Cumberland Theatre's 35th Season Continues With Hollywood Classic THE WISDOM OF EVE

The Cumberland Theatre will continue their 35th Anniversary Season with the stage version of the classic film All About Eve on Friday, March 10th. A red carpet themed opening party is planned to follow the performance which includes complimentary refreshments, champagne, prizes and the debut and sampling of CT's signature 35th Anniversary barrel-aged Manhattan cocktail. There is no additional cost to attend the party. It is included in the ticket cost for that evening's performance.

The stage play The Wisdom of Eve is adapted from the short story by Mary Orr, on which the film All About Eve and the musical Applause! is based. An engrossing and revealing "inside" story of life in New York's theatre world, told in terms of an unscrupulous ingenue's rise to Broadway stardom. When we first meet Eve Harrington, she is standing in the rain by the stage door of the theatre in which the renowned Margo Crane is starring in her latest long-run hit. Waiting for a glimpse of her professed idol, she accosts Karen Roberts, Margo's good friend and the wife of the playwright, Lloyd Roberts, and inveigles an invitation to meet the great actress herself. The meeting leads to unexpected opportunity as Margo, struck with Eve's "sincerity," takes her on as a personal secretary. Before long, Eve begins to move ahead in earnest, her true character emerging as she lies, cheats and blackmails leaving the wreckage of her friends' trust behind her. The Wisdom of Eve examines the lengths individuals will go to for fame.

Orr, who was an actress, penned the short story for Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1946. The film All About Eve debuted in 1950 and starred cinema legend Bette Davis as well as Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Thelma Ritter and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest film roles. Praised by critics at the time of its release, All About Eve received a record 14 Academy Award nominations and won six, including Best Picture. All About Eve is the only film in Oscar history to receive four female acting nominations (Davis and Baxter as Best Actress, Holm and Ritter as Best Supporting Actress). Widely considered as among the greatest films of all time, in 1990, it became one of 25 films selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry, deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film was ranked No. 16 on AFI's 1998 list of the 100 best American films.

CT's upcoming production features Artistic Director Kimberli Rowley as Margo Crane and, making her CT debut, Alexandra Tarsinov as Eve Harrington. Rowley was most recently seen as Barbara in August: Osage County and Countess Andrenyi in Murder on the Orient Express. Tarsinov is a graduate of the Hartt School's Musical Theatre BFA program and has appeared throughout the region in such roles as Annette in Saturday Night Fever and Hope Harcourt in Anything Goes.

Also featured in principal roles are CT regulars Bill Dennison (Lloyd Roberts), Ashley Snow (Karen Roberts) and Seth Thompson (Clement Howell). Dennison has recently appeared as Little Charles in August: Osage County and Austin in True West. Snow was last seen as Miss Scarlett in Clue on Stage. Thompson was last seen as Samuel Ratchett in Murder on the Orient Express.

Returning to the CT stage from last season are local actors Lura Thompson, Emily Snyder and Garrett County actor Mikey Virts. Thompson appeared in last fall's Haunting of Hill House. Snyder was last seen as part of the ensemble of the musical Rock of Ages and Virts portrayed Steve in August: Osage County and currently serves as the Artistic Director at Our Town Theatre in Oakland.

Other visiting actors in supporting roles include Adian Chapman who was just appeared as Colonel Arbuthnot in this season's Murder on the Orient Express and New York based actor Pierce Bunch who is making his CT debut.

The production is under the direction of Seth Thompson, who also directed 2021's production of The Outsiders and served as Assistant Director on Murder on the Orient Express. The design team is comprised of Rhett Wolford (set), Cody Gillum (costumes) and Joshua Taylor (lighting). The run crew consists of Hayden Kline (stage manager) and Elizabeth Mudge (assistant stage manager).

The show is being sponsored by Carl Belt, Inc. Performances are March 9th - 19th with Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm. The red carpet themed opening reception is included in the ticket price for Friday, March 10th.

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