Welcome to Charm City Call Board for the week of December 4 - 10, keeping you up to date each week with all that is theater in Baltimore.
NEW THIS WEEK!:
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!
CONTESTS!
Thank you to the over 400 of you who entered the Avenue Q contest! Winners have been notified. Look for a new contest after the new year!
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.
SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS ABOUT LOCAL HOLIDAY THEMED PERFORMANCES!
CURTAIN UP! Opening this week!
The Santaland Diaries at Rep Stage.
IN PREVIEWS:
CURTAIN DOWN! Closing this week!
Broadway Bound at Fells Point Corner Theatre.
NOW PLAYING! Shows that are currently running.
The Lion in Winter at Spotlighters and Holiday Hot Nostalgia at Toby's Baltimore.
Much Ado About Nothing at Everyman Theatre.
OPENING SOON!
La Muenca at Single Carrot Theatre.
HELP WANTED: TECHNICAL CREW FOR PAGEANT AT SPOTLIGHTERS
BACKSTAGE BABBLE! News, Best Bets, etc.
BEST BET: HOLIDAY HOT NOSTALGIA! AT TOBY'S BALTIMORE
Take one part Christmas caroling, one part Smokey Joe's Café, and a cast of local musical theatre greats and you get Toby's original musical revue, Holiday Hot Nostalgia! It is exactly what the title suggests – holiday songs and a nostalgic cavalcade of the very best songs in pop music history from the 30's to the 70's. Whoever thought to put "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Sleigh Ride", and the Village People on the same stage in the same show is a crazy genius. It works! It is a blast – an hour and a half that flies by, leaving you wanting more, and dinner to boot! PLUS, see above for an exclusive BroadwayWorld.com discount to this excellent show! What a way to stop and take a breath during all the rush of the holiday season, and what a great gift to the Baltimore theatergoer! The show runs through January 6th.
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.
SANTA VISITS LAUREL MILL PLAYHOUSE!
Santa Claus will be visiting Laurel Mill Playhouse at 508 Main Street on Saturday, December 15, between 1:00 and 4:00 PM. Please bring your children to have their picture taken with Santa that you can take home that day! Santa will also give a little treat to each child. Donations are welcome. Please contact Maureen Rogers at jjjmm@aol.com or 301-452-2557 for further information.
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 45th 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 7th and runs through January 13th; Opening Night is Wednesday, December 12th. 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 20th 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 26th 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
Pay Your Age Previews
AfterThoughts
Child's Play
College Night
M&T Bank presents Kickin' It with the 'Rents
Meet the Actors
Night Out
Twilight Thursday
Wachovia Bank presents LIVE! @ CENTERSTAGE
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.
SPOTLIGHTERS AND DO OR DIE PRODUCTIONS PRESENT SLAY RIDE
(Adult Holiday Entertainment)
Spotlighters and Do or Die Productions will present the original interactive murder-mystery-comedy, Slay Ride at The Spotlighters Theatre on St. Paul Street. Performances run through December 15, Fridays and Saturdays at 11PM.
This production includes adult themes and language, and the murder of Santa Claus.
Tickets are $18/General, $15/Students/Seniors/BTA Members, and are available online at www.spotlighters.org . For more information, call 410-752-1225.
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 29th, 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:
Tickets can be purchased at www.mobtown.net through Acteva or for more information got to sixdeadqueens@gmail.com.
CCBC-ESSEX CELEBRATES 50 YEARS WITH 50's STYLE HOLIDAY SHOW
(Family Friendly)
He might not be Ed Sullivan but CCBC student Brian Meise will host a real-ly big show, A Sleigh Ride Spectacular, 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7-8 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9 in the B Building Theatre at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Boulevard. Director Anne Lefter, CCBC director of Performing Arts, and Music Supervisor Bill Watson, department chairman for Performing Arts and Humanities, have crafted an original production saluting the 50s glory days that gave us both CCBC and the entertainment television era.
Staged as a live broadcast from "WECC" Studios in beautiful downtown Essex, A Sleigh Ride Spectacular will feature:
Other performances include: The CCBC Dance Company presenting a comic "Nutcracker March" and "Blue Christmas." The Children's Playhouse of Maryland, Inc., in residence at CCBC Essex, singing a medley including "I'm Gettin' Nuthin" for Christmas" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Ashton Fletcher and "The Fletchtones" will provide the 50s sound of the production's "house band."
