May 21, 2008

16th season includes world and regional premieres, holiday fare, and the re-opening of Smith Theatre

(Columbia, MD) – Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), announces the six productions that will make up its 16^th season, which will run from August 27, 2008 to July 5, 2009.  The six productions will be held in the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center on the HCC campus.  Four of the productions will be held in the Studio Theatre, formerly the Black Box Theatre, and two will be mounted in the newly renovated Smith Theatre. For more information on the season or to purchase subscriptions, call the Box Office at 410-772-4900 or visit www.repstage.org.

“We have a really exciting season lined up,” says Rep Stage Producing Artistic Director Michael Stebbins.  “Great plays, great directors and design teams and some real ‘A list’ on-stage talent all taking place on two stages—the Studio Theatre and the newly renovated Smith Theatre.”    

“Trumb Red, White and Blacklisted”
By Christopher Trumbo
Directed by Steven Carpenter (director of last season’s “Mrs. Farnsworth”)
August 27 – September 28, 2008

“Trumbo” tells the story of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947.  He was blacklisted as one of the “Hollywood 10” and imprisoned. Based on letters to friends, former friends, and family, “Trumbo” reveals how the writer of “Spartacus,” “Roman Holiday,” and “Exodus” took on Congress, Hollywood, and the Red Scare - and won!  “Trumbo” is a humorous and heartfelt look at a fascinating figure at a fascinating period in American history.  Helen Hayes Award winner Nigel Reed stars as Dalton Trumbo.       

“’Trumbo’ is a great way to kick off the season,” says Stebbins.  “In ‘Trumbo’ we observe one man’s identity—his livelihood as well as his name—taken away from him.  Based on Trumbo’s actual letters during this period of his life, we have the chance to savor his wonderful skills as a writer and admire his humor, strength and his hope that right will prevail.”

“Intelligence”
By Kenneth M. Cameron
Directed by Walt Witcover
October 8 – November 9, 2008

Walt Witcover, three-time Obie Award winner based in New York City and author of “Living on Stage: a Practical Approach from the Inside Out,” directs Rep Stage’s second offering of the season, the world premiere of Kenneth M. Cameron’s “Intelligence.”  In a tightly-guarded command post, the head of our national security is challenged by an idealistic young writer, while the fate of a popular leftist leader, now returning to Central America, hangs in the balance. Karl Kippola, last seen in Rep Stage’s “Bach at Leipzig,” is featured.

“‘Intelligence’ is about those men and women whose expertise is national security,” says Stebbins.  “Though a work of fiction, you’d be hard pressed to tell, and this world premiere is a gripping and haunting look into the dynamics that exist between a person of power and those that surround him.”

“The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut, & The Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols in a Pear Tree”
By William Gibson
Directed by Lee Mikeska Gardner
December 3, 2008 – January 4, 2009

William Gibson (“The Miracle Worker” and “Golda’s Balcony”) brings forth the story of Mary and Joseph, told from a richly creative point of view.  Combining traditional music, contemporary language, children, animals, a drum-playing Herod, and a cherry tree, “The Butterfingers Angel…” will be presented in the newly renovated Smith Theatre on the HCC campus, and is perfect for the whole family. Timothy Andres Pabon (Rep’s “A Shayna Maidel” and “Thom Pain [based on nothing]”) is featured as Herod.

“‘The Butterfingers Angel…’” is large, celebratory, and a show for all ages,” says Stebbins.  “It’s a great show to reopen Smith Theatre, and a great alternative to the hundred or so productions of ‘The Christmas Carol’ and ‘The Nutcracker.’ Fear not, fans of our holiday tradition, David Sedaris’ ‘The Santaland Diaries,’ for there are two benefit readings starring Bruce Nelson also scheduled for December.”

“A Lie of the Mind”
By Sam Shepard
Directed by Xerxes Mehta
February 4 – March 8, 2009

Xerxes Mehta, voted by The Baltimore City Paper as 2007’s “Best Theatre Director” for his direction of Rep Stage’s “Two by Pinter: The Collection and The Lover,” directs “A Lie of the Mind” by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Sam Shepard.  The play explores the destinies of two families, linked by marriage but set apart by jealousies and distrust, to probe into the human heart and the destructiveness which it can engender.  “A Lie of the Mind” won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award.  Natasha Staley (“Mrs. Warren’s Profession”), Rep Stage’s Producing Artistic Director Michael Stebbins, and Dan Manning (“A Shayna Maidel”) are featured.

