Metro Weekly

Stage

Spring Arts 2011


ADVENTURE THEATRE

Glen Echo Park
7300 MacArthur Blvd.
Glen Echo, Md.
301-634-2270
adventuretheatre.org

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake — Jerry WHiddon directs this play based on the book by Laura Numeroff (Now to 4/25)
A Year with Toad and Frog — Arnold Lobel’s beloved characters hop from the page to the stage in Rober and Willie Reale’s musical (5/10-6/13)
Charlotte’s Web — The classic based on the book by E.B. White. Directed by Studio’s Serge Seiden (6/24-8/28)

AMERICAN CENTURY THEATER

Gunston Theater II
2700 South Lang St.
Arlington, Va.
703-998-4555
americancentury.org

Stage Door — Edna Ferber (Show Boat) and George S. Kaufman (You Can’t Take It With You) collaborated in 1936 on this dramatic/comedy chronicling the hopes, ambitions, romances and misfortunes of sixteen young women (4/8-5/7)
Visit to a Small Planet — Gore Vidal lampoons the Cold War in this 1956 satire originally written for television (7/8-8/6)

ARENA STAGE
Mead Center for American Theater

1101 6th St. SW
202-488-3300
arenastage.org

Edward Albee Festival — All 30 of Albees works will receive either a full production or a public receptions, utilizing every performance space in the Mead Center. Highlights include Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Tracy Letts and Amy Morton (Now to 4/10, Kreeger), At Home at the Zoo, Albee’s newest drama that expands on the playwright’s own one-act The Zoo Story, that launched his career 50 years ago (Now to 4/24, Kogod)
Ruined — In war-torn Congo, Mama Nadi keeps the peace between customers on both sides of the civil war by serving everything from cold beers to warm beds. Inspired by interviews conducted in Africa, Lynn Nottage’s Ruined was the most honored play in 2009, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama among other awards (4/22-6/5 Fichandler)
John Grisham’s A Time to Kill — A world premiere adaptation by Tony Award-winner Rupert Holmes. After an unspeakable crime is committed against his daughter, Carl Lee Hailey takes the law into his own hands (5/6-6/19)

CENTER STAGE

700 North Calvert St.
Baltimore, Md.
410-332-0033
centerstage.org

Snow Falling on Cedars — Against the backdrop of an America torn by World War Two, cultures and communities clash when a Japanese American islander is accused of murder. An East Coast premiere adapted from the novel by David Guterson (Now to 4/3, Pearlstone)
Crime & Punishment A riveting, intimate adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel provides a thrilling new look at one of the most vivid murder mysteries ever written (4/13-5/15, Head)

CLARICE SMITH CENTER

University of Maryland
College Park, Md.
301-405-ARTS
claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

Minotaur — Set in the American slaughterhouse industry, this new interpretation of an ancient myth intertwines contemporary immigration issues with original music, masks, Japanese physical acting and puppetry (4/15-4/23)

CONSTELLATION THEATRE

Source
1835 14th St. NW
202-204-7741
constellationtheatre.org

The Green Bird (5/5-6/5)
The Ramayana — A revival of last season’s hit (8/4-8/21)

DOMINION STAGE

Gunston Arts Center
2700 S. Lang St.
Arlington, Va.
703-683-0502

Psycho Beach Party — The off-the-charts Charles Busch classic, directed by Emily Ann Jablonski (6/3-6/19)

FACTORY 449

Factory449.com

Magnificent Waste — In a decadent world of sex, booze, and pills, three friends are linked in a chain of explosive events that will change the course of their lives (April, Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint)

FOLGER THEATRE

201 East Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
folger.edu

Cyrano — In Edmund Rostand’s classic, Cyrano secretly adores Roxanne but fears she could never share the sentiment because of his extraordinarily huge nose. So he uses his gift for wit and wordplay to help a tongue-tied friend Christian woo her instead. Directed by Aaron Posner and starring Eric Hissom in the title role (4/26-6/5)

FORD’S THEATRE

Liberty Smith at Fords Theatre
Liberty Smith at Ford’s Theatre

511 10th St. NW
202-347-4833
fordstheatre.org

Liberty Smith — Ford’s big musical this year is a World Premiere of a madcap romp through Revolutionary America. Music by Michael Weiner, lyrics by Adam Abraham. Directed by Matt August (3/23-5/21)

FORUM THEATRE

Round House Silver Spring
8641 Coleville Road
Silver Spring, Md.
240-644-1417
forumtd.org

Bobrauschenbergamerica — Charles Mee imagines a fantastical road trip through the American landscape, written as Robert Rauschenberg might conceive it had he been a playwright instead of a painter (6/2-6/25)

