Leslye Headland’s darkly funny, music-filled Broadway hit Cult of Love will make its regional premiere at Round House Theatre this holiday season. Directed by Artistic Director Ryan Rilette, this alternative to the traditional holiday fare marks the return of longtime Round House company member Jane Beard, alongside Sophia Early, Lilli Hokama, Alyssa Keegan, Ian Mellencamp, Cody Nickell, Michael Perrie Jr., Scott Sedar, Dina Thomas, and Joanna Whicker. Cult of Love runs November 18 through December 27. More information is here.
Set at Christmas, Cult of Love follows the Dahls, an intensely devoted Christian family, as they gather for the holidays. As the four adult siblings return home to reconnect with their parents and one another, old grievances resurface, faith is questioned, loyalties are tested, and long-held beliefs begin to crack.
“Leslye Headland started writing Cult of Love following Donald Trump’s first election, noting the fracturing of families and friends along political lines. In the decade since then, that fracturing has grown even wider, making this deeply funny story of a family trying to work through their differences to celebrate Christmas together hit harder than ever before,” says Rilette. “We love ensemble plays at Round House, especially those where the personal mirrors the political, so we’re thrilled to introduce DMV audiences to this Broadway hit this holiday season.”
The cast is joined by a dynamic creative team that includes Music Director Paige Rammelkamp, Scenic Designer Paige Hathaway, Costume Designer Ivania Stack, Lighting Designer Harold F. Burgess II, Sound Designer Sartje Pickett, Dramaturg Naysan Mojgani, Fight Director Casey Kaleba, Stage Manager Che Wernsman, Assistant Stage Manager Tori Schuchmann, Production Assistant Daniel Nie, and Casting Director Sarah Cooney.
Tickets may be purchased by calling 240.644.1100 or ordering online at RoundHouseTheatre.org. Round House Theatre is located at 4545 East-West Highway, one block from Wisconsin Avenue and the Bethesda station on Metro’s Red Line.
ARTIST INFORMATION
Leslye Headland (Playwright) is an Emmy-nominated writer and director. She began her career as a playwright with her Seven Deadly Plays series at the IAMA Theatre Company. Her plays include Bachelorette, Assistance, and The Layover. Bachelorette was the basis for her directorial film debut, starring Kirsten Dunst, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her second feature, Sleeping With Other People, starring Jason Sudeikis, also premiered at Sundance. She is the co-creator of the award-winning Netflix series Russian Doll and the creator of Star Wars: The Acolyte for Disney+.
Ryan Rilette (Director) is in his fifteenth season as Artistic Director of Round House Theatre. During his tenure, he has produced seven of the ten highest grossing seasons and 18 of the top 20 highest grossing productions in the theatre’s history. His productions have received 120 Helen Hayes Awards nominations and 36 Helen Hayes Awards. Ryan created the theatre’s Equal Play commissioning program, Resident Artist program, Fair Play pay scale for artists, and Free Play ticketing program. For Round House, he has directed Rules for Living, Bad Books (world premiere), The Seafarer, “We declare you a terrorist…” (world premiere), Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up, Homebound, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Oslo, Small Mouth Sounds, “Master Harold”…and the Boys, The Book of Will, Angels in America: Perestroika, The Night Alive, Fool for Love, This, and How to Write a New Book for the Bible. He has also acted in Round House’s productions of Ink and Uncle Vanya. Prior to joining Round House, Ryan served as Producing Director of Marin Theatre Company, Producing Artistic Director of Southern Rep Theatre, and co-founder and Artistic Director of Rude Mechanicals Theatre Company. He is the former Board President of the National New Play Network, and formerly served on the boards of Theatre Washington and Maryland Citizens for the Arts.
CAST INFORMATION (alphabetical)
Jane Beard (Virginia “Ginny” Dahl) is delighted to return to Round House Theatre, where she was a long-time company member as an actor and director on productions including The Swan, Nora, Uncle Vanya, Three Days of Rain, Criminals in Love, The Misanthrope, Escape From Happiness, One Shoe Off, Elektra, and Zastrozzi, among others. She also appeared at Arena Stage, Studio Theatre, Wooly Mammoth, Theatre of the First Amendment, Olney Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, and Seattle Rep. Film and TV credits include Step Up, Guarding Tess, Homicide, and numerous commercials. Jane has received three Helen Hayes nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor.
