Richmond Triangle Players Announces 2016-17 Season
By: Jessica Fallon Gordon May. 23, 2016
Five plays, encompassing a wide range of styles and subjects - most of them mid-Atlantic premieres - comprise Richmond Triangle Players' 2016-17 Mainstage Season, its twenty-fourth year as one of the area's most acclaimed theater companies.
Next season Triangle Players will also launch a "Sister Series" of six plays - performed in staged or concert readings - that will complement or illuminate the Mainstage works. RTP will also continue its highly successful cabaret series, and continue to host some of our area's other acclaimed companies - including Quill Theatre, K Dance, Puppets Off Broad Street and Monument City Music.
RTP's subscription season will begin on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. Subscriptions will go on sale to renewing subscribers later this week, and will be available to the general public on June 15; individual tickets go on sale four weeks prior to each opening night. Prices range from $115-$125 for the five-play season.
Richmond Triangle Players delivers adventurous and entertaining theatre as the leading voice in the community's explorations of equality, identity, affection and family across sexual orientation and gender spectrums. It is the only theater company in the Mid-Atlantic region with that particular focus.
"It's hard to believe we are finishing our sixth season in our theater at 1300 Altamont Avenue," says managing director Philip Crosby, "and are just 18 months away from celebrating our 25th Anniversary."
"This wonderful, warm, and welcoming space has enabled us to open our doors to a much wider and diverse audience than ever before," he continued. "People of all ages and lifestyles look at RTP as one of their favorite places to gather with friends - old or new - and see a terrific production."
RTP opened its theater at 1300 Altamont Avenue in historic Scott's addition in early 2010. The theater is a 4000-square foot performing arts facility accommodating flexible seating arrangements for up to 90 patrons. A graceful lobby, which includes a generous bar, catering capability and box office, adjoins the theater, which features both traditional and cabaret-style seating. The building has fully ADA-compliant access, parking and comfortable restrooms.
The theater's final production of its 2015-16 season, the Broadway smash musical The Boy from Oz, will begin performances on June 15. The show is based on the life and songs of Peter Allen, who was born in a small town in the Australian outback, made his entertainment debut at the age of 5, was later was discovered by the legendary Judy Garland, and married her daughter Liza Minnelli. As his career skyrocketed, Allen wrote dozens of hit songs (one of which won an Oscar), and performed to adoring, sell-out crowds at Radio City Music Hall. Allen's extraordinary life eventually became a major musical, first in Australia and later on Broadway and around the world.
The five 2016-17 subscription season productions will begin with low-priced previews on Wednesday evenings at 8:00 p.m., and will continue to play Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., with two Sunday matinees per show at 4:00 p.m. Prices for individual tickets will range from $15 - $35.
For more information, please visit RTP's web site at www.rtriangle.org or call the Ticket Hotline at 804-346-8113.
The Main Subscription Series
"I Love Lucy" Meets the Red (er, Pink) Scare
Perfect Arrangement
by Topher Payne
Directed by Amy Berlin
September 28 - October 22, 2016
It's 1950 and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. The twist: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other's partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, madcap "I Love Lucy" sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two "All-American" couples are forced to stare down the closet door, confronting the very struggles facing society today.
The Wacky Holiday Hit Returns!
Scrooge in Rouge
by Ricky Graham & Jeffrey Roberson
Directed by Shon M. Stacy
November 16 - December 17, 2016
A smash- hit when RTP produced it in 2009, it returns with its entire original cast! A merry, madcap mixture of Greater Tuna and Noises Off, Scrooge in Rouge is a Victorian-era music hall version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, in which 17 members of the Royal Music Hall 20-Member Variety Players have taken ill from the cast party the night before, leaving only Charlie Schmaltz (Kirk Morton), an animated character actor, Lottie Obligato (Steven Boschen), a bubbly, over-the-hill ingénue, and Vesta Virile (Lauren Leinhaas-Cook), a male-impersonating diva, to play and sing all the parts in the show!
Discovering How to Sing in Your Own True Key
Choir Boy
Directed by Margarette Joyner
February 22 - March 18, 2017
In collaboration with The Heritage Ensemble Theatre
The Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys is dedicated to the creation of strong, ethical black men. Pharus wants nothing more than to take his rightful place as leader of the school's legendary gospel choir. Can he find his way inside the hallowed halls of this institution if he sings in his own key? "The sweet harmonies of classic spirituals unite the sometimes fractious voices of the young men in Choir Boy...but when they raise their voices in unison, they offer a glimpse of a world in which the cruelty that can divide and destroy is dissolved in a graceful, embracing order. [An] affecting and honest portrait...of a gay youth tentatively beginning to find the courage to let the truth about himself become known." -The New York Times.
