Charm City Call Board: December 18 - January 1

Welcome to Charm City Call Board for the weeks of December 18 – January 1, keeping you up to date each week with all that is theater in Baltimore.    

Dear Readers,

This will be the final Charm City Call Board for 2007.  Look for the column to return on January 2^nd, with all of the news of the Baltimore Theatre Scene!

I would like to take this time to thank every one of you for being such loyal readers, who love theatre as much as I do.  Your passion and care for this wonderful art form continues to inspire me and all of us here at BroadwayWorld.com.  Because of you, the Baltimore page continues to be the top regional site at BWW!

Below is a whole bunch of news and information that will, I hope, tide you over until after the holidays.  As you will see in the "Preview of Coming Articles" we have A LOT in store for you in 2008 – and this is all in the first month!

Finally, no matter your faith or beliefs, this time of year is one to take pause and count our many blessings.  And we in Baltimore are truly blessed with a thriving theatre community and audience.  I wish you and your family the very best in this holiday season.  Be safe.

James

JUST IN! (12/20/2007)

Laurel Mill Playhouse is looking for a man to play the role of Dexter Haven or Mike Connor in The Philadelphia Story. Both are leading roles. Age range 25-35.

We will be holding a callback audition on Thursday, December 27 at 7pm at the Playhouse.  If you are interested in reading for the role please contact the director, Marie Sproul at marie@onstageplayers.org.  If you have head shots and resumes, please send them as well.  

Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French Publishing Company. The Philadelphia Story will run February 15 through March 9 on Friday and Saturday nights with two selected Sunday matinees and one selected Thursday evening performance.  For more information, please contact Director Marie Sproul at marie@onstageplayers.org , Producer Maureen Rogers at 301-452-2557 or jjjmm@aol.com, email lmp@laurelmillplayhouse.org, call LMP at 301-617-9906 or visit our website at www.laurelmillplayhouse.org, 

NEW THIS WEEK!:

• THREE Best Bets!
• Readers write: Avenue Q!
• Local Playwright has three plays staged in January!
• BWW Features: Sweeney Todd on Film!
• GIANT contest announced!
• Preview of coming articles!

If you have some news or an event you'd like added, please contact me at jameshoward@broadwayworld.com.

Discounts and contest notices are listed first.  Show listings follow in this order: current productions and upcoming productions.  Audition notices, news bites, and book/CD recommendations are at the end.  

BROADWAYWORLD.BALTIMORE DISCOUNTS!

• Holiday Hot Nostalgia! at Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore - $10.00 off each ticket (dinner and show) for any Thursday, Friday or Sunday evening performance through January 6th.  Mention the BroadwayWorld discount when you order tickets.  Call 1-866-99-TOBYS.  See www.tobysdinnertheatre.com for details and the menu.

CONTESTS!

Check the Baltimore page for a HUGE year end contest/readers' choice ballot that will post on December 26^th!  See below for more information! UPDATE!  The contest is posted!  Thanks for your patience!

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 very 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.  

NOW PLAYING!  Shows currently open. 

Avenue Q at the Hippodrome, and Holiday Hot Nostalgia at Toby's Baltimore.

• ◊◊◊◊ La Muñeca (Holiday Play): Single Carrot Theatre at Load of Fun Studios on North Avenue.  Through 12/22. 90 minutes, no intermission.  Review posted 12/17.  www.singlecarrot.com or 443-884-9253.  See below for related article.  Look for an interview with the founders of Single Carrot Theatre, to post soon! BEST BET 12/18!

• ◊◊◊◊ Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge (Comedy): Mobtown Players.  Through 12/22.  2 hours, 5 minutes, including intermission.  Mild adult language and humor.  Review posted 12/2.  www.mobtownplayers.com or 410-467-3057. 

• ◊◊◊◊◊ Avenue Q (Musical): Hippodrome Theatre.  Through 12/23. Review posted 12/12.  Adult content, sexual situations.  Not recommended for children under the age of 14.  www.broadwayacrossamerica.com or 410-547-SEAT  Look for an interview with AQ star Rob McClure, posted 12/11!  BEST BET 12/18!
• ◊◊◊◊ The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Holiday Play): Fells Point Corner Theatre.  Through 12/23.  Review posted 12/17.  www.fpct.org or 410-276-7837.  See below for related article.  BEST BET 12/18!

Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge at Mobtown Players, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at Fells point Corner Theatre.

• ◊◊◊◊◊ The Santaland Diaries (One Man Show – Comedy): Rep Stage.  Through 12/23.  Adult language.  Review posted 12/6.  www.repstage.org or 410-772-4900.  See below for related article.
• Miracle on 34^th Street (Musical – Dinner Theatre): Timonium Dinner Theatre.  Through 12/23.  www.timoniumdinnertheatre.com or 410-560-1113.
• ◊◊◊◊◊Holiday Hot Nostalgia (Musical Revue – Dinner Theatre): Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore.  Through 1/6.  1 hour, 35 minutes, plus intermission.  Review posted 12/3.  www.tobysdinnertheatre.com or 410-649-1660 or 1-866-99TOBYS.  See above for special discount information!  See related article posted 11/30.  BEST BET 12/4!
• ◊◊◊ Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Drama): CENTERSTAGE.  Through 1/13.  2 hours, 25 minutes, including intermission.  Review posted 12/13.  www.centerstage.org 410-332-0033.  Coming soon: an interview with the Women of Joe Turner!
• ◊◊◊◊◊ The Sound of Music (Musical – Dinner Theatre): Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia.  Through 2/15.  2 hours, 35minutes, including intermission.  Review posted 12/10.  www.tobysdinnertheatre.com or 1-866-99TOBYS. BEST BET 12/11!

The Sound of Music at Toby's Columbia, and La Muenca at Single Carrot Theatre.

OPENING SOON!  Shows opening in January.

 

Now What? at CENTERSTAGE, beginning January 2.

• Now What? (One Man Show – Comedy): CENTERSTAGE.  1/2-1/20.  Review to be posted 1/4.  www.centerstage.org or 410-332-0033.  Look for interview with Josh Lefkowitz in the New Year!
• La Cage aux Folles (Musical – Dinner Theatre): Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore. 1/10 – 3/9.  www.tobysdinnertheatre.com or 410-649-1660 or 1-866-99TOBYS.  Look for information about BroadwayWorld Night at Toby's II, coming soon!
• The Mouse Trap (Mystery-Thriller): Spotlighters. 1/11 – 2/3.  www.spotlighters.org or 410-752-1225.
• Twelve Angry Jurors (Drama): Laurel Mill Playhouse. 1/11 – 2/3.  www.laurelmillplayhouse.org or 301-617-9906.
• Light Up the Sky (Comedy): Vagabond Players.  1/11 – 2/10.  www.vagabondplayers.com or 410-563-9135.
• The Turn of the Screw (Mystery-Thriller): Everyman Theatre. 1/16 – 2/24.  www.everymantheatre.org or 410-752-2208.
• Off the Map (Drama): Fells Point Corner Theatre. 1/18 – 2/17.  www.fpct.org or 410-276-7837.
• Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy (Performance Piece): Hippodrome Theatre.  1/22 – 2/3.  www.broadwayacrossamerica.com or 410-547-SEAT.
• Mrs. Warren's Profession (Drama): Rep Stage.  1/23 – 2/24.  www.repstage.org or 410-772-4900.

BACKSTAGE BABBLE!  News, Best Bets, etc.

BEST BET: FOR GROWN UPS ONLY: AVENUE Q!

Boy, the folks at the Hippodrome sure saved the best for last this year!  The most recent show to open, the Tony Award-winning Best Musical of 2004, Avenue Q, has come to Baltimore to wow audiences with its hilarious book and score.  Featuring such memorable characters as Kate  and Trekkie Monster, Princeton, Rod and Lucy the Slut, this ground-breaking show picks up where PBS left off!  But hurry!  The show leaves Baltimore this Sunday, December 23^rd!

BEST BET: FAMILY CHRISTMAS ENTERTAINMENT IN CHARM CITY!

