FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Sarah Pressler
February 25, 2009 240.644.1387
Round House Theatre announces 09/10 season
Season includes one world premiere commissioned by the company & three area premieres
The Picture of Dorian Gray · 26 Miles · Permanent Collection
My Name is Asher Lev · Around the World in 80 Days
Lineup also includes clown theatre with Mark Jaster & Sabrina Mandell
Company to launch new initiative with the University of Maryland
Forum Theatre named company-in-residence at Round House Theatre Silver Spring
Blake Robison’s contract extended through 2015
(Bethesda, MD) Round House Theatre Producing Artistic Director Blake Robison has announced the company’s lineup for its 2009/2010 mainstage season in Bethesda. The season is a mix of recent or new plays and adaptations, of comedy and drama. The five-play season includes one world premiere and three area premieres.
Robison said, “Of particular note, our new season includes the world premiere of a play commissioned by Round House, two co-productions with peer theaters, several exciting adaptations, and two contemporary plays that speak to diverse audiences. It affirms our commitment to producing work by today’s most exciting playwrights as well as compelling adaptations of modern and classic novels on our Bethesda stage. This new season truly has something for everyone.”
The Picture of Dorian Gray
World premiere commissioned by Round House Theatre
By Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
From the novel by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Blake Robison
September 9 – October 4, 2009
London 1988. A struggling artist paints a portrait of a handsome friend. Upon seeing it, Dorian strikes a Faustian bargain that allows his outward appearance to remain forever unchanged while the portrait reflects his true age and immorality. Plunging into a life of narcissism and depravity, he leaves those who love or befriend him broken or dead before realizing that he has also destroyed himself. This striking adaptation by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (The Velvet Sky) updates the action, putting a provocative contemporary spin on Wilde’s scandalous thriller about a man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Roberto’s work has been performed Off-Broadway, in the DC area, and around the country. He also writes for HBO’s Big Love and Marvel Comics. (Contains adult situations and nudity)
26 Miles
Area premiere
By Quiara Alegria Hudes
Directed by KJ Sanchez
October 28 – November 22, 2009
Get on board for the funny, tender, heartwarming new play by Tony Award-nominee Quiara Alegría
Hudes (In the Heights). An ’83 Buick Regal may be an unlikely place to find out what family really means, but when Beatriz and her estranged daughter head off on a spontaneous cross-country road trip, neither are prepared for what lies ahead. 26 Miles reminds us that the best souvenirs on the road of life are the relationships we make along the way – and that sometimes all it takes to find yourself is the power of family…and a herd of buffalo. On top of her In the Heights success, Quiara’s recent play Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Round House will be one of the first theatres in the country to perform this amazing new work following its world premiere.
(Co-production with Two River Theater Company)
Permanent Collection
By Thomas Gibbons
Directed by Timothy Douglas
January 27 – February 21, 2010
With its extraordinary collection of works by Cézanne and Matisse, eccentric millionaire Alfred Morris’ art museum has long flourished in quiet obscurity. When its new African-American director discovers eight remarkable African sculptures tucked away in storage, he proposes to add them to the public galleries. He’s opposed by the foundation’s long-time education director, who’s loyal to the late Dr. Morris’ instructions that absolutely nothing be changed. Spurred on by a zealous local journalist, the clash escalates into a bitter struggle for control. Timothy Douglas (A Lesson Before Dying) directs the searing, sophisticated drama about art, race, perspectives, and journalism. It was hailed by the Chicago Sun-Times as “provocative and hugely engaging.”
My Name is Asher Lev
Area premiere
Adapted by Aaron Posner
From the novel by Chaim Potok
March 17 – April 11, 2010
Helen Hayes Award winner Aaron Posner‘s luminous new play is based on the visionary novel by Chaim Potok (The Chosen). Possessing a prodigious artistic ability, Asher is driven to draw and paint the world. Born into a Hasidic Jewish family in post-World War II Brooklyn, his artistic genius threatens to estrange him from his parents and his community. Asher’s journey is by turns heartbreaking and exultant as he’s torn between two identities, one consecrated to God, the other subject to the imagination. Aaron’s adaptation of The Chosen has been staged at more than 30 regional theatres and his Asher Lev has already caught the attention of producers across the country. The Philadelphia Inquirer called Asher Lev “exquisite…[it] plumbs the theatrical aspects of Potok’s storytelling to make it over for the stage.”
