2006-2007 Season

July 7-22
A Company of Wayward Saints
Written by George Herman
directed by Betsy R. Delaney
produced by Jo Rake.
The company is a commedia dell’ arte group who wander by mistake into the eye of an allegory. They are humanity, wayward saints all, who are far from home and without means. A nobleman may be their salvation if they can put on a good show for him.
Surprisingly, the Company chooses to present the history of man, from the Garden of Eden through Everyman in birth, adolescence, marriage and death. Along the way they enact other wayward adventures such as the assassination of Julius Caesar and the homecoming of Odysseus. It is a fine mosaic of life redeemed by humor and human understanding.
A production of OutOftheBlackBox Theatre Company, in cooperation with Greenbelt Arts Center.

August 4-26
Death and the Maiden
Written by Ariel Dorfman
directed by Lenora S. Dernoga
produced by Beatriz Mayoral.
Paulina Escobar and her prominent lawyer husband live in an unnamed Third World country after the fall of a dictatorship. One evening conjures up demons from Paulina’s past, as a storm forces her husband to ride home with a stranger whose voice sounds eerily familiar. Pauline is convinced that the stranger, Dr. Miranda, was part of the old fascist regime that tortured her, while blindfolded. Paulina turns the tables, switching the roles of victim and victimizer in a revengeful trial. Right or wrong about his identity, she takes steps to ensure that the doctor doesn’t leave until the truth is revealed. This award-winning, psychological thriller will keep you guessing until the very end.
This play contains adult language is not appropriate for children.

August 19-September 10
Hamlet, Revenge!
Written by William Shakespeare
directed by Ryan Anthony
produced by Gretchen Jacobs.
This year’s Shakespeare on the Green production is Hamlet, Revenge!, an adaptation of the first published version of the script. The brevity of the text, varied speeches, and alternate character names make for a fresh theatre-going experience! This fast-paced swashbuckler brings us into the royal palace of Elsanoure in Denmark, ever on the brink of war, to follow the hot-blooded young prince through love, grief, intrigue, and supernatural terror on his mission to avenge his father’s murder.
Performances are August 19-20, 26-27, September 9-10 at Buddy Attick Park; September 2-3 in the Arts Center as part of the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival. All performances are free of charge!

September 15-October 7
The Women
Written by Clare Boothe Luce
directed by Norma R. Ozur
produced by Laura Strobel.
At 70 years of age, The Women still packs a punch and provides a wickedly delightful theater experience. Here is a tale of female friendship, rivalry and betrayal in a smart, sharp, stinging satire of high society wives in 1930’s Manhattan. These women dissect themselves, each other and the men who shape their lives. The play is a period piece in the best sense that glistens, sizzles and blisters. It could have happened as it does, only in that time and place, with the attitudes and customs of the period.

October 12-14
Antony and Cleopatra
Written by William Shakespeare
adapted and directed by Jaki Demarest
a guest production from the Rude Mechanicals.
The company that brought its wildly successful Comedy of Errors to Greenbelt in February is back with a slightly more serious offering, the greatest Shakespeare you’ve never seen. Antony & Cleopatra is easily Shakespeare’s most enigmatic work, given a Brechtian exploration here and interleaved with John Dryden’s companion piece, “All For Love.” Snakes in a play, Rude Mechanicals style.

November 10-December 3
The Biograph Girl
Book by Warner Brown, lyrics by Warner Brown and David Heneker, music by David Heneker
directed by Roy Hammond
musical direction by Joe Biddle
choreography by Richelle “Rikki” Howie.
Fade In: New York, 1912 – the birth of the “flickers” and that memorable age of stardust and stars, of tinsel, glamour and scandals, of sky-rocketing salaries and tremendous vitality.
The musical salutes Hollywood’s glorious era of silent pictures. Parading the movies’ earliest heroes, heroines and clowns, it is a nostalgic reminiscence of the silent movies seen through the eyes of four famous figures: Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish, both of them great silent film stars; D. W. Griffith, the most famous of all the American silent directors and Adolph Zukor, one of the studio bosses who laid the foundations of the movie industry we know today. Throw in Mack Sennett and the Keystone Kops and you’re guaranteed a night of magical mayhem.
Fade Out: Los Angeles, 1927 – the dawn of the “talkies.”

