ShowBizRadio

Arena Stage in Washington DC has released their planned 2014-2015 season:

• The Shoplifters, September – October 2014
• Our War, October- November 2014
• Fiddler on the Roof, October 2014 – January 2015
• Five Guys Named Moe, November – December 2014
• Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, January – February 2015
• King Hedley II, February – March 2015
• The Originalist, March – April 2015
• Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, April – May 2015
• The Blood Quilt, April – June 2015

Arena Stage provided these descriptions of the shows:

• The Shoplifters (World premiere comedy). Written and Directed by Morris Panych. Meet Alma, a career shoplifter who prefers the “five-finger discount” over some lousy senior citizen deal, whose elaborate life of petty crime is halted by an overzealous rookie security guard and his affable mentor who’s seen it all. With an expertly drawn cast of oddball characters, The Shoplifters is full of surprises and sparks with a surprisingly high-stakes battle of wills over increasingly thought-provoking issues. Don’t miss Morris Panych’s biting, world premiere comedy about society’s haves and have-nots and how much they might actually have in common.
• Our War (National Civil War Project theatrical event) Directed by Anita Maynard-Losh. An esteemed collection of some of America’s finest playwrights, including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Olivier Award, has been assembled to create a dynamic new theatrical event reflecting on the repercussions of the U.S. Civil War. Through a rich tapestry of short monologues, a core ensemble of gifted actors, accompanied by notable Washingtonians, give voice to far-reaching questions about the war, its aftermath and its reverberations in our lives today. Our War, commissioned by Arena Stage for the National Civil War Project, uses the power of live theater to bring new understanding to the shades of Blue and Gray that define one of the most significant periods of American history.
• Fiddler on the Roof Directed by Molly Smith. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of an American classic! More than just a poor milkman, Tevye is a humble Jewish father who finds his devotion to God severely tested by his headstrong daughters who want to be their own matchmakers and the increasingly ruthless government forcing him from his land. With a jubilant and masterful score including “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “Tradition,” Fiddler on the Roof is a celebration of family, community and life’s unexpected miracles, large and small.
• Five Guys Named Moe Directed by Robert O’Hara. Need to chase the blues away? Pull up a seat at the Funky Butt Club to celebrate the fresh, feel-good music of “The King of the Jukebox” Louis Jordan. Suffering from a severe case of the blues, a young man gets the surprise of his life when “the greatest band around” pops out of his radio to cure what ails him. With joyful swing and bouncing be-bop tunes like “Let the Good Times Roll,” “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby” and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” you’ll be leaping out of your seat and dancing in the aisles with Big Moe, Four-Eyed Moe, Eat Moe, No Moe and Little Moe, better known as Five Guys Named Moe!
• Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery (World premiere adaptation) Directed by Gary Griffin. Get your deerstalker cap on — the play’s afoot! From the Tony Award-winning mastermind of mayhem, Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor), comes a fast-paced comedy about everyone’s favorite detective solving his most notorious case. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson must crack the mystery of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” before a family curse dooms its newest heir. Watch as our intrepid investigators try to escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises and deceit as five actors deftly portray more than 25 characters. Does a wild hellhound prowl the moors of Devonshire? Can our heroes discover the truth in time? Join the fun and see how far from elementary the truth can be.
• King Hedley II Directed by Timothy Douglas. King Hedley has returned, but to reign for how long? With an angry scar down the length of his face and seven years of prison haunting him, King has a chance to lock away his past and achieve an entrepreneurial dream. But Pittsburgh’s Hill District is an unforgiving place, and the return of Elmore, a scheming conman armed with a derringer and family secrets, could strike a fatal blow to King’s second coming. The eighth installment of August Wilson’s acclaimed play cycle examining Black America, King Hedley II is one of his most stirring and ferocious explorations of fate, honor and the daily struggles of American life.
• The Originalist (World premiere political drama) Directed by Molly Smith. Four-time Helen Hayes Award winner Edward Gero (Red) returns to Arena Stage as one of America’s most brilliant and polarizing figures: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. When a bright, liberal, Harvard Law School graduate embarks on a nerve-wracking clerkship with Justice Scalia she discovers him to be both an infuriating sparring partner and an unexpected mentor. How will their relationship affect one of the most incendiary cases ever to reach the nation’s highest court? From Charles MacArthur Award winner John Strand (Lovers and Executioners) comes this daring new work about passionate people risking heart and soul to defend their version of the truth.
• Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Directed by Aaron Posner. Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play (and the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama League and the Drama Desk), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a “sunny new play about gloomy people” (New York Times). Siblings Vanya and Sonia live out their days in an endless, bleak tableau in Bucks County, PA. All seems numbingly mundane until in sweeps hurricane Masha, their fading movie star sister, with her shiny new boy toy and a big announcement. Satirizing characters and themes from Chekov’s classics, Christopher Durang’s latest madcap masterpiece serves up family drama with comic savagery and poses the question: if you could choose your family, would you necessarily choose your family?
• The Blood Quilt (World premiere family comedy-drama) Inaugural resident playwright Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) is once again “fearlessly redefining theater” (Washington Post) with this funny and fierce world premiere. Welcome to the Jernigan Gals’ Quilting Corner. Gathering at their childhood island home off the coast of Georgia, four disconnected sisters meet to create a family quilt to honor their recently deceased mother. When their reunion turns into a reading of their mother’s will, everyone must grapple with a troubling inheritance. Stitched with history and ritual, laughter and tears, will their “blood quilt” bind the family together or tear them apart forever? 

More information may be found at the Arena Stage web site. Schedule is subject to change due to performance rights conflicts or other issues. Specific dates of performances and auditions are yet to be announced.