Sophia Early (Loren Montgomery) is thrilled to return to Round House Theatre! Previous Round House credits include Natalie in Next to Normal and Diana/Chrissie in Ink. DC-area credits include Merrily We Roll Along at Signature Theatre; Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience at Theater Alliance; Meredith Willson’s The Music Man at Olney Theatre Center; and Persuasion at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. BFA: Howard University. Instagram: @sophia.the.early
Lilli Hokama (Pippa Ferguson) is thrilled to be making her Round House Theatre debut. Some recent DC credits include Eureka Day at Theater J; Julius X, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Amadeus at Folger Theatre; Snowman and the Snowdog at Imagination Stage; Age of Innocence (Understudy) and Death on the Nile (Understudy) at Arena Stage; and Night of the Living Dead (Director) at Rorschach Theatre. Other credits include The Wolves (Understudy) at Lincoln Center Theatre; Little Women at Dallas Theatre Center; Water by the Spoonful, Elf! The Musical, and Guadalupe in the Guestroom at Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center; and I and You and Now Circa Then at Chester Theatre. Voiceover/motion capture credits include The Expanse: A Telltale Series and the audiobook of When Darcy Met Lizzy: A Queer Pride and Prejudice Remix. Lilli is also writing a one person show titled Hair. Instagram: @_ill_lil_
Alyssa Keegan (Evie Dahl) is grateful to be back at one of their favorite theatres. Round House credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress), How I Learned to Drive, and Becky Shaw. Additional select theatre includes Inherit the Wind at Arena Stage; Scenarios and Contractions at Studio Theatre; Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Gloria, Botticelli in the Fire, and Shipwreck at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Vanity Fair at Shakespeare Theatre Company/Actors Conservatory Theatre; Digging Up Dessa at The Kennedy Center; Twelfth Night and Richard III at Folger Theatre; and Working the Musical with the Labor Heritage Foundation (in honor of laborers during the pandemic). TV credits include Law & Order: SVU, New Amsterdam (NBC), and Bull (CBS). Film: Kringle Time (Amazon Prime). Radio: Walmart, Verizon, Spotify, Google, and MyEyeDr. Audiobook credits include over 100 titles, including USA Today best-seller Demon Days Vampire Nights and New York Times best-seller Final Girl Support Group. MFA: Academy for Classical Acting at The Shakespeare Theatre.
Ian Mellencamp (Johnny Dahl) is elated to be making his Round House Theatre debut in Cult of Love! He is a sketch comedy performer and improviser at the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre in Los Angeles. Ian is also a recording artist, and his original music is now on all streaming platforms. Instagram: @ianmellencamp
Cody Nickell (Mark Dahl) has previously appeared at Round House in Ink (Helen Hayes nomination for Best Performance in a Lead Role), “We declare you a terrorist…” (world premiere), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Oslo. Most recently, Cody was seen in the North American premiere of Lie Low at Solas Nua and Appropriate at Olney Theatre Center. Other recent credits include Lehman Trilogy at Gulfshore Playhouse, Prayer for the French Republic at Theater J, and The Winter’s Tale at the Folger Theater. Other regional credits include work at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Company Member), Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Playmakers Repertory Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, The Wilma Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, and Capitol Repertory Theatre. Cody was the Artistic Associate at Gulfshore Playhouse for two seasons. Cody is a five-time Helen Hayes Award nominee and the recipient of the Connecticut Critics Circle Award. Cody is a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Upcoming: Ten Grand (world premiere) at Woolly Mammoth and Doubt at Olney Theatre Center.
Michael Perrie Jr. (James Bennett) is very excited for his Round House debut! DC theatre credits include Come From Away and 1776 at Ford’s Theatre; Hello, Dolly! (Helen Hayes nominee) and Beautiful at Olney Theatre Center; Pete The Cat and Petite Rouge (Helen Hayes nominee) at Imagination Stage; Hester Street at Theatre J; and Falsettos at RepStage. National tours include Million Dollar Quartet and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. Regional credits include The Last Match, A Comedy of Tenors, and Buddy at Florida Studio Theatre; Buddy at FloridaRep; The Nerd, Lost Highway, The Full Monty, and Buddy at Maples Rep; Matilda and Buddy at John W Engeman Theatre; and The Producers and The Music Man at Theatre By The Sea. Film and TV credits include The Conspiracists (director/co-writer), The World Wars, The Food That Built America (Seasons 2 and 7), and F’d. BFA: Towson University. @mikeperriejr
Scott Sedar (William “Bill” Dahl) is grateful to return to Round House Theatre, where he last appeared as Mr. Stopnik in Caroline, or Change. His working relationship with Round House dates to productions at the Bushey Drive location (Three Penny Opera, Twelfth Night, The Butterfinger’s Angel, and Man of La Mancha) as well as a stint as a teaching artist. In a Round House/University of Maryland co-production, he played Joseph Cornell in Chuck Mee’s Hotel Cassiopeia. At the Round House Black Box in Silver Spring, he helped start Happenstance Theater in Low Tide Hotel and Far, Far Oasis. Other Washington DC professional credits include Mysterious Man and Narrator in Ford Theatre’s Into The Woods; and Judge Francis Biddle in Trying and H.C. Curry in The Rainmaker at 1st Stage. Recently, he was a part of the soloist ensemble in the Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary production of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.
