Baltimore Theatre: Fall 2008 Preview

With the high profile openings of The Producers and Phantom of the Opera at Toby's, the controversial Take Me Out at Fells Point Corner Theatre, and the classic The Matchmaker at CENTERSTAGE, Baltimore theatre is in full swing already this fall!  Just think!  Between now and the end of November, area theatergoers will have their pick of at least 10 musicals and 20 plays, and they really run the gamut from the familiar to the re-imagined to the brand new.  There truly is something for everyone this fall!  So SUPPORT LOCAL THEATRE - GO SEE A SHOW! 

What follows is by no means a complete list of every show opening in the area.  Shows are listed in order of their opening.  Be sure to contact these theatres for full details and reservations!

 

September 2008 

Well, we are two-thirds through the month already, and we started off with a bang!  We have already had the local premiere of The Producers at Toby's Columbia, a revival of Wilder's The Matchmaker, forerunner to Hello, Dolly!  This week, we have the opening of the Tony winning play, Take Me Out, another Baltimore Premiere, and a brand new mounting of an original version of Phantom of the Opera at Toby's Baltimore location.  The rest of the month will be busy with the opening of the poignant Elegies at Spots and the 5th (can you believe it!!??) season opener at the Hippodrome - Legally Blonde: The Musical!

 

• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Play) Vagabond Players - Through 09.28
• The Producers (Musical) Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia - Through 11.23
• The Matchmaker (Play) CENTERSTAGE - Through 10.12
• Phantom of the Opera (Original Musical) Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore - Through 11.15
• Take Me Out (Play) Fells Point Corner Theatre - 09.19 - 10.19  

On Take Me Out, Terry J. Long, director:  "I didn't actually pick the play, the play found me.   FPCT decided to do the show and asked if I would direct; I re-read the script and accepted the challenge.  And what a challenge it has been - the large cast size and to cast a show that has very specific needs!  The thing that made me want to do this show is its heart.  The playwright took a very scared American icon, the game of baseball, and blew it wide open.  It deals with so many taboos, but never crossing into a preachy play. The play tackles so much but with pathos, humor and heart."

FPCT has issued this parental warning: Take Me Out contains adult language, situations and full frontal male nudity.  Not recommended for children. 

• Elegies (Play with Music) Spotlighters - 09.25 - 10.05
• You Can't Take It with You (Play) Laurel Mill Playhouse - 09.26 - 10.19
• The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Play) Signature Theatre - 09.23 - 11.16
• Legally Blonde: The Musical (Musical) Hippodrome - 09.30 - 10.12

 

October 2008 

Fall gets into full swing outside, but inside local theatres things are heating up with the busiest theatre month of the year.  Talk about variety!  Classic play revivals - The Crucible, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Shakespeare completely re-envisioned in a production where the audience will literally follow the action of Macbeth.  Modern plays brought to life: Arcadia, Intelligence and The Shape of Things.  And a pair of Baltimore premieres guaranteed to make you laugh and think - Food for Fish and Hats! The Musical.  And speaking of musicals, a local revival of the Broadway classic, A Chorus Line, and the spectacular family musical, Disney's Beauty and the Beast!  Truly, there is something for everyone, from professional to local companies and exciting college productions.

 

• A Chorus Line (Musical) Winters Lane Productions - 10.03 - 10.19 

On A Chorus Line, Anya Randall Nebel, Artistic Director, Winters Lane Productions:  "I was a part of one of the first productions of A Chorus Line to come to Baltimore 22 years ago. I was young and eager to learn and so honored to be involved in a production with so many talented artists who I looked up to. Among the talented cast was Tod Van Hackett, my best friend of many years who left us far too soon. As a result, this show in particular holds a very special place in my heart. When I started Winters Lane, I wanted to build a company not just to put on quality work, but to train the next generation of theatrical talent in Baltimore. It is an honor to be on the other side of the card 22 years later, sharing these same timeless stories with the next generation of theatre artists and audiences. I think that audiences will be able to capture at least a little bit of the passion that these dancers have for their craft. They'll laugh and cry and be dazzled all within two and a half hours. It's certainly going to be a sensation, and we at Winters Lane cannot wait to share it with Baltimore audiences!" 

