Reviews

Mike Birbiglia’s The New One at The National Theatre

Reviews September 26, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s a shocking revelation when you’re evicted from your own
life. As it turns out the well-traded promise of “a baby won’t change the way
we live” is in fact, as many have suspected for years, a lie. Popping into The
National Theatre of DC for just six performances, Mike Birbiglia’s The New
One is a poignant and hilariously engaging telling of his experience of becoming
a new father. The one-man comic show is a bit like narrative stand-up only with
deeper meandering trails that dance all around the core of the story.

The Book Club Play at Silver Spring Stage

Reviews September 25, 2019 Claudia Bach

There is something delightfully universal about a book club
that almost anyone can relate to. So believe the characters of Karen Zacarías’s
The Book Club Play when their perfectly ordinary book club has been
selected to be featured in a documentary about the phenomenon. As the cameras
roll, and the club members find their lives under scrutiny, their perfect
social circle begins to unravel. Silver Spring Stage’s production, as directed
by Karen Fleming,

The Bodyguard at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Reviews September 25, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

I hope life treats you kind. And I hope you have all you’ve
dreamed of. And I wish to you joy and happiness— but above all this, I wish you—
to go and see the stellar regional premiere production of The Bodyguard at
Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia. Directed by Mark Minnick and Toby Orenstein
with Musical Direction by Ross Scott Rawlings and Choreography by Shalyce
Hemby, the iconic 90’s film turned stage musical finds its footing with a true
focus on the story in the well-seasoned hands of Mark Minnick,

The Finger at Venus Theatre

Reviews September 24, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther 2 Comments

Every new beginning feels so heavy; only the trees know
everything. In life and death, in grief and suffering, we experience things
differently. Regardless of your cultural heritage, your geographical
upbringing, or your placement in life, grief and loss come to each in their
time in their own way. Debuting its 69th women-empowering script,
Venus Theatre is pleased and proud to present the Western Hemisphere and North
American premiere of The Finger,

Bobtail Bong Bong at InterAct Story Theatre

Reviews September 20, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Are you ready with your watching eyes and your listening ears?
OH! And the most important thing of all! Your I-MA-GI-NATION! That’s right! You’ll
need all three of those things to really enjoy yourself with InterAct Story
Theatre’s brand new immersive theatrical experience for young audiences, Bobtail
Bong Bong: A Monkey’s Tail Tale, written and directed by Ali
Oliver-Krueger. Inspired by a Japanese folktale, mukashibanashi, this is
a true exploration of the company’s namesake,

Matilda at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland

Reviews September 20, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

When I grow up… I will be smart enough to know that the real
cool place to go is Children’s Playhouse of Maryland to see all these awesome
kids before they grow up! And now’s your chance to change their story— by
coming to support some of Baltimore’s most talented young performers in their current
full-length production of Matilda, the Roald Dahl story turned stage
musical opening the 2019/2020 theatre season for CPM.

Bright Half Life at The Strand Theatre

Reviews September 20, 2019 Joseph R. Kennedy

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!

Helen On Wheels at Best Medicine Rep Theatre

Reviews September 19, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Never a dull moment ‘round Helen Wheeler’s house! And that’s
the dag’gum truth, gosh darnit! Making it’s east coast regional premiere, Helen
on Wheels by Cricket Daniel has sprung up at Best Medicine Rep Theatre
under the direction of Kelsey Yudice and it’s a doozy. A real comic gem about
the aging and grieving process, this delightfully light-hearted comedic romp gives
audiences a glimpse into the life of Helen Wheeler, for all intents and
purposes the first lady of Crockett in Wheeler County Oklahoma.

The Gulf at Peter’s Alley

Reviews September 17, 2019 Wes Dennis

In the program for the Peter’s
Alley production of Audrey Cefaly’s The Gulf, the director’s note begins
with a quote from the playwright: “…Audiences want to fall in love. But people
don’t fall in love with plot. They fall in love with people.” It’s a
sentiment the show’s director, Aly B. Ettman, obviously shares, and it’s a
sentiment that clearly informs both Cefaly’s script and Ettman’s direction.

Amanda N.

Sweat at Spotlighters Theatre

Reviews September 16, 2019 Mike Zellhofer

As Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) said in
Point Break, “It will sting a bit,
but, uh, it’s for your own growth, bro.” Sweat
written by Lynn Nottage, playing at Spotlighters Theatre, is the slap in the
face that we need. It does what we all too often fail to do when it comes to a
political or social issue; it humanizes the situation. We read the paper, watch
the news, scan social media,

Heidi Schreck in What The Constitution Means to Me. Photo: Joan Marcus

What The Constitution Means To Me at The Kennedy Center

Reviews September 15, 2019 Mark Briner

Like the play being revieweditself,
this review is by necessity going to be different. No cute opening paragraph.
No clever parallels. No history lesson to set the stage. Let me start right out
by saying that in 2019, this play couldn’t be more important. After two
off-Broadway incarnations and a Tony-nominated Broadway debut last spring
(winning the Obie Award for best new American play, the New York Drama Critic’s
Circle for best American play, and the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for best new
play as well as a Pulitzer nomination along the way),