Dina Thomas (Rachel Dahl) is a DC-based theater artist, real estate agent, and mama. Dina was last seen at Round House in Rules for Living. Other DC credits include Appropriate at Olney Theater Center; At the Wedding, Cry It Out, and 2.5 Minute Ride at Studio Theatre; Much Ado About Nothing and The Metromaniacs at Shakespeare Theater Company; and Berlin Diaries, The Chameleon, and The Wanderers at Theater J. New York credits include The Metromaniacs at Red Bull Theater; Clever Little Lies at Westside Theatre; and Tribes (directed by David Cromer) at Barrow Street Theatre. Regional credits include Everything You Touch at the Contemporary American Theater Festival; The Metromaniacs at The Old Globe; Tribes at La Jolla Playhouse; and See How They Run and 10 x 10 at Barrington Stage Company. Awards include BroadwayWorld Best Actress for Bad Jews. MFA: University of Missouri-Kansas, BA: Binghamton University. Instagram: @tinydthomas and @dbtrealtor
Joanna Whicker (Diana Dahl Bennett) is delighted to make her Round House Theatre debut in Cult of Love! Additional select theatre credits include Interior at 59E59 Theatre; The Tempest at Virginia Stage Company; Lost Paradise at Ekilibre Dance Company; and Kill Hamlet at CU at Signature Theatre. TV credits include Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Hawkeye (Disney+), FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), and Chicago P.D. (NBC). Film credits include Trust the Man, Shnookums, Amateurs, and A Savage Nature. Vertical: Roomies. BFA: Shenandoah Conservatory. Additional training at the Moscow Art Theatre School and National Theatre Institute. Instagram: @joannawhicker
UNDERSTUDIES (alphabetical)
Ari Benjamin Post: (Mark Dahl/Johnny Dahl/James Bennett ) is excited to return to Round House with Cult of Love. Previous Round House credits include Rules for Living. DC credits include Appropriate at Olney Theatre Center, Once at NextStop Theatre Company, The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, and The Rover at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Electionland at Storyworks Theater; and The Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Odyssey at Shakespeare Theatre Company (MFA). Other credits include Now to Ashes at the DC Fringe Festival (Best of Fringe); and Venus in Fur, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Side Man at local area theaters. MFA: Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy at George Washington University.
Becca Blacksten (Rachel Dahl/Evie Dahl/Pippa Ferguson) is absolutely thrilled to be making her Round House debut! Some of her favorite regional credits include Dierdre in The Cottage at Virginia Repertory Theatre; Elizabeth Bennet in Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice and Maid Marian in Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood at Weathervane Playhouse; and Miss Scarlet in Clue at The Appalachian Center for the Arts. BFA: Ithaca College. Instagram: @Becca_Blacksten. www.BeccaBlacksten.com
Lydia Newman (Loren Montgomery/Diana Dahl Bennett) is thrilled to be working on Cult of Love at Round House. Off-Broadway credits include Too Many Dead Birds on the Sidewalk at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater. New York theatre credits include T Club at Playwrights Horizons, How We Fall at The Tank, and More at the Gene Frankel Theatre. BA: University of Virginia. Instagram: @Lydpnew
Brendan Murray (William “Bill” Dahl) has understudied for Round House productions of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Caroline, or Change. He is a teaching artist and company member of Baltimore’s Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and has performed in Persuasion; It’s the Comedy of Errors, Hon!; A Christmas Carol; The Merry Wives of Windsor; and Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2). Regional productions include Rabbit Hole at Peter’s Alley; Tangles at New Theater of Medicine; The Mollusc at Quotidian Theatre; as well as Frost/Nixon, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and A Bright New Boise at Silver Spring Stage. TV credits include We Own This City (HBO), Copycat Killers (Reelz Channel), and Deadly Affairs (Investigation Discovery).
