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BWW Review: THE 39 STEPS at Rep Stage in Columbia - It's a Sheer Delight!
When I left the Studio Theatre at the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard Community College in Columbia where the Rep Stage is housed, I went up to Director Joseph W. Ritsch with a big smile on my face. He told me he wanted to end their season with a comedy that audiences would enjo...
BWW Review: BLITHE SPIRIT at Vagabond Players - Community Theater at Its Best
I do wish I could get to more community theater. It has been too long since my last review of shows that deserve moer attention. There are a plethera of local such productions in the Baltimore/Washington area which provide affordable and entertaining theater. I recently attend the Charm City Players...
BWW Review: THE WHO'S TOMMY at the Kennedy Center
From the beginning strumming of the electric guitars (Manny Moreira, Jim Roberts and Paul Henry) from the fabulous Kennedy Center Orchestra's 8-piece orchestra (Joe Mowart on Drums, Geoffrey Pilkington on Horn, and on Keyboards Michael Gacetta, Anthony Nalker, and Alex Tang) I was hooked. I had a pe...
BWW Review: A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED at Artistic Synergy Of Baltimore is a Treat for Mystery Fans
As in most great mysteries, a murder has been committed. Yet in the case of Artistic Synergy of Baltimore's new show, a murder has also been announced. Their production of Agatha Christie's A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED is an enjoyable treat for any mystery-lover or fan of one of the great writers of all ti...
BWW Review: GRAND HOTEL at Signature Theatre - A Lush Presentation
I recall seeing GRAND HOTEL in its pre-Broadway incarnation at the Colonial Theatre in Boston in 1989. I took my mother and a niece. I do not have much recollection of whether I enjoyed it or not. But I do remember the late Michael Jeter's performance from the Tony Awards in 1990. He was terrific. T...
BWW Review: DINNER WITH FRIENDS at Everyman Theatre
Everyman Theatre's Founder and Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi recently exposed Baltimore theatergoers to the storytelling genius of Playwright Donald Margulies in their rendition of Dinner with Friends. Armed with an intelligent script that explores the nuances of romance and friendship, Every...
Birth and Death with Comic Brio: AND BABY MAKES SEVEN at The Strand Theater Company
The only thematic message, apart from the goes-without-saying affirmation of LGBTQ life choices, is that we should not 'be afraid to play,' which is about as anodyne as they come. But since when need hilarity justify itself with a message?...
HENRY IV, PART 2 at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Concludes a Tale of Fathers and Sons
For Prince Hal to attain his destiny, he like all sons must replace his father, and if in this case there are two fathers, it simply means that there are two to surmount, surpass and survive....
BWW Review: DINNER WITH FRIENDS at Everyman Theatre is a Well Told Story of Friendship and Marriage
Friday's opening performance of DINNER WITH FRIENDS was a family affair at Everyman, attended by many of the resident company, as well as season-ticket holders and friends of the theatre. The production of the Pulitzer prize winner is stellar; as one comes to expect from the talented team at Everyma...
BWW Review: CRIMES OF THE HEART at The Vagabond
Three sisters bond over broken hearts and new hopes in a small Southern town in 1981....
BWW Reviews: OIL at Olney Theatre Center - It's an American Premiere
Let me start this review with a comment by Olney's Artistic Director, Jason Loewith's comment in the program. 'After all my years in this business, many of them championing playwrights and new plays, it takes a lot to knock my socks off. I can count on two hands the experiences that reshaped by unde...
BWW Review: Dazzling and Uplifting INDECENT at Center Stage
Indecent is about the power of theater to dazzle and uplift. Playwright Vogel has discussed plays that make the hair stand up on her neck. That is exactly what Indecent does: makes the hairs stand up on the back of the neck, and we may be at a loss to explain....
BWW Review: INDECENT at Center Stage
Paula Vogel's 2015 play Indecent, in a production now arrived at Center Stage after stops at D.C.'s Arena Stage and the Kansas City Rep, is a staggering tour de force of playwriting prowess that is also a tour of a largely forgotten world: international Yiddish theater shortly after the turn of the ...
BWW Review: CHRISTINA BIANCO: WOMAN OF A THOUSAND VOICES at Baltimore Symphony SuperPops - What a Delight!
