NEW SEASON INCLUDES A CELEBRATION OF TONY KUSHNER, THE LARGEST MUSICAL IN ROUND HOUSE’S HISTORY, THE REGIONAL PREMIERE OF A SOLO SHOW BY AUGUST WILSON
ROUND HOUSE THEATRE AND OLNEY THEATRE CENTER ANNOUNCE TWO-YEAR ARTISTIC PARTNERSHIP
Round House Theatre and Producing Artistic Director Ryan Rilette are thrilled to announce the company’s 2016-2017 Season. The ambitious new season includes a Celebration of Tony Kushner, the largest musical in Round House’s history, and the regional premiere of a solo show by August Wilson. Round House also announces a two-year partnership with Olney Theatre Center to co-produce outstanding repertory plays in Montgomery County, beginning with Tony Kushner’s Angels In America in the fall of 2016. In line with its commitment to lifelong learning, Round House will present the 15th Annual Sarah Metzger Memorial Play performed by the Round House Teen Performance Company.
Round House begins its 2016-2017 Season with the 25th Anniversary production of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning Angels In America (Sept. 7 – Oct. 30, 2016), presented as a co-production with Olney Theatre Center. Part I: Millennium Approaches and Part II: Perestroika will be presented in rotating repertory at Round House Theater in Bethesda.
The season continues with the rolling world premiere of the Pride and Prejudice-inspired Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon (Nov. 23 – Dec. 18, 2016). Round House continues the Celebration of Tony Kushner with the show-stopping musical Caroline, or Change, with music by Jeanine Tesori and book & lyrics by Kushner (Jan. 25 – Feb 26, 2017).
Next, Round House presents Or, a madcap comedy by Liz Duffy Adams (April 12 – May 2, 2017), and the season ends with the regional premiere of August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned, co-conceived by Todd Kreidler (June 7 – July 2, 2017).
“The 2016-2017 Season is without question our biggest, most ambitious season yet,” say Producing Artistic Director Ryan Rilette. “In addition to a new play by August Wilson and two contemporary works by female playwrights, we are thrilled to celebrate America’s most celebrated political playwright, Tony Kushner, on both sides of the presidential election. Angels In America and Caroline, Or Change engage with our political history in a way that is stunningly current and absolutely relevant.”
In partnership with Olney Theatre Center, Round House announces a two-year commitment to co-produce outstanding repertory plays in Montgomery County. The first, Angels In America by Tony Kushner, will be presented in the fall of 2016, with the second at Olney Theatre Center in the fall of 2017. Round House Theatre Producing Artistic Director Ryan Rilette says, “I’ve admired [Olney Theatre Center Artistic Director] Jason Loewith’s work for some time, and we’ve been searching for the perfect project to collaborate on. Our two-year commitment to co-producing ambitious reparatory theatre will highlight artistic excellence in Montgomery County.”
Round House will also present two special events in the 2016-2017 Season. In the summer of 2016, Happenstance Theater will return to Round House to present the newly devised Moxie: A Happenstance Vaudeville (June 24 – July 17, 2016). From March 17 – 19, 2017, the Round House Teen Performance Company will present the 15th Annual Sarah Metzger Memorial Play, Beach Week by Diana Metzger.
2016-2017 CALENDAR INFORMATION
A CELEBRATION OF TONY KUSHNER
On both sides of the presidential election, we present the most celebrated work by America’s best living political playwright.
ANGELS IN AMERICA
PART II: PERESTROIKA
By Tony Kushner
Directed by Jason Loewith & Ryan Rilette
September 7 – October 30, 2016
Co-produced with Olney Theatre Center
TWO GREAT THEATER COMPANIES. ONE EXTRAORDINARY THEATRICAL EVENT.
Just in time for election season, Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center present the 25th Anniversary production of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning juggernaut. Sexuality, religion, and politics collide at the beginning of the AIDS crisis in one of the most celebrated plays of the 20th century. Don’t miss Part I: Millennium Approaches & Part II: Perestroika, presented in rotating repertory.
Featuring Kimberly Gilbert, Mitchell Hébert, Sarah Marshall, Jon Hudson Odom, Tom Story, and Dawn Ursula.
