138 stories by "Dr. Mark Dreisonstok"
The Olney Big Band is a Maryland jazz orchestra which plays in many venues in the Maryland suburbs around Washington, D.C. We had an opportunity to see them on the lawn of the Potomac campus…
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 their pr…
"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 w…
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 "Hershel and…
 "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" (catharsis)…
 "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 Ed S…
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 me…
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 popular Br…
 "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 true, but a…
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 fun…
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 this …
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…
 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…
"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" fairy tal…
 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 ope…
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 schöne Mü…
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 owners…
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 Avengers," the subj…
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-stream…
 "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 based on a …
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) solv…
 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…
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 same c…
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 touring show.…
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…