You can’t control everything, Emma! But isn’t it fun to watch her try!? Yes! Yes it is! And far more than fun— it’s practically a divertissement of the most jubilant nature; it’s a rather uproarious, madcap enjoyment! Emma, the Jane Austen classic— as recently adapted by Kate Hamill for maximum rom-com tomfoolery— is situating itself onto the Everyman Theatre main stage as the final production of the 2025/2026 season. Directed by Laura Kepley,
author: Erin Tarpley
“She has no ideas or wishes of her own at all: where you put her, there she stays”
I am remiss to admit, that before this weekend I had never heard of the brilliant Madame Germaine de Staël; but then, this was one of the objectives for the initiative “Expand the Cannon” as their {We Happy Few} mission “uncovers and uplifts classic plays by women & underrepresented genders – and is a call to action to produce them.”
Having experienced Parisian life both before and after the French Revolution,
Welcome to Plasma Corp.
What happens here stays here.
And rots.
Because the world is murder. People just see what they want to see. They don’t care. And BROS enthusiasts who come out to see this show are going to have a field day, a blast, a rockin’ good time— because they will see what they want to see in American Vamp. (Concept and Original Pitch by Hanna F.
How now, summer spirit? Have you brought us hot ice and wondrous strange snow? Or a mess of Athenian lovers, a Faerie Brawl, and some Rude Mechanicals all dusted up in one moonlit spell? All of that, says you? Then you must be alluding to A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Just Off Broadway! The first of the Bard’s ilk to tread the boards at JoB and it’s a sensational production under the keen and goodly direction of Mistress Kelly Williams Carlson,
We all peel labels. The most innocuous, seemingly mundane line to not only land but stick indefinitely from a production that has arguably thousands of lines to choose from or resonate with. Edward Albee and Betty Brevity are not besties (spoiler: neither are she and I!) but there’s a reason his verbose textual structure has garnered him the success and accolades that it has through the decades of his works’ existence. But that one line— “we all peel labels” is the most brutally exacting descriptor for what’s happening in this current production of Who’s Afraid of Virigina Woolf?
13. Being wholly in the moment with that one companion who just sees you no matter which you that you are in that moment, feeling loved, seen, and appreciated by that whole person and their whole being as you are being your whole self.
28. Face Glitter.
422. Home-grown Nasturtium blossoms
649. Not understanding how time can move so quickly and so slowly all at once and not at all.
author: Steven Kirkpatrick
Based on the iconic Jazz Age novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby rolls glitteringly into the National Theater from May 12th-24th. This 2023 musical adaption features music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen and a book by Kait Kerrigan. It opened on Broadway in 2024, then had its European premiere in 2025, followed by this North American tour in 2026. Should you attend?
author: Lisa Standish
Entering Street Lamp Community Theatre is always a treat, but their current production of Rent takes their signature intimacy to a whole new level. The beauty of this venue lies in how the creative team transforms a modest space into a completely immersive experience. As you walk in, the set greets you with a surprisingly childlike quality—featuring a slide and scaffolding—that serves as a reminder that despite the heavy themes of the story,
Theatre is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.
If you’re feeling a little nostalgic checking in with that opening line then you’re on the right path.
How you doin’? Betcha you’ll be da bomb after you hit up the current production of Salome with The Rude Mechanicals at Greenbelt Arts Center. Conceptualized and directed by Wes Dennis, this Oscar Wilde…adaptation doesn’t seem like the right word here,
Has your country gone broke? Are you about to have to go back to the ‘dark times’ where only one pomegranate per household per year? Are you on the verge of total extinction in your five-mile by three-mile country that NATO likely doesn’t recognize? Then have we got a solution for you! Why, declare war, of course! On the United States! Because there’s no conceivable universe— past, present, future, or otherwise— where you could win that war,
They will make you see how the world could be, in spite of the way that it is. They will sing you a song so beautiful that it brings the world back into tune. And where are you going? You’re going way down— Hadestown (Teen Edition) – way down under the ground. 21 young performers, one old, sad song— and they’re gonna tell it. They’re gonna tell it again. Children’s Playhouse of Maryland is living it up on top with their stellar and sensationally charged production of Hadestown (Teen Edition) and it will move your heart,
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a Duke o’er-thrown
That ended him and his daughter dear, on an island all alone.
Though not so alone as they thought they were— among spirits of earth and air
And then a conjured-magic sea-spun storm that brought their en’mies there.
The plot then thickens there, my friend, and there’s so much more to say
About the entities and denizens that populate this play
Magic.
author: Charles Boyington & Steven Kirkpatrick
How is it possible that a show which revels in profane shock words and satirical (even blasphemous) humor, is simultaneously one of the sweetest, most life-affirming and faith-affirming shows you will ever see? How is it possible that every jab of satire is matched with such lovely, uplifting charm that you’ll be cheering and swaying along with Elder Price, ready to affirm too,
It’s Saturday night— in Baltimore City— and there’s parties everywhere— but we’d rather be at Kimberly Akimbo! Which is in Baltimore City, at The Hippodrome Theatre, through Sunday evening, truth be told! And this is the ugly-cry-feel-good musical that you didn’t know you needed. Evocative and tender, filled with the mots profound emotional expression of laughter-through-tears, this stunningly realistic musical that highlights familial and life-living dysfunction without glorifying it or shying away from it is exactly what the world needs right now;
author: Chris Pence
Do Not Be Stingy With The Blintzes: You Can’t Take It With You at Spotlighters Theatre
Now, stop me if you’ve heard this one: What do you get when you cross a tax-evading retiree, a wannabe playwright, a fireworks-obsessed husband and his best friend, a dancer, a xylophonist, a jealous housekeeper, a drunken actor, two Russians, a Scot, a Wall Street bigwig and his wife, some star-crossed lovers,
We’ve all got our crew. Our people, our peeps, our “I need help moving a body”— Grey’s Anatomy defined it as “our person.” And several of us have a small army or contingency, but we’ve all got our ‘4a.m. friends’ as the tile of Endangered Species Theatre Projects’ newest work blatantly states. The takeaway from the play is that friends are important. The relationships that you cultivate over the years (and not all good friendships take decades to cultivate) are the ones that float you through life.