“It’s an honor to have Xerxes back at Rep Stage doing what he does best: work that is visual and visceral,” says Stebbins.  “No one delves into black comedy as whole-heartedly as he does.”

“God’s Ear”
By Jenny Schwartz
Directed by Kasi Campbell (director of Rep’s “In the Heart of America”)
April 1 – May 3, 2009

“God’s Ear” is a regional premiere which focuses on Mel and her husband Ted who are trying to cope with the loss of their son.  Wherever Ted goes he meets people with dead sons and whatever Mel touches falls apart.  Mel and Ted continue to make their way through the world guided by their young daughter Lanie and a host of bizarre characters, including the Tooth Fairy, G.I. Joe, and a transvestite airline stewardess.

“Playwright Jenny Schwartz is a major find on the American theatre scene,” says Stebbins.  “‘God’s Ear’ is told with a poetic lyricism that is laugh out loud funny, deeply profound and heartbreakingly true.  It’s easy to see why it became the sleeper hit of off-Broadway this season. Schwartz, like Sam Shepard, has a knack of making fear, anger, sadness, pain and joy—the human condition—profoundly moving and funny.”

“Hysteria”
By Terry Johnson
Directed by Steven Carpenter
June 3 – July 5, 2009

The 2008-09 Rep Stage season closes with the regional premiere of “Hysteria” to be presented in the Smith Theatre. In 1938 London, Sigmund Freud is in the final stages of his battle with jaw cancer.  In walks Salvador Dali and Jessica, the daughter of a patient that Freud cured of hysterical paralysis 30 years ago—or so he thought—and Yahuda, the doctor attending to Freud in his last days.  British sex farce meets intellectual pun parrying.  Also featured is Conrad Feininger as Yahuda and Jeff Baker as Sigmund Freud.

“‘Hysteria’ is just the right way to round out the season,” says Stebbins.  “It’s smart, slapstick, refreshingly funny, and high time for Helen Hayes Award winner and Rep Stage favorite Bruce Nelson to take on Salvador Dali.”

Season extras

All shows  include free opening night receptions, two Friday night post-show discussions, a Saturday afternoon pre-show lecture, and additional off-night events that tie directly in to the main stage production, as well as the Rep Stage Reading Series.

Due to the success of last season’s pay-what-you-can Wednesday shows, Rep Stage will make every Wednesday a pay-what-you-can performance. 

In addition to the regular six show subscription, Rep Stage will be offering, for the first time, a pick-four subscription.  Ideal for those who want to test the Rep Stage waters or are unable to fit in six shows a season, the pick-four subscription allows theatre-goers to sample the variety of works presented by Rep Stage.  Subscriptions range from $52 for a pick-four season subscription to the top price of $138 for the entire six-show season.  “It’s the best deal in the Howard County area as well as the best deal in area regional theatre—period,” says Stebbins.

Rep Stage will also offer two benefit performances of Bruce Nelson in a staged reading of David Sedaris’ “The Santaland Diaries.”  A portion of the proceeds will go to the Rep Stage/Valerie Lash Arts and Humanities Scholarships.  Performances are scheduled for December 6 and 13, 2008 at 8 p.m. in Monteabaro Recital Hall on the campus of HCC. 
 

FACT SHEET FOR REP STAGE’S 2008-09 SEASON

DISCOUNTS

Groups of 6 or more                                                                  $3 off
Senior Citizens (60 and over)                                                    $2 off
HCC Staff/Faculty                                                                      $2 off
Military                                                                                       $2 off
Students with ID                                                                        $12 all shows

SUBSCRIPTION INFO

Subscriptions and tickets may be purchased by calling the Rep Stage Box Office at 410-772-4900 or online at www.repstage.org 

LOCATION

Horowitz Center’s Studio Theatre (formerly the Black Box Theatre) or the Smith Theatre, both @ Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland, 21044.

About Rep Stage

Rep Stage, a professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College, is in its 16th season. The company is a member of both League of Washington Theatres and Baltimore Theatre Alliance. Performances are made possible by Howard County Arts Council, Howard County Government, Columbia Foundation, and Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of Maryland and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as through generous individual contributions. Howard Bank is the Rep Stage 2008-09 season partner, and season sponsors include Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny.