Maryland

Review: ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of Kiss Me, Kate is a treat for the eyes and ears. Directed by Sally Boyett, this version of the 1948 musical with a book by Sam and Bella Spewack and music...

Review: ‘Weird Romance’ at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s MAD Theater

There’s a powerful scene in MAD Theater’s Weird Romance in which a computer-simulated woman, who may or may not contain a reincarnated spirit, bemoans the precarious fate of her newly born child – in...

Review: ‘Follow No Strangers to the Fun Places’ by The Acme Corporation

Seeing an Acme Corporation show is like attending a graduate class for which you never got the reading list, but still have to take the exam. Those who have studied theater academically will get a lot...

Review: ‘Iron & Coal’ at Strathmore

The sheer magnitude of the concert event was enough to inspire wonder and awe. More than 200 musicians packed the Strathmore stage and a balcony above—two orchestras, three choirs, a rock band—plus...

News: Gaithersburg Book Festival Returns May 19 with Books, Poetry and Music

Singer-Songwriters and Poets Take the Stage at 9th Annual Gaithersburg Book Festival Gaithersburg, Md. – May 4, 2018 – Singer-songwriters and poets will share their talents at the 9th Annual...

Review: ‘Derek Jeter Makes the Play’ by Best Medicine Rep

The resources of upstart Best Medicine Rep are optimized in this charming production of Robin Rothstein’s new work, Derek Jeter Makes the Play. Tucked in a corner of Lakeforest Mall, Best Medicine’s...

Review: ‘An American in Paris’ at the Hippodrome Theatre

Think of the latest “new” Gershwin touring show up at the Hippodrome Theatre — An American in Paris — as a G.I. “jukebox musical” with legs. About a hundred of them, it seems. And, boy oh boy, have...

Review: ‘Peter Pan: Wendy, Peter. Peter, Wendy’ at Single Carrot Theatre

The idea behind Single Carrot Theatre’s Peter Pan: Wendy, Peter. Peter, Wendy. is one of the most interesting and exciting concepts in recent Baltimore theater history. The company commissioned writer...

In the Moment: ‘Iron & Coal’ Creator Calls His Work an Ode to a Ravaged Soul (at Strathmore)

How does anyone cope with the unthinkable: Whether the unthinkable is The Holocaust, The Killing Fields, chemical bombs dropped on children, slavery or lynchings. How does one survive even somewhat...

Review: ‘Radium Girls’ at Rockville Little Theatre

Throughout history, the term ‘Cover-up’ has evoked feelings of frustration, sadness and often horror once the truth is brought to light. Public perception changed drastically about products like...

Review: ‘True West’ by Rep Stage

America lost its most distinctive theater voice of the 1980s with the passing of Sam Shepard. But that voice still resonates through works like True West, getting a welcome return by Rep Stage at...

Review: ‘Twelfth Night’ at Imagination Stage Acting Conservatory

Imagination Stage’s production of Twelfth Night is an inventive update of Shakespeare’s classic play. Adapted and directed by Randy Baker, the show features the teenage actors from the Acting...

Review: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Follow the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole for an enchanting Alice in Wonderland performance. It was a surreal evening on Friday evening, the Opening Night of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s...

Review: ‘Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

Adventure Theatre MTC’s production of Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt is sure to please both children and parents. The play, a first-of-its-kind, collaborative creation in...

Review: ‘The Crucible’ at Olney Theatre Center

Fanaticism grows in a society fractured along fault lines of political and religious authority, property, status, gender, generational change, and belief, creating a fertile climate for persecution....

Review: ‘Love, Loss, and What I Wore’ at the Montgomery Playhouse

The Montgomery Playhouse presents an intimate, funny, and moving night of theater through its production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore. The award-winning play, first produced in 2009 and the second...

Review: Young Artists of America Presents ‘Ragtime in Concert’

Young Artists of America and the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras of Strathmore joined forces to present a concert version of Ragtime last Sunday, April 15th. The performance, which took place in the...

