World Premiere of AN UNBUILT LIFE & More Set for The Washington Stage Guild 2023-24 Season

The Washington Stage Guild has revealed the plays to be produced in its 2023-2024 Season will feature two area premieres and one world premiere by female playwrights along with one by the company’s playwright of choice, GB Shaw. An Unbuilt Life by Elizabeth DeSchryver, Dorothy’s Dictionary by E.M. Lewis, and The Victorian Ladies' Detective Collective by Patricia Milton join Arms and the Man by GB Shaw for 2023-24 productions directed by Steven Carpenter, Laura Giannarelli, Morgan Duncan, and Michael Rothhaar respectively. Performances begin September 28, 2023 at the Washington Stage Guild’s home, The Undercroft Theatre in the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

“After a smashing 2022-23 season, we are excited to jump in again with a quartet of plays that, in 2023-2024, will deal with discoveries and revelations,” says Artistic Director Bill Largess. “Preconceived notions about heroism, guilt or innocence, honesty, and altruism are upended by the truth. The resonances with our world, where truth is being challenged by so many, are very surprising. And it’s especially pleasing for us to not only return to one of Shaw’s most beloved plays, but to accompany it with two area premieres and a world premiere by three emerging American female playwrights.”

2023-2024 SEASON

DOROTHY’S DICTIONARY by E.M. Lewis

Directed by Laura Giannarelli
Featuring Helen Hayes Award recipient Deidra LaWan-Starnes
September 28-October 22, 2023 (Press/Opening: October 1, 2023 at 2:30 pm)

Words are powerful…books can transform. Sparks fly when Zan, an angry high school student, is forced to work off his community service assignment helping ailing, but feisty librarian Dorothy. With seemingly little in common, this unlikely pair may find deep meaning in each other’s life experiences… if they can only find the right words. Area Premiere.

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ARMS AND THE MAN by G.B. Shaw

Directed by Michael Rothhaar
Featuring Lynn Steinmetz
November 16-December 10, 2023 (Press/Opening: November 19, 2023 at 2:30 pm)

Shaw shatters romantic illusions about love and war in one of his most sparkling comedies. In the aftermath of the Serbo-Bulgarian war of 1885, heroes turn out to be hypocrites and cowards turn out to be heroes. What is a romantic girl to do when she realizes she may be in love with the wrong one? First produced by the Stage Guild in 1992, Arms and the Man makes a welcome return in a fresh take.
“It is probably the wittiest play he ever wrote, the most flawless technically, and in spite of being a very light comedy, the most telling.” — George Orwell
“The playwright’s radical vision still resonates… Shaw’s female roles remain among the most satisfying in the canon” — The Guardian
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THE VICTORIAN LADIES’ DETECTIVE COLLECTIVE by Patricia Milton

Directed by Morgan Duncan
Featuring Laura Giannarelli and Helen Hayes Award nominee Steven Carpenter
February 1-25, 2024 (Press/Opening: February 4, 2024 at 2:30 pm)

Sherlock Holmes meets “Arsenic & Old Lace.” In 1893, a brazen serial killer is terrorizing London. So two strong-willed sisters who run a  boarding house for single ladies take matters into their own hands – especially when Scotland Yard proves no help at all. Teaming up with a cheeky American actress, they set off to solve the crime in this entertaining murder mystery with a modern women-take-charge sensibility. Area Premiere.

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AN UNBUILT LIFE by Elizabeth DeSchryver

Directed by Helen Hayes Award nominee Steven Carpenter
Featuring Helen Hayes Award nominee Bill Largess
April 11-May 5, 2024 (Press/Opening: April 14, 2024 at 2:30 pm)

When Agatha Ganner discovers a mystery painting in her deceased husband’s art collection, she engages an energetic graduate student to research it for her. As disturbing crimes of the past are unearthed, Agatha must decide to either right the wrong – and possibly ruin lives – or leave the past in the past. Is doing the right thing always the right thing to do? World Premiere.

SEASON PASSES & PRICING

2023-2024 Season Passes are available now. Each Pass gives the recipient four admissions that can be used any way: all four at once; two for one show, two for another; or one for each production.

PERFORMANCE TIMES AND PRICES* FOR ALL PRODUCTIONS

Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm  $50.00
Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm  $60.00
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm $50.00
Discounts are available for senior citizens, students, and groups.
Season passes are available, offering incredible savings for the entire Washington Stage Guild season. $125 each.
*(Prices have not increased!)

Purchase at https://stageguild.org/buy-tickets/

ABOUT THE THEATRE

Founded in 1986 by a professional company of theatre artists dedicated to producing literate, challenging works in a collegial and supportive atmosphere, the Washington Stage Guild quickly established itself as an indispensable component of the D.C. area theatre scene; recognized as early as the end of the first season (1987) by The Washington Post. The ensemble theatre company’s acclaimed repertoire of neglected classics, unfamiliar works by familiar playwrights, and stimulating new plays from around the world is presented in a style that is the Guild’s own—direct and clear, with a strong commitment to adhering to the author’s intent.


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