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SPRING ARTS 2020: Symphonies, opera, Gay Men’s Chorus and more on spring slate

Out British pianist Stephen Hough to play, present essay book mid-April

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Vaughn Ryan Midder as Emmett Till in Mosaic Theater Compay’s ‘The Till Trilogy.’ (Photo by Iwan Bagus)

With spring comes a rush of exciting theater. Options abound.

Through April 12, Arena Stage (1101 6th St., S.W.), presents out Cuban-American playwright Eduardo Machado’s “Celia and Fidel.” Machado’s new play imagines a conversation between Cuba’s most influential female revolutionary and its most notorious political leader in a contest between morality and power. Arena’s out artistic director Molly Smith directs. Details at arenastage.org.

Ford’s Theatre (511 10th St., N.W.) is marking spring with “Guys and Dolls” (March 13-May 20), composer Frank Loesser’s classic 1950s musical comedy drawn from Damon Runyon’s slangy short stories set in Prohibition-era Broadway. Peter Flynn directs. Details at fordstheatre.org

At Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington), out artistic director Eric Schaeffer stages “Camille Claudel” (March 24-April 19), a world premiere by librettist Nan Knighton and composer Frank Wildhorn. In turn-of-the-century Paris, groundbreaking artist and freethinker Camille struggles to shake the shadow of the powerful men in her life — a famous overbearing brother, and her lover, genius sculptor Auguste Rodin. The cast includes Broadway’s Teal Wicks in the title role and handsome Hugh Panaro as Rodin.

Also, at Signature, out theater practitioners, playwright Norman Allen and director Joe Calarco, reunite for a reprise of “Nijinsky’s Last Dance” (April 14-May 24). Famed early 20th century Russian ballet great Vaslav Nijinsky inhabits characters from his past, as “he journeys from his Imperial Ballet School acceptance at age 10, to his relationship with mentor and lover Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev, to his innovative choreography that shocked a world in tumult from the Great War.” Details at sigtheatre.org

Tyson’s 1st Stage (1524 Spring Hill Rd., Tysons, Va.) presents out composer William Finn’s inspiring and funny musical “A New Brain” (March 26-April 19). Based on Finn’s experience with a life-threatening brain condition, it’s the story of frustrated young composer Gordon Schwinn (Aaron Bliden) whose scary brush with mortality leads him to discover the healing power of art. Russell Rinker plays Gordon’s boyfriend Roger. Details at 1ststagetysons.org.

At Theater J (1529 16th St., N.W.), Naomi Jacobson repeats her star turn as sexpert Dr. Ruth Westheimer in Mark St. Germain’s “Becoming Dr. Ruth” (March 27-April 19). Out director/actor Holly Twyford stages the one-woman play. Details at theaterj.org

Olney Theatre Center (2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd., Olney, Md.) presents “The Humans” (April 1-May 3), the brilliant family drama by out playwright Stephen Karam. Winner of the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play, Karam’s play puts the spotlight on an unraveling, working class family as they gather for Thanksgiving in one of the adult daughter’s dingy new apartment in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Aaron Posner directs. Details at olneytheatre.org.

D.C.’s Mosaic Theater Company (Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St., N.E.) plans an ambitious world premiere staging of a three-play cycle following the life and legacy of Emmett Till, the young African-American boy whose lynching in part set off the civil rights movement. “The Till Trilogy” (April 1-June 21), written by Ifa Bayeza and directed by Talvin Wilks, consists of “The Ballad of Emmett Till,” “That Summer in Sumner” and “Benevolence.” The cast includes out actors Vaughn Ryan Midder as Emmett and Jaysen Wright. Details at mosaictheater.org.

At Quotidian Theatre Company (The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda, Md.) out actor David Dubov plays uptight, judgmental Pastor Manders in Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece “Ghosts” (April 3-26). Details at quotidiantheatre.org

In Penn Quarter, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (641 D St., N.W.) presents Paola Lázaro’s new work “There’s Always the Hudson” (April 6-May 3). T and Lola, a pair of sexual abuse survivors who meet through a support group (played respectively by talented out actor Justin Weaks and Lázaro, the drama’s author) make a pact to exact revenge on everyone who’s hurt them. Jess McLeod directs. Details at woollymammoth.net.

April is Broadway at the Kennedy Center with the 50th anniversary production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” (April 14-26), the rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Also slated is the infectiously fun, Broadway musical classic “Bye Bye Birdie” (April 23-27). Details at kennedy-center.org.