(Co-production with Delaware Theatre Company)
Around the world in 80 days
Area premiere
By Mark Brown
From the novel by Jules Verne
Directed by Nick Olcott
May 5 ‑ 30, 2010
In this wildly theatrical Off-Broadway hit, 5 actors use lightning fast costume changes to play all 39 characters in a madcap comedy that’s been called “Monty Python meets Jules Verne.” In 1872, wealthy Londoner Phileas Fogg wagers that he can circle the globe in just 80 days. With his fortune on the line, Fogg and his valet use rail, steamer, and elephant to race through India, Asia, and America. They conquer such challenges as a snooping detective, a possible human sacrifice, and a runaway train with Victorian virtue and a precision pocket watch. Nick Olcott (The Book Club Play) directs a
wacky adventure that has tons of ingenuity and lots of fun for the entire family.
The Boston Globe raved that it has “action and hilarity to spare.”
In addition to its regular subscription season, Round House Theatre presents a special treat in December 2009.
Look Out Below!
Clown Theatre with Mark Jaster & Sabrina Mandell
December 4 – 6, 11 – 13, 18 – 20, 2009
Round House Theatre favorites Mark Jaster (aka A Fool Named “O”) and Sabrina Mandell are
Theatrical Clowns in this new entertainment, coming to Round House Theatre Bethesda in
December 2009. Mark and Sabrina have previously entertained Round House audiences in
The Seven Ages of Mime and Low Tide Hotel. Their new show will delight the entire family
with vaudeville clowning and assorted hi-jinks.
In reaction to the current economic crisis, Round House has, for the second year in a row, not raised its ticket prices. In fact, in response to the economy, Round House has reduced the price of 20% of its seats. Patrons can subscribe to all five plays for as little as $100. Three-play subscription packages start at $75.
Flexible subscription packages of three or more plays for the 09/10 season are on sale by calling 240.644.1100 or visiting roundhousetheatre.org. Subscribers save up to 26% off the regular full price as well as receiving priority seating and exclusive benefits.
Tickets for individual performances go on sale this summer. Groups of ten or more interested in attending individual performances should call 240.644.1387 or email groupsales@roundhousetheatre.org.
Round House Theatre to launch new new initiative with the University of Maryland
Round House Theatre and the University of Maryland Department of Theatre will inaugurate a new partnership that brings students together with professional theatre artists next season. In Spring of 2010, the organizations will produce one “blended” production, bringing professional artists from Round House Theatre to work with students on Charles Mee’s Hotel Cassiopia (directed by Blake Robison, Producing Artistic Director of Round House Theatre). This production will debut at the Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts in the spring. It will then transfer to Round House’s Silver Spring black box theatre for an extended summer run. In the classroom, members of Round House’s Artists’ Roundtable will serve as guest teachers, and theatre students will attend Round House productions throughout the year.
Forum Theatre named company-in-residence at Round House Theatre Silver Spring
Round House is pleased to name Forum Theatre as company-in-residence at Round House Theatre Silver Spring for the next two seasons. Forum Theatre creates adventurous, unexpected, and transporting theatre through a multimedia approach and unorthodox storytelling. By focusing on the common human experience and using new media and audience outreach, its productions provoke discussion beyond the four walls of the theatre. Now in its fifth season, Forum Theatre has impressed audiences and critics alike with its visceral productions, culminating in a Helen Hayes Award nomination for its sold-out 2008 run of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Forum will inaugurate its Silver Spring residency this Fall by producing both parts of Tony Kushner’s epic masterpiece Angels in America at Round House’s black box theatre in October and November. Performed on a rotating repertory schedule, Angels promises to be a highlight of the theatre season.
Blake Robison contract extended
Donald M. Boardman, President of Round House Theatre’s Board of Trustees, has announced that the company extended the contract of Producing Artistic Director Blake Robison for another five years. Robison joined Round House in June 2005 for an initial five-year term. His new contract runs through 2015. The fourth person to lead Round House, Robison succeeded Jerry B. Whiddon, who led the 31-year-old Montgomery County, Maryland institution for 20 years. “I’m thrilled to continue my work with the amazing board, staff, and family of artists that comprise Round House Theatre,” Blake Robison said. “We’ve got what every theatre seeks: a devoted audience in the midst of an adventurous theatre community. I look to future seasons with eagerness and excitement.”
More information about the company and the 09/10 season may be found at roundhousetheatre.org.
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Dorian Gray is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
