Articles Tagged With: Stephen Deininger

Picasso at the Lapine Agile at Vagabond Players

Reviews June 2, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther Leave a comment

Ceci n’est pas une pipe. Et ce tableau n’est pas dans cette pièce. Mais je voulais voir qui parle français et qui connaît l’art. Pas moi! Je doute que vous le fassiez non plus. Heureusement pour nous deux, Picasso à la Lapine Agile is in English. And it’s now appearing at The Vagabond Players as the final show of their 109th season (continuously operating too!) Directed by Stephen Deininger, this oddly quirky, witty play— written by Steve Martin— that is at times deeply profound and at other times completely off-the-wall,

Pipeline at Vagabond Players

Reviews April 10, 2025 Amanda N. Gunther

People have expectations of you because of how they see you and if you get caught up in how you are seen you become what people expect, be it good, bad, or otherwise. Powerful stuff packed heavily into the words of Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline appearing as the penultimate production at Vagabond Players in their 109th season. Directed by Lorraine Brooks, this thought-provoking play tackles some tough subject matters and really makes you stop and think about perception,

Doubt, a Parable at Vagabond Players

Reviews April 9, 2024 Amanda N. Gunther

Innocence is only wisdom in a world without evil. But why is it we are so quick to believe that of which we are not certain? Why are we so quick to judge? The most innocent interaction can see seem sinister to a poisoned mind. Why do we let our minds be primed so readily with poison? In a striking and evocative drama now appearing on the Vagabond Players’ stage as the penultimate production of their 108th season,

Mister Roberts at The Salem Players

Reviews November 12, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

As the Christmas season runs rampant, many, many weeks before it’s really even Christmas season, a particular song from Irving Berlin’s White Christmas comes to mind. And yes, while White Christmas is no doubt on a theatre somewhere this early November weekend, it’s not at The Salem Players, and I promise, I’m making a point. It’s a ditty that the soldiers sing, “…we’ll follow the old man wherever he wants to go…” and it swells the heart a little because it showcases the loyalty (albeit humorously at first) of men in service to their leader.

The Fantasticks at Vagabond Players

Reviews May 27, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Plant a radish— get a radish! Never any doubt! Plant a musical— end your season— see what it’s about! The Fantasticks comes sweeping into Vagabond Players to close out their 106th season; the strangely forlorn and bittersweet musical about simple love gone wrong when the world gets in the way. Directed by Jimi Kinstle with Musical Direction by Mari Hill, with live on-stage orchestrations by Erica Rome and Stephen Deininger, this one-of-a-kind cobbled-together musical of love,

God of Carnage at Vagabond Players

Reviews February 19, 2022 Amanda N. Gunther

Nothing says ‘welcome back to live theatre’ like watching four-grown adults devolve over the course of 90-minutes into childish selfishness and chaotic dark humors. Finally reopening its doors after an almost two-year darkness, The Vagabond Players usher in their 106th season with Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage. Directed by Stephen Deininger, this curious and enigmatic story showcases the simplistic nature of humanity— childhood never truly ends and all your problems can be solved by shouting,

The Little Mermaid at Cockpit in Court

Reviews July 23, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

Look at their set; isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think their set design is so sweet? Wouldn’t you think Michael Rasinski’s the guy— the guy who’s designed everything? Look at those lights— colors so bold! How many wonders can Lighting Designer Thomas Gardner behold? Looking around the stage you’d think— the creative team’s done everything! They’ve got James Hunnicutt designing the properties. They’ve got Brent Tomchik making splashes with sound. You want Choreography? That’s Karli Burnham.

Into the Woods at Memorial Players

Reviews April 20, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better see that you keep what you have! And what Memorial Players has is an extraordinarily talented production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods. And what they want is for everyone in Baltimore to come and see it. So they need you to do exactly that! Running just two weekends, and as always at Memorial Players, a free performance for all in attendance,

The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts’ Teen Professional Theatre

Reviews August 6, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Now, here is a riddle to guess, if you can— hear the bells of Notre Dame! What makes a monster and what makes a man? Sing the bells…bells…bells…of Notre Dame! You’ll only discover the answer to this mystifying riddle in the stunning, stirring, brilliant, and breathtaking production of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts’ Teen Professional Theatre this summer. Directed by Stephen Fleming with Musical Direction by Ross Scott Rawlings and Choreography by Mark Minnick,

Corey Dunning (left) as Coalhouse Walker Jr. and Samantha Deininger (right) as Sarah in Ragtime at Memorial Players

Your Daddy’s Son: An Interview with Stephen Deininger and Samantha McEwen Deininger about the Deininger Family in Ragtime

Interviews April 23, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Bringing the nation a new syncopation, the Memorial Players of Baltimore’s Bolton Hill neighborhood is revolutionizing community theatre as we know it here in Charm City. With their current production of Ahrens and Flaherty’s Ragtime, not only is the company putting on a show filled with spectacular talent and a poignant and powerfully relevant message but it’s providing this incredible experience to the public for free. Furthering the uniqueness of the company’s current production,

The company of Ragtime at Memorial Players in Bolton Hill

Review: Ragtime at Memorial Players

Reviews April 18, 2016 Ashley Gerhardt

“Giving the nation a new syncopation, the people called it Ragtime!” Ragtime at Memorial Players in Baltimore is an outstanding production that takes the audience on a journey of diversity, racial tensions, and an inspiring yet tragic love story. The book, written by Terrance McNally (Music by Stephen Flaherty, and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens) is based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow. Ragtime tells the story of three socially disparate groups set in New York during the early 20th century: African Americans,

Review: Really Rosie at Heritage Players

Reviews August 8, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Move over, Saturday morning cartoons! Rosie and her hoi poloi crew are shaking up the Rice Auditorium with Heritage Players this summer! From the celebrated mind of Maurice Sendak comes the fantastical musical Really Rosie. With Books and Lyrics by Sendak, and Music by Carole King, the story of Rosie, Chicken Soup, Alligator and other illustrated icons of the imagination roar to life for young audiences in the Catonsville area. Directed by Stuart C.

Monkeying around with a few members of the cast of All in the Timing. Photo courtesy of Joshua McKerrow.

All in the Timing at Heritage Players

Reviews August 10, 2014 Amanda N. Gunther

Life is but a moment? Or life is what you make of it. Heritage Players are making life out to be a hilarious evening of comic curiosities with their summer production of David Ives’ All in the Timing. Co-Produced by Ryan Geiger and Stephen Deininger, this grouping of six one-acts is a hilarious series of unrelated vignettes that examine the minutia of life in an absurd fashion. Treating the project like a theatrical incubator of sorts,