• Anyone Can Whistle (Musical) Signature Theatre - 10. 6
• Intelligence (Play) RepStage - 10.08 - 11.09
• Food for Fish (Play) Single Carrot - 10.09 - 10.26 

On Food for Fish, Brendan Ragan, PR Director, Single Carrot Theatre: "What initially caught our attention with Food For Fish was (playwright) Adam Szymkowicz's gift for compelling dialogue. The play is naturally very funny, but also earned points with us by having an intricately woven plot and characters with true depth. Food For Fish gives us a chance to work with a bright, up-and-coming playwright (one we're convinced that we'll all be hearing about much more as his career progresses), and also the chance to delve into a play that allows us to continue to think outside the box. Baltimore audiences can expect it to be different enough to set itself apart from most plays they see, but accessible enough to enjoy every one of the play's quirky nuances." 

• Macbeth (Shakespearean Tragedy) Chesapeake Shakespeare Company - 10.10 - 10.26
• Hats! The Musical (Musical) Spotlighters - 10.10 - 11.02 

On Hats! The Musical, Fuzz Roark, director: "I selected Hats! The Musical, because it was a fun show!  I turned 50 last year, and while not quite ready to attend a Red Hat Tea Party; I went through some of what (character, Red Hat Lady) Mary Anne experiences.  But I also found a new freedom and daring that comes with being "middle aged -- that is if you live to be 100!"  I also know several women that are of a "certain age" and don't care who knows, and lets nothing stop them from enjoying life and themselves.  Hats! The Musical truly is a musical for the rest of your life!  It showcases women from all different background, careers and experiences.  These seven women share a common bond and common goal - to keep on living and achieving - no matter how many birthdays have come and gone!  Audience members can expect to connect and identify with all the characters - and not just the women in the audience!  Men in the audience will see their wives, mothers, sisters, and friends - all facing the same issue we all face each year -- another year older, and our life goal still ahead of us.  Audience members can expect to shed a tear, a belly laugh and the wonderful feeling of knowing that we grow older every day - but we refuse to ever be old!" 

• The Shape of Things (Play) CCBC Essex - 10.16 - 10.20
• Gore Vidal's The Best Man (Play) Mobtown Players - 10.17 - 11.08 

On Gore Vidal's The Best Man, director Mark Squirek: "In 2008, Vidal's play speaks to a different time in American Politics. The media, while intrusive as always, wasn't the in-your-face force it is today. For hundreds of years much of what used to happen in the Presidential Nomination process used to occur behind closed doors. Vidal's insightful script gives us a silent window into the process and deal-making that used to go on. By using Vidal's updated 1977 script, we get a look at the process on the edge of true change."

• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Play) CENTERSTAGE - 10.22 - 11.30
• The Crucible (Play) Towson University - 10.24 - 10.31 
• Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Musical) Dundalk Community Theatre - 10.24 - 11.02
• Dracula (Play) Vagabond Players - 10.24 - 11.23
• Arcadia (Play) JHU Barnstormers - 10.31 - 11.09

 

November 2008 

Autumn draws to a close, but not before several new and exciting productions open in Baltimore! This month features a revival of summer with the classic Picnic, a laugh riot with the late Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig, and a world premiere musical, 7:32 at Towson University.  And just in time to get that holiday spirit started - the National Tour of the Dr. Seuss gem, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, the area premiere of the Madison Square Garden version of A Christmas Carol and a holiday song- fest by those Forever Plaid boys - Plaid Tidings!  We in Baltimore have plenty to be thankful for this year!

 

• Filthy Rich (Play) Everyman Theatre - 11.05 - 12.14
• Fallen Branches (Play) Spotlighters - 11.07 - 11.09
• The Sisters Rosensweig (Play) Fells Point Corner Theatre - 11.07 - 12.07
• Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (Musical) - 11.11 - 11.23 

On ' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical:Dr. Seuss "The Grinch has broken box office attendance records for two consecutive years on Broadway during its limited holiday engagements at the St. James (2007) and Hilton (2006) theatres in New York.  Thousand of families have been delighted by this heart-warming musical, which the New York Times praises as "100 times better than any bedside story." 

• Wuthering Heights (Play) CCBC Catonsville - 11.12 - 11.15
• 7:32 (Original Musical) Towson University - 11.20 - 11.22
• Picnic (Play) Spotlighters - 11.21 - 12.21
• A Christmas Carol (Musical) Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore - 11.25 - 12.28
• Plaid Tidings (Musical) Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia - 11.27 - 12.31

 

PHOTOS: Take Me Out by Ken Stanek, courtesy of Fells Point Corner Theatre; Hats! The Musical, Official Logo Approved by the Red Hat Society, courtesy of Spotlighters Theatre; Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical by Paul Kolnik, courtesy Broadway Across America Baltimore.