Surfacing: An Inventory of Helplessness at ExPats Theatre

Reviews September 13, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

One of the newest companies to grace the DC Theatre Scene—
ExPats Theatre, founded by Karin Rosnizeck— is getting their footing under them
after a performance at the Capital Fringe Festival this past summer. With an
extended version of their production of Surfacing: An Inventory of
Helplessness, ExPats Theatre sets up shop in The Atlas Performing Arts
Center— in Theatre Lab I— for a weeks to test the waters. The piece, written by
Austrian playwright Julya Rabinowich and translated into English by Karin
Rosnizeck,

Mr. Wolf at Single Carrot Theatre

Reviews September 12, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Is the universe actually infinite? Or is infinite a generic designation
we apply to whatever it is that we don’t understand? Ponderous thoughts, deeply
vexing, and entirely not my own. They spring from the pen-eternal of playwright
Rajiv Joseph in his work Mr. Wolf, now an immersive theatrical
experience with Single Carrot Theatre. Directed by Genevieve de Mahy and Lauren
Erica Jackson, Mr. Wolf is taking on an infinite life of its own inside
The Rectory of St.

Love Sick at Theater J

Reviews September 12, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Never rouse love. But once love has been awakened, never put
it back to sleep! The chilling and inspiring message behind a new musical now
on stage with Theater J, not only kicking off their 2019/2020 season, but
welcoming the company home to their space in residence at the Edlavitch DC Jewish
Community Center on The Trish Vradenburg Stage inside the Aaron & Cecile
Goldman Theater. Love Sick, an evocative and timeless musical,

1 Henry IV at The Folger Theatre

Reviews September 10, 2019 Liana Olear Alan Duda

“The heavens were all on fire, the earth did tremble.”

Shakespeare’s tale of the roles and
duties of fathers and sons is brought to life with energy and thoughtfulness in
director Rosa Joshi’s 1 Henry IV at the Folger Theater. The second
installment of the Henriad tetralogy, the play deftly balances the personal and
political consequences of the deposition of Richard II.

C. Stanley Photography The cast of Folger Theatre’s 1 Henry IV (Peter Crook as King Henry IV at center) C.

Proof at Everyman Theatre

Reviews September 9, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

A taste for the mystery of numbers is excessively rare,
especially among those more theatrically inclined. Creatives and cultivators of
art tend to shy away from “the numbers” but don’t let that scare you away from
seeing Everyman Theatre’s 2019/2020 season opener— Proof, by David
Auburn. Directed by Paige Hernandez, there is an evocative warmth that
dominates this play filled with bughouse logic.

DJ Corey Photg (L to R) Bruce Randolph Nelson as Robert,

Into The Woods at Phoenix Festival Theatre

Reviews September 8, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Two midnights gone. The slotted spoon doesn’t hold much soup
but it can catch— well, in this case, the Phoenix Festival Theatre production
of Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods appearing now as a part of LIVE! at
Harford Community College. Directed by Dickie Mahoney and with Musical
Direction by Terri Matthews, the iconic fairytales of happily after plague the
stage in a warped and twisted fashion, craftable only by the depraved mind of Sondheim.

Souvenir at Rep Stage

Reviews September 8, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

What matters most is the music you hear in your head. And as
singing is a kind of dreaming in public, you’ll want to hear the beautiful
music that is being made by Rep Stage as they open their 2019/2020 season with Souvenir,
a fantasia on the life of Florence Foster Jenkins written by Stephen Temperley.
Directed by Joseph W. Ritsch, this delectable play in memory explores the musical
stage life of Florence Foster Jenkins through the vibrant lens of her pianist,

Sweat at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews September 7, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Skilled labor isn’t cheap; cheap labor isn’t skilled. An innocuous
enough statement of truth that might just ruffle the feathers of the pleasantly
situated. But isn’t that art and theater at its core? Comfort the disturbed and
disturb the comfortable? No surprises that politically charged, prescient and
topically relevant drama by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage
is being produced upon the Maryland Ensemble Theatre stage. Directed by Gené
Fouché, this ensemble-driven drama is laced with humor around the visceral edges
of political upheaval in the town of Reading,

The Little Mermaid at September Song

Reviews September 5, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

The seaweed is always greener, on somebody else’s stage. You’ve
seen a bunch of productions, cause last year it was all the rage. But look at
the show that’s happenin’— right there on the Carroll Arts Center floor, such
different things about it— what more is you looking for? The Little Mermaid
is splashing on stage as the 45th anniversary production of
September Song. Directed by Debbie Mobley with Musical Direction by Kelly
Stoneberger,

The Wild Party at Greenbelt Arts Center

Reviews August 31, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Queenie was a blonde.

