Majestic Theater Announces 2019-2020 National Theatre Live Lineup

Literary adaptations, a Shakespearian classic, and appearances by award-winning Hollywood stars highlight the vibrant National Theatre Live programming scheduled to light up the cinema screen at Gettysburg College's Majestic Theater during the 2019-2020 season. National Theatre Live is a groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theater to cinemas around the world, including the Majestic. The new season kicks off September 23. All plays are shown at 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

"London's National Theatre is simply the finest producing theater in the English-speaking world, full stop," explained Majestic Theater Founding Executive Director Jeffrey Gabel. "These high definition performances will make you feel as though you're sitting in the best seat in the house where you can almost reach out and touch the actors."

Andrea Levy's award-winning novel "Small Island" comes to life from London's National Theatre on Sept. 23. The play follows three intricately connected stories. Hortense yearns for new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet reality as the play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.

On Oct. 7, Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes directs Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley, and Ben Miles in "The Lehman Trilogy," which explores the rise and fall of legendary financial firm Lehman Brothers. The play is presented from London's West End.

Gwendoline Christie ("Game of Thrones") stars as Titania in William Shakespeare's famous romantic comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream," on Nov. 11. Presented from London's Bridge Theatre, the play follows along as a feuding fairy King and Queen cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play. Along the way, the couple meddle with mortal lives producing love triangles, mistaking identities and transformations with hilarious, but dark consequences.

"Hansard," a brand new play by Simon Wood, comes to the Majestic cinema Jan. 13. In a summer morning in 1988, Tory politician Robin Hesketh returns to the home he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being revealed. As the day continues, what starts as familiar marital bickering quickly turns to blood-sport.

Andrew Scott ("Fleabag," "Sherlock") features as a star actor in "Present Laughter" on Feb. 3. As he prepares to embark on an overseas tour, his colorful life is in danger of spiraling out of control. Filmed at London's Old Vic, "Present Laughter" is a modern reflection on fame, desire, and loneliness.

Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" comes to the Majestic cinema from London's Old Vic on Feb. 24. Starring Sally Field and Bill Pullman, this blistering drama depicts a couple reckoning with long buried truths and the price of the American Dream in the aftermath of World War II.

Further offerings from National Theatre Live are expected in Spring 2020. Tickets for National Theatre Live shows are $23 ($21 for seniors, $12 for students) and are available at the Majestic Theater Box Office, 25 Carlisle St., Gettysburg, by calling (717) 337-8200, or online at www.gettysburgmajestic.org.