Theater Reviews and Commentary
In 2010, just for fun, I took up an invitation to return to reviewing theater (which I had previously done for the Baltimore Business Journal and in college), and started posting reviews on BroadwayWorld.com. Thereafter, I also started writing about theater for The Hopkins Review.
Earlier reviews are marked here with links to BroadwayWorld.com. But there was such trouble with readers unable to see them using Windows Internet Explorer that after Halloween of 2011 I have posted them as blog entries. So here you go:
E2, by Bob Bartlett, at REP Stage (November 2019).
The Knight of the Burning Pestle , by Francis Beaumont, at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (November 2019).
Radio Golf, by August Wilson, at Everyman Theatre (October 2019).
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder , book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman, music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak, at Dundalk Community Theatre (October 2019).
Proxy , by Alex Reeves and Nell Quinn-Gibney, at Rapid Lemon (October 2019).
Miss You Like Hell, book and lyrics by Quiara Allegria Hudes, music and lyrics by Erin McKeown (September 2019).
Bright Half Life, by Tanya Barfield, at Strand Theater (September 2019).
Cabaret, book by Joe Masteroff, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, at Olney Theatre Center (September 2019).
Perfect Arrangement, by Topher Payne, at Fells Point Corner Theatre (September 2019).
Antonio’s Song: I Was Dreaming of a Son, by Dael Orlandersmith and Antonio Edwards Suarez, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 2019).
Chester Bailey, by Joseph Dougherty, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 2019)
A Welcome Guest, by Michael Weller, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 2019).
Wrecked, by Greg Kalleres, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 2019).
Support Group for Men, by Ellen Fairey, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 2019).
My Lord, What a Night, by Deborah Brevoort, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 2019).
Love’s Labour’s Lost, by William Shakespeare, at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (June 2019).
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui , by Bertolt Brecht, at Scena (June 2019).
Disaster, by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick, at Cockpit in Court (June 2019).
A New Brain , by William Finn, at Iron Crow Theatre (May 2019).
Henry IV, Part 2, by William Shakespeare, at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (March 17, 2019).
Indecent, by Paula Vogel, at Center Stage (March 8, 2019)
Twilight, Los Angeles, by Anna Deveare Smith, at REP Stage Company (March 6, 2019)
Henry IV, Part 1, by William Shakespeare, at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (February 18, 2019).
Cymbeline, by William Shakespeare, at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (February 17, 2019).
Fun Home, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori, at Center Stage (January 25, 2019).
Jerusalem, by Jez Butterworth, at Fells Point Corner Theatre (January 20, 2019).
Miss Saigon, book & lyrics by Alain Boublil, book & music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., at the Kennedy Center (December 18, 2018).
A Woman of No Importance, by Oscar Wilde, at SCENA (November 7, 2018).
Things That Are Round, by Callie Kimball, at REP Stage (November 3, 2018).
Sweat, by Lynn Nottage, at Everyman Theatre (October 29, 2018).
Stick Fly, by Lydia R. Diamond, at Fells Point Corner Theatre (October 26, 2018).
Spring Awakening, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, music by Duncan Sheik, at Stillpoint Theatre (October 14, 2018).
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams, at Center Stage (September 22, 2018).
Putin on Ice [That Isn’t the Real Title of This Show], by Lola B. Pierson, at Single Carrot Theatre and Acme Theater Company(September 17, 2018).
Sex With Strangers, by Laura Eason, at Fells Point Corner Theatre (September 15, 2018).
Berta Berta, by Angelica Chéri, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 12, 2018).
The Cake, by Beka Brunstetter, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 12, 2016).
The House on the Hill, by Amy E. Witting, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 12, 2018).
Thirst, by C.A. Johnson, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 10, 2018)
Memoirs of a Forgotten Man, by D.W. Gregory, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 9, 2018).
A Late Morning (in America) With Ronald Reagan, by Michael Weller, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 9, 2018).
Urinetown, book and lyrics by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis, at Stillpointe Theatre (July 1, 2018).
