Community Theater

Review: ‘Hairspray’ by Reston Community Players

Reston Community Players has built a reputation of presenting professional-quality theater that surpasses expectations of volunteer-based community theater, and their most recent production is no...

Review: ‘Evil Dead: The Musical’ by Deer In The Spotlight Productions at Motor House

Evil Dead: The Musical is full of guts and gore and audience involvement, like Rocky Horror Show meets Little Shop Of Horrors meets Gallagher, as directed by Quentin Tarantino’s drunk half-brother. If...

Review: ‘9 to 5: The Musical’ at Prince William Little Theatre

It can be hard sometimes for a musical adapted from a well-loved movie to meet expectations. Prince William Little Theater’s production of 9 to 5: The Musical was a fantastic and energy-filled...

Review: ‘Émilie, La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight’ by Vienna Theatre Company

Editing from the playwright’s own words, “Émilie is a play about legacy,” and “is a dilated moment in time just before Emilie’s death. It is a game of wit, a defiance of mortality, a beautiful battle...

Review: ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ at The Arlington Players

By Gloria DuGan As one who had reservations about enjoying a musical about The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I was pleasantly surprised viewing the production at The Arlington Players. It had passion,...

Review: ‘Spider’s Web’ at the Laurel Mill Playhouse

Agatha Christie’s suspense story, Spider’s Web, opened this weekend at the Laurel Mill Playhouse located on Main Street in historic Laurel, Maryland. This show is produced by Maureen Rogers and...

Review: ‘Dracula’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria

Local theatre gems exist everywhere and The Little Theatre of Alexandria is definitely one of the DC area’s theatrical treasures. An exceptional cast brought Halloween to Old Town Alexandria with its...

Review: ‘A Shayna Maidel’ by Peace Mountain Theatre Company

By Julie Janson Peace Mountain Theatre Company’s production of Barbara Lebow’s A Shayna Maidel is a piercing, unabashed look at life before and after the Holocaust through the eyes of two separated...

Review: ‘The Addams Family’ by Silhouette Stages

It’s all together ooky, The Addams Family. That’s a good thing, of course. Save for one flaw, Silhouette Stages’ production of the show is a comic delight, well sung and danced by a talented cast. The...

Review: ‘Hedda Gabbler’ at Britches and Hose Theatre Company

By Jen Lofquist Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler is almost a master class in restrained theatre. His words, like the Nordic landscape, are stark and carved. Ibsen will tolerate no over-acting and no scene...

Review: ‘A Tuna Christmas’ by McLean Community Players

Some people believe that the Christmas season should begin the Friday after Thanksgiving. Other people start celebrating Christmas earlier, in some cases, much earlier. If the turning of the leaves...

Review: ‘The Philadelphia Story’ at St. Mark’s Players

Philadelphia 1939. The Great Depression is nearly over and the United States is on the brink of war. Sent out by a gossip weekly to cover the wedding of socialite Tracy Lord (Lauren Devoll), reporter...

Review: ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ at Rockville Little Theatre

Anne Frank’s immortal words about love, fear, and hope come alive once again at Rockville Little Theatre’s new production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Based on the words of World War II’s most famous...

Review: ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ at Aldersgate Church Community Theater

When a story is so well-known and well-loved by many people, audience members tend to have high expectations and Aldersgate Church Community Theater’s production of The Count of Monte Cristo will...

Review: ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ by 2nd Star Productions

You won’t need them, but you’ll want your umbrella and your dancing shoes when you see 2nd Star Productions’ Singin’ in the Rain. Oh yes, that beloved ‘40s classic movie musical has been formatted for...

Review: ‘Lysistrata’ at Spotlighters Theatre

Baltimore City is home to a lovely nest of small, historic theatre companies, housed in lovely historic buildings, in lovely historic neighborhoods where parking can be tight. Among these, in Mount...

Review: ‘Tape’ at Dominion Stage

Tape is not a play with perfect characters or comfortable resolution. What makes Tape uncomfortable to watch is that the characters all feel like people we know. We all went to school with Vince, Jon,...

