DC's Keegan Theatre Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Keegan Theatre has announced its 2021-2022 25th anniversary season.

"We cannot wait to welcome audiences back to our Church Street home for our 25th Anniversary Season," says Susan Marie Rhea, the company's Artistic Director. "As we re-emerge from the pandemic and a year of challenges and growth, we are presenting a lineup of plays that explores the human experience from a range of perspectives. The shows we've selected for our 25th Anniversary season will both challenge and delight -- and will ultimately connect, inspire, and spark new understandings and conversations among our artists, our audiences, and our community."

Keegan Theatre will be partnering this season with the Arlington-based organization Challenging Racism to support education on the prevalence of discrimination and provide tools to challenge hatred. In addition to leading anti-racism workshops with Keegan staff and Board of the Directors, Challenging Racism is partnering with Keegan all season long to provide behind-the-scenes support and education around issues of race as they arise in the plays themselves and also in the room where the art is made, as well as working with Keegan to create audience enrichment and education opportunities, from talkbacks to dramaturgical and other educational materials, in conjunction with each production.

Keegan will follow all federal and DC regulations to ensure the safety of artists, staff, and audience members. These precautions will be shared on the website and rigorously enforced as the District, and nation, emerge from the coronavirus pandemic because we are committed to the safety of all who work here and come to see our shows. Subscriptions and updates on the upcoming season are available at www.keegantheatre.com.

August 28 - September 25, 2021
GOOD PEOPLE by David Lindsay-Abaire
Tony Award Nominee for Best Play

The season opens with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's comedy Good People - a compelling and comedic examination of class and the divides it creates in a community of hardworking South Boston friends. A Tony Award nominee for Best Play, Good People, looks into the struggles of its characters and reminds us that kindness comes at the most surprising moments and from unexpected sources.

Single mother Margie Walsh, a lifelong South Boston resident, is fired from her dollar store job, leaving her and her adult disabled daughter Joyce one paycheck away from desperate straits. Will crashing a party at the upscale Chestnut Hill neighborhood introduce her to potential employers, or will she embarrass herself in front of her ex-boyfriend, now a doctor, and his upper-class cronies.

October 23-November 20, 2021
N by Adrienne Earle Pender
Regional Premiere

Eugene O'Neill's 1921 production The Emperor Jones was the first Broadway play to feature an integrated cast. Charles S. Gilpin's portrayal of Emperor Brutus Jones was revelatory and made stars of both men. By 1926, O'Neill was a legend, and Gilpin was lost to history.

N explores the challenging relationship between the actor and the playwright as Gilpin struggles with O'Neill's stereotypical character, demeaning dialogue, and use of the "N" word. Adrienne Earle Pender's script encourages us to think about how we see the world, our differences, and art's ability to ignite social change.

December 10-December 31, 2021
AN IRISH CAROL by Matthew J. Keenan
Keegan's Holiday Tradition

Keegan's beloved holiday play An Irish Carol returns for its 11th season. This humorous and moving take on Dickens' classic, told with a Celtic twist, has been a Keegan Theatre tradition for more than a decade. Join us this December for a variation on a holiday classic that The Washington Post calls "sweet and cheerfully profane."

January 29-February 26, 2022
TRANS AM by Lisa Stephen Friday
World Premiere Rock Musical

Through story and song, playwright Lisa Stephen Friday shares the autobiographical journey of her gender transition that sheds light on the basic human desire for self-actualization in a world obsessed with other-ness.

Trans Am features music by glam rock band Lisa Jackson & Girl Friday and is directed by Broadway's Fred Berman. A new work commissioned by Keegan, Trans Am builds on the performance originated by Lisa Stephen Friday during her one-woman show, presented as part of Keegan's Boiler Room Series Live. Lisa's journey examines her childhood and experiences coming up and out as a musician in the early 2000s New York City rock scene. Trans Am is a unique, powerful, honest, funny, and hopeful rock musical that we are thrilled to bring to our stage.

March 26-April 23, 2022
YOGA PLAY by Dipika Guha
Regional Premiere

Dipika Guha's Yoga Play is a satirical critique of corporate culture, the search for authenticity, and the enlightenment industry. Guha's script tackles the monetization of self-help and cultural appropriation; the soul of Yoga Play is a grounded character study with a comedic edge that will make you question what it takes to obtain authenticity in a world determined to sell wisdom.

Joan is hired to repair the reputation of a giant in the yoga apparel industry after a scandal brings down its CEO. She devises a plan so risky that it could make or break the company and her career and requires its CFO to go well beyond the call of duty.

June 18-July 16, 2022
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE by Lee Hall,
(adapted from the screenplay by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman)
Regional Premiere

Based on the film that won seven Academy Awards, Shakespeare in Love was adapted for the stage by Tony Award winner Lee Hall. It's a rollicking play with music that celebrates the Bard and playfully dramatizes the inspiration for Romeo and Juliet. Featuring dozens of actors and musicians, Shakespeare in Love is a sweeping romance that will have audiences laughing, rejoicing the beauty of theater, and falling head over heels for its star-crossed lovers.

Young William Shakespeare has writer's block as the deadline for his new play looms. He finds his muse in Viola, a beautiful young woman who greatly admires his writing and is willing to defy social expectations and a royal decree to perform in his next production.

June 18-July 16, 2022
The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful (and Her Dog!)
Book and Lyrics by Lauren Gunderson - Music by Brian Lowdermilk
Regional Premiere for All Ages

This regional premiere is a family-friendly adventure that will delight and entertain curious-minded theatergoers of all ages. It encourages young minds to embrace science, technology, engineering, and math while keeping them entertained.

Dr. Wonderful and her dog bast-off into space and embark on an incredible musical journey to understand why the moon changes shape in the sky every night. The duo gathers clues to solve their lunar mystery with the power of curiosity.

May 10 - May 22, 2022
BOILER ROOM SERIES
Including 2022-23 Production Workshops

Since its founding, Keegan Theatre has vigorously supported new works. In addition to producing more than twenty world premieres since opening in 1997, we've workshopped many original productions and played a critical role in the development of others. Keegan's Boiler Room Series (BRS) amplifies those efforts by offering new artists, plays, and musicals a stage and support to promote the unique voices and creative minds driving DC theatre to new and unexpected places.

In May 2022, Keegan's Boiler Room Series invites audiences to experience theater development in action through a series of new plays on their path from inspiration to stage. Events include staged readings with audience feedback, workshop sneak peeks, interviews with playwrights, and rehearsal sessions designed to bring the theatre process to the public. Boiler Room Series events will be presented live at Keegan Theatre and streamed online so audiences worldwide can experience working alongside writers and artists developing their ideas to their full potential.

The lineup will highlight two world premieres headed to our mainstage: a commissioned work by Boiler Room Series veteran Graziella Jackson, and a play for young audiences by Drew Anderson and Dwayne Lawson-Brown, who were behind the Helen Hayes nominated From Gumbo To Mumbo. Audiences will also be treated to staged readings of exciting new works from previous Boiler Room Series seasons playwrights, including Priyanka Shetty, Jordan Ramirez Puckett, Shadia Hafiz, and Darren Donohue. With your help, we hope to establish a path to engage with emerging playwrights and help elevate exceptional works from inspiration to stage.

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