Jason Lott as George Bailey

We opened WONDERFUL LIFE last night.  It was a lovely night, and what was incredibly clear was that this story still resonates today.  It may take place decades ago, but economic trials, family hardships, and the struggle to attain our dreams, are universal and timeless.  Luckily so are faith, hope, love and generosity.  And they seem to trump all the negatives.

Thank you to everyone who helped bring this show to life.  Now come and see it! Buy tickets here!

For a little fun, here are some quotes from the tech rehearsal:

Thomas:  What were you looking for here?
Helen:  Something seismic, like the universe is ripping apart.
Thomas:  Sure, I have that right here in my sound library.

Gregg:  How is that lighting piece working?
Kyle:  Um… ok.
Gregg:  Why do you sound so sad when you say that?
Kyle:  No its fine.  I’m happy to be with you.

Sarah: This tree is huge.
Brooke:  I know, and it needs a ton more tinsel.

And as I type, in walked… Maria Vetsch, our awesome Costume Designer  for another fitting with my co-adaptor and star of Wonderful Life, Jason Lott.

It’s so lovely to see it all come together.  The last element will be you.  Join us at the theatre – we open next weekend!

-Helen Pafumi

The Hub kicks off the mainstage season just in time for the holidays with a world premiere and new take on a seasonal classic. Wonderful Life is based on It’s a Wonderful Life, produced and directed by Frank Capra. The Hub’s Artistic Director, Helen Pafumi, and talented actor and Hub favorite, Jason Lott (The Pavilion and Summer Cabaret), have co-adapted the classic to create a fun new version for the stage. Every holiday season, we follow George Bailey through highs and lows as he struggles to understand his own worth and ultimately finds that life is worth living. The Hub’s new telling features Jason Lott playing all the roles necessary to bring this Christmas tale to life. This exciting and demanding one-person show is sure to delight audiences of all ages this holiday season. Wonderful Life runs at the John Swayze Theatre from December 2 – 27, 2011.

WONDERFUL LIFE
December 2 – 27, 2011
Featuring:  Jason Lott, Director: Gregg Henry Scenic Designer: Brooke Robbins, Lighting Designer: Kyle Grant, Sound Designer: Thomas Sowers, Costume Designer: Maria Vetsch, Stage Manager: Sarah Conte

Tickets are available now by calling 703-674-3177 or visiting our box office webpage.

Photo by: C. Stanley Photography

There’s a certain buzz around town right now … a buzz about a few feathered friends. Two chinstrap penguins are about to take center stage on July 15 when The Hub hatches the world premiere of Marc Acito’s Birds of a Feather.

This new play recounts the story of Roy and Silo, the two Central Park Zoo chinstrap penguins who partnered, adopted an egg, hatched and raised a chick together. Roy and Silo are no strangers to the spotlight. In 2005, they were the subject of a widely contested children’s book, And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. The book, temporarily pulled from school bookshelves in Loudoun County, became one of the most banned books in the US. In Birds of a Feather, all of the characters are played by actors, including the bird-brained humans.

Birds of a Feather playwright, Marc Acito, is the author of the comic novels How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater (Editors’ Choice – The New York Times ) and its sequel Attack of the Theater People and performs singing commentaries on NPR’s All Things Considered.

The press is already talking about the show! Joel Markowitz named The Hub’s Birds of a Feather a Top Pick on broadwayworld.com, and David Segal wrote a great story about the show in the Fairfax Connection newspaper.

Demand for this show will likely be high. Buy your tickets early to avoid disappointment at the door! Click here to visit the box office.

The Hub Theatre presents
Birds of a Feather By Marc Acito, directed by Shirley Serotsky
Featuring: Dan Crane, Matt Dewberry, Eric Messner, and Jjana Valentiner
Creative Team: Robbie Hayes (Scenic Design), Andy Cissna (Lighting Design), Veronika Vorel (Sound Design), Deb Sivigny (Costume Design), Eric Arnold (Stage Management)

July 15 – August 7, 2011
Performances at The John Swayze Theatre at the New School of Virginia
9431 Silver King Court
Fairfax, VA 22031
Tickets: $25 adults, $15 children and seniors

www.thehubtheatre.org
703-674-3177

Booz Allen has invited Marc Acito to moderate a rich discussion about adoption featuring a panel of experts and it’s open to the community. You’ll hear about the process of adoption, listen to first-hand perspective from those who have gone through it, and learn what you might need to consider before starting the process.

This informative event will shed light on the process of adoption for same-sex (and opposite sex) couples and give you a better understanding what’s involved.

