The lineup for the 19th season of Rep Stage, the award-winning professional theater in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), will feature rarely seen plays produced with the creative staging that audiences have come to expect.
The 2011–12 season includes a regional premiere of an historical and hysterical biographical farce directed by Producing Artistic Director Michael Stebbins; an early Lynn Nottage play (Pulitzer Prize winner for “Ruined”) set in the majestic French court of Louis XIV; playwright Dael Orlandersmith’s poetic and compelling story of two childhood friends struggling with many issues, including race, in the Gullah community in South Carolina; and Helen Hayes Award-winner and Rep Stage favorite Nigel Reed takes to the boards as stage and screen idol John Barrymore. Also included is a new Salon Series featuring some of Rep Stage’s favorite artists.
In addition, Rep Stage provides theater lovers with free events such as the Rep Stage Reading Series, pre-show lectures, post-show discussions and Wednesday Pay-What-You-Can performances.
Season subscriptions and tickets go on sale July 1 online at www.repstage.org or by calling the box office at 443-518-1500.
Please note that all titles, prices and schedules are subject to change.
“Or,” A regional premiere by Liz Duffy Adams
Directed by Michael Stebbins
Aug. 31 to Sept. 18, 2011
Liz Duffy Adams’ 2009 Off-Broadway sleeper hit touches on the free love of the ’60s — the 1660s — and is based on real life playwright Aphra Behn and her romantic spy romps through Restoration England while trying to break into the boys’ playwrighting club. “Or,” features Jason Odell Williams (“Two by J. M. Barrie: The New Word and The Old Lady Shows Her Medals”), Christine Demuth (“Two by J. M. Barrie: The New Word and The Old Lady Shows Her Medals,” “A Dickens of a Carol,” “The Glass Menagerie”) and Broadway alum Charlotte Cohn in her Rep Stage debut.
“Barrymore” by William Luce
Directed by Steven Carpenter
Oct. 26 to Nov. 13, 2011
William Luce’s “Barrymore” reunites director Steven Carpenter with Helen Hayes Award-winning actor Nigel Reed following their successful pairing on Rep’s production of “Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted.” The play finds actor John Barrymore renting a Broadway theater in 1942 — one month prior to his death — as he prepares to make a comeback to the stage. Haunted by ghosts, ex-wives, family, fellow thespians and the follies of his past, he attempts to bring himself back to life through the aid of memories and a helpful stage manager.
“Yellowman” by Dael Orlandersmith
Directed by Kasi Campbell
Feb. 8 to 26, 2012
Directed by Helen Hayes Award-winner Kasi Campbell, Dael Orlandersmith’s 2002 Off-Broadway hit is called an “unsparing … hard and piercing drama” by The New York Times. “Yellowman” details the relationship between Eugene, a fair-skinned black man, and Alma, a dark-skinned black woman, as they struggle with issues of intraracial prejudice, domestic violence and young love. “Yellowman” was a 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama.
“Las Meninas” by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Eve Muson
April 18 to May 6, 2012
Rep Stage closes the season with Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage’s “Las Meninas.” Set in the court of France’s Louis XIV, it is an irreverent and incisive reconsideration of the historical scandal involving Queen Marie-Therese and a unique gift from Africa. Eve Muson, director of Rep’s recent production of “Speech & Debate,” helms the season closer.
Rep Stage’s 2011–12 Salon Series will include the following productions.
“The Guys” by Anne Nelson
Sept. 9 to 11, 2011
Based on a true story, “The Guys” focuses on an NYC fire captain who lost eight men in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and the editor who helps him write the eulogies he must deliver.
“The Poe Show”
Oct. 21 to 24, 2011
Tony Tsendeas, nationally recognized interpreter of Edgar Allan Poe’s writings, returns to Rep Stage to share words and works by the master of the macabre.
“Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris
Dec. 16 to 19, 2011
Michael Stebbins brings Sedaris’s caustic holiday essays to life and adds a dash(er) of pessimism to the season.
“Rep Stage Revue: Spotlighting YOU!”
March 30 to April 1, 2012
Have a special talent that you’d love to share on the stage? Rep Stage invites aspiring entertainers to sign up for an audition date and time, where they will have three minutes to showcase their talents before a panel of judges and theater professionals. Selected acts will appear in “Rep Stage Revue: Spotlighting YOU!” Prepare today to become a star tomorrow.
