Phone rings, door chimes, in walks— Company. Damascus Theatre Company (in partnership with the city of Gaithersburg) is presenting this Sondheim classic for three weekends during February and it’s a heartfelt joy with a lot of beautifully humorous moments that really bring the show to life. Directed by Rachelle A. Horn, with Musical Direction by Keith Edward (live orchestra conducted by Stuart Y. Weich), and Choreography by Karen Kushner Creel,
The Suburban Players did it in style! So set back and let them be your— well it’s not a TV Guide— because they’re live in living color for their 51st production. And it’s a doozy! Catch Me If You Can is flying to Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church this February and it’s a smashing success! Directed by Lauren Hampton with Musical Direction by Steven Edward Soltow and Choreography by Amie Bell, this zippy zinger of a musical comedy,
Some people build fences to keep people out. Other people build fences to keep people in. A powerful statement to be sure; an evocative thought that primes the mind for the emotional journey that is August Wilson’s Fences. Produced at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company as a part of the multi-year, city-wide Baltimore August Wilson Celebration, this striking production is a theatrical pleasure, inviting audiences into the intimate details of day-to-day life in the backyard of the Maxson home in Pittsburgh,
When do we— ride into Jerusalem? When do we— ride into Jerusalem? When do we— ride into Rising Sun? When do we— ride into Rising Sun? What’s the buzz— I’ll tell you what’s a-happening? JCS— that is what’s a-happening! Triumphantly returning to the Street Lamp Community Theatre Stage under the majestic direction of Rylynn Woods, Musical Direction of Mia Bray and Choreography of Stephanie Peterson, the iconic Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar is back!
Where’s the party? Can you take me there? Why, of course, Old Sport! It’s roarin’ on over at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre! Come celebrate the glamour, glitz, opulence, and decadence— J. Gatsby himself is sending you a personal invitation! The party never ends at The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center as the national tour of The Great Gatsby launches itself right here in Charm City. Based on the iconic classic American novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
“Fear is like a rhubarb enema!” might just be the wildest thing I’ve ever heard come out of the mouth of a player at a Rude Mechanical’s show. And I’ve seen their King John! My one regret (aside from seeing their King John) is that I couldn’t hear the rest of the line— delivered in utter brilliance by Marin (Linda “Spencer” Dye) the fraidy-cat servant to Roselo because both myself and the rest of the audience were laughing so hard it drowned out whatever insanity came next.
Mǝlɔoɯǝ ʇo ┴ɥǝ Ԁlɐʎ ┴ɥɐʇ פoǝs Mɹouƃ˙
Ah. Well. There you have it.
.gnorW seoG tahT yalP ehT ot emoclew ,dias I ?ew llahs ,niaga taht yrt s’teL
Good grief. Somebody call The Stage Manager!
You think all that text went wrong— you should see all the crazy things that happen on the set of Children’s Playhouse of Maryland’s Teh Plaaay That Goes wRoNg.
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,
There is a big blue emptiness in a dream deferred. And Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is filling it up with a first of its kind collaborative production between themselves and UMBC Theatre. Langston Hughe’s Shakespeare In Harlem, adapted for the stage and directed by Gerrad Alex Taylor, is appearing for a one-weekend only performance at CSC’s downtown stage after a successful run at UMBC Theatre in the fall of 2025. Evocative poetry in theatrical motion,
You need seasons to mark where you are. It’s currently winter season; halfway through the darkness— halfway through season 77 at The Colonial Players of Annapolis. And they’re bringing you Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz. Directed by Laura Gayvert, this edgy, albeit questionably dated, drama hits hard with its deep questions of family dysfunction when secrets threaten to unravel pre-existing ways of life.
While the play itself isn’t wholly ‘dated’ there are references that for the younger audiences will be obscure and it certainly bears the signature of its timestamp.
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,
Who would you risk your life to save? And how high would your chance of dying have to get before you changed your mind? An evocative question that gets posited, albeit left unanswered, in the world premiere of the new musical The Mountaineer (a high-altitude musical by Diana Raynes) at the Greenbelt Arts Center running now through January 17th 2026. Directed, produced, and designed by Eric Honour, this three-person musical experience is a vexing project that has great potential for a future life beyond this first outing on the GAC black box stage.
author: Chris Pence
Perpetual Guests in Foreign Lands: From East, Like The Sun at Rapid Lemon Productions
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Written in 1883, Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus has welcomed immigrants into The United States since being mounted inside the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening The World) since 1903. From its inception, The United States has stood as a guiding light for disenfranchised immigrants,
Art and entertainment are not mutually exclusive; something can tickle your funny bone and give you great pause for appreciation. And vice versa. It’s what Ian Shaw & Joseph Nixon’s script The Shark is Broken sets out to prove. It’s now appearing— the area community premiere— at Vagabond Players, kicking off the back-half of the 110th season! Directed by Stephen Deininger, this fast-paced, truth-based theatrical engagement gives audiences a deeper look at what really happens when filming for a movie gets stalled in tight quarters.
Death is fairer than life; it comes for everybody and does not discriminate. ‘Everybody got a time coming. Can’t nobody say they ain’t got a time coming.’ We all live on borrowed time from the start of our existence; nobody is getting out alive. On a play that opens with its conclusion in plain sight, driving you back through the events of how it ended up that way, August Wilson’s Seven Guitars is a harrowingly beautiful theatrical experience,
One short day— here in Baltimore City— one short day— full of so much for you! Ev’ry way that you look at the city— there’s something exquisite— that you’ll want to visit— before the day’s through! And while it’s here for several short days (though not too many, only through January 11th 2026) that exquisite thing you’ll want to visit is Wicked on its triumphant return to Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre. Landing just in time for the holiday season,
Gifts I’m preparing for some Christmas sharing— but I pause because—
Hanging my stocking, I can hear a knocking— ‘zat you, Santa Claus?