Review: ‘Cabaret’ by the Fredericktowne Players

The Emcee is worth the price of admission, and then some. In The Fredericktowne Players’ production of the Kander/Ebb hit, Cabaret, Lenore Mionette Florez is spectacular as the impresario of the Kit...

Review: ‘Sex With Strangers’ at Fells Point Corner Theatre

The summer heat lingers well into fall with Fells Point Corner Theatre’s season-opening production of Sex with Strangers, a provocative two-hander romantic comedy/drama by Laura Eason (writer/producer...

Review: ‘Kindertransport’ by Sandy Spring Theatre Group

Kindertransport by Diane Samuels is being presented by Sandy Spring Theatre Group at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg in partnership with the City of Gaithersburg. The play is produced by Jerry...

Review: ‘Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight’ at Silver Spring Stage

Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight by Lauren Gunderson, produced by Bill Hurlbut and directed by Erin Bone Steele is presented at Silver Spring Stage. The company has recently...

Review: ‘The Last Five Years’ by Montgomery Playhouse

The Last Five Years is a modern musical that follows the 5-year romantic relationship between Catherine, an aspiring actress, and Jamie, an aspiring writer, from their first date to the final days of...

Review: ‘Spring Awakening’ by Wolf Pack Theatre Company at Greenbelt Arts Center

Wolf Pack Theatre Company’s production of Spring Awakening is a powerfully moving show. The 2006 musical, with Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater and Music by Duncan Sheik, is based on the 1891 play of...

Review: ‘Unlucky Soldiers’ at Theatrical Mining Company

“This we’ll defend” is the motto of the U.S. Army, and the Theatrical Mining Company is going above and beyond to fulfill that commitment in its world premiere production of Robert Garcia’s Unlucky...

Review: ‘Shakespeare’s R & J’ at Vagabond Players

Paula Vogel facetiously called Othello “a play about a handkerchief,” but Shakespeare’s R & J, Joe Calarco’s all-male reconception of the Bard’s most famous love story now being presented by the...

Review: ‘Rumors’ at the Colonial Players of Annapolis

Colonial Players’ production of Neil Simon’s Rumors is a hilarious farce of a play, a wonderful way to start their 70th season. First appearing on Broadway in 1988, this version, directed by Atticus...

Review: ‘Luther’ at Arena Players

By Cybele Pomeroy “My name is Luther and I’m going to sing every song I know. Come on, y’all, let’s have a party.” — Tamba Giles as Luther Vandross in Luther. It’s a brick building in an area between...

Review: ‘August: Osage County’ at the Little Theatre of Alexandria

The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s production of August: Osage County, the 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Terry Letts, pulls off the condensed, soap-opera feel of a family forced to deal with a...

Review: ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, directed by Jen Sizer and produced by Maureen Rogers, opened September 7 at the Laurel Mill Playhouse. Written by Dale Wasserman (based on Ken Kesey’s novel), the...

Review: ‘Anything Goes’ at September Song Musical Theatre

For a long Labor Day Weekend, September Song is presenting Cole Porter’s Anything Goes at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster, Maryland. Produced by Allen Cross and Joan Eichhorn and directed by...

Review: ‘The Glitter Girls’ at Upcounty Theatre

The Glitter Girls, written by Mark Dunn and directed by Bruce Hirsch, is a hilarious romp through a mind game played by the wealthy Trudy Tromaine (Margaret Condon) on her “Glitter Girls”- a...

Review: ‘Consent’ at Spotlighters Theatre

As audience members enter the Spotlighters Theatre to attend the Baltimore Playwrights Festival’s world premiere of Glennyce Lynn’s Consent, they pass signs warning against medical contamination, as...

Review: ‘Variations on Sacrifice’ by Rapid Lemon Productions at Baltimore Theatre Project

Last night I had the immense pleasure of seeing eleven new plays by thirteen authors in Variations on Sacrifice. The Variations Project is an annual curated event produced by Rapid Lemon Productions...

Review: ‘Little Women (The Musical)’ by Wildwood Summer Theatre at the Arts Barn

Wow! Wildwood Summer Theatre’s production of Little Women (The Musical) was both dazzling and polished; its shine reflected the animated energy of its all-youth (ages 14-25) cast and crew, while...

Review: ‘Barnum’ at Prince William Little Theatre

By Leandra Lynn Step right up! Feast your eyes on PWLT’s current production, Barnum! The fun started even before I walked into the Hylton Performing Arts Center, with clowns waving at me from the...

Review: ‘Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean’ at Cockpit in Court

By Bill Kamberger On September 30, 1975, twenty years to the day after the car crash that took the life of movie legend James Dean, six of his female fans gather at a convenience store in a...

Review: ‘Footloose’ at City of Fairfax Theatre Company

Footloose – the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon about a disaffected teen who moves to a small town where dancing is outlawed and aims to change the law – occupies a curious place in the American...

Review: ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ at the Little Theatre of Alexandria

Lightning has struck in the form of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Little Theatre of Alexandria (LTA) this past Saturday night. Taking on the epic, and challenging, rock opera, Director Jim Howard...

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid’ at Cockpit in Court

By Bill Kamberger Ironically enough for a story that is propelled by sibling rivalry and longing for a better life, the stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid has always been a bit of a neglected...

Review: ‘Margherita’ presented by Seventh Street Playhouse at Greenbelt Arts Center

Margherita by Anthony E. Gallo, presented by the Seventh Street Playhouse at the Greenbelt Arts Center under the direction of Beatrix Whitehall, is a drama about the long extramarital relationship...

The 2018 Ruby Griffith Awards

As we know from the recent Royal Wedding, the British know how to throw a party. The most recent example was the top-notch afternoon when the British Players hosted the leading lights of Washington...

Review: ‘Anything Goes’ by Rockville Musical Theatre

Anything Goes is one of those old-timey musicals where even if you’ve never seen the show before, you somehow discover you know the words to every one of the songs. Filled with exciting dance numbers,...

Review: ‘The House of Blue Leaves’ at Silver Spring Stage

First staged in 1971, The House of Blue Leaves is a descendant of the kitchen sink dramas and average joe tragedies that marked the American and British theater scenes in the turbulent decade...

Review: ‘Heathers the Musical’ by Wildwood Summer Theater

With book, music, and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, Heathers the Musical is a faithful rock musical adaptation of the 1988 hit film Heathers, a dark comedy complete with a confused...

Review: ‘Heard It Through the Grapevine – A Tribute to Motown’ at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn

“Motown is the soundtrack of people’s lives,” intoned Mack Leamon in his portrayal of legendary Motown record label founder Berry Gordy in Director/Writer/Choreographer Kashi-Tara’s musical Heard It...

Review: ‘Becky’s New Car’ at Bowie Community Theatre

Becky’s New Car, written by Steven Dietz and directed by Ilene Chalmers, is a fourth-wall busting farce with an enormous heart. Now playing at Bowie Community Theatre, this production takes the...

Review: ‘Steel Magnolias’ by Wolf Pack Theatre Company

Steel Magnolias, by playwright Robert Harling, tells the southern-style story of a group of women who grow close while hanging together in a small-town, northwest Louisiana beauty shop. Truvy Jones...

How I Became A Jewish Mother of Fascism (Show Preview)

by Emily Canavan Opinion Since the 2016 election, I am sure you have noticed the term Fascist is being dusted off and nervously applied to our current president. I have banged my head against...

Review: ‘Enchanted April’ at Aldersgate Church Community Theater

Aldersgate Church Community Theater presents Matthew Barber’s Enchanted April. Directed by Marzanne Claiborne, Enchanted April follows a group of disillusioned women who embark on a life-changing...

Review: ‘Laughing Stock’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Laughing Stock, a farce, written by Charles Morey, directed by Daniel Johnston, and produced by Maureen Rogers is at Laurel Mill Playhouse, until Sunday, July 15, 2018. Laughing Stock is perfect...