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid, Jr.’ at Ovations Theatre

Ovations Theatre closed out their 2017-2018 junior season with a rousing and colorful production of The Little Mermaid, Jr. Featuring truly impressive set design and sparkling costumes, the Ovations...

Review: ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ by Pamoja Productions at Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis

Pamoja Productions’ presentation of Jesus Christ Superstar is an entertaining spectacle of dance, song, and music. Valerie Mills Cooper directs this version of the 1970 rock opera with music by Andrew...

Best Medicine Rep Presents ‘New Plays/New Voices’: A Festival of Plays by Students, (Gaithersburg, MD, April 21)

Join Best Medicine Rep this Saturday at 1 pm for a free and funny celebration of arts education! New Plays/ New Voices, a second annual festival of work written by Montgomery County Public School...

Review: ‘Altar Boyz’ by Rockville Musical Theatre

Promoted as a hilarious send-up of Christian boy bands, Altar Boyz, with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker, delivers witty lyrics sprinkled among twelve songs. The storyline...

Magic Time!: ‘ “Master Harold”…and the Boys’ at Round House Theatre

One of the most quietly profound moments in Athol Fugard’s anti-apartheid play “Master Harold”…and the Boys—just opened in a powerfully moving production at Round House Theatre—happens in a simple...

Interview: Actor Sara Barker Discusses Upcoming Performance of Lauren Gunderson’s New Play Against Gun Violence (1st Stage April 23)

On February 14, 2018, a gunman entered Stoneman Douglas High School and killed 17 students and teachers. On April 3, Playwright Lauren Gunderson made her new play involving gun violence, Natural...

News: Adventure Theatre Rallies and Rebuilds After Devastating Fire

It was 6:45 am on March 2nd when Managing Director Leon Seemann received the call informing him that a fire had broken out at Adventure Theatre MTC. Artistic Director Michael Bobbitt was on the other...

Review: ‘Master Harold…and the Boys’ at Round House Theatre

On a rainy afternoon in 1950, two middle-aged black servants slowly scrub the floor and wipe tables in an empty South African tea room. They banter about an upcoming ballroom dance competition and the...

In the Moment: Report on The Kennedy Center’s 2018 Arts Summit

The time is most certainly right for the arts to be disruptive; to assert and insert itself in national discussions about social justice and inclusion. Turbulent times call out for the arts–not merely...

Review: ‘SOON’ at The Highwood Theatre

Depending on whom you ask, climate change is either ongoing, its devastating progression towards the inevitable oblivion of life on Earth all but inarguable, or a hoax perpetrated by the ignorant or...

Review: ‘Hoodoo Love’ at Arena Players

Katori Hall’s Hoodoo Love is like a three-hour, heartache-filled blues song. Set in Memphis in the 1930s, the memories of slavery still linger and the reality of life in the south for African...

Review: ‘Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery’ at Greenbelt Arts Center

By Andy Arnold If you enter Greenbelt Arts Center expecting Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery to focus on Holmes and Watson, you will be disappointed. What you will find instead is a...

Review: ‘A Chorus Line’ at Compass Rose Theater

Compass Rose Theater’s production of A Chorus Line is an entertaining spectacle that also leaves audiences thinking. With music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James...

Review: ‘10x10x10’: A Ten-Minute Play Festival at Fells Point Corner Theatre

In its sixth year, Fells Point Corner Theatre’s 10x10x10, a collection of 10-minute plays by Baltimore-DC area playwrights, is a feast for theater lovers. The setup of this must-see show is ten...

Review: ‘The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence’ at Silver Spring Stage

Thematically, The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence is simple and relevant: the frightening trend toward rejecting selfless, mutual, unconditional love with a person in favor of a mechanical...

Review: ‘Robin Hood’ at Imagination Stage

Long live King Richard! Robin Hood (Chris Dinolfo) and his Merry Men (Jon Jon Johnson, Jason B. McIntosh, Nick DePinto) embark on their quest to steal from the rich, give to the poor, and join (not...

