Features Comedies, Dramas, One-Acts, Musicals and Family Shows
LEXINGTON PARK, Md. (June 11, 2011)—The Newtowne Players—St. Mary's
County's public theatre troupe—announced their new 2011-2012 season,
which includes popular comedies, dramas, musicals and one-act plays.
Set during a drought in the Depression-era American West, the romantic comedy The Rainmaker, by N. Richard Nash, tells the story of spinster Lizzie Curry and the day a charming surprise visitor, Starbuck, promises to bring rain in exchange for $100. His arrival sets off a series of events that help Lizzie see herself in a new light. The show opens Sept. 22 and runs to Oct. 9, 2011.
In the comedic The Man Who Came to Dinner, by George Kaufman and Moss Hart, famous radio personality Sheridan Whiteside is invited to dinner at the home of Mr. Earnest W. Stanley. Before Whiteside enters the house, he falls and hurts his hip. While he is recovering, he ends up staying at the home and wreaks havoc in the lives of Mr. Stanley and his family. The show runs Nov. 3-20, 2011.
In conjunction with the Maryland Community Theatre Festival Association, The Newtowne Players once again host the annual weekend festival of one-act plays, Jan. 13-15, 2012, showcasing community theater groups from around the state. Part of the American Association of Community Theatre's national competition, this weekend brings many of the most talented and creative community theater performers, writers, directors and technicians together to showcase their work.
Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a parable about a kitchen maid, Grusha, who has the seemingly unfortunate destiny of caring for an abandoned baby of royal blood (eventually becoming a better mother than its natural parents) and about a village recorder, named Azdak, who plays an essential part in deciding Grusha's fate. The show runs March 15 to April 1, 2012.
Ben Brantley of The New York Times has referred to Douglas Carter Beane's 1997 comedy, As Bees in Honey Drown, as "one of the liveliest satiric romps of the last decade." In the play, Evan Wyler, a young writer, gets caught up in the conflict between fantasy and reality and is enticed by access to fast fame and fortune. The show runs April 26 to May 13, 2012.
The annual Footlight Festival, June 1-10, 2012, celebrates the talents of local playwrights as well as established one-act plays.
In the beloved musical Annie, by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan, young orphan Annie finds herself having multiple adventures in her quest to find a family. The show runs July 22 to Aug. 12, 2012.
All performances are held at Three Notch Theatre on 21744 South Coral Drive in Lexington Park. Reservations are recommended. You can make reservations for any show by calling 301.737.5447 or visiting
www.newtowneplayers.org.
The theater is also soliciting director candidates for the 2011-2012 season. Interested parties are invited to forward a CV, resume, and any pertinent documents (e.g. reviews) to newtowneplayersproduction-at-gmail.com, along with a description of their concept for staging the production. Alternatively, these documents may be mailed to The Newtowne Players, P.O. Box 1491, Lexington Park, MD 20653, attention: Production Committee.