Ho-ho-no! It’s one better! It’s Baltimore Center Stage with their festive holiday offering: Santa Claus is Comin’: A Motown Christmas Revue, created by Nygel D. Robinson & Ken-Matt Martin. Co-Directed by Ken-Matt Martin and Victor Musoni, this quick-paced musical revue promises that you will meet joy along the evening’s path,
I was asked at the intermission of opening night of A Christmas Carol at Silver Spring Stage, by a fellow who was either meant to be a Dickensian business fellow of sorts, or was perhaps trying to be Mr. Dickens himself (unclear as to which), what my favorite Charles Dickens story was. I’m certain he was expecting me to say Oliver Twist or Great Expectations maybe even a cheeky response of A Christmas Carol.
author Chris Pence
Think Outside The Shadow Box: “Juxtapose: A Theatrical Shadow Box” at Baltimore Theatre Project
In 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey hit movie theatres shortly after the original novel was released. Sir Arthur C. Clarke, author of the original novel, when asked what exactly the film and novel were about, replied “If you understand 2001 completely, we failed. We wanted to raise far more questions than we answered.”
It’s that time of year when the stage seems to play— every show you see— Christmas Carol – may three ghosts be haunting you… and this review of mine, in the nick of time, wishes you and yours— to experience one too. Why not experience the Maryland Ensemble Theatre production of the Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol presently running through this weekend at the Weinberg Center for the Arts cattycorner to the MET’s home stage in downtown Frederick?
author: Bill Kamberger
Stephen Sondheim called this show “a musical thriller,” and he was dead right. The plot, which depicts an understandable attempt at revenge that spirals into indiscriminate serial killing, provides many thrills and even more chills, but the music is the most thrilling of all. It frequently gives a listener chills in the most beautiful sense, even when it is sending a shiver up the spine as well. Several famous concert presentations of the score have proven that it can thrill even with minimal staging,
author: Steven Kirkpatrick & Charles Boyington
At its heart, theatre is story telling. So, a potential definition of “good” theatre might be of a good story told reasonably well. Or, perhaps, of a decent story told terrifically well. What then, of a great story told terrifically well: is it great theatre? If so, then Water for Elephants always stays within the contours of good theatre, and yet veers, at moments, towards great theatre.
Oh what tangled webs we weave when we practice to— get out from under the manipulative fist of the patriarchy who relies heavily on the normalization of harmful tactics like gaslighting. Not the single-word response you were expecting? Good. Because this isn’t your grandma’s Gaslight. Though it’s been adapted from that play (by Patrick Hamilton) by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson, this ‘gaslight of a thriller’— Deceived is not your classic case of a woman being manipulated into questioning her own sanity,
Well leapin’ lizards! It’s a Christmas miracle that Children’s Playhouse of Maryland still has a ticket or two for their wonderful production of Annie next weekend! Aww, gee. You don’t have tickets yet? Aww, gee. You better not wait! They’re flying off the {digital} shelf faster than FDR’s new deal! Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans and Choreography by Lauren Stewart, this time-honored musical theatre classic, is the perfect show for the Christmas season and is full of wonderfully talented young performers just radiating their best sunshine-positivity all over the stage!
author: Erin Tarpley
“Well, what a lovely Christmas you’ve given me”
The weather outside is frightful, but inside The Stand Theater, tidings of comfort and joy are complex and raw (and theatric!) in their opening production of their 18th season.
Directed by Tessara Morgan Farley, Paula Vogel’s The Long Christmas Ride Home is not merely a play: it is a profound, breathtaking piece of theatrical artistry that transcends the familiar boundaries of the American family drama.
It’s a joy to be in the Mount Vernon area when that Christmas spirit takes hold. They light the monument, trees go up everywhere, and Spotlighters Theatre puts on a holiday show of some variety or other. (They’ve even thrown their hat in the ring in years past with their very own one-man A Christmas Carol.) But this year, they’re trying something a little different. Yes they are, they are, they are.
“Bills don’t care about the holidays, Virginia.” Not quite the same ring as that line about truly there is a Santa Claus. But then again, this isn’t exactly your grandfolks’ Christmas Carol either. A glorious blending of the macabre meets the holidays, which is sort of what Dickens intended when he wrote A Christmas Carol so many Christmas pasts’ ago, or at least that’s how it turned out— what with the ghosts and all.
How do you compete with Santa Claus this time of year? With the reindeer cookies, Mariah Carey all over the radio, for crying out loud, with the Hallmark Channel and their same recycled plot presented 24 new different ways each December? With an un-spellable, totally not as important as other Jewish high-holy-holidays show all about Hanukkah! Hannukah? Channukah? Chanukkah? The eight-crazy-nights-holiday! That one! While everyone else is serving up A Christmas Carol,
Dear 34th Grade Journal,
I cannot believe it has been a whole ten years— that’s a decade— since I’ve visited Room1. (Literally so unbelievable I had to go count back through the archives, and BOOM! Do the math— 2015 to 2015— that’s ten whole years!) And it’s so wonderful, splendiferious, fabulously good fun to be back in Room1 with Mr. Scary, Junie B. Jones, and all the rest of the zany characters that populate the MET Fun Company’s production of Junie B.
Tis the season of hospitality, merriment, and openheartedness! Come in and know them better, man! Tis the season— their 11th, in fact— for putting that timeless holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, upon their stage. Tis the season for uplifting spirits, for heartwarming festivities, and for radical, positive change. Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s A Christmas Carol is truly a cherished stage tradition, nestled right in the heart of Charm City and is bringing jubilation amid the bleakness that 2025 has turned out to be;