Review: ‘Sweet Charity’ by The Heritage Players

The minute I walked in the joint, I could see this would be a play of distinction. Indeed, a high kicking, rollicking good time at the 1960s Fandango Ballroom was had by all on the opening night of...

Review: ‘Border’ by Jane Franklin Dance at Theatre on the Run

Using interviews of real community members wanting to live a full life here in America as her source of inspiration, Jane Franklin and her eponymous dance company have developed an engaging evening...

Review: ‘Motown the Musical’ at the Hippodrome Theatre

The fun of seeing Motown the Musical starts a few hours before leaving for the theater. Just the promise of that glorious oldies playlist is like inner ear foreplay. There isn’t much that puts a...

Shirley Jo Finney and Paige Hernandez Discuss ‘2018 Black Theatre & Dance Symposium’ (Interview)

The University of Maryland’s School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance is bringing students, faculty, and the community-at-large together for their 2018 Black Theatre and Dance Symposium (BTDS) on...

Review: ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ at Spotlighters Theatre

By Kylie Miller Spotlighters Theatre is halfway through their run of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts. This...

News: Young Artists of America to Dedicate Upcoming ‘Ragtime’ in Concert to Joel Markowitz, Offer Chance to Win Hamilton Tickets

Young Artists of America & Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras Present RAGTIME in Concert Over 275 local student performing artists to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the production’s timeless score....

In the Moment: Nicole Burton, Pipeline Playwright discusses upcoming MetroStage reading

Pipeline Playwrights, the Northern Virginia-based collective of accomplished women playwrights who support productions that explore the variety of women’s experiences, continues its new series of play...

Review: ‘Cabaret Noir’ by Happenstance Theater

The phrase “film noir” evokes both a particular sub-genre of the crime film as well as a particular era. Inspired by the moody expressionist dramas of the silent era that had come to an end a...

Review: ‘She Kills Monsters’ at Green Globe Theatre

Eighties and Nineties nostalgia is big right now. Adults newish to marriage and mortgages and over the hump of deciding to spend the $10 in their wallet on laundry or beer are starting to daydream...

Review: ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ at Vagabond Players

The opening night performance of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by the Vagabond Players in America’s oldest continuously operating theater in historic Fells Point turned out to be a festive...

Review: ‘Lucky Stiff’ at Colonial Players of Annapolis

Colonial Players’ production of Lucky Stiff is a fun romp of a musical. First performed in 1988, with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, this production, directed by Eric...

Review: ‘Rapture, Blister, Burn’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

There are potholes in the road not taken. So discover many of the characters in Gina Gionfriddo’s Rapture, Blister, Burn, now being presented by the Maryland Ensemble Theater (MET) in Frederick,...

Review: ‘The Pavilion’ at The Hub Theatre

Aching and raw, sweet and lamenting, Hub Theatre’s production of The Pavilion is a master class of three DC-area actors in command of playwright Craig Wright’s lyrical, melodic language about love,...

Review: ‘Moon Over Buffalo’ at the Laurel Mill Playhouse

Moon Over Buffalo, written by Ken Ludwig, opened at the Laurel Mill Playhouse, directed by Larry Simmons and produced by Maureen Rogers. Moon Over Buffalo is a farce in the Shakespearean tradition....

Review: ‘Newsies’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

There’s nothing fake about the news out of Toby’s Dinner Theatre. Its homegrown production of Newsies gathers such a concentration of explosive male talent under one roof that Columbia might consider...

Review: ‘Shrek the Musical’ at Charm City Players

Shrek is one of the most enigmatic modern musicals. A work of two of American theatre’s greatest living authors, David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori, it has some outstanding moments; “Big Bright...

Review: ‘School of Rock’ at the Hippodrome Theatre

Dewey Finn, the schleppy hero of School of Rock, is a modern-day Maria Von Trapp, leading children to find happiness through music. While posing as a substitute teacher, he shares his passion for...