Highlights of the production will be "Twas the Night Before Christmas", a piece for narrator and band, narrated by F. Scott Black, dean of the CCBC School of Liberal Arts, (Thursday-Saturday) and William Watson, department chairman, Humanities and Performing Arts, (Sunday).
The show also includes a 50s style "Christmas Quiz Show" with classic commercials for brands such as Ovaltine, Oldsmobile, Esso Gas and Alka Seltzer.
The acting company features: Brian Meise of Hampstead as Host and Rabiah Bowman of Rosedale as Hostess; Zach Hock of Middle River as Floor Manager directing a crew that includes Rachel Ahrens of Nottingham, Billy Coutain of Parkville, Phil Diedeman of Phoenix, Pavel Goucharov of Sparks-Glencoe and Nicole Wheatley of Middle River.
Tickets are $8 general admission and $5 for senior adults, students, CCBC faculty and staff. For tickets and information, call the CCBC Box Office at 410-780-6369.
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.
THEATRE PROJECT PRESENTS BALTIMORE: THE OPERA
(Family Friendly)
Nearly 300 years of Baltimore history, hons, rowhouses and crab cakes will be boiled down into 90 minutes of irreverent fun when Baltimore: The Opera takes the stage at Theatre Project Nov. 29 - Dec. 9; Thurs.-Sat. at 8pm; Sun. at 3pm. Tickets are $20 general admission/ $15 seniors and artists/ $10 students, and can be reserved by calling the box office at 410-752-8558 or online at www.missiontix.com.
Performed by Squonk Opera, Baltimore: The Opera is a toast to Charm City with a decidedly skewed point-of-view. The show features local dancers (from Morton Street Dance Company, Rayn Fall Dance Studio and Wayne Jackson Studios); interviews with area personalities (including one of the last interviews with Ruby Glover); and the artwork of Orems Elementary School students; as well as Squonk Opera's stunning visuals and sophisticated music. It all adds up to a delightful ode to the city and community of Baltimore - chock full of rock-and-roll, projected videos, dancing and puppets.
The production is the latest incarnation of Squonk Opera's (put your hometown's name here): The Opera series. The project is very unique in that it isn't Squonk Opera's vision of a city, but the residents' version of their hometown. The show changes with each city it salutes and is built on months of research and work with local groups. During the week of Oct. 15, Squonk traveled to Baltimore and met with the local community to fill the show with as much imagery and culture as possible. From Arabbers to the Patterson Park Pagoda to Federal Hill, Squonk saw a little bit of it all.
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.
HIPPODROME TO HOST THREE REDNECK TENORS HOLIDAY SHOW
(Family Friendly)
On December 6 – 8, the Hippodrome will be invaded by those singing trailer park angels (mullets and all), The Three Redneck Tenors, in their new holiday show, 3 Redneck Tenors Christmas Sec-tac-yule-ar! Join cast members John Wilkerson (Broadway's State Fair), Matthew Lord (The Metropolitan Opera), Dinny McGuire (Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus) and Alex Bumpas (Dallas Symphony Orchestra) for this family-fun filled show. Classic hits include: "Sleigh Ride," "Santa Claus id Coming to Town," "Silent Night," and such spoofs as "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer!"
Tickets are $35.00 and $45.00, available online at www.broadwayacrossamerica.com , by phone at 410-547-SEAT, or at the Hippodrome Box Office.
FROM LAST WEEK'S BABBLE!
ONSTAGE PLAYERS ANNOUNCES A NEW PRODUCTION
Onstage Players will be presenting The Ash Girl by Timberlake Wertenbaker. Performances are November 30-December 2, December 7-9 and December 14-16; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. The theatre space is located at St. John's United Church of Christ at 1000 S. Rolling Road in Catonsville. Tickets are $12 General Admission/$10 Seniors, children under 18, groups of 10 or more and military. Call the box office at 443-844-6481 or make a reservation on-line at www.onstageplayers.org. Cash and checks only at the door.
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