Venus in Fur is a complex play within an even more complex play. The story begins simply: director Thomas Novachek (Joe Mucciolo) has adapted nineteenth century writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s novel Venus in Furs (the 1870 novel which explored sado-masochism) for the stage, and is desperate to find the right actress to play the lead role […]
Disgraced from Compass Rose Theater (review)
Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize winning Disgraced is a thoughtful character study about American Muslim identity. Driven by casual conversations, the play reveals earnest and unsettling disclosures about the perceptions and misconceptions we all maintain and project about those with differing world views. Compass Rose Theater offers a fresh production with direction from James Bunzli at […]
Fiddler on the Roof at Compass Rose Theater (review)
I feel a bit like Tevye looking to the heavens for assistance. I just saw a very earnest but uneven production of Fiddler on the Roof over in Annapolis, and I could use a little guidance from above as how to navigate the thicket of the three-star review, respecting the artists and their efforts without […]
Compass Rose will soon be on the move. Plans announced for a new, state-of-the-art theatre in Annapolis
One of the big stories of 2018 is already coming into focus: several theatre companies will be moving into new spaces. One of them was announced today.
Comic Michael Harris plays Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof
Michael Harris remembers fondly the first time he watched the 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof and seeing that “big happy guy going nuts.” That, of course, was Topol as Tevye, the poor milkman whose love, pride and faith helped him face the oppression of 1905 czarist Russia.
Compass Rose’s next season will encompass turning points and yearning points
Compass Rose Theater, from their intimate Annapolis, MD space, will be offering a 2017-2018 season which will examine large issues, historical turning points, and the yearning of people for freedom, truth, and security. Plus romance.
Compass Rose takes on Hamlet (review)
It is a brave company which takes on Hamlet, the most difficult play in the Bard’s canon and one of the most difficult plays in the English language. When done correctly, it yields not only great dramatic rewards but deep insights into the human character. When done badly, it is not only excruciating but three […]
Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Secret Journey at Compass Rose (review)
All right. Let me get to the hard part first. Had Rhoda Lerman’s play, now being given a vigorous and effective production at Compass Rose Theater, simply been called A Secret Journey it would be a boffo tale of the timid wife of an aspiring politician who learns about the horrors of war and breaks […]
Elliott Bales, dramatic actor, turns song and dance man in 60s musical
We know Elliott Bales from his leadership at Theater Alliance and from his stage roles. The name Elliott Bales on a casting list usually signifies a drama – the retired Army Colonel mentioned in our interview his satisfaction in playing the bad guy – and in a remarkable turn as a romantic lead in Romeo and Juliet: […]
The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd at Compass Rose Theater (review)
The Roar of The Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd is a sui generis 1965 Broadway musical by the team of Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. They collaborated on the music, lyrics and book, and, to top it off, Newley was also the star on Broadway: I am pretty sure no other musical checks all those […]
The Diary of Anne Frank at Compass Rose Theater (review)
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Take Malala Yousafzai who was already making waves at age 11 in her native Pakistan, speaking out against the Taliban for limiting education for females. By 15, she had been shot in the head while coming home from her school, undergone numerous medical procedures and survived without brain […]
Critic lands role in Diary of Anne Frank, now at Compass Rose
There’s a saying: All roads eventually lead home. Though as Moses found out, that journey can sometimes take a few decades longer than expected. It all started innocently enough.