Hold onto your socks!! Because the MET Fun Company knows how to rock!! And they are ready to rock your socks right off with their adorably nostalgic production of Arthur and Friends Make a Musical. Based on the Arthur book series by Marc Brown, this quaint little kids show, which is wholly appropriate for both the youngins and those of us that grew up in the 90’s watching Arthur on PBS,
You’ve already won me over, in spite of me, and don’t be alarmed if I fall, head over feet. The album I played so many times in middle school I scratched the CD and had to ask for it for Christmas. Twice. ANd then it became a stage musical. And now it’s making its area debut at Scottfield Theatre Company in Havre de Grace. And isn’t it ironic– don’t you think? It’s a ferocious piece of theatre that is evocative and visceral and way too relevant for the world we live in;
Just what kind of community do you want to live in? Ask yourself that the next time you think about running for town council or stepping up to attend a city hall meeting. It’s a valid question. What kind of community do you want to live in? It’s a surface level question that could have a surface level answer. It could also be a fathomless question with a bottomless answer that really gut-checks reality for you.
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,
author: Chris Pence
Photographs & Memories: Her Portmanteau at Strand Theatre Company
Culture shock is a very real side effect of immigration, to which family can be both a cure and an agitator, in varying degrees. As a first-generation Nigerian-American storyteller and educator, Mfoniso Udofia knows these struggles intimately, sharing her understanding through Her Portmanteau, a profound dive into the hearts and minds of a family working to find connection despite a divide carved by 30 years and 5,300 miles of distance.
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.
You either shave your legs or you don’t. Radical, albeit limited, that approach to feminism circa the 70’s. And we’d like to think we’ve come so very far from that myopic viewpoint and the circumstances that forced it into existence in the first place. We’d like to think. And there’s plenty to think about— drink in, really— when you catch the penultimate production of the Vagabond Players 110th season— Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles.
author: Charles Boyington & Steven Kirkpatrick
“Success, fame, and fortune, they’re all illusions. All there is that is real is the friendship that two can share.”- The Scarecrow
If your favorite evening is one where you attend the theatre and just have a really good time, then you’ll be lucky enough to have that experience at The Wiz at National Theatre in DC. If you can,
We are here to discover what no one has ever seen.
And The Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s penultimate mainstage production of 2025/2026— Arthur Miller’s The Crucible— is unlike any Crucible you’ve ever seen before. It’s a disquietingly innovative hot-take on the production that universally presents it as an everyman tale, wholly investing the ensemble in the story’s narrative burden whilst simultaneously reflecting the harsh reality of the present-day world in which we live— but subtly,
Free country: means your dreams can come true here. Right?
Not exactly an accurate reflection of the country in which we currently live. And if anyone tries to tell you that politics don’t belong in theatre and you believe them? I’ve got some oceanfront property in Nebraska to sell you. Once belonged to Abraham Lincoln too. It’s a fiery, unprecedented world in which we currently live and Laurel Mill Playhouse is stepping up to the plate with their current production of Stephen Sondeheim’s Assassins,
You must always get your hopes up— it’s wise but scary— though not in this case! If you’re getting your hopes up for a fantastic evening of theatrical entertainment, then you’re winning at life and Everyman Theatre is the place to be! They will delight you, they will tickle your funny bone, they will enchant you with their penultimate production of the 25/26 season (celebrating 35 years in Baltimore), and they will remind you that life is beautiful,
Who knows what miracles you can achieve when you believe? Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church and their annual theatrical production is in and of itself, a true miracle of theatrical excellence. And this year, they’re tackling the newly released DreamWorks musical, The Prince of Egypt. Directed & Musically Directed by David Merrill with Choreography by Elysia Merrill (and Matthew Walter serving as assistant to both offices) this stunning retelling of Moses’ story is an extraordinary example of theatrical excellence at its finest,
author: Charles Boyington & Steven Kirkpatrick
A tale as old as time… almost. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast has enchanted audiences for over 35 years, from the 1991 animated film to Broadway, international productions, and now a new 2026 National Tour directed and choreographed by Matt West. Playing at the National Theatre, this production successfully recaptures the magic that longtime fans remember while delighting new generations.
In case you are unfamiliar with the story: A wealthy young man is cursed after refusing shelter to an elderly beggar,
author: Chris Pence
When You Believe: The Prince of Egypt at Artistic Synergy of Baltimore
Anyone who has ever set foot in a church knows the story: a mother fearing for her firstborn’s safety sets the baby in a basket to flow down the Nile toward Egypt, and towards his fate. The baby grows into the most influential prophet of Judaism, as well as one of the most important in Christianity,