Mindy Shaw (Virginia “Ginny” Dahl) is delighted to return to DC and work with Round House for the first time. DC area highlights include Steel Magnolias at Creative Cauldron; The Secrets of the Universe and Other Songs at The Hub; The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs and Collaborators at Spooky Action; Oblivion at Unexpected Stage; and Stories From the Fringe: Women Rabbis Revealed! (DMV tour). Regional highlights include The Game at Warehouse Theatre; We All Fall Down and The Immigrant (St. Louis Theater Circle Awards Nominee) at New Jewish Theatre; Jake’s Women at Moonstone Theatre; It’s a Wonderful Life at Metro Theatre; and Murder on the Orient Express at Cumberland Theatre. Films include Herbert West: Reanimator, The Best Thing About Christmas, The Perfect In-Laws (Lifetime), and Still Hope. Mindy trained at Trinity Rep Conservatory. mindyshawactor.com
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
ABOUT THE PLAY: Celebrate the holidays with the Broadway sensation Cult of Love! In this darkly funny, music-filled play, four adult siblings (and their partners) return home for Christmas Eve, carrying secrets, resentments, and competing ideas of what family demands. As the singing and celebration give way to confrontation, old wounds reopen and new revelations emerge. Leslye Headland’s “stormy, compassionate, [and] cuttingly observant” (TimeOut NY) play interrogates the complexity of family loyalty, the power of religion, and what it truly means to love one another.
WHERE: Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway in Bethesda (one block from Wisconsin Ave. and Metro’s Bethesda station). For directions, parking, and public transportation info, visit RoundHouseTheatre.org/Visit-Us/.
DATES AND TIMES: Cult of Love runs from November 18 – December 27, 2026. Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm.
ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES:
- Audio-Described performance: Nov 28 (matinee)
- Open-Captioned performances: Nov 29 (matinee), Dec 5 (matinee)
- Mask-Required performance: Dec 26 (matinee)
PRE- & POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS:
- Post-show discussions: Nov 18, Nov 19, Nov 29
- Designer Discussion: Nov 18 at 6:45 pm
- Director Discussion: Nov 20 at 6:45 pm
- Teen Night: Nov 20
TICKETS: Tickets can be purchased by calling 240.644.1100, ordering online at RoundHouseTheatre.org, or visiting the box office. Available ticket discounts include:
- Free Play (free tickets for students ages 13 through college): Round House Theatre’s Free Play initiative ties into our greater strategy to develop theatre audiences of tomorrow by providing rich, meaningful arts experiences today. For more information, visit RoundHouseTheatre.org/FreePlay or email Education@RoundHouseTheatre.org.
- On the House (community ticket access program): Round House’s next step to remove barriers that can make it difficult for some members of our community to experience our work is On the House, which provides complimentary group tickets to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and community-serving organizations with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. For more information, visit www.roundhousetheatre.org/on-stage/on-the-house/ or email Community@RoundHouseTheatre.org
- Pay-What-You-Can performances: PWYC tickets go on sale online or by phone only (no walk-up sales) beginning one week before the first performance of each show. The patron decides the admission price. Limit two tickets per order. PWYC tickets are available for performances on Nov 18 and 21 (matinee) and are subject to availability.
- Blue Star Theatre Program: Active-duty military personnel, veterans, and their immediate family qualify for a $10 discount off the single ticket price. Learn more at RoundHouseTheatre.org/On-Stage/Tickets.
- 2-For-1 Tuesdays: For all Tuesday performances of Cult of Love, all seats are buy one, get one free. 2-for-1 Tuesday tickets are available online or by phone (240.644.1100) with promo code TWOFORONE. Discounts may not be combined. Not valid on previously purchased tickets.
- Group Sales: Groups of 10 or more can save 10% off the single ticket price and are exempt from single ticket fees. These tickets must be reserved and purchased in advance by calling 240.644.1100 or emailing GroupSales@RoundHouseTheatre.org.
ABOUT ROUND HOUSE THEATRE
Round House Theatre is one of the leading professional theatres in the Washington, D.C. area, producing a season of new plays, modern classics, and musicals for more than 50,000 patrons each year at our theatre in Bethesda. Round House has been nominated for 253 Helen Hayes Awards and has won 60, including four Outstanding Resident Play Awards and the Charles MacArthur Award for Original New Play in 2016. Round House’s lifelong learning and education programs serve more than 5,000 students each year at its Education Center in Silver Spring, in schools throughout Montgomery County, and at our Bethesda theatre. Cornerstone programs include Free Play, which provides free tickets for students ages 13-college, the Teen Performance Company, which culminates in the student-produced Sarah Metzger Memorial Play, Summer Camp for students in grades K-12, and a full slate of classes for adults and youth.
Round House Theatre’s Golden Anniversary sponsors are Nan C. Beckley; Mitch and Heidi Dupler; Gil and Rona* Eisner; Jay and Robin Hammer; and Manfred M Hein* and Florence H Hein*. *in memoriam
