Susan Rome News

Previews begin at Center Stage next week for Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. A co-production with Kansas City Repertory Theatre, the show arrives from a run that was hailed by critics as 'Undeniably funny' and 'excellent!' (Kansas City Star). The co-production is under the direction of Kansas City Rep's Artistic Director Eric Rosen, and brings to Baltimore three of Kansas City's cast members, including Tony Award-nominee Barbara Walsh, who last appeared at Center Stage as Desiree in 2008's A Little Night Music.

Previews begin at Center Stage next week for Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. A co-production with Kansas City Repertory Theatre, the show arrives from a run that was hailed by critics as 'Undeniably funny' and 'excellent!' (Kansas City Star). The co-production is under the direction of Kansas City Rep's Artistic Director Eric Rosen, and brings to Baltimore three of Kansas City's cast members, including Tony Award-nominee Barbara Walsh, who last appeared at Center Stage as Desiree in 2008's A Little Night Music.

Center Stage announces this week casting for the upcoming production of Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. A co-production with Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will be under the direction of the Rep's Artistic Director Eric Rosen. After running at Kansas City Rep through April 6, it will transfer to Center Stage and play April 16-May 25.

Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros's masterfully written play is not meant to be another exhaustive debate on the issue of abortion. It simply asks us to watch the play not through the prism of our own beliefs, but through the actions of the characters onstage. Theater J's production asks a lot of questions, which is what good theater is supposed to do. It asks us to reconsider our beliefs and challenge our curiosity. The Argument at Theater J is theater at its finest and definitely worth seeing.

If this is how Theater J starts its season, I can't wait to see what else is in store.

Put three 40something flight attendants in a motel room, add a pot-dealing geek, some cognac, and shake--you've got Marisa Wegryzyn's comedy, 'Mud Blue Sky,' now at Baltimore's Center Stage theater.

Can fine acting save a play?

A town ready for wealth, a naive scientist, men in power and men seeking power, a battle for the truth--it's all grist for playwright Arthur Miller's adaptation of Henri Ibsen's classic, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, now at Baltimore's Center Stage.

Centerstage's historic 50th Anniversary Season officially kicks off with AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, directed by Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, in a landmark production that takes Arthur Miller's translation of Ibsen's classic and uses it to examine the contemporary media landscape. The production opens tonight, September 27, and BroadwayWorld has a first look at the show below.

Complex play by Lynn Nottage Deserves Your Attention

I was intrigued as soon as I heard that Director Eve Muson was bringing the show to a professional company. My sense was that Muson felt she could build a better product on the same platform of stars, costume and set. She was right. The end product is a modern historical tragedy that obviously speaks directly to contemporary racial and gender issues but also past them to the human condition, as all great tragedy does.

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), concludes its 19th season with "Las Meninas," playwright Lynn Nottage's account of the seduction of Louis the XIV's queen, Marie-Therese, and the consequences of her scandalous relationship with Nabo, her African servant. Nottage weaves an imaginative tale based on a fascinating but forgotten time in history that examines truths about women and race. Eve Muson, who helmed last season's "Speech & Debate," directs a large cast in this rarely produced play. "Las Meninas" opens April 18 with a limited run through May 6, 2012, in the Studio Theatre of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center (HVPA) on the campus of HCC.

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), concludes its 19th season with "Las Meninas," playwright Lynn Nottage's account of the seduction of Louis the XIV's queen, Marie-Therese, and the consequences of her scandalous relationship with Nabo, her African servant. Nottage weaves an imaginative tale based on a fascinating but forgotten time in history that examines truths about women and race. Eve Muson, who helmed last season's "Speech & Debate," directs a large cast in this rarely produced play. "Las Meninas" opens April 18 with a limited run through May 6, 2012, in the Studio Theatre of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center (HVPA) on the campus of HCC.

CENTERSTAGE will be joined by company members from Everyman and Single Carrot for free readings of the other two plays in Martin McDonagh's Leenane Trilogy, hosted by Liam Flynn's Ale House Sunday nights at 8 pm on January 22 and 29.

Glass Mind Theatre is thrilled to present the return of the company's original play festival, Brainstorm, with Volume 2: Baltimore Mix Tape

Glass Mind Theatre's annual short play festival features six new plays by local writers inspired by songs.

The DC area is full of spring splendor with so many gorgeous trees and azaleas in full bloom, and our local theatres are filled with new colorful productions. So come visit the Nation's Capital and bask in the city's beauty and the power and joy of our local theatres.

Glass Mind Theatre is thrilled to present the return of the company's original play festival, Brainstorm, with Volume 2: Baltimore Mix Tape

WHO: Rep Stage WHAT: A Shayna Maidel WHEN: Through November 4.Wed - Thurs at 7:30PM, Fri - Sat at 8PM, Sat - Sun at 2:30PM. HOW MUCH: $17 - $25, general, Students $12 any performance. TICKETS AND INFORMATION: 410-772-4900 or www.repstage.org

WHO: Baltimore Shakespeare Festival WHAT: The Tragedy of MacBeth WHEN: Through July 22. Thurs - Sat at 7:30PM, Sun at 5PM WHERE: Outdoors in the Meadow at the Evergreen House HOW MUCH: $25.00 regular, $20.00 students, teachers, seniors (62+) or BTA members; $15.00 all tickets on Thursdays. INFO: Call 410-366-8596 or go to www.baltimoreshakespearefestival.org