Charm City Call Board: August 22 - 28

Welcome to Charm City Call Board for the week of August 22 - 28, keeping you up to date each week with all that is theater in Baltimore and the region.             

Discounts and contest notices are listed first.  "On Stage" listings follow in this order: opening this week, in previews, current running productions, closing this week and upcoming productions.  Audition and help wanted notices will be next (arranged by date), followed by "Backstage Babble" - news bites, your letters and book/CD recommendations and "Theatre Events" are at the end.   I hope you find this format even more user friendly!   

Please feel free to send me suggestions/comments at jameshoward@broadwayworld.com.   

 

NEW THIS WEEK!:

• The final two plays of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival!
• Auditions at the Strand and Spotlighters!
• New Season Announced at Theatre Project!
• A new show at MET!

  

BROADWAYWORLD.BALTIMORE DISCOUNTS! 

• bare the musical at Theatre Project:  Get $5.00 off each ticket when you order ONLINE!  Go to www.barethemusicalinbaltimore.com/tickets.html and follow the links to order.  The discount code is:  BWW - bare.  This offer good for all performances.

 

CONTESTS

Look for a new contest soon!

 

ONSTAGE THIS WEEK!

A five star system will be utilized in order to differentiate between the various levels of success: artistry and entertainment value.  This system is not directly numeric, however.  That is, a 4 rated show isn't necessarily twice as good as a 2 rated show; neither is a 4 rated show a "B" or an 80%.

◊◊◊◊◊ - The absolute best theatre has to offer!  Missing this should not be an option!
◊◊◊◊ - This is excellent theatre!  Do not miss this show!
◊◊◊ - This is a good production.  Try to get to this one!
◊◊ - This is a fair production.
◊ - Save your money.

Be sure to contact the theatre directly for show times, dates and prices.  All shows subject to change.  

 

CURTAIN UP!  Shows opening this week.

• Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespearean Comedy): Hannah More School and Park.  08.22 - 09.06.
• ACE: Signature Theatre.  (Musical)  Previews 08.26, Opens 09.03. Through 09.28.  703-573-7328 or www.signature-theatre.org.   
• Doubt: A Parable: Everyman Theatre.  (Play)  Previews 08.27, Opens 08.29.  Through 10.05.  www.everymantheatre.org or 410.752.2208.
• Trumbo: RepStage.  (Play)  Previews 08.27, Opens 08.31.  Through 9.28.  www.repstage.org or 410.772.4900.
• The Producers (Musical - Dinner Theatre) Previews 08.28.  Opening: TBA.  Through 11.23.  www.tobysdinnertheatre.com or 1-800-88TOBYS.

 

NOW PLAYING!  Shows currently open.     

bare the musical at Theatre Project (Photo by Amy Jones)

• Baltimore Playwrights Festival: Kosher with Salsa: Fells Point Corner Theatre.  Through 08.31. www.fpct.org  or 410-276-7837.  See below for related article!
• Baltimore Playwrights Festival: Helena Troy:  Spotlighters Theatre.  Through 08.31.  www.spotlighters.org  or 410-752-1225.  See below for related article!
• bare the musical (Baltimore Premiere): Baltimore Theatre Project. Through 08.31.  Adult language, sexuality, drug and alcohol use.  443-847-3135 or www.barethemusicalinbaltimore.com.  See above for a BWW discount!

 

CLOSING THIS WEEK! Your last chance...  

All Shook Up at Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia (Photo by Kirstine Christiansen)

• ◊◊◊◊◊ All Shook Up (Musical - Dinner Theatre): Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia.  Through 08.24.  Review posted 06.26.  www.tobysdinnertheatre.com or 1-800-88TOBYS.   BEST BET 08.01!
• ◊◊◊◊ West Side Story (Musical - Dinner Theatre): Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore.  Through 08.24.  Review posted 07.06.  www.tobysdinnertheatre.com 

 

AUDITIONS: 

Picnic

WHAT:  Picnic by William Inge

WHEN IT RUNS: Nov. 21 - Dec.21

WHO: Spotlighters Theatre

WHERE: 817 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21202

WHEN: Saturday, August 23, 2pm - 5pm, and Sunday, August 24, 7pm-9pm.  No appointment necessary. Auditions are readings from the script.  Non Equity, non paid.

