1. ‘The Laramie Project’ at Iron Crow Theatre.
“…the eight-person ensemble cast effectively conveys the wrenching emotion and shock…” – Steve Charing.
READ review.
Synopsis: In October 1998, a twenty-one-year-old openly gay student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, beaten, tortured, and left to die — tied to a fence in the middle of a prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming, simply for being gay. His name was Matthew Shepard. Matthew’s murder brought national and international attention to the lack of hate crime legislation across the nation and forced a small community to wrestle with its identity on both the local and national levels. In this groundbreaking docudrama, Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project capture the human voice of Laramie.
The vigil scene at Iron Crow Theatre’s “The Laramie Project.” Photo by Rob Clatterbuck.
2. ‘Spring Awakening’ at Wolf Pack Theatre Company.
“’Spring Awakening’ is required reading…or in this case, required viewing.” – Andrew Parr.
READ review.
Synopsis: Spring Awakening is a rock musical based on the 1891 German play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Set in late-19th-century Germany, the musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of teenage sexuality. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score.
The cast of “Spring Awakening” dances their angst away. Photo by Rachel Zirkin Duda, Duda Photography.
3. ‘August: Osage County’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.
“…a cohesive and affecting production of a complex piece of theatre.” – Kristin Franco.
READ review.
Synopsis: When the family patriarch vanishes, the Weston’s return to rural Oklahoma to care for their afflicted, manipulative mother, Violet. Armed with prescription drugs and paranoid mood swings, Violet reigns over the home as family secrets unfold. This powerful family drama by Tracy Letts won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best New Play.
(From left) Carlotta Capuano as Ivy Weston, Nicky McDonnell as Barbara Fordham, Elizabeth Keith as Karen Weston
4. ‘Emilie La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight’ at Silver Spring Stage.
“Director Erin Bone Steele has orchestrated a beautiful play that brings the elements of love, disappointment, passion and determination into a harmonious dance of wonder.” – JV Torres.
READ review.
Synopsis: Emilie du Châtelet is witty, unconventional, rich, and a scientific genius who advances mathematics and physics in Baroque France. She and her sometime lover Voltaire play out in their passionate romantic battles by, among other things, publishing dueling scientific papers and taking other lovers. Tonight, Emilie is back and determined to answer the question she died with: love or philosophy, head or heart?
From left to right Nicholas Temple (Gentleman), Kevin Dykstra (Voltaire) and Karen V. Lawrence (Emilie). Photo by Silver Spring Stage.
5. ‘Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ at Rep Stage.
Final Weekend coming up! September 6–23, 2018.
Location: Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044.
Synopsis: Stephen Sondheim’s and Hugh Wheeler’s Tony Award-winning musical thriller about the infamous demon barber of Fleet Street. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop. Mrs. Lovett’s luck sharply shifts when Todd’s thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up for more. The Rep Stage production features an ensemble of eight in an intimate setting laced with brilliant wit, diabolical humor, and extraordinary music.
Set design by Joseph W. Ritsch for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Rep Stage.
