MONMOUTH – Next summer take a break from the hustle and bustle and journey to the lakes region of Central Maine to experience Theater at Monmouth’s (R)evolutionary Season. 2020 is a big year! It’s Maine’s Bicentennial, it’s the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage and it’s an election year. So many revolutionary and evolutionary things to celebrate the theater rolled them into one big ball for a 51st season of epic proportions.

The 2020 Summer Repertory will include Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline,” directed by Charlie Marie McGrath, and “Julius Caesar,” directed by Bill van Horn; the Maine premiere of Mat Smart’s “The Agitators,” directed by Josiah Davis; a world premier of Callie Kimball’s “Sofonisba,” directed by Dawn McAndrews; and Edward Albee’s “Seascape,” directed by Kate Bergstrom.

The family show will be “Aesop’s Guide to Friendship,” adapted by Dawn McAndrews and directed by Ian Kramer. For the fall show, opening Sept. 16, TAM will present “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman; music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak; directed by Adam P. Blais.

Summer Repertory Season

Performances take place in Cumston Hall, a 250-seat Victorian opera house designed by Harry Cochrane. Since its founding, TAM has rehearsed and performed in rotating repertory, inviting audiences to see the actors in different roles in different shows in one weekend.

“The Agitators”: June 27 to Aug. 21; Maine premiere by Mat Smart; directed by Josiah Davis.

Brimming with modern urgency and relevance, “The Agitators” examines the friendship and rivalry between Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. It’s 1849 and two young activists, full of optimism and ideals, steel themselves for the battles to come. Over the next 45 years, they journey from allies to adversaries and back. Theirs is a story of defiance, of rebellion, of revolution. They agitated the nation. They agitated each other. They changed the course of history.

Josiah Davis is a recent graduate from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, pursuing an MFA at Brown/Trinity Rep. A member of the On the Verge Theatre Company in Santa Barbara, he was nominated by Broadway World for his direction of “Sweet Child” by Roxie Perkins, “From White Plains” by Michael Perlman, and his role of Joseph in Darlene Craviotto’s “Footprints” at Laetoli. He has appeared on Glee on Fox, Idiotsitter on Comedy Central, Killer Kids on Lifetime, and several Buzzfeed videos.

“Cymbeline”: July 9 to Aug. 23; by William Shakespeare; directed by Charlie Marie McGrath.

When Imogen’s father banishes her soulmate, the princess embarks on a quest to prove her fidelity, escape her stepmother’s dastardly plot and reclaim her love. “Cymbeline” is brimming with forbidden romance, mistaken identities, jealousy, vile trickery, poison, disguises and epic swordfights. A theatrical feast that defies genre, “Cymbeline” blends tragedy, comedy and romance into an enchanting and unforgettable Shakespearean fairy tale.

Charlie Marie McGrath is producing artistic director at Redtwist Theatre in Chicago and associate artistic director of the Beating of Wings Collective in LA. She is an alumnus of Directors Lab North, Northwestern University, AMDA (NY), and was a directing fellow at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Her directing credits include Birmingham Children’s Theatre: “The Jungle Book,” “Charlotte’s Web”; Shakespeare Theatre Company: “God Is Dead” and “April Is Getting Married”; Island Shakespeare Festival: “Sense and Sensibility”; Pointless Theatre: “Imogen” (Washington Post Critics’ Pick); Redtwist Theatre: “The Pride.”

“Julius Caesar”: July 16 to Aug. 20; by William Shakespeare; directed by Bill Van Horn.

As swift and enthralling as a political thriller, “Julius Caesar” portrays the life-and-death struggle for power in Rome. Fearing that Caesar’s growing strength and constitutional ambitions threaten the Republic, a faction of politicians plots to assassinate him. But when Caesar is killed, chaos engulfs the state. Alive with stunning rhetoric, “Julius Caesar” investigates the intoxicating effects of power and the dangers of idealism.

Bill Van Horn directed Walnut Street Theatre’s Philadelphia premieres of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” and “Peter and the Starcatcher.” Van Horn has been an actor for 45 years. In between acting assignments, he has directed over 75 productions around the country, including Walnut Street Theatre, Theater at Monmouth, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Media Theater and Hunter College. A successful playwright, screenwriter and librettist, his script for the award-winning documentary, “Workshop for Peace,” appeared on PBS stations throughout the country and is seen by thousands of visitors each day at the United Nations.

“Sofonisba”: July 23 to Aug. 22; world premiere by Callie Kimball; directed by Dawn McAndrews.

Michelangelo’s 27-year-old apprentice, Sofonisba Anguissola, boards a ship from Italy to become the first female court painter for King Philip II. Her 20 years at the Spanish Court are one long chess match, played for and against the expectations of king, bishop, fool, knight and 14-year-old queen. The negotiations and sacrifices she makes in service to her art and her heart reveal the dangerous waters of court politics for an unmarried, headstrong woman. A play about the hunger for creation — of birth and art — and the very real cost of both.