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, by Kristoffer Diaz, at Cohesion Theatre (June 2, 2018).
Consideration of Broadway theater to which we take children: Anastasia, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Wicked (Hopkins Review, Spring 2018).
SOUL: The Stax Musical, by Matthew Benjamin at Center Stage (May 12, 2018)
Candide, music by Leonard Bernstein, book by Hugh Wheeler and John Caird, lyrics by Richard Wilbur, Stephen Sondheim, John La Touche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, and Leonard Bernstein, at Washington National Opera (May 6, 2018).
An American in Paris, book by Craig Lucas, music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, American Tour at Hippodrome (May 2, 2018)
Animal Farm, adapted by Ian Wooldridge from the novel by George Orwell, at Center Stage (March 12, 2018).
Hand to God, by Robert Askins at Stillpoint Theatre (March 3, 2018).
The Graduate, by Terry Johnson at Dundalk Community Theatre (February 26, 2018)
All She Must Possess, by Susan McCully at REP Stage (February 2018).
A Public Reading of an Unpublished Screenplay About The Death of Walt Disney, by Lucas Hnath (February 2018) .
Skeleton Crew, by Dominique Morisseau at Center Stage (January 2018).
Shakespeare in Love, by Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard at Center Stage (October 2017).
Intimate Apparel, by Lynn Nottage at Everyman Theater (October 2017).
The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman and Present Laughter by Noel Coward (Summer 2017).
Consideration of Nontraditional casting in numerous plays (Spring 2017).
Sally McCoy, by Alice Stanley, at Cohesion Theatre (September 15, 2017).
M. Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang, at Everyman Theatre (September 11, 2017).
The Heidi Chronicles, by Wendy Wasserstein, at The REP (September 11, 2017).
Everything Is Wonderful, by Chelsea Marcantel, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 16, 2017)
Welcome to Fear City, by Kara Lee Corthron, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 15, 2017).
We Will Not Be Silent, by David Meyers, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 13, 2017)
Byhalia, Mississippi, by Evan Linder, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 12, 2017).
The Niceties, by Eleanor Burgess, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 11, 2017).
Wild Horses, by Alison Gregory, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 10, 2017).
A Short Reunion, by various playwrights, at Single Carrot Theatre (April 23, 2017).
Henry V, by William Shakespeare, at Cohesion (March 13, 2017).
Fucking A , by Suzan-Lori Parks, at Iron Crow Theatre (February 6, 2017).
Mamma Mia!, songs by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson, book by Catherine Johnson, at the Hippodrome (January 14, 2017).
Fun Home, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, score by Jeanine Tesori; Waitress, book by Jessie Nelson, songs by Sara Bareilles; Beautiful, book by Douglas McGrath, songs by Carole King and others, jointly reviewed in The Hopkins Review (Fall 2016).
A Christmas Story, The Musical, book by Joseph Robinette, music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, at the Hippodrome (December 7, 2016).
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, by Christopher Hampton, at Center Stage (December 6, 2016).
Schoolgirl Figure, by Wendy MacLeod, at Cohesion Theater (November 21, 2016).
The Pink Hulk, written and performed by Valerie David, at Charm City Fringe Festival (November 10, 2016).
The Roommate, by Jen Silverman, at Everyman (October 31, 2016).
Anne of the Thousand Days, by Maxwell Anderson, at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (October 24, 2016).
Heathers, by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, at Red Branch (August 8, 2016).
The Wedding Gift, by Chisa Hutchinson, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 18, 2016).
20th Century Blues, by Susan Miller, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 15, 2016).
pen/man/ship, by Christina Anderson, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 14, 2016).
The Second Girl, by Ronan Noone, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 13, 2016).
Not Medea, by Alison Gregory, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 12, 2016).
Love Letters, by A.R. Gurney, Nation Tour at Hippodrome Theater (June 8, 2016).
Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, adapted by Robert Kauzlaric, at Cohesion Theatre (June 6, 2016).
A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, at Everyman (April 18, 2016).
Detroit ’67, by Dominique Morisseau, at Center Stage (April 18, 2016).
Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, at Everyman (April 12, 2016).
Memoir of my encounters with works by gay playwrights, through 1972. Straight Theatergoer, Closeted Plays (Hopkins Review, Summer 2016).
The Normal Heart, by Larry Kramer, at Vagabonds (February 29, 2016).
Hick, by Terry Baum with Pat Bond, at Theatre Project (February 28, 2016).
As You Like It, by William Shakespeare, at Center Stage (January 30, 2016).
Titus Andronicus, by William Shakespeare, at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (October 31, 2015).
Kinky Boots, Book by Harvey Fierstein, Music & Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, National Tour at Hippodrome Theater (September 30, 2015).
Ragtime, Book by Terrence McNally, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens (September 23, 2015).
An Inspector Calls, by J.B. Priestley, at Everyman Theatre (September 14, 2015).
Into the Woods, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by James Lapine, at Toby’s Columbia (July 21, 2015).
The Full Catastrophe, by Michael Weller, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 20, 2015).
Everything You Touch, by Sheila Callaghan, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 20, 2015).
On Clover Road, by Steven Dietz, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 16, 2015).
WE ARE PUSSY RIOT, by Barbara Hammond, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 14, 2015).
World Builders, by Johnna Adams, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 13, 2015).
The Pillow Book, by Anna Moench, at Cohesion/Strand (June 27, 2015).
Blithe Spirit, by Noel Coward, at Everyman Theatre (May 31, 2015).
1776, Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards, Book by Peter Stone, at Toby’s (May 18, 2015).
Marley, Music and Lyrics by Bob Marley, Book by Kwame Kwei-Armah, at Center Stage (May 18, 2015).
No individual play, but a look at the Baltimore theater scene as a whole: What It Takes to Build a Theater Town (Spring 2015)
The House of Bernarda Alba, Federico García Lorca, at Fells Point Corner Theatre (April 21, 2015).
13 Dead Husbands, by Tom Horan, at Cohesion Theatre Company (March 14, 2015).
Zero Hour: Tokyo Rose’s Last Tape, by Miwa Yanagi, at Towson University (February 16, 2015).
Ruined, by Lynn Nottage, at Everyman Theatre (February 9, 2015).
The Whale, by Samuel D. Hunter, at the REP (January 19, 2015).
Seminar, by Theresa Rebeck, at Fells Point Corner Theatre (November 16, 2014).
The Realistic Joneses, by Will Eno, Heathers, by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, and The City of Conversation, by Anthony Giardina, Hopkins Review (Fall 2014).
4.48 Psychosis, by Sarah Kane, at Iron Crow Theatre (October 10, 2014).
Venus in Fur, by David Ives, at REP Stage (October 6, 2014).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (September 22, 2014).
Amadeus, by Peter Shaffer, at Center Stage (September 22, 2014).
Memphis, Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro, Music and Lyrics by David Bryan, at Toby’s (September 16, 2014).
The Understudy, by Theresa Rebeck, at Everyman Theatre (September 2, 2014).
North of the Boulevard, by Bruce Graham, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 21, 2014).
The Ashes Under Gait City,by Christina Anderson, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 20, 2014).
Uncanny Valley, by Thomas Gibbons, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 15, 2014).
One Night, by Charles Fuller, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 14, 2014).
Dead and Breathing, by Chisa Hutchinson, at Contemporary American Theater Festival (July 14, 2014).
The Surrender, by Toni Bentley, Intimacy, by Thomas Bradshaw, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, by Dave Malloy, and Stop Hitting Yourself, by the Rude Mechs, Hopkins Review, Summer 2014.
As You Like It, by William Shakespeare, at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (June 21, 2014).
Wild With Happy, by Colman Domingo, at Center Stage (June 8, 2014).
In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), by Sarah Ruhl, at the MET (June 2, 2014).
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, by Christopher Durang, at Center Stage (April 26, 2014).
john & jen, book and music by Andrew Lippa, book and lyrics by Tom Greenwald, at Red Branch Theatre Company (April 21, 2014).
