From our friends at 4615 Theater Company...
4615 Theatre Company Announces 2016 Summer Lineup
Season includes a classical repertory performance and a Washington, DC premiere
4615 Theater Company is thrilled to announce its 2016 summer season, featuring a new, bold pairing of rotating classical repertory shows, as well as a provocative contemporary piece, receiving its DC premiere after success in New York and Cincinnati. As we continue to introduce new artists into our rogues gallery of theatre-makers, our company has begun to grow rapidly, captivating audiences with our unique blend of the intimate and epic.
Season includes a classical repertory performance and a Washington, DC premiere
4615 Theater Company is thrilled to announce its 2016 summer season, featuring a new, bold pairing of rotating classical repertory shows, as well as a provocative contemporary piece, receiving its DC premiere after success in New York and Cincinnati. As we continue to introduce new artists into our rogues gallery of theatre-makers, our company has begun to grow rapidly, captivating audiences with our unique blend of the intimate and epic.
Just as 4615 approaches a thrilling new stage in its life, the 2016 Summer shows take a close look at the process of coming of age. From a teenage bride discovering her power in male-dominated society, to a Russian immigrant searching for a new life in New York, our season grapples with questions of romance, intellect, loyalty and deception, as the young men and women at the heart of each story navigate the treacherous waters of adulthood.
We kick off our season with a repertory run of two classical genre-benders: a wickedly funny tragedy in Thomas Middleton’s Women Beware Women matched with Shakespeare’s melancholic comedy, Love’s Labour’s Lost. Each play spins a captivating yarn about young men and women reckoning with their place in society and facing their sexual awakenings. Featuring scintillating wordplay, love triangles, a share of court intrigue, and shockingly metatheatrical endings, these two plays share more in common than meets the eye, despite one having an ever so slightly more murderous outcome. Fifteen gifted actors will perform roles in both plays, featuring live music, gorgeous costumes, daring fights, and maybe even a dance or three. The repertory productions will be performed at St. Stephen’s & the Incarnation at 1525 Newton Street, NW from July 22 - August 6.
After our repertory, we move to the 21st Century, with the DC Premiere of Romanian-born playwright Saviana Stanescu’s Aliens with Extraordinary Skills, a modern fable about two immigrants, and their odyssey through New York City as they struggle to stay in America by whatever means possible. Nadia and Boris, both clowns by trade, face twists and turns just as shocking as their Shakespearean counterparts, and the play carries the same mix of the sardonic and heartfelt as our trademark Jacobean productions, albeit with a good deal more balloon animals. Opening weekend performances will feature talkbacks with the playwright.
“This is far and away our most diverse and ambitious season yet,” said Artistic Director Jordan Friend. “These captivating and eccentric shows are the perfect next step in realizing our core mission: innovative and intimate stagings of epic stories in unconventional venues, allowing young artists the freedom to explore uncharted waters creatively. We can’t wait to invite audiences into our world of delightful mayhem.”
Tickets are $18.00 and will be available June 25th at www.4615theatre.com.
ABOUT THE 2016 SUMMER SEASON:
WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN
By Thomas Middleton
Directed by Jordan Friend
July 22 through August 6
Jacobean master Thomas Middleton’s savagely funny Women Beware Women presents a haunting proposition: if Romeo and Juliet had lived and run away together, they probably would have started to hate each other. Newly eloped Leantio and Bianca arrive in Florence hoping to live happily ever after. They’ve been in love ever since he met her at her balcony window. Unfortunately, the cash-strapped Leantio, struck with jealousy and insecurity, puts his new bride under house arrest. His plan backfires, however, when the wealthy Duke catches sight of Bianca, and immediately sets his designs on stealing her away. Across town, an aging socialite seeks to marry off his daughter to a despicable young heir while she secretly harbors forbidden desire for another much closer to her. Men from all sides treat the young women as pawns, brokering them for their own power, wealth, and desire. But they fail to realize that they are all pieces in a much larger game of chess - one being played by Middleton’s great villainess, the Lady Livia. As this wealthy widow sets her plans for the men in motion, the stories converge into perhaps the most shocking ending in all of Jacobean drama.
In repertory with...
LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Anne Donnelly
July 23 through August 6
Chock-full of some of the Bard’s most effusive wit and word play, Love’s Labour’s Lost follows the King of Navarre and his three friends, who have agreed to devote themselves to the noble pursuit of knowledge by forgoing all but the basic necessities. Which means NO WOMEN ALLOWED! But this proves a difficult a promise to keep, especially given the impending visit of the Princess of France and her three ladies who arrive at the King’s court later that day. Upon meeting the four beautiful women, the men’s vows are instantly forgotten and they attempt to court the ladies while keeping their love secret from the others. Two mis-delivered letters, a case of mistaken identity, and a dead deer later, the women teach their suitors that intellect is meaningless without being tempered by passion.
ALIENS WITH EXTRAORDINARY SKILLS
By Saviana Stanescu
Directed by Susannah Clark
August 20 - September 3
* Washington, DC Premiere
At the heart of Saviana Stanescu’s Aliens with Extraordinary Skills lies the question of the American Dream - how to obtain it, yes, but, perhaps more importantly, to whom does it belong? Stanescu’s funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful piece follows Nadia, a young Moldovan woman working as a birthday party clown in New York City. Her immigration status and questionable papers follow her like a spectre as she struggles to find her footing, pay her rent, and fall in love. With a loser musician, an exotic dancer, and fellow clown Borat by her side, Nadia weaves together her identity, legitimacy, voice, and balloon animals.
SCHEDULE:
Repertory productions of Love’s Labour’s Lost and Women Beware Women will take place at St. Stephen’s & the Incarnation at 1525 Newton Street, NW. St. Stephen’s is accessible via Metro’s Columbia Heights station on the Green/Yellow Line (approximately 7 minutes away by foot) and numerous Metrobus routes. Street parking is usually available within a few blocks of the church.
Women Beware Women/Love’s Labour’s Lost
Fri. 7/22 @ 8:00 PM; Sat. 7/23 @ 8:00 PM
Sat. 7/23 @ 2:00 PM; Thu. 7/28 @ 8:00 PM
Fri. 7/29 @8:00 PM; Sat. 7/30 @ 2:00 PM
Sat 7/30 @ 8:00 PM; Wed. 8/3 @ 8:00 PM
Thu. 8/4 @ 8:00 PM; Fri. 8/5 @ 8:00 PM
Sat. 8/6 @ 2:00 PM; Sat. 8/6 @ 8:00 PM
Performance schedule for Aliens With Extraordinary Skills is TBD.
TICKETS:
Tickets for the Repertory shows are $18.00, and will be available for purchase on June 25 at www.4615theatre.com.
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ABOUT 4615 THEATRE COMPANY:
4615 Theatre Company is committed to reinvigorating classic pieces as well as staging provocative contemporary plays. Our aim is to give young artists a space to collaborate and push the boundaries of conventional theatre.
