Breaking New Ground in Columbia

Construction begins for Howard County’s New Performing Arts Center & Artists Flats

Groundbreaking ceremony outside Toby's

The dawn of a new cultural era in Howard County, Md. is officially underway. On April 8, 2025, around 200 showed up at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in downtown Columbia to salute the beginning of construction of a new Performing Arts Center and Artists Flats with a groundbreaking ceremony. The county event featured elected officials, state and local partners, contributors, and performers from Toby’s and the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts (CCTA) as well as other guests.

The project is part of the Downtown Columbia Plan, passed in 2010, that revitalizes Downtown with a diverse, mixed-use, physically distinctive area. The $68 million project is aimed at enhancing the arts and culture scene in the county and will house a new Toby’s Dinner Theatre alongside CCTA, and The Howard County Arts Council. The Artists Flats will feature 174 mixed-income units serving a full spectrum of household incomes. It will be the first of its kind mixed-use building in the county. 

“This is the kind of project the Housing Commission and Howard County envisioned when we talk about inclusive, forward-thinking communities,” said Jacqueline West Spencer, Chair, Howard County Housing Commission. “Artists Flats brings us closer to James Rouse’s founding vision for Columbia- a place where people of all incomes, backgrounds, and professions can live side by side in a vibrant, welcoming downtown.”

The Performing Arts Center (PAC) will be located at the site of Toby’s Dinner Theatre. For 46 years, Toby’s has been a cultural landmark, bringing award winning theatre to Columbia. Toby’s unique, cozy in-the-round theatre where no seat is located more than 30 feet from the stage is one of the few dinner theatres nationwide with a live orchestra at every performance. Toby’s is also known for its quality buffet-style cuisine to go along with the popular shows.

CCTA and Toby's performers singing "Beautiful City"

The center will contain one 340-seat dinner theater, two 200-seat black box theaters, a public art gallery and several dance studios and performance classrooms. 

The PAC will become a part of a broader network of arts organizations that have a presence in Downtown, including the Merriweather Arts & Culture Center, Inner Arbor Trust, the Lakefront, Color Burst Park and the Chrysalis. Additionally, Toby’s will become a part of the Columbia Center for the Theatrical Arts, or CCTA, a nonprofit organization which provides performing arts education to youth throughout the county. 

After welcoming remarks by Kelly Cimino, Director of Howard County Department of Housing & Community Development and Toby’s Associate Producer Mark Minnick, performers from CCTA and Toby’s gave a stirring performance of “Beautiful City” from Godspell, the first show to be mounted at Toby’s in 1979.

 “Today’s groundbreaking of the new Performance Arts Center has been nearly 15 years in the making,” said County Executive Dr. Calvin Ball. “For me, this is a particularly personal milestone. I served on the Howard County Council in 2010 when the Downtown Columbia Plan passed unanimously. I am thrilled to see parts of this plan come to fruition today.”

He added, “Downtown Columbia will continue to grow and expand as a destination for the arts. We are also fulfilling our commitment to providing more diverse income housing in this highly desirable downtown area, furthering our mission to keep Columbia a truly inclusive place for all.”

County Executive Calvin Ball with Toby Orenstein

Maryland State Senator Guy Guzzone from District 13 in Columbia, proudly exclaimed, “This is Columbia,” He said the state will contribute $4.8 million to the project.

Toby’s founder and current artistic director Toby Orenstein was in attendance as just about everybody scrambled to have pictures taken with the venerable local theatre legend. Her husband Hal was with her, and their son Jeff spoke movingly about Toby’s historical work with the CCTA providing new theatrical experiences and offering young artists an opportunity to perform. “It’s a day for the arts in Howard County,” he said.

Following brief comments from other dignitaries, the ceremonial groundbreaking took place on this chilly, blustery day. A wide array of elected officials, partners and stakeholders participated in the event.

Long-time actor Robert Biedermann, who is familiar to Toby’s audiences and the one who for years makes the introductory announcements before each show, has fond memories of Toby Orenstein and Toby’s Dinner Theatre.

“When I think of Toby’s I think of ‘home’... a place where unbelievable happiness is created and shared with an audience that is better for having experienced the show,” said Biedermann.

“The same goes for the actor...I started here in 1989 and had to leave the show to be a bone marrow donor for my brother. Toby and Toby’s were waiting for me when I came ‘home’. Toby herself is the epitome of kindness...and I have been graced with that for 36 years.” 

Toby’s Associate Producer Mark Minnick is elated about this major development.

 “This project has been in the works for years and it is finally happening,” said Minnick. “We congratulate all parties involved and thank those who helped get this across the finish line. We are thrilled with the endless possibilities this project will allow. We will thrive artistically, but we will never lose the warmth, intimacy and love that has been a trademark of Toby’s and CCTA.”

Rendering of the new project

‘The Music Man’ Comes Thundering Into Toby’s

Jeffrey Shankle stars in Toby's production of The Music Man

While we are currently dealing with a con man of epic proportions in our lives, another one disembarks from the train station in River City, Iowa by way of The Music Man at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia. It is always heartwarming when Toby’s features a Broadway classic, such as The Music Man, and the production does this elite musical justice.

Directed and choreographed by Helen Hayes Award winner Mark Minnick, the talented cast and crew jell in making this a top-notch presentation and a much-needed entertaining escape.

With a book, music and lyrics by Meredith Willson, The Music Man gives a delightful glimpse of the American-as-apple-pie culture and values in early 20^th century River City. That fictional town is based on Willson’s birthplace Mason City, Iowa. The original Broadway musical received 5 Tony Awards in 1958 including Best Musical, beating out the iconic West Side Story.

Despite the confines of the cozy in-the round stage, Mr. Minnick does a craftsman-like job in helming a splashy extravaganza put on by an amazing cast and bolstered by colorful scenery designed by Shane Lowry, exquisite period costumes designed by Sarah King and Janine Sunday, wigs designed by Jayson Kueberth, and the expert lighting and sound design by Lynn Joslin and Mark Smedley, respectively.

Catina McLagan conducted the six-piece orchestra with aplomb, delivering Willson’s superb score and ably backing up the performers. Ross Scott Rawlings takes the baton in other performances.

The ingenious music combines the marching band pomp with clever numbers as well as a classic love song. Beloved songs, such as “Ya Got Trouble,” “Seventy-Six Trombones,” “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little & Goodnight Ladies,” “Shipoopi,” and the elegant love song “Till There Was You” are highlights to be sure.

But the show’s opener “Rock Island” sets the tone with witty clickety-clack rhythmic dialogue by traveling salesmen crammed in a train carriage. After that number, you just know you are in for a treat. And the show’s heart-pumping finale with an endless line of brass band members marching out on the stage is the exclamation point to a magnificent show.

The Music Man centers on the exploits of a slick con man Harold Hill, played brilliantly by Jeffrey Shankle, as he disembarks from that train and views the close-knit people of River City in 1912 as his next mark. He starts to win them over by lamenting the arrival of a pool table at the town’s billiard hall, which previously did not have one and its accompanying decline of morality. The famous song “Ya Got Trouble,” delivered with gusto by Mr. Shankle, speaks to that.  

Jeffrey Shankle, Janine Sunday and cast

Harold’s scheme was to sell musical instruments, instructions and uniforms for a kids’ band and would abscond with the money. His problem is that he knows nothing about music and fictionalizes his credentials.

Harold encounters the town’s stern librarian and piano teacher Marian Paroo (played sensationally by Janine Sunday) who has a shy, unconfident younger brother Winthrop played well by Elijah Doxtater. Marian also has a mother who is a spunky Irish widow, played by Jane C. Boyle, who would love for Marian to settle down.