Rock of Ages, book by Chris Arienzo, We Will Rock You, music by Queen, book by Ben Elton, Motown the Musical, book by Berry Gordy, Jr., Jersey Boys, book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, Hopkins Review, Spring 2014.
The Last 5 Years, by Jason Robert Brown at Red Branch Theatre Company (April 6, 2014).
Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare at Center Stage (March 14, 2014).
The Book of Mormon, by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez at the Hippodrome (February 28, 2014).
The Piano Teacher, by Julia Cho, at The REP (February 10, 2014).
Monty Python’s Spamalot, by Eric Idle, at Toby’s Columbia (January 27, 2014)
Jersey Boys, book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, at the Hippodrome (November 15, 2013)
I Am My Own Wife, by Doug Wright, at the REP (November 4, 2013)
dance of the holy ghosts, by Marcus Gardley, at Centerstage (October 23, 2013)
The Baltimore Centerstage pairing of Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris and Beneatha’s Place, by Kwame Kwei-Armah, in repertory, Hopkins Review, Fall 2013
The Heiress, by Augustus and Ruth Goetz, Picnic, by William Inge, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams, Hopkins Review, Summer 2013
Salomé, by Oscar Wilde, at SCENA, July 2013
Heartless, by Sam Shepard, at Contemporary American Theater Festival, July 2013
Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah, by Mark St. Germain, at Contemporary American Theater Festival, July 2013
Modern Terrorism, by Jon Kern, at Contemporary American Theater Festival, July 2013
H2O, by Jane Martin, at Contemporary American Theater Festival, July 2013
A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World, by Liz Duffy Adams, at Contemporary American Theater Festival, July 2013
In The Heights, by Lin-Manuel Miranda, at Toby’s Columbia, May 2013
Spring Awakening, Music by Steven Sater, Lyrics and Book by Duncan Sheik, at Towson University, April 2013
Chess, Music by Benny Andersen and Bjorn Ulvaeus, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Book by Richard Nelson, at Dundalk Community Theatre , April 2013
Detroit, by Lisa D’Amour, The Train Driver, by Athol Fugard, and Bullet for Adolf, by Woody Harrelson and Frankie Hyman, Hopkins Review, Spring 2013
Boeing Boeing, by Marc Camoletti, at REP Stage, April 2013
Looped, by Matthew Lombardo, at Hippodrome Theatre, March 2013
Fiddler on the Roof, book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, at Toby’s Columbia, February 2013
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, at Maryland Ensemble Theatre, February 2013
Barcelona by Bess Wohl, The Exceptionals by Bob Clyman, Gidion’s Knot by Johnna Adams, The Captors by Evan M. Wiener, and In a Forest, Dark and Deep by Neil LaBute, at the Shepherdstown 2012 Contemporary American Theater Festival, Hopkins Review, Winter 2013
Bus Stop, by William Inge, at Center Stage, November 2012.
Love, Loss and What I Wore, by Nora Ephron & Delia Ephron, based on a book by Ilene Beckerman, at Fells Point Corner Theatre, November 2012.
Bus Stop, by William Inge, at Spotlighters, November 2012.