GALA HISPANIC THEATRE

3333 14th St. NW
202-234-7174
galatheatre.org

Divorcees, Evangelists and Vegetarians — Abel Lopez directs this hilarious play of three women on the verge who ultimately find comfort, and salvation, in each other. A smash hit in GALA’s 2003 season (4/7-5/1)
El Jazz Latino — In 1940, singer Machito and trumpet player Mario Bauzá arrived in New York City from La Habana, paving the way for the encounter between Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo and the great American jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. “Latin Jazz” was born. This World Premiere musical revue will be directed by Hugo Medrano (6/2-6/26)

THE IN SERIES

Various Locales
202-204-7760
inseries.org

Protest and Passion: Latino & American Resistance Songs — A musical journey from the civil rights anthems of the United States to the Nueva Cancion political revolutions of Latin America (Now to 4/9 Source)
From Berlin To Sunset — Premiere of a cabaret about the constellation of émigré artists in 1940s Hollywood, including Billy Wilder, Erich Korngold, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler (4/29-5/15, Atlas)

KEEGAN THEATRE

Church Street Theatre
1742 Church St. NW
703-892-0202
keegantheatre.com

National Pastime — The World Premiere of a new musical that tells the story of a radio station on the verge of bankruptcy that saves itself by broadcasting phony baseball games (4/9-5/15)
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — Six young people in the throes of puberty learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser in this musical from Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn (6/4-7/3/10)
Steel Magnolias — Robert Harling’s quintessential story of friendship and trust, set in the world of Truvy’s local-homegrown beauty salon (7/23-8/21)

KENNEDY CENTER

2700 F St. NW
202-467-4600
www.kennedy-center.org

Fragments — Peter Brook directs four short plays and a poem by Samuel Beckett in collaboration with Marie Hélène Estienne (4/14-4/17, Eisenhower)
Follies — The theater world (Broadway Babies, natch) is buzzing about the Kennedy Center’s plans for a big-budget revival of this Sondheim classic, with the stupendous Sondheim interpreter Bernadette Peters as its first announced star. She’ll play Sally Durant Plummer. Who will play Phyllis? Oh, the anticipation! (5/7-6/5, Eisenhower)
I Wish You Love — A new play, with music that follows a moment in the life of Nat ”King” Cole, from Penumbra Theatre Company, the 2011 recipient of the Kennedy Center Fund for New Amerian Plays (6/11-6/19, Terrace)
Wicked — Ah, yes, Oz is finally returning to the Kennedy Center, after its record-selling, sold-out run five years ago. Popular! (6/15-8/21, Opera House)
Next to Normal — This 2009 Tony-winning musical is a tour de force examination of contemporary life. Tom Kitt deservedly won the Tony for Best Score: This is music at its most all-encompassing and powerful (6/28-7/9, Eisenhower)

METRO STAGE

1201 North Royal St.
Alexandria, Va.
703-548-9044
metrostage.org

The Real Inspector Hound — Tom Stoppard’s hilarious send-up of the classic Agatha Christie murder mystery (4/14-5/22)

NATIONAL THEATRE

1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
202-628-6161
nationaltheatre.org

The Color Purple — A return engagement of the popular musical, this time featuring D.C. radio personality Lil’ Mo as the “church soloist (4/12-4/24)

OLNEY THEATRE CENTER

2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road
Olney, Md.
301-924-3400
olneytheatre.org

La Bête — Art squares off with ego in David Hirson’s literary showdown for the ages in this play, which is also being revived this season on Broadway (4/27-5/29, Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab)
Opus — Violinist-turned-playwright Michael Hollinger has tempers flaring and egos clashing in this play when a new member is introduced and the group’s secrets are revealed (6/8-7/3, Mainstage)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — In this Tony Award-winning musical comedy, six young people in the throes of puberty vie for to win a spelling bee, the only place they can stand out and fit in at the same time (7/27-8/21, Mainstage)
Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie — Classic whodunnit Christie (9/28-10/23, Mainstage)

REP STAGE

10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, Md.
410-772-4900
repstage.org

Speech & Debate — A hit Off-Broadway and on the regional theatre circuit, this contemporary dark comedy explores what the New York Times calls ”the borderland between late adolescence and adulthood, where grown-up ideas and ambition co-exist with childish will and bravado” (4/13-5/1)

ROUND HOUSE THEATRE

4545 East-West Highway
Bethesda, Md.
240-644-1100
roundhousetheatre.org

The Trip to Bountiful — One of playwright Horton Foote’s most beloved works gets a new production at Round House with an African-American cast directed by Timothy Douglas (Now to 4/3)
Amadeus — Peter Shaffer’s Tony-winning play (which became an Oscar-winning film) depicts the flamboyant genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as seen through the eyes of his desperately jealous contemporary, composer Antonio Salieri (5/11-6/5)

SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

202-547-1122
shakespearetheatre.org

An Ideal Husband — Keith Baxter directs Oscar Wilde’s wickedly witty comedy revolving around blackmail, political corruption and honor in late 19th century England (Now to 4/10, Harman Hall)
Old Times — The Shakespeare takes on Pinter, with this nostalgic and haunting work that examines the power of memories. Directed by Michael Kahn and starring Holly Twyford, making her Shakespeare Theatre Company debut (5/17-7/3, Lansburgh)
The Merchant of Venice — Ethan McSweeny directs this compelling look at human nature and the insidious nature of power, justice and revenge (6/21-7/24, Harman Hall)

SIGNATURE THEATRE

4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, Va.
703-820-9771
www.signature-theatre.org

And the Curtain Rises — Part Three of Signature’s American Musical Voices Project, aimed at nurturing new talent, focuses on this valentine to musical comedy, a classic backstage comedy about the creation of the first American musical, from Michael Slade, Joseph Thalken and Mark Campbell (Now to 4/10, MAX)
ART — Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning comedy examines the pressures friends place on each other – and how different values can transform relationships (3/29-5/22, ARK)
Side by Side by Sondheim — Award-winning revue of Sondheim’s earlier work, from West Side Story to Gypsy to Anyone Can Whistle to A Little Night Music (4/26-6/12, MAX)

STUDIO THEATRE

1501 14th St. NW
202-332-3300
studiotheatre.org

Penelope — The Druid of Ireland present this Enda Walsh play about four suitors wooing a woman in a drained swimming pool (Now to 4/3)
The Enda Walsh Repertory — Ireland’s Matt Torney directs two plays by the stunning Irish playwright Enda Walsh — the sinister The Walworth Farce starring Ted van Griethuysen and Jimmy Davis (4/6-4/24, Milton Theatre) and The New Electric Ballroom, in which three Irish sisters (Nancy Robinette, Jennifer Mendenhall and Sybil Lines) lead a strange, isolated existence before a lonely fisherman arrives (4/13-5/1, Metheny)
Palomino — Remarkable performance artist David Cale brings his latest one-man show to the Studio (6/15-7/3, Milton)
Pop! — Keith Alan Baker directs this musical murder mystery that glimpses into Andy Warhol’s infamous Factory (7/13-8/7, Stage 4)

SYNETIC THEATER

Various Locations
703-824-8060
synetictheater.org

King Lear — The Shakespeare tragedy, interpreted Synetic-style (3/24-4/24, Lansburgh)
Don Quixote — Paata Tsikurishvili directs an interpretation of the classic starring Dan Istrate in the title role (6/2-7/3, Crystal City)

THEATRE J

1529 16th St. NW
202-777-3210
theaterj.org

The Chosen — Aaron Posner directs his adaptation of this play based on the novel by Chaim Potok and to be presented by Arena Stage at its new Mead Center’s Fichandler Stage (Now to 3/27, Arena’s Fichandler Stage)
Photograph 51 — Anna Ziegler’s new drama chronicling the frenzied chase to find the DNA molecule’s structure focuseson Jewish female scientist Rosalind Franklin, whose contribution to the 20th Century’s biggest scientific breakthrough went unsung (3/23-4/24)
The Moscows of Nantucket — Shirley Serotsky directs Sam Forman’s new comedy about a modern Jewish family, crackling with sibling rivalry, alcohol-fueled confessions and acerbic wit (5/11-6/12)

WARNER THEATRE

1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
202-783-4000
warnertheatre.com

Blue Man Group — The popular avant-garde troupe brings its first-ever theatrical touring production to D.C. (3/23-4/3)

WASHINGTON IMPROV THEATER

Source
1835 14th St. NW
202-204-7770
washingtonimprovtheater.com

F.I.S.T. — The 5th annual tournament of the Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament (F.I.S.T.) is like March Madness redefined for the non-sports inclined, with one three-player improv troupe emerging as the champion (Now to 4/16)

WASHINGTON SHAKESPEARE CO.

Artisphere Black Box
1101 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, Va.
703-418-4808
washingtonshakespeare.org

Night and Day — Tom Stoppard’s play looks at a British newspaper strike through the eyes of journalist covering a civil war in Africa (5/12-7/3)
Tennessee Continuum — A double bill of two infrequently performed one-acts by Tennessee Williams — Portrait of a Madonna and The Gnadiges Fraulein (5/12-7/3)

WOOLLY MAMMOTH

641 D St. NW
202-393-3939
woollymammoth.net

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs — Mike Daisy (The Last Cargo Cult) returns with his latest one-man diatribe (Now to 4/10)
Bootycandy — Robert O’Hara (Antebellum) writes and directs this kaliedscope of sassy lessons in sex education (5/30-6/26)

Dance Above & Beyond Readings & Lectures Pop, Rock & Jazz Classical Music Stage Film

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