The Washington Stage Guild, having successfully and safely returned to in-person performances in the 2021-2022 season, proudly announces its upcoming year’s repertory, a season of plays that look, fittingly, at the challenges of transition. Whether from childhood to adulthood or faith to doubt, acceptance of the inevitable or a need to find a path to social change, the need to adapt is an important part of life, as the changes of the past two years have shown us all. These four plays, ranging from a witty adaptation of great short stories to one of the greatest plays of the early modern theatre, and from an enigmatic dark comedy to a humorous recounting of a true story from the Civil War, explore in many ways the journeys we all must go on as we navigate the world.
“This is one of the most exciting seasons in our history,” says Artistic Director Bill Largess. “Our very first production in 1986 was Chekhov’s UNCLE VANYA, and we will open with Neil Simon’s wry adaptation of some of the Russian writer’s best short stories, THE GOOD DOCTOR. Next at the Undercroft will be one of George Bernard Shaw’s masterpieces, MAJOR BARBARA, not seen in the DC area in many years. Shaw will be followed by another Nobel Prize-winning playwright as we present Samuel Beckett’s thorny and fascinating ENDGAME.
“And we will finish the season with the area premiere of American playwright Richard Strand’s BEN BUTLER, in which a Union general at the start of the Civil War struggles over how much one can bend the law in a state that is seceding.
“An array of Stage Guild favorites will direct and perform, and of course, a Season Pass—four admissions that can be used in any combination—is the best deal in town!” stageguild.org
The 2022-2023 Season of Transitions will be:
THE GOOD DOCTOR
by Neil Simon, adapted from Anton Chekhov
September 29-October 23 2022
Directed by Laura Giannarelli, featuring Lynn Steinmetz
Before he turned to the stage, Chekhov wrote some of the world’s greatest short stories. By turns touching and hilarious, they’ve been adapted for the theatre by the master of comic dialogue Neil Simon. A Broadway hit in 1973.
MAJOR BARBARA
by George Bernard Shaw
November 17-December 11 2022
Directed by Steven Carpenter, featuring Laura Giannarelli
The arms trade and The Salvation Army collide in Shaw’s great play about faith, morality, and family battles. Last seen at WSG in our 2001 Helen Hayes-nominated production, our 2022 production will take a fresh look at this always-timely dissection of power and compassion.
ENDGAME
by Samuel Beckett
January 26-February 19 2023
Directed by Alan Wade, featuring Bill Largess
A quartet of characters inhabit a nearly empty room, surrounded by nothing, it seems.Do they want it to end, or can they go on with their limited lives? A profound and eerie masterpiece from Beckett, the author of WAITING FOR GODOT and HAPPY DAYS, the latter seen at WSG in 1990.
BEN BUTLER
by Richard Strand
March 23-April 16 2023
Directed by Kasi Campbell, featuring Steven Carpenter
A Union general, a lawyer before the Civil War, commands a fort in not-yet-seceded Virginia. When a runaway slave arrives making an eloquent plea for sanctuary, whose laws must the general follow? When secession happens, he looks for every loophole he can to avoid returning the young man to the Confederacy. Based on a true story, this is an area premiere.
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2022-2023 Season Passes are available now. Each Pass gives the recipient four admissions that can be used any way: all four at once; two for one show, two for another; or one for each production.
PERFORMANCE TIMES AND PRICES* FOR ALL PRODUCTIONS
- Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm $50.00
- Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm $60.00
- Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm $50.00
- Discounts are available for senior citizens, students, and groups.
- Season passes are available, offering incredible savings for the entire Washington Stage Guild season. $125 each.
*(Prices have not increased!)
LOCATION FOR ALL PERFORMANCES
The Undercroft Theatre of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church
900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001
The Undercroft Theatre is located in the heart of downtown Washington, on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 9th Street, NW. It’s steps from the Convention Center, and blocks from the National Mall, the Smithsonian, the Verizon Center, Chinatown, and restaurants galore!
The Undercroft Theatre is within easy walking distance from the following Metro stations:
- Gallery Place/Chinatown—Exit SE corner of 9th and G St, NW (Green, Yellow and Red lines)
- Mt. Vernon Square—Exit SW corner of 7th and M St, NW (Green and Yellow lines)
- Metro Center—Exit SE corner of 11th and G St, NW (Blue, Red, Orange and Silver lines)