With inimitable physicality, Synetic Theater (1800 South Bell St., Chrystal City) presents a radically reimagined version of Calderon’s Spanish classic “La Vida es Sueno” (April 22-May 17) starring out actor Alex Mills. Next, Helen Hayes Award-winning out actor Phillip Fletcher plays Florinda in the farce “Servant of Two Masters” (June 20- July 12). Details at synetictheater.org

At Rep Stage (10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, Md.), out director Rick Hammerly is helming “Dames at Sea,” (April 30–May 17), a takeoff on legendary Busby Berkeley’s kaleidoscopic musicals. The 1968 Off-Broadway hit follows young Ruby as she taps her way from midwestern anonymity to B stardom. Music by Jim Wise. Details at repstage.org.

Later this spring, Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) presents “Fun Home” (May 13-June 21) the marvelous queer coming-of-age musical set against life in a funeral home. Based on the graphic memoir by out cartoonist Alison Bechdel (first known for the long-running comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For”) the marvelous, Tony Award-winning work boasts music by Jeanine Tesori and book/lyrics by Lisa Kron. Studio’s David Muse directs. Details at studiotheatre.org.

At Rorschach Theatre (Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St., N.E.), Jenny McConnell Frederick directs Georgette Kelly’s “F*ck la vie d’artiste,” (May 22-June 14). Set in France in 2005, it’s the story of an aspiring French-Moroccan artist, who ekes out a living giving tours of the room where Vincent Van Gogh died. But when Vincent’s ghost begins to speak to her, she finds herself torn between her art and her love interest, an American woman named Avery. Details at rorschachtheatre.com.

And at Spooky Action Theater (1810 16th St., N.W.), it’s gay playwright Jordon Harrison’s “Maple and Vine” (June 4-28). While forsaking cell phones and sushi for cigarettes and chicken à la king, two miserable 21st century urbanites seek salvation via an idealistic community that exists in a permanent state of 1955. Stevie Zimmerman directs. Details at spookyacitontheater.org

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Theatre Prometheus spreads queer joy with ‘Galatea’

Two girls dressed as boys who find love despite the odds

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Cate Ginsberg as Phillida and Amber Patrice Coleman as Galatea (Photo by Charlotte Hayes)

‘Galatea’
Through May 10
Theatre Prometheus
Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center
7995 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, Md.
$27
Theatreprometheus.org

In a timely move, Theatre Prometheus thought it would be a beneficial thing to spread a little queer joy. And since the company’s mission includes engaging audiences and artists in queer and feminist art, there was nothing to stop them. 

Co-artistic directors Tracey Erbacher and Lauren Patton Villegas, both queer, agree they’ve found that joy in John Lyly’s “Galatea,” an Elizabethan-era comedy about Galatea and Phillida, two girls dressed as boys who find love despite some rather slim odds.  

Now playing at Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center on the Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus, the upbeat offering is a mix of contemporary and period, and strives to make audiences happy. Galatea’s cast includes Amber Coleman and Cate Ginsberg as the besotted pair. 

Erbacher, also the production’s director, adds “queer joy is something that I prioritized in casting actors and interviewing production people. I asked them what it means to them, and resoundingly the reply — from both them and the play — is that queer joy is the freedom to be yourself without having to think about it.

“Galatea” was first brought to Prometheus’s attention by Caitlin Partridge, the company’s literary director. Erbacher recalls, “she strongly suggested I read this very queer play. I read it and fell absolutely in love. And because it’s a comedy — I really like directing comedy — I knew that I could lean into that while not neglecting its universal themes of young love.” 

Villegas, who’s not ordinarily drawn to the classics, was also instantly smitten with Galatea.

“Usually with classics, the language doesn’t jump out at me the way modern works do,” she says. “But not so with ‘Galatea.’ The first time I heard it read aloud, I found it easy to follow and entirely accessible in the best way.”

Whether Lyly deliberately wrote a queer play isn’t known. What’s definitely known is the play was written with an all-boy performing troupe in mind; that’s partly why there are so many young female roles, the parts 10-year-old boys were playing at the time. 

There’s not a lot known about Lyly’s personal life, mostly because he wasn’t wildly famous. What’s known about the times is that there wasn’t a concept of “gay,” but there were sodomy laws regarding homosexual activity in England geared toward men having sex with men; it was all very phallocentric, Erbacher says.

She categorically adds, “Women’s sexuality wasn’t considered in the equation. In fact, it was often asked whether women were even capable of having sex with other women. It just was not part of the conversation. If there wasn’t a dick involved it didn’t count.

