D.C. Metro Spotlight: August 2005

Many have departed for cooler climes as Washington does its best to emulate the tropics during August. But hardy theatergoers in town still have a few choice options to get into a nicely chilled theater and escape the sticky night air — even if it mostly means traveling out to the suburbs.

An August highlight is the official opening of the new 440-seat theater that will serve as the main venue of the Olney Theatre Center for the Arts in Olney, Maryland. The theater now boasts four performances venues: the new stage; the “historic mainstage,” (as they are now calling the rustic, old venue); the new theatre lab for rehearsals and performances; and an outdoor stage where the “Summer Shakespeare” performances of the Olney-sponsored National Players are held. A combination intermission gallery and lobby connects the new mainstage to the old one, and there is a refurbished artists’ residence and teaching space.

The Miracle Worker, William Gibson’s 1959 drama highlighting the struggle of New England teacher Annie Sullivan to reach her student, the blind, deaf, and mute Helen Keller, while also battling social conventions of the traditional south in 1887, will be the first production on Olney’s new mainstage. (August 10-September 11). Meanwhile, Olney is currently finishing up its annual Potomac Theatre Festival. Running until August 7 are Lovesong of the Electric Bear, Snoo Wilson’s bio-fantasy of British mathematician Alan Turing; Somewhere in the Pacific, Neal Bell’s drama set on a battered Liberty ship heading to Japan during the final days of World War II; and The American Dream, Edward Albee’s surreal look at family values, which is paired with two one-acts from Harold Pinter, Press Conference and One for the Road.

The other major event for the month is the Washington-area premiere of Urinetown, the wacky Tony Award-winning musical, at Arlington’s Signature Theatre (August 16-October 2). The innovative show mixes satire and parody into a dark comedy exploring the aftermath of a water shortage that forces residents of a big city to use public, pay-per-use bathrooms. Anyone refusing to pay is sent to Urinetown, a mysterious place from which there seems to be no return.

Just a block from Signature, Firebelly Productions is at Theatre on the Run, finishing up its production of Lillian Hellman’s controversial 1934 drama The Children’s Hour on August 7. In nearby Alexandria, Natural Theatricals, which specializes in the works of the ancient Greeks, tries something slightly different with Herakles, Archibald MacLeish’s seldom-seen cautionary tale of an arrogant American physicist visiting Athens whose life mirrors that of the mythic Hercules. The drama is performed in the beautiful indoor amphitheater of the George Washington Masonic Memorial. (August 5-28)

While you’re wandering about Virginia, you might as well continue out to the Wayside Theatre. They’re finishing up Steve Martin’s comedy The Underpants on August 6 and opening up the comedy God’s Man in Texas August 13 for a three-week run. Faith and egos collide in the age of mass-market religion at Houston’s Rock Baptist Church, otherwise known as The Baptist Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, it’s a nice if somewhat long ride up Maryland’s I-270 to the Frederick Cultural Arts Center, where Landless Theatre Company has come ashore with Gilligan’s Island-The Musical. (August 6-20) Based on the television series that has been continuously in syndication since 1967, the musical features a brand new storyline with original songs.

If you’re sick of hearing the youngsters complain “there’s nothing to do,” make a family excursion to Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, Maryland for Adventure Theatre’s production of Hyronomous A. Frog, The Frog Prince by Edith Weiss. Hyronomous A. Frog is really a prince under a spell who hops his way into the heart of lovely Delphinium. But will Delphinium kiss Hyronomous and break the spell before Sir Lancelot Pancelot chases him out of the kingdom? You’ll have to go to find out.