New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," has announced casting for its 29th season of adult, alternative musical theatre, which opens with the return of the wild, comic rock musical CRY-BABY, based on the iconic John Waters film, a show which New Line first produced in 2012 in its American regional premiere, running Sept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019. The season continues with the electrifying new rock musical fresh from Broadway, in its regional premiere, HEAD OVER HEELS, a high-energy, adult romp about gender and sexuality, based on a 16th-century novel and using the songs of the 80s rock band The Go-Go's, running March 5-28, 2020. And the season closes with the return of one of New Line's biggest hits, which the New Liners first presented in 2007, the pitch dark satire URINETOWN, the hilarious, outrageous fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, running June 4-27, 2020.
This September, renowned Japanese theater director Satoshi Miyagi brings his intercultural adaptation of Antigone to Park Avenue Armory for its North American premiere in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall.
Magic Theatre presents the 10th Anniversary Legacy Revival of Luis Alfaro's Oedipus el Rey, the Company's final production of the 2018-2019 season. Oedipus el Rey will be directed by Loretta Greco, who also directed Magic Theatre's World Premiere of Oedipus el Rey in 2010.
A sickness is spreading in Thebes. King Oedipus (KC Ryan) is so certain of their own claim to the throne that they don't ask questions when those who do not support them are rounded up and locked away due to 'illness'. (Take note of the singular 'they' here - this inclusive pronoun is used throughout the show.) Meanwhile, elections are taking place in Thebes and someone has betrayed the royal family - but whom?
The Sacred Fools Theater Company is excited to announce its upcoming 23rd Season (2019-2020), featuring two World Premieres and two West Coast Premieres. These four shows serve as the company's Prime Season, in addition to the high volume of late-night and off-night programming the company produces.
The stunning production of Luis Alfaro's "Oedipus El Rey" currently running at the Magic Theatre is visually arresting, genuinely moving, and slyly humorous - oh, and also seriously sexy, all in a taut 95-minute running time. The Magic presented the world premiere of this play back in 2010 and is bringing it back in this new production as a legacy revival. Given the current, unsettling political discourse on immigrants, this revival could not feel more timely.
Taffety Punk, the insurrectionist yet classically trained company now in its 15th year does what it does best in a pair of striking Greek adaptations by Anne Carson, presented in one invigorating sitting.
There's several places to see Greek theatre in DC right now. It's not uncommon for artists to find relevance in the centuries-old works of Aeschylus and Sophocles and use their stories as a way of examining our lives today. But Klytemnestra: An Epic Slam Poem, now playing at Theater Alliance, does more than simply find truth in an ancient work: it tells a story existing in many places and many times, of now and then, not one or the other but both living and breathing at once.
Theatre UCF presents the second annual Pegasus PlayLab, a festival dedicated to developing plays by emerging playwrights. Audiences can hear three staged readings, watch a full developmental production and participate in discussions with the playwrights, casts and directors throughout June.
WSC Avant Bard's Script in Play Festival, started in 2016, has been an opportunity to test out shows for full production treatment through the guise of a series of staged readings and post-play discussions. Written and performed by rising professional talent, these readings have led to some memorable productions, including new versions of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night and Lauren Gunderson's hit Emilie: La Marquise Du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight. In 2017, a reading of playwright Matt Minnicino's 'distillation' - not 'adaptation,' as we get into below - of Moliere's The Misanthrope was performed. Written entirely in rhyming couplets, it follows a professional cynic who falls in love with an ingenue, and finds his devotion to insincerity tested. Now, it's the capper of Avant Bard's 29th season. I spoke to Minnicino about his career thus far, the adaptation process, and why audiences should be excited for this show.
New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," has announced its 29th season of adult, alternative musical theatre, including the return of the wild, comic rock musical CRY-BABY, which New Line first produced in 2012 in its American regional premiere, based on the John Waters film, running Sept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019; followed by the electrifying new rock musical fresh from Broadway, in its regional premiere, HEAD OVER HEELS, a high-energy, adult romp about gender and sexuality, based on a 16th century novel and using the songs of the pop group The Go-Go's, running March 5-28, 2020; and the season closes with the return of one of New Line's biggest hits, which the New Liners first presented in 2007, the pitch dark satire URINETOWN, the hilarious, outrageous fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, running June 4-27, 2020.
Young People's Theatre closes their season with the world premiere of Jeff Ho's ANTIGONE, which stands as an impressive contemporary take on Sophocles' classic play. The story begins with the title character's brother Neikes (Jeff Yung) leading a breakout from the re-education facility he's held in alongside his friend Haemon (Simon Gagnon). Before he can escape and lead the demonstration against the facility in the city's sacred square, he is met by the headmistress Tiresia (Soo Garay) who allows him to leave relatively easily, swayed by the memory of his mother who's been left as a "ghost in a shell" after heavy re-education. Yung offers an intense yet endearing depiction of the rebel, and regardless of his placement within the in-the-round theatre commands attention.
Now & Then Creative Company presents Sophocles' ANTIGONE through May 19th. Compelling and riveting all-female production directed by Cody Goulder. A potent and absorbing portrayal of the existential struggle between devotion to the will of the gods and the dictates of the state.
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Avant Bard Theatre announces the full cast and creative team for its season finale, A MISANTHROPE, a world premiere adaptation of Moliere's The Misanthrope by Manhattan-based playwright Matt Minnicino, directed by Megan Behm in her Avant Bard debut.
Now & Then Creative Company closes their 2nd season with a classic Greek tragedy - Antigone by Sophocles. Presented as a Victorian ghost story with a stellar, all-female cast, this production recounts the cautionary tale while making the hair stand up on audience's necks.
