Rep Stage Celebrates the Holidays with Sedaris Readings
For theatergoers looking for unique fare this holiday season, Rep Stage has just the ticket. Michael Stebbins, Rep Stage's producing artistic director, will bring to life -- with simply a chair, music stand, and bottle of water -- three holiday short stories by American humorist David Sedaris on December 16, 17, 18 and 19 in the Horowitz Center's Studio Theatre at Howard Community College (HCC).
"Holiday Readings (With Some Surprise Packages)* - * = some adult humor" features Stebbins reading "Based Upon a True Story," "Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol" and "Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!" As part of the show, there will be also be opportunities for audience members to win holiday door prizes. Performance times are 8 p.m. on Friday, December 16; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 17; 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 18; and 7 p.m. on Monday, December 19. All tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the Horowitz Center Box Office, online at www.repstage.org, or by calling 443-518-1500. Parental discretion is advised.
The most popular of the three short stories, "Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!," is a "holiday letter" from the Dunbar Family: Clifford, Jocelyn, Kevin, Jacki, and Kyle. But this year, there's a new addition to the Dunbar Family: a 22-year-old named Khe Sahn Dunbar. In "Based Upon a True Story," a network television executive strong-arms the congregation of a small Pentecostal church. "Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol" finds the bitter, mean-spirited local theater critic savagely attacking the various holiday plays and pageants presented by the area's elementary schools.
Meet the performer:
Michael Stebbins is no stranger to the works of David Sedaris. A self-proclaimed Sedaris-aholic, he directed Rep Stage's 2007 production of Sedaris' "The Santaland Diaries," drawing praise from Metro Weekly for creating "a production that is a wonderful combination of polished, professional theater and something out of 'Waiting for Guffman.'" "Since this is a reading, it will certainly be a different experience," Stebbins says. "But I really wanted to share some Sedaris around the holidays because I know there are people out there just as twisted as he is - bitter and angry at holiday time. This is for them...or for anyone who appreciates his sense of humor."
Stebbins has performed in Rep Stage's "Wittenberg," "Mrs. Warren's Profession," "Stones in His Pockets," "Fully Committed," "The Santaland Diaries" and "An Almost Holy Picture." At Rep Stage he has directed "Two by J. M. Barrie: The New Word and The Old Lady Shows Her Medals," "The Glass Menagerie," "A Moon for the Misbegotten," "A Dickens of a Carol," "The Santaland Diaries" and this season's opening show, "Or,". He has performed on some of the top regional theatre stages across the country and is celebrating his fifth year as Rep Stage's producing artistic director. He is also the recipient of a Helen Hayes Tribute Award and is a member of the Actors' Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild.