The Tony-award winning musical version of Dickens’ “Oliver Twist,” brings to life the story of an orphaned boy, who joins a jolly band of pickpockets who try to teach the innocent boy to be a thief. The whole family will leave humming songs from the memorable and haunting score. A large cast of talented children and adults will be singing and dancing up a storm!

Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, August 3 to August 25, with Sunday matinees at 2:00pm on August 12, 19 and 26.

AUGUST 31—SEPTEMBER 2 -- THIS YEAR’S SHAKESPEARE ON THE GREEN
Macbeth: Life on the Heath
Written by William Shakespeare and P. Ryan Anthony, Directed by P. Ryan Anthony, Produced by Gretchen Jacobs.

From the team that brought you last summer's surprise hit HAMLET, REVENGE! comes another fresh adaptation of a Shakespearean tragedy. This new half-hour version breathlessly explores the craziness that ensues when Brave Macbeth and his Lady (affectionately called "Chuck") overreach their own ripe ambitions and snatch the Scottish throne so fast that heads spin and even come off!

The annual Shakespeare on the Green production is offered free to the public, as part of Greenbelt's Labor Day Festival. In past years these were performed in public parks, but will be in the Arts Center theater this year. Five shows in the theater - Friday at 8:00 pm; Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2 at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm.

SEPTEMBER 1—2 @ 11am & 1pm -- NEW FOR CHILDREN AT THE LABOR DAY FESTIVAL
RETURNS DECEMBER 1 & 8 @ 11am & 1pm AND DECEMBER 2 & 9 @ 1pm & 3pm.
Snow White & Rose Red

Greenbelt Arts Center in cooperation with Alchemy Children's Theater will be presenting a children's show. Appropriate for kids aged three and up. Tickets for this special show are $6, plus $1 if bought in advance online. More info. (Labor Day Weekend performances are free of charge.)

SEPTEMBER 14-OCTOBER 6
Dearly Departed
Written by David Bottrell and Jessie Jones, directed by Lenora S. Dernoga, produced by Beatriz Mayoral.

Meet the delightful but dysfunctional Turpin family, who prove that living and dying in the South are seldom tidy and always hilarious! There is a funeral to plan and feuds, marital flings and plenty of “joy, joy, joy down in our hearts!” By the time the Turpins sort through the chaos, they’ve learned that coping with life’s losses can turn out to be drop-dead funny.

OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 4
Saving Us Saints
Written by Dorothy Phaire, directed by Dr. Percy Thomas.

A values-based play appropriate for all ages, combining real-life drama, humor, and music to portray a family in conflict over teen peer pressure, adult infidelity and a family's ultimate road to recovery. For information about the author/playwright, visit Ms. Phaire's website at http://www.dorothyphaire.com/.

OCTOBER 19-NOVEMBER 10
The Dining Room Cancelled
Written by Albert Ramsdell Gurney; Directed and designed by: Jeffery Lesniak.

 

DECEMBER 6—16 (note special schedule below)
Love & War: The Bard's Women
Directed by Jennifer Crooks; Produced by Hilary Kacser.

A fresh and funny play in two movements celebrating Shakespeare’s heroines. Exploring war in a variety of roles, from Hecate and the three witches in Macbeth to Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew, Actor-Manager Hilary Kacser “portrays these ladies with stirring word and deft dance, echoed and complemented by [the ensemble including] Jennifer Crooks (also the director),” (CapFringe PhotoBlog). Love prevails as Juliet replies to letter writers seeking her advice, with comic and touching effect. “Artistically conceived, carefully integrated, skillfully performed, and compelling. Its humor made me laugh out loud. Do yourself a favor and don't miss it.” (Bob Morrison, Fringe & Purge). Following each GAC performance will be an “Audience Talk Back, Question & Answer” with the cast, producer, and director. This six actor show premiered at the 2007 Capital Fringe Festival and recently played Capitol Hill’s Corner Store Stage. The play itself runs just under an hour, with various daytime performances affording easy attendance for children, seniors, and other audiences who may prefer theater before dark and a special ticket price of $10 General Admission, $8 Students and Seniors.

