Rep Stage Announces 2013-14 Season

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), proudly announces its 2013-14 season lineup.

Grounded in the thematic concepts of time and memories, Rep Stage's 21st season begins with Horton Foote's "A Young Lady of Property," directed by Rep Stage's former producing artistic director, Michael Stebbins. Stebbins also returns to the stage to star in Doug Wright's "I Am My Own Wife," directed by Tony Tsendeas. Following is Julia Cho's "The Piano Teacher," directed by Rep Stage favorite and Helen Hayes award winner, Kasi Campbell. Rounding out the season is America's longest-running musical, "The Fantasticks," directed by Nancy Tarr Hart, with musical direction by Ross S. Rawlings and choreography by Helen Hayes award winner, Ilona Kessell.

The Rep Stage 2013-14 season will also continue to provide theatre lovers with free events, such as the Rep Stage Reading Series, pre-show lectures, post-show discussions, and Wednesday Pay-What-You-Can performances and special events.

Rep Stage's 2012-13 season includes:

"A Young Lady of Property"
by Horton Foote
Directed by Michael Stebbins
September 11 - September 29, 2013

The story of Wilma, a lonely girl who has lived with her aunt since her mother's death. Her greatest wish is to live with her father in the house her mother left her-in the absence of a real family, the house has become everything to her, and her whole identity is based on this, her one possession. She is a young lady of property. Wilma's realization that her purpose in life is to remain in this house as a wife and mother is shattered by the news that her father is planning to remarry and sell the house. With help from an unexpected source, Wilma's house is saved, and she is able to fill it with memories of her own making so she will never again be lonely.

"I Am My Own Wife"
by Doug Wright
Directed by Tony Tsendeas
October 30 - November 17, 2013

Winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize and the 2004 Tony Award, "I Am My Own Wife" is based on the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a German transvestite who survived both the Nazi and repressive East German Communist regimes. Inspired by interviews conducted over several years by the playwright, it features Michael Stebbins as Charlotte and more than 40 other characters who represent the men and women in Charlotte's life in Germany from the 1930s through 1990, when the Berlin Wall fell. "I Am My Own Wife" has been hailed by The New York Times as ". . . both moving and intellectually absorbing" and praised by The Associated Press as ". . . more than a historical document . . . the play is a vivid portrait of a unique person whose ability to endure has been turned into a highly theatrical journey."

"The Piano Teacher"
by Julia Cho
Directed by Helen Hayes award winner, Kasi Campbell
February 5 - February 23, 2014

Playwright Julia Cho's brilliantly crafted mystery tells the tale of an elderly widow and former piano teacher, Mrs. K, who has lived by herself in a small town since the death of her husband. She fills her days reminiscing about her late husband, as well as the children who had been her students. One day, she finds herself compelled to call her old students and discovers that what troubles us most may be what we cannot bear to know. "The Piano Teacher" has been described as "Deftly wrought . . . a cozy, effective little chiller...you will probably feel speechless with sadness" by The New York Times and "Well-written . . . triumphs in dramatizing the unknown" by The New Yorker.

"The Fantasticks"
Book by Tom Jones, Music by Harvey Schmidt, Lyrics by Tom Jones
Based on the play "Les Romanesques" by Edmond Rostand
Directed by Nancy Tarr Hart
Musical Direction by Ross Scott Rawlings and Choreography by Helen Hayes award winner, Ilona Kessell
April 30 - May 18, 2014

A timeless fable of love, "The Fantasticks," by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, is the world's longest running musical, having run for over 52 years in Manhattan with 17,162 performances, entrancing generations of audiences the world over. Hailed as "A Gem" by The Wall Street Journal, "The Fantasticks" is a funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, two fathers, and a wall. The narrator invites the audience to join the cast on a journey of imagination, music, moonlight, and magic as the girl and boy fall in love, grow apart, and finally find their way back to each other after realizing the truth in El Gallo's words that "without a hurt, the heart is hollow." The famous score includes the classics "Try To Remember," "They Were You," and "Soon It's Gonna Rain."

Memberships and tickets go on sale July 1, 2013. For pricing and the latest information on memberships, visit www.repstage.org or call the Horowitz Center Box Office at 443-518-1500.