Callie Kimball plays have been produced and developed in theaters across the country, including the Kennedy Center, Portland Stage, Lark Play Development Center, Halcyon Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Echo Theatre, The Brick Theater, Project Y Theatre, Washington Shakespeare Company, Everyman Repertory Theatre, Absolute Theatre, Mad Horse Theatre, The Drama League, and many colleges and festivals across the country. She won a Ludwig Vogelstein grant to research “Sofonisba,” which won the Clauder Gold Prize, was a finalist for the O’Neill, a semifinalist for the Princess Grace Award and was on The Kilroys’ 2016 List.

Dawn McAndrews has worked at theaters across the country, including Shakespeare Theatre Company, Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Portland Stage Company and Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. Directing credits include “The Pajama Game,” UMO; “Haroun and the Sea of Stories,” Colby; “The Language Archive,” Public Theatre; “Richard III,” “The Winter’s Tale,” “Peter & the Starcatcher,” “The Mousetrap,” “Of Thee I Sing,” TAM; “The Glass Menagerie,” “Holiday” and “Three Days of Rain,” 1st Stage; Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice,” The Orange Girls; Timberlake Wertenbaker’s “Antigone,” St. Louis University, as well as adapting and directing “A Christmas Carol” at Portland Stage.

“Seascape”: July 30 to Aug. 22; by Edward Albee; directed by Kate Bergstrom.

On a deserted stretch of beach, a middle-aged couple relaxes after a picnic lunch and converse idly about home, family and their life together. She sketches; he naps. Then, suddenly, they are joined by two sea creatures, a pair of lizards from the depths of the ocean, with whom they engage in a fascinating dialogue. The emotional and intellectual reverberations of the bizarre conversation in Albee’s second Pulitzer Prize-winning play will linger in the heart and the mind long after the curtain falls – or the last page is turned.

Kate Bergstrom is artistic director of On the Verge Summer Repertory Company in Santa Barbara, California, has worked as director, devisor, producer and educator in theaters and schools throughout the West Coast. She received her MFA in directing at Brown/Trinity Rep. Directing credits include “The Children’s Hour,” Granoff Center for the Arts; “The Taming of the Shrew,” “A Map of Virtue” and “Neva,” Brown/Trinity; “Footprints at Laetoli & Caylee’s First Big Show!,” OTV; “These Walls,” OTV; “Woyeck,” UCLA; and “Wholed,” Redcat. She previously directed “Three Days of Rain” and “Enchanted April: at TAM.

Family Show

“Aesop’s Guide to Friendship”: July 4 to Aug. 20; written by Dawn McAndrews; directed by Ian Kramer.

Aesop’s delightful fables full of wit and wisdom let the animals do the talking; dispensing lessons on perseverance, kindness and friendship along the way. “Aesop’s Guide to Friendship” explores age-old stereotypes and mannerisms in his fables such as “tortoise are slow,” “hares are quick,” “foxes are clever” to help young and old alike appreciate similarities and differences.

Ian Kramer graduated from the Brown/Trinity MFA acting program in spring 2019 and returned to TAM where he previously directed the spring tour of “The Velveteen Rabbit.” Other directing credits include “Gruesome Playground Injuries,” Brown/Trinity; devised adaptation of “Typewriter Rodeo,” B/T Lab; and assistant directing “Macbeth,” Trinity Rep. Along with visiting all 50 states, he has worked as an actor around the country: Trinity Rep, Hangar Theatre, Kingsmen Shakespeare, Texas Shakespeare, Kentucky Shakespeare, Orlando Shakespeare, Theater at Monmouth and The National Players. For more information, visit www.iankramer.actor.

Fall Show

“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”: Sept. 12 to 22; book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman; music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak; directed by Adam P. Blais.

When the low-born Monty Navarro finds out that he’s eighth in line for an earldom in the lofty D’Ysquith family, he figures his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight and sets off down a far more ghoulish path. Can he knock off his unsuspecting relatives without being caught and become the ninth Earl of Highhurst? And what of love? Because murder isn’t the only thing on Monty’s mind ….

Adam P. Blais has been directing musicals and plays throughout Maine since receiving his BA in theater from the University of Maine. He’s been involved with TAM’s fall musical since 2013, choreographing such productions as “Of Thee I Sing,” “Patience,” “The Sorcerer” and “Ruddigore,” and, in summer 2019, directing “Murder for Two.” He’s worked at The Public Theatre, Shakespeare & Company and Waterville Opera House, among others. During the day, Blais is education and development director at The Public Theater in Lewiston and drama director at Mt. Ararat High and Middle School in Topsham.

Tickets

A TAM subscription offers savings and benefits like priority seating and ticket exchanges. Gold, Flex, General or Senior Passes are available for purchase. Single tickets for the summer repertory and fall play are $36 for adults, $31 for senior citizens and $22 for students 18 and under. Family show tickets are $17 for adults, $12 for children.

Opening nights are Educator Nights. Educators receive 20% off tickets with a photo ID at the box office.

Under 30 Rush Tickets: For patrons under 30, 20 $10 Rush Tickets are available at each performance in the season. Sign up by contacting the box office by emailing boxoffice@theateratmonmouth.org or calling 207-933-9999 the morning of the performance. Tickets can be picked up 30 minutes before curtain.

To reserve single tickets, subscriptions or arrange group sales, visit www.theateratmonmouth.org or call the box office, 207-933-9999.

Information is also available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TAMonmouth, Twitter at http://twitter.com/TAMonmouth, and view photos on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/theateratmonmouth/.