Marian is suspicious of Harold as is Mayor Shinn (played robustly by Alan Hoffman) as are the other townsfolk. The mayor’s quest for credentials and other tight spots that Harold finds himself in are met with his mastery of deflection, distraction and evasion.

A complication sets in when Marian starts to fall for Harold after Winthrop receives a cornet and is so happy that he loses his shyness and becomes more confident. Harold then acknowledges he has fallen in love with Marian while the good people of River City realize they have experienced a positive change since Harold’s arrival despite Mayor Shinn’s best efforts. Spoiler alert: there is a happy ending.

Throughout the show, Mr. Minnick’s dazzling choreography that is well executed by a truly talented cast and ensemble adds vibrancy to the production. The choreography, which is eye-popping considering large numbers of performers must navigate the tight area of the stage without bumping into one another, is exemplified in such numbers as “Iowa Stubborn,” “Ya Got Trouble,” “Seventy-Six Trombones,” the jubilant “Marian the Librarian,” and “Shipoopi” among others.

"...the talented cast and crew jell in making this a top-notch presentation..."

Helen Hayes Award winner Jeffrey Shankle, as he always does, brings his A-game as the lead. Playing the smooth-talking, roguish and charming con man Harold, Mr. Shankle showcases his expansive acting skills. From his passionate moments of persuasion to his tender moments with Marian, Mr. Shankle comes through with flying colors. His excellent vocals are on display in the aforementioned “Ya Got Trouble” and “Marian the Librarian.”

For her part, Janine Sunday excels as Marian. As an actress she convincingly plays the role that spans her distrust and revulsion to Harold to her eventual falling in love. Along with that, her soprano voice is astonishing. Ms. Sunday reaches notes that have probably never been discovered. “If You Don’t Mind Saying So,” Good Night, My Someone,” and “My White Knight” are examples of her superb vocals. But it is her gorgeous love song with Mr. Shankle “Till There Was You” that is one of the show’s high-water marks.

Shawn Kettering plays Harold’s old friend and former shill Marcellus Washburn with vigor. He is the lead in the number “Shipoopi” with the Townspeople. Young Elijah Doxtater who plays Winthrop is commendable. He alternates with Colton Roberts in other performances. Elijah does a wonderful job singing along with Ms. Sunday and Jane C. Boyle in “Gary, Indiana.” A consistently fine actress and vocalist, Ms. Boyle is endearing in the role of Mrs. Paroo.

Other exceptional members of the cast include David James as the gossipy Charlie Cowell, an anvil salesman who tries to expose Harold as a fraud and insists “he doesn’t know the territory.” Mr. James plays the role with his patented flair.

Dereck Atwater plays the part of Tommy Djilas, the town’s troublemaker, with much enthusiasm. He is secretly dating Zaneeta ( Julia Williams) the daughter of pompous Mayor Shinn to his chagrin. It should also be noted that Mr. Atwater is an excellent dancer as are Ensemble members Joey Ellinghaus, Jaylen Fontaine, Kiana King and Patricia “Pep” Targete.

Other notable cast members include Shawn Kettering as the Conductor, Lynn Sharp-Spears as the Mayor's manipulative wife Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Kiana King as Gracie Shinn, Valerie Adams Rigsbee as Alma Hix, Heather Narie Beck as Maud Dunlop, Amanda Kaplan Landstrom as Ethel Toffelmier, and Melynda Burdette as Mrs. Squires.

Then there is the school board-turned-barbershop quartet transformed with the help of Harold. Ewart Dunlop (played by Carter Crosby), Oliver Hix (Vince Gover), Jacey Squires (Alec Brashear) and Olin Britt (David Bosley-Reynolds) comprise the group, and their harmonizing vocals are outstanding. They shine on like the harvest moon in “Ice Cream/Sincere,” “It’s You” and the reprise of Lida Rose.”

