Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), continues its 19th season with William Luce's "Barrymore," directed by Steven Carpenter ("Hysteria," "Mrs. Farnsworth"). The faded glamour of the 1940s theatre comes to life as Rep Stage favorite and Helen Hayes Award-winning actor Nigel Reed ("Travels With My Aunt," "Mrs. Warren's Profession," "The Judas Kiss") reunites with the director of 2008's "Trumbo: Red, White, and Blacklisted" to portray stage legend John Barrymore as he rehearses a comeback performance of his triumphal "Richard III." Mr. Reed delivers a comedic yet haunting portrayal of the acclaimed stage and screen actor from the legendary Barrymore family, icons of the American Theatre. "Barrymore" opens October 26 and runs through November 13, 2011 in the Smith Theatre of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center (HVPA) on the campus of HCC.
Michael Stebbins, Rep Stage's producing artistic director, chose "Barrymore" with Nigel Reed in mind. "I've had ‘Barrymore' on my ‘list' for a number of years," says Stebbins. "I was front row center when Christopher Plummer performed the role on Broadway and I've never forgotten the experience. A couple of years ago, while vising New York City, I was talking with a fellow director who also wanted to produce ‘Barrymore.' He said, ‘You can't do ‘Barrymore' without an actor capable of ‘being Barrymore.' I told my friend that I had a Barrymore in the form of actor Nigel Reed. He replied, ‘You most certainly do,' as he had directed both Nigel and myself in Rep's production of ‘Mrs. Warren's Profession' a few seasons ago. I spoke to Nigel about it, and he was sold on it. And, since Nigel worked with director Steven Carpenter so beautifully on Rep's ‘Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted,' I thought this would be an ideal teaming. I hope audiences will be highly entertained and moved by this production."
A post-show reception follows the Saturday, October 29 evening performance and free post-show discussions follow the November 4 and 11 performances.
A pre-show lecture by assistant film professor and critic Mike Giuliano, who will speak on "Barrymore on Screen," will complement "Barrymore" before the November 12 matinee beginning at 12:30 p.m. in Monteabaro Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information on post-show discussions and the pre-show lecture, visit www.repstage.org.
"Barrymore" was originally produced at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, and opened in September of 1996, starring
Christopher Plummer as Barrymore and directed by three-time Tony Award winner
Gene Saks. The production then toured several cities in the United States, opening on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in March, 1997. The New York Times praised "Barrymore," calling it "Fiendishly entertaining and blisteringly sad.... as fluid, stinging and warming as a Manhattan cocktail." The Chicago Tribune called the play "Big, open, technically brilliant and emotionally true. It is a work of a very high, very rare caliber."
William Luce wrote his Broadway and London success "The Belle of Amherst" for
Julie Harris, who won her fifth Tony Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of
Emily Dickinson. The record album received a Grammy Award. The PBS production won three Christopher Awards. Thames Television's production of "The Belle..." starred
Claire Bloom and won an Emmy Award for Best Foreign Production. For her portrayal of
Isak Dinesen in Luce's "Lucifer's Child,"
Julie Harris received a Tony nomination. Harris also starred in Luce's "Brontë," written for WGBH and Irish Television. The WGBH production won the Peabody Award and Columbia University's Armstrong Award. "Lillian," Luce's Broadway play on
Lillian Hellman, starred Tony Award actress
Zoe Caldwell, with productions again in London and the Sydney Opera House. Luce's play "Bravo, Caruso!" celebrated The
Cleveland Play House's 75th anniversary, and starred
Joseph Mascolo and
Joseph Sicari. Luce's play "Zelda" starred
Olga Bellin off-Broadway. Later, as "The Last Flapper," the play starred
Piper Laurie. Luce's two plays, "Chanel" and "Nijinsky," premiered at Parco Theatre in Tokyo. For American soprano Renée Fleming, Luce wrote "My Business Is To Love," which Fleming premiered in Lincoln Center and London's
Barbican Centre, with Harris and Bloom co-starring. Luce's Broadway hit "Barrymore" starred
Christopher Plummer as legendary
John Barrymore. Plummer won a Tony Award for Best Actor. Barrymore's UK production, titled "One Helluva Life," starred Tony Award winner
Tom Conti. For the Sydney Opera House production of "Barrymore," actress Judy Davis directed Australian actor
Barry Otto. Luce's "Sound Portrait of
William Shakespeare" for NPR starred
David Warner,
David Dukes,
Peter Donat,
Arthur Hill,
Julie Harris,
Joan Hackett and
Marian Mercer. "Baptiste," Luce's comedy about Moliére, premiered at Hartford Stage. Luce is twice a Writers' Guild Award nominee for his CBS movies "The Last Days of Patton," starring
George C. Scott and
Eva Marie Saint, and "The Woman He Loved," starring
Jane Seymour,
Anthony Andrews,
Olivia de Havilland and
Julie Harris. Luce lives and writes on the Oregon Coast.
Steven Carpenter has directed numerous productions at Rep Stage, including "Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted," "Hysteria" and "Mrs. Farnsworth." He's also appeared at Rep as an actor in "Lonesome West," "Translations," "Ambrosio" and "The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?" Steven is a company member at The Washington Stage Guild, where his directing credits include "Opus," "The Underpants," "Incorruptible," and "Darwin in Malibu." He received a Helen Hayes nomination for his production of "Thief River" at Theatre Alliance. His directing work has also been seen at Theater J, Bay Theatre, and Foothills Theatre in Worcester, MA. In 2002, he received a Mary Goldwater Award for Excellence in Directing. He has appeared on stage at the Stage Guild in "The Countess," "The Philanderer (Helen Hayes Nomination)," and "
Anna Karenina," to name a few. Other acting credits include Leontes in "The Winter's Tale" at both Virginia and Baltimore Shakespeare Festivals, "Hamlet" at Folger, and appearances at Ford's (where he performed for President Obama), Theater J, and Wayside. Steven has narrated over 250 books for the blind, including Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams." He was awarded the 2004 Narrator of the Year Award for Multilingual Nonfiction by the American Foundation for the Blind.
Nigel Reed (
John Barrymore) has appeared in Rep Stage's "Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted," "Two by Pinter: The Collection and the Lover," "Hamlet," "The Seagull" and received the 2002 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Leading Actor for his portrayal of "
Oscar Wilde" in "The Judas Kiss." Reed has appeared at Olney Theatre Center, Everyman Theatre,
Signature Theatre, Catalyst Theater, Forum Theatre and The Washington Stage Guild. Off Broadway credits include "Misalliance" starring
Philip Bosco, and television credits include "All My Children" and "Guiding Light."
D. Grant Cloyd (Frank) is making his Rep Stage debut with "Barrymore." Local credits include "Cymbeline" at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, "Looking for the Pony" and "Helen of Sparta" at Venus Theatre, "The Prisoner of Zedna" at 1st Stage, "The Monkeys of Danyang" at Synetic Family Theatre, "Many Moons" at Creative Cauldron, and "Heart of a Dog" at Spooky Action Theatre. He has also been seen in the Source Theatre Festival as well as the DC Fringe Festival, where he has worked with The Impressionable Players, Faction of Fools and Washington Rogues.
The "Barrymore" design team includes Denise Umland (costume designer), Terry Cobb (set designer), Jay Herzong (lighting designer), Natalia Leimkuhler (properties designer), and
Neil McFadden (sound designer).
Rep Stage, a professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College, is in its 19th season. The company is a member of both League of Washington Theatres and Baltimore Theatre Alliance. Performances are made possible by the Maryland State
Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as through generous individual contributions. Howard Bank is the Rep Stage 2011-12 season partner.
