BUS STOP, DA, And TRIUMPH OF LOVE Among The Olney Theatre Center's 72nd Season

Olney Theatre Center’s 72nd season takes audiences from ancient Greece and a childhood home in Dublin to a British country estate and the Big Apple.  Subscription Season 2010 offers three professional area premieres among its varied upcoming productions.

“Olney Theatre Center’s mission of providing high quality Theater Productions continues with a 2010 season that we take pride in presenting to our growing audience,” says Artistic Director Jim Petosa.  “Our goal is to offer a wide range of plays and musicals that are new or new to the area, as well as inspiring revivals of plays that warrant a fresh look.”

Subscriptions for Season 2010 are now available.  Early Bird discounts apply through November 18.  Single tickets go on sale December 14.  For more information or to purchase subscription packages, call the Box Office at 301.924.3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org.

Subscription Season 2010:

Bus Stop by William Inge

Mainstage, February 17 – March 14

A small-town diner is in for quite a night when a blizzard strands a busload of unusual passengers at its door.  This 20th Century classic explores the romantic relationships – imagined and real – that ensue as strangers are brought together under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Da by Hugh Leonard

Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, March 24 – April 25

A successful London-based writer, Charlie returns to his childhood home in Dublin after the death of this adoptive father.  His Da was a little maddening when alive, but he’s even more impossible now that he’s dead!  Da’s ghost refuses to leave Charlie alone, peppering him with unsolicited advice and memories he’d rather forget.  Da received the Tony Award for Best Play.

Triumph of Love

Book by James Magruder, Music by Jeffrey Stock, Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead

Mainstage, April 14 – May 9

The handsome and sheltered Prince Agis has been raised by his Spartan uncle and aunt to follow one rule:  renounce love!  Logic prevails until the charming and beautiful Princess Leonide arrives with her heart set on wooing the unsuspecting Prince.  Three seductions, four disguises, and fifteen musical numbers ignite dormant passion as all discover that true love stops at nothing.

Trumpery by Peter Parnell – Washington-Area Premiere

Mainstage, June 9 – July 4

The year is 1858 and Charles Darwin struggles to complete his theory of natural selection while coping with his daughter’s fatal illness and his own loss of faith.  Meanwhile, halfway around the world, an unknown explorer is about to come up with the exact same theory.  Vibrantly comic and deeply moving, this gripping drama examines whether scientific discovery inevitably trumps religion, or if they can both coexist.

The Savannah Disputation by Evan Smith – Washington-Area Premiere

Mainstage, July 28 – August 22

In this contemporary comedy, a Pentecostal missionary gets more than she bargains for when she drops in on two Catholic spinsters and sparks a crisis of faith.  To counter, the sisters enlist the help of their naïve parish priest, setting the stage for a theological showdown about what it means to truly believe.

Dinner With Friends by Donald Margulies – Washington-Area Premiere

Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, August 25 – September 26

This Pulitzer Prize-winning play explores what happens to decades of friendship between two married couples when one couple is on the verge of divorcing.  Who’s to blame, who’s to be believed, and who takes sides?  Olney continues to provide a regional home to Margulies, producing or co-producing Collected Stories, Sight Unseen, and Brooklyn Boy.

Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw

Mainstage, September 29 – October 24

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, wealthy underwear merchant John Tarleton, his wife, and his two adult children host a small party at their country estate.  His daughter Hypatia brings her prospective husband, a wimpy yet well-meaning son of an aristocrat.  When an airplane crash brings unexpected visitors, Hypatia reconsiders her choice for a mate.

Annie

Book by Thomas Meehan, Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin

Mainstage, November 17 – January 2

America’s most spunky and beloved orphan visits Olney during the holidays.  Based on the popular Harold Gray comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, and winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, Annie captures hearts and spirits with its infectious songs and touching story of hope.

In addition to the Subscription Season, Olney presents programming from its National Players company, as well as a Family Entertainment Series and a Jazz Series.

National Players’ 61st Annual Tour will include Much Ado About Nothing and Lord of the Flies with residencies at Olney in January.  Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be offered as part of Olney’s free Summer Shakespeare.  A Midsummer Night’s Dream will also be offered as a part of The National Players’ 62nd Annual Tour, along with The Scarlet Letter.  Lastly, Players will bring another energetic summer musical to the Historic Stage with Forever Plaid.

This year’s Family Entertainment Series includes Pigeon Party, by Big Wooden Horse Theatre Company, and Corbian, the story of Darwin the dinosaur.  A third production in this series will be announced shortly.

Located just north of Washington, D.C., in arts-rich Montgomery County, Maryland, Olney Theatre Center offers a diverse array of professional productions year-round that enrich, nurture, and challenge a broad range of artists, audiences, and students.  One of two state theaters in Maryland, Olney Theatre Center is situated on 14 acres in the heart of the beautiful Washington-Baltimore-Frederick “triangle,” within easy access of all three cities.

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