Susan Brall

Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club ‘Adios Tour’ at Wolf Trap

Everyone at Wolf Trap tonight must have oiled their hips tonight as just about the whole audience was dancing in the aisles by the end of the evening to the Latin beats coming from the stage. The...

‘2015 One-Act Festival’: Weekend 1 at Silver Spring Stage

A night of One-Act Plays is always interesting. It gives new or little-known playwrights a chance to shine. It gives new directors a shot at showing their talent. Actors who may never have had a...

‘Disney’s High School Musical’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Disney’s High School the Musical, at Laurel Mill Playhouse, is directed by TJ Lukacsina, and is produced by Maureen Rogers and Laila Riaz. This is the 12th year that LMP has given youth, this time...

‘The Springfield Boys’ at The Seventh Street Playhouse at the Greenbelt Arts Center

If you think you know everything about Lincoln, you may be surprised to find out that there is a great deal of information out there that is not in text books. The Springfield Boys, now playing at The...

‘Venus in Fur’ at Silver Spring Stage

Venus in Fur directed by John Dellaporta opened last night at Silver Spring Stage, literally with a bang. The play opens during a thunderstorm that is a metaphor of the action to come, and takes place...

‘The Miss Firecracker Contest’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

The Miss Firecracker Contest by Beth Henley opened this weekend at the Laurel Mill Playhouse, and is directed by Patrick Pase and produced by Julie Rogers. Maureen Rogers is the Executive Producer....

Columbia Festival of the Arts Part 6: ‘The Best of Second City’

What do Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller, Joan Rivers, Jim Bulushi, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Steven Colbert and Steve Carrell have in common? Well, they are all very funny, of course,...

Columbia Festival of the Arts Part 5: ‘The Stoop/Stoop Storytelling Series: Kitchen Confidential’ and Comedian Max Silvestri

Friday, June 26, 2015 was a night of laughter at the Smith Theatre. First, the Columbia Festival of the Arts, presented The Stoop Stoop Storytelling Series: Kitchen Confidential which was followed by...

Columbia Festival of the Arts: Part 5: ‘Butcher Holler Here We Come’

Imagine you are in a West Virginia coal mine, and there is a cave it. It is cold, and the only light is from the tiny one on top of your helmet or the helmet of a coworker. That is what Aztec Economy...

Columbia Festival of the Arts: Part 4: The Blind Boys of Alabama and Andy Poxon Band

The indoor performances of the Columbia Festival of the Arts began on Friday, June 20, 2015, at the Jim Rouse Theatre in Columbia, MD. It could not have picked a more inspirational group to start the...

Columbia Festival of the Arts: Part 3: Last Day at Lakefront

Mother Nature was kind to the Festival this weekend. Thunderstorms were predicted but there was only one close call. So, though many were sweltering, it was a wonderful day to listen to good music....

Columbia Festival of the Arts: Day Two at the Lakefront

It was a hot day and a hotter night at the Lakefront but that did not keep the crowds away. Good music, especially free for the listening, is always a way to attract an audience. Folks listened while...

Columbia Festival of the Arts Part 1: Opening Night at the Lakefront

Last night the Columbia Festival of the Arts began on the Lakefront in Columbia. (This review is of the last two performances of the evening as those were the ones that were viewed and not to ignore...

‘On the Razzle’ at Silver Spring Stage

In Tom Stoppard‘s wonderful farce, On the Razzle, the humor relies on mistaken identities, lots of puns and malapropos, pratfalls, sex, and pomposity. Silver Spring Stage’s hilarious production, which...

A Love of the Bard is Passed to Another Generation: Meet the Young Cast of ‘The Tempest’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Tonight, Laurel Mill Playhouse will be presenting one of Shakespeare’s later comedies, The Tempest. Unlike the Bard’s earlier comedies, The Tempest does not rely on some of his more traditional plot...

The Columbia Festival of the Arts Runs June 12-27, 2015: Events, and A Reflection of the Jim Rouse Dream

The Columbia Festival of the Arts is in the 28th year. It began as an offshoot of the Columbia Fair that celebrated the anniversary of the city. On the 20th anniversary celebration they added the...

‘The Price’ at Olney Theatre Center

Arthur Miller’s The Price, now playing at Olney Theatre Center, is brilliantly directed by Michael Bloom. The play, which opened in 1968 on Broadway, takes place in the late 1940s. Like Arthur...

‘Godspell’ at Silhouette Stages

Silhouette Stage’s Godspell, directed by Stephen M. Deininger, opened last night at Slayton House in Columbia. With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak, it’s based...

‘The Great American Songbook’ by Columbia Pro Cantare at the Jim Rouse Theater

On Saturday May 2, 2015 the Columbia Pro Cantare choral group, lead by Conductor Frances Motyca Dawson, ended their 38th Season with The Great American Songbook performed at the Jim Rouse Theater of...

Israeli Tea at the Strathmore Mansion

What a glorious day to go to tea at a beautiful mansion. The Israeli Tea at the Strathmore Mansion was a special as the beautiful Spring Afternoon. If you get there early, you can browse the Artwork...

‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Little Shop of Horrors opened last night at the Laurel Mill Play House directed by Michael Hartsfield and produced by Maureen Rogers. This quirky satirical farce has become an American classic. It is...

‘Eat The Runt’ at Arts Collective at Howard Community College

College theaters have always been forerunners in experimental theater, and Arts Collective at Howard Community College’s zany production of Avery Crozier’s Eat the Runt is no exception. The play is a...

Neil Simon’s ‘Fools’ at APL Drama Club

Fools by Neil Simon opened this weekend presented by the APL Drama Club located on the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab campus in Laurel, MD. The members and performers are mostly the scientists,...

‘The Language Archive’ at Silver Spring Stage

The Language Archive at the Silver Spring Stage, is not a play about the language of love but of language and love, or more specifically, communication and emotion. The play centers on the marriage,...

‘The 2015 Spring Young Adult One Act Festival’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

I was born and raised in New York City just miles away from the theatre district. However, I find myself jealous of the opportunities many community theater groups around the country, but especially...

‘Rumors’ at The Heritage Players

The Heritage Players’ uproarious production of the farce Rumors is written by Neil Simon. Yes, the word farce and Neil Simon usually don’t go together, but if you are old enough you will remember that...

‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ at Silhouette Stages

Silhouette Stages’ hilarious production of Monty Python’s Spamalot opened last night at Slayton House in Columbia, MD. It is based on the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with Book and Lyrics by...

’33 Variations’ at Silver Spring Stage

33 Variations is a drama by Moisés Kaufman that deals with the nearly always fatal disease of ALS and the study, not just of music, but also the variations of life. The main character is Dr. Katherine...

Pianist Jenny Lin at The Strathmore Mansion

The intimacy of the recital room at the Strathmore Mansion creates the perfect atmosphere to listen to a piano virtuoso play a night of sonatas. Jenny Lin chose these particular composers, because she...

The President’s Own United States Marine Band: ‘Time Capsule 1945: The 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII’ at Strathmore

The main emotion I felt last night at Strathmore, while I watched The President’s Own United States Marine Band, was pride. These very talented musicians gave up the chance for a professional career...

‘Harvey’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Harvey, currently playing at Laurel Mill Playhoue, and produced by Maureen Rodgers, is a wonderful classic American comedy. It was unique when it opened in the 1940s. First of all, it won a Pulitzer...

‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ at Epic Productions, Inc.

Epic Productions, Inc.’s inaugural production of the popular musical I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change, with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, is being performed at Ciao...

‘Orson’s Shadow’ at Silver Spring Stage

I would say that Austin Pendleton’s Orson’s Shadow is the best show I’ve seen all year, even though the year is only about a week old. So, I will state it is the best show I have seen since I saw...

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 3: ‘Leaps in Time With Noah Bird, Rachel Bailey, and Emma McDonnell’

If George and Mary Bailey, the main couple in It’s a Wonderful Life, time traveled from the 1940s to the 2010s, they might have trouble identifying with the young actors cast in three of the pivotal...

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 2: A Peek at the Multi-Generational Cast of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

In James W. Rodger’s play adaptation of the Frank Capra film, It’s a Wonderful Life, you have the confluence of many generations from little Zuzu to Uncle Billy. When doing a play that is not only a...

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 1: ‘Paths Intersect Again After 20 Years’: Co-Directors Gareth Kelly and Anthony Scimonelli

When the Arts Collective at HCC (“AC”) decided how to mark its 20th Anniversary with James W. Rogers’ play, It’s A Wonderful Life, Producing Artistic Director Susan G. Kramer reached out to two former...

‘Death Takes a Holiday’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Directed by Mark T. Allen and produced by Maureen Rogers, Death Takes a Holiday follows the fate of a group of aristocrats at the mansion of Duke Lambert, played by Larry Simmons. We hear that death...

‘No Exit’ at The Highwood Theatre

Jean-Paul Sartre was not only a great playwright, but one of the leading philosophers of the 20th Century. He wrote No Exit during the German Occupation of France during WWII, after he had been...

Laurel Mill Playhouse: A Theatre with a Sense of Community Brings ‘Love Letters’ for One Performance This Sunday at 2 PM

The Laurel Mill Playhouse has been more than just a community theatre. It has become a theatre of the community. The Playhouse is the home to Teen Shakespeare, Young Adult One Act Festival and the...

‘Thread of Gold Beads’ at Publick Playhouse of the Performing Arts

There is no doubt that the Publick Playhouse for the Performing Arts in Cheverly has its own unique charm. The décor from an art deco period from the last century has been preserved to be a forum for...

New and Seasoned Performers Shine at Arts Collective@HCC’s ‘Coffee House Under the Stars’

Arts Collective@ HCC began its 20th year on Friday night with an old tradition. The Collective used the format of the Coffee House, put it out on a beautiful patio at the Horowitz Center and used it...