December 15-16
The Blondes of Broadway — Cancelled due to illness
Starring Samantha Fitschen, Accompanied by Steve Brodd, Guest appearance by Chris Cherry.
Music theater actress (and lifelong brunette) Samantha Fitschen, tries to answer the question, “Why do I always get cast as a blonde?” In this fun and funny cabaret, Samantha relives some of her favorite Broadway Blonde roles, while singing songs by and about blondes. Be prepared to sing along, win a Broadway trivia contest, and celebrate all things Blonde! All hair colors welcome!

January 12-February 3
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
Written by Paul Zindel
directed by Sheilah Crossley-Cox
produced by Stephen Cox
Pulitzer Prize winning drama which combines moments of poignancy, beauty, and hope in a manner every bit as compelling as Tennessee Willliam’s The Glass Menagerie. This is the story of a single mom who stands in the way of her daughters’ dreams because she cannot forgive herself for losing her own dreams so long ago. And it is also the story of the strange and beautiful flowers which come from the compost of human loss and human shame. Just as many of the marigolds exposed to gamma rays survive despite their exposure to radiation, the spirit of hope in the hearts of two young girls survives despite the twisted love their mother gives them.

February 16-18, 23-24
Youth Musical: As You Like It
Book by William Shakespeare, music by Christopher Cherry, directed by Christopher Cherry, musical direction by Stefan Brodd.
Featuring more songs than any other Shakespeare play, As You Like It is a gender-bending musical romp in the Forest of Arden, where a banished duke maintains his court in exile, and love wears many guises. For this production, composer/director Christopher Cherry is creating additional songs to augment the score he premiered in the successful June 2006 production presented by the Academy for Classical Acting at the Shakespeare Theatre Company Studios. The score not only showcases some of Shakespeare’s most famous lyrics, but also takes some soliloquies that are normally spoken and turns them into songs. The result is a fresh interpretation of one of the world’s favorite plays–a funny, romantic, lovely story that truly sings. Tickets are specially priced at $5. The Winter Youth Musical has a tradition of selling out, so buy your tickets early! Tickets sales are handled through the Greenbelt Community Center business office. You may purchase tickets in person at the Community Center or charge them by phone at 301-397-2208, Monday-Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Due to the high demand for tickets, this is a sales-only production, so we cannot accept unpaid reservations.

March 9-March 31
Urinetown: the Musical
Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollman
book by Greg Kotis
directed and designed by Bill Tchakirides
music Director: Joe Biddle
choreographed by Richelle “Rikki” Howie
Surprises and laughs abound in this hit tale of greed, love and revolution! A depletion of the earth’s water supply leads to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The privilege to pee is regulated by a single, malevolent corporation, “Urine Good Company”, which forces the poor citizens to pay ever-escalating fees. With musical numbers that borrow shamelessly from the great works of Brecht & Weill, West Side Story and other Broadway classics, Urinetown is an intelligent musical that simultaneously pokes hilarious fun at and pays homage to Broadway.

April 27-May 19
Witness for the Prosecution
Written by Agatha Christie
directed by Richard Atha-Nicholls
produced by Shirley & David Weaver
This classic Agatha Christie play is the quintessential courtroom drama. It tells the story of Sir Wilfred, a master criminal barrister who takes the case of a man arrested for the sensational murder of a rich widow. While he expects that the defendant’s wife will stand up for him in court, she unexpectedly agrees to appear for the prosecution in a trial with multiple twists and turns which will test his skills to the limit.

June 8-30
Don’t Drink the Water
Written by Woody Allen
directed by Keith Brown
produced by Beatriz Mayoral.
Somewhere behind the early 1960’s cold-war iron curtain, the Hollander family causes an international spying incident when their plane is forced to land and they photograph a sunset in a sensitive region. In order to stay out of jail, the Hollanders take refuge in the American Embassy, which is unfortunately being run by the absent Ambassador’s diplomatically incompetent son. Laughs abound as you are swept into the Hollanders hapless situation and the crazy cast of characters that surround them!