Washington Theatre Guild to Complete T.S. Eliot Canon with THE ELDER STATESMAN, 4/25-5/19

The Washington Stage Guild completes the T.S. Eliot canon with the area premiere of The Elder Statesman.

The Washington Stage Guild ends its Season of Life Lessons with T.S. Eliot's final play The Elder Statesman. A moving and wistful story about an esteemed and honored politician whose past misdeeds arise to ruin his reputation just as he retires from public life, The Elder Statesman has some of Eliot's most beautiful language and an autumnal tone that reflects the end of the Nobel prizewinner's career. This production, the area premiere, marks another completion as well - The Washington Stage Guild will have produced all five of T. S. Eliot's verse dramas, something no other theatre in the world has done!

"Some of the proudest memories of our 27 year history are the successes we've had with T.S. Eliot's verbally dazzling dramas. The Cocktail Party in 1996, Murder in The Cathedral in 1997, The Confidential Clerk in 1999, and The Family Reunion in 2004 were audience favorites and prove how sophisticated the Washington audience is," says Stage Guild Artistic Director Bill Largess. "The Elder Statesman, by turns ominous and witty and inspired in part by Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus, has a beautiful message about forgiveness and the end of self-deception. The redemptive effect of honesty in those who have spent careers hiding their true selves is a powerful thing, and something that those who live and work in Washington may be especially struck by. Politicians with scandals are nothing new here, but Eliot's work is about more than a public man's embarrassment. The play is a beautiful coda to both Eliot's playwriting career and the Stage Guild's exploration of it."

The cast for The Elder Statesman features Stage Guild company members along with newcomers to the Undercroft Theatre. John Dow will play Lord Claverton, marking his second T.S. Eliot play, having appeared in The Confidential Clerk. He last appeared with the Stage Guild in multiple roles as part of the "Wilder Sins" series of one-acts. Previous Stage Guild productions include Humble Boy, Heartbreak House, Man & Superman, John Bull's Other Island and The Potting Shed. He has also appeared at Ford's Theatre, Metro Stage, Olney Theatre Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, and Round House Theatre.

Jewell Robinson makes her third appearance in a play by Eliot, having appeared in The Family Reunion and Murder in the Cathedral. Her role in The Elder Statesman is Mrs. Carghill, the lady from the past, mysteriously returning with unwelcome memories for Lord Calverton. She is the recipient of a Helen Hayes Award for supporting actress for creation of the role of Tillie in Arena Stage's production of Blue; three Helen Hayes Award nominations, one of which was for the Stage Guild's production of A Song at Twilight, and also includes the Source Theatre production of Inns and Outs; A Mary Goldwater Award for the body of her work as an actor; and an Audelco Award (NYC) for ensemble work in Blue.

Robert Leembruggen returns to the Stage Guild as Gomez, another from Lord Claverton's past with secrets to reveal. He was last seen at the Stage Guild playing the role of Thomas Huxley in Darwin in Malibu and has appeared at Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Olney Theater Center, Rep Stage, The Keegan Theatre, Vpstart Crow Productions, and Taffety Punk Theatre Company.

Michael Avolio returns as Michael, Claverton's worrisome son. His previous Stage Guild credits include Red Herring, The Apple Cart, and numerous play readings. He is a company member at Quotidian Theatre Company, where he'll be directing The Iceman Cometh this fall. He has also appeared at The Shakespeare Theatre Company and Rep Stage.

Making their Stage Guild debuts are Kelly Renee Armstrong as Monica and Kevin Hasser as Charles.Kelly Renee Armstrong's credits include Yellowman at Rep Stage and she was just awarded an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council for her one person show Testify. Kevin Hasser has performed in All My Sons, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Crucible (US and Ireland), and Golden Boy at the Keegan Theatre, where he is a company member. He has also been seen in Farragut North (Olney Theatre Center); All's Well that Ends Well (Shakespeare Theatre Co.); Side Man, Fuddy Meers, and The Prisoner of Zenda (1st Stage); and Hamlet and The Comedy of Errors (VA Shakespeare Festival).

Kirk Kristlibas, who designed the sets for the Stage Guild's Pygmalion and Dante's Inferno and costumes for Tryst, will design the setting with Sigrid Johnnnesdottir designing costumes. Frank DiSalvo, Jr., who just designed a sound tour of Hell for Inferno, will return as Sound Designer. Marianne Meadows returns as Lighting Designer, along with Arthur Nordlie as Stage Manager.

THE ELDER STATESMAN by T.S. Eliot, directed by Bill Largess, is Eliot's final play (and the only one never presented by the Stage Guild) in its first Washington production. It runs April 25 through May 19, 2013, Press Night: Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 8 pm.

Free Reading!
THE ROCK by T.S. Eliot - Monday, May 6, 2013 at 7 pm
A pageant intended for church performance, The Rock was one of Eliot's first attempts at poetic dialogue. The response to its magnificent choruses encouraged him to turn to playwriting, and led directly to Murder In The Cathedral.

Performance times and prices for all productions:

Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. $40.00
Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. $50.00
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. $40.00
Discounts are available for senior citizens, students, and groups.
Season passes are available, offering incredible savings for the entire Stage Guild season.

Location for all performances:
The Undercroft Theatre of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church
900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

The Undercroft Theatre is located in the heart of downtown Washington, on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 9th Street, NW. It's steps from the Convention Center, and blocks from the National Mall, the Smithsonian, the Verizon Center, Chinatown, and restaurants galore!

The Undercroft Theatre is within easy walking distance from the following Metro stations:
Gallery Place/Chinatown-Exit SE corner of 9th and G Sts., NW (Green, Yellow and Red lines)
Mt. Vernon Square-Exit SW corner of 7th and M Sts, NW (Green and Yellow lines)
Metro Center-Exit SE corner of 11th and G Sts., NW (Blue, Red and Orange lines)

For information and reservations, call 240 582-0050, email info@stageguild.org or go to www.stageguild.org.

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