Susan Brall

Review: ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

H.M.S. Pinafore, Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous operetta, directed by Michael Hartsfield and produced by Maureen Rogers, opened on April 28, 2017 at the Laurel Mill Playhouse on Main Street in historic...

Interview: A Q & A with Laurel Mill Playhouse’s ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ Producer and Cast: Part One: Maureen Rogers and Tania Rosa Bindhoff-Frieswyk

Laurel Mill Playhouse is presenting Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore from April 28-May 21, 2017 at the Laurel Mill Playhouse, 508 Main Street, Laurel MD. H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a...

Review: ‘A Bright New Boise’ at Silver Spring Stage

A Bright New Boise by Samuel D. Hunter lit up the floorboards at Silver Spring Stage on Friday, April 7, 2017. Produced by Andrea Spitz and directed by Matt Ripa, some will find it a comedy with a...

Review: ‘Improvaganza-A 3-Night Improv Festival’ Presented by Howard Community College’s Arts Collective

Thursday, March 30, 2017, the fun began in The Studio Theatre at Howard Community College with the start of Improvaganza-A 3 Night Improv Festival (with the additional bonus of three Master Classes in...

Review: ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring, directed by Jen Sizer and produced by Maureen Rogers, opened at Laurel Mill Playhouse on Friday, March 24th. The script was written in 1939 at the end of the...

Review: ‘Steel Magnolias’ at The Heritage Players

Steel Magnolias by the Heritage Players opened Friday, March 24, 2017, at the Thomas-Rice Auditorium written by Robert Harling and directed by Kevin James Logan and Katie Sheldon. This production...

Review: ‘Lucky Stiff’ at Silhouette Stages at Slayton House

The musical Lucky Stiff with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty opened March 10, 2017, at Silhouette Stages and performed at Slayton House in Columbia, MD, under the...

Review: ‘Spring Awakening’ at Howard County Community College Theatre

The Tony Award-winning Spring Awakening (The Musical), with Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater, and Music by Duncan Sheik, based on the play by Frank Wedekind, and directed by Jenny Male, opened last...

Review: ‘Anton in Show Business’ at Silver Spring Stage

Anton in Show Business by Jane Martin opened last night at Silver Spring Stage. The show is produced by Jim Robertson and directed by Erin Bone Steele. The plot is a strange one that satirizes the...

Review: ‘Laughter on the 23rd Floor’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Politics, laughter, and lunacy come together in this lesser known Neil Simon comedy, Laughter on the 23rd Floor which opened last night at Laurel Mill Playhouse. Directed by John D’Amato and produced...

Arts Collective @ HCC’s What Improv Group?!’s ‘Love Synchs!’

As part of a 2-show Valentine Affair on Feb. 10 and 11, What Improv Group?! of the Howard Community College’s Arts Collective performed the second half of their venue, “Love Synchs!.” (The first part...

Review: ‘The Miracle Worker’ at Rockville Little Theatre

The Rockville Little Theatre’s production of The Miracle Worker written by William Gibson, produced by Dean Fiala and Emily Mullin and directed by Laura W. Andruski opened Friday, February 3, 2017, at...

Review: ‘Hands on Hard Body’ at Drama Learning Center

Hands on Hard Body opened on January 13th at the Drama Learning Center in Columbia, MD presented by the TYA Professional Training Program. The book was written by Tony and Pulitzer winner Doug Wright...

Review: ‘Silent Sky’ at Silver Spring Stage

Friday marked the opening at Silver Spring Stage of a very timely drama, Silent Sky, by Laura Gunderson. Produced by Seth Ghitelman and directed by Bill Hurlbut, Silent Sky is the fascinating story of...

Review: ‘Proof’ at The University of Maryland Baltimore County’s Department of Theatre

Proof by David Auburn, directed by Nyalls Hartman is playing through Sunday at the Black Box Theatre in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)....

Review: ‘Wonder of the World’ at Howard Community College Theatre Program

Wonder of the World by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Bill Gillett and presented by Howard Community College Theatre Program, opened last night. The thundering Niagara Falls serves as a perfect...