The Common Pursuit, by Simon Gray, Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris, and Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, by Gore Vidal, Hopkins Review, Fall 2012
The Color Purple, book by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis & Stephen Bray, at Toby’s Columbia, September 2012
The Temperamentals, by Jon Marans, at the REP, September 2012
“In a Conventional Dither”: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Camouflaged Critiqe of Race Relations at Mid-Century, Hopkins Review, Summer 2012
Off- and Off-Off- : The Atmosphere of Memory, Suicide, Incorporated and Freud’s Last Session, Hopkins Review, Spring 2012
Las Meninas, by Lynn Nottage, at The REP, April 2012
Incorruptible, by Michael Hollinger, at UMBC, April 2012
Into the Woods, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by James Lapine, at Center Stage, March 2012
That Pretty Pretty: Or, The Rape Play, by Sheila Callaghan, at the Strand Theater, February 2012
The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, February 2012
Revival Meetings: Anything Goes, Hair, and Follies, Hopkins Review, Winter 2012
Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Songs by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, at Toby’s Baltimore, January 2012
Ain’t Misbehavin’, Music by Fats Waller, at The Spotlighters, Baltimore, January 2012
The King and I, by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, at Toby’s Columbia, January 2012
Fifty Words, by Michael Weller, at Everyman Theatre, January 2012
American Buffalo, by David Mamet, at Maryland Ensemble Theatre, November 2011
Barrymore, by William Luce, at The REP, October 2011
If you’re curious about these older reviews, follow these links, but take note that they work badly or not at all with Windows Internet Explorer, better with other browsers:
OTMA, by Kate Moira Ryan, at University of Maryland Baltimore County, October 2011
Moon for the Misbegotten, by Eugene O’Neill, at Heritage-O’Neill Theatre, September 2011
Chicago, A Musical Vaudeville, by John Kander, Fred Ebb & Bob Fosse, at Toby’s Columbia, September 2011
The Edge of Darkness, by Brian Clemens, at Cockpit in Court, August 2011
Fools Call It Fate, by Jessica McHugh, at Mobtown Theatre, July 2011
Xanadu, Book by Douglas Carter Beane, Music & Lyrics by Jeff Lynne & John Farrar, at Toby’s Baltimore, June 2011
Ain’t Misbehavin’, Music by Fats Waller, Washington Savoyards, June 2011
The Wild Party, by Andrew Lippa, Teatro101, May 2011.
One Flea Spare, by Naomi Wallace, Strand Theater, April 2011
10 X 10: Ten 10-Minute Plays, by Various Authors, April 2011
The Great American Trailer Park Musical, by Betsy Kelso and David Nehls, Spotlighters Theatre, April 2011
GRRL Parts 2011, University of Maryland Baltimore County, March 2011
Twelve Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, Dundalk Community Theatre, February 2011
Mauritius, by Theresa Rebeck, Fells Point Corner Theatre, January 2011
Beehive, created by Larry Gallagher, Toby’s Baltimore Dinner Theatre, January 2011
Richard III, by William Shakespeare: Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, November 2010
The War of the Worlds, by Orson Welles and Howard Koch: Scena Theatre, November 2010
Las Meninas, by Lynn Nottage: University of Maryland Baltimore County, November 2010
The Norman Conquests: Table Manners, by Alan Ayckbourn: Fells Point Corner Theatre, November 2010
The Pirates of Penzance, by Gilbert & Sullivan: Washington Savoyards, October 2010
Natural Selection, by Eric Coble: Single Carrot Theatre, October 2010
Sweeney Todd, by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler: Vagabond Players, October 2010
Misalliance, by George Bernard Shaw: Olney Theatre Center, October 2010
Rent, by Jonathan Larson: Toby’s Columbia Dinner Theatre, October 2010
Curtains: A Musical Murder Mystery by Peter Stone, John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Rupert Holmes: Cockpit in Court, July 2010
Proof by David Auburn: Red Branch Theatre Company, July 2010
Always … Patsy Cline by Ted Swindley: Toby’s Baltimore Dinner Theatre, July 2010
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare: Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, June 2010
The Glorious Ones by Stephen Flaherty (Music) and Lynn Ahrens (Book and Lyrics): Theatre Hopkins, June 2010
Duranged Nights by Christopher Durang: Mobtown Players, June 2010
The Marriage of Bette & Boo by Christopher Durang: Fells Point Corner Theatre, April 2010
On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning by Eric Overmyer: Rep Stage, April 2010
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by August Wilson: Center Stage, April 2010
The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown: Limelight Theatre, April 2010
Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing: Fells Point Corner Theatre, March 2010
Mrs. Kemble’s Tempest by Tom Ziegler: Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, March 2010
GRRL Parts: UMBC Theatre, March 2010
Closer by Patrick Marber: Mobtown Players, February 2010