Guest Artist Series

Saturday Night Live Cast Members
Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

Actor, comedian, and writer Mikey Day is a cast member on Saturday Night Live and Host of Netflix’s hit baking contest series Is It Cake?  Day joined SNL as a writer for the 2013-14 season, and went on to become a beloved cast member, gaining immediate recognition for his wildly popular “Haunted Elevator (Ft. David S. Pumpkins)” sketch with Tom Hanks. He has created impressions of Donald Trump Jr., Merrick Garland, Jamie Raskin and more, in addition to writing headline-making skits for the iconic show. He is a former UCLA theatre undergrad and started his comedy career with The Groundlings, an improv theatre group based in Los Angeles.

Baltimore native actress, comedian and writer Ego Nwodim is also a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live and can be seen in Jeff Baena’s Spin me Round, opposite Allison Brie, Alessandro Nivola, and Aubrey Plaza. She also appears in Sony’s Lyle Lyle Crocodile, as well as the Netflix rom-com Players. Nwodim is a fan favorite and regular on the Comedy Bang Bang Podcast, and was recognized by Variety as part of their 2021 New York Women’s Impact Report. She was a regular cast member of Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles where she also performed her one-woman show Great Black Women…and Then there’s Me.

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Amy Silverberg is a writer and comedian based in Los Angeles. Her debut novel "First Time, Long Time" is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing in 2024. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Southern California, where she teaches. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, The New York Times, TriQuarterly, The Southern Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and many other publications. Her short story "Suburbia!" appeared in Best American Short Stories, and is currently optioned for a tv show. Amy also writes for television, most recently "The Movie Show" on the SYFY Channel. Amy's stand-up comedy has been featured on Comedy Central, Hulu, NPR, and Amazon Prime. She was selected as a "New Face" at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.

Reduced Shakespeare Company
The Complete History of America (abridged)—Special Election Edition

Written by Adam Long, Reed Martin, and Austin Tichenor
Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

Vote early, laugh often!  The Complete History of America (abridged) – Election Edition is the only cure for America’s aches and campaigns!
Newly updated for the 2024 election, the Reduced Shakespeare Company returns with 600 Years of History in 6000 seconds! The Complete History of America (abridged) – Election Edition provides the requisite historical context guaranteed to confuse any voter and make you the life of your next party – whatever party!

From Valley Forge to Fake News, yea verily from Manifest Destiny to Mar-A-Lago, from Alexander Hamilton the patriot to Hamilton the musical, the three cultural guerillas of the Reduced Shakespeare Company take you on a ninety-minute rollercoaster ride through the glorious quagmire that is American history.

And the presidential front-runners may just make a surprise appearance to answer any audience questions: Who really discovered America or was it already here? Who is Gerry and why does he mander? If pro is the opposite of con, then is progress the opposite of congress?

History is normally re-written by the winners… but now it’s the RSC’s turn.

Giancarlo Esposito will discuss his nearly five-decade career as an acclaimed film, television and stage actor, director and producer. An arts and education advocate, he will share his journey to become a quality thespian while confronting the hurdles many people of color face when breaking into the industry. Speaking candidly about learning to embrace his racial identity as part of his acting identity, this moderated talk format event will be thought-provoking and inspiring as he redefines success and encourages the audience to pursue what they love.

Esposito is well known by television audiences for his portrayal of drug kingpin Gustavo “Gus” Fring in AMC’s critically acclaimed award-winning series Breaking Bad, for which he won the 2012 Critics Choice Award and received a 2012 Emmy nomination. He reprised his role in AMC’s critically acclaimed and Emmy® nominated prequel Better Call Saul. He also stars in The Mandalorian series, part of the Star Wars franchise, as Moff Gideon.

Esposito appeared in the second and third installments of the action franchise The Maze Runner, and other film credits include The Last Holiday, Okja, Do the Right Thing, Waiting to Exhale, The Gift, King of New York and Cotton Club. He made his directorial debut with the film Gospel Hill, in which he co-starred, and he also directed and starred in The Show. An actor of both stage and screen, Esposito’s Broadway credits include Storefront Church, Merrily We Roll Along, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Behind the Scenes with Jason Loewith (biography)
Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

Spend an evening with HENRY WINKLER! From his breakout role as “The Fonz” on Happy Days to his co-starring role as acting coach Gene Cousineau on the hit HBO dark comedy Barry (which earned Winkler his first Primetime Emmy Award), Henry Winkler has enjoyed over four decades of success as an actor, producer, and director, and is widely regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood. Beyond this Emmy Award-winning actor’s success, Winkler is also a New York Times bestselling author with his captivating memoir, Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond. In this engaging evening, Henry Winkler shares humorous anecdotes and inspirational lessons from his life and storied career.

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Praised for their authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, the String Queens (TSQ) is a dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine! With an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, TSQ performs versatile programs that take listeners on a rousing musical journey through time and a multitude of musical genres.

Based in Washington, D.C., TSQ has been featured in performances at renowned concert halls and venues across America, including Carnegie Hall in New York City and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation’s capital. Notable appearances include a special performance dedicated to Vice President Kamala Harris at the “We Are One” Presidential Inauguration Concert in January 2021 and rendering a spotlight presentation of TSQ’s electrifying arrangement of Harry Styles’s hit song “Golden” for the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament “The Championships, Wimbledon” in June 2021. As an ensemble who frequents the D.C. jazz scene, other headlining performances include multiple appearances at the DC Jazz Festival and the Capital Jazz Fest.

