Jeffrey Shankle News

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.

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.

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.

Toby's Dinner Theatre Of Columbia presents Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID through March as its holiday show. THE LITTLE MERMAID is lively, fun, and a genuine kid-pleaser. It's packed full of A-list Toby's veterans, with technical trappings that are dazzling to behold. Director Mark Minnick puts top-notch talent to work with energetic staging that's clean and inclusive of the in-the-round audience. THE LITTLE MERMAID will ring true for parents, teens, and anyone who has felt like a fish out of water. It's a story of acceptance, which is the best of gifts, at the holidays and always.

Many of my readers know my connection with MAMMA MIA! on Broadway (see my bio below). When I saw many months ago that Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia would be presenting it (the professional regional premiere) I knew it would be a money maker and knew, after seeing many Toby productions, it would be done well. Well, not only have they done well, this edition of MAMMA MIA! is just plain superb.

Musical theatre is about happy endings: if you like them, see MAMMA MIA!, at Toby's through September 9th. Heather Marie Beck and Maggie Dransfield as mother and daughter Donna and Sophie Sheridan are delightful and heartwarming. Disco, universally accepted as delicious, is the keystone of this show, whether or not you love or have heard of ABBA. In today's tumult, an escape to a tropical paradise where conflict stems from wedding angst and family drama seems a wonderful notion.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUSICAL is packed with horrifying puns, die-laughing comedy, frightfully fabulous wigs, knock-em-dead singing and every iconic line you loved from the movie- Get tickets now to see it through Marc 11 at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia and avoid horrified screams of disappointment.

Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia unwraps Meredith Willson's MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, THE MUSICAL, which has enough sweetness to suit the season, enough sass to not be saccharin, and the delightful song 'It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.' The many beautiful ensemble numbers that feature Macy's employees or happy holiday shoppers in their happy holiday coats and hats deliver a cozy, satisfying sugarplum, with moments of pure delight.

If you love Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, there's not a single reason you wouldn't like the show at Toby's Dinner Theatre. It's a fun production. There's a lot to love about it. Dinner is tasty. Everyone at Toby's is unfailingly polite, cheerful, helpful and speedy, including each member of the actor/wait staff. The productions are done with attention to detail and the actors are well cast. That combination of elements is rare in ANY public forum these days, so all credit to the management for creating this wonderful environment. If you enjoy dinner theatre, you will be pleased.

Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, MD presents SHOW BOAT, an old-fashioned treasure of musical theatre history, complete with troubling ethical issues, a cast packed with talent, vintage choreography, a fashion parade of costuming and vocals that will alternately haunt you and have you humming. Including a tasty buffet meal pre-show, comfortable venue and impeccably congenial staff, an outing to Toby's is the complete package for a date or family fun day.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that as Christmas rolls around, A Christmas Carol appears in theaters. And it's no wonder; Charles Dickens' irresistible holiday tale is irresistibly theatrical. It is machine-tooled to go right for the heartstrings. A lot of different things can be done within this framework, a versatility well-illustrated by two distinct takes on A Christmas Carol currently on offer at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia.

The characters are all compelled by circumstances to go back into the woods, and this time they encounter there such things as infidelity, divorce, the death of parents, the death of children, abandonment, catastrophe - and overarching this the absence of a narration (the narrator becomes a casualty) or any other authoritative guidance as to the choices that need to be made. As one of the characters observes: 'The path has strayed from you.' The unsettling conclusion: 'You decide what's right / You decide what's good.' This is all incredibly sad and confusing, not to mention frightening, and yet as the core of surviving characters gels, so does the indomitability of the human spirit they evince.

There are times it's hard to credit that 1776 is even a musical. In this retelling of the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence, there is some singing and some dancing, and even some laughs, but little effort to follow the tried-and-true path to rousing musical success. This is fundamentally a tale of a group of men sitting in a room debating, and Peter Stone, author of the book, gives us - a group of men sitting in a room debating. And yet the work has considerable power and appeal, and it is not strange either that it won the Tony for Best Musical in 1969, or that Toby's has revived it.

Tonight before a crowd of 1,200 theatre-makers and theatre-lovers at the historic Lincoln Theatre, theatreWashington celebrated excellence on Washington stages at the 2015 Helen Hayes Awards. The awards celebration was a night of excitement and surprise as 57 Washington theatre artists, theatres, and ensembles received honors in 47 categories for their outstanding accomplishments during the 2014 theatre season. Scroll down for the full list of winners!

One of the country's most prestigious cultural honors, The Helen Hayes Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in professional theatre throughout the Washington metropolitan area. theatreWashington will host The 2015 Helen Hayes Awards ceremony tonight, April 6, 2015 at the historic Lincoln Theatre.

Tonight before a crowd of 150 theatre makers and theatre lovers, theatreWashington announced the nominees for the 2015 Helen Hayes Awards. One of the country's most prestigious cultural honors, The Helen Hayes Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in professional theatre throughout the Washington metropolitan area. Watch the full announcement below, and scroll down for the list of nominees!

It's your last week to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 26th. Voting closes at the end of the year, in under one week!

Time is ticking on your last chance to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 19th. Voting closes at the end of the year!

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Baltimore Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.