Two great shows opened this past weekend and both are worthwhile family holiday treats!  Best of all, they are entertaining with a twist.  La Muñeca, presented by Single Carrot Theatre, is the touching story of learning about making a difference.  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, presented by Fells Point Corner Theatre, shows us that you should never really judge people until you let them into your life.  Both shows continue through this weekend.  See details above.

READERS WRITE: AVENUE Q CONTEST WINNER REVIEWS SHOW!

One of the winners of the BWW contest for opening night tickets to Avenue Q, Elizabeth Kenyon of Rockville, Maryland writes:

"The current national tour of Avenue Q, playing at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre, is a laugh riot that will have you smiling and humming its catchy tunes on the way out of the theater. Although its execution is rather different, there are four puppeteers animating around eight different characters, and three characters played by humans, its fundamentals are pure musical theater. With inspired songs such as "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist," "Schadenfreude," and "If You Were Gay," Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx have created a insightful and side splitting funny show. The production itself was very well done, with the puppeteers skillfully animating their characters to the point that you almost forgot they were there. Many of the actors have previously been in the Broadway or Las Vegas productions of Avenue Q and their experience shows. Standouts included Kelli Sawyer as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut, Robert McClure as Princeton and Rod, and David Benoit's voices and puppetry for Nicky and Trekkie Monster was outstanding. A show as innovative, funny, and entertaining as Avenue Q does not come along often enough, and it stays in Baltimore until December 23rd."

Thanks for your input, Elizabeth.  Glad you enjoyed the show!

LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT HAS THREE PLAYS PRODUCED LOCALLY IN JANUARY!

Mark Scharf, who wrote this year's BPF award-winning Last Night at the Owl Bar, has two of his plays being produced in mid-January by two esteemed local companies.  The third is getting its feet wet in a staged reading at the January meeting of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival.

• January 18-20th, 2008: Productions of Lizard Brains (produced by Silver Spring Stage) and Get Stuffed (produced by the Rockville Little Theatre) at the Maryland State Theatre Festival -- this year at the Port Tobacco Playhouse. Both of these one-acts are comedies.
• January 19th, 2008: KEEPING FAITH  (staged reading) The Baltimore Playwrights Festival will present a staged reading of Mark's new full-length comedy at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19th at the Fells Point Corner Theatre located at 251 S. Ann Street in Baltimore, Maryland. Admission is FREE!

A Brief Synopsis of KEEPING FAITH:

Ed and Jane are not about to let their 18 year old daughter Faith marry 45 year old Hartsell (Hart) Edward Thomas Williams IV – even if he does own "Hartsell's Patio Furniture." So, on the day before the wedding, they do what any parents would do: they kidnap Faith and drive into the wilds of Arkansas to hide out until things cool down or Faith changes her mind. With Hart and the police in pursuit and Faith refusing to play victim, Ed and Jane have their hands full in this dark comedy which is part extremely-dysfunctional-family-fun and part political commentary.

BROADWAYWORLD.COM SITE FEATURES, PART II: SWEENEY TODD MOVIE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE!

The second in a semi-regular series of articles about the features of the BroadwayWorld.com site:

You may have noticed a SWEENEY TODD icon on the tool bar at the top of the page.  Click it to open up a wonderful variety of articles, film clips, interviews, pictures and more about Sweeney Todd, the movie version of the classic film.  All of these features are either links to the movie site or exclusive BWW coverage!  Look there and you'll find things about the next big musical movie hit that you can't find anywhere else!  Look for the film to open in limited release this Friday, December 21, and nationwide in January.  It is already a critical hit, with writers falling all over themselves to praise the work of Johnny Depp, director Tim Burton, and, of course, the musical master, Stephen Sondheim.

BROADWAYWORLD.BALTIMORE'S BIGGEST CONTEST AND READERS CHOICE AWARDS ANNOUNCED!

It has been another banner year for theatre in the Baltimore/DC area, and a banner year for the site!  All year long, we've been so fortunate to have local theatres give us tickets to give away in contests.  But the biggest contest to date is coming!  And it is your chance to officially have your say and vote for this year's best productions in community, college, regional and Broadway touring theatre in Baltimore. 