And Burrs will make you happy.

And Kate is the life of the party.

And maybe they like it that way.

They’re raising the roof over at The Greenbelt Arts Center with their wild, wild party. Not just any party, but Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, directed by Jeffrey Lesniak with Musical Direction by Elizabeth Alford, and Choreography by Rikki Lacewell.

The Way Out at Quarry Theatre

Reviews August 25, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

When someone leaves, a piece of you leaves with them. And
while that is a generally understood pathos principal of the grieving process,
we as a society don’t fully accept or acknowledge this when it comes to suicide.
We say “suddenly” or “passed unexpectedly” or “died at home” rather than the
blunt, honest truth of “lost the battle with…depression, substance abuse,
mental illness…” and the taboo and stigma that remain shrouded around suicide
and mental illness keeps us from opening up our minds and hearts to this
grieving process.

Assassins at Signature Theatre

Reviews August 23, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Just a single little finger can change the world.

9— Dayton, Ohio August 4, 2019

22— El Paso, Texas August 3, 2019

3— Gilroy, California July 28, 2019

34 people dead from just a single little finger.

Something just broke.

It’s the strap-line for Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins now
open and running at Signature Theatre in Shirlington, Virginia. And they’re not
wrong.

Into The Woods at Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre

Reviews August 20, 2019 Mark Briner

Stephen
Sondheim is synonymous with darkly themed, intricately scored, chamber pieces
that hold a mirror up for the audience to self-reflect. On the surface, the fairy
tale wrappings of Into the Woods seem to defy that with brightly colored
costumes, unusually bouncy tunes, and a familiar cast of characters voicing a
plethora of wishes and dreams. But do not be fooled, because Sondheim, with
book writer James Lapine, has drawn his on-the-surface quaint fable not from Walt
Disney’s stable of technicolor,

The Addams Family at Hereford Community Theater

Reviews August 16, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s just a simple dinner. What
could go wrong? Famous last words by the delightfully unsuspecting,
crazier-than-you Wednesday Addams right before chaos and calamity are unleashed
upon her “meet-the-parents” style dinner. The story may be a familiar one, since
there’s hardly a company left who hasn’t produced Andrew Lippa’s The Addams
Family, unless of course they’re a brand new company. As it happens, the
Hereford Community Theater is exactly that. In their inaugural debut,

Crusade at Rapid Lemon Productions

Reviews August 14, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Recon— they don’t speculate. They observe and report. Sort
of like theatre critics. We don’t speculate— we observe and report. Observing
now: Crusade the only full-length production of the Baltimore
Playwrights Festival in the 2019 calendar year. Crusade, written by Bruce
Bonafede, is a world premiere making its debut in association with the BPF
through Rapid Lemon Productions at the Baltimore Theatre Project. (BPF, RLP,
BTP, over and out!) Directed by Timoth David Copney,

Dear Evan Hansen at The Kennedy Center

Reviews August 14, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Dear Washington DC,

Today is going to be a good day and here’s why:

#youwillbefound

Dear Evan Hansen has arrived for a limited-run
engagement at The John F. Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts just as summer
comes to an end. This Tony Award-Winning musical has stunning emotional impact
and will take your breath away with its poignancy and overall relevance to
everyone from every walk of life,

Emma at Artistic Synergy of Baltimore

Reviews August 14, 2019 Mike Zellhofer

There is a jukebox musical that has all of Rosedale
shakin’! It’s Emma! A Pop Musical, now playing at Artistic Synergy of
Baltimore. There is so much energy from the cast they will have you toe tapping
and maybe even dancing in the aisle.

Amanda N. Gunther | TheatreBloom

First time Director Jake Schwartz burst onto the scene
and even shows up in a scene or two.

Nice Work If You Can Get It at Cockpit In Court

Reviews August 14, 2019 Daniel Plante

“When music
is playing and couples are swaying Say! I’ve got to be there! I’ve got to be
there!”

Indeed you do.

Attendance is quite simply mandatory for Cockpit in Court Summer Theater’s production of Nice Work If You Can Get It still open for two full weekends at the F. Scott Black Theatre.

Amanda N. Gunther | TheatreBloom The Company of Nice Work If You Can Get It at Cockpit in Court

Fans of
Golden Age music (and musicals) will be overjoyed to see this production,

The Country Wife at The Rude Mechanicals

Reviews August 14, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

For my part, I will have only those glorious, womanly
pleasures of being very verbose and very favorable to The Rude Mechanical’s
production of William Wycherley’s The Country Wife. A far cry from very
slovenly, though indeed ‘tis very drunk, this quirky Restoration comedy
(apparently there was humor in the restoration era) under the direction of Alan
Duda, finds its footing not in its original setting but rather in the posh and
swanky New York City of the 1950’s.