All stories by Herb Merrick on BroadwayStars

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Theatre Review: ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ at The Hippodrome Theatre by Herb Merrick

“Kimberly Akimbo”, with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, is based on Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play of the same name. The show premiered Off-Broadway in…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:50PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 29, 2026

Theatre Review: 'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike' at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

"Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike" (VSMS) is a comedic play written by Christopher Durang which premiered at Princeton's McCarter Theatre in 2012. It moved to Off-Broadway and transferred…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:15PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Concert Review: 'The Doo Wop Project' with the BSO, Christopher Dragon, conductor, at The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall by Herb Merrick

Featuring Music Director and pianist Brent Frederick and Joe Bergamini on drums. Doo wop is a type of rhythm and blues music that dates back to the 1940s and was developed within African-Ame…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:57PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 21, 2026

Theatre Review: 'Really Quite A Lot Of Mechanisms' presented by Alex and Olmsted at Baltimore Theatre Project by Herb Merrick

Alex and Olmsted is an internationally-acclaimed puppet theatre and film-making company based in Maryland. Composed of artists Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas (husband and wife), the du…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:20PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Concert Review:  'La Vida Loca' with Enrico Lopez-Yañez conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall by Herb Merrick

Featuring vocalists Ender Thomas and Jackie Mendez and instrumentalists José Sibaja on trumpet, Luisito Quintero on percussion, and Brian Czach on drums. This BSO Pops concert was a tribute…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:52PM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 15, 2026

Concert Review: 'RENT in Concert' at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall by Herb Merrick

"RENT" is a modern rock musical, with music, lyrics, and book by Johnathan Larson, based on the 1896 opera "La Boheme" by Giacomo Puccini. The first production was in 1993 at the New York Th…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:38PM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 7, 2026

Theatre Review: 'Dawn' at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

Everyman Theatre is currently presenting the world premiere of "Dawn," written by playwright Tuyết Thị Phạm and directed by Seonjae Kim. Phạm is also an associate artist…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:47PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 6, 2026

Theatre Review: 'The Great Gatsby " A New Musical' at The Hippodrome by Herb Merrick

Once again Baltimore is the first stop in the national tour of a major Broadway musical, this one based on a novel by a former Baltimore resident! Kait Kerrigan adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald's…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:53PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Concert Review: 'Kings of Soul' with Byron Stripling conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

Featuring vocalists Chester Gregory, Darren Lorenzo, and Michael Lynche, with instrumentalists Douglas Marriner (drums) and Tim Lappin (electric bass). This BSO Pops program presented a musi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:48PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 22, 2025

Theatre Review: 'Wicked' at The Hippodrome by Herb Merrick

"Wicked," subtitled "The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz," with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, is adapted from Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, "Wicked: The …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:36PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Theatre Review: 'JUXTAPOSE: A Theatrical Shadowbox' presented by Happenstance Theater at Baltimore Theatre Project by Herb Merrick

Happenstance Theatre, founded in 2006 by co-artistic directors Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell, is partially funded by the Maryland State Arts Council and has won several Helen Hayes Awards …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:23PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 8, 2025

Theatre Review: 'Deceived' at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

"Deceived" is a suspense-filled thriller written in 2024 by Johanna Wright and Patty Jamieson and adapted for modern audiences from the 1938 play "Gaslight" by Patrick Hamilton. As a result …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:07PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 30, 2025

Concert Review: 'Leslie Odom, Jr. " The Christmas Tour' at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall by Herb Merrick

Leslie Odom, Jr., jazz recording artist, composer, author, and star of stage, film, and television, returned to Baltimore for a program of holiday music in the new "Live at the Meyerhoff" se…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:56PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 23, 2025

Concert Review: 'ICON: The Voices That Changed Music,' Lucas Waldin conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

Featuring vocalists Capathia Jenkins, Ryan Shaw, and background vocalists Calli Graver and Rajdulari The word "icon" generally refers to a person widely admired for influence or significance…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:09PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 15, 2025

Theatre Review:  'An Evening with Alex And Olmsted' at Baltimore Theatre Project by Herb Merrick

Alex and Olmsted (the husband and wife team of Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas), an internationally acclaimed puppetry and physical theater company, is now in residency at Baltimore The…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:39PM[SHARE]
Friday, November 14, 2025

Theatre Review: 'The Phantom at the Opera' at The Hippodrome Theatre by Herb Merrick

