Keegan Theatre Announces 2018-19 Season

The Keegan Theatre is proud to announce its 2018-2019 season, a ten-show lineup that includes three musicals, two regional premieres, two DC-area premieres, and two Keegan PLAY-RAH-KA productions for families. "Heading into our 22nd season, Keegan is as vibrant and busy as we've ever been," says Producing Artistic Director Mark A. Rhea. "We are more passionate than ever about engaging with our community as far as the stories we tell and the programming we offer - through our main stage season, our Boiler Room series, and our ever-growing educational branch, Keegan PLAY-RAH-KA."

Keegan's season lineup includes a wide range of offerings - from political comedy to heart-tugging satire, from groundbreaking musicals to homegrown holiday traditions to summer confections. "We continue to listen closely to our audiences, and to seek out the scripts and stories that both uplift and entertain," explains Susan Marie Rhea, Keegan's artistic director. "We strive to put forth a diverse range of theatrical offerings, to attract all members of the community to our theater - to get audiences in the door with the kinds of shows they want to see, and to hopefully engage and inspire them enough to keep them coming back." Keegan's 2018-2019 season includes both well-known titles and less familiar, newer works. "We're inviting our audiences to come along for the ride," Rhea continues. "We invite them to join the conversation with us, and to trust that when they come to Keegan they will be entertained, inspired, and hopefully challenged here and there. Whether the name of the play or playwright is famous or unknown, they can rely on Keegan's commitment to the words on the page, to authentic storytelling, to extraordinary talent, and to the sense of community we'll share with them when they come through our doors. We're going to keep pushing ourselves, and we're going to keep doing our best to earn the support we've experienced from our audience base, our neighborhood, and our larger community."

THE 2018-2019 SEASON AT KEEGAN:

SEPTEMBER 2018

LINCOLNESQUE

BY John Strand

DIRECTED BY COLIN SMITH

Leo has more on his plate than he can handle: he is a speechwriter in the final month of campaign for an endangered mediocre Congressman; his new boss Carla is a dominating message maven who has been brought in from the corporate world to try and save the campaign; and his brother Francis is a psychiatric outpatient recently released from St. Elizabeth's Hospital, despite having a powerful delusion that he is Abraham Lincoln. Desperate for inspiration, Leo turns to Francis for help writing "lincolnesque" speeches, transformative oratory inspired by Lincoln that ultimately revive his boss's flagging re-election campaign.

Described as a "mischievous play ... [that] easily entertains a plugged-in Beltway crowd, something that theater in the nation's capital still doesn't do nearly often enough" by the Washington Post when it received its regional premiere at Keegan in 2009, LINCOLNESQUE is a pleasing political fantasy that touches the heart and the funny bone.

NOVEMBER 2018

** DC PREMIERE **

AS YOU LIKE IT

ADAPTED BY Shaina Taub AND Laurie Woolery
MUSIC AND LYRICS BY Shaina Taub

DIRECTED BY CARA GABRIEL AND Josh Sticklin

AS YOU LIKE IT debuted in 2017 as part of The Public Theater's Public Works program in Central Park. Named one of The New York Times' best shows of 2017, AS YOU LIKE IT is an immersive dream-like tale of faithful friends, feuding families and lovers in disguise. Forced from their homes, Orlando, Duke Senior, his daughter Rosalind and niece Celia, escape to the Forest of Arden, a fantastical place of transformation, where all are welcomed and embraced. Lost amidst the trees, the refugees find community and acceptance under the stars.

DECEMBER 2018

** KEEGAN'S OWN HOLIDAY TRADITION: AN ORIGINAL WORK **

AN IRISH CAROL

BY MATTHEW J. KEENAN

DIRECTED BY MARK A. RHEA

An original work by Keegan company member Matthew Keenan, AN IRISH CAROL is an homage to Dickens' classic - told as only the Irish can. This comic and touching play, set in a modern Dublin pub, follows one evening in the life of David, a wealthy pub owner who has lost touch with his own humanity in the interest of self-protection and material success. But on this Christmas Eve - challenged by a voice from the past, provoked by those in this present, and faced with the reality of a lonely future - David's life may change forever.

AN IRISH CAROL quickly established itself as a holiday tradition at Keegan, selling out to enthusiastic audiences year after year. 2018 will mark its eighth year, and Keegan is delighted to bring this beloved production back to life once again.