“Perhaps that’s how the playwright got around it. If there were two male characters in the play he could not have done it.”

Prometheus has done adaptations of ancient myths and some classics, but in this case it’s very faithful to the original text. Other than some cuts winnowing the work down to 90 minutes, “Galatea” is pretty much exactly as Lyly wrote it. 

And that includes, “girls dressed as boys who fall in love thinking girls are boys,” says Erbacher. “And then they start to clock things: ‘I think he is as I am.’ And then they don’t care if the object of their affection is a boy or a girl, the quintessential bisexual iconic line.” 

And without spoiling a thing, the director teases, “the ending is even queerer than the rest of the play.”

Erbacher and Villegas have worked together since Prometheus’s inception 11 years ago. More recently, they became co-artistic directors, splitting the work in myriad ways. It’s a good fit: They share values but not identical artistic sensibilities allow them to exchange objective feedback.

In past seasons, the collaborative pair have produced an all-women production of “Macbeth” and a queered take on [gay] “Cymbeline,” recreating it as a lesbian love story. And when roles aren’t specifically defined male or female, they take the best actor for the part.  

With Galatea, Prometheus lightens the current mood. Erbacher says, “the hard stuff is important but exhausting. We deserve a queer rom-com, a romantic sweeping story that’s not focused on how hard it is to be queer, but rather the joy of it.”

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Timely comedy ‘Fake It’ focuses on Native American themes

Arena Stage production features two out actors

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Eric Stanton Betts (standing) and Brandon Delsid in ‘Fake It Until You Make It.’ (Photo by Daniel Rader)

‘Fake It Until You Make It’
Through May 4
Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $59
Arenastage.org

A farce requires teamwork. And Larissa FastHorse’s “Fake It Until You Make It” now at Arena Stage is no exception. 

The timely comedy focuses on Native American nonprofits fractiously housed in a shared space. Friction rises when rivals River (Amy Brenneman), a white woman operating in the Indigenous world, goes up against the more authentic Wynona (Shyla Lefner) to win a lucrative Native-funded grant.   

While Brenneman (best known for TV’s Judging Amy) is undeniably a big draw, it takes a group collaboration to hit marks, land jokes, and pull off the well-executed physical comedy including all those carefully timed door slams.

As members of the six-person “Fake It” cast, Brandon Delsid and Eric Stanton Betts, both out actors of partly indigenous ancestry, contribute to the mayhem. Respectively, Delsid and Betts play Krys and Mark, a pair of two-spirited Native Americans who meet farcically cute and enjoy one of the play’s more satisfying arcs. 

For Krys, every attractive man is a potential next fling, but when Mark, handsome and relatively reserved, arrives on the scene, it’s something entirely different. 

Both onstage and sometimes off, Betts plays the straight man to Delsid’s waggishness. But when it comes down to real life business, the friends are on the same page: not only are the L.A.-based, up-and-coming actors intensely serious about their film and stage careers, but they’re also particularly engaged in the themes of Indigenous People found in “Fake It.” 

On a recent Wednesday following a matinee and an audience talkback, they were ready for a phone interview. 

In establishing whose voice was whose, Delsid clarified with “I’m the one who sounds a little like a Valley girl.” 

WASHINGTON BLADE: Brandon, you’ve been with the show since its early work-shopping days in 2022 and through its debut in Los Angeles and now Washington. Have things evolved? 

BRANDON DELSID: Definitely. I’ve grown up in the last couple of years and so has my character; it’s hard to know where I end and Kry begins. There’s been a real melding.

Eric and I are both queer, and to get to play these roles that are so human, imperfect, sexy, and interesting is really joyful.

As queer artists you don’t always get the chance to do work like this. So many stories are queer trauma, which is incredibly important, but it’s liberating to feel joy and ride it off into the sunset, which, without revealing too much, is kind of what we get to do.

BLADE: There’s some race shifting in “Fake It” particularly with regard to “pretendian” (a pejorative term describing a person who has falsely claimed Indigenous status). 

ERIC STANTON BETTS:  The last few years I’ve been on a journey with my cultural identity and place in the world. I’m a mixed BIPOC artist, my dad is Black and Native American by way of the Cherokee tribe and my mom is white. 

Since 2020, I’ve tried to figure out where I belong in this cultural history that I haven’t had a tie to throughout my life; it’s gratifying to find my way back to my indigeneity and be welcomed. 

In the play, race shifting is introduced through farce. But it’s never in a disrespectful way; it’s never mocked or done in a way to take away from others. The playwright parallels race shifting with gender fluidity. 

