All articles by Sue Tilberry
Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s latest offering is a romp through Transylvania with “Young Frankenstein,” directed by Stephen Emery. Adapted for stage by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan…
On the face of it, a big production show like “42nd Street” seems like a risky choice for a small-staged theater like Classic Theatre of Maryland. After the overture introduction in the …
It is hard to think of saints as real people. They are ancient, holy, and remote from the lives that most of us lead. As a White Sox-loving kid growing up on the south side of Chicago, howev…
It was a dark and stormy night, but the lights of the theater marquee cut through the mist like a homing beacon: "City of Angels," at the Colonial Players. Inside, the usual suspects awaited…
August Wilson's brilliant, 1987 Pulitzer and Tony award-winning "Fences" graces the stage at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, and we thank them for it. This powerful play is the sixth present…
We use Charles Dickens' seasonal staple "A Christmas Carol" to remind ourselves to appreciate the things we take for granted and that redemption for our transgressions may just be possible. …
Compass Rose Theater's production of "Pride and Prejudice" is a sweet treat that will erase the stress of  a week of work and news. Written by Jane Austen in 1813 and adapted here by Emma…
 Directed by Debbie Barber-Eaton at The Colonial Players, this production of "Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors" (written in 2023 by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen in 2023) is silly, fast-p…
There are so many things to love about Jane Austen stories and characters. They are funny, ridiculous, and poignant without being sappy or sad; they are universally about women navigating li…
"The Importance of Being Earnest," a comedy written in 1895, would seem to have little chance of remaining relevant or funny after so many years, but Oscar Wilde's brilliant play does just t…
"Much Ado About Nothing" is the latest delightful summer offering from Classic Theatre of Maryland in Annapolis. Written over 400 years ago, its messages, romantic dalliances, and intrigues …
Written in 1599, Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" is as accurate a portrayal of modern politics as could have been written today, with ambition, loyalty, cynicism, and betrayal all playing thei…
"Museum," originally written in 1975 by Tina Howe, is a day in the life of a museum art exhibit"closing day, to be exact"and all the odd characters that pass through the gallery. The audienc…
"Proof," David Auburn's 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, is about a young woman's depression, sibling rivalry, mental illness, the death of her beloved father, and all she ga…
Before seeing this latest offering at Baltimore Center Stage, it is hard to imagine how another version of "Pride and Prejudice" could add anything to what the 17 film adaptations and spinof…
First produced in 2003, "Intimate Apparel" is based on the life of playwright Lynn Nottage's great grandmother, a Black seamstress who moves to New York City in 1905 to make a new life, star…
The classic musical "Oklahoma!," the first collaboration between Richard Rogers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein (lyrics and book), opened on Broadway in 1943. The play is considered to have ch…
The current production of "Big Fish" at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre (ASGT) was almost the one that got away. The first two scheduled performances had to be cancelled due to serious flood…
Classic Theatre of Maryland's production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a perfect slice of summer. Written around 1595, Shakespeare's comedy endures, with the help of the de…
  People of a certain age will remember the movie on which the musical is based, but this production is not your grandparent's "Young Frankenstein." Very loosely based on Mary Shelle…
Initially "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" seems like a tragic story about a boy and a dog. As the play opens, we see the body of a prone dog named Wellington pierced with…
 Maryland Theatre Collective's production of "Falsettos" is an energetic, humorous, and intense rendition of the 1992 Tony Award-winning musical opera by William Finn and James Lapine, w…
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company often begins their shows with pre-show entertainment such as a mood-setting musical number or hymn. For this show, as the boisterous audience slowly files into…
It would be difficult to put "Gypsy" on stage without a strong leading role"Ethel Merman's ghost is always waiting in the wings. Now playing at the Classic Theatre of Maryland, this producti…
"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" now playing at Compass Rose Theater is a delightful and moving production. This 2005 Tony Award-winning musical (written by Rachel Sheinkin, musi…
