Producing Artistic Director Blake Robison has announced our 2010/11 Bethesda season. It includes 1 world premiere, 1 U.S. regional premiere, and 2 area premieres. We’ll be bringing you more theatre than ever as we expand to a 6-play Bethesda season. We’re also adding Tuesday evenings back into the schedule.
In announcing the lineup, Robison said, “Our audiences told us that they want more first class theatre in Bethesda. So, we’re thrilled to expand our season with this slate of exciting productions.”
You can subscribe to all 6 plays for as little as $120 – only $20 per play. You can also select the 3 shows that you want to see and subscribe for just $75.
- Flexible packages can be tailored to suit your interests, schedule, & pocketbook. Select 3 or more plays & save!
- Receive exclusive benefits – including priority seating & our ticket exchange program 1
- Subscribe to 6 plays & get a “Bring a Friend” coupon for 1 free non-subscription ticket
Subscribe now to the 3+ plays of your choice: click here or call 240.644.1100
THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY
Actor Karl Miller
U.S. regional premiere
A play by Phyllis Nagy
Adapted from the novel by Patricia Highsmith
Directed by Blake Robison
September 8 – 26, 2010
Round House Theatre Bethesda
Enigmatic conman Tom Ripley is determined to gain wealth and social status by any means possible. The perfect opportunity arises when American financier Herbert Greenleaf sends him to Italy to track down his son, who has been living the high life there with his beautiful girlfriend. His mission takes on a sinister twist as the lives of Ripley and young Richard Greenleaf become inextricably entwined. Karl Miller, Helen Hayes Award-nominated for Forum Theatre’s Angels in America, is Ripley.
This subversive, psychological thriller explores the mind of one of literature’s great anti-heroes; an intelligent, suave, charming psychopath whose amorality is at the center of a plot about duplicity and murder.
“The talented Phyllis Nagy gets closer to the black heart of Highsmith’s novel than you would have thought possible.” – Financial Times
“Superb” and “clever” ‑ The Express
The Talented Mr. Ripley is recommended for ages 17 & up.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is sponsored in part through generous support from Jan & Don Boardman
AMERIVILLE
Area premiere
Photo courtesy of Universes
Directed by Chay Yew
Written by Universes ‑ Steven Sapp, Mildred Ruiz, Gamal Chasten, Ninja (aka William Ruiz)
October 20 ‑ November 7, 2010
Round House Theatre Bethesda
The Universes performance ensemble makes its exclusive DC area appearance in a theatrical tour-de-force that was a hit at the renowned Humana Festival and has won raves across the country. An explosive fusion of storytelling and the infectious rhythms of jazz, Gospel, and hip-hop, Ameriville puts the state of the Union under a microscope – politics, history, race, poverty, and government – examining our country through the lens of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
An ensemble of multi-disciplined writers and performers, Universes’ work is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Deftly weaving humor, song, and powerful performances, Ameriville says, “Here’s the situation. Now…what do you think?”
Universes is “exuberant” and “insightful” ‑ New York Times
Their work “absolutely demands to be seen.” ‑ Boston Globe
Ameriville is recommended for ages 15 & up.
Ameriville is sponsored in part through generous support from Susan Gilbert and Ron Schechter
A WRINKLE IN TIME
Area premiere
Playwright John Glore
By John Glore
From the novel by Madeleine L’Engle
Directed by Casey Sams
December 1 ‑ 26, 2010
Round House Theatre Bethesda
Before Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, there was Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, the original youth sci-fi classic.
On a dark and stormy night, the eccentric Mrs. Whatsit arrives at the home of Meg Murry, a tomboy who doesn’t fit in at her New England high school. Meg’s scientist father vanished over two years ago, under mysterious circumstances. Aided by Mrs. Whatsit and her friends, Meg, her gifted brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin are transported through time and space on a mission to rescue their father from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet.
John Glore’s delightful, wildly theatrical adaptation brings this acclaimed adventure story magically to life.
Madeleine L’Engle’s story is “original, different, exciting” ‑ Saturday Review
A Wrinkle in Time is sponsored in part through generous support from Michael Beriss & Jean Carlson and The Dupler Family
Evening performances of A Wrinkle in Time begin at 7 p.m.
A Wrinkle in Time is recommended for ages 6 & up.
CHARMING BILLY
World premiere
Author Alice McDermott
Adapted & directed by Blake Robison
From the novel by Alice McDermott
February 2 – 20, 2011
Round House Theatre Bethesda
In a small Bronx bar, a funeral party has gathered to honor Billy Lynch. Through the night, his friends and family weave together the tale of a husband, lover, dreamer, and storyteller, but also that of a hopeless drunk whose immense charm was but a veil over a lifetime of secrets and all-consuming sorrow. Charming Billy is a masterful look at how a community can pin its dreams to one man, and how good intentions can be as destructive as the truth they were meant to hide.
Blake Robison directs his adaptation of the novel by Bethesda’s Alice McDermott, a National Book Award winner.
McDermott’s novel is “luminous and affecting” ‑ New York Times
Charming Billy is sponsored in part through generous support from Bonnie & Alan Hammerschlag
Charming Billy is recommended for ages 13 & up.
THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL
By Horton Foote
Actor Lizan Mitchell
Directed by Timothy Douglas
March 16 – April 3, 2011
Round House Theatre Bethesda
Trapped in a cramped Houston apartment with her soft-spoken son and self-absorbed daughter-in-law, widow Carrie Watts dreams of returning to her home in the small Gulf Coast town of Bountiful, where she grew up and raised her own family. Fearing that she’s an imposition and chafing under her daughter-in-law’s watchful eye, she steals away with her latest pension check and heads home in the journey of a lifetime. The results are both brilliantly life-affirming and heartbreaking in one of legendary playwright Horton Foote’s most beloved works.
Timothy Douglas (Permanent Collection) directs an African American cast in a new production endorsed by the Foote estate especially for Round House.
“The rarest of theater experiences, an evening which will prove an indelible memory” ‑ New York World-Telegram
Co-production with The Cleveland Play House
The Trip to Bountiful is recommended for ages 13 & up.
AMADEUS
By Peter Shaffer
Actor Edward Gero
Directed by Mark Ramont
May 11 – June 5, 2011
Round House Theatre Bethesda
When your hard-earned fame has been surpassed by a brilliantly gifted, though potty-mouthed, golden boy, what can you do but smile to his face while secretly plotting his downfall? Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, winner of seven Tony Awards ‑ including Best Play ‑ and the Academy Award® for Best Picture, depicts the flamboyant genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as seen through the eyes of his desperately jealous contemporary, composer Antonio Salieri, played by Edward Gero (Nixon’s Nixon).
Mark Ramont, from Ford’s Theatre, directs a towering story of greed, obsession, and guilt set to the glorious music of revenge.
“A rich theatrical experience”‑ Washington Post
“Gripping and fascinating” ‑ Saturday Review
