2016

Review: ‘Seth MacFarlane and The Great American Songbook’ with NSO at Wolf Trap

Like many people my age, I’ve been a fan of Seth MacFarlane’s work for some time. Creator of hugely successful shows Family Guy and American Dad!, his list of accolades is impressive– and exhaustive!...

Review: ‘Fear’ at Longacre Lea

Let’s say a wealthy patron approaches an ensemble theatre company with a proposition: “Shakespeare? Why so much Shakespeare? Why so revered? Surely, other playwrights deserve having theatre companies...

Eddie’s Travel Picks: From Timonium to Annapolis: Il Basilico Trattoria Italiano and Azure

Let’s go on a little ride looking for restaurants. We’ll start in Timonium and what do you know, I found one. It bears the fancy name of Il Basilico Trattoria Italiano and you can find it at 29 West...

Behind the Scenes of ‘Breathing Under Dirt’ at Lower Shore Performing Arts Company: Part 3: Actors Robert Forester and Tina Sloan

In Part Three of a series of three interviews taking you behind the scenes of Lower Shore Performing Arts Company‘s production of Breathing Under Dirt, meet actors Robert Forester and Tina Sloan....

Review: ‘Tommy and Me’ at Theatre Exile in Philadelphia

About halfway through Ray Didinger’s new play Tommy and Me, one of the characters mentions Joe Kuharich. On the night I attended the play, the audience responded with a round of derisive laughter. So,...

Review: ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Zemfira Stage

You may ask yourself why anyone would want to see The Wizard of Oz one more time, especially a semi-professional theatrical production at a county rec center, when you can pick up the MGM movie...

Review: ‘Nine’ at Wildwood Summer Theatre

What do you get with a cast of 1 artistic film director plus 10 beautiful ladies? Nope, not eleven, it’s Nine! Presented by Wildwood Summer Theatre, composed by Maury Yeston, written by Arthur Kopit,...

Review: ‘The Turn of the Screw’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

This staged reading of Henry James’ story proves that a small, scaled-down production can produce chills and suspense; all it takes is a good script, excellent direction, and two talented actors....

Review: ‘Heathers’ at Red Branch Theatre Company

High school can be rough on anyone, but in Heathers it’s murder. The well-mounted area premiere at Red Branch Theatre Company shows that the 1989 movie, which poked fun at making the grade in grade...

Review: ‘Hoax’ at Maryland Art Place

Hoax is the latest collaboration between playwright Annelise Montone and actor/magician Brian M. Kehoe. Montone and Kehoe also starred in the production, and Deirdre McAllister was the consulting...

Review: ‘Anything Goes’ at Other Voices Theatre

Other Voices Theatre’s production of Anything Goes is nothing short of spectacular. Of course, the marriage of the legendary Cole Porter’s music and lyrics, the book by P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton,...

Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ in Concert at The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

Lights, music, and… magic! Last night the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra brought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first film of the beloved franchise, to the Strathmore stage in this latest...

Review: ‘Fool for Love’ at Princeton Summer Theater in Princeton, NJ

Fool for Love is a pretty short play, and its plot isn’t especially complex: A couple of longtime lovers with a volatile history meet to battle again in a seedy motel room in the Mojave Desert. They...

Review: ‘The Producers’ at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s production of The Producers is a delightfully hilarious romp, at once a satire on Broadway musicals and a loving tribute to them. With a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas...

Behind the Scenes of ‘Breathing Under Dirt’ at Lower Shore Performing Arts Company: Part 2: Director Grant Aleksander

In Part Two of a series of three interviews taking you behind the scenes of Lower Shore Performing Arts Company‘s production of Breathing Under Dirt, meet Director Grant Aleksander. Known for years to...

Review: ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ at New Millennium Productions in Egg Harbor City, NJ

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, is presented by New Millennium Production Company, a summer theater program of the Greater Egg...

Behind the Scenes of ‘Breathing Under Dirt’ at Lower Shore Performing Arts Company: Part 1: Playwright Michael O’Leary

In Part One of a series of three interviews taking you behind the scenes of Lower Shore Performing Arts Company‘s production of Breathing Under Dirt, meet Playwright Michael O’Leary. Although the...