CONTACT INFORMATION:  Please contact Sherrionne Brown with questions. 443-791-3780 or sherrionne@aol.com

WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Helen Potts (40s-60s) A merry, trusting woman who lives next door to the Owens family and shares their backyard. She takes care of her elderly mother. She was once married, years ago, but her mother had the marriage annulled. 
• Millie Owens (16) Boisterous and assertive, but likable when one begins to understand that she is trying to disguise her basic shyness. Very intelligent, bound for college.  
• Bomber (16-17) The newsboy, a tough kid. Teases Millie, has a crush on Madge. 
• Madge Owens (18) Millie's sister. Unusually beautiful, takes her beauty for granted. Works at the dime store and longs for more.  
• Flo Owens (late 30s-40s) Mother of Millie and Madge. An impatient woman who has worked hard for ten or more years to be both  mother and father to her girls. Underneath a certain hardness, there is a deep love and concern for the girls.  
• Rosemary Sydney (late 30s-40s) A schoolteacher who rooms with the Owens. Makes a show of independence and being fun loving, but very lonely.
• Alan Seymour (20s) From a rich family, dating and in love with Madge. An old fraternity brother of Hal's. Good looking and nice.  
• Irma Kronkite (30s-50s) schoolteacher friend of Rosemary 
• Christine Schoenwalder (30s-50s) schoolteacher friend of Rosemary 
• Howard Bevens (40s) Rosemary's "friend-boy-not a boy friend." A small town businessman, he wears a permanent smile of greeting which, most of the time, is sincere. A confirmed bachelor. 

The role of Hal Carter has been cast.

 

Reading of a New Play

• WHO: Strand Theatre
• WHAT: Dramatized reading of this exciting new material, a family dramedy about the price we're willing to pay for a piece of the American dream.
• WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR: 3 White (Hispanic and Non-Hispanic) Male Actors, Ages 30 to 45 for
• THE DETAILS: This is a non-paid gig for Saturday, September 6 at 8pm in the Strand Theater.  The project will require a brief casting call and a three hour rehearsal the week before the reading.
• WHAT TO DO: Send your headshot and CV to emiliow@aol.com 

 

BACKSTAGE BABBLE!  News, Best Bets, etc. (New items in RED.)   

Through August 30: Kosher with Salsa at Fells Point Corner Theatre 

Take one Mexican Jewish convert and one Jewish girl from Beverly Hills.  Add two bigoted mothers, one gay boutique-owner brother, mix well, serve one romantic comedy.  Playwright, Miryam Madrigal was born in Chihuahua, Mexico and moved to the United States with her brother and parents when she was two years old.  Part of her life, she grew up in an all black, lower income neighborhood.  For her latter years, her family moved to a middle class Jewish neighborhood, where they were the only people of color on the block. In KOSHER WITH SALSA, she writes about the changing face of the American family.  She believes that in some ways, her parents lived out the American Dream...and nightmare.  

Miryam graduated from Stanford University in 1988 (B.A. English) and Tisch School of the Arts (Dramatic Writing with an emphasis in Theatre in 1995).  Between her graduate and undergraduate education she held many jobs: paralegal, bilingual teacher in East Los Angeles, hotel hospitality and an assistant to an Orthodox Rabbi.  She converted to orthodox Judaism WAY BEFORE she met a nice Jewish boy named Yossi.  They married, have four children and live in one of Baltimore's Jewish neighborhoods.  KOSHER WITH SALSA grew out of a ten-minute play of the same name.  It had been placed on "lay away" for about 12 years while she was nursing babies and changing diapers.  Although Miryam has written other plays, this is the first that is receiving a production.  

KOSHER WITH SALSA is directed by Jerry Gietka, whose last appearance for the Playwright's festival was also at Fells Point Corner Theatre performing in the award-winning PARTNERS.  He most recently directed Neil Simon's PROPOSALS at Bowie Community Theatre and prior to that MOON OVER BUFFALO at Heritage Players.  For the last two years he has been performing at Toby's Dinner Theatre in both BAL and Columbia and had his own radio talk show on WCBM AM 680 on Saturday evenings.  Look for him on local Channel 45 as Dr. Mold in a new series of commercials. 