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CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book & Lyrics by Tony Kushner
Directed by Matthew Gardiner
January 25 – February 26, 2017
SHOW-STOPPING MUSICAL
Join us as we present the largest musical in Round House’s history! Set in the heat of the Civil Rights Movement, the Tony-nominated Caroline, Or Change follows a black maid working for a middle-class Jewish family in Louisiana. When a small amount of money goes missing, buried tensions threaten to rip two families—and the struggling Caroline—apart. Loosely based on Kushner’s provocative and personal story, Caroline features a virtuosic score from Jeanine Tesori (Tony Award for Best Original Score for Fun Home) that blends blues, gospel, and traditional Jewish melodies into a magical, show-stopping musical masterpiece.
Starring Nova Y. Payton as Caroline, and featuring Felicia Curry, Will Gartshore, Naomi Jacobson, Lawrence Redmond, Olivia Russell, Awa Sal Secka, Dorea Schmidt, Scott Sedar, Korinn Walfall, and Kara-Tameika Watkins.
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MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY
Rolling World Premiere
By Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon
Directed by Eleanor Holdridge
November 23 – December 18, 2016
HOLIDAY DELIGHT
Set two years after the iconic Pride and Prejudice, Miss Bennet follows your favorite characters as they gather at Pemberley, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. But this holiday, all eyes are on Mary Bennet, who has come into her own as a confident woman with curiosity, wit, and talent…and perhaps even a love story. Miss Bennet is a Christmas story of family, young love, and bright futures you won’t want to miss!
Featuring Joseph Carlson, Katie deBuys, Danny Gavigan, Miranda Rizzolo, William Vaughan, and Erin Weaver.
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OR,
By Liz Duffy Adams
Directed by Aaron Posner
April 12 – May 7, 2017
MADCAP COMEDY
Desperate to get out of a career in espionage, up-and-coming playwright Aphra Behn just landed her first commission for a professional company—if she can deliver her play by dawn. But in a world of sex and spies, can Aphra save the life of King Charles II and launch her budding writing career all in one night? With echoes of Restoration comedy, this playful farce is a rush of madcap antics and rollicking intrigue.
Featuring Holly Twyford and Erin Weaver.
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AUGUST WILSON’S
HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED
Co-Conceived and Directed by Todd Kreidler
June 7 – July 2, 2017
AMERICAN MASTER
In this solo show, late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson explores his days as a struggling young writer in Pittsburgh’s Hill District and how the neighborhood inspired his cycle of plays about the African-American experience. At times shockingly provocative and often hilariously funny, this theatrical memoir follows one man’s journey of self-discovery and what it means to be a black artist in America.
Starring Eugene Lee.
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2016-2017 SPECIAL EVENTS
MOXIE: A HAPPENSTANCE VAUDEVILLE
Created by Happenstance Theatre
June 24 – July 17, 2016
The Round House Teen Performance Company Presents
The 14th Annual Sarah Metzger Memorial Play
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BEACH WEEK
By Diana Metzger
March 17 – 19, 2017
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SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscriptions to Round House Theatre’s 2016-2017 Season are now available online, via phone or in person at Round House’s Box Office in Bethesda, Md. Subscribers get the best seats on their preferred night, as well as free ticket exchanges, no single ticket fees and free unlimited coffee!
For more information about subscriptions, click here, or call the Round House Box Office at (240) 644-1100.
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ABOUT ROUND HOUSE THEATRE
Round House is one of the leading professional theaters in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, producing a six-show season of modern classics, new plays and musicals for more than 40,000 patrons each year at our 400-seat theater in Bethesda. Round House has been nominated for 146 Helen Hayes Awards (including six in 2015) and has won 27 (including three in 2014). Its productions have won “Outstanding Resident Play” four times.
Round House’s educational programs serve more than 2,500 students of all ages at its six-classroom Education Center in Silver Spring and in schools throughout Montgomery County. Its many innovative education programs encompass Full Day Programs for Youth, including Summer Programs for K – 12; a Teen Performance Company, with classes and events for teens throughout the year culminating in The Sarah Metzger Memorial Play, the only play produced by a regional theater that is directed, acted and designed by high school students; School Outreach, including Intersections, Student Matinees, and Play It Forward, a program that allows Montgomery County high school students to attend Round House shows for free; and Classes for Adults & Youth.
Round House is a member of LORT (League of Resident Theatres) and LOWT (League of Washington Theatres). The theatre is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with major support from Montgomery County, the Maryland State Arts Council (an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts), and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
Press Release is by Sarah Randall.