That's right, on December 26^th, the biggest contest and reader response ever (so far!) on BroadwayWorld.Baltimore will be announced.  In it, you will vote for your favorite productions of 2007.  Your ballot will enter you in a contest for huge theatre prize bundles.  Local theatre have generously donated dozens of tickets to upcoming shows in 2008, along with some other great memberships and memorabilia.  There will be an "Opening Night Bundle" with tickets to two of Baltimore's most anticipated professional openings!  Another bundle will celebrate "Classic Theatre" with tickets to Shakespeare performances and more!  Yet another bundle will feature "Modern Theatre" with tickets to hot new works by our area's premiere modern theatre companies.  And that is just a hint at what you could win.

Look for the contest rules, prize list, and ballot to post on December 26^th.  NOTE: THE CONTEST RULES WILL BE VERY SPECIFIC.  THOSE ENTRIES THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THE COMPLETE SET OF GUIDELINES WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

COMING SOON TO BALTIMORE.BROADWAY.COM!

Interviews:

• The women of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone at CENTERSTAGE.
• Single Carrot Theatre: Seven Artists in Search of a Home
• Josh Lefkowitz on Now What?, his new one-man show at CENTERSTAGE. 

Articles: 

• The Best of Community Theatre 2007
• The Best of College Theatre 2007
• The Best of Regional Theatre 2007
• The Best of Professional Theatre 2007
• The 10 Biggest Theatre News Stories of 2007
• The Masters: 10 Theatre People Who Continue to Make Good – 2007
• The Up and Coming: 15 Theatre People Who Made a Splash in 2007
• Performers of the Year: Actor and Actress 

and, of course:

• The First Annual Readers' Choice Awards

 

FROM LAST WEEK'S BABBLE!

SPOTLIGHTERS TO HOLD ANNUAL HOLIDAY CABARET! 

SPOTLIGHTERS Theatre's annual HOLIDAY CABARET - just a reason to have fun! – will be held on Friday, December 28 at 8pm.  Tickets are $18 and include reception. 

The evening features entertainment by local singers, comedians and improv groups. If you need something to do with the family in for the Holidays -- or you need an escape from the family in for the Holidays, come and join SPOTLIGHTERS Theatre for our Holiday Cabaret - just a reason to have fun!

More info at www.spotlighters.org.  Order Tickets online at www.spotlighters.org - just click on TICKETS or by email at Tickets@spotlighters.org 

SPOTLIGHTERS OFFERS TRAINING WORKSHOPS IN JANUARY!

ACTORS INTENSVE
As an actor:
 - do you want to take your performance to a higher level?
 - do you want to add layers and depth to your character development?
 - do you want to understand what it means to "behave" on stage rather than "act" on stage?
Then The Actors Intensive is for you --
This is a six week (24 hour) workshop, taught in a very individual and one-on-one style by
critically acclaimed director and actor, Alexander D Carney (Director of Angels in America, Perestroika)

The workshop schedule will be determined based upon availability of participants.
To register go to www.spotlighters.org/intensive.htm
Tuition is $250 and is due upon acceptance into program and confirmation of schedule.
Program will 4 hour sessions, weekly for 6 weeks.
Mail to SPOTLIGHTERS Theatre - 817 Saint Paul Street - Baltimore,  MD  21202
or FAX:  410-752-1225

ACTORS GUIDE TO READING MUSIC
Are you an actor that sings?
Are you a singer that acts?
But - you don't know how to read sheet music ---
so - you have to learn each song my hearing it over and over again!
This workshop will teach you the basic skills needed to look at a sheet of music
and be able to understand tempo and timing, key signature and notation, and know the
basic notes and intervals in a standard musical score.
Taught by local Musical Director and Vocal Coach, Michael Tan (Sunday in the Park with George, Falsettos, The Great American Trailer Park Musical and others)

This will be a three week workshop - two hours per week, beginning in mid-January.
Schedule will be determined once participants have registered.
Cost is $65 and is due upon acceptance into program and confirmation of schedule.
To register complete the registration form (download in PDF)
Go to www.spotlighters.org/musicwkshop.htm
Mail to SPOTLIGHTERS Theatre - 817 Saint Paul Street - Baltimore,  MD  21202
or FAX:  410-752-1225

SPOTLIGHTERS SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR 2008-2009 SEASON!