About Loving Your Children, No Matter What
A Kid Like Jake
Directed by Keith Fitzgerald
April 19 - May 13, 2017
On the eve of the admissions cycle for Manhattan's most exclusive private schools, Alex and Greg have high hopes for their son Jake, a precocious four-year-old who happens to prefer Cinderella to G.I. Joe. But as the process continues, Jake's behavior becomes erratic and perplexing, and other adults in his life start to wonder whether his fondness for dress-up might be cause for concern. The story of a husband and wife struggling to do right by their son, A Kid Like Jake is a study of intimacy and parenthood and the fantasies that accompany both.
Happily Ever After at the Wildest Wedding You've Ever Attended
It Shoulda Been You
Book and Lyrics by Brian Hargrove; Music by Barbara Anselmi
Directed by Jon Kretzu
May 31 - July 1, 2017
The bride is Jewish. The groom is Catholic. Her mother is a force of nature; his mother is a tempest in a cocktail shaker. And when the bride's ex-boyfriend crashes the party, the perfect wedding starts to unravel faster than you can whistle "Here Comes the Bride!" Plots are hatched, pacts are made, secrets are exposed - and the sister of the bride is left to turn a tangled mess into happily ever. It Shoulda Been You invites you to a wedding day you'll never forget, where anything that can go wrong does and love pops up in mysterious places!
The Sister Series
Staged and Concert Readings
Glory Days
Music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire; Book by James Gardiner
Directed by Lucian Restivo
August 29 & 30, 2016
After their first year of college, four high school best friends reunite for one special night. Will has called them all together to pull a prank on the football team by breaking into the school's sprinkler system to soak their former bullies at the annual charity game. As the night rolls on and the boys reconnect, they soon realize how far they've grown apart this past year and how different they've become. This pop-rock musical is a witty coming-of-age story about friends trying to understand one another while facing the consequences of growing up.
Hand Grenades
By Monica Giordano
Directed by Chelsea Burke
October 17 & 18, 2016
Diana and Ophelia live their lives based on counting the days they've loved one another. When Ophelia gets attacked in the park, Diana seeks Troy for comfort while Ophelia seeks silence. Hand Grenades teaches us to hold on when we lose everything and love explosively even if we've lost all hope.
Float
By Patricia Kane
Directed by Mess Rayford
December 5 & 6, 2016
When members of a Women's Club come together for their annual tradition of creating their holiday float, they find themselves discussing more than just fake snow and tinsel. In Float, Marty, Luce, Char, Arletta, and Doodee tussle over conversations of sexuality, betrayal, and what they consider right and wrong.
Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet
Directed by Brandon Butts
March 13 & 14, 2017
Days before Hurricane Katrina collides with the Louisiana bayou, Marcus embarks on a journey to find himself by unraveling the secrets of his deceased father. With help from his family and their tight knit community, the puzzle pieces come together piece by piece. Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet is a coming-of-age story that teaches us what the special power of being "sweet" really means.
Slipping
Directed by Dexter Ramey
May 1 & 2, 2017
Eli moves from radical San Francisco to corn-loving Iowa after his father's fatal car accident. Feeling numb, alone, and like an outsider, Eli struggles his senior year to make any friends. That is until a new relationship with a boy threatens Eli's stability. Slipping shows us that the cycle of abuse is dangerous and coping seems like an endless battle.
THE CABARET SERIES
Georgia Roger Farmer: A Brand New Show!
September 9 & 10, 2016
To Be Announced
October 28 & 29, 2016
A Special New Year's Eve Event
December 31, 2016; 8:00 & 10:30 pm
To Be Announced
March 31 & April 1, 2017
Genderfluid: A Queer Cabaret
June 19 & 20, 2017
Directed by Lucian Restivo
Ever wonder what your favorite showtunes and pop hits would sound like if they were belted from the opposite gender? In the spirit of Broadway Backwards, come see Richmond's favorite performers light up the stage during this fabulous two-night event!
HOSTED EVENTS
The Mighty Pen Project presents
Readings from M*A*S*H
Directed by Carol Piersol
August 4 - 13, 2016
Virginia Anti-Violence Project presents
NERVE: Stories of Queer Resilience
In collaboration with Richmond Triangle Players and TheatreLAB
October 2, 2016
Puppets Off Broad Street presents
Winter PuppetFest
December 26-30, 2017
Quill Theatre presents
In collaboration with African-American Repertory Theatre
The Top of Bravery - An Evening with Bert Williams
Written and Performed by Jeremy Morris
Directed by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates
January 12 - February 4, 2017
Monument City Music presents
Valentines Cabaret
Featuring members of the Richmond Men's Chorus and Richmond Women's Chorus
February 11-12, 2017
K Dance: SHORTS
Directed by Kaye Weinstein Gary
March 23-25, 2017
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