Show times are Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 5pm and 8pm; Sunday, December 9 at 7pm; and Sunday, December 16 at 2pm. For more information, visit: http://groups.msn.com/lovewar

 

JANUARY 11-FEBRUARY 2
The Beard of Avon
Written by Amy Freed; Produced and Directed by Gretchen Jacobs.

For centuries people have wondered how a country bumpkin became the leading poet of the age, William Shakespeare. Amy Freed brilliantly reveals the hilarious saga behind the making of the playwright everyone had to read in high school. This ingenious comedy solves many puzzles: who wrote the plays, how Shakespeare seemed to know everything, and who the Dark Lady really was. More information

Auditions: October 21 & 22

 

FEBRUARY 15-23
Winter Youth Musical: The Trials of Hercules
by Christopher Cherry

Stunned to learn that his absent father is the king of the gods, brash young Hercules sets out to find him. But the Fates have other plans. How did a fatherless teenage boy become the most famous hero in history?

Tickets are specially priced at $5. The Winter Youth Musical has a tradition of selling out, so buy your tickets early! Tickets sales are handled through the Greenbelt Community Center business office. You may purchase tickets in person at the Community Center or charge them by phone at 301-397-2208, Monday-Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Due to the high demand for tickets, this is a sales-only production, so we cannot accept unpaid reservations.

 

FEBRUARY 29-MARCH 1
The Importance of Being Earnest
Directed by Jaki Demarest

The Rude Mechanicals, the veteran, fun, wildly inventive DC-based Shakespeare company responsible for such trivialities as Antony & Cleopatra: Snakes in a Play and The Life and Death of King John done Monty Python style, are finally tackling Oscar Wilde's masterpiece, re-imagining it in lavish, decadent 1935 Hollywood, the one place the Haves still Have in a nation otherwise gripped by the Great Depression. Described by the Washington Post as "artistic anarchists…intense, vibrant and original," the Rudes have a fantastic reputation for breathing new life into old works, with quirky style, razor sharpness and shrewd insights.

 

MARCH 8
The Vagina Monologues
By Eve Ensler

A benefit for the Family Crisis Center of Prince George's County, this one-night presentation is part of V-Day in Greenbelt.

MARCH 14-APRIL 5
Born Yesterday
Written by: Garson Kanin; Directed by: Randy Barth; Produced by: Andrew Negri

Today's Washington lobbyists ain't got nothin' on Harry Brock! A blustering businessman and his "sure-thing-hon" girlfriend visit Congress to do some business in the halls of power in this American classic comedy. But when Harry hires a jaded but conscientious journalist to give his gal "some educating," something happens that threatens to bring down Harry and his cronies.

Auditions: January 14, 15.

APRIL 25-MAY 17
The Octette Bridge Club
Written by: P.J. Barry; Directed by: Erica Drezek; Produced by: Jo Rake

On alternate Friday evenings, eight sisters meet to play bridge, gossip and socialize. Although they appear to be right out of Norman Rockwell Americana, you'll find that they share heaping helpings of hypocrisy and heartbreak along with the coffee cake. A not-to-be-missed evening of laughter and sentimentality.

Auditions: February 11, 12

MAY 23-31
The Tempest
A Rude Mechanicals Presentation, Written by: William Shakespeare; Directed by: Arthur Rowan

Shakespeare's Tempest, as with the rest of his "supernatural" plays, provides a wonderful vessel for evoking that sense of delight, magic, and wonder which can be hard to find in our high-stress, overwhelmingly practical world. The Rudes capture this magic by weaving acting and music together into one story, reinventing Shakespeare's final play as a Celtic musical.

JUNE 6-28
Wyrd Sisters
An Alchemy Theater presentation, Written by Terry Pratchett, Adapted by Stephen Briggs, Directed by Gretchen Jacobs.

From Britain’s most popular fantasy writer comes a tale that sounds familiar: three witches on a heath, an ambitious nobleman, a king’s ghost, and horrible mind-warping guilt—but in Pratchett’s hands it’s anything but tragic!

Auditions: April 13, 14

All shows start at 8pm unless otherwise stated. For reservations or more information call 301-441-8770.
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