James Monroe Iglehart, Ann Harada and More to Star in Vassar College 39th Powerhouse Theater Season

Vassar College has revealed initial cast members for the 39th Powerhouse Theater Season. Among the standouts include Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin, A Wonderful World) and Ann Harada (Avenue Q, "Schmigadoon") joining the new musical It's Kind of a Funny Story by Alex Brightman and Drew Gasparini; the narrator of Welcome to Night Vale, Cecil Baldwin joins Kate MacCluggage (Left on Tenth) and Colleen Werthman ("The Daily Show with Trevor Noah") in the company of A Simple Herstory; and The Holdovers star Dominic Sessa joins Kyle Beltran ("American Rust"), and Ben Levi Ross (Dear Evan Hansen, Tick, Tick... Boom!) to comprise the company of Max Wolf Friedlich's The Holes. Past highlights from this celebrated program include works that have gone on to win Tony, Emmy, Pulitzer and Grammy awards, and was a developmental stop for the long-running Broadway smash Hamilton.

A Trojan Woman (July 25-27)

Written by Sara Farrington

Directed by Meghan Finn

Featuring Drita Kabashi

Scenic Design by Christopher Swader and Justin Swader
Costume Design by Claudia Brown

Lighting Design by Brian Aldous

Compositions and Sound Design by Mike Cassedy

Developed and Produced by Stop the Wind Theatricals

In the Powerhouse Theater

Bosnia, Gaza, Mariupol - a woman with her child, alone in a devastated city, confronts the indiscriminate cruelty of war. Euripides' The Trojan Women was the original anti-war play, first performed in Athens in 415 BCE as a searing protest against the Peloponnesian War. Now, in a taut, solo, contemporary adaptation commissioned by and first performed at the Interbalkan Festival of Ancient Greek Drama in Athens, Greece, A Trojan Woman by Sara Farrington brings this ancient cry of anguish into the present. Directed by The Tank's award-winning Artistic Director Meghan Finn and starring international actress Drita Kabashi, this urgent production blends biting satire with a howl of grief and rage. In an age of relentless conflict, A Trojan Woman reminds us why Euripides' masterpiece has remained vital for over two millennia.

All Mainstage tickets are $40 and are currently on sale.

WORKSHOPS

A Simple Herstory (July 5-6)

Created by Jocelyn Kuritsky

Written by Jonathan A. Goldberg

Additional Conception and Consultation by Jenny Turner Hall

Directed By Meghan Finn and Co-Directed by Donya K. Washington

Produced By Jocelyn Kuritsky, Jenny Turner Hall and Donya K. Washington

Part of The Muse Project and The Tank residency

In the Powerhouse Theater

Featuring Cecil Baldwin, Jake Hart, Jocelyn Kuritsky, Kate MacCluggage, and Colleen Werthman

Returning to Powerhouse for additional episodes-in-progress is A Simple Herstory, a groundbreaking-Webby Award-honored, Anthem Award-winning, and Telly Award-winning-multi-platform audio fiction exploration of the 100+ women who have run for President of the United States. Season 2 revolves around the life and times of Margaret Chase Smith who ran for President in 1964, and borrows from 20th century film styles to create a complex portrait of the Senator from Maine, challenging historical narratives, cultural assumptions, and entrenched myths about American politics. While taking a sharp look at the McCarthy era, this summer's presentation will also be paired with a meta-theatrical reflection on history and politics-echoing the treacherous pitfalls of "hot takes" and the volatility of contemporary punditry.

The Chamber (July 11-13)

Devised and Written by Members of Hook & Eye Theater

Directed by Carrie Heitman

Part of The Tank residency

In the Powerhouse Theater

Featuring Parnia Ayari, Cynthia Babak, Rina Dutta, Meghan Grover, Nile Harris, Elizabeth London, Nylda Mark, Rahmell Peebles, and Jeffrey Robb

In 1628 Brussels, Alexandrine Von Taxis, the imperial postmistress, once ran something more than mail through the empire's hands. In present-day Follansbee, West Virginia, Charley Gibson works at her family's hardware store, where lockers hold more than tools. One misplaced letter. One break-in. The consequences could be larger than anyone expects. As 17th-century operations collide with contemporary Appalachia, The Chamber explores how resistance takes shape through cunning, risk, and subverting laws. Devised by Hook & Eye's ensemble, this darkly funny, time-jumping play trades projections for physical performance, gesture, and sound to tell a story of quiet power, bold ingenuity, and the cost of doing what you're not supposed to do.

