All stories by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok on BroadwayStars

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Concert Review: ‘A Stan Kenton Christmas’ by Capitol Bones All-Brass Big Band at The Carlyle Room by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

The Capitol Bones All-Brass Big Band has presented “A Stan Kenton Christmas” for over 15 years at various venues in Washington, D.C. A few days before Christmas 2022, they performed thei…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:10AM
Friday, December 16, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ by The Puppet Co. at Glen Echo Park by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

“Call to mind the table covered with your last Christmas gifts […] You will then be able to imagine the astonishment of the children, as they stood with sparkling eyes, unable to utter a…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:02AM
Thursday, December 8, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins’ by the Puppet Co. at Glen Echo Park by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Hershel of “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.” Photo by  Elizabeth Dapo. “Hershel just wants to celebrate Hanukkah with the community,” states the Puppet Co.’s description of “H…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:52AM
Thursday, November 3, 2022

Opera Review: Richard Strauss’ ‘Elektra’ presented by the Washington National Opera at Kennedy Center by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

  “It is so terrifying that my soul wants to be extinguished.” So sings Klytämnestra on stage. The same might be said of Richard Strauss’ ability to bring the “pity and fear” (ca…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:39PM
Friday, October 7, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Witch Wartsmith’s Halloween Spooktacular’ at the Puppet Co., Glen Echo Park by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

  “Witch Wartsmith’s Halloween Spooktacular”at The Puppet Co. is a fun, delightfully eerie Halloween event being presented the entire month of October. It can be best described as an …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 09:26AM
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

News: The 2022 Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Hunt Valley, MD by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

When Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention organizer and cultural historian, Martin Grams, invited me to this year’s convention that was held September 15-17, 2022 in Hunt Valley, MD, he told …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 08:39PM
Monday, August 29, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Chicago’ at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Travelers to Pennsylvania Dutch Country will find an entertaining, top-notch production of the musical “Chicago” at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre in Lancaster, PA. In this highly popula…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:21PM
Thursday, August 11, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Spamalot’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

  “You don’t need to know about Monty Python to enjoy the show,” director and choreographer Mark Minnick tells us. “Monty Python’s Spamalot’ is fun on its own.” This is likely…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:32PM

Theatre Review: ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Directed by Jason Vellon, “The Drowsy Chaperone” is a stunning outdoor production at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre. It is both a satire and a celebration of 1920s musicals. Part of the…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:21PM
Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Many dinner theatres run primarily on popular musicals. Patrick A’Hearn, producing artistic director of Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg, Virginia, challenges thi…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 06:31PM
Sunday, July 31, 2022

Audio Review: ‘Short Order’ and ‘2462’ from Sole Twin Audios by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Many of us travel to vacation destinations during the summer months. Audio plays are a wonderful way to pass the time, and two excellent, full-cast audio dramas from Sole Twin Audios fit the…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:58PM
Monday, July 25, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Cinderella’ at the Puppet Co. in Glen Echo Park by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

  One day a prince was out disguised as a hunter. He found himself hungry and knocked on the door of a home in which a girl, who appeared to be a household servant covered in dust, kindly s…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:46PM
Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ at The Puppet Co., Glen Echo Park by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

“With one bound, the wolf was out of bed and swallowed up” Little Red Riding Hood; and so “the wolf had appeased his appetite.” Thus wrote the Brothers Grimm in their famous “grim�…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:38PM
Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Operetta Review: ‘El Capitán’ by the Victorian Lyric Opera Company at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

  The Victorian Lyric Opera Company (VLOC ) is famous for its productions of Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas and Viennese operettas. This time, the company changes things up with an opere…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:40PM
Monday, May 30, 2022

Concert Review: Song Cycle Performance –Schubert’s ‘Die schöne Müllerin’ by Bel Cantanti Opera by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Incandescent! This is the best description of Bel Cantanti’s production, led spectacularly by Dr. Katerina Souvorova. It is a dramatic staging of Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Die schö…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:17PM
Friday, April 1, 2022

Theatre Review: ‘Nathan the Wise’ at Theater J by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

In “Nathan the Wise,” the titular Nathan tells a tale of a unique opal ring which, when worn, causes the wearer to be beloved by both God and men. After passing through generations of ow…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:43AM
Monday, February 28, 2022

Audio Review: ‘The Avengers: Steed and Tara King, The Comic Strip Adventures, Vol. 5’ at Big Finish Productions by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