"The Phantom of the Opera," with music by Andrew Lloyd- Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and book by Lloyd-Webber and Stilgoe, is based on the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux,…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:11PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 2, 2025

Concert Review: 'Haunted Hall: Halloween Film Favorites' with Damon Gupton conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

This musical celebration of Halloween started even before the first note was played. The Meyerhoff lobby staff, dressed as Count Dracula, greeted audience members, and the members of the orc…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:58PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 20, 2025

Theatre Review: 'The Peculiar Patriot' at Baltimore Center Stage by Herb Merrick

"The Peculiar Patriot" is a one-woman show written and performed by actress, playwright, author, poet, activist, and youth advocate, Liza Jessie Peterson. The Old Globe Theatre commissioned …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:14PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 6, 2025

Concert Review: 'Pink Martini All-Stars' at The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall by Herb Merrick

Pink Martini has given concerts all over the world, and the vocalists sing in more than 25 different languages. Thomas Lauderdale named the group after his fondness for mid-20th century cock…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:28AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Theatre Review: 'Water For Elephants " The Broadway Musical' at The Hippodrome Theatre by Herb Merrick

"Water For Elephants " The Broadway Musical" is based on the 2006 historical romance novel by Sara Gruen, with music and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co. (a New York-based indie-folk band and th…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 14, 2025

Theatre Review: 'Mae West: The Comeback Tour' at Baltimore Theatre Project by Herb Merrick

Mary Jane "Mae" West's career as a show business entertainer spanned more than seven decades. Her early career performing in vaudeville and theater was based in New York, and a later career …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:51PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Theatre Review: August Wilson's 'The Piano Lesson' at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

Everyman's 35th season opening production and entry into Baltimore's August Wilson Celebration is  "The Piano Lesson." It is part of his American Century Cycle, reflecting the Black exper…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:14PM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 15, 2025

Concert Review: 'Verdi's 'Aida' Conducted by [Johnathon] Heyward' and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

The final concert of the 2024-2025 season brought audiences a complete concert version of Verdi's "Aida" performed in Italian with English supertitles and featuring an all-star cast: Angel B…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:46AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 5, 2025

Theatre Review: 'Chicago the Musical' at The Hippodrome by Herb Merrick

"Chicago the Musical," originally subtitled "A Musical Vaudeville," with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, is set in the 1920s Jazz Age and based on a …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:52AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Theatre Review: 'John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only!' at Baltimore Center Stage by Herb Merrick

"John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only," a play written by Baltimore native Matthew Weiner, a graduate of The Park School, marks its world premiere at BCS. Mr. Weiner is an author, actor, televi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:31PM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 11, 2025

Concert Review: 'Heroes and Heroines' with Sarah Hicks Conducting The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Featuring Dariusz Skoraczewski by Herb Merrick

Maestra Hicks, a specialist in film music and the film in concert genre, introduced this final BSO pops concert of the season. She explained that the scores selected for representation in th…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:25PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 7, 2025

Concert Review:  'Let's Misbehave: The Songs of Cole Porter,' Jack Everly conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, with Tony DeSare, Bria S by Herb Merrick

It's always a pleasure to welcome back Jack Everly, the BSO's former principal pops conductor, for one of his well-received programs of the Great American Songbook. For this performance he b…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:19PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 5, 2025

Theatre Guide: 'The Music Man' at Toby's Dinner Theatre by Herb Merrick

"The Music Man," with music, lyrics, and book by Meredith Willson, is based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. Set in the fictional town of River City, Iowa, the story follows the tra…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:02PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 30, 2025

Theatre Review: 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is a three-act play by Edward Albee, first staged on Broadway in 1962. It won Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Actress (Uta Hagen), and Best Actor (Arthur Hi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:31PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Concert Review: Mahler's Symphony No. 4, featuring Julia Bullock, soprano, with Jonathon Heyward conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

Maestro Heyward introduced the program as a musical reflection on life. The first selection, Antonín Dvořák's "Carnival Overture" (1891), is the second in a trilogy of overtures ti…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:53PM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 23, 2025

Concert Review: 'Simply The Best: The Music Of Tina Turner' with Enrico Lopez-Yanez Conducting The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

Maestro Enrico Lopez-Yanez, an active composer/arranger as well as principal and guest pops conductor of several symphony orchestras, is known for his collaboration with many popular artists…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:57PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off