National Players Opens FOREVER PLAID 7/10

Flashback to the 1950s and some of that decade's greatest hits - Catch a Falling Star, Three Coins in the Fountain, Love is a Many Splendored Thing - with National Players' summer musical, Forever Plaid.

Forever Plaid plays the Historic Stage July 7 through August 1. Tickets are $26, with discounts available to groups. Call the Box Office at 301.924.3400 or visit olneytheatre.org for tickets and information. In addition, Olney offers several special performances that include sign interpretation and audio description.

In the Fifties, guys across the country banded together to sing in the basement for fun, yet often with the dream of making it big. The heavenly hit Forever Plaid tells of one such dream, that of four young men - Sparky, Smudge, Jinx, and Frankie - who meet in high school and discover their shared affection for music. After practicing four-part harmonies in the basement of Smudge's family's plumbing supply company for what seems an eternity, The Plaids finally land their first big gig.

As fate would have it, on the way to pick up their custom-made plaid tuxes, the guys are killed instantly in a car crash. But thanks to a bit of divine intervention, the show goes on.

Bobby Smith directs and choreographs Forever Plaid at Olney Theatre Center. He performed in Forever Plaid off-Broadway, and most recently performed locally in See What I Wanna See at Signature Theatre. The musical director is Aaron Broderick, whose most recent work in that capacity at Olney includes Ain't Misbehavin' and Big River.

The cast for Forever Plaid includes:

PatRick Thomas Cragin (Frankie) is happy to be making his debut on the Olney Theatre Center stage. Other credits in the area include: Giant and Show Boat at Signature Theatre, That Face at Studio Theatre, The Music Man with Washington Savoyards, and West Side Story at Toby's Dinner Theatre. Patrick is extremely honored to have just received the Young Artist Citation award from Stephen Sondheim as a young performer who has a promising future in the profession. He is also excited to announce that he will soon join the National Tour of Grease! as Kenickie. Patrick would like to thank Bobby for this opportunity and for being such a great inspiration to him.

Ben Lurye (Sparky) recently appeared at Signature Theatre in Sweeney Todd (perf. Tobias u/s). His other regional credits include Parade (Leo Frank), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Trevor Graydon), and Cabaret (emcee) with Wildwood Summer Theater, of which he is also on the Board of Directors. At the Kennedy Center, he appeared in Broadway Today! and The Making of Ragtime. He also co-composed the music for The A Cappella Party at the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival. Education: University of Maryland, 2009, BM in Vocal Performance.

Ben Martin (Jinx) is honored to be making his Olney debut with Forever Plaid. Ben comes directly from playing George on the national tour of The Wedding Singer. Prior to that, he played Dennis in All Shook Up (Prather). His favorite regional credits include West Side Story (Snowboy), Gypsy (Tulsa), and All Shook Up (Dennis) at the Little Theatre On the Square, as well as High School Musical at North Shore Music Theatre. Ben received his BFA from Emerson College where credits included Hair (Claude), Grease (Doody), and Hello Again (The Writer).

Dan Van Why (Smudge) is thrilled to return to Olney this summer. Other Olney credits include Tree Boy (Avery), Peter Pan (Tootles), Big River (Judge/Lafe/Silas), The Glass Menagerie (u/s Tom, Jim). Area credits include RENT (ensemble; Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble) at the Keegan Theatre; Urinetown: The Musical (Old Man Strong/ Hot Blades Harry) at Red Branch Theatre; and Oliver! (Noah), Joseph and the...Dreamcoat (Issachar), and Jungle Book (Shere Kahn) at Theatre On the Hill. Dan is an alumnus of Olney's National Players 59th annual tour where he performed in Twelfth Night and Call of the Wild. Dan is a graduate of Wilkes University.

The creative team, in addition to Smith and Broderick, includes Hannah J. Crowell (Scenic Designer), Brian Engel (Lighting Designer), Jeanne Bland (Costume Designer), and Diane Teng (Stage Manager).

PERFORMANCE DATES AND TIMES:
July 9 - August 1
PRESS NIGHT: Saturday, July 10 at 7:30 pm
Wed. - Sat. at 7:30 pm; Sun. at 6:30 pm; matinees on Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 pm; matinee at 1:30 pm on July 14

SPECIAL PERFORMANCES:
§ Audio described performance: Wed., July 21 at 7:30 pm
§ Sign Interpretation: Thurs., July 22 at 7:30 pm

TICKETS: $26; discounts available for groups

BOX OFFICE: 301.924.3400; olneytheatre.org

LOCATION: Olney Theatre Center 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Maryland 20832Located just north of Washington, DC, the theater sits 1¼ mile from the intersection of Olney-Sandy Spring Road (Route 108) and Georgia Avenue (Route 97). Parking is free.

ABOUT OLNEY:
Olney Theatre Center is a 72-year-old nonprofit professional Equity theater in Olney, Maryland. Located in arts-rich Montgomery County, Olney Theatre Center is easily accessible from Washington, DC, and Baltimore, MD. Olney Theatre Center's mission is to create professional Theater Productions and other programs that nurture artists, students, technicians, administrators, and audience members; and to develop each individual's creative potential using the skills and imaginative possibilities of theater and the performing arts.

ABOUT NATIONAL PLAYERS: In operation since 1949, National Players is America's longest running touring company. Comprised of young professional actors, each year the company travels throughout the country (including every region of Maryland) performing two plays in repertory - one Shakespearean play and one dramatic classic. National Players reaches students and families who might otherwise have a limited opportunity to see live, classical theater. In addition, Players conducts workshops with students in such theater-related areas as Shakespeare, playwriting, acting, stage combat, scene analysis, and improvisation. Committed to the development of young theatrical talent and audiences, National Players' tours celebrate the experience of theatergoing by presenting the world's greatest dramatic literature. In 2007, Olney launched the summer musical as an additional National Players offering.

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