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid’ at Glyndon Area Players

Look at it all, look how it gleams! Glyndon Area Players’ (GAP) 2016 production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid is certainly somewhere beyond my wildest dreams! Playing through this Sunday, August 7th...

Review: ‘The Trump Card’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Mike Daisey knew full well why we came out to see The Trump Card. We were out for “red meat.” We wanted to hear Mike Daisey tear Donald Trump to shreds. We wanted to see Mike kick his ass! And he did....

Interviews With The Playwrights of the Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival 2016-Opening Tonight 8/3/16 and Playing Through Sunday 8/7/16

The Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival 2016 (PWTF) opens tonight, August 3rd and runs through this Sunday, August 7, 2016. It offers the following Staged Readings, introducing Philadelphia to...

Review: ‘The Gold’ at the New York Musical Festival in NYC

For Houston plastic surgeon Dr. Philip Yosowitz, the story he weaves in The Gold, a fictional history of the impact the Holocaust had on one extended family of German Jews, is very personal. His own...

Review: ‘Twelfth Night’ at Prince George’s Shakespeare in the Parks

In his program notes, Director Christopher Dwyer states there are good reasons why Shakespeare’s play have stood the test of time, and “one is that the stories are so rich and accessible,” and such is...

Review: ‘Oliver!’ at the Sterling Playmakers

The Sterling Playmakers have put their unique twist on the musical Oliver!, based on Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Oliver! has music, lyrics, and a book by Lionel Bart. Co-Directors Ashley Kinney and...

Ray Didinger and Joe Canuso Kick Off ‘Tommy and Me’ at Theatre Exile in Philadelphia

When award-winning sportswriter and radio-show host Ray Didinger was a kid, he never could have imagined that he’d end up helping his boyhood hero, wide receiver Tommy McDonald, be inducted into the...

Steps from Broadway: “How To Quit Your Day Job” Makes Its NYC Debut

DC to Broadway! That’s the dream of the cast and creative team behind the new musical How To Quit Your Day Job. And they are well on their way thanks to a packed house and standing ovation at the...

Review: ‘BSO: The Music of David Bowie’ at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) honored the remarkable career and personality of glam rock icon David Bowie with a spectacular tribute production: The Music of David Bowie, featuring the late...

Review: ‘Kitchen Sink Fest’ at Dance Place

The amount of possibility encapsulated in one minute is a daunting thing to think about, and I pondered such a thing as I waited for the sold out performance of Kitchen Sink Fest to begin on Saturday...

Review: ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in Center Valley, PA

The new production of Love’s Labour’s Lost at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival continues a tradition the festival began several summers ago of creating a production in a fashion similar to the way...

Review: ‘Tick, Tick…BOOM!’ at Spotlighters

Tick, Tick…BOOM!, as directed and choreographed by Jillian Locklear Bauersfeld, and with Book, Music and Lyrics by the late Jonathan Larson, was an insightful semi-autobiographical and musical...

Review: ‘On the Road Again’ at Act II Playhouse in Ambler, PA

“Why, oh, why do the wrong people travel When the right people stay at home.” From Sail Away by Noel Coward This opening lyric sets the tone for On the Road Again, a cabaret show written and performed...

Review: ‘A Class Act’ at New World Stages in NYC

As a practicing trial and class-action lawyer for 46 years, playwright Norman Shabel has seen the American legal system from the inside, and it isn’t pretty. He draws on that first-hand experience for...

Review: A Fully Staged Reading of ‘My Fair Lady’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

It is not easy to reinvent the wheel let alone attempt it, but that is exactly what the ambitious Annapolis Shakespeare Company has done, with generally fine results, in its fully staged reading of...

Nibbles and Sips Around Town: Ashlar at the Morrison House ~ The Return of The Majestic ~ True Food in the Mosaic District ~ Author Luncheons at the Hay Adams ~ Edible Flowers Decorate the Plate

Swank Modern Interior and New Chef Dazzle at the Morrison House At long last the Morrison House the elegant boutique hotel in Old Town, Alexandria has shed its dowdy decor to feature a snazzy redo by...

