Janine Sunday News

The latest standings as of Monday, December 12th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Washington, DC Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 12th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 5th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Washington, DC Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 5th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The holidays are about traditions - that special dish on the table, the favorite decoration that was handmade by your child, or a familiar song playing on the radio. And for many, nothing says tradition like watching a classic holiday film. Even though we take comfort in watching these familiar stories play out in the expected way on the small screen, for me, one of the special thrills of seeing a lot of live theater is getting to witness a timeless classic brought to vivid life on the stage. Such is the case for WHITE CHRISTMAS, the latest offering from Titusville Playhouse in Titusville, FL – a thrilling, heartwarming and thoroughly entertaining musical for everyone – young and old alike.RISTMAS at Titusville Playhouse?

The first live standings have been announced for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

See photos of Titusville Playhouse's White Christmas! Are you dreaming of a WHITE CHRISTMAS? Grab your winter coat and head on down to the Titusville Playhouse for some holiday magic as the classic film comes to life onstage.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Few characters become so embedded in the fabric of pop culture that merely the mention of a color can elicit their memory. Such is the case, however, for Elle Woods, the golden-haired Malibu native at the center of Legally Blonde. Talk about the color pink for too long and someone in your circle is guaranteed to quote one of the now-iconic lines made immortal by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 film. The 2007 Broadway musical burdened its star, Laura Bell Bundy, with the responsibility of carrying on Ms. Witherspoon's legacy while appearing in almost every scene and belting her lungs out. This hot pink explosion of female empowerment and sisterhood is a deceptively demanding production with a non-stop score by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin. While the DC premiere at The Keegan Theatre is a fun evening, the overly-choreographed production feels like Elle Woods' first day at Harvard: its trying a little too hard.

The Keegan Theatre closes out its 22nd season with the award-winning musical LEGALLY BLONDE, opening on August 3, 2019. Based on the hit movie, LEGALLY BLONDE is a fabulously fun and energetic musical, wrapped up with a snappy pink bow! It features music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach. The DC premiere production at Keegan is directed by Ricky Drummond with music direction by Helen Hayes Award-winner Walter "Bobby" McCoy and choreography by Ashleigh King. 

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

Cathy Mundy as Momma Rose creates a faceted character with depth, backstory and motivation. The Ensemble is full of experienced leading men and women who blend beautifully and as Louise, MaryKate Brouillet manages to look about fourteen years old for most of the show before her Act II transformation. Full of catchy tunes, powerhouse vocalists, lively choreography and adorable children, Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia's production of GYPSY is an impressive crowd-pleaser.