Arts and Culture (All)

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 7/5/12

Bay Theatre Company’s Rumple Who?

Who — regardless of age — doesn’t love a good story?

Will Bartlett’s light musical adaptation of Rumplestiltskin has run continuously off-Broadway since 1985 with good reason. With its cantankerous characters and timeless moral, Rumple Who? makes an entertaining way for parents and grandparents to share love of theater with their children. The familiar story is distilled, updated and less Grimm than the original with musical summaries for each plot development. In this version, Rumpelstiltskin is a kinder and gentler...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 7/5/12

Ted

Teddy bears can be pigs

Young John Bennet (Bretton Manley) didn’t have many friends, so for Christmas his parents bought him a stuffed bear named Ted (Seth MacFarlane: Family Guy). Thanks to the magic of the season and the power of a child’s wish, Ted became real. At first, Ted is a godsend, giving John confidence and companionship. Twenty-seven years later, however, Ted keeps 35-year-old John (Mark Wahlberg: ) stuck in permanent adolescence. Ted and John...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Richard Wilson - 6/28/12

Twin Beach Players’ Twelfth Night, or What You Will

Teens play Shakespeare’s silliest for fun

Put Will Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will, in the hands of the junior corps of Twin Beach Players and what do you get? A celebration performed by actors who seem to be playing for the joy of it. The Players’ uninhibited festival of uncertain purpose may be just what Shakespeare had in mind. As a performance in a carnival spirit, this party is appropriate, given that for Shakespearean England the 12th night after Christmas was occasion for a no-holds-...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 6/28/12

Brave

Never accept a tart from an angry teenager

Being a lady in ancient societies was a real drag. You had to truss yourself up in uncomfortable dresses, follow the rules of court and be prim even as the men around you acted like imbeciles. If you were really good at following the rules, your grand reward was to be married off to some drooling noble who made up in breeding what he lacked in intelligence and sensitivity. So it’s not that surprising that young princess Merida (Kelly McDonald: Boardwalk Empire) balks...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 6/21/12

Moonrise Kingdom

Kids do the darndest things, like stab people with lefty scissors

Two troubled 12-year-olds find that their broken pieces fit perfectly in this latest Wes Anderson (The Fantastic Mr. Fox) fantasy. Sam (newcomer Jared Gilman) is an orphan with emotional issues and excellent scouting skills. Suzy Bishop (newcomer Kara Hayward) is a quiet girl prone to violent outbursts, observing the world through the detaching lens of binoculars and wearing too much eye makeup. Meeting on a small New England island, they discover they...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 6/21/12

Sisters of Swing

Infinity Theatre presents a gem of a time capsule that sets a new standard for local entertainment

Infinity Theatre Company opened a second summer season at the Children’s Theater of Annapolis to a full house Saturday night with Sisters of Swing, a musical memoir about the Andrews Sisters. With a savvy marketing plan that brings New York talent and tourists to our Capital city — plus kids’ shows at the Bay Theatre Company — Infinity sets the new standard of excellence for local entertainment. The Andrews Sisters — Patty (Julia Burrows), the...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 6/14/12

Prometheus

Sometimes, you might not want all the answers

If you could ask our creator one question, what would it be? Why do bad things happen to good people? What’s the meaning of it all? Why does Adam Sandler continue to get his movies green-lighted? This thought exercise makes one big assumption: there will be answers. In Prometheus, director Ridley Scott (Robin Hood) takes on the question of our origins —at least our origins in the Alien mythos. Archeologists Dr. Elizabeth...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 6/14/12

2nd Star Productions’ Fiddler on the Roof

You’ll come away humming all the standard hits and ready to rent the classic film

Fiddler on the Roof, Broadway and Hollywood’s golden chestnut, is rich as rugelach, oozing joy and pathos. The tale of a Jewish village in Revolutionary Russia was destined for success in the hands of 2nd Star Productions, a troupe with a track record of musical triumphs. But Oy! God is not always so quick to grant his blessings. Such an ambitious enterprise demands more chutzpah from its 39 chosen people than was evident on opening night. Surely you know the story:...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 6/14/12

Moonlight and Magnolias

Colonial Players explores what It took to make Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell’s publishing blockbuster Gone with the Wind became an iconic American film, but first a screenplay had to be written. Playwright Ron Hutchinson whimsically, hysterically and sometimes seriously turned the Hollywood lore of the scriptwriting into Moonlight and Magnolias, now playing at Colonial Players of Annapolis. Three weeks into filming, without an acceptable script and slow production work by director George Cukor, producer David O. Selznick...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 6/7/12

Snow White and the Huntsman

Mirror mirror on the wall, I prefer the wicked queen after all

Once upon a time in a magical kingdom there lived a beautiful princess. Young Snow White (Raffey Cassidy: Dark Shadows) was so good, innocent and pure that the townspeople loved her even though she wasn’t very interesting. Luckily, wicked queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron: Young Adult) showed up to seduce the king and lock the boring princess away in a tower. Ravenna is more dynamic than Snow, but she lacks leadership abilities. The earth turns to ash, the kingdom starves...