STAGE TUBE: Behind-the-Scenes with Kathleen Turner & More in Arena Stage's MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Using the David Hare translation, the show fuses politics and satire to paint an unforgettable and provocative portrait of war, incorporating more than 10 pieces of original music composed in a rollicking, gypsy-punk style and performed by cast members doubling as musicians. Mother Courage and Her Children runs January 31-March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage.

Check out a behind the scenes look below!

In a cast brimming with Arena Stage favorites, Mother Courage's children are played by Nehal Joshi (Arena's The Music Man, Oklahoma!) as youngest son Swiss Cheese,Nicholas Rodriguez (Arena's My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!) as eldest son Eilif and local talent Erin Weaver (Folger Theatre's Romeo and Juliet, Arcadia) in her Arena Stage debut as daughter Kattrin.

The cast also features D.C.-area native Rick Foucheux(Arena's Ah, Wilderness!) as The Chaplain and Meg Gillentine (Arena's Cabaret, Damn Yankees) as Yvette along with the return of Jack Willis (Broadway's Julius Caesar), who last appeared at Arena Stage in Book of Days and most recently has been a leading company member of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, as The Cook. Nathan Koci leads the ensemble as Music Coordinator along with Monalisa Arias, Lise Bruneau, Jed Feder, Rayanne Gonzales, Jacobi Howard, Dan Istrate, James Konicek, Jesse Terrill and John Leslie Wolfe.

Tickets for Mother Courage and Her Children are $50-$99, subject to change and based on availability, plus applicable fees. Tickets may be purchased online at arenastage.org, by phone at 202-488-3300 or at the Sales Office at 1101 Sixth St., SW, D.C.

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