TINY ISLAND, 'DISCORD' and More Set for Washington Stage Guild's 2015-16 Season
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 01, 2015
The Washington Stage Guild announces its 30th Season of our distinctive repertory, an array of eloquent plays of idea and argument, passion and wit-smart theatre for a smart town!
The 2015-2016 season includes the final part of our multi-year presentation of George Bernard Shaw's Back to Methuselah, and as the visionary cycle leaps far into the future and the Stage Guild approaches its 30th anniversary, the other three plays will also look both back and ahead-A SEASON OF PAST & FUTURE. But we're not neglecting the present: all four plays during this landmark year for the company are Washington premieres, with works by Joe Landry, Scott Carter, and Stage Guild favorite Michael Hollinger.
"It was hard to imagine in 1986 what life in Washington would be like in 30 years, and as we founded what was then DC's tenth or eleventh professional theatre, we hardly dreamed about the role we'd play in the city as those years passed," says Bill Largess, Artistic Director of the Stage Guild. "Now, it's natural to look back at all that's happened and just as natural to peer ahead and wonder what's to come, and sometimes we idly wonder what would have happened if we'd done things differently. With Shaw guiding us far into Earth's future, our other three playwrights give us stories that reflect the challenges of learning from what's happened and being open to what's to come, and the challenge of learning what other pasts would mean to everything we know."
The 2015-2016 Season of Past & Future:
Tiny Island
October 1 through October 25, 2015
Press Night: Saturday, October 3, 2015 at 8 pm
Directed by Bill Largess, Featuring Laura Giannarelli & Lynn Steinmetz
It's the early 80s, and a pair of sisters struggle over the fate of the family's movie theatre, as video stores encroach and cable TV looms. Memories come to vivid life as they face some truths they've avoided all their lives. Michael Hollinger, author of previous Stage Guild hits INCORRUPTIBLE, OPUS, and RED HERRING, weaves past and present together seamlessly with his signature clever dialogue and rich characters.
It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
adapted by Joe Landry
November 12 through December 6, 2015
Press Night: Saturday, November 14, 2015 at 8 pm
Directed by Laura Giannarelli
One of the most beloved films ever to come from Hollywood was also broadcast in the 40s as a radio program. In this delightfully theatrical re-creation of that event, a small group of voice actors team up in a studio with the ever-inventive sound effects man to tell the heartwarming story for a nationwide audience- complete with period ads!
Back to Methuselah: As Far As Thought Can Reach
by George Bernard Shaw
January 28 to February 21, 2016
Press Night: Saturday, January 30, 2016 at 8 pm
Directed by Bill Largess
A masterwork of gargantuan proportions, a cycle of plays rarely performed since its premiere in the 20s. Shaw examines the human life span in a series of comic episodes that take us from the Garden of Eden to "as far as thought can reach" in the distant future. One of the first works of science fiction ever put on stage, with GBS's celebrated wit and a touch of satire, the third installment this season concludes an ambitious, multi-year cycle of productions of Shaw's landmark in anticipation of our 30th anniversary in 2016.
The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord
by Scott Carter
March 31 through April 24, 2016
Press Night: Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 8 pm
Three of the world's greatest writers find themselves, somehow, at odds over their work, their beliefs, and their place in history. Jefferson, Dickens, and Tolstoy all edited or adapted The Bible to suit their own views, and they just might have to pay for that. The dialogue and the ideas soar, as you might expect from these three, in this sizzling clever comedy.
During the season, we will again present off-night readings that complement the full productions. This year, to celebrate the WOMEN'S VOICES THEATRE FESTIVAL, we will read rare works by some of the most pioneering writers in theatre history. ALL READING ARE PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN!
An Evening of Hrotsvitha
We begin with the first known woman playwright in history, and the only medieval playwright whose name is known. Her short plays honor the lives of strong women of enduring faith.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 7 pm
An Evening of Aphra Behn
Behn, a woman in Restoration England, was a spy, a speculator, and the first woman in history to earn her living as a writer. Her plays are as rollicking and bawdy as any the stage has seen!
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 7 pm
An Evening of Githa Sowerby
In Edwardian London, Shaw and his confreres wrote for an intelligent and exacting audience. But one of those associates was not a frère: Sowerby's searching family dramas are little known in the US, but have held the stage in Britain and Canada since they were written.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at 7 pm
An Evening of Susan Glaspell
The Provincetown Players' best known alumnus was Eugene O'Neill, but there was a successful alumna as well. Glaspell won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1931.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 7 pm
Performance times/prices: Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm - $40.00; Friday & Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm - $50.00; and Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm - $40.00. Discounts are available for senior citizens, students, and groups. Season passes are available, offering incredible savings for the entire Stage Guild season.
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