Yes - the 07/08 season just begun, but they are starting to put together the 2008/2009 season.
SPOTLIGTERS is seeking Directors that have a passion for directing a particular show and want to do it at SPOTLIGHTERS!  Their intimate space create some challenges for some productions, but it also creates some outstanding theatre experiences.  If you have a production that you would like to direct at SPOTLIGHTERS, please submit a proposal.

The Season Selection Committee will begin meeting in late December to review proposals and read scripts.  Director interviews will be held in February 2008.

Please be sure to include a copy of the script with your proposal.
Proposal forms are available from the website - PDF download, (www.spotlighters.org) or by email request to Info@spotlighters.org.
Forms will be emailed (pdf) or faxed at your discretion.

SINGLE CARROT PRESENTS HOLIDAY THEMED LA MUENCA; PROCEEDS FOR CHARITY 

Single Carrot Theatre announces La Muñeca (The Doll), a Spanish poem by Vital Aza, adapted for the stage by Single Carrot company member Aldo Pantoja, at Load of Fun Studios Dec. 13 to Dec. 22.  All performances begin at 7:30PM.

Set in a city where poverty and affluence exist simultaneously, La Muñeca is A Tale of a young, homeless girl who embodies the spirit of the holidays through self-sacrifice.

The company uses mixed media and singing, along with traditional theatrical elements to explore the cycle of giving and receiving, and its effect on humanity. The show is primarily in English with sections of Spanish throughout. 

La Muñeca is a traditional Spanish poem, which Latin-American children often learn to recite in school. "It is something my mother taught me when I was a child. At an early age, I was inspired by the honesty and reality of the poem," said Pantoja, "It seems that most holiday stories are somewhat fanciful, whereas La Muñeca  is a story about real people facing misfortune and searching for compassion."

A dramatic reading of "The Light is Like Water," a short story by Noble prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez will be presented as a companion piece to La Muñeca. Single Carrot is maintaining the integrity of Marquez's original text, while exploring the story with movement and shadow work in order to highlight the power of the imagination in children.

"When looking at how commercialized the holidays are, it is easy to lose sight of the meaning. Children never forget, and it is through their eyes and imaginations that the holiday spirit is maintained" said J. Buck Jabaily, who is directing "The Light is Like Water."

In order to raise social awareness of youth homelessness, Single Carrot Theatre is partnering with Fellowship of Lights: Youth and Community Services. The organization is devoted to helping homeless youth in Baltimore City.

A portion of the proceeds from La Muñeca will benefit The Fellowship of Lights, and there will be further opportunities for audience members to donate at each performance. Additional material and a representative from the organization will be available at each performance to answer questions.

CENTERSTAGE PRESENTS JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE; RELATED PROGRAMS FOR DECEMBER AND JANUARY!

The work of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson returns to CENTERSTAGE as the third offering of our 45^th Season, Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Directed by Derrick Sanders, Founding Artistic Director of Chicago's Congo Square Theatre Company, and featuring a cast led by Broadway veterans Myra Lucretia Taylor (Nine) and James A. Williams (Radio Golf), the production also marks CENTERSTAGE's first revival of a Wilson play. This vibrant and earthy drama of longing, loss, and redemption plays The Pearlstone Theater beginning December 7^th and runs through January 13^th. M&T Bank is the production's official corporate sponsor, with additional support from The William L. & Victorine Q. Adams Foundation and The Rodgers Family Fund, Miles & Stockbridge, and Global Lead Management Consulting.

Haunted by seven years on a chain gang, Herald Loomis has come to Pittsburgh to reunite his family. Surrounded by the vibrant tenants of Seth and Bertha Holly's boarding house—scattered souls of the Great Migration—Loomis continues his fierce, poetic journey to recover himself and his song as the early days of the 20^th Century glimmer with possibility.