When I saw the Baltimore Symphony SuperPops would be featuring vocalist Christina Bianco I had no idea what she would be like. Then I started to hear from people who actually have seen her in concert and raved about her. It became quite clear it would be necessary for me to see this musician for mys...
BWW Review: Words Fail, But Humanity May Prevail in TWILIGHT, LOS ANGELES at the REP
Most of the characters fail to use words properly to convey directly what is important to them or us. But as I have said, the underlying problem is larger. It is a mismatch of moral paradigms. The possibility of rationally settling the underlying issues by a dialogue among the participants is hard t...
Fathers, Sons, and Dynastic Struggle: HENRY IV, PART I at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part I (1597), now being revived by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, is at its heart a family story. It certainly bears the traditional characteristics of Shakespeare's history plays, but it is, first and foremost, a story of two fathers and two sons, and only secondarily ...
BWW Review: The Rude Mechanicals' UNCLE VANYA a Charming, Funny Glimpse of Country Life
Maryland's own Rude Mechanicals have taken on a Chekhov classic and infused it with the irony and wry humor that-believe it or not-were just what Dr. Chekhov ordered. His play Uncle Vanya, set in a provincial farm and featuring a wide variety of clumsy, maladroit characters, is given a warm, funny, ...
Inspired Self-Parody: CYMBELINE at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory
The play seems to be a retrospective of Shakespeare's career, with a strong note of self-parody. And with a playwright as fecund as Shakespeare, a 'greatest hits album' would have to be full to bursting. And so that's what Cymbeline is: a 'greatest hits' that refuses to take itself seriously, and in...
BWW Review: NELL GWYNN at Folger Theatre - Be Prepared to Laugh and Learn about One of England's First Actresses on The Stage
Go back in time to 1665 and learn about the theatre world in London....
ONCE at Olney Theatre Centre - Betcha You Can't See It 'ONCE!'
Production at Olney of Tony-winning musical not to be missed....
BWW Review: EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL at The Everyman
EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL at The Everyman is good theater at its best. What seems a simple tragedy on the surface, is a story of dimension and depth. It entertains and challenges the audience to confront their ideas of acceptance, forgiveness and redemption....
Compulsions, Secrets, and Ecstatic Polyphony: FUN HOME at Center Stage
A major work of art, in a quintessentially American genre, an important representation of an under-represented group that advances understanding and dialogue, and beautifully produced. Audiences should embrace this production....
BWW Review: CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at The Hippodrome Delivers a World of Pure Imagination
As the Candy Man himself said, "come with me, and you'll see a world of pure imagination." It seems the writers and creatives behind CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY playing at the Hippodrome took this phrase to heart. On the basis of pure creativity and theatre magic, this show is a hit for young...
BWW Review: A Rewarding and Ambitious JERUSALEM at Fells Point Corner Theatre
Even though sometimes funny, even to the extent of farce, and filled with a manic vitality, Jerusalem is not easy theater, but it is infinitely rewarding. It will be surely be one of the most ambitious shows local audiences see in this new year....
BWW Review: Don't Miss MISS SAIGON at Kennedy Center
There are few entertainments as popular as Miss Saigon (36 million attendees worldwide since it premiered on London's West End in 1989), and few that have occasioned as much controversy. Despite all that popularity, this reviewer had happened never to see the show until the current national tour sur...
Videos
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The View Upstairs Iron Crow Theatre (5/29-6/14) |
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Wendell Pierce in Othello Shakespeare Theatre Company (5/19-6/28) |
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The View Upstairs Theatre Project (5/29-6/14) |
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SWAN LAKE by The United European Ballet Company The Maryland Theatre (10/22-10/22) |
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A Beautiful Noise Hippodrome Theatre- France-Merrick Performing Arts Center (6/23-6/28) |
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Precious Productions Christian Comedy Show: Clean Laughs, Faith, and Fun Live Experience Kent Baptist Church (6/05-6/05) |
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Everything Brilliant Thing Maryland Ensemble Theatre (5/14-6/14) |
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The Tale of Cymbeline Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (6/12-7/19) |
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The Comedy Pigs Maryland Ensemble Theatre (9/12-6/06) |
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Sleeping Beauty: The Time Traveler Adventure Theatre MTC (6/18-8/23) |
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