Theatre Past Performances
2022-2023 Season
"Winner of the Tony and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has charmed audiences across the country with its effortless wit and humor. Featuring a fast-paced, wildly funny and touching book by Rachel Sheinkin and a truly fresh and vibrant score by William Finn, this bee is one unforgettable experience.
An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming "ding" of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box.” ~ mtishows.comnew window
Directed by Omar Cruz, Scenic Design by Elizabeth McFadden, Lighting Design by Lynn Joslin, Costume Design by Kristina Martin, Sound Design by Neil McFadden, Props Design by Rooster Sultan.
Directed by Dennis Mulligan, Scenic Design by Elizabeth McFadden, Lighting Design by Lynn Joslin, Costume Design by Kristina Martin, Sound Design by Neil McFadden, Props Design by Rooster Sultan.
Directed by Chelsea Radigan, Scenic Design by Elizabeth McFadden, Lighting Design by Lynn Joslin, Costume Design by Channing Tucker, Projection Design by Nitsan Scharf, Sound Design by Hope Villanueva, Props Design by Rooster Sultan
Directed by KenYatta Rogers, Scenic Design by Roger Bridges, Lighting Design by Helen Garcia-Alton; Costume Design by Channing Tucker, Sound Design by Neil McFadden, Projection Design by Patrick Lord, Props Design by Rooster Sultan.
Directed by Danielle Drakes, Scenic Design by Elizabeth McFadden, Lighting Design by Lynn Joslin, Costume Design by Kristina Martin, Sound Design by Neil McFadden, Props Design by Rooster Sultan.
2020-2021 Season
Led by teaching artists from Young Playwright’s Theatre and The Welders Playwrights’ Collective, Montgomery College students wrote and performed stories from their lives and the
lives of their peers as they reflected and remixed their American journeys.
The performances featured live (real time) and pre-recorded performances.
Theatre professionals from NYC, DC, and around the country shared tips and techniques for singing, dancing, and designing for musical theatre.
Featuring Broadway Legend, Triple Crown Winner, Andre De Shields; New York Actors Happy McPartlin and Brad Nacht; Howard University Professor Marty Austin Lamar and featured Howard University Students; Playwright and Lyricist Angelica Cheri and Composer Ross Baum, collaborators on the Broadway aimed, GUN AND POWER; Actors Awa Sal Secka and Billy Bustamante; Ryan Johnson of SOLE DEFINED; Director Dennis Mulligan, Scenic Design Elizabeth McFadden, Lighting Designer Lynn Joslin, Sound Designer Neil McFadden, and Costume Designer Peter Zakutansky; Lighting Designer Helen Garcia-Alton
Written by Anna Deavere Smith | Directed by Sasha Olinick and Angelisa Gillyard
"From acclaimed playwright Anna Deavere Smith, a captivating work of dramatic literature and a unique first-person portrait of a pivotal moment in American history: the 1992 Los Angeles riots ... Twilight is a stunning work of “documentary theater” that explores the devastating human impact of the five days of riots following the Rodney King verdict. From nine months of interviews with more than two hundred people, Smith has chosen the voices that best reflect the diversity and tension of a city in turmoil….
A work that goes directly to the heart of the issues of race and class, Twilight ruthlessly probes the language and the lives of its subjects, offering stark insight into the complex and pressing social, economic, and political issues that fueled the flames in the wake of the Rodney King verdict and ignited a conversation about policing and race that continues today." ~ Penguin Booksnew window
Written by Qui Nguyen | Directed by Wyckham Avery
“Agnes Evans is a completely average woman who strives to be nothing but average until the day she wishes her life was a little less boring. Her wish unfortunately comes true when her family, including her younger sister Tilly, dies in a car crash. Agnes was never close to Tilly due to the fact they were interested in completely different things; Agnes loved everything average, while Tilly had a passion for everything classified as nerdy or geeky and a special love for the Dungeons and Dragons game. As Agnes is cleaning and packing Tilly’s room in order to move everything to her new house, she finds a module Tilly had written for D&D. In order to get closer to the sister she never really knew, Agnes embarks on her own adventure with the help of a Dungeon Master to play the game as Tilly designed. As she delves deeper into her quest, the fantasy world and reality begin to collide and mix as Agnes searches to connect with Tilly and realizes how much of her sister she never knew.” ~ Wikipedianew window
2019-2020 Season
Directed by KenYatta Rogers | Written by Renee Calarco
United States. The Future. The country is still recovering from a devastating yet
oddly familiar event that nobody saw coming. Out of the ashes of the tragedy rises
a memorial museum—The Museum of the Unforeseen—dedicated to preserving the memories
of the day when everything changed.
OUR NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNFORESEEN TRAGEDY is an immersive theater piece that memorializes and explains “The American Spring,” a series of national uprisings and protests that were figuratively—and literally—ignited by a separatist suicide bomber who blew himself up on the National Mall one beautiful April afternoon -- on Good Friday. Part performance piece, part exhibit, MUSEUM asks us to consider the politics of memory and national identity.
Directed by Sasha Olinick | Written by Arthur Miller
"Written in the early 1950s, Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. This was a time when paranoia, hysteria, and deceit gripped the Puritan towns of New England. Miller captured the events in a gripping story that is now considered a modern classic in the theater." ~ thoughtco.comnew window
Directed by Chelsea Radigan | Written by Naomi Iizuka
"Something happened to Chloe after that party last Saturday night. Something she says she can't remember. Something everybody is talking about. Set at a Midwestern high school, in a world of Facebook and Twitter, smartphones and YouTube, Good Kids explores a casual sexual encounter gone wrong and its very public aftermath. Who's telling the truth? Whose version of the story do you believe? And what does that say about you?" ~ Playscripts.comnew window
Directed by Nicole Brewer | Written by MC students
Performances at Theatre Arts Arena, Rockville Campus
Pieces written and performed by MC students showcasing their hopes for the future.
2018-2019 Season
Directed by Chelsea Radigan; Music Direction by Tina Chancey; Scenic Design by Elizabeth McFadden; Lighting Design by Lynn Joslin; Costume Design by Peter Zakutansky; Sound Design by Neil McFadden; Photos by Bill Ryan.
Directed by Dennis Mulligan; Music Direction by Jay Crowder & Jonathan Tuzman; Choreography by Patricia "Pep" Targete; Scenic Design by Elizabeth McFadden; Lighting Design by Lynn Joslin; Costume Design by Peter Zakutansky; Sound Design by Ryan Hickey; Photos by Bill Ryan.
2017-2018 Season
Directed by KenYatta Rogers; Scenic Design by Elizabeth McFadden; Lighting Design
by Lynn Joslin; Costume Design by Peter Zakutansky; Sound Design by Reid May;
Props Design by Tony Koehler; Photos by Bill Ryan.
Directed by Matt Bassett; Scenic Design by Elizabeth McFadden; Lighting Design by Lynn Joslin; Costume Design by Peter Zakutansky; Sound Design by Neil McFadden; Photos by Bill Ryan.
Scenic Design by Amanda Gamage; Costumes Designed by Gerlind Awungafeh; Lighting Design by Zac Griffin; Sound Design by Lauren Allard; Photos by Bill Ryan.
