Three Baltimore Regional Theatres Open 2007-2008 Season

The Baltimore/DC area is truly blessed with some excellent, award-winning regional/Equity theatre.  Three of them, Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE and Everyman Theatre, and Howard County's Rep Stage, are opening their seasons in the coming weeks.  Their choices of productions speak to the variety all three employ to keep audiences enthralled, entertained, and most of all, in the seats. 

Rep Stage: Mrs. Farnsworth

First out of the gate is Rep Stage, who is presenting the regional premiere of A. R. Gurney's politically charged comedy/drama, Mrs. Farnsworth, which officially opens August 26th.  The play features Rep Stage and area regular Helen Hedman in the title role.  She will be joined by Mitchell Hébert and Jason Schuchman.  The play asks: "How does an individual change history? In 2004, a college writing class provides the setting when a wealthy woman joins the group to tell the story of her dealings with an influential man in power in Washington.  When her husband shows up, debate and folly ensue. Mrs. Farnsworth examines the power of the individual in our contemporary political landscape from a unique and humorous perspective."

The show, directed by Steven Carpenter, runs through September 23rd, Wednesday – Thursday at 7:30PM, Friday – Saturday at 8PM, and Saturday – Sunday at 2:30PM.  Tickets range from $15 - $25, depending on date of performance, with $12 student tickets available for all performances.  Go to www.repstage.org or call 410-772-4900 for more information.  NOTE: This production will be performed in Room N220 at the Howard County Community College Campus.

Everyman Theatre: Sight Unseen

Everyman Theatre is up next with Donald Marguiles' play Sight Unseen, with previews beginning August 29, and opening on August 31st.  This thoughtful drama poses some very interesting questions about art and its place in society: "Does commercial success dilute the quality of an artist's work?  In a world where the publicists and marketing machines are more important than ever, is it harder for artists to find inspiration and passion in their work?  How much is the artist defined by his roots, race, or religion?  In an interview, Margulies spoke of the emotional struggle he experienced in coming to terms with the growing fame of his plays, and he pointed out that writing Sight Unseen served as the bridge he needed to accommodate his move from Brooklyn to the larger world."

Sight Unseen is about "an American mega-artist [who] is so successful he can claim astronomical prices for his works from a wealthy list of patrons, "sight unseen". While in England for his first European exhibition, a retrospective of his work, Jonathon travels to the countryside to pay a visit to his former muse and lover, Patricia.  While searching to identify the missing links in both his life and his work, he discovers that the act of revisiting his past—and an interview with a German art critic who questions his motives as a Jewish artist—reveals a crisis of faith that he never saw coming."

Helen Hayes Award-winning director Daniel De Raey directs, and Everyman Theatre Resident Acting Company Member Deborah Hazlett, recently seen during the 2006-07 season as Emma in Betrayal, will play Patricia, the artist's long lost lover.  Three Washington DC actors who are newcomers to Everyman Theatre round out the cast: Paul Morella (Jonathon, the artist), Bob Rogerson (Nick, Patricia's husband), and Karen Novack (Grete, the German Journalist).

Performances run Wednesdays through Sundays from August 29th to October 7th. Tickets are $18-$35 and are available via the Everyman Theatre Box Office at 410-752-2208 or online at www.everymantheatre.org. 

CENTERSTAGE: Arsenic and Old Lace

Finally, CENTERSTAGE begins its season with the classic American comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring.  The hilarious question this play asks comes from its main character, Mortimer, "You think my aunts are charming, sweet old ladies, don't you?"  Mortimer Brewster hates his job, but otherwise life is perfect—he's got a smart, beautiful fiancée and two doting aunts. The only catch? These two sweet spinsters have a secret mission and a recipe for elderberry wine that really packs a punch. As Mortimer tries to navigate his family's eccentricities—which, besides misguided euthanasia, include a delusional brother digging the Panama Canal in the cellar—his sociopathic other brother shows up with a taste for vengeance and a sidekick named Einstein. Will Mortimer make it to his wedding day, or fall victim to the family insanity first?

This production, helmed by Artistic Director Irene Lewis, features some of this country's finest talents, including acclaimed CENTERSTAGE veterans Pamela Payton-Wright and Tana Hicken. Ms. Payton-Wright—whose prior appearances here include Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, Mrs. Alving in Ghosts, and most recently Judith Bliss in Hay Fever—has had an illustrious career, spanning Broadway and Off, and nearly every major regional in the country. Her many credits include Broadway runs of The Show-Off, The Cherry Orchard, Mourning Becomes Electra (Drama Desk Award), Romeo & Juliet, The Night of the Iguana, and M. Butterfly; the world premiere of The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (Obie & Clarence Derwent Awards), Jessie and the Bandit Queen (Obie Award), and Fifth of July (Lortel nomination) Off Broadway; the recent pre-Broadway run of Long Day's Journey Into Night with Brian Dennehy.

Ms. Hicken has a long-standing relationship with CENTERSTAGE, stretching back to her first appearance here in The Cherry Orchard in 1976. Since then, she's appeared in 15 productions including Hedda Gabler, Danton's Death, Watch on the Rhine, Ashes, and, most recently, 2004's Picnic. Ms. Hicken began her professional relationship with Irene Lewis during her seven seasons at Hartford Stage, and was a company member of Arena Stage for 14 seasons. She has also worked extensively at other Baltimore/Washington venues, including Shakespeare Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Rep Stage, and Everyman, garnering an incredible 17 Helen Hayes nominations and winning twice, for Old Times and Long Day's Journey Into Night at Arena Stage.

CENTERSTAGE newcomer Ian Kahn tackles theater critic nephew Mortimer.  Kahn's credits include a clutch of Washington-area works: The Importance of Being Earnest at Arena Stage, A Prayer for Owen Meany at Round House, and Leading Ladies at Ford's.  John Ahlin takes on the good-natured Teddy, so diligently reliving the triumphs of our 26th President, in his CENTERSTAGE debut.  Ahlin was most recently seen in the Tony-winning revival of Journey's End. His other Broadway credits include The Lieutenant of Inishmore, One Mo' Time, Macbeth, Voices in the Dark, and Whoopee!  The vicious and oddly Boris Karloff-resembling Jonathan is played by John Campion in his third CENTERSTAGE appearance, following Galileo and The Triumph of Love a decade ago. His Off Broadway credits include Measure for Measure and Henry VI at Theatre for a New Audience and In the Jungle of Cities at The Public.  

Appearing as the Reverend and Elaine Harper, the unsuspecting father and daughter next door, are Stephen F. Schmidt and Brynn O'Malley. Schmidt returns to CENTERSTAGE— where his appearances include The Winter's Tale, The Investigation, H.M.S. Pinafore, As You Like It, and A Midsummer Night's Dream—for the first time since 2004's Sweeney Todd.  O'Malley makes her CENTERSTAGE debut as Mortimer's romantic interest. She was recently seen in a Helen Hayes-nominated turn as Amalia in She Loves Me at Arena Stage. Her other major credits include Amber von Tussle in Hairspray and Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, the Vegas production of Avenue Q, and Paper Mill's Baby. Carson Elrod, last seen as the mysterious Gunner in 2003's Misalliance, returns to play Dr. Einstein, the plastic surgeon sidekick of the malevolent Jonathan. Elrod appeared on Broadway in Reckless, and his film credits include Wedding Crashers, When a Stranger Calls, and Kissing Jessica Stein.  

Ralph Cosham pulls double-duty as two of the Brewster sisters' unwitting prey—the disgruntled Mr. Gibbs and asylum director Mr. Witherspoon—in his CENTERSTAGE debut. He most recently appeared with Ms. Payton-Wright and Ms. Hicken in Shakespeare Theatre Company's Richard III, and in the Helen Hayes-nominated dual roles of Egeus and Snout in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Folger. He will return later this season to play Polonius in Lewis' production of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.

Rounding out the cast as the play's police presence are Craig Bockhorn, Lou Liberatore, and William Zielinski—all making their CENTERSTAGE debuts. Bockhorn is the no-nonsense Lieutenant Rooney, while Liberatore is the aspiring dramatist Officer O'Hara and Zielinski is the friendly Officer Klein. Mr. Bockhorn's credits include the original Broadway production of Prelude to a Kiss and the recent James Earl Jones-led revival of On Golden Pond at the Kennedy Center, in Wilmington, and on Broadway.  Mr. Liberatore's credits include Broadway runs of Burn This (Tony and Drama Desk nominations) and As Is, and TV appearances in Tales of the City, Sex and the City, and Law & Order. Mr. Zielinski, who toured nationally with Brian Dennehy in Trumbo, is a fixture of Philadelphia theater. His many credits there include Outrage, Resurrection Blues, and Indian Ink at The Wilma; Lost in Yonkers at Walnut Street; All My Sons, Coyote on a Fence, and Winesburg, Ohio at the Arden; and The Laramie Project, Gross Indecency, and Trumbo—this time with Bill Irwin—at Philadelphia Theatre Company. He's also appeared in The Wire and Shot in the Heart—both filmed in Baltimore—on HBO.

Arsenic and Old Lace will play at The Pearlstone Theater at CENTERSTAGE, September 14 - October 14.  Performance times are Tuesday – Saturday at 8PM, Sunday at 7:30PM, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2PM.  There will be a special Wednesday matinee on October 3^rd at 1PM.  Tickets run $10–$60.  Students and Seniors save $10 off Friday evening performances. These tickets may be purchased in advance; simply present valid ID for verification upon pick-up.

Friday–Tuesday, September 14^th –18^th, CENTERSTAGE offers "Pay Your Age Previews".  Patrons age 35 and under can buy the best available tickets—in person on the day of show—for any preview at the price of $1 for every year of their age; ID required.

For more information or tickets, call 410-332-0033, or go online to centerstage.org.

NOTE: Information contained in this article was gleaned from press releases provided by the theatres.

PHOTO: Mitchell Hebert, Helen Hedman and Jason Schuchman in Rep Stage's Mrs. Farnsworth by Stan Baroh; Everyman Theatre's promotional art (by David Calkins) for Sight Unseen; and Pamela Payton-Wright, Tana Hicken, Ian Kahn and Brynn O'Malley, starring in Arsenic and Old Lace courtesy of CENTERSTAGE.

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