All stories by Herb Merrick on BroadwayStars

Monday, July 15, 2024

Cabaret Review: ‘Baltimore, Broadway, and Beyond: A Musical Evening With Felicia Curry and Friends’ at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

Felicia Curry, vocalist and a member of Everyman’s Resident Company, presents an evening of cabaret entertainment in a return to the popular summer cabaret series which Everyman featured a…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:04PM
Friday, June 28, 2024

Concert Review: ‘Michael Feinstein Presents Because Of You: My Tribute To Tony Bennett’ at Wolf  Trap, featuring the Carnegie Hall Big Band by Herb Merrick

Michael Feinstein, pianist and vocalist, is a music revivalist and archivist of the Great American Songbook. He is the Principal Pops Conductor of the Pasadena Orchestra and the Artistic Dir…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:35PM
Monday, June 17, 2024

Concert Review: ‘The Pines of Rome’ presented by The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jonathon Heyward and featuring Christine Goerke by Herb Merrick

The BSO’s final concert of the 2023-2024 season reminded me of the four traditional requirements for the bridal attire at a wedding: something old, something new, something borrowed, somet…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:41PM
Monday, May 13, 2024

Concert Review: ‘Blockbuster Film Classics’ with Conductor Damon Gupton andThe Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

Did you know that the film “Lawrence of Arabia” exceeds the running time of “Gone with the Wind” by ONE minute and therefore holds the record as the longest film to win the Academy A…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:43PM

Theatre Review: ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ at Baltimore Center Stage by Herb Merrick

“The Importance of Being Earnest,” a farcical comedy by playwright Oscar Wilde, premiered at London’s St. James Theatre in 1895. Due to a notorious scandal and Oscar Wilde’s ensuing …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:37AM
Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Concert Review: ‘Prohibition and The Roaring ‘20s’ with Conductor Lawrence Loh and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

“Prohibition and the Roaring ‘20s,” co-produced by Schirmer Theatrical/Greenberg Artists, was an interesting program of music, vocals, and visuals recalling the era of bathtub gin, spe…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:52PM

Theatre Review: ‘The Hot Wing King’ at Baltimore Center Stage by Herb Merrick

“The Hot Wing King,” by Katori Hall, premiered off-Broadway at the Manhattan Signature Theatre in 2020. Due to Covid restrictions, it had a limited run but won the Pulitzer Prize for Dra…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:02PM
Friday, April 5, 2024

Theatre Review: Disney’s ‘Beauty and The Beast’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by Herb Merrick

“Beauty and the Beast” marks the first time Disney produced one of its own film adaptations for the Broadway stage. The book by Linda Woolverton is adapted from the 1991 animated musical…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:59PM
Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Hubba Hubba – A New Show About Romantic Love’ at Baltimore Theatre Project by Herb Merrick

Hubba Hubba” marks the return engagement of the 2023 production by Alex and Olmsted, puppeteer performance artists Sarah Olmsted Thomas and Alex Verdon, with lighting by Tori Munoz. They d…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:37AM
Sunday, March 24, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘The Book Club Play’ at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

One of the first documented book clubs was formed by Anne Hutchinson aboard a ship bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634 in order to discuss sermons on Puritan beliefs Although book…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:34PM
Friday, February 23, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Peter Pan’ at The Hippodrome Theatre by Herb Merrick

“Peter Pan” is a musical based on a 1904 play, “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up,” by Sir James M. Barrie and his subsequent 1911 novel, “Peter and Wendy.”  The play…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:14PM
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Concert Review: ‘Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue’ with Conductor/Pianist Wayne Marshall and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

Congratulations to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for programming a most interesting evening of music exploring the ever-translucent boundaries between classical and popular music in the c…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:50PM
Monday, February 5, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘Crumbs from the Table of Joy’ at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

“Crumbs from the Table of Joy” is one of the earliest plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lynn Nottage. The play premiered off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre in 1995 as part of …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:58AM
Sunday, January 28, 2024

Theatre Review: ‘A Chorus Line’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by Herb Merrick

“A Chorus Line” is an iconic musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. The Broadway production ran for approximately …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:16PM
Sunday, January 14, 2024

Concert Review: ‘She’s Got Soul’ – Vocalist Capathia Jenkins with Lucas Waldin Conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

This BSO Pops concert features actress/singer Capathia Jenkins with back-up singers Rajdilari, Randy Chalmers, and Sydney Brooke Harper, in a program of rhythm and blues covers of well-known…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:41PM
Sunday, December 10, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Dial M for Murder’ at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

