September 2024 – June 2025
Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood
by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Ron Newell
September 13 – October 6, 2024
Packed with thrills, romance, laughter, and immortal characters like Little John, Friar Tuck, and Maid Marian, Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood tells the enduring story of a hero of the people who takes on the ruthless powers that be. So, get ready to duck a quarterstaff or two – you won’t want to miss a moment of the swashbuckling fun!
Our cast:
Our Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood program
“Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon
Directed by Curt Arnold
November 8 – December 8, 2024 (no performance on Thanksgiving, November 28)
A sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set two years after the novel ends, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley continues the story, only this time with bookish middle-sister Mary as its unlikely heroine. Mary is growing tired of her role as dutiful middle sister in the face of her siblings’ romantic escapades. When the family gathers for Christmas at Pemberley, an unexpected guest sparks Mary’s hopes for independence, an intellectual match, and possibly even love.
“…an unstuffy, highly entertaining and warm-spirited work, the kind of thing multiple generations can enjoy together.” —Chicago Tribune.
Our Cast:
Our Production Staff:
photos by Terry Schordock
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)
Our Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley program
Read the review from Mark Horning – Clague Playhouse’s ‘Miss Bennet-Christmas at Pemberley’ is a wonderful holiday gift
OPUS
by Michael Hollinger
Directed by Craig Joseph
January 24 – February 16, 2025
After firing one of their founding members due to his erratic behavior, a world-class string quartet takes a chance on a gifted but relatively inexperienced young woman. With only a few days to rehearse a grueling Beethoven masterpiece, the four struggle to prepare their highest-profile performance ever—a televised ceremony at the White House. Their rehearsal room becomes a pressure-cooker as passions rise, personalities clash, and the players are forced to confront the ephemeral nature of their life’s work.
Our Cast:
Recipient of the Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play, a Steinberg New Play Citation from the American Theatre Critics Association, and nominations for Lucille Lortel and John Gassner Awards for Best New Play.
“A taut, smart, thoroughly entertaining drama.” —Newsday (NY).
Read the review from Mark Horning – Clague Playhouse’s ‘OPUS’ is a calmingly intense concert of words and music
OPUS is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)
The Director’s Insight on OPUS
I first read Michael Hollinger’s OPUS three years ago and immediately fell in love with the play – its rhythm and pacing, the shifting alliances among its characters, the behind-the-scenes look at the creative process, and much more. I’d had my doubts that a play about a string quartet could be compelling and full of intrigue, but a single read convinced me that I was wrong. That being the case, I was very excited when Clague Playhouse invited me to direct it as part of this season. I can’t wait to see how the story of these five individuals – and their simultaneously inspiring and infuriating relationships – plays out in an intimate theatrical space.
If you haven’t yet read the synopsis, here’s what the show is ostensibly about: After firing one of their founding members due to his erratic behavior, a world-class string quartet takes a chance on a gifted but relatively inexperienced young woman. With only a few days to rehearse a grueling Beethoven masterpiece, the four struggle to prepare their highest-profile performance ever – a televised ceremony at the White House.
Their rehearsal room becomes a pressure-cooker as passions rise, personalities clash, and the players are forced to confront the ephemeral nature of their life’s work. And if you hadn’t guessed, the guy they fire doesn’t leave quietly. At all.
Looking a bit more deeply, I’m fascinated by several thematic frictions that exist within the play: tensions that arise between standing out as an individual and fitting in as part of a group, conflicts between personal rights and corporate responsibilities, the risks that arise when following genius and intuition versus the challenges that come with stability and routine. In many different ways, the play forces us to look at what it takes to make great music. By extension, though, Hollinger is also asking us to look at the joys, challenges, victories, and costs of tackling any major endeavor, any great work, any opus. Do the benefits outweigh the sacrifices? Are the moments of transcendence that we experience when we create something magnificent worth the striving, struggle, and pain to get there?
Without becoming overtly political or culturally critical, I’ll say that I think OPUS is a perfect parable for our times with myriad questions (and very few answers) about how we exist in the world today. What’s worth persevering in the way we live in communion with others and strive for a common good? When do we need to take a stand for our or others’ needs and desires – and when do those need to be sublimated, so that something greater can emerge? Are there times for a complete overhaul of the status quo – or will that lead to unfruitful chaos?
These are some of the queries our production will attempt to pose for our audiences. And if that’s not exactly what you’re about, rest assured you’ll still be seeing a stellar piece of theatre with dynamic performances and explosive energy. Can’t wait to see you at the theater! – – Craig Joseph/Director
The Half-Life of Marie Curie
by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Anne McEvoy
March 21 – April 13, 2025
In 1911, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium. By 1912, she was the object of ruthless gossip over an alleged affair with the married Frenchman Paul Langevin, all but erasing her achievements from public memory. Weakened and demoralized by the press lambasting her as a “foreign” Jewish temptress and a homewrecking traitor, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at her summer home in England. The Half-Life of Marie Curie revels in the power of female friendship as it explores the relationship between these two brilliant women, both of whom are mothers, widows, and fearless champions of scientific inquiry.
Our cast:
“A frisky, feminist crowd-pleaser, THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE radiates empowerment—which is fitting, since it centers on the woman who coined the term radioactivity. …enlightening and entertaining.” —Time Out New York.
*NEW* Talk-Back Discussion with the Cast & Crew after the show on Saturday, March 22nd and Sunday, March 30th
The Director Speaks Out About The Half-Life of Marie Curie
For the last several seasons, Clague has intentionally selected our March play to help celebrate Women in History month…These Shining Lives (focused on the tragic history of the so-called “Radium Girls”), Silent Sky (featuring the career of trail-blazing astronomer Henrietta Leavitt,1868-1921, whose research redefined our understanding of the stars and the scale of the universe) and Ada and the Engine (the story of Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, early pioneer of computer science.)
The last two of these titles were both written by Lauren Gunderson who, since 2015, has been one of the most produced playwrights in America (topping the list 3 times.) If you enjoyed them or our holiday production of Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley, also written by Gunderson, you’ve already experienced her wit, her fondness for human folly, and her love of exploring the modern-day relevance of women’s stories set in the past. I’m happy to tell you these skills that make her plays so engaging are front and center in our upcoming play this March: The Half-Life of Marie Curie.
While Curie made history for her game-changing work with radioactivity, for those of you who dreaded science classes, fear not! This play packs in plenty of humanity and humor, focusing on Marie’s soul-saving friendship with the lesser-known – but equally accomplished – Hertha Ayrton. In 1912, Marie spent two months at the seaside home of Hertha, award-winning engineer, mathematician, inventor, and suffragette. At the time, Curie was in the throes of a scandal in France over her affair with Paul Langevin which threatens to overshadow the accomplishment of her second Nobel Prize. What follows is a study in friendship and physics, friction and folly, heartbreak, honesty, and hutzpah. And yes, a side serving of science. — Anne McEvoy/Director
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
Additional Material by Jay Reiss
Music and Lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Directed by Fred Sternfeld
Music Direction by Nick Klein
Choreography by Jen Justice
May 16 – June 8, 2025
Selected audience members will be asked to participate.
*NEW* Talk-Back Discussion with the Cast & Crew after the show on Saturday, May 17th and Sunday, May 25th
An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves a champion! At least the losers get a juice box.
Content warning: This show also includes adult language, sexual innuendo, an irreverent depiction of religious figures, gay parents, references to anxiety and family issues, and a song about an “unfortunate erection.” And it’s all very funny!
Our Cast:
Brandon Alexander as Mitch Mahoney / Dan’s Dad / Olive’s Dad
Samuel Bartlett as Leaf Coneybear / Carl’s Dad
Alex Craig as William Barfee
Brooke Hamilton as Olive Ostrovsky
Reed Kruger as Chip Tolentino / Jesus
Lorna Jane Patterson as Logaine Schwartzandgrubeniere
Camila A. Piñero as Marcy Park
Leah Saltzer as Rona Lisa Peretti / Olive’s Mom
Cody Swanson as Douglas Panch
Grant Guyton as Understudy / Swing for Mitch Mahoney
Douglas F. Bailey as Understudy / Swing for Barfee and Panch
Ryan Kacmar as Understudy / Swing for Rona (2nd for Schwarzy behind Emily)
Michael Ryan as Understudy / Swing for Chip and Leaf
Emily Sedmak as Understudy / Swing for Olive, Marcy and Schwarzy
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
Insight from the director of the show, Fred Sternfeld:
The Tony Award winning musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is quirky, exciting and offers something for everyone. This upbeat musical has humor, heart, a catchy score and memorable characters.
The show centers around a group of middle school students (played by young adults) competing in a regional spelling bee, each with their own unique backgrounds and personal struggles. It explores universal themes of growing up, self-acceptance, and the pressures of achievement. The charming characters are relatable and endearing.
The musical’s original score, composed by William Finn (renowned for Falsettos and A New Brain), is an infectious blend of humor and sincerity. The music, combined with the witty dialogue, creates a fast-paced and engaging experience.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee also stands out for its interactive and immersive qualities. At each performance a few audience members are invited to join the cast and participate in the Bee as spellers, making each performance unique. This unpredictability adds an extra layer of excitement, ensuring that no two shows are ever exactly the same.
What a privilege it is for me to return to Clague Playhouse as director of this production. We have assembled a sensational cast and creative team to bring this story to life.
Join us at the Bee where you can root for your favorite character and have a fun and exciting time.