Joseph Ritsch News

Watch Deidre Staples and Mahkai talk about Everyman Theatre's production of the critically acclaimed play, Crumbs.

Everyman Theatre has announced the critically acclaimed play, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, a heartwarming and thought-provoking production written by award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, onstage from January 28 - February 25. 

Rep Stage, the professional regional theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), closes its 28th season with a radio play of “Ghost/Writer,” written by Dane Figueroa Edidi and directed by Danielle A. Drakes. Family secrets spanning decades unravel as history and fiction collide.

More than 375 business and arts leaders were on hand on Thursday, August 27 for the premiere of the Howard County Arts Council's 23rd Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County. Presented by Howard Bank, the benefit gala was held virtually due to the COVID-19 public health crisis and netted approximately $70,000. Since 1998, more than $1.6 million has been raised through the Celebration of the Arts!

Tickets are still available for Celebration of the Arts in Howard County. The Celebration gala, presented by Howard Bank, provides an annual opportunity for members of Howard County's arts, education, government, and business communities to recognize individuals and businesses that have made meaningful contributions to the arts in Howard County.

The Howard County Arts Council is has announced that slam poet Gayle Danley will be the featured guest performer for the 23rd Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County gala, presented by Howard Bank. This year's gala, originally scheduled for March but postponed due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, will be held virtually; ticket holders can view the entire performance on Thursday, August 27 at 8pm.

The Howard County Arts Council has announced Howard County's signature arts event! The Celebration of the Arts in Howard County, presented by Howard Bank, will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2020 at the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD. Mary Ann and Chuck Scully will act as Honorary Chairs for the evening. Joseph Ritsch, Producing Artistic Director for Rep Stage, will serve as Event Emcee.

Rep Stage, the professional regional theatre in residence at Howard Community College, has announced its 2020a?'2021 season that will launch with the popular musical a?oeFalsettos,a?? followed by a regional premiere production by Jen Silverman, a world premiere by playwright and actor Dane Figueroa Edidi, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning a?oeSeascapea?? by Edward Albee. 

The Howard County Arts Council is pleased to announce the 23rd Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County, presented by Howard Bank, on Saturday, March 28, 2020 at the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard Community College in Columbia. Mary Ann and Chuck Scully will act as Honorary Chairs for the evening. Joseph Ritsch, Producing Artistic Director for Rep Stage, will serve as Event Emcee.

More than 450 business and arts leaders were on hand on Saturday, March 23rd for the Howard County Arts Council's 22nd Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County. Held at Howard Community College's Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center in Columbia, this year's benefit gala netted approximately $73,000 with an additional $92,302 in donated goods and services in support of the arts in Howard County. Since 1998, more than $1.6 million has been raised through Celebration of the Arts!

The Howard County Arts Council is pleased to announce the guest performers for the 22nd Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County gala. Featured this year are Misako Ballet Company; The Young Columbians; Ana Lane and Lindsey Litka; last year's Rising Star Award winner, Junghoon Park; and accompanist Patricia Hammer. You can catch them, along with the six finalists in the Arts Council's Rising Star Performing Arts Competition, at the Celebration gala on March 23, 2019 at 8 p.m. Emcee for the event is Joseph Ritsch, Producing Artistic Director for Rep Stage.

A limited number of $50 and $100 tickets are still available for Howard County's signature event, the Celebration of the Arts in Howard County. The Celebration will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD. Tickets may be purchased online at hocoarts.org, by phone at 410-313-ARTS (2787) or in the office at Howard County Arts Council, 8510 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City, MD 21043. Any remaining tickets will be available at the box office, which will open at noon on the day of the event. 

There's still time to reserve your tickets for Howard County's signature arts event! The Howard County Arts Council presents the Celebration of the Arts in Howard County on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD.

 The Howard County Arts Council is pleased to announce the 22nd Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County onSaturday, March 23, 2019 at the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Howard Community College (HCC), Columbia, MD. Mary Kay Sigaty, former Howard County Council member, artist, teacher, and active supporter of numerous community and charitable organizations in Howard County, will act as Honorary Chair for the evening. Joseph Ritsch, Producing Artistic Director for Rep Stage, will serve as Event Emcee.

Tickets are $100 and $50 online at https://www.hocoarts.org/explore/learn-participate/celebration-of-the-arts/tickets/, by phone at 410-313-ARTS (2787), or in the office at Howard County Arts Council, 8510 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City, MD 21043.

The Howard County Arts Council presents the 22nd Annual Celebration of the Arts in Howard County on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard Community College (HCC) in Columbia. Mary Kay Sigaty, former Howard County Council member, artist, teacher, and active supporter of numerous community and charitable organizations in Howard County, will act as Honorary Chair for the evening. Joseph Ritsch, Producing Artistic Director for Rep Stage, will serve as Event Emcee.

The Victorians are very confused in this vivid and animated version of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at The Everyman.

REP delivers a punk treatment of Sweeney Todd that is astoundingly compact, hideously dynamic and impressively submersive. The set is efficiently arranged, a versatile, vertically integrated playing space, full of grunge and London-isms. The Company members display powerful, accurate and impressive vocal prowess. Every one of them is physically precise, flexible and compelling. Director Joseph Ritsch has confidence in his cast's ability to manage multiple roles, so they form the Ensemble as well. This retro-modern treatment of Sondheim's popular opera makes salient points about who are the most fragile and disenfranchised people of a community and the destructive powers of a personal agenda.

Just imagine going to a nightclub today and getting the chance to see the iconic Billie Holiday (also known as 'Lady Day') perform, as she did in 1959. Well, you now have that chance thanks to the Rep Stage in Columbia as they bring her talent to life. Yes, Billie Holiday is alive and well and performing at Rep Stage.

The play has aged well. Women are, of course, still grappling with some of the issues that Heidi confronts. But it is not the specific issues that make the play last and lead me to predict that there will be revivals a century hence. One thing is for sure: the pop culture time-stamps like specific songs redolent of particular years will surely almost certainly elude our grandchildren. But the interplay between bright, somewhat idealistic people and their times is bound to continue, and stories about that interplay are bound to go on holding the attention.