Theater at Monmouth's 2015 Season to Feature Shakespeare, Stoppard & More

For 2015 Theater at Monmouth has planned a season of Magic, Murder, and Mayhem! Season 46 peeks into nature of reality and illusion, pokes fun at the foibles and fables of romances young and old, and will prick-up the hairs on the back of your neck. From Shakespeare to Stoppard and Coward to James, the 2015 Season is sure to be a perception-altering ride.

The Summer Repertory includes Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Janis Stevens and The Winter's Tale, directed by Dawn McAndrews; Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound, directed by Matthew Arbour; Noël Coward's Fallen Angels, directed by Brendon Fox, and Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, directed by James Noel Hoban. Opening June 27, the Family Show is an adaptation of the Russian fairy tale Fool of the World and the Flying Ship directed by Ian Carlsen. The Fall Musical, opening September 17, is Gilbert & Sullivan's Ruddigore, or the Witch's Curse directed by founding artistic director, Richard Sewell. Since its founding in 1970, TAM has produced more than one hundred of Shakespeare's works and many other British classics both during the Summer Repertory Season and on tour throughout Maine.

Performances take place in Cumston Hall, a 250-seat Victorian opera house designed by Harry Cochrane. Since its founding the Theater has rehearsed and performed in rotating repertory, inviting audiences to see the actors in different roles in four different shows in one weekend. Each of this season's seven productions features newcomers as well as TAM favorites including Mark S. Cartier, Janis Stevens, and Bill Van Horn.

Turn of the Screw | June 26 - August 21

by Henry James, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher | directed by James Noel Hoban

A young governess is left to care for two recently orphaned children in a lonely English manor. She begins to see the specters of the former governess and her lover haunting the children and embarks on a macabre journey to save their souls. But what if the ghosts aren't real?

James Noel Hoban has worked as a director, actor and educator in Maine and New England for over 20 years. He most recently directed TAM's Shakespeare in American Communities touring production of Twelfth Night. Other directing credits include Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Henry V, Richard III, Love?s Labour's Lost, The Winter?s Tale, After the Fall, and productions for the PortFringe Theater Festival. As an educator, he spent four seasons with the Maine Summer Dramatic Institute as a voice instructor, managing director and acting coach. Acting credits include productions with Theater at Monmouth, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Portland Stage Company, The Public Theater, Penobscot Theater, Good Theater, and Mad Horse Theatre. James is a graduate of the Acting Conservatory at Purchase College and also trained with the National Theatre of Great Britain.

The Winter's Tale | July 9 - August 22

by William Shakespeare | directed by Dawn McAndrews

Tragic, romantic, hilarious, and uplifting, The Winter's Tale is an enchanting story about the perils of jealousy and the power of forgiveness. Filled with mature wisdom infused with youthful optimism, the tale begins with a serious question, moves through lighthearted romance, and ends with a miracle.

Producing Artistic Director Dawn McAndrews directs The Winter's Tale in her sixth season with TAM. Dawn has worked as a director, producer, and educator at theatres across the country including Shakespeare Theatre Company, Steppenwolf Theatre, Arena Stage, Portland Stage Company, and Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. Directing credits include The Language Archive (Public Theatre), The Glass Menagerie and Three Days of Rain (1st Stage) Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice (The Orange Girls) and Timberlake Wertenbaker's Antigone (Saint Louis University). TAM credits include The Mousetrap, On the Twentieth Century, Romeo & Juliet, Henry IV Part 1, Of Thee I Sing, Hamlet, The Year of Magical Thinking, and This Wonderful Life.

Fallen Angels | July 16 - August 22

by Noël Coward | directed by Brendon Fox

Best friends, Jane and Julia, "fell" seven years earlier when they had affairs with the same dashing Frenchman. Now settled into humdrum marriages, the two pine for passion. With their husbands away for the weekend, the women receive word that their lover has returned. In Coward's intoxicatingly witty comedy passions soar, spirits fly, and insults are hurled as the women grapple with fidelity and the flush of forbidden fruit.