“Dial M For Murder,” by British playwright Frederick Knott, premiered both on Broadway and in London’s West End in 1952. The initial production, featuring Maurice Evans, Anthony Dawson…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:48PM
Sunday, December 3, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Cinderella’ presented by ArtsCentric at Baltimore Center Stage by Herb Merrick

The character and story of Cinderella has a long tradition and many variants. In the first century A.D., the Greek geographer and historian Strabo reported an ancient Egyptian oral folk tale…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:18PM
Friday, November 24, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Miracle On 34th Street: The Musical’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by Herb Merrick

“Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical” (originally titled “Here’s Love”), with music, book, and lyrics by Meredith Willson (“The Music Man”), premiered on Broadway in 1963 and i…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:31PM
Sunday, November 12, 2023

Concert Review: ‘Broadway Legends’ Ted Sperling, Scarlett Strallen, Hugh Panaro, and Dee Roscioli with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

“Broadway Legends” is a superb evening of musical theatre songs from over the past 90 years. The performers all have extensive Broadway performance experience. Tenor Hugh Panaro holds th…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:30PM
Thursday, October 26, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Funny Girl’ at The Hippodrome Theatre by Herb Merrick

“Funny Girl” is the musical story of Fannie Brice, an early 20th century star of film, stage, and radio, who specialized in zany comedy. The original production premiered on Broadway in …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:10AM
Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Concert Review: ‘Sibelius Symphony No. 1,’ Conductor David Danzmayr and Soprano Christine Goerke with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by Herb Merrick

President and CEO of the BSO, Mark Hanson greeted the audience and, in recognition of the human loss and suffering in Israel and Gaza, the orchestra performed John Williams’ “Elegy,” a…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:57PM
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Concert Review: ‘Music Of Billy Joel And Elton John,’ Michael Cavanaugh with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff by Herb Merrick

Michael Cavanaugh is an actor, pianist, and vocalist focusing on the American rock ‘n’ roll canon. He was chosen by Billy Joel to star in the Broadway musical “Movin’ Out” and rece…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:25PM
Sunday, September 24, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill’ at Baltimore Center Stage by Herb Merrick

“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” is a jukebox musical written by Lanie Robertson. The setting is a cabaret bar in South Philadelphia in March 1959 in which vocalist Billie Holiday…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:06PM

Concert Review: ‘Get Happy! Michael Feinstein Celebrates the Judy Garland Centennial’ at Strathmore by Herb Merrick

Michael Feinstein, vocalist and pianist, is a music revivalist and archivist of the Great American Songbook. He is the Principal Pops Conductor of the Pasadena Orchestra and the Artistic Dir…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:40PM
Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Sister Act’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by Herb Merrick

“Sister Act” is a musical adapted from the popular 1992 film of the same name, with new music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, with additi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:31PM
Monday, September 11, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘A Doll’s House’ at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

Henrik Ibsen’s three-act play, “A Doll’s House,” was published in 1879 in Copenhagen and sold 13,500 copies within the first three months. The world premiere at the Royal Theatre in …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:26PM
Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Theatre News: The World Premiere Revival of ‘The Wiz’ Launches pre-Broadway Tour at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre by Herb Merrick

The pre-Broadway national tour of “The Wiz” kicks off in Baltimore at the Hippodrome Theater from September 23-30, 2023, with a limited Broadway engagement planned for spring of 2024. Th…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:11PM
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Concert Review:  ‘Chuck & Eva’ presented by IN Series at Theatre Project by Herb Merrick

This production was not what I expected—a play about the story of the two musicians, Chuck and Eva, and how their unusual friendship led to the development of an album of songs from the Gr…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:34PM
Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Concert Review: ‘Broadway in the Park’ featuring Megan Hilty and Lea Salonga presented by Signature Theatre and Wolf Trap by Herb Merrick

Directed by Signature Theatre’s Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner, with the Wolf Trap Orchestra conducted by Jon Kalbfleisch, Signature’s resident music director, “Broadway in the Par…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:10AM
Saturday, June 10, 2023

Theatre Review: Disney’s ‘Frozen’ at The Hippodrome by Herb Merrick

Disney Theatrical Productions faced a challenge when it decided to produce a musical stage version of their successful film. “Frozen” is based on the beloved Hans Christian Andersen fair…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:23AM
Monday, May 1, 2023

Theatre Review: ‘Harvey’ at Everyman Theatre by Herb Merrick

Written by Mary Chase in 1944, “Harvey” won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the following year. The original Broadway production ran for over four years (1,775 performances) and was directe…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:09PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
TBA: Titanic