Featured in the cast are Ben Brunnschweiler, Timoth David Copney, Ashleigh Haddad, Patti Restivo and Nancy Swartz. 

Performances of Kosher With Salsa are Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm. 

Sundays are as follows:  8/17 and 8/24 at 2 pm, and no show on Sunday, Aug 31. 

Call 410-276-7837 for reservations or go to www.fpct.org 

Photo by Amy Jones.

Through August 31: Helena Troy at Spotlighters

Helena Troy, by Rich Espey, premieres at the Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre and runs through August 31, as a part of the 27th annual Baltimore Playwrights Festival (BPF).   The BPF was established in 1981 and with the enthusiastic support of participating theatres, the City of Baltimore, and the theater going public, the BPF produces one-acts and full-length plays all over Baltimore City and the surrounding areas carrying out its mission:  "...to encourage creative local writers in their work and to provide a showcase for their talent."    

Spotlighters is proud of its long history of supporting new works and new directors and is pleased to again present a new play by Rich Espey as part of the BPF.  Rich's former BPF productions at Spots, Fifty-Fifty (2003) and Hope's Arbor (2006), both won the Carol Weinberg Award for Best BPF Play. 

In addition to welcoming this new play, Spots welcomes William Hauserman as a director new to Baltimore, but with a rich theatrical background having directed and/or produced over 100 productions in his career.  William holds an MFA in directing from the University of Minnesota and has received many international awards and recognition in theater, to include the James T. Martin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Entertainment, the Irving Berlin Award for Outstanding Entertainment Programming and several Army and international medals for his contribution to the performing arts during his 20+ years working for our armed forces.

As part of this year's BPF entry, Spotlighters is also proud to offer a special "audience talk back" with the playwright, director and cast after the matinee performance on Sunday, August 24.  Tickets for all performances are $18 for adults with discounts for Seniors, Students, and Baltimore Theatre Alliance members. 

Show Synopsis:  With limited funding and an obvious lack of new material, the Theatre Athena is in danger of becoming extinct, just like ancient Greek civilization.  Amy and her friends discover a grant opportunity that could save their artistic home.  The problem is, the grant is only for women playwrights, an impossibility for a venue that only shows classical Ancient Greek plays.  Or is it possible?  In a stroke of genius, Amy devises a plan to introduce a previously undiscovered female-penned Ancient Greek play to New York - her own.  But can Amy fool her purist partner, satiate the egos of two devious divas, and bring her leading man out of the closet?  And most importantly, will Testocles save the Theatre Athena from crumbling like feta cheese? 

Ticket Info:  Tickets may also be purchased on line at www.spotlighters.org using a credit card or at the Box Office one hour prior to each performance.  Reservations are strongly recommended.  Cash and Credit Cards are accepted at the Box Office.   Will Call orders may be placed calling 410-752-1225.  Only online orders with email will be confirmed.  

Photo by Amy Jones.

Theatre Project Announces Season, Subscription Plans 

2008-09 promises to be a very exciting season at Theatre Project. From a "design your own subscription" option to the BTP's own holiday tradition, this season will exemplify why Theatre Project has been a respected member of Baltimore's theater community for 37 years. 

As an experimental theatre dedicated to presenting new and avant-garde works, Theatre Project's eclectic productions feature Companies that cross genres and appeal to a wide demographic. In recognition of that, Theatre Project is allowing its subscribers to design a season tuned to their own interests. 

"We've experienced an embarrassment of riches in term of the amazing companies that want to be a part of the Theatre Project season," says Producing Director Anne Fulwiler. "We've decided to let our subscribers help structure their own series this year - they can pick any eight of the subscription shows for just $90, or four shows for $50." 

The subscription series runs from Sept. 4 - June 21 and performances range from American Opera Theater's sexy spin on Bizet's Carmen to Air Dance Bernasconi's dancers suspended in mid-air to a trilogy featuring Elizabeth Hess exploring sex, repression and identity. 