Heading the cast as the no-nonsense boarding house proprietors, Seth and Bertha Holly, are Broadway veterans James A. Williams and Myra Lucretia Taylor. Williams made his Broadway debut last season in Radio Golf, playing the same role he played in its engagement here in 2006, as well as every other production prior to Broadway—seven in total—beginning with its world premiere at Yale Rep in 2005.  Taylor, who is making her CENTERSTAGE debut, has many Broadway credits to her name, including the Tony-winning revival of Nine, Macbeth, Electra, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Mule Bone, and A Streetcar Named Desire.  In 2002, Taylor was a guest member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in Stratford and on the West End in The Winter's Tale and Pericles.

Appearing as the fractured Loomis family are Javon Johnson and Donnetta Lavinia Grays, with Reign Edwards and Miah Marie Patterson in alternating performances.  Two men offering very different avenues of aid to the residents of the Holly household are played by Cedric Young and Michael Medeiros.  The romantic triangle of the boarding house is populated by Rob Riley, Roslyn Ruff, and Bakesta King.  Rounding out the cast as Zonia's ghost-seeing playmate Reuben Mercer, in alternating performances, are Marquis D. Moody and Neiman A. Outlen.  Director Derrick Sanders makes his CENTERSTAGE debut with this production.

Joe Turner's Come and Gone runs December 7, 2007–January 13, 2008: Tuesday through Saturday at 8 pm; Sunday at 7:30 pm; Saturday & Sunday Matinees at 2 pm; and a Wednesday Matinee on December 26^th at 1 pm.  Tickets are $10–$60.  For tickets, call 410.332.0033 or go online to centerstage.org.  Discounts are available for groups of 15+. Contact Group Sales at groups@centerstage.org or 410.986.4008.  E-mail info@centerstage.org, visit our website at centerstage.org, or call 410.332.0033.

CENTERSTAGE is offering the following programs in conjunction with Joe Turner's Come and Gone: 

Student & Senior Discounts

• Save $10 off Friday evening performances. May be purchased in advance; simply present valid ID for verification upon pick-up. 

AfterThoughts

• Join members of the dramaturgy staff for a deeper look into the production with these post-show discussions, sponsored by McDaniel College.
• Thursday, December 27^th, 8 pm
• Sunday, December 30^th, 2 pm
• Thursday, January 3^rd, 7 pm 

Child's Play

• On-site theater-related "play care" for children aged four to ten during select Saturday matinees. $15 per child; pre-registration is required. 
• Saturday, December 22^nd, 2 pm
• Saturday, December 29^th, 2 pm 

Twilight Thursday

• There's no need to make a late night of a night at the theater with this early curtain performance, followed by an AfterThoughts discussion.
• Thursday, January 3^rd, 7 pm  

Sign Interpretation

• The CIRS Agency works with the artistic staff and experienced interpreters to provide a cohesive American Sign Language interpretation, incorporating the style and artistic characteristics of the performance. Please request the sign interpreted performance when purchasing tickets. Advance copies of the script may be requested via e-mail: access@centerstage.org.
• Friday, January 4^th, 8 pm

 

HOLIDAY – THEMED PERFORMANCES

Below are several holiday-themed shows playing in the Baltimore/DC area.  "Adult Holiday Entertainment" means that these performances are NOT meant for children.  "Family Friendly" means that these performances are suitable for the entire family, regardless of age.

REP STAGE BRINGS BACK SANTALAND DIARIES WITH BRUCE NELSON

(Adult Holiday Entertainment)

Last year, Rep Stage had a huge holiday hit with David Sedaris' hilarious Santaland Diaries, a biting "expose" about life as a department store elf/Santa's helper.  Well, December 5 -23, they are bringing it back for all the shop-weary folks that this time of year seems to create.  What a tonic for the Holiday Blues!  (This production is recommended for mature audiences.)

This one-man show again stars Helen Hayes Award-winning actor Bruce Nelson, and is directed by RepStage's own Michael Stebbins.  This year, the show will be performed at the Slayton House in Columbia's Wilde Lake Village Community Center, which is located at 10400 Cross Fox Lane in Columbia.  Tickets are $25 - $17, depending upon which show date you attend.  There are discounts available for groups of 6 or more, senior citizens over age 60, HCC staff/faculty, and all students are $12.00 for any performance with ID.  Tickets may be purchased at 410-772-4900 or at www.repstage.org.

