Jeffrey Shankle News

Voting is now underway for Baltimore and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below.

Voting is now underway for the Washington, DC Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below.

Voting is now underway for Baltimore and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below.

Voting is now underway for the Washington, DC Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below.

Voting is now underway for the Washington, DC Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below!

Voting is now underway for Baltimore and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below!

Voting is now underway for the Washington, DC Awards and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the live standings below!

Voting is now underway for Baltimore and continues until December 31, 2012. Winners will be announced in early January. Check out the current standings here!

If you are in the mood for some high energy fluff, Toby's Dinner Theatre has just the thing - Legally Blonde, The Musical. Based on the 2001 movie, Legally Blonde follows the story of Elle Woods, a seemingly vacuous sorority girl. After being dumped by her Harvard Law bound boyfriend, Elle is determined to win him back. So, she packs up her Pradas and her pooch and heads to the Ivy League school.

Rodgers and Hammerstein designed the ending to reduce you to tears, and they knew what they were doing. Resist, even at this excellent revival,and think about the conundrums of race, class and gender that that lie just beneath the surface.

Put on your most cynical mood, the one in which you laugh at the predictable folly, venality and dishonesty of the human race, mix it with your ear for Jazz Age syncopation and great singing, get your buzz on for chorines flouncing athletically and with rhythmic precision in their undies, and go!

The new DC area theatre season begins in September. Over 50 shows are opening in our professional and community theatres. But before we move on to the new season and what's opening in September, let's look back at my personal favorite musicals, plays, and performances in both musicals and plays in the DC area - from August 2010 to August 2011.

The DC area stages' theatre choices in March are dizzying! There's a new play by Terrence McNally at the Kennedy Center, and an off-Broadway gem at Signature Theatre. Adam Guettel's gorgeous Tony Award-winning harmonies will fill Arena Stage in Crystal City. Fagin and his orphans and zaftig Edna Turnblad and her daughter Tracy - will be singing and dancing at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Baltimore and Columbia, MD, and a blood-thirsty musical will be establishing roots at Ford's Theatre. With over 30 shows opening this month, come visit the DC area's 205 theatre venues, and have a monumental time!

There are two things you should know about me: I am a musical theatre lover, and I love to schmooze with actors and composers. I am very fortunate to live in the DC area where our theatre community is growing by leaps and bounds. There are so many productions opening in September in DC, Maryland and Virginia theatres, my head is spinning trying to figure out which ones I will see.

Mel Brooks' hit musical, The Producers, plays at Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia through November 23.

The area premiere of All Shook Up plays at Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia through August 24th!

WHO: Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia WHAT: Little Shop of Horrors WHEN: Through August 19. SCHEDULE AND PRICES: www.tobysdinnertheatre.com or 1-800-888-6297. BWW DISCOUNT! BUY 1, GET 1 7/6 and 7/13!!!

WHO: Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia WHAT: George M! WHEN: Through June 10, 2007 HOW MUCH: Go to www.tobysdinnertheatre.com for details and reservations.

WHO: Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia WHAT: Meredith Willson’s Here’s Love WHEN & HOW MUCH: Through January 14th. Show times and prices vary. Go to www.tobysdinnertheatre.com for more information.

WHO: Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia WHAT: Kiss, Me Kate WHEN: through November 19th. Times and prices vary. Go to www.tobysdinnertheatre.com