Bao Bao, pictured here with a salad. (Photo by Daniel Reidel)
There are probably more shows running this month than one person could possibly see (though we’d love to challenge any adventurous theater fans to try). September marks the start of several theater companies’ 2015-2016 seasons, and this fall is especially flush with some exciting new shows.
Dozens of theaters are participating in the Women’s Voices Theater Festival, each presenting brand new plays by women (and a whole host of other talkbacks, panels, and events). We’re highlighting some of the shows we’re most jazzed about laughing along (or laughing alone) with:
>>THE OREGON TRAIL: The after-school “educational” nostalgia is strong with this one. This entry from Flying V follows one character who plays the classic computer game, and another character who is alive within the game world. Expect lots of jokes about the disasters of fording rivers and a body count higher than Hamlet. From September 3 through 20
>>WOMEN LAUGHING ALONE WITH SALAD: The strangest tropes tend to pop up in stock photography, but by far the most famous is the phenomenon/meme of women laughing alone with salad. Now it has been transformed into a play at Woolly Mammoth, focusing on some ad men who seem to be as lost as Mel Gibson when it comes to knowing what women want. From September 7 through October 4
>>TEXTS&BEHEADINGS/ELIZABETHR: This show from Folger uses the Library’s own collection of documents by or about Elizabeth I, and remixes them into a tell-all of the queen in her own words, as portrayed by four different actresses, à la Dylan in I’m Not There. From September 19* through October 4.
>>DESTINY OF DESIRE: The telenovela is an artform like none other, and a medium that’s silly even when taking itself seriously. Arena Stage follows in the tradition of Arrested Development and 30 Rock in playing the genre for laughs, with this comedy from Karen Zacarías. From September 11 through October 18
>>QUEENS GIRL IN THE WORLD: A one-woman show featuring Dawn Ursula, this show from Theater J is a meditation on Civil Rights-era America. From September 16 through October 11.
>>INHERITANCE CANYON: Taffety Punk Theatre Company has this play from Liz Maestri, reuniting the characters from her play Owl Moon to put them through more merry hell in an alternate universe, presumably one with a spooky canyon in it. From September 18 through October 10
>>CAKE OFF: A new musical from the always-opulent Signature Theatre , this comedy focuses on a no-holds-barred bake off. From September 29 through November 22.
>>ANIMAL: The mini-summary of this play from Studio Theatre reads like a list of side effect warnings, focusing as it does on a women suffering from hallucinations, paranoia, and anxiety. My money is on the culprit being a good old fashioned case of gaslighting, but as this (like all the other plays in the Festival) is a brand new work, we’ll have to wait to see. From September 30 through October 25.
>>NIGHT FALLS ON THE BLUE PLANET: Theater Alliance‘s show about a woman exploring a whole new world (and/or herself) promises “stunning visual imagery,” which I’m willing to believe from their scenic designer Paige Hathaway (most recently of the otherworldly attic set of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at Folger and the cardboard cutout/comicbook strip set of Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love at Studio). From September 3 through 27
OTHER FESTIVAL SHOWS OPENING THIS MONTH:
A full list of participating shows is available on the Festival website
>>IRONBOUND, at Round House Theatre, from September 9 through October 4.
>>CAPS FOR SALE, THE MUSICAL at Adventure Theatre, from September 11 through 27.
>>A MATTER OF WORTH, via Live Garra Theatre at the Silver Spring Black Box Theater, from September 16 through 20.
>>WHENEVER YOU’RE NEAR ME I FEEL SICK, from Thelma Theatre at The Trinidad Theater (the Logan Fringe Arts Space), from September 17 through October 4.
>>PRINCESS MARGARET from Thelma Theatre at The Trinidad Theater (the Logan Fringe Arts Space), from September 17 through October 4.
>>THE OCTOBER ISSUE from Washington Improv Theater from September 17 through October 10.
>>IF I HOLD MY TONGUE, from Compass Rose Theater (in Annapolis), from September 17 through 27.
>>UPRISING, at Metro Stage, from September 17 through October 25.
>>THE REQUIEM, from The Highwood Theatre, from September 18 through 27.
>>NOW COMES THE NIGHT, from 1st Stage, from September 18 through October 11
>>WHEN SHE HAD WINGS, at Imagination Stage, from September 23 through November 1.
>>PHOEBE IN WINTER, via Single Carrot Theatre (in Baltimore), from September 23 through October 18.
>>THE POINT, from Arcturus Theater Company, September 24 through October 10
>>NO SPRING CHICKEN from NextStop Theatre, September 24 through October 11
>>ALICE IN WONDERLAND, at Synetic Theater, September 30 through Nov 8
>>BAD DOG, at Olney Theatre Center, from September 30 through October 25
*corrected