All Workshop tickets are $30 and are currently on sale.

READINGS

Medea and Her Sons (June 20)

Written by Peter Gil-Sheridan

Directed by Alex Tobey

In the Powerhouse Theater

Featuring Greg Balla, Joyce Cohen, Tommy Heleringer, Annie Henk, and Kelley Rae O'Donnell.

Medea, the infamous anti-hero of Greek mythology, is one of the most complex women ever written: sorceress, exile, foreigner, wife, and mother. Her betrayal by Jason and the brutal revenge that followed; her story has echoed through centuries as a tale of passion and fury. But what if she never did kill those kids?

Years after the tragedy that defined her, Medea is still here-wiser, older, and still a mother. Her children survived. And now they've set out to understand the story of their parents by making a glitter-soaked, questionable version of events. Can a mother survive watching her trauma turned into a campy two-hander? Can generational drama be healed, or at least workshopped? One son performs his mother in full drag. The other slips into the role of his father, rewriting history with a smile. Medea has notes. So many notes.

Medea and Her Sons is the story of a mother reckoning with the way her life has been mythologized and misunderstood. All these years later, the question is: can she avoid her murderous fate or will she kill them after all?

It Is Right to Rebel! (June 21)

Written by Andy Boyd

Directed by Zinc Tong

Part of The Tank residency

In the Powerhouse Theater

Featuring Angela Chew, Claro de los Reyes, Elijah Guo, Wai Ching Ho, Kenneth Lee, and Michael C. Liu.

It is Right to Rebel! tells the story of Jiang Qing, who was Mao Zedong's wife for 38 years and eventually became one of the most powerful women in the Communist world. After a hardscrabble climb from street urchin to first lady, Jiang Qing begins a reform movement in Chinese theatre that quickly becomes something much more sinister: the Cultural Revolution. However, when Mao dies without naming her his successor, she quickly falls from power and is put on trial for treason. This is a play about theatre as politics, politics as theatre, and revenge as revolution.

Untitled, Unknown Artist(s) (June 22)

Written by Petra Brusiloff

Directed by Christa Kimlicko Jones

Part of the Theatre East residency

In the Powerhouse Theater

Featuring Elizabeth Jarrett, Matthew Napoli, Madeleine Pedersen, China Pharr, and Meggy Hai Trang.

The long-standing chair of a fine arts department finds her commitment to traditional aesthetic and artistic values challenged when she must award three students a prestigious cash prize for a piece of contemporary artwork. As she probes the students about their contributions to the project, it becomes increasingly unclear whether the students qualify to receive the prize and whether the traditional values still matter. Will the girls receive the prize, or not? A play about how people determine what is valuable and what is not in the arts, artists, and education.

In The Bronx Brown Girls Can See Stars Too (or The F*ck Is You Lookin' At?) (June 28)

Written by Amalia Oliva Rojas
Directed by Marina Montesanti

Part of The Leah Ryan Fund residency

In the Powerhouse Theater

Featuring Essence Brown, Christin Eve Cato, Sarah-Michele Guei, Victoria Lino, Amaya Montañez, Elizabeth Spindler and Malaika Wanjiku.

Four young girls are forced to take a communication workshop in the hopes of avoiding juvie. As they play games and learn about themselves with the help of teaching artists, one of the girls is approached by the local gang leader to prove herself or lose her home. The girls must confront their past, present, and future to determine who they want to be, all while finding community and liberation in each other.

It's Kind of a Funny Story (July 18-19)

Music and lyrics by Drew Gasparini

Book by Alex Brightman

Directed by Sarna Lapine

Produced with Special Arrangement by Lisa Dozier Shacket

In the Martel Theater

Featuring Abe Goldfarb, Ann Harada, James Monroe Iglehart, Jim Poulos and Jayae Riley Jr..