Tickets: $25 Regular, $23 Seniors, $5 Students with valid MC ID (Student tickets must be purchased at the box office.)

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Behind the Scenes with Jason Loewith (biography)
Academy Award-Winning Actress & Activist
Tuesday, September 9, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

Marlee Matlin is one of the most dynamic and inspiring keynote speakers in the world, with several impassioned presentations suited for groups and events of all kinds. In one talk, Matlin takes audiences through the highs and lows of her Hollywood career and journeys as an activist. In separate presentations, as a renowned advocate for diversity, Matlin boldly challenges audiences to advocate inclusion, acceptance, and access for all people and to endeavor to live a life without judgment of others — everybody’s different, and nobody’s perfect. Listeners come away informed and empowered to make a difference in the world, with the knowledge that they can begin by changing just one person’s life.

Marlee Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her film debut in Paramount Pictures’ Children of a Lesser God, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. At 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar and only one of four actresses to receive the honor for her film debut. In addition to the Oscar, Marlee received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. In 2021, Marlee was nominated once again as Executive Producer for the Live Action Short, Feeling Through. And in 2022, her Apple TV+ film CODA swept every category it was nominated in at the 2022 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Marlee has also starred in numerous television projects, including Seinfeld, The West Wing, Law and Order SVU, The L Word, Switched At Birth, The Magicians and Quantico, garnering four Emmy nominations along the way. In 2022, Marlee made her first foray into directing, being the first network television director who is Deaf for the Fox TV anthology drama, Accused.

In addition to her film, TV and stage work, Marlee broke barriers when she starred on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and in 2012, Marlee released her first app, appropriately titled Marlee Signs, teaching American Sign Language to millions of smart phone users. She has also penned three novels for children, as well as her New York Times best- selling autobiography, I’ll Scream Later.

In 1994, Marlee was appointed by President Clinton to the Corporation for National Service and in 2010, Marlee joined President Barack Obama at the White House in ceremonies celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In June 2022, Marlee was elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, representing the Actors Branch.

Despite the odds, Marlee’s journey is an inspiration to everyone, regardless of the barriers they face and she has refused to let the naysayers get in the way of her dreams of success. As she so aptly stated, “The only thing I can’t do is hear. The rest is there for the taking.”

Tickets are $55 Regular, $53 Seniors, $5 Students with Valid ID (Student tickets must be purchased at the box office.)

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Behind the Scenes with Jason Loewith (biography)
In Conversation with Christine Baranski
Actress and 15-Time Primetime Emmy Award Nominee
Friday, November 7, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

An unapologetic advocate for female empowerment, Christine Baranski implores audiences to join together to build a better future for women — from the educational opportunities they're afforded early in life to the equity they should expect in the world, from equal pay and leadership opportunities in the workplace to equal rights in the eyes of the law.

She has also dealt with overcoming complicated medical hardships with her loved ones. In the last years of her husband’s life, Christine was his caretaker as he struggled with diabetes. Her mother suffered from 3 different cancers over her lifetime, and her brother and father both dealt with heart related issues.

Whether in a moderated conversation or a speech, Baranski paints a transformative portrait of what it means to advocate for others.

One of the entertainment industry’s most honored actresses, Christine Baranski is an Emmy, two-time Tony, Screen Actors Guild, Drama Desk, and American Comedy Award winner.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Baranski received her big break in Tom Stoppard’s hit Broadway comedy The Real Thing, directed by Mike Nichols, for which she won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award.

Baranski went on to earn her second Tony Award for her performance in Neil Simon’s Rumors. She also won an Emmy, American Comedy, and SAG Award for her performance in the hit series Cybill and three subsequent Emmy Award nominations. Baranski received a total of 5 Emmy nominations for her guest roles on Frasier and The Big Bang Theory.

As the formidable Diane Lockhart on The Good Wife, Baranski received six Emmy nominations and two Critics’ Choice Television Award nominations for her performance on the CBS series. She then starred as the character in the critically- acclaimed spinoff The Good Fight. Baranski has been nominated for four Critics’ Choice Television Awards and a Golden Globe and TCA Award nomination for her performance in the spinoff The Good Fight.
Baranski can also be seen as Agnes Van Rhijn in the HBO series The Gilded Age, created by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. The critically- acclaimed series is an epic of the millionaire titans of New York City in the 1880s. It features an ensemble cast that includes Cynthia Nixon, Carrie Coon, Audra McDonald, and Morgan Spector, among others. The second season aired on HBO in 2023.

Additional film credits include Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, A Bad Moms Christmas, Mamma Mia!, Trolls, Miss Sloane, Into the Woods, Chicago, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Bowfinger, Bulworth, Cruel Intentions, and The Birdcage, among others.

Previous stage credits include: Boeing- Boeing, HurlyBurly, The House of Blue Leaves, It’s Only a Play, Lips Together Teeth Apart, The Loman Family Picnic, Regrets Only, Coming Attractions, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Obie Award), Encores! productions of Follies, Promises, Promises, and more.

Baranski received an Honorary Doctorate from Juilliard and, in 2018, was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Tickets are $55 Regular, $53 Seniors, $5 Students with Valid ID (Student tickets must be purchased at the box office.)

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