GUARDS AT THE TAJ Coming to Woolly Mammoth
By: Tyler Peterson Jan. 12, 2016
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces its next production of Season 36, the DC premiere of Guards at the Taj by playwright Rajiv Joseph, directed by John Vreeke. Guards at the Taj will run from February 1 to February 28, 2016.
India, 1648: two imperial guards watch as the sun rises over the newly-completed Taj Mahal, an awe-inspiring monument to the emperor's dead queen. But awe gives way to terror when the guards are given a new assignment: to perform a bloody task whose grisly aftermath will force them to question the very ideas of beauty, responsibility, and friendship.
Guards at the Taj is the second play by Rajiv Joseph to be produced at Woolly-Gruesome Playground Injuries, on Woolly's stage in May 2010, featured Woolly Company Members Gabriella Fernandez-Coffey and Tim Getman and was directed by John Vreeke. Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, appeared on Broadway in 2011, with Robin Williams playing the titular role. In 2013, Joseph received a Steinberg Playwright "Mimi" Award, presented biennially to promising early-career American playwrights. Guards at the Taj is the winner of the 2015 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award, given annually for an unproduced, full-length play of social relevance by an emerging American playwright.
"With Gruesome Playground Injuries still fresh in our minds, we're so happy to welcome back Rajiv Joseph to continue his partnership with John Vreeke here at Woolly," says Woolly Mammoth Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz. "Guards at the Taj may appear to take place in a world far removed from modern day Washington, DC, but in its depiction of a deep friendship pitted against the horrific inequities of an empire, it hits remarkably close to our current obsessions in the nation's capital."
Kenneth de Abrew and Ethan Hova, new to the Woolly stage, will play Babur and Humayun, the play's two characters. Woolly Company Member John Vreeke (Detroit, A Bright New Boise) returns to direct. Woolly Company Member Misha Kachman will design the set. Lighting designer Jen Schriever and costume designer Frank Labovitz join the team as well, completed by sound designer Palmer Hefferan and fight choreographer Casey Kaleba.
More information about Woolly's 36th Season can be found at woollymammoth.net.
SCHEDULE
Guards at the Taj runs February 1 to February 28, 2016, with performances Wednesday-Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 3pm and 8pm (Saturday, February 6 at 8pm only), and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm (Sunday, February 7 at 7pm only). Monday, February 1 and Tuesday, February 2 will be Pay What You Can performances, which will begin at 8pm.
PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
February 1, 2016: Pay What You Can performance at 8pm
February 2, 2016: Pay What You Can performance at 8pm
February 3, 2016: Preview performance at 8pm
February 4, 2016: Preview performance at 8pm
February 5, 2016: Opening and Press Night performance at 8pm
February 6, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 7, 2016: Performance at 7pm
February 10, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 11, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 12, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 13, 2016: Performances at 3pm and 8pm
February 14, 2016: Performances at 2pm and 7pm
February 17, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 18, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 19, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 20, 2016: Performances at 3pm and 8pm
February 21, 2016: Performances at 2pm and 7pm
February 24, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 25, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 26, 2016: Performance at 8pm
February 27, 2016: Performances at 3pm and 8pm
February 28, 2016: Performances at 2pm and 7pm
TICKETS
Tickets to Guards at the Taj start at $35 and can be purchased online at woollymammoth.net, by phone at (202) 393-3939, via email at tickets@woollymammoth.net, or in person at the Box Office, located at 641 D Street NW.
Patrons who are 30-years-old and younger may, at any time, purchase Section B tickets for $20 to any performance. There are also discounts available for first responder men and women and active US military personnel, spouses, and veterans. More information is available at woollymammoth.net.
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