— did not!

Now Pasadena Theatre Company loves Christmas— the whole Christmas season

And everyone knows why— they have so many different reasons!

They’ve got the memory of Chuck Dick, the spirited glue of PTC

They’ve got friends, family, and loved ones— just like you and like me!

A Little Princess at St. Gabriel’s Miracle Players

News November 8, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Let’s play a game of pretend. We’ll pretend it’s London, England in 1904 at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies… where only the most prestigious of young girls are sent to learn schooling and etiquette. Having fun playing along yet? That’s exactly what the almost all-female cast of A Little Princess is doing at St. Gabriel’s Miracle Players this November. Adapted from the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, in special production arrangement with The Dramatist Publishing Company of Woodstock,

Erin Tarpley (left) as Ann White, Amanda Gunther (center) as Dana Friendly, and Morgan Czosnowski (right) as Tawney Tepper in Death Warmed Over. ????CharlieB

Death Warmed Over at Do Or Die Productions

News August 16, 2022 S. Wu

Death Warmed Over, Do or Die Production’s interactive murder mystery for the month, was captivating and hilarious to watch. The scenario for the night brought audience members into the filming of a livestream for the true crime reenactment television show Wanted: Dead or Alive. Due to its outdated formatting and script, Wanted: Dead or Alive’s ratings have dropped to an all-time low, and with an attempt to gain new audiences,

The Rude Mechanicals at Artistic Synergy of Baltimore

News July 28, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Move over, Tom Stoppard (and also Disney-Marvel-verse). You no longer hold the market on “origin backstory/alternate POV” when it comes to Shakespeare. That’s right, there’s a new— okay, not new, per say— but there’s another option when it comes to doing weird stuff with Shakespeare that isn’t Shakespeare but still is totally Shakespeare. And Artistic Synergy of Baltimore’s children’s performance group has got it. The Rude Mechanicals, by Ed Graczyk, is now appearing on the ASoB stage,

Honk Jr. at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

News March 7, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Come on down— don’t be strangers in their duck-yard of free-rangers! That’s right, folks! Children’s Playhouse of Maryland is welcoming you back to the theatre— live and in person! And they’re welcoming you back with their great big honkin’ production of Honk Jr.! Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt, with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans, and Choreography Emily Davis, this fun-loving barnyard musical teaches kids that it’s absolutely o-a-kay to be different and just how boring life would be if we all looked the same.

(L to R) Erin Tarpley as Mae East, Pat McPartlin as Sheriff Zee Duke, Amanda Gunther as Spinster Molly Todd, Mike Rogers as Dr. Willis Danforth, Matt Wetzel as Clifford Hangar, and CJ Crowe as Perdie 'Wider' Johnson in Do Or Die Prodcutions' "It's Murder, Pilgrim!"

It’s Murder, Pilgrim! at Do Or Die Productions

News November 10, 2021 Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington

Seeing an interactive murder mystery can be a treat. With Do or Die Productions currently in residence at Hellas Restaurant and Lounge, it is often more than that. You arrive and are escorted to your table and given an option of entrees, beverages, and the option to order alcoholic drinks, as well. Our food came out very quickly and we were able to chat with the table next to us about theatre and other murder mystery groups we have seen.

RE Hawkins, BirdcageTheater, CC BY-SA 3.0

Remembering The Birdcage Theatre

News November 7, 2021 Robert Shelling

The United States is packed with interesting and appealing theatres, all steeped in history and tradition.

Some are still in use, hosting everything from Shakespeare to Cats, whilst others have become part of folklore, locations with a rich historical background that continue to be revered today. It is fair to say that the range of theatres across the US caters for every taste in terms of shows, opulence and grandeur. One of the most historic only opened for a decade or so but has become something of a legend.

Previewing Poe’s Last Stanza at Do Or Die Productions

News October 8, 2021 Amanda N. Gunther

Men have called him mad. But the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence. What if you could discover for yourself? What if you could spend an evening in rapt attention and questionable company uncovering the enigma that is the master of the macabre? What if you could spend one evening in close company with Edgar Allan Poe as he drinks, gambles, flirts, and muses his way through his delirious mind?

Full Speed Ahead! Maryland Ensemble Theatre launches their 2021-2022 season, back on stage LIVE!

News July 2, 2021 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s a surreal experience— being in a crowd of enthusiastic, energetic, theatre people after over a year of being isolated from that crazy, amazing, loving bunch of people who have so much to offer to the performing arts community in Frederick. But in minutes of being amid the Maryland Ensemble Theatre 24th season launch gala, it felt as if no time had passed at all, as if just last season this exact thing had happened.

Zoomin’ Speech & Debate at The Baltimore Theatre Collective

News June 12, 2020 Amanda N. Gunther

In an overzealous, albeit admirable, attempt to commit to producing their previously announced season, The Baltimore Theatre Collective— one of Baltimore’s most recent live-theatre incarnations pre-Global-Covid-19-Pandemic— Artistic Director Tommy Malek alongside four talented area actors set their sights on delivering their production of Stephen Karam’s Speech and Debate. Directed by Tommy Malek and featuring Seth Fallon, Amanda Matousek, Pamela Northrup, and Max Wolf, this show is the mark of a true effort in the “keeping the faith” movement of theatres all across the world whose stages have been darkened by the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Terrifying Thrills with Baltimore Theatre Collective’s Creepy Kooky Cabaret

News November 14, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

They’re being pulled in a new direction! Quite literally in
all senses imaginable too! Baltimore Theatre Collective, formerly known as The
Purple Light Theatre Company, has progressed into its next phase of life, now
under the auspices of Baltimore Theatre Collective. And just as their first
major cabaret was attempting to get underway, a snag in their original performance
venue pulled them right over to Genesis Arts, a dance studio in Columbia’s Red
Branch corridor.

What to Expect From Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill a Mockingbird

News October 21, 2019 Robert Shelling

Deadline Photo Credit- Deadline

Acclaimed director Aaron Sorkin’s is taking his
adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird on the road next year, starting
in August 2020 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington.

It will eventually go coast to coast, bringing the classic tale of racial
prejudice in the deep south to theaters across the U.S. It’s
been hugely successful on Broadway and up until March 2019 it hadn’t played to
a single empty seat since opening
in December 2018.