Jeffrey Shankle

Review: THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL at Toby's Dinner Theater

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!

BWW Review: SPAMALOT! Sizzles at Toby's In Columbia

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.

Last Chance To Vote For The BroadwayWorld Baltimore Awards; Cumberland's RING OF FIRE Leads Best Musical!

This is the last chance to vote for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

Final Weeks To Vote For The BroadwayWorld Baltimore Awards; Cumberland's RING OF FIRE Leads Best Musical!

Time is running out to vote for for the 2021 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

BWW Review: IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS FLURRIES INTO TOBY'S IN COLUMBIA

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

BWW Review: ELF - THE MUSICAL at Toby's Dinner Theater

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.

BWW Review: It All Comes Down To A CHRISTMAS STORY at Toby's

Hang your stockings, mull your beverage of choice and light up your leg lamp, then go to Toby's in Columbia to see A Christmas Story, The Musical, music and lyrics written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, book by Joseph Robinette. It's a sweet series of youthful holiday escapades full of quirky characters, brought to you with a wealth of warm fuzzies, in Toby's usual heartwarming style.

BWW Review: THE BODYGUARD Protects Toby's Superstar Reputation

There's much to like about this production of THE BODYGUARD, story aside. It's predictable, superficial and just barely passes the Bechdel-Wallace test. The script is measurably better than the story and the performance is even better than the script. Ross Scott Rawlings' accompanying mini-orchestra is flat-out terrific, and there are some extremely interesting tech things happening. Overall, a strong thumbs-up.

BWW Review: Sing Along With GREASE at Toby's In Columbia

Ready for some young energy at Toby's in Columbia? Here's a whole high school musical of less-frequently featured faces! The company dances Mark Minnick's fun choreography like they go together forever, bedecked in rolled denim jeans, wiggle skirts, saddle shoes, Chuck Taylor sneakers, product-heavy hair and pink satin jackets- in short, just what you expect of GREASE.

BWW Review: Hear The Bells In Toby's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

Victor Hugo's 1833 love letter to an old cathedral is set in 1482, and it's curious to note that in the nearly six hundred intervening years, there is much that is unchanged regarding social injustice, racial persecution and sexual abuse by religious leaders. Production values are high, while fancy choreography steps aside in service to imaginative vertical and distance movement sequences. The whole production relies on human-centric theatrical artifices THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME plays at Toby's through May 19th, 2019