Rep Stage To Produce World Premiere Of E2 By Bob Bartlett

Rep Stage, the professional regional theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), continues its 27th season with the world premiere of "E2," written by Bob Bartlett and directed by Joseph W. Ritsch.

Power, gender and sexuality collide in Bob Bartlett's contemporary reimagining of Christopher Marlowe's tale of England's infamous ineffectual king. Affairs of state that shocked Renaissance audiences are as close to this moment as they were in their own. Edward alienates his queen and court when he elevates his "favourite" to the level of consort. As we witness the newly crowned monarch navigate a love affair that could be the downfall of his monarchy, we are asked: what price do we pay when we make the personal political?

Bob Bartlett's plays include "Union," a new play about Walt Whitman's years living and loving in Washington, DC, during the Civil War; "E2" (Rep Stage); "The Orbit of Mercury" (2017 O'Neill Finalist); "Swimming with Whales" (1st Stage); "happiness (and other reasons to die)" (The Welders); "The Accident Bear" (The Avenue Laundromat); "Falwell" (Active Cultures); "Kuchu Uganda" (DC Queer Theatre Festival); "The Regular;" and "Kansas". His play "Bareback Ink," a queer reimagining of the Ganymede myth, recently had runs at The Capital and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals and NYC's Hard Sparks, directed by Obie-winner David Drake. Bartlett is the 2018 playwright-in-residence at New Voices for the Theater; a two-time recipient of the Individual Artists Award in Playwriting from the Maryland State Arts Council; an affiliated artist with the National New Play Network; Chair of KCACTF's (Region 2) National Playwriting Program; a founding member of The Welders, a Washington, DC-based, producing playwrights collective; and a member of The Dramatists Guild of America and the theatre faculty at Bowie State University, where he teaches playwriting and screenwriting. A lifelong Maryland resident, he lives in Central Maryland and earned his MFA in playwriting at Catholic University of America.

"E2" opens October 31, 2019, with a limited run through November 17 in the Studio Theatre of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center on the campus of HCC, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland. There will be post-show discussions on November 3, 8, and 15. Rep Stage will also hold a pre-show lecture prior to the 2 p.m. performance on November 16.

Tickets are $40 for general admission, $35 for seniors and the military, and $15 for students with a current ID. Thursdays are $15 performances. For tickets and additional information, visit www.repstage.org or call the box office at 443-518-1500.