Doorways Arts to Present World Premiere of Stephen Spotswood's MORNING, MIRANDA, 3/20-4/12

Doorway Arts Ensemble presents the world premiere of Morning, Miranda by local playwright Stephen Spotswood, March 20 - April 12 at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD.

Winner of the 2009 Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting, Morning, Miranda is a trippy, twisted take on the American road story. Directed by Doorway's Producing Artistic Director Matt Ripa, it tells the story of a deceased woman's baffling last request that puts her daughter Miranda on a wild cross-country ride -- with mom's ghost in tow. An array of colorful characters populate the real and surreal stops along the way, as Miranda experiences the sadness of loss and the joy of remembrance through the lens of letting go.

"Morning, Miranda fits Doorway's farm-to-table mission perfectly," says Ripa. "It's an imaginative, life-affirming new play by a D.C. playwright, which allows Doorway to showcase local actors and designers with the adventurous D.C. area audience in mind. The play's surreal qualities serve to explore the very real, complex feelings we have toward the people we love, how we fill holes in our lives, and why letting go is so damn hard."

Ripa and Spotswood last teamed up for We, Tiresias, cited by City Paper as Best New Play and TheatreMania with the Audience Award for Best Drama at the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival, and subsequently remounted at the Forum Theatre.

"I'm very excited to partner with Matt again and with Doorway--an organization that's committing itself not just to telling stories that showcase the messy complexity of humanity, but focusing specifically on D.C.-area talent to do it," says Spotwood. "I love playing with theatrical juxtapositions--mashing together the deadly serious with the whimsical, the horrific with the hilarious. On more than one occasion I've had audience members tell me they watched one of my plays not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Morning, Miranda is very much in that vein."

The cast includes Adam Adkins, David Dubov, Sarah Holt, Ally Jenkins, Jon Jon Johnson, K. Clare Johnson, Rachel Manteuffel, and Richard Owens.

Assistant Director and stage manager is Mary Cat Gill. Chris Holland is the set and lighting designer, with costumes by Jesse Shipley and sound design by Mehdi Raoufi.