"The Oresteia," now playing at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, is based on a Greek trilogy written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE. Although the idea of Greek tragedies may be daunting, …
A world premiere adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" has taken the stage at Classic Theatre of Maryland. Written by Artistic Director Sally Boyett and Laura Rocklyn and directed …
A Shakespeare play in old English is a challenge under any circumstances, but performing a 428-year-old comedy with actors under the age of 18 is particularly impressive. Children's Theatre …
The idea for the multi-media presentation now playing at Greenbelt Arts Center grew from a desire to make it possible for immunosuppressed actors to participate in theatre during Covid. The …
Little Orphan Annie is an American icon, starting with a 19th century poem and a more relevant comic in 1924. The musical "Annie" arrived on Broadway in 1977, winning seven Tony Awards, incl…
Compass Rose Theater's production of "The Gin Game," directed by Rick Wade, is an intense, two-hander that will hold your attention to the last minute. Written by D.L.Coburn, this 1977 play …
A wonderful break from traditional holiday classics could be found in "Home for the Holidays: A Cabaret," a little gem produced by the Maryland Theatre Collective that had the air of a pop-u…
The audience arrives in Baltimore, decked out in red, black, and sequins and is expecting to be entertained. "Moulin Rouge! The Musical""the touring, Tony Award-winning Broadway show with a …
"I and You," the award-winning play by Lauren Gunderson at Compass Rose Theater, is a poignant, moving work that will take you to unexpected places. Directed by Jerry Winters, it is perfectl…
Theatre AACC returns this season its production of "12 Angry Jurors." The American classic, "12 Angry Men," was written by Reginald Rose and adapted by Sherman L. Sergel as "12 Angry Jurors.…
Happenstance Theater's "Cabaret Macabre" has returned to Baltimore Theater Project with a series of delightful vignettes that are dark, sometimes bloody, disturbing, and always funny. These …
The Colonial Players have never shied away from unusual plays or difficult topics. Their latest offering, "Wit," written by Margaret Edson, is a bracing, funny, and heartbreaking look at one…
There are two sure things about the latest offering from Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC): "As You Like It" is a total delight and it is an excellent starting place for anyone shy about …
"Mean Girls," a Talent Machine Company summer production at Anne Arundel Community College, is the perfect vehicle for taking us back"some would say" to a terrible time in our lives. With mu…
"First Date" is a delightful night of summer entertainment in downtown Annapolis. It was written by Austin Winsberg with lyrics and music by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, and directed by …
Although Shakespeare lived almost entirely under the reasonably stable reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the machinations and murders of previous princes, from Richard III to Henry VIII and all th…
With the promise of presenting of all 37 of Shakespeare's plays in 97 minutes, it's hard to imagine what to expect. Funny and irreverent certainly, but "The Complete Works of William Shakesp…
The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's production of "Hamlet," directed by Eleanor Holdridge, is an energetic and familiar story filled with the perils of politics, loyalty, and love. The open…
 "Putting it Together," a musical review of Stephen Sondheim's songs, is a fast-paced, intimate portrayal of the bright and dark aspects friendship, marriage, and relationships. Loosely c…
 Thornton Wilder's 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Our Town" was written in hard times. The country was in the grips of the Depression; farmland was disintegrating into the dust bowl; …
Maryland Theatre Collective's production of "Disney's Freaky Friday The Musical" is a delightful and spirited iteration of the franchise, which includes three movies and most recently a musi…
What does a play from the 1700s have in common with a 70s sitcom? Not a lot, really, other than the fact that few people in the audience remember the culture of either. It is an odd pairing,…
It is hard to imagine a world that Shakespeare does not grace. Based on a true-story, "The Book of Will" shows us how easily the bard could have vanished into the ages. George Elliot said th…
"Love Like Tuesday," playing at the Capital Hill Arts Workshop, is a tightly choreographed and seamless world premiere under the direction of Francesca Chilcote and movement coach Kathryn Zo…
"The Learned Ladies," a comedy written in verse by Molière in 1672, is now playing at Classic Theatre of Maryland in Annapolis. That description can be a little intimidating, if not off-put…