1st Stage Announces 2021-2022 Season Featuring A World Premiere and Three Regional Premieres

1st Stage has announced its 2021-2022 season. The season will begin with a reimagined and expanded Logan Festival of Solo Performance. This engaging outdoor festival of incredible solo shows will be a collaboration between 1st Stage and the new mixed-use development The Boro located just blocks from 1st Stage.

The festival will activate the new space and provide programming for residents and partnerships between local restaurants and 1st Stage, allowing our 1st Stage family to come together in person and to celebrate the return of live theatre. The festival will feature lawn seating of up to 100 people per performance.

From August 21 to August 29, 1st Stage will present Making Opera Soup, written by and starring Lori Brown Mirabal, directed by Vincent Scott, with Steven Gross on piano. For the first time, the Logan Festival will expand into family programming with this entertaining and interactive show for all ages. Award-winning opera singer Mirabal invokes the excitement and magic of opera in a performance for children and families. Music and captivating storytelling collide in this lively, fun performance for all ages. "Her presentation, designed for youngsters, delights adults as well and is a treat for anyone who has ever been intimidated by opera."- The Ridgewood News

From September 16 to September 26, 1st Stage will present Bo-Nita, written by Elizabeth Heffron, directed by Summer Wallace, and starring Terri Weagant. In a one woman tour de force, Terri Weagant plays dozens of characters with humor, pathos, and a dash of Midwestern magical realism. Bo-Nita follows a mother and daughter's journey through a working-class America of dwindling resources, and the lengths they must go to stay together and keep their beat alive. Bo-Nita comes to 1st Stage from Two Chicks Productions. "[With] visually interesting and active staging, the fast pace and the incredible energy never let up." - The New York Review

From October 7 to October 17, 1st Stage will present The Book of Mamaw, written and performed by Eugene Wolf and directed by Susanne Boulle. The one-man-show with music chronicles Wolf's life growing up with his devout Church of Christ grandmother who recognized his love of performing when he was just two years old. Wolf has turned many of his unorthodox Appalachian childhood stories into a celebration of family and how music can be the tie that binds. 1st Stage is bringing the production last seen at Flying Anvil Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee to Virginia to be a part of the festival.

"The Book of Mamaw is storytelling at its best." - The Bristol Herald Courier

After the Logan Festival of Solo Performance, 1st Stage will welcome audiences back into the theatre for a slate of shows designed to celebrate the beautiful variety of theatrical storytelling.

From November 18 to December 19, 2021, 1st Stage will present Secret Things by Elaine Romero. When Delia, an ambitious journalist, receives anonymous articles about Mexican-Americans claiming to have hidden Jewish roots, she is intrigued ... even if it means returning to her native town in New Mexico to investigate. She's on the outs with her editor/ex-boyfriend, and he wants her to say the story is a myth to save her job. But her estranged family, her mysterious dreams, and an alluring Crypto-Jew keep pointing her inward to a surprising truth. Will Delia be able to finish her story -- not just the one she was sent to write, but her own?

February 17 to March 13, 2022, features a look into the potential future with The Phlebotomist, by Ella Road, directed by Alex Levy. 1st Stage will bring the regional premiere of the hit show from London. In a sci-fi-inspired world where genomics is the norm, every person gets assigned a "rating" at birth based on their genetic map. Bea, a phlebotomist, finds herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the dark side of the genetic testing underworld even as she falls in love with Aaron, a man she met by accident who has a near-perfect rating that far exceeds her own. The play was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement and had a sold-out run at the UK's Hampstead Theater. "...a racy dystopian thriller that is part Black Mirror and part Brave New World." -The Guardian

April 14 to May 8, 2022, will feature The Mamalogues, written by Lisa B. Thompson. In this satirical comedy about Black motherhood, three women share the joys and challenges of being middle class single mothers in predominately white suburbs. It is a celebration of motherhood and community. "...the impact and import of The Mamalogues ... may be in the moments between the laughs, in the silences where we feel the weight borne by these brave mothers." - The Austin Chronicle

From June 2 to 26, 2022, 1st Stage will present the world premiere of Under the Sea with Dredgie McGee, written and directed by Matthew Aldwin McGee. This vibrant and unique theatrical event is designed for families, and features pirates, ghosts, laughter, and deep, immersive storytelling. This visually arresting, off-beat, and ambitious piece of theatre depicts a nearly-dead pirate being carried around by a deep-sea diver, spouting clever quips and snarky rejoinders as he crafts an underwater variety show designed to help him pass the time until he can find his own path to redemption and rediscovery.

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On August 27 and August 28, 2021, for only two special performances, 1st Stage will present Lori Brown Mirabal's Charmed Life, directed by Vincent Scott, with Steven Gross on piano. This autobiographical solo performance tells not only Mirabal's own story, but also pays homage to famous entertainers including Oprah, Cab Calloway and Luciano Pavarotti who had a hand in her rise, and she salutes the Black women opera singers who paved the way. "The show weaves comedy, storytelling, and a variety of musical styles to shine a light on Mirabal's career and the opera world." - Playbill

Individual tickets for the Logan Festival of Solo Performance are currently for sale. Subscriptions and Flex Passes are available for savings of up to 40% off regular price tickets. Tickets, Subscriptions, and Flex Passes can be purchased online at www.1ststage.org or by calling the 1st Stage box office at 703-854-1856.

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