Theatre Reviews

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Grief makes monsters in this funny, savage film

Diana Beechener

In the seven months since Mildred Hayes’ (Frances McDormand: Hail, Caesar!) daughter was murdered, no progress has been made in the case. Furious, Mildred decides to shame the corrupt, small-town police department into action. She uses her meager savings to rent three dilapidated billboards on the lonely road to her home.

article – Theatre Reviews

Regulars

– by Diana Beechener – 11/30/17

The Play-Goer: USNA Masqueraders’ The Infinite Wrench

Theater like you’ve never seen it

Leigh Glenn

The U.S. Naval Academy’s Masqueraders chose a daring format for their fall play, The Infinite Wrench: USNA Style. The Infinite Wrench, according to its creators, the Chicago-based Neo-Futurists troupe, “is a mechanism that unleashes a barrage of two-minute plays for a live audience.” In each theatrical experience, 30 plays delve into the topics of the day as the performers have experienced them.

article – Performing Arts

Performing Arts

Theatre Reviews

– by Leigh Glenn – 11/18/17

The Play-Goer: Compass Rose’s Inherit the Wind

What’s old is new again

Jim Reiter

In 1925, the so-called Scopes Monkey trial adjudicated creationism versus evolution in a battle of legal titans. John Scopes, a substitute teacher in Tennessee, had been charged with breaking a local law that banned the teaching of evolution. Allowing himself to be used as a test case, he became the subject of one of the most closely followed trials in American history, broadcast across the country by radio.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jim Reiter – 11/2/17

The Play-Goer: 33 Variations

Solving the mystery of Beethoven’s greatest work

Jane Elkin

B — as in Bach, Beethoven and Brahms — is the most revered letter in music. One of the three great Bs, Beethoven, devoted five years to the works of another B composer, B as in so-so, like a B actor.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jane Elkin – 10/26/17

The Play-Goer: Twin Beach Players’ New Directors’ Showcase

See these shows — and reach for new levels of understanding

Pam Shilling

I admire the local community theater company Twin Beach Players in North Beach, Maryland.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Pam Shilling – 10/19/17

2nd Star Productions’ Annie Get Your Gun

Hear those old spectacular songs sung by strong new voices

Jim Reiter

When Annie Get Your Gun opened on Broadway in 1946, it was a star vehicle for the brassy, trumpet-voiced Ethel Merman. Irving Berlin’s songs became legendary, from the lively There’s No Business Like Show Business and Anything You Can Do to the romantic They Say It’s Wonderful and I Got Lost in His Arms.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jim Reiter – 9/28/17

The Playgoer: Compass Rose Theater’s The Liar

Fake News, 1644 Style

Jim Reiter

Mistaken identities, a hero’s fondness for unashamed exaggeration and the quest for love permeate The Liar, Richard Wilbur’s modern interpretation of Pierre Corneille’s 1644 farce, his most famous comedy. Under the deft guidance of director Steve Tobin, Compass Rose Theater’s production is not only well acted and well staged but also an ageless play you want to watch.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jim Reiter – 9/20/17

Annapolis Summer Garden Theater’s In the Heights

Qué Calor!

Jane Elkin

The hottest thing in Annapolis these days isn’t the weather but Lin Manuel-Miranda’s In the Heights, playing through Memorial Day weekend at The Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre. Under the direction of Darnell Patrick Morris, the same guy who brought us Avenue Q and Hair Spray, this production is so outstanding it’s easy see why the Hamilton composer’s show won the 2008 Tony for Best Musical.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jane Elkin – 8/9/17

Twin Beach Players’ Kids Playwriting Festival

Come to hear kids tell you what’s on their minds

Pam Shilling

Scene: An up-and-coming Bayside town. The building, a Boys and Girls Club, is charming in a functional way, surrounded by playgrounds and parking lots, filled with laughter and noise. Rooms are utilitarian. Walls are speckled with flyers for team meetings and reading club dates. Despite its sensible nature, the building shimmers with the energy of kids unleashed.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Pam Shilling – 8/3/17

Local Theaters Dominate

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, 2nd Star Productions and Colonial Players take top Ruby Griffith Awards

Jane Elkin

If dinner and a show sound like an ideal date night but you’re reluctant to drive to the city and drop $75 a ticket, consider that some of the area’s best theater is right in your own back yard at a fraction of the price. Such was proven last month for the 10th time in as many years when three troupes from Anne Arundel County nearly swept highest honors at the 45th Annual Ruby Griffith Awards.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jane Elkin – 8/3/17

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

The Play-Goer: USNA Masqueraders’ The Infinite Wrench

The Play-Goer: Compass Rose’s Inherit the Wind

The Play-Goer: 33 Variations

The Play-Goer: Twin Beach Players’ New Directors’ Showcase

2nd Star Productions’ Annie Get Your Gun

The Playgoer: Compass Rose Theater’s The Liar

Annapolis Summer Garden Theater’s In the Heights

Twin Beach Players’ Kids Playwriting Festival

Local Theaters Dominate

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