DECEMBER 2018

** A KEEGAN PLAY-RAH-KA PRODUCTION FOR FAMILIES **

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER

BY KRISTIN WALTER

DIRECTED BY ALEXIS J. HARTWICK

Eric, the lone shoemaker of Grimmsville, makes shoes that are miserably uncomfortable and impossible to walk in... leaving a lot of barefoot villagers and Eric without a means to provide for his family. While alone in the woods, his daughter Shannon is confronted by a stranger who offers her the deal of a lifetime: In exchange for her torturous pair of shoes, she is given a magical medallion that holds the charm of the elves. Wanting to help her family, Shannon tries the chant. Her words beckon a pair of elves that show up night after night at the shoemaker's home creating the most fabulous shoes EVER! With his shoes now wanted throughout the land, Eric and his family have more gold than they can count. But they quickly begin to realize that all the money in the world doesn't necessarily buy happiness.

JANUARY 2019

THE BALTIMORE WALTZ

BY Paula Vogel

DIRECTED BY SUSAN MARIE RHEA

A giddy, fleet fantasy based on the love and adventures of a brother and sister. When Anna, an unmarried schoolteacher, is diagnosed with ATD, Acquired Toilet Disease, a fatal new malady with a high risk factor for elementary school teachers, she and her brother Carl take flight to Europe. Anna decides she wants to drown herself in the sensuality of food and sex, while Carl becomes involved in a wild Third Mannish espionage scheme to find a cure for his sister on the Continent. Paula Vogel wrote THE BALTIMORE WALTZ shortly after her brother's death from AIDS - and the result is a deeply personal, idiosyncratic expression of sorrow and love. The New York times describes THE BALTIMORE WALTZ as "a whimsy-spiked satire that holds a funhouse mirror up to the awful absurdities of the times."

MARCH 2019

** REGIONAL PREMIERE **

HANDS ON A HARDBODY

BOOK BY Doug Wright
MUSIC BY Trey Anastasio AND Amanda Green
LYRICS BY Amanda Green

DIRECTED BY MARK A. RHEA

For 10 hard-luck Texans, a new lease on life is so close they can touch it. Under a scorching sun for days on end, armed with nothing but hope, humor and ambition, they'll fight to keep at least one hand on a brand-new truck in order to win it. In the hilarious, hard-fought contest that is HANDS ON A HARDBODY, only one winner can drive away with the American Dream. Inspired by the true events of the acclaimed 1997 documentary of the same name by S.R. Bindler, produced by Kevin Morris and Bindler.

MAY 2019

GOD OF CARNAGE

BY Yasmina Reza

DIRECTED BY Shirley Serotsky

A playground altercation between eleven-year-old boys brings together two sets of Brooklyn parents for a meeting to resolve the matter. At first, diplomatic niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses, and the rum flows, tensions emerge and the gloves come off, leaving the couples with more than just their liberal principles in tatters.

MAY 2019

** A KEEGAN PLAY-RAH-KA PRODUCTION FOR FAMILIES **

THE RELUCTANT DRAGON

BY Mary Hall SURFACE

The village of Guildermere blames the dragon who lives upon the downs for their dying crops and sour milk. But this dragon is a peace-loving, poetry-spouting fellow who would much prefer a cup of tea to a battle. When Saint George arrives, the dragon and his young friend, Glaston, face quite a challenge indeed. A charming tale of an unlikely friendship, this play for young people and families embraces the dramatic power of what happens when misunderstanding escalates into prejudice and violence.

JUNE 2019

** REGIONAL PREMIERE **

RIPCORD

BY David Lindsay-Abaire

DIRECTED BY MEGAN THRIFT

A sunny room on an upper floor is prime real estate in the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility, so when the cantankerous Abby is forced to share her quarters with new-arrival Marilyn, she has no choice but to get rid of the infuriatingly chipper woman by any means necessary. A seemingly harmless bet between the old women quickly escalates into a dangerous game of one-upmanship that reveals not just the tenacity of these worthy opponents, but also deeper truths that each would rather remain hidden.

AUGUST 2019

** DC PREMIERE **

LEGALLY BLONDE

MUSIC AND LYRICS BY Laurence O'Keefe AND Nell Benjamin
BOOK BY Heather Hach

DIRECTED BY Michael Bobbitt

Elle Woods appears to have it all, but her life is turned upside down when her boyfriend Warner dumps her so he can attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle geniously charms her way into the prestigious law school. While there, she struggles with peers, professors and her ex. With the support of some new friends, though, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.

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