In addition to the productions offered as part of the subscription series, Theatre Project welcomes back community partners like Run of the Mill Theatre, The High Zero Festival (celebrating its 10^th anniversary), the Peabody Chamber Opera, Kuumba Collective and Dance Baltimore. Additionally, the Pantolites, responsible for last year's popular holiday pantomime, bring Puss in Boots back due to overwhelming audience response.

"It's just wonderful to announce that we're bringing back a show back 'due to popular demand'," Fulwiler says. "Word of mouth on this marvelous production made the final five performances sell out. My grandmother - born in Burnley, England - would have been proud."

In her eighth season as Producing Director Ms. Fulwiler says, "this may be our best season ever."   

Theatre Project Subscription Season - 2008-2009  

• 3 Hands Clapping in What's a little Death?  - Sept 4 - 14, 2008  http://www.infinitestage.org/clients/felbainl/nav/splashNS6.shtml  
• American Opera Theatre in Le Cabaret de Carmen   - September 25 - Oct 5, 2008 http://www.americanoperatheater.org/about/ 
• Margolis Brown ADAPTORS in Cyclopedia  - October 16 - 19, 2008http://www.margolisbrown.org/docs/upcomingevents.htm  
• Air Dance Bernasconi in Above and Beyond - Nov 28 - Dec 7, 2008 http://www.airdancebern.com/ 
• Fools Proof Theatre in The Eagle Has Landed - January 29 - February 8, 2009 https://www.youtube.com/user/foolsprooftheatre  
• Elizabeth Hess in Living Openly and Notoriously - April 30 - May 10, 2009 

The original, autobiographical works will be performed in repertory and in a single-day marathon by well-known New York stage and television actress Elizabeth Hess. Subscribers receive tickets to all three one acts, performed separately or on one day. 

• Bond Street Theatre in The Mechanical -March 26 - April 5, 2009 http://www.bondst.org/activities/14/the-mechanical 
• Naoko Maeshiba Ensemble in Paraffin- June 11 - 21, 2009 http://www.naopeco.org/nmpc.htm 

Schedule subject to change 

Other season highlights include:

• September 17-21, 2008 Tenth Annual High Zero Festival of avant-garde experimental music -
• October 24-November 2, 2008 Run of the Mill Theater in residence Waiting for Godotby Samuel Beckett 
• November 15, 2008 An evening of Music and Poetry by Red Sammy & Friends
• December 12-13, 2008 BIG - Baltimore Improv Group - Hosts comedy improv by several companies
• December 18-21, 2008 DanceRink in "Alice" - An original production by choreographer Scott Rink that utilizes a 1950's radio play adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic with the voices of Dinah Shore and Mel Blanc.
• December 26, 2008 - January 4, 2009 The Pantolites' Puss in Boots - The return of last season's popular British Pantomime.

Subscription Packages: Eight Shows for $90 / Four Shows for $50.  Single Tickets (subject to change): $20 general admission/$15 seniors & artists/$10 students.  Box Office: 410-752-8558 or www.missiontix.com. 

September 5 - October 4: Scandal at the Monestary!  MET Offers New Play 

Lies!  Robbery!  Sex!  Mistaken identities! Juggling! It's all part of Maryland Ensemble Theatre's 2008-2009 season-opening production, Incorruptible: A Dark Comedy for the Dark Ages, by Michael Hollinger. 

The year is 1250 A.D. and times are pretty tough for the monks at Priseaux.  Their resident saintly relic - Saint Foy - hasn't produced a miracle in 13 years.  Worse, a neighboring monastery is claiming to possess the real Saint Foy!  With the help of a larcenous minstrel, the monks devise a plan to save the monastery and its members from economic ruin and eternal damnation. 

Incorruptible features the talents of MET Ensemble Members Mark Barnhart, Julie Herber, Tad Janes, Karen Paone and Reiner Prochaska and is directed by MET Associate Artistic Director Gené Fouché. 

Incorruptible opens September 5th and runs through October 4th.  Tickets are $22 for adults and $19 for students and seniors.  For tickets or more information call 301-694-4744 or visit www.marylandensemble.org

 

 

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