YULTIDE BENEFIT FOR THE MOBTOWN PLAYERS

(Adult Holiday Entertainment)

The cast of the upcoming US Premier of the musical Six Dead Queens…and an Inflatable Henry and The Gilded Lily Burlesque ( www.myspace.com/gildedlilyburlesque), will be hosting Mistletoe Masquerade 2007,  A Yuletide Celebration to Benefit The Mobtown Players on December 29^th, from 7pm – 11pm.  The event will be held at The Mobtown Theatre at Meadow Mill on 3600 Clipper Mill Road in Hampden.  Tickets are $45 and Black Tie/Costume is optional.  There is a limited capacity of 80, so order tickets soon.

The event will feature: 

• Open Bar – Beer, Wine, Coffee, Tea, Soda, and more!
• Menu – Light Holiday Fare – a little something for everyone, as well as a decadent dessert table! 
• Silent Auction! The evening will include a Silent Auction of fabulous prizes including items autographed by John Waters and Baltimore Ravens Players, tickets to shows around town, gift certificates for restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, handcrafted jewelry, baskets of cheer and more! 
• Also, be one of the first to see the Six Dead Queens Trailer, launched on the big screen after the evening's performances!

Tickets can be purchased at www.mobtown.net through Acteva or for more information got to sixdeadqueens@gmail.com.  

FELLS POINT CORNER THEATRE PRESENTS THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER

(Family Friendly)

Fells Point Corner Theatre will present its annual holiday show, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson, and directed by Mike Ware.

The Herdman children put the "H" in horrible and now they are going to put "C" back in Christmas.  How do these awful hoodlums achieve this?  They take over the Annual Christmas Pageant and in turn, learn the true meaning of the season.   

A Holiday Bazaar will be held before and after all performances of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, featuring gifts, baked goods, refreshments and auction opportunities to benefit FPCT's youth programs.

Director Mike Ware has appeared in several FPCT productions, including Street Scene, Sunday in the Park with George, Life X 3 and Anna in the Tropics.  Many will remember his special performance as "Elvis" in last season's holiday production of The Six Jewels, which was written and performed by FPCT's Challenged Ensemble.  Featured in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever are many talented Baltimore actors of all ages.

Performances of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever are December 14th to December 23rd, 2007, Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 7:00 p.m.  Call 410-276-7837 for reservations.  Tickets are $17/General, $15/Seniors and Students, and $8/Children 12 and under.  Order tickets at www.fpct.org.

FORD'S THEATRE IN DC PRESENTS A CHRISTMAS CAROL

(Family Friendly)

A Christmas Carol, Washington's favorite annual holiday tradition at Ford's Theatre continues – just with a twist. Performances of the Ford's Theatre production written by Charles Dickens, adapted by Michael Wilson and originally directed by Matt August will take place at the Lansburgh Theatre on 7th Street, NW, utilizing a new venue for our classic production. 

"It's still Christmas in Washington" said Paul Tetreault, Producing Director of Ford's Theatre.  "Just with a new twist to a classic story."  "I am thrilled to be able to say that Ford's Theatre will continue the more than 20 year tradition of producing this classic tale of love and redemption."  "With just a few modifications for the new space," Tetreault continued, "the show will go on better than ever!" 

A Christmas Carol, with original staging recreated by Mark Ramont, will include Martin Rayner reprising his role as Ebenezer Scrooge.  Other cast members include David Covington, Michael Bunce, Michael John Casey, Elliot Dash, Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Goodwin, Bill Hensel, Claudia Miller, Susanne Richard, and Todd Scofield.

A Christmas Carol will run December 6 through 29th.  Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling (202) 547-1122 or visiting www.fords.org or at the Lansburgh Theatre Box Office.  Ticket prices –$30 - $55 plus $3.00 Lansburgh Theatre facility fee.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.