Literary Works Project

We believe that great books should be illuminated, re-interpreted, and made vivid to contemporary audiences through live performance. By bringing these stories to life on stage, we claim them for our own. We take responsibility for them. And we search for their intersections and resonances in our daily lives.

Round House Theatre’s critically acclaimed Literary Works Project brings great literature to life by producing plays and musicals at its 400-seat Bethesda main stage that are based on works of literature. Each production is accompanied by community building events including audience discussions, artist talks, symposia, and neighborhood festivals. Our community partners include: Bethesda Literary Festival, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Friends of the Library, The Writers’ Center, American Film Institute, and Politics and Prose.

2010/2011 Literary Works

The Talented Mr. Ripley
Adapted from Patricia Highsmith by Phyllis Nagy

A Wrinkle in Time
Adapted from Madeleine L’Engle by John Glore

Charming Billy
Adapted from Alice McDermott by Blake Robison

2009/2010 Literary Works

The Picture of Dorian Gray
Adapted from Oscar Wilde by Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa

My Name is Asher Lev
Adapted from Chaim Potok by Aaron Posner

Around the World in 80 Days
Adapted from Jules Verne by Mark Brown

2008/2009 Literary Works

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Adapted from Julia Alvarez by Karen Zacarias

Alice
Adapted from Lewis Carroll by Mary Hall Surface

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Adapted from Ken Kesey by Dale Wasserman

2007/2008 Literary Works

A Lesson Before Dying
Adapted from Ernest J. Gaines by Romulus Linney

Treasure Island
Adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson by Ken Ludwig

Lord of the Flies
Adapted from William Golding by Nigel Williams

2006/2007 Literary Works

A Prayer for Owen Meany
Adapted from John Irving by Simon Bent

The Little Prince
Adapted from St. Exupery by Rick Cummins and John Scouller

Crime and Punishment
Adapted from Fyodor Dostoyevsky by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus

Summer of ’42
Adapted from Herman Raucher by David Kirshenbaum and Hunter Foster

2005/2006 Literary Works

Camille
Adapted from Alexamdre Dumas-fils by Neil Bartlett

A Year with Frog and Toad
Adapted from Arnold Lobel by Robert and Willie Reale

Midwives
Adapted from Chris Bohjalian by Dana Yeaton

A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage
Adapted from Mark Twain by Aaron Posner and James Sugg