Brendon Fox is a teacher, director, and producer who has worked around the country at a number of prominent regional theaters, universities, and training programs. Fox was Associate Director at the Tony Award-winning Old Globe Theatre for seven years. A former Associate Producer for L.A. Theatre Works he directed many acclaimed radio plays for NPR and national tours. Regional credits include: Two Gentlemen of Verona (Houston Shakespeare Festival), Shipwrecked! (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Much Ado About Nothing (Old Globe Theatre), Opus (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis/ Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park/ Portland Center Stage/ L.A. Theatre Works), Angels In America (Playmakers Repertory Theatre), the L.A. premiere of The Lady With All The Answers, Pasadena Playhouse, Private Lives and The Prisoner Of Second Avenue (LATW National Tours), As You Like It (Weston Theatre Company).

A Midsummer Night's Dream | July 23 - August 23

by William Shakespeare | directed by Janis Stevens

Magic and laughter are on the loose in the woods outside Athens in Shakespeare's playful pastoral comedy! The fairy king and queen are at war, court and commoners alike prepare for Theseus and Hippolyta's nuptials, and Puck stirs the pot leading two pairs of lovers on a wild and wacky chase in search of true romance.

Janis Stevens spent her early career working in Europe acting in and directing numerous productions for both Vienna's English Theatre and the International Theatre of Vienna. After ten years, she returned to the States to become a company member with Sierra Repertory Theatre in Sonora, CA. She is currently an Associate Artist with Capital Stage in Sacramento, CA and has been returning to Theater at Monmouth for 13 seasons where she has directed Tally's Folly, The Mystery of Irma Vep, and Twelfth Night, to name a few. Janis is a 2006 Drama Desk Award nominee for her portrayal of Vivien Leigh in Vivien, at the Beckmann Theatre, off-off Broadway. She is honored to be included in North American Players of Shakespeare edited by Michael Shurgot and is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.

The Real Inspector Hound | July 30 - August 21

by Tom Stoppard | directed by Matthew Arbour

Feuding theatre critics Birdboot and Moon, a fusty philanderer and a pompous second stringer, are swept into the whodunit they are reviewing. As mists rise about isolated Muldoon Manor, Moon and Birdboot become dangerously implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman. This madcap romp spoofs third-rate thrillers and pretentious critics in a relentless dash to answer the question, "Where is Higgs?"

Matthew Arbour returns to Theater at Monmouth where he previously directed Romeo and Juliet and Tartuffe. Regional credits include Pioneer Theater Company, Two River Theater, PlayMakers Repertory, Chautauqua Theater Company, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, New Jersey Repertory, Portland Stage Company, Washington Ensemble Theater, Hangar Theatre, and Penobscot Theatre Company. Matthew was Associate Artist of the Washington Ensemble Theater in Seattle from 2004-2008, Co-Artistic Director of the Hangar Theatre Lab Company in 2003, and resident dramaturg and literary manager of Portland Stage Company from 1992 to 1998. Matthew is a Usual Suspect of New York Theatre Workshop and a recipient of the prestigious Drama League Directing Fellowship.

FAMILY SHOW

Each summer, TAM presents a play for children of all ages adapted from classic literature.

Fool of the World and the Flying Ship | June 27 - August 20

adapted by Dawn McAndrews | directed by Ian Carlsen

Few people had faith in the Fool of the World. But the Fool of the World was determined to prove everyone wrong. When the czar declares he will marry his daughter to the man who brings him a flying ship, the Fool sets off on an adventure to change his life. Along the way he learns the power of believing in yourself, the value of friendship, and the importance of following your dreams.

FALL MUSICAL

The Fall Musical features talented voices and musicians from Maine and professional actors from away.

Ruddigore, or the Witch's Curse | September 17-27

music by Arthur Sullivan, libretto by W.S. Gilbert | directed by Richard Sewell

Many years ago, the Baronets of Ruddigore were cursed by a witch and must commit a crime a day or be tortured to death. To escape this dreadful fate, the latest Baronet, Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, disguises himself as simple farmer, Robin Oakapple. Oakapple is in love with the Rose Maybud and wants to wed but their "rosy" future is doomed when his true identity is revealed.

A longtime actor, director, teacher and playwright, Richard Sewell has written more than 16 plays and three adaptations. His plays have inspired productions, public readings, and awards from theatres in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, among others. Most recently, the Pearl Theater Company in New York City staged his adaptation of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's Nathan the Wise. Sewell is the founding artistic director of Theater at Monmouth, where he directed classic plays from Shakespeare to Stoppard (and everything in between); this production marks the first time he has returned in more than 20 years.

SPECIAL EVENTS

16th Annual Black Fly Follies | July 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Theater at Monmouth's annual variety show returns featuring the talents of our summer company. Following up on last year's successful show, the 16th Annual Variety show will feature feats of magic, murder, and a sprinkling of mayhem while introducing audiences to the artists and plays of the 2015 season.

2015 Write On! Student Playwriting Project | August 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Write On! integrates the art of playwriting into the middle and high school curriculum to enhance academic and culturally literacy, creative expression, and communication skills. Students learn the importance of language structure, grammar, and word choice as a means of clearly communicating their own thoughts, choices, and imaginations through the development of a 10-minute play (grades 5-8) or a one act play (grades 9 - 12). Plays are reviewed by a jury of professional theatre artists and finalists receive a workshop and stage-reading of their play as part of TAM's 2015 summer season.

MONMOUTH, MAINE

Monmouth is located just off Route 202 in the Winthrop Lakes region of central Maine. By car, the

Theater is 25 minutes from Augusta, 25 minutes from Lewiston, 45 minutes from the Mid-Coast region, 50 minutes from Portland, and 90 minutes from Bangor. Monmouth and neighboring towns Winthrop, Hallowell, Augusta, and Lewiston offer a variety of attractions suitable for the whole family, including the Monmouth Museum, Cobbossee Colony Golf Course, Mount Pisgah Hiking Trail, Children's Discovery Museum, Maine State Museum, Viles Arboretum, Bates College Museum of Art, Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary, and more. Visitors can enjoy a stay in Monmouth at one of the several bed and breakfasts or nearby hotels, including Annabessacook Farm B&B, Maple Hill Farm B&B, A Rise and Shine B&B, the Hilton Garden Inn, and Senator Inn & Spa.

CUMSTON HALL

All performances take place in historic Cumston Hall, which towers dramatically over Monmouth's Main

Street. While Dr. Charles M. Cumston donated the funds for the building to the Town of Monmouth in

1899, it has always been a gift shared with the community at large. A registered National Historic

Building since 1976, the building's architecture is a mix of Romanesque-style asymmetrical columns

and towers and varying external textures of the Queen Anne period. The 250-seat opera hall features elaborate plaster carvings, and a fresco mural ceiling.

SUBSCRIPTIONS, SINGLE TICKETS, AND GROUP SALES

A TAM subscription offers savings and exclusive benefits like priority seating and ticket exchanges. Gold, Flex, General, or Senior Passes are available for purchase, so whether you want a ticket for each show or four tickets to one show, there's an option for you. Single tickets for Summer Repertory and Fall Musical are $30 for adults, $27 for senior citizens, and $20 for students. Fool of the World and the Flying Ship tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children.

Opening Nights are Educator Nights. Educators receive 20% off tickets with a photo ID at the Box Office.

Under 30 Rush Tickets: For patrons under 30, twenty $10 Rush Tickets are available at each performance in the season. Sign up in the Box Office thirty minutes before the performance. Tickets will be released to the first 20 people on the list ten minutes before curtain.

To reserve single tickets, subscriptions, or arrange group sales, please visit www.theateratmonmouth.org or call the box office at 207.933.9999.