Moderator:
Marc Acito, Award-Winning Author, NPR Personality, and Birds of a Feather Playwright
 
Panelists:
Janice Goldwater, Executive Director, Adoptions Together, Inc.
Natalie Jackson, Booz Allen Total Rewards
Ellen Kahn, Family Project Director, Human Rights Campaign and Board President, Rainbow Families DC
Roberta Leftwich, Sr. Associate and Adoptive Parent
Valeree Moodee, Booz Allen Employment Practices
 
Additional Remarks:
Troy Kofroth, Vice President, Booz Allen and Adoptive Parent
Helen Pafumi, Founder and Artistic Director, The Hub Theatre
 
This event is free and open to the community; however, space is limited and registration is required. To register visit: http://events.SignUp4.net/WeAreFamily

The Washington Post says, “as Massicotte’s tale gathers momentum, along with layers of mystery, quirkiness and dream logic, ‘The Clockmaker’ becomes a piquant parable about memory, guilt, second chances, and the remorselessness of time.” Read the whole review here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/theater-review-the-clockmaker/2011/05/04/AFBi8DEG_story.html

DC Theatre Scene says, “It takes a real master to successfully blend comedy, romance, crime drama, and metaphysical mystery into a single play.  Fortunately, talented Canadian playwright Stephen Massicotte is just such a master and his gem of a play, The Clockmaker, receives an equally skillful DC area premiere at The Hub Theatre.” Read the whole review at: http://dctheatrescene.com/2011/05/04/the-clockmaker/

And just to tease you, check out our new promo! http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHubTheatre?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/ElwBkUdtaPQ

Great reviews! But why not judge for yourself! The Clockmaker runs Friday, Saturday, Sunday through May 22. Buy tickets in advance at: https://www.chooseculture.org/inspect?type=Program&id=122755.

We can’t wait to see you at The Hub!

http://files.connectionnewspapers.com/PDF/current/Fairfax.pdf

Joel is an award-winning lighting and production designer based in New York. He has designed theatre and opera regionally, in New York, and internationally for more than 15 years. His Washington-area theatre credits include Passion Play and Cabaret at Arena Stage, and Beaux Stratagem at The Shakespeare Theatre. Currently he is the lighting and production designer for Blue Man Group and has designed BMG shows in Tokyo, Universal Studios-Orlando, Berlin, Oberhausen, Stuttgart, Amsterdam and Zurich. His work includes designs for rock concerts for Blue Man Group, Three Dog Night, and Jerry Seinfeld’s New Year’s Eve Comedy Show. Joel also designs for museum installations and corporate events. Joel’s corporate lighting design client roster includes Ford, Jaguar, Lincoln, Philip Morris, Kraft, and Applebee’s. He has spent five years as a presentation designer for Intel and has toured internationally with Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel to China, South America, Europe and Indonesia. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s MFA program in stage design. In his spare time, Joel is a photographer, designs and builds original furniture, and is an avid snowboarder. http://joelmoritz.com/

Tickets are still available for The Clockmaker, opening April 29 and running through May 22. To buy your tickets, visit www.thehubtheatre.org.

After ten years as a free-lance designer in Manhattan, Dan Conway moved to Washington, DC, where he maintains his studio, teaches, and heads the MFA program in design at The University of Maryland. While in New York, he attended the Studio and Forum of Stage Design, and assisted Tony Award-winning designer, John Lee Beatty on many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. He also designed several dozen Off-Broadway productions on Theatre Row. New York design credits include the premieres of Horton Foote’s Lily Dale and Brecht’s Conversations in Exile, as well as many productions for The Manhattan Class Company directed by Don Scardino, Michael Greif, Robert Lupone, and others. Dan has designed productions for Regional Theatres including The Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Cleveland Playhouse, The Boston Lyric Opera, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Hangar Theatre, Syracuse Stage, and The Arden and Wilma Theatres in Philadelphia.

In the DC area, Dan has designed 20 productions for The Studio Theatre. Recent projects include Radio Golf directed by Ron Himes for the Studio Theatre, Arcadia directed by Aaron Posner for The Folger Theatre, Chasing George Washington directed by John Vreeke for The Kennedy Center, My Name is Asher Lev directed by Aaron Posner for The Arden Theatre, Dirty Blonde directed by Jeremy Skidmore for The Signature Theatre, Chess and Sunset Boulevard directed by Eric Schaeffer for The Signature Theatre, and the premiere of The Trumpet of The Swan by Jason Robert Brown directed by Gary Griffin for The Kennedy Center. With ten nominations for Outstanding Set Design, Dan has been honored with the Helen Hayes Award twice, most recently in 2009 for Stunning directed by Anne Kauffman for The Woolly Mammoth Theatre.

 http://www.conwaydesign.com/clients/conwayd/nav/splash.shtml

Kirsten is a film and theatre director and theatre educator who lives in New York city. Her film credits include: “Tokyo/Vermont Counterpoint” short film (Beyond The Machine concert, Lincoln Center); “Asparagus! (Stalking the American Life)” (award-winning feature documentary on the 2006-7 film festival circuit; DVD released May 2008); “Juilliard Electronic Ensemble: Beyond The Machine Mission Video”. She was the Production Manager for three National Geographic Explorer episodes, “Science of Babies,” “Ultimate Hippos,” and “Inside North Korea with Lisa Ling.” Her theatre directing credits include: Co-creator of “CPS! Shakespeare” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet, Chicago Shakespeare (adaptations with cast of Chicago Public HS students and teachers), the Washington D.C. premiere of Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gillman (Helen Hayes Nomination, Best Direction), the midwest/Chicago premiere of David Mamet’s Boston Marriage (After Dark Award, Best Director), and Savage Love/Tongues with the Juilliard Percussion Ensemble, Lincoln Center.

For The Hub Theatre’s production of The Clockmaker by Stephen Massicotte and directed by Kirsten Kelly  runs at The Hub from April 29 – May 22. Tickets are now on sale at www.thehubtheatre.org.