We are pleased to officially announce The Colonial Players' 70th Season!

The Colonial Players 70th Season (September 2018 - June 2019)

Rumors

Written by Neil Simon
September 2018

At a large, tastefully-appointed Sneden's Landing townhouse, the Deputy Mayor of New York has just shot himself. Though only a flesh wound, four couples are about to experience a severe attack of Farce. Gathering for their tenth wedding anniversary, the host lies bleeding in the other room, and his wife is nowhere in sight. His lawyer, Ken, and wife, Chris, must get "the story" straight before the other guests arrive. As the confusions and mis-communications mount, the evening spins off into classic farcical hilarity.

"Has nothing on its mind except making the audience laugh." - The New York Times

The Babylon Line

Written by Richard Greenberg
October - November 2018

Levittown, 1967. It’s the first night of an adult-ed creative writing course in a classroom at the local high school. The teacher, Aaron Port, lives in Greenwich Village and reverse commutes once a week on the Long Island Railroad’s Babylon line. His students are a mixed bag: Frieda Cohen, Anna Cantor, and Midge Braverman, housewives all, embrace each other on arrival, and update their running checklists on each other’s kids, husbands, and lawns. Their opening gambit is to tell Aaron in no uncertain terms that they are only there because French Cooking and Flower Arranging are full. The two men in the class, Jack Hassenpflug and Marc Adams, sit silently at their desks. One final student, Joan Dellamond, rushes in late—but she actually does intend to be there. An aspiring writer troubled by a failing marriage, Joan has little in common with her neighbors. And yet, she seeks connection. Maybe this class will bring her, and Aaron, something that neither quite expects.

“…the quiet, funny script resonates with the evergreen themes of community, desire, and self-discovery. It’s a memorable ride.” -Entertainment Weekly

A Christmas Carol

Play and Lyrics by Richard Wade
Music by Richard Gessner
Directed by Sarah Wade
December 2018

The beloved Annapolis tradition returns to brighten up your holiday season!

Silent Sky

Written by Lauren Gunderson
January 2019

When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.

“...shines with the luminous joy of re-centering women whose achievements have been too long overlooked by the telescope of history." - Chicago Tribune

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Steve Tobin
February - March 2019

Sir John Falstaff conspires to seduce the wives of two prominent Windsor citizens, and, as in any great farce, additional plots and subplots emerge to complicate matters...and leave you laughing! Now give it all a period twist, and this production will show you why Shakespeare’s plays are timeless!

A New Brain

Music and lyrics by William Finn
Book by William Finn and James Lapine
April 2019

By the Tony Award-winning authors of Falsettos, here is an energetic, sardonic, often comical musical about a composer during a medical emergency. Gordon collapses into his lunch and awakes in the hospital, surrounded by his maritime-enthusiast lover, his mother, a co-worker, the doctor, and the nurses. Reluctantly, he had been composing a song for a children’s television show that features a frog – Mr. Bungee – and the specter of this large green character and the unfinished work haunts him throughout his medical ordeal. What was thought to be a tumor turns out to be something more operable, and Gordon recovers, grateful for a chance to compose the songs he yearns to produce.

"Jaunty [with] moments of captivating eccentricity." - The New York Times

"Apt and original [...] A fascinating story." - The New York Post

Final Show To Be Announced in March 2018

*Performance Rights Currently Restricted*

Directed by Eric Lund
May - June 2019