Arts and Culture (Theatre Reviews)

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 7/19/12

Stories Live and in Person

Mixed results for Infinity Theatre’s kids fare

Infinity Theatre’s second summer in Annapolis is a busy one, with not only two musicals but also two children’s plays. Stories Live and in Person, playing Saturday afternoons, is a New York revival billed as a show to introduce the fun of seeing and hearing live theater to teach appreciation of the real thing to kids so plugged in that the lines blur between private and public space. The first comedic skit is hilarious, pitting a great Shakespearean actor (Jimmy...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 7/19/12

Dames at Sea

Infinity Theatre delivers a ship-shape song-and-dance spectacle

Dames at Sea offers top-notch singing and tap-dancing in a lighthearted musical theater romp. This small-cast, low-key homage to the great days of 1930s’ musicals has all the requisite and appropriately named characters. From Utah the ingénue Ruby arrives backstage at a Broadway theater without a dime to her name and joins the cast of the musical on her first day in New York. She makes friends with Joan, a smart-talking dancer. A sailor, Dick, who also happens to be an...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 7/19/12

Not All Puppets Live on Sesame Street

The googly-eyed creations of Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s Avenue Q offer a lesson on what happens when you don’t fulfill your dreams

“If you brought your kids to this, you’re [expletive] parents!” So begins Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s latest production, which features puppets, songs and decidedly adult situations. It’s a show so crude, rude and politically incorrect the only thing you can do is laugh. The show follows Princeton (Colin Hood), a recent college graduate who realizes the real world isn’t as great as he imagined it. Jobless, holding...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Leigh Glenn - 7/12/12

Crank Up the Fun

Everyone’s a standout in The Talent Machine

The Talent Machine Company brought back The Talent Machine — its namesake and the original 1988 show that helped to make children’s theater a summer staple in Annapolis — to St. John’s College just in time to provide relief from the heat. The seven-to-14-year-old cast shared the message of the first show, launched by Bobbi Smith: With some talent, a lot of self-confidence and an enormous amount of work, you can make your dreams come true. ...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 7/5/12

Infinity Theatre Company’s The Tall Tales of Enoch

A terrific kids’ show — no kidding

Lies. Falsehoods. Tall tales. Call them what you will, some children cling to them long after attaining the age of reason, and Infinity Theatre is to be applauded for broaching the topic with a humorous touch in founder Alan Ostroff’s original play for three to 10-year-olds, The Tall Tales of Enoch. Enoch (Lance Hayes) is just such a child, a rambunctious third-grader with super-powered imagination, nuclear-fueled energy and a likely diagnosis of attention deficit and...

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 - 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 - 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 - 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...