THE GLASS MENAGERIE, 110 IN THE SHADE & More Set for Ford's Theatre's 2015-16 Season

Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault today announced the Ford's Theatre 2015-2016 season. Productions include the world-premiere play The Guard by Jessica Dickey and directed by Sharon Ott-part of the fall 2015 Women's Voices Theater Festival; The Glass Menagerie featuring Nancy Robinette; and the musical 110 In the Shade directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge and featuring Tracy Lynn Olivera. The season also includes the holiday favorite A Christmas Carol.

"We have a responsibility as theatre practitioners to showcase a diversity of American voices in the work we produce. We are thrilled to produce a season chosen in collaboration with and featuring so many outstanding women artists," said Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault. "Throughout our season, our productions will explore the expectations of family and society, and the universal need for human connection. We are especially thrilled to have commissioned Jessica Dickey to write The Guard for us this year-a captivating new play about the art world; to welcome Marcia Milgrom Dodge back to Washington; and to feature the magnetic Nancy Robinette and Tracy Lynn Olivera in our work."

Performances of the Society's actor-led History on Foot walking tours, and daytime one-act play performances of One Destiny also continue in the 2015-2016 season.

Tickets for The Guard will be available for sale to Ford's Theatre Members and Groups (of 15 or more) on May 4, 2015. The Guard public sale is May 18. Performances of A Christmas Carol, The Glass Menagerie and 110 in the Shade will be available to Ford's Theatre Members and Groups on August 3, 2015, with public sale on August 17, 2015.

The Ford's Theatre 2015-2016 Season

The Guard (World Premiere)
By Jessica Dickey; Directed by Sharon Ott
September 25-October 18, 2015

In this world-premiere comedic drama, playwright Jessica Dickey paints shimmering portraits of Rembrandt, Homer and the modern-day individuals who protect the art we cherish. Spanning centuries of human experience, The Guard movingly explores the power of creative expression and the sacrifices we make in the pursuit of love and beauty. The play opens in a modern-day art museum where three individuals yearn to experience first-hand the wonder and glory of Rembrandt's work. The play then travels back to the 1600s where the surly but soft-hearted Rembrandt discusses life and art with his son, Titus. Dickey then juxtaposes a vivid scene with the ancient Greek visionary Homer with a quiet glimpse at the final days of a 21st-century poet. Ford's Theatre commissioned The Guard as part of the 2015 Women's Voices Theater Festival-a celebration of original works by female writers in more than 50 of the Washington region's professional theatres.

A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens; Adapted by Michael Wilson; Directed by Michael Baron
November 19-December 31, 2015

The annual Ford's Theatre production of A Christmas Carol has been a Washington tradition for more than 30 years. Join the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future as they lead the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of transformation and redemption. Originally conceived by Michael Baron, this music-infused production captures the magic and joy of Dickens's Yuletide classic. Celebrate the season with the production The Washington Post hailed as "musically high-spirited" and "infectiously jolly."

The Glass Menagerie
Featuring Nancy Robinette
By Tennessee Williams; Directed by Mark Ramont
January 22-February 21, 2016

One of the greatest American plays of the 20th century, The Glass Menagerie explores the visceral bonds of family. Southern matriarch Amanda frets constantly over her two live-in adult children-the painfully shy Laura and Laura's restless poet brother, Tom. With great cajoling, Tom brings home a possible suitor for Laura, but reality soon casts a shadow on Amanda's dreams for both her children. Revered actress Nancy Robinette (Driving Miss Daisy) stars as Amanda in Tennessee Williams' iconic, emotional and enduring family drama.

110 in the Shade
Music by Harvey Schmidt; Lyrics by Tom Jones; Book by N. Richard Nash
Directed and Choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge
March 11-May 14, 2016

In sweltering 1936 Texas, headstrong and eternally single Lizzie Curry dreams of a life beyond her small town. When a charming stranger named Starbuck swaggers into town, he brings both the promise to end the region's drought and awakens Lizzie to the promise she holds within. Ford's Theatre presents this classic American musical about cowboys, confidence and courtship, based on The Rainmaker and featuring a lively score from the creators of The Fantasticks.

One Destiny
By Richard Hellesen; Directed by Mark Ramont
March through July 2016

Learn about Lincoln's assassination from two men who were there. This 35-minute play at Ford's Theatre explores the key facts of the assassination while capturing the emotions of that fateful night in 1865, as told through the eyewitness accounts of actor Harry Hawk and Ford's Theatre co-owner Harry Ford, among others. As they reconstruct the sequence of events, they grapple with the question: Could John Wilkes Booth have been stopped? One Destiny was honored with The Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theatre Community in 2011, and celebrates its 800 performance in Spring 2015. Performance dates and times for Spring 2016 to be announced.

History on Foot Walking Tours:
Investigation: Detective McDevitt
By Richard Hellesen; Directed by Mark Ramont
March through October

Join Detective McDevitt as he re-visits and re-examines the sites and clues surrounding the assassination of our nation's 16th president. This outdoor tour lasts approximately two hours and makes at least eight stops. The distance walked is 1.6 miles from outside of Ford's Theatre to the White House. Please wear comfortable shoes.