Yesterday, Molly Smith, Artistic Director of Arena Stage revealed that the company’s plans for season 2014/15 will include 5 world premieres, 2 musicals, 3 comedies and a 25-writer commission for the National Civil War Project.
“It is remarkable to think of Arena Stage’s contribution to the American theater over the past 64 seasons, and our 65th year aims to honor that history and revel in creating new and inspiring work that challenges us to keep pursuing excellence for our committed Washington audiences,” Smith states.
She continues, “The season boasts five world premieres: Katori Hall’s beautiful family-drama The Blood Quilt, Ken Ludwig’s murderously funny adventure Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery directed by Gary Griffin, Morris Panych’s raucous comedy The Shoplifters and The Originalist, John Strand’s masterful play about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, which I will direct starring local favorite Edward Gero, as well as Our War—an epic commission of 25 writers as part of the National Civil War project.
“It also marks the D.C. premiere of the winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang, which will be directed by Aaron Posner in his Arena debut, and our sixth production of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Play Cycle with the classical American drama King Hedley II, directed by Timothy Douglas.
“The American gold-standard musical returns in a big way with Fiddler on the Roof, which I am privileged to direct in the year of its golden anniversary, and audiences are in for another treat with Five Guys Named Moe, a musical directed by Robert O’Hara featuring the infectious music of Louis Jordan.”
Single tickets will be available later this summer. The Arena Stage 8 play subscriptions are available online or by calling the box office at 202 488-3300.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater 2014/15 Schedule
The Shoplifters
World premiere comedy
Written and Directed by Morris Panych
In the Kreeger Theater / September 5 – October 19, 2014
Our War
National Civil War Project theatrical event
Commissioned writers as of February 26, 2014:
Maria Agui Carter, Lydia Diamond, Amy Freed, Diane Glancy, Joy Harjo, Samuel D. Hunter, Naomi Iizuka, Aditi Kapil, Dan LeFranc, David Lindsay-Abaire, Ken Ludwig, Taylor Mac, Ken Narasaki, Lynn Nottage, Robert O’Hara, Heather Raffo, Charles Randolph-Wright, Tanya Saracho, Betty Shamieh, John Strand, Tazewell Thompson, William S. Yellow Robe, Jr., Karen Zacarías and two students from George Washington University: Zinhle Essamuah and Nicholas Ong
Directed by Anita Maynard-Losh
In the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle / October 21 – November 9, 2014
Fiddler on the Roof
Book by Joseph Stein / Music by Jerry Bock / Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Directed by Molly Smith
In the Fichandler Stage / October 31, 2014 – January 4, 2015
Five Guys Named Moe
Book by Clarke Peters / Music and Lyrics by Louis Jordan / Directed by Robert O’Hara
In the Kreeger Theater / November 14 – December 28, 2014
Opens 2015
Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery
World premiere adaptation
By Ken Ludwig / Directed by Gary Griffin
A co-production with McCarter Theatre Center
In the Kreeger Theater / January 16 – February 22, 2015
King Hedley II
By August Wilson / Directed by Timothy Douglas
In the Fichandler Stage / February 6 – March 8, 2015
The Originalist
World premiere political drama
By John Strand / Directed by Molly Smith
In the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle / March 6 – April 26, 2015
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
By Christopher Durang / Directed by Aaron Posner
In the Fichandler Stage / April 3 – May 3, 2015
The Blood Quilt
World premiere family comedy-drama
By Katori Hall
In the Kreeger Theater / April 24 – June 7, 2015Half Column
Complete details and subscriptions are available now online or by calling the box office at 202 488-3300.
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