DELSID: But in life, there are people posing as Indigenous, actively taking grants, and the play goes there, we don’t hold back. Larissa, our playwright, has made it clear that she’s not trying to figure it out for us. With that in mind, we hope people leave the theater interested and curious to learn more. 

BLADE: Mark arrives kind of the middle of some crazy drama, bringing along a jolt of romance. 

BETTS:  Yeah, when I show up, we’re all sort of shot out of a cannon, struggling to keep up with the initial lie. 

DESLID: A very gay cannon. 

BLADE: What’s up next for you two?

BETTS: Both Brandon and I are up for the same part in a TV pilot, so one of us may be getting some very good news. I also have a Tyler Perry film coming out soon [he plays a model, not an unfamiliar gig for Betts]. 

DELSID: Coming up, I have a recurring part on HBO’s “The Rehearsal,” and a supporting part in “June and John,” a John Besson film. But doing “Fake It Until You Make It” in L.A. and now D.C. has been a special time in our lives. It’s 23/7 togetherness. There’s that hour for sleep. 

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Theater

‘Bad Books’ a timely look at censorship in local library

Influencer vs. conservative parent in Round House production

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Holly Twyford (The Mother) and Kate Eastwood Norris (The Librarian) in ‘Bad Books’ at Round House Theatre. (Photo by Margot Schulman)

‘Bad Books’
Through May 4
Round House Theatre
4545 East-West Highway
Bethesda, Md.
Tickets start at $43
Roundhousetheatre.org

While a library might seem an unlikely place for a heated contretemps, it’s exactly the spot where adults go when they’re itching to battle out what books minors might be allowed to read. 

In Sharyn Rothstein’s “Bad Books,” two women, The Mother (out actor Holly Twyford) and The Librarian (Kate Eastwood Norris), swiftly become mired in a quarrel that comes with some weighty repercussions. 

The Mother is a popular conservative influencer on a mission. She’s furious that the local library has overstepped its bounds and she blames The Librarian, a woman who adheres to the “it takes a village” method of child rearing and is dedicated to the young people who approach her reference desk. 

There’s some background. It seems The Librarian who dresses young (tight jackets and Doc Martens) and curses a blue streak, forged a friendship with Jeremy, a teenage library regular. 

While the details are a bit hazy, it seems the troubled Jeremy confided in The Librarian regarding some personal issues. In return, she suggested a helpful book – Boob Juice.

Unsurprisingly, based solely on its title, the book has thrown The Mother into a pique of outrage. After finding Boob Juice in her son’s bedroom, she made a beeline to the library; and not incidentally, The Mother hasn’t read the recommended work and has no plans to do so. 

Set in a suburb with lax gun laws, the story explores facets of division and conciliation. The Mother insists she isn’t so much about banning books as she is keeping some books away from young people until they’ve obtained parental approval. 

“Bad Books” is performed in the round. Built on a rotating stage, Meghan Raham’s set is simple, pleasingly serviceable, and easily transforms from the library into a small corporate office, and later the assembly room of a church. Overhead floats a circular glass shelf filled with a cache of banned books. Things like a rolling book cart and a goldfish bowl add some flavor to the different locations. 

The Mother wasn’t always a popular conservative warrior with an enthusiastic horde of followers. 

Her past includes penning a book that later filled her with guilt and regret. She refers to that early questionable literary accomplishment as her bad book. And while over the years, she has persevered to find and destroy each and every printed copy, she hasn’t entirely succeeded.  

Norris plays three women who figure meaningfully into the arc of Twyford’s mother character. In addition to The Librarian, Norris is The Manager, a broadly played piece of comic relief, and The Editor, a warm woman who reveals things about Jeremy that his own mother never knew. 

Smartly staged by Ryan Rilette, the production is part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. While Rothstein’s script offers two strong roles (skillfully performed by celebrated actors Twyford and Norris), its ending feels too neatly resolved.  

In the past, Twyford and Norris have successfully joined forces for numerous DMV productions including Studio Theatre’s production of David Auburn’s two-hander “Summer, 1976,” the story of a longtime and unlikely friendship between two women who meet as young mothers during the Bicentennial summer. 

Though different, both The Librarian and The Mother share a strong and ultimately hopeful relationship with words.   

There’s a quote from E.B. White’s classic “Charlotte’s Web” that pops up a couple of times in the briskly paced 80-minute play. Charlotte, the wise spider, says, “with just the right words you can change the world.”

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