The season will also include A Christmas Carol and The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams' classic drama about a family struggling to survive, with Nancy Robinette playing Amanda Wingfield. The romantic musical 110 in the Shade, about a woman who encounters a con man who promises he can bring rain to a town facing a drought, will follow.
Ford's will also present One Destiny, a 35-minute play about President Lincoln's assassination and walking tours of the sites and clues surrounding his assassination.
"We have a responsibility as theatre practitioners to showcase a diversity of American voices in the work we produce. We are thrilled to produce a season chosen in collaboration with and featuring so many outstanding women artists," Ford’s Theatre director Paul R. Tetreault said in a statement. "Throughout our season, our productions will explore the expectations of family and society, and the universal need for human connection. We are especially thrilled to have commissioned Jessica Dickey to write The Guard for us this year — a captivating new play about the art world; to welcome Marcia Milgrom Dodge back to Washington; and to feature the magnetic Nancy Robinette and Tracy Lynn Olivera in our work."
The season-at-a-glance follows.
World Premiere
The Guard
By Jessica Dickey
Directed by Sharon Ott
Sept. 25-Oct. 18
"In this world-premiere comedic drama, playwright Jessica Dickey paints shimmering portraits of Rembrandt, Homer and the modern-day individuals who protect the art we cherish. Spanning centuries of human experience, The Guard movingly explores the power of creative expression and the sacrifices we make in the pursuit of love and beauty. The play opens in a modern-day art museum where three individuals yearn to experience first-hand the wonder and glory of Rembrandt's work. The play then travels back to the 1600s where the surly but soft-hearted Rembrandt discusses life and art with his son, Titus. Dickey then juxtaposes a vivid scene with the ancient Greek visionary Homer with a quiet glimpse at the final days of a 21st-century poet. Ford's Theatre commissioned The Guard as part of the 2015 Women's Voices Theater Festival—a celebration of original works by female writers in more than 50 of the Washington region's professional theatres." A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Michael Wilson
Directed by Michael Baron
Nov. 19-Dec. 31
"The annual Ford's Theatre production of A Christmas Carol has been a Washington tradition for more than 30 years. Join the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future as they lead the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of transformation and redemption. Originally conceived by Michael Baron, this music-infused production captures the magic and joy of Dickens's Yuletide classic."
The Glass Menagerie
Featuring Nancy Robinette
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Mark Ramont
Jan. 22, 2015-Feb. 21
"One of the greatest American plays of the 20th century, The Glass Menagerie explores the visceral bonds of family. Southern matriarch Amanda frets constantly over her two live-in adult children — the painfully shy Laura and Laura's restless poet brother, Tom. With great cajoling, Tom brings home a possible suitor for Laura, but reality soon casts a shadow on Amanda's dreams for both her children. Nancy Robinette (Driving Miss Daisy) stars as Amanda in Tennessee Williams' iconic, emotional and enduring family drama."
110 in the Shade
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Lyrics by Tom Jones
Book by N. Richard Nash
Directed and Choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge
March 11-May 14
"In sweltering 1936 Texas, headstrong and eternally single Lizzie Curry dreams of a life beyond her small town. When a charming stranger named Starbuck swaggers into town, he brings both the promise to end the region's drought and awakens Lizzie to the promise she holds within. Ford's Theatre presents this classic American musical about cowboys, confidence and courtship, based on The Rainmaker and featuring a lively score from the creators of The Fantasticks."
One Destiny
By Richard Hellesen
Directed by Mark Ramont
March through July 2016
"Learn about Lincoln's assassination from two men who were there. This 35-minute play at Ford's Theatre explores the key facts of the assassination while capturing the emotions of that fateful night in 1865, as told through the eyewitness accounts of actor Harry Hawk and Ford's Theatre co-owner Harry Ford, among others. As they reconstruct the sequence of events, they grapple with the question: Could John Wilkes Booth have been stopped? One Destiny was honored with The Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theatre Community in 2011, and celebrates its 800 performance in Spring 2015. Performance dates and times for Spring 2016 to be announced."
History on Foot Walking Tours
Investigation: Detective McDevitt
By Richard Hellesen
Directed by Mark Ramont
March through October
"Join Detective McDevitt as he re-visits and re-examines the sites and clues surrounding the assassination of our nation's 16th president. This outdoor tour lasts approximately two hours and makes at least eight stops. The distance walked is 1.6 miles from outside of Ford's Theatre to the White House. Please wear comfortable shoes."
Visit fords.org for more information.
