Press Room
Washington Shakespeare Company presents
by Tom Stoppard
Opening Night November 1, 2005 at WSC’s Clark Street Playhouse
Arlington, VA – Hapgood, by one of WSC’s favorite playwrights, Tom Stoppard, opens WSC’s 16th season, the final season in the Clark Street Playhouse. WSC has had repeated success with Stoppard, scoring hits with Travesties, Jumpers, and An Evening with Tom Stoppard, featuring “Dirty Linen,” “The Real Inspector Hound,” and “The Fifteen Minute Hamlet.” Full of the playwright’s famous wit and complexity, Hapgood is a Cold War espionage thriller that comically interweaves particle physics, a love affair, and the KGB twins. WSC artistic director Christopher Henley teams with Alexandra Hoge to direct this rarely produced gem, starring Stoppard aficionado Kathleen Akerley, artistic director of Longacre Lea Productions, in the title role.
Last season at WSC, Henley directed Tennessee Williams’ The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore and appeared onstage as Creon and the messenger in Medea. For WSC, Henley also directed the 1991 Hamlet, The Grapes of Wrath, Uncle Vanya, Lear, A Streetcar Named Desire (with Michael Comlish), The Merchant of Venice, 5th of July, Miss Julie, Life of Galileo (with Jim Stone), Macbett (with Akerley), and The Tempest. This is Henley’s first time directing work by Stoppard, though he’s acted in every Stoppard play produced at WSC. Hoge recently received her MFA in directing from the The Actors’ Studio Drama School. Previously at WSC, she assistant directed Much Ado About Nothing.
The nine-member cast is made up largely of WSC veterans. Artistic director of Longacre Lea Productions Kathleen Akerley, who was in the chorus of Medea, and has directed Jumpers and Macbett at WSC, helms the cast as Hapgood. Acting company member Hugh T. Owen is known to WSC audiences for his roles in The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, Scaramouche, Lady Chatterly’s Lover (Mary Goldwater Award), and Henry V. Ian Armstrong played the title role in last season’s Titus Andronicus, and before that he was in Scaramouche, Lady Chatterly’s Lover (revival), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Antony and Cleopatra. Bruce Alan Rauscher was previously in WSC’s a walk across the rooftops and Learning Curves.
Jay Hardee is in his third WSC production, following last season’s Titus Andronicus and The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore. Brandon Thane Wilson and Nick Scott were both in Titus Andronicus; and Scott also appeared in The Royal Hunt of the Sun. Michael Dove, artistic director of Forum Theatre and Dance Company, and Theodore M. Snead are in their first WSC production.
Set designer Elizabeth J. McFadden is new to WSC, as is sound designer Erik Trester. Lighting designer Jason Arnold also designed The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore. Melanie Clark is one of WSC’s favorite costume designers, having designed Titus Andronicus, The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, and Medea. Hapgood also marks the first show produced by H. Lee Gable, WSC’s former resident assistant director, who has taken over as the company’s producing director.
Hapgood opens November 1, 2005 at the Clark Street Playhouse, with pay-what-you-can previews on October 27, 28, 29, and 31 at 8 pm, and runs until December 4, 2005. For tickets, please call 800-494-TIXS(8497) or visit our website: www.washingtonshakespeare.org. For more information or for group sales, call 703-418-4808 or visit our website.
HAPGOOD performs October 27st through December 4, 2005, at WSC’s Clark Street Playhouse.
Performance schedule: Previews are October 27th, 28th, 29th, and 31st at 8pm; Opening/Press Night, Tuesday, November 1st at 8pm; thereafter Thursday through Saturday at 8pm; Saturday & Sunday at 2pm. Tickets: Thursday - $22; Friday 8pm & Sunday 2pm - $25; Saturday 8pm - $30; Saturday 2pm – pay-what-you-can; all tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-494-TIXS (8497) or online at www.washingtonshakespeare.org.
NOTE: Pay-what-you-can performances include preview nights October 27th, 28th, 29th, and 31st at 8pm, and all Saturday Matinees at 2pm throughout the performance run. Tickets are available at the theatre box office half an hour prior to show time. No reservations are taken for pay-what-you-can performances.
NOTE: WSC continues its "25 and under" offering of $10 rush tickets. Patrons 25 and under with valid ID will be given $10 rush tickets for all performances. The tickets can be purchased at the theatre box office half an hour prior to show time, depending on seating availability. No reservations will be taken or honored in conjunction with this discount.
Founded in 1990, Washington Shakespeare Company is dedicated to providing classic theatre with an edge, producing a variety of classic works throughout its season, both time-tested and contemporary, and providing a provocative, bold, and intimate approach to all its programming. WSC is also the premiere training and showcasing theatre for emerging artists in the Washington, DC area. By giving emerging talent the opportunity to work on the best plays in the world alongside accomplished theatre artists, including the WSC Acting Company and its Artistic Associates, WSC has been the launching pad for many actors, designers, directors, and others into the professional world. WSC’s mission is expressed through its commitment to artistic excellence and collaboration, developing talent, and promoting educational and social outreach.
Washington Shakespeare Company is supported in part by Arlington County through the Cultural Affairs Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources and the Arlington Commission for the Arts; The Virginia Commission for the Arts; The Weissberg Foundation; The Community Foundation of Greater Washington; The Dallas Morse Coors Foundation; and The Bureau of National Affairs.
Fact Sheet
Hapgood
by Tom Stoppard
Washington Shakespeare Company
Contact: Jay Hardee/Director of Public Relations, 703-418-4808 ext. 4 or jhardee@washingtonshakespeare.orgEVENT: HAPGOOD
PLAYWRIGHT: Tom Stoppard
DIRECTORS: Christopher Henley & Alexandra Hoge
OPENING/PRESS NIGHT: Tuesday, November 1 at 8pm
PERFORMANCE DATES: October 27, 2005 – December 4, 2005
LOCATION/METRO:
WSC’s Clark Street Playhouse, 601 S. Clark Street, Arlington, VA; accessible to patrons with disabilities; free parking; 5 blocks from Crystal City Metro. More information and directions available at www.washingtonshakespeare.org
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Previews: October 27, 28, 29, and 31 at 8pm
Opening Night: Tues., November 1 at 8pm
Thereafter through December 4: Thurs. – Sat. 8pm; Sat. – Sun. 2pm
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN PERFORMANCES:
PWYC Previews: Thursday, October 27 at 8pm; Friday, October 28 at 8pm;
Saturday, October 29 at 8pm; Monday, October 31 at 8 pm
All Saturday matinee shows are pay-what-you-can: November 5, 12, 19, 26, and December 3; all shows at 2pm.
Tickets are available at the theater box-office, one half-hour prior to show time. No reservations are taken for pay-what-you-can performances.
BOX OFFICE/TICKETS: By phone at 1-800-494-TIXS (8497) or online at www.washingtonshakespeare.org; tickets range from $22 - $30.
DISCOUNTS: Groups (6 or more) call 1-800-494-TIXS or e-mail info@washingtonshakespeare.org; $3 off for seniors & students; $10 "25 and under" rush tickets available half an hour prior to show time, pending availability.
PSA/LISTINGS: For information and tickets, visit www.washingtonshakespeare.org.
CAST: Kathleen Akerley, Ian Armstrong, Michael Dove, Jay Hardee, Hugh T. Owen, Bruce Alan Rauscher, Nick Scott, Theodore M. Snead, and Brandon Thane Wilson.
WSC's Clark Street Playhouse
601 S. Clark St.,
Crystal City (Arlington), VA 22202 (Directions)