The Quartet: Alec Brashear, Vince Gover
David Bosley-Reynolds and Carter Crosby

For the performance reviewed, Amaryllis, a young piano student, is played well by Julia Ballenger. She alternates with Lily Martin and Ellie May Sennett.

A complete listing of the talented cast is shown below.

It’s difficult to portray the scope of a town in an intimate theater. But Shane Lowry cleverly created various signs along the walls of the theater depicting a hospital, livery, hardware store, post office, bank, barber shop and other edifices. A balcony was used to convey the outside of Marian and Mrs. Paroo’s home. Another balcony depicts shelves in a library.

Janine Sunday and Sarah King fitted the cast in spectacular costumes highlighted by early 20^th century pastel dresses and gowns with feathered hats for the ladies. The marching band’s costumes are striking as well.

All the elements of a hit show come together with Toby’s presentation of The Music Man. Great cast and crew, spot-on direction and choreography and wonderful musicians performing revered and beloved music make this a must-see event. And you will enjoy a delicious buffet as well.

Running time. Two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission.

The Music Man runs through May 18, 2025, at Toby’s the Dinner Theatre, 4900 Symphony Woods Rd., Columbia, MD 21044.  Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 410-730-8311or visiting tobysdinnertheatre.com. Next up: The Little Mermaid, May 23 through August 17.

Photos Jeri Tidwell Photography

The menu is shown here.

Specialty Drink: The Shipoopi

‘Shucked’ Delivers a Harvest Full of Corn at the Hippodrome

 

Why did the corn join a band? It had a great ear for music.

Pretty punny, huh?  You will hear barrels of much better puns, and I might say, corny jokes in Shucked, a nine-time Tony Award-nominated musical, making a stop in Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre as part of its first national tour.

To be sure, corn is the central commodity of Shucked’s whacky plot. It is tempting to lace this review with corn references and corn jokes and fritter away an opportunity to describe the show, but I will do my best to resist. I’m only human, after all.

While most of the corn jokes appear in the first act, other such puns and jokes dominate the dialogue throughout with mostly hilarious results. The funnier lines, to no surprise, contain sexual innuendos, and leave the audience howling with laughter. Yet, it’s the talented performers who deliver these lines with well-timed, snappy rejoinders, facial expressions and body language that enhance the comedy.

The 2022 musical with music and lyrics by Nashville music superstars Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and a book by Robert Horn (TV’s Designing Women) is a laugh-a-minute experience with all those puns—some of which are silly and cringe-worthy—but land nonetheless. Indeed, Horn, a Tony nominee, admitted in an interview for Encore, the theatre’s program guide, “My mind works in puns. For me it is more about editing them than creating them, because I’ll sit down and write way too many, and it’s about what works.”

Jake Odmark as Beau and Danielle Wade as Maizy

Under the direction of Lifetime Achievement Tony Award recipient Jack O’Brien, Shucked is a warm, funny,
vibrant, colorful production with excellent songs, stellar choreography and vocal performances that are pleasing to the ears. The plot is cute in an odd way and is the vessel for the comedic lines and melodious songs.

Multiple Tony Award winner Scott Pask designed a gorgeous set depicting a dilapidated large barn with cornfields around. Numerous set pieces and effective lighting design my Japhy Weidman augment the stationary scenery.

The setting for the story is Cob County (where else?) in what appears to be a southern farm that seems isolated from the world. The corn is dying, and Cob native Maizy who was about to marry her beau, Beau, also a local, decides to leave the farm to remedy the crop problem before they have their nuptials.

 Maizy ventures to Tampa of all places to seek help and meets up with a “corn doctor,” a podiatrist named Gordy. He happens to be a second-rate corn man, oops, con man who is up to his ears in debt to the mob. He successfully woos Maizy and, in the process, convinces her that the stones in her bracelet can fix the corn issue back home. In reality, Gordy believes the stones are valuable and can be the key to relieving his debt.

