For Immediate Release
October 25, 2024
Press Contact: Michael Kyrioglou
michael.kyrioglou@gmail.com
Washington Stage Guild’s SEASON OF DETERMINATION
Continues Nov. 21 with Three Short Plays by GB Shaw
Shaw’s Shorts Directed by Stage Guild Company Member Laura Giannarelli
Washington, DC –- Shaw’s Shorts – three witty, political and light-hearted short plays by George Bernard Shaw, The Washington Stage Guild’s playwright of choice, continues the 2024-2025 Season of Determination. The trio of plays directed by WSG Company Member Laura Giannarelli (Dorothy’s Dictionary, The Good Doctor) features Thomas Daniels, Morgan Duncan, Patricia Hurley, and Leah Packer. Performances run November 21 to December 15, 2024, with four Pay-What-You-Can previews November 21-23 at the Washington Stage Guild’s home, The Undercroft Theatre in the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. Opening/Press performance is Sunday, November 24 at 2:30pm.
Special Free Post-Show Event: “Shaw’s Other Island: GBS and the Politics of Ireland” will take place following the Sunday, December 8 matinee (approx. start time 4:45pm). Presentation by Christopher Griffin about Shaw’s relationship with Ireland: 20 years growing up in Dublin, Home Rule, views on the World Wars and a variety of other topics. Mr. Griffin studied literature in Dublin, the city of Wilde and Shaw. Since 1992 he has taught courses at Politics and Prose bookstore. He was a lecturer on 23 Smithsonian Journeys. He has reviewed theatre since the 1970s and has written program notes for playbills, including the Abbey Theatre.
ABOUT THE PLAY
A fresh look at two of GB Shaw’s most delicious one-act plays, first produced by Stage Guild in 2007.
In O’Flaherty V.C., A Recruiting Pamphlet, the winner of the Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery, is confronted by his Irish-to-the-core Catholic mother, incensed to discover he’s being fighting for the British. In the imaginative The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, Will Shakespeare goes to the palace to meet his Dark Lady to whom he addressed sonnets of love, only to find Her Majesty the Queen instead – followed by the Dark Lady herself who lambasts them both! Plus, The Interlude at the Playhouse, a comic curtain-raiser in which a nervous theatre owner must give a big speech at a gala opening, but his wife may have to save the day.
“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” – GB Shaw
FROM DIRECTOR LAURA GIANNARELLI*
“I relish the opportunity to explore these three short plays by GBS. Perhaps not as well-known as his full-length plays, they nevertheless showcase his wit and insights into human nature in a way that still speaks to a 21st Century audience. Interlude at the Playhouse premiered in 1907, written for an actual theatre opening. A fizzy bit of fun, it gives us a chance to enjoy Shaw at his most light-hearted. The Dark Lady of the Sonnets was written in 1910 for a performance raising funds to establish a National Theatre as a memorial to Shakespeare. Here, Mr. Shaw is again in a playful mode, teasing that other towering playwright of the English language, giving us thereby a playful Elizabethan fantasy. The third play, O’Flaherty V.C., A Recruiting Pamphlet, 1915, is a comic look at war that nevertheless carried a strong antiwar message at a time when England was mired in World War I. As we in America watch devastating wars happening in many places around the globe, Shaw’s words resonate still, even as we laugh at his wit.”
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
The Washington Stage Guild has produced 28 of Shaw’s plays (including several one act plays).
ABOUT THE TEAM
The cast of Shaw’s Shorts includes returning performers Thomas Daniels, Morgan Duncan and Patricia Hurley, along with Leah Packer, making her WSG debut.
Thomas Daniels is thrilled to be returning to the Stage Guild after his turn as Sergius in last year’s Arms and the Man. Born and raised in Northern VA, he now calls NYC home. NYC credits include The Metropolitan Playhouse (State of the Union, The Jewish King Lear) and Hudson Classical Theater Company (The Trojan Women). Selected regional theatre credits include the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (A Child’s Christmas in Wales), Theatre SilCo (Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure), Playhouse on Park (Peter and the Starcatcher, A Moon for the Misbegotten), Camden Shakespeare Festival (Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet) and The Winnipesaukee Playhouse (Richard III, Sleuth), among others. You can hear his voice on the podcast Murder, We Spoke. He earned his BFA in Theatre and BA in Political Science from Marietta College and his MFA in Acting from Ohio University. Thanks to Sharon Romano for her love and patience, thanks to the whole fam for their support! www.thomasrdaniels.com.
Patricia Hurley returns to WSG following the season’s opening production of Faithless and has performed in numerous productions with Olney Theatre Center, including Mary Poppins, A Comedy of Tenors, Misalliance, Camelot, Triumph of Love, Doubt, Elf, Annie, Sweeney Todd, Peter Pan, and The Heiress. At Studio Theatre, she was part of the cast of Love, Love, Love, and at 1st Stage, the cast of Quilters (2024 Helen Hayes Award-nominated ensemble). Her other area credits include Nate the Great, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Seussical: The Musical, One Hundred Dresses (Imagination Stage), Merrily We Roll Along (Signature Theatre), and Lady Windermere’s Fan (Shakespeare Theatre Company). She has a BM in Musical Theatre from The Catholic University’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music.
Morgan Duncan has done 19 shows with the Washington Stage Guild since The Marriage of Figaro in 1988 through The Good Doctor in 2022 as an actor and The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective in 2024, his third time directing for Stage Guild. He holds a BFA from Howard University and has performed regionally at theaters like the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. Locally, he has performed at Arena Stage, Folger Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Round House Theater, Everyman Theatre, and others. He was a long-time member of the Capitol Steps.
Leah Packer is honored to be making her Washington Stage Guild debut! She was last seen in Wannabe (Mel) at the Capital Fringe Festival, which won “Best of Fest 2024.” Recent credits include Monsters of Seahorse Island with InterACT Story Theatre (Hydrillis/Mayor), Dua: The Monster’s Story with Kennedy Center Local Theatre Festival & Theatre Prometheus (Athena), The Fisherman and his Wife with Adventure Theatre MTC (Maura), and The Day Nothing Happened with Encore Stage & Studio (Robin/Cindy). Proud graduate of University of Maryland-College Park. Current member of the AJT (Alliance for Jewish Theatre) Theatremachers. For Poppy, the true “No.1 Actor,” music man, and dreamer of impossible dreams. Website: www.leahpacker.com, Instagram: @leahpacker.
*Shaw’s Shorts is directed by Laura Giannarelli, a Stage Guild founding company member who has performed in more than 40 WSG productions. Elsewhere, she has performed with area theatres as varied as GALA Hispanic Theatre, Studio Theatre and the Kennedy Center’s Theatre for Young Audiences. She previously directed last year’s season opener Dorothy’s Dictionary, as well as The Good Doctor, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Widowers’ Houses, and Candida for the company.
The production team includes Jonathan Dahm Robertson (Scenic Design), Marianne Meadows (Resident Lighting Design), Emily Vallozzi (Costume Design), David Jackson (Sound Designer), Bill Largess (Dramaturg), and Libby Russler (Production Stage Manager).
DATES & TICKETS
Shaw’s Shorts by George Bernard Shaw runs November 20 to December 15, 2024, with performances Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2:30pm & 8pm, and Sunday at 2:30pm. Performance Updates: No performance on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 28. Added 2:30pm matinee on Friday, Nov. 29.
The run begins with four Pay-What-You-Can performances Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7:30pm, Friday, Nov. 22 at 8pm, and Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2:30pm & 8pm (Pay What You Can tickets can be purchased for any cash price at the door beginning one hour prior to curtain). Opening/Press performance is Sunday, Nov. 24 at 2:30pm.
All tickets are General Admission and are $50 Thursday & Saturday/Sunday matinees, $60 Friday & Saturday evenings. Student Admission is half-price with a valid Student ID. Senior Citizens 65 years and up get $10 OFF General Admission Prices. Groups of 10 or more get half-price tickets. Purchase at https://stageguild.org/buy-tickets/
ABOUT THE THEATRE
Founded in 1986 by a professional company of theatre artists dedicated to producing literate, challenging works in a collegial and supportive atmosphere, The Washington Stage Guild quickly established itself as an indispensable component of the D.C. area theatre scene; recognized as early as the end of the first season (1987) by The Washington Post. The ensemble theatre company’s acclaimed repertoire of neglected classics, unfamiliar works by familiar playwrights, and stimulating new plays from around the world is presented in a style that is the Guild’s own—direct and clear, with a strong commitment to adhering to the author’s intent.
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