Review: ‘Underground Rooftop Coffee House’ at Arts Collective @ HCC

Thursday, September, 22, 2016, marked the beginning of the 22nd Season for Howard Community College’s Arts Collective. Thursday night’s performance of the Underground Rooftop Coffee House presented by...

Review: ‘The Emperor of North America’ at Silver Spring Stage

Friday night was a very special night at Silver Spring Stage as they opened their 49th Season with Thomas Hischak’s play, The Emperor of North America. This production was presented as part of the...

Review: The 2016 One-Act Festival Performed by The Montgomery Playhouse on 8/20/16 at Silver Spring Stage

This weekend two theater companies, Silver Spring Stage and The Montgomery County Playhouse, collaborated to present the 2016 One-Act Festival. This weekend, The Montgomery Playhouse performed their...

Review: ‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre & Children’s Theatre

A first-rate production of Monty Python’s Spamalot opened last night in the intimate Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre & Children’s Theatre, in Frederick, Maryland. Spamalot is the creation of Monty...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Better A Witty Fool’

This short political farce by Louis James Brenner is reminiscent of the comedy of SNL with the irreverence of South Park. Better A Witty Fool is a timely comedy reflecting the present presidential...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Saudade; the one where I miss you’

‘Saudade; the one where I miss you‘ is a heartwarming play that deals with not only personal loss, but complex family relationships. It underscores the need for family ties and the bonds we feel to...

2016 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Rapists and Drug Dealers’

This surreal drama, by Tim Chamberlain, is a combination of modern dance and theater. The play opens with the attempted murder of WOMAN by MAN. She is able to thwart his attempt with the help of two...

Review: ‘Silk Road Stories’ at The Columbia Festival of the Arts

The Columbia Festival of the Arts under Executive Director, Todd Olson has created a wonderful idea for cultural immersion. They incorporated food and a musical theme night as part of their venue. The...

Preview: Columbia Festival of the Arts Weaves ‘Silk Road Stories’ from June 10th Through the 26th

The Columbia Festival of the Arts Summer, Silk Road Stories begins to blossom this upcoming Friday, June 10th with a reprise of Stoop Storytelling at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center – 7246 Cradlerock...

Review: ‘Next to Normal’ at Silhouette Stages

A powerful production of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Next to Normal, opened Friday night at Silhouette Stages. With music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal...

Review: ‘Miss Witherspoon’ at Silver Spring Stage

Christopher Durang’s outrageous Miss Witherspoon opened last night at Silver Spring Stage. The show is directed by Kevin O’Connell and produced by Devon Seybert. Durang’s black comedy is a perfect...

Encore Chorale Gets Ready to Take Another Bow at ‘With a Song in My Heart’

There are always community gems we rarely hear about, but Encore Chorale, which was founded in 2001, has become a treasure chest of talent. They began as a study to see what the impact of...

Review: Classical Guitarist Mark Edwards at Columbia Festival of the Arts

The Columbia Festival of the Arts under Executive Director Todd Olson, presented a Mark Edwards, Classical Spanish Guitar at the historical Oliver’s Carriage House on Sunday, April 17, 2016. Mark...

Review: ‘Dos Por Uno’ at The Columbia Festival of the Arts’ ‘Viva La Vida’

The Columbia Festival of the Arts under Executive Director, Todd Olson, presented an evening of Latin American music, Dos Por Uno on Saturday, April 16, 2016, featuring the bands Las Cafeteras and La...

‘Come to The Silhouette Stages Cabaret’ on 4/23@8pm @Slayton House

The Silhouette Players – more known for their wonderful musicals – will be presenting a evening of entertainment and fun at Cabaret Night on April 23, 2016 at 8PM at Slayton House – 10400 Cross Fox...

Review: Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘W.I.G.nition: Actors and Writers Fire It Up’

On Friday, April 8, 2016, the fourth and final performance this season of W.I.G., (“What Improv Group?!”) – the improvisational group that is part of Howard Community College’s Arts Collective –...

Review: ‘Dial M for Murder’ at Olney Theatre Center

If Frederick Knott had only written the classic thriller, Dial M for Murder, it would have been enough. Knott actually went on to write only two great mystery dramas – Write Me a Murder and Wait until...