New episodes of some of your favorite television shows from the 1960s and 1970s are happening! Such is the case with “Space: 1999,” “Doctor Who,” “Dark Shadows,” and “The Aveng…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:09PM
Sunday, February 13, 2022

Opera Review: ‘Variant Valentine’ streaming by Maryland Opera by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

On February 12, Maryland Opera offered its “Variant Valentine” program—a variety of Valentines with staples from the operatic and American musical theatre worlds. The program was live-…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:12PM
Sunday, December 26, 2021

Audio Review: ‘Holiday Affair’ presented by Sole Twin Audios by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

  “Miracle on 34th Street,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and several versions of “A Christmas Carol” are some of the most popular Christmas films. For its Christmas audio offering…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:56AM
Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Audio Review: Sherlock Holmes and Loveday Brooke’s Mysteries by We Happy Few by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

With the holiday season ringing in, two Victorian mysteries by We Happy Few might be just the thing! You can spend New Year’s, Christmas, or Boxing Day (since this is a British subject) so…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:14PM
Thursday, December 9, 2021

Theatre Review On the Road: ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, Fredericksburg, VA by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

  Holidays celebrate tradition, but paradoxically offer vivid new experiences as well. Riverside Center for the Performing Arts captures this tension wonderfully in its current production o…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:43PM
Monday, November 29, 2021

On the Road Theatre Review: ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ at Dutch Apple Theatre in Lancaster, PA by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

There is a parade of trombones, the beat of snare drums, and a procession of young people in jaunty new band uniforms. We speak not of “The Music Man,” but instead another work by the sa…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:42PM
Monday, November 15, 2021

Theatre Review: ‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas’ at Toby’s Dinner & Show by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Toby’s current production of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” is a retelling of the beloved Bing Crosby-Danny Kaye 1954 motion picture, more recently revived as a Broadway and touri…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 05:28PM
Sunday, October 31, 2021

Audio Review: ‘Ghost Hunt’ by Sole Twin Audios by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

For several years now, Rachel Pulliam has produced and directed audio productions for various podcast companies. We have enjoyed her fabulous productions of classic books and dramas of the m…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:16PM
Sunday, October 24, 2021

Audio Review: ‘A Midnight Dreary: Etched in the Wall’ by We Happy Few by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Either the Darkness alters— Or something in the sight Adjusts itself to Midnight . . . These and other lines from Emily Dickinson’s poem, “We Grow Accustomed to the Dark,” introduce …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 04:31PM
Sunday, August 22, 2021

Audio Review: ‘Suspense’ and ‘Quiet, Please,’ Audio Plays at Sonic Summerstock Playhouse by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Fans of classic audio drama will be happy to learn that Sonic Summerstock Playhouse is here again in full swing! Whether one’s interest lies in mystery, drama, or thrillers, there is somet…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 02:21PM
Friday, July 9, 2021

Opera Concert Review: “I Puritani” presented by Washington Concert Opera by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

The 1648 victory of the “Roundhead” Puritan forces of Oliver Cromwell over the Cavaliers of King Charles I in England may seem an odd subject for an opera. Yet the event did command the …

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 10:25AM
Friday, July 2, 2021

Concert Review: Glen Boswick and the Sound of Swing Orchestra at Elation Brewery by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

The Sound of Swing Orchestra is a 1940s-style big band which faithfully recreates swing-era staples such as Jimmie Lunceford’s “For Dancer’s Only,” Tommy Dorsey’s “Opus One” an…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 12:04PM
Thursday, June 17, 2021

Audio Review: ‘The System of Doctor Goudron and Professor Plume’ presented by the National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre on the Air on WYPR by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

“The System of Doctor Goudron and Professor Plume” is the latest installment of the National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre on the Air. While modeled on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The System of Doc…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 03:34PM
Thursday, April 22, 2021

Jazz Review: ‘The Standard Tour: Dreams’ by Aubrey Logan by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Multi-talented jazz vocalist and trombonist, Aubrey Logan, recently performed a fabulous, live-streaming concert, “The Standard Tour: Dreams,” from Austin, Texas, her adopted hometown. I…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 01:07PM
Thursday, March 25, 2021

Concert Review: ‘One-Year Reunion Tour – At Home and In Concert’ by Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox by Dr. Mark Dreisonstok

Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), founded and led by pianist Scott Bradlee, is a unique musical aggregation. It is a collection of largely young jazz musicians and vocalists who perform contemporary…

SOURCE: mdtheatreguide.com at 11:34AM

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 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime