Theatre Reviews

Colonial Players’ Morning’s at Seven

A funny, heartwarming holiday present from a local theater company that has been making Annapolis grateful for 67 years

Jim Reiter

Morning’s at Seven could be dated or boring, this 1930s’ play written about a quartet of aging sisters in Middle America. Instead, Annapolis veteran Rick Wade’s deft direction combines with a timeless script by playwright Paul Osborn and some of this area’s most experienced actors to make us laugh while tugging at our heartstrings.

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– by Jim Reiter – 12/3/15

Compass Rose Theater’s Brigadoon

Captivating, with fine singing, excellent choreography, ballet-quality dancing and a pianist who never misses a beat

Dick Wilson

With Brigadoon, Compass Rose Theatre brings a fantastical Scottish paradise to life in the highlands of Annapolis. It’s right here amongst the braes. I don’t know what a brae is, but I can tell you this:

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– by Dick Wilson – 11/26/15

The Masqueraders’ Galileo

Scientific suppositions clash with religious superstitions at the United States Naval Academy

Jane C. Elkin

Bertolt Brecht’s key question in his play Galileo — whether society can stand on doubt and not on faith — refers to the astronomer’s trial by the Inquisition for his heretical theory of heliocentricity. The question had parallel relevance on Galileo’s opening night at the Naval Academy, just hours after terrorist attacks in Paris.

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– by Jane C. Elkin – 11/19/15

2nd Star Productions’ The Music Man

If you don’t love this show, I will personally refund your money

Jane C. Elkin

What do you expect from an iconic musical winner of five Tonys, a Grammy and an Oscar? A show so revered it cemented the careers of Shirley Jones and Robert Preston, and launched little Ron Howard to stardom? At 2nd Star Productions, expect the perfect delight of screen and vinyl.

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– by Jane C. Elkin – 10/29/15

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Twin Beach Players stages to scare

Karen Lambert

Twin Beach Players is making a habit of scary world premieres. This Halloween, it’s H.G. Wells’ unsettling science fiction novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau, adapted by playwright-in-residence Mark Scharf. Last year Scharf adapted The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to Twin Beach Players’ time and place; in 2013, he gave us Frankenstein.

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– by Karen Lambert – 10/22/15

Colonial Players’ Side Man

Moving rifts on the decline of jazz and a family

Jane C. Elkin

“Jazz is life.” So says Jim Reiter, director of Colonial Players’ Side Man, billed as an elegy for a lost love and a lost world. Both jazz and life, he explains, are propulsive, rhythmic and sometimes distorted improvisations where we all riff on the expectations set before us.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jane C. Elkin – 10/22/15

Colonial Players’ Sherlock’s Last Case

If it’s entertainment you’re after, seeing this one is elementary

Jane C. Elkin

Fancy a spot of mystery to sharpen the old mind after summer’s idyll? Then you must check out Sherlock’s Last Case by Charles Marowitz, showing at Colonial Players through September 26. While I am forbidden by Colonial and Scotland Yard to divulge the particulars of this brilliant whodunit, trust me when I say Annapolis’ grand dame of amateur theater has produced another winner with this escapist spoof, rich in one-liners and plot twists.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jane C. Elkin – 9/10/15

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s The Addams Family

Your inner child will want to see it again and again — even without Cousin Itt

Jane C. Elkin

“America has loved the Addams Family for 80 years, and now we have a rerun marathon of your favorite creepy and kooky characters in the flesh and blood. They’re all back (minus Cousin Itt) in a surprisingly sanguine musical that celebrates family values through the generations. Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s production will keep you smiling from the moment Thing cues the overture until the inspirational finale, Move Toward the Darkness.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jane C. Elkin – 8/13/15

Infinity Theatre Company’s Baby

Billed as a smart and energetic musical comedy with a pop rock score and immensely likable story, this show delivers

Jane C. Elkin

With Baby, Infinity Theatre Company surpasses the high expectations raised over five years of bringing professional New York City productions to Annapolis each summer. This show delivers on its billing as a smart and energetic musical comedy with a pop rock score and immensely likable story. If you last saw it in the 20th century, you’re in for some surprises. The 1984 Tony-nominee was reworked in 1999 with new songs and significant plot twists that make it less idealistic than the original.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jane C. Elkin – 7/23/15

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s Catch Me If You Can

Area premier gives the popular film a song-and-dance twist

Jane C. Elkin

Catch Me If You Can: The Musical, an area debut, is a song-and-dance celebration of the lovable conman, Frank Abagnale Jr. (Ron Giddings), and the FBI agent who caught him, Carl Hanratty (Joshua Mooney). The fugitive traveled five million miles impersonating an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer and cashed $1.8 million in fraudulent checks — all before turning 21.

article – Theatre Reviews

– by Jane C. Elkin – 7/9/15

Colonial Players’ Morning’s at Seven

Compass Rose Theater’s Brigadoon

The Masqueraders’ Galileo

2nd Star Productions’ The Music Man

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Colonial Players’ Side Man

Colonial Players’ Sherlock’s Last Case

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s The Addams Family

Infinity Theatre Company’s Baby

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s Catch Me If You Can

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