The Columbia Festival of the Arts’ ‘Viva La Vida’ Opens This Friday, 4/8-24th

The Columbia Festival of the Arts has changed its format from an early summer (or very late spring) one month format to a quarterly themed one. This year’s Spring Festival – Viva La Vida – opens this...

Review: ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ at Silver Spring Stage

William Shakespeare’s great comedy, Much Ado about Nothing, is playing at Silver Spring Stage. The show is directed by Andrew Greenleaf and produced by Greenleaf and Katherine Offutt. One of the...

Review #2: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ‘Broadway Divas’

Maybe you could not dance all night, but on Thursday, March 31, 2016, when the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed Broadway Divas at the Music Center at Strathmore, I could not stop tapping my feet...

Review #1: ‘House.’ at Arts Collective@HCC

House., an original comedy written and directed by Daniel Johnston, opened last night at Howard Community College’s Arts Collective at the Horowitz Center in the Studio Theatre. This is Johnston’s...

Review: ‘Noises Off’ at Silhouette Stages

Silhouette Stages’ play-within-a-play Noises Off by Noises Off, produced by Jeremy Goldman and directed by Conni Ross is playing at Slayton House in Columbia, MD. If you have never seen a production...

A Report on ‘Black Lives Black Words’ at The Columbia Festival of the Arts

The Columbia Festival of the Arts stretched its more traditional boundaries to bring Black Lives Black Words on Saturday, February 20, 2016. This was a dramatic reading of Black playwrights’ works...

Review: ‘Animals Out of Paper’ at Silver Spring Stage

Animals Out of Paper by Rajiv Joseph, produced by Star Johnson and directed by Brandon Rashad Butts, is now playing at Silver Spring Stage, the perfect venue for this intimate drama which also...

Review: The Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour at the The Columbia Festival of the Arts

The Columbia Festival of the Arts under Executive Director, Todd Olson, continues to bring the Howard County Area some of the greatest performers of our time. Since the Festival started 30 years ago...

Review: ‘The Laramie Project’ at the Kensington Arts Theatre

The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and Members of the Tectonic Theater Project, and produced by Craig Pettinati and directed by John Nunemaker, opened at the Kensington Arts Theatre on Friday,...

The Columbia Festival of the Arts Presents ‘Winter Beyond the Blues’ From February 4-21st

When Todd Olson began his present position as Executive Director of the Columbia Festival of the Arts in 2013, he decided to change the format of the program to include a program for every season. The...

Review: ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ at The Rude Mechanicals

This Rude Mechanicals’ production of one of Shakespeare’s ‘problem’ plays – All’s Well That Ends Well – is an example of the fact that if you have great writing and a great cast, you don’t need much...

Review: ‘Humble Boy’ at Silver Spring Stage

Humble Boy, written by Charlotte Jones, is obviously based on the plot of Shakespeare’s famous Dane, Hamlet. The parallels are purposefully obvious. A young man comes home to his mother. His father...

‘Northern Lights’ at Columbia Pro Cantare

On Saturday October 24, 2015 the Columbia Pro Cantare Choral group, lead by Conductor Frances Motyca Dawson, opened their 39th Season with Northern Lights, performed at the Jim Rouse Theatre for the...

‘Damn Yankees’ at The Heritage Players

The Tony Award-winning musical Damn Yankees, with Book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, and Words and Music by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, opened this past weekend at the Heritage Players at...

‘9 to 5’ at Silhouette Stages at Slayton House

9 to 5 is based on the 1980 movie of the same name, with Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton, and Book by Patricia Resnick. Parton not only was one of the stars of the movie (her costars were Jane Fonda...

‘The Turn of the Screw’ by the Hub Opera Ensemble at Columbia Festival of the Arts

On Saturday, October 3, 2015 the Columbia Festival of the Arts, as part of their Fall Festival: The British Invasion, presented the Hub Opera Ensemble’s production of The Turn of the Screw. This is an...

‘Underground Rooftop Coffee House: Voices from the Edge’ at Arts Collective at Howard Community College

Opening their 2015-2016 season, Howard Community College’s Arts Collective presented an evening of improvisations by their own improv group called What Improv Group?!?! or W.I.G?!?! This troupe is...