Meet the Cast of Sterling Playmakers’ ‘OLIVER!’ Part 4: Jacob Miniuk

In Part Four of a series of interviews with the cast of Sterling Playmakers’ OLIVER! meet Jacob Miniuk. Joel: Please tell our readers where they may have seen you appear on our local stages and roles...

Review: ‘Unforgettable Hits’ at Steel River Playhouse, in Pottstown, PA.

Atlantic City came to the Philadelphia area last night and it was a rare treat. Those who primarily know Rebecca Shoemaker and Michael McGeehan from their videos from Caesar’s Palace or their CDs or...

Review: ‘A Few Good Men’ at Off the Quill

Fresh off their DCMTA “Best of Capital Fringe 2016” production Timon 2016, Off the Quill (OTQ) brings a faithful adaptation of Aaron Sorkin’s 1992 film to the Greenbelt Arts Center that stands on its...

Review: ‘Spring Awakening’ at Metropolitan Youth Theatre

The inevitability of change defines the human experience. We are all subject to our desires, even when we don’t fully understand them. And curiosity and the intrinsic want and need to feel emotions...

Review: ‘Julius Caesar’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

‘Julius Caesar’ draws political and historical parallels Julius Caesar, directed by Chris Cotterman, in a production by the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, is an exploration of what motivates a man in...

Review: ‘Women Beware Women’ at 4615 Theatre Company

Most of us know how William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet ends. Romeo, thinking his precious Juliet dead, drinks from a vial of poison. When Juliet awakens, she sees Romeo dead and stabs herself....

Co-Founder and the First Artistic Director of Arena Stage Zelda Fichandler Passes Away at Age 91

We received this sad news from Arena Stage. A pillar of our theater community has passed away. We send our condolences to the Arena Stage family and to Zelda’s family. And thank you Zelda for being...

Dangereuse: Globe Theatre’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’ at The Kennedy Center

W.H. Auden once said ,“Shylock is the outsider because he is the only serious person in the play.” Jonathan Pryce’s Shylock is a deeply serious person, and Pryce’s magnificent portrayal of Shylock’s...

Review: ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’ at Shakespeare in Clark Park in Philadelphia

For its eleventh annual summer offering, Shakespeare in Clark Park is offering a take on The Two Gentlemen of Verona that feels light and airy as the summer breeze wafting across the park. It’s...

Review: ‘Tink!’ at the New York Musical Festival in NYC

From Peter and The Starcatcher to Finding Neverland, the ever popular tale of Peter Pan continues to inspire original interpretations for the theater. A different take on J.M. Barrie’s beloved...

Meet the Cast of Sterling Playmakers’ ‘OLIVER!’ Part 3: Ella Levri

In Part Three of a series of interviews with the cast of Sterling Playmakers’ OLIVER! meet Ella Levri. Joel: Please tell our readers where they may have seen you appear on our local stages and roles...

Sarah Doreen MacPhee on Playing Brenda Strong in ‘Catch Me If You Can’ at Montgomery College’s Summer Dinner Theatre

Sarah Doreen MacPhee tells us about playing Brenda Strong, who falls in love with a con artist in Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theatre’s Catch Me If You Can. Joel: Please introduce yourself and...

Review #2: ‘The Merchant of Venice’ at The Kennedy Center

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten at the heart.” – William Shakespeare, The Merchant of...

Review #1: ‘The Merchant of Venice’ at The Kennedy Center

The appropriately psychologically penetrating and vivid production of The Merchant of Venice (now playing at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater) embraces all the conundrums of William...

He’s Back: Alex Stone on Playing The Con Man Again-in Montgomery College’s Summer Dinner Theatre’s ‘Catch Me If You Can’

Alex Stone has returned to the stage to play one of his favorite roles: the con man: Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can at Montgomery College’s Summer Dinner Theatre, which ends its run this...

‘Something Rotten’ Revisited at The St. James Theatre in NYC

I first reviewed this unselfconsciously entertaining musical comedy at the beginning of its run in April 2015. I wanted to see it again to determine how it was holding up now that five of its...

Review: ‘Blue God’ by Timeless Entertainment at THEARC

Blue God Examines Faith and Trust at DC’s THEARC Last Sunday afternoon, THEARC in DC was a flurry of festivities, including at its center the play, Blue God, by Marshawn Metters. The one performance...