Cybele Pomeroy

The year is 1858. Charlotte Cushman, renowned performer in the US and abroad, plays male roles onstage as often as female roles, and prefers them. Strand Theater Company produces Barbara Kahn's script, which is built for humor, and spotlights an underappreciated American heroine. This female-centric production is triumphant queer comic theater.

GREASE, a perennial favorite for theaters and theater-goers, is quite the crowd-pleaser at Toby's Dinner Theater in Columbia, Maryland. It's full of fun songs you already know, excellent dancing and a tiny bit of plot. The cast is excellent and the staging is lively. It has many elements in common with the movie, but a PG rating isn't one of them.

Brava, Bravo! For HUBBA HUBBA At Theatre Project: Don't miss the World Premiere! This new show by Alex & Olmsted, internationally acclaimed winners of multiple Jim Henson Award grants, is a pastiche of comedic scenes starring humans, puppets and an invisible fruit fly. Each carries a unique message spotlighting different facets of romantic love.

CRISIS MODE: LIVING PILIPINO IN AMERICA is a revelation as well as a personal and cultural history. Speaking for, and to, people 'other-ed' for cultural reasons, or with dualism of identities, it also resonates with anyone who has basic compassion. Heartbreaking, interactive and funny, the performance immerses one in memoir as it's being written.

Race downtown to join a raucous romp through THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, where the comedy is comic, the tragedy is comic, the history is comic and the comics are comic. You'll applaud, laugh, and may even become part of the action in this goofy rendition of the Bard's oeuvre.

Designed for fans of musicals, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is a Queen's farthingdale full of fun. It’s lighthearted, full of color and movement, funny, packed with references to amuse Broadway lovers and Shakespeare scholars, with familiar four-second musical riffs scattered through the show. Toby’s Dinner Theater delivers again with SOMETHING ROTTEN!

New work advocate and feminist writer Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin pens realistic portrayal of high school life, complete with timeless element of sexual assault. Sexual and gender-based violence survivorship activist Lee Conderacci directs a 6-member cast enacting trials and traumas of teen witch wannabes, at womxn-focused Strand Theater in Baltimore.

Toby's consistently delivers showmanship, production quality and customer service. This show is no exception. The show feels inclusive and accessible even to those whose holiday traditions differ from the ones celebrated by the Bailey family. Bring your family to meet the Baileys this holiday season- the Toby's family will make you glad you did.

The Maryland Renaissance Festival and The Strand partner to present a one-weekend encore of the acclaimed RICHARD III by The Company Of Women. The Company are a force of craftswomanship the likes of which have not before been seen in Baltimore theater, and display a strong likelihood of becoming a major theatrical presence in the community.

In a tribute to Vaudeville, Happenstance Theater presents POCKET MOXIE. Structured as a Vaudeville show, it's also a show about Vaudevillians, a secret peek into their lives, and the arcs of their days. Infused with music and humor, artistic creativity and a dash of pathos, it's visually sumptuous, stylistically consistent and imminently watchable.

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, book, lyrics and music by Richard O'Brien, is his homage to B movies of horror and science fiction. This fantastical romp of a musical is packed with archetypal characters, hackneyed tropes and references that should have no resonance with contemporary youth. It's been a cult favorite for its entire half-century existence.

VARIATIONS ON CHANGE, the 2022 iteration of the longtime Baltimore VARIATIONS project, demonstrates diversity and inclusion in subject matter, participation, cast and production folx at Motor House in Baltimore's Station North Arts District. Audiences choose by vote the 2023 theme of VARIATIONS.

GHOST THE MUSICAL at Toby’s Dinner Theater in Columbia, based 1990's movie Ghost, starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, offers romance, drama and retro vibes. The 1955 tune “Unchained Melody” strings the whole thing together. Cast and orchestra are harmonic and wonderfully watchable. Production values are excellent and dinner is delicious.

What did our critic think?If you don't have cable, watch SpongeBob Squarepants nor any clue why SpongeBob should be a Broadway musical, no worries. Everything is made clear for those entering Bikini Bottom for the first time. It's packed with family theater elements: bright colors, important themes, messages of friendship, catchy tunes and slapstick comedy. Best day ever!

New talent joins Toby's regulars to present ROCKY THE MUSICAL at Toby's in Columbia. Inspired by an actual 1974 boxing match, the unknown Rocky Balboa 'goes the distance' against superstar Apollo Creed, proving to himself, his lady love and all of Philly that an underdog can have teeth. Music and lyrics by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens.

The members of Monty Python's Flying Circus are expert practitioners of this alternative therapy, producing ridiculosities that have spanned five decades so far. SPAMALOT! which originally was scheduled to play at Toby's in the summer of 2020, assures that the Python iconic silliness will continue amusing live audiences for many additional decades.

In the tradition of ‘40s musicals, WHITE CHRISTMAS tugs heartstrings and brightens spirits. The timeless music of Irving Berlin combined with the dedication and talent of Toby’s yields a family-friendly show sure to give you cocoa-and-fireplace feelings no matter the weather

Are you in the mood for an ensemble romp, some familiar stories, an ethics-heavy main character, beautiful harmonies and a good meal? In GODSPELL at Toby’s, a cast of stalwart Toby’s regulars create beautiful moments individually and in groups. Directors Mark Minnik and David James update the storytelling to include contemporary iconography.

Attending the musical ELF in July, (and August) in the air-conditioned comfort of Toby's, which is featuring reduced capacity pod seating until further notice, is a sweet novelty, and a community-supportive way to emerge from seventeen months of dormancy. You're in for holiday sweetness with heart and soul and singing and dancing and sparkle and jolly and a side of cheese. It's delicious food for the soul.

Grab your sexy heels and see KINKY BOOTS: Outstanding newcomers and perennial favorites get their kicks on at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland. Mark Minnick directs an unconventionally heartwarming story exploring relationships not often spotlighted in theatric productions. DeCarlo Raspberry dazzles as Lola, and Matt Hirsch masters Charlie Price in Toby's intimate dinner theater setting, creating an evening jam-packed with sparkle, surprise and songs by Cyndi Lauper.