After deciding not to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, 17-year-old Craig Gilner checks himself into Six North, a psychiatric ward, where he will face and navigate his mental health with the help of the unlikeliest group of people he's ever met.

Lovingly adapted from Ned Vizzini's beloved novel and the Universal motion picture, this indie musical answers the question...

"Is it alright to not be all right?"

With an anthemic score bursting with pop-rock and musical whimsy, It's Kind of a Funny Story is an unflinching and uproarious look at depression, anxiety, and recovery.

The Holes (July 19-20)

Written by Max Wolf Friedlich

Directed by Michael Herwitz

Produced and Dramaturgy by Hannah Getts

In the Powerhouse Theater

Featuring Kyle Beltran, Ben Levi Ross and Dominic Sessa. A bar in the rapidly gentrifying city of Kingston, New York has an elicit secret: there's a guy in the back giving handjobs. But when a New York City businessman has a spiritual revelation in the backroom, everything changes. A story about shame, fathers and sons, legacy versus progress, and the relationship between spirituality and capitalism in the 21st century.

All readings are free. Tickets can be reserved by contacting the box office.

THE TRAINING COMPANY

The Comedy of Errors (July 11-13)

Written by William Shakespeare

Adapted and Directed by Shaun Patrick Tubbs

At The Preserve

The Comedy of Errors is a fast-paced rib-tickling farce by William Shakespeare. In this whirlwind of mistaken identities and madcap mix-ups, two sets of twins separated at birth find themselves unknowingly in the same city, setting off a cascade of wild encounters. Whether you're a die-hard Shakespeare fan or discovering this classic for the first time, The Comedy of Errors will deliver on laughs, love, and the heartwarming power of family. This production will use a pared-down script, props, live music, and physical comedy to take the audience on a journey they won't soon forget.

The Seagull (July 18-20)

Written by Anton Chekov

Adapted by Leah Ryan

Directed by Jasmine Roth

At The Preserve

During one hot, sticky, lakeside summer, two young artists yearn for love and recognition, while the already famous buckle under the pressures and harsh realities of their success. How far will any of them go to chase validation and meaning? Chekhov's darkly funny play explores the vulnerability in ambition and the fragility of big dreams and bigger expectations.

Biography (July 3, 10, 17, 24)

Conceived and Composed by Max Reuben

Developed and Performed by members of the Training Company

In the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center

Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me you haven't heard of this person? They're like, a very important figure in their field. Or, actually, what makes them interesting is how sort of normal they are, if that makes sense? Anyway, don't worry-we're going to tell you all about them. It's an incredible life. Really.

Biography utilizes the gestural composing language of Soundpainting to create an ensemble-based improvised performance about a spontaneously made up person who is very, very real.

Oresteia (July 20-21)

Written by Aeschylus

Adapted and Created by Caley Chase and Hal Cosentino

In the Susan Stein Shiva Theater

A curse plagues ancient Argos' ruling family. On the advice of an oracle, King Agamemnon kills his daughter. Ten years later, his queen Clytemnestra takes revenge. When her son Orestes murders her in retribution, the city must find a way to hold him responsible. Can a trial by jury break this cycle of violence? This adaptation of the Greek tragedy will intertwine and overlap the events of Aeschylus' trilogy to ask: How do we restore balance when there are no gods?

New Works Play Festival (July 26)

Written and Directed by members of the Training Company

In the Susan Stein Shiva Theater

This festival of new works is the culminating event for the directors and writers of the Training Company. Along with their coursework, directors and playwrights will have observed the process of bringing a new script to life in a professional rehearsal setting. Each pair of writers and directors will workshop a play that they have developed over the summer. Featuring performances by the actors of the Training Company, these short plays reflect the students' unique voice and vision for the future of American theater.

All Training Company performances are free, although reservations are required for Oresteia and the New Works Play Festival. Reservations can be made by contacting the box office.

SPECIAL EVENT

Performing Art (June 29)
Conceived and Directed by Liz Dahmen

In the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center

Featuring Covenant Babatunde, Kate Budney, Uma Incrocci, Clae Rountree, and Julia Sosas

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