Gordy, in simultaneous phone conversations with a mob person and a jeweler where misunderstandings abound because of poor cell service, offers one of the funnier bits in the show. The jeweler tries to tell Gordy the stones are worthless, but he didn’t get that; he still thinks they are valuable.

To Beau’s chagrin, Maizy brings Gordy back to Cob and tells the good folks there that the stones are the problem and are preventing the corn from growing. He urges the community to give up their stones to make the corn grow. He wants to keep them for himself.

Meanwhile, a disgusted Beau finds intimate comfort with Maizy’s cousin Lulu as the chowder thickens. I will leave it there because there are twists and turns like a maze leading to a surprise conclusion.

Costumes designed by Tilly Grimes and Mia Meal’s wig design adds the right amount of country flavor to the corn meal.

As mentioned previously, Clark and McAnally put together some really enjoyable songs. “Walls,” “Woman of the World,” and “Best Man Wins” are among them. The song “Holy Shit” is interesting in that I’m sure there are some composers who wanted to name one of their songs like that but couldn’t pull the trigger. The music and lyrics of the numbers are quite enjoyable and are sung with the appropriate country vocal inflections performed by skilled vocalists.

"...a warm, vibrant, funny, colorful production with excellent songs, stellar choreography and vocal performances that are pleasing to the ears."

Jason Howland’s music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements do justice to the excellent score.  Sarah O’Gleby’s choreography is precise, and as performed by the Ensemble and leads, mightily enhance the production. And the sound design by John Shivers is top-notch with its appropriate volume and clarity.

The story is narrated by two superb, highly energetic performers Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis. As Storytellers 1 and 2, respectively, they not only playfully narrate the happenings with wit and warmth but also provide much of the comedy in a light-hearted jovial manner. They sing, they dance, they do jokes and puns and play multiple roles, such as members of the mob and jewelers. And they are really good at it.

Storytellers Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis

Danielle Wade plays the role of the confident and optimistic Maizy to the hilt. Her voice shines in “Walls,” “Travelin’ Song,” “Woman of the World,” “Maybe Love,” and in particular, the tender ballad “ Friends” in a duet with Lulu played by Miki Abraham.  Ms. Wade can deliver a punchline, too. When asked what her mother would say if she were alive today, she responded, “Get me out of this box!”

Jake Odmark convincingly plays the stubborn but big-hearted farmer Beau. His acting is spot-on as his onstage chemistry with Ms. Wade and Miki Abraham is strong. Mr. Odmark displays his muscular tenor voice in his rendition of “Somebody Will,” which is one of the show’s highlights.

Maizy’s cousin Lulu is a trip. Played exceptionally by Miki Abraham, they deliver sassy and sexy comedic lines with aplomb. Lulu, a whiskey distillery owner and a romantic, never fails to offer an opinion no matter the subject. Their performance in “Independently Owned” is remarkable as well as in the duet with Ms. Wade in “Friends.”

The good-looking and fast-talking con artist Gordy is played well by Quinn VanAntwerp. Also, comedic in his delivery of lines, Mr. VanAntwerp shines in his number “Bad.”

Mike Nappi plays the role of Peanut, Beau’s brother, with campiness and flair. He provides steady counsel to Beau, and as the town prophet he offers his views on any subject telling all what he thinks. In rapid-fire lines, Mr. Nappi snaps out one pun after another, to the audience’s delight.

In another comedic role, Erick Pinnick plays the role of Grandpa well with a few funny lines. Mr. Pinnick brings a local connection to the show as he is a Mount Hebron H.S. graduate in Howard County (Md.).

A big chowder-out goes to the entire cast and production team.

You may be up to your ears in puns, but Shucked is a much-needed respite from the chaos in the world today.  There’s more than a kernel of truth to that.

Running time. Two hours and 20 minutes with an intermission.

Shucked will play through Sunday April 6. Tickets will be available at BaltimoreHippodrome.com,Ticketmaster.com or in-person at the Hippodrome Box Office (12 N Eutaw Street).

Photos: Mathew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman