DC Metro Spotlight: September 2006

The month of September is shaping up as a time when we’re getting some new looks at old material, much of it (surprise!) political, and a host of new works, too.

Eagerly anticipated is Synetic Theatre’s take on the classic horror tale Frankenstein (September 13-October 1), at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre. Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili are spinning their unique magic around Mary Shelley’s monster, combining Synetic’s highly stylized, hypnotic movement with evocative music and not-so-much dialogue. Last season they wowed us with their vision of Dracula, so hopes are high their visit with Mr. Bits-and-Pieces will be a sensation.

Frankenstein’s monster isn’t the only oldie being exhumed. Remember back in 1980 when Ronald Reagan famously growled his, “I’m paying for this microphone” line at an off-kilter New Hampshire primary debate? Well, The Gipper “borrowed” that line from the 1948 film State of the Union, in which Spencer Tracy plays a tycoon coerced into seeking the Republican presidential nomination and has to pretend reconciliation with estranged wife Katherine Hepburn. Now Ford’s Theatre is reviving the Pulitzer Prize winning, original 1945 stage version of State of the Union (September 22- October 22) by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Meanwhile, Arlington’s The American Century Theater is staging the once controversial satire MacBird by Barbara Garson (September 8-October 7).

Our excursion into politics gets darker in Arena Stage’s Cabaret (September 8 – October 29), in the Fichandler. Director Molly Smith is bringing back favorites Meg Gillentine and Brad Oscar to handle Kander and Ebb’s powerful score highlighting the decadent Berlin nightclub scene as the Nazis grasp power. Later this month, Arena opens Nine Parts of Desire (September 29 – November 12), Heather Raffo’s award winning, one-woman show focusing on women in the Middle East, in the Kreeger.

Studio Theatre has its own take on desire with Adam Rapp’s Red Light Winter (opening September 6) in the Mead. The show, fresh from an Off-Broadway run, heats up over sex, heartbreak, and obsession in a love triangle involving two friends and a prostitute.

If you’re looking for something brand new, Olney Theatre Center in Olney, Maryland has a world premiere of In the Mood (September 6-24) in its Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab. Set in Africa and Washington, “the lively art show scene and the high powered world of diplomacy” affect a marriage. Olney gets lighter late in the month with its mainstage production of The Foreigner (September 27-October 22), Larry Shue’s shtick-filled farce about two Brits visiting a Georgia fishing lodge.

In other highlights: Journeymen Theatre Ensemble presents Spinning Into Butter (September 6-30), about racism on a college campus, at Arlington’s Clark Street Playhouse. Arlington’s MetroStage has the U.S. premiere of the Canadian play, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl (September 13-October 15), an unconventional look at the 1960s. Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland has the area premiere of A Prayer for Owen Meany (September 13-October 8), based on John Irving’s novel of faith and friendship.

Charter Theatre, which has moved from D.C. to Arlington’s Theatre on the Run, has Renee Calarco’s play about family secrets, Short Order Stories (September 22-October 21), directed, appropriately enough, by her brother Joe Calarco. GALA Hispanic Theater presents the American premiere of Valor, agravio y mujer…Stripping Don Juan (September 28-October 22). The 17th century comedy, now set in the present, is about a woman who takes revenge on Don Juan.

And don’t forget about the kids! Synetic Theatre and its partner, Classika Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, is bringing back this past summer’s Synetic-created show Galactika (September 30-October 29). It was inspired by a NASA astrophysicist. The engaging show takes kids five and older through the birth of the universe and its stars.