From Pandora to Dracula, the Theatre Project's 2000-2001 season will explore subjects ranging from women's issues to the personal odyssey of Obie Award winner David Drake, whose latest work, "Son of Drakula," will have its world premiere here in the spring.
"There's a strong emphasis on distinctive voices," said executive director Robert P. Mrozek. He described the seven-show season as "a bit more language-based performance than in the recent past." An eighth show may be added.
Here's the lineup:
"Pandora's Box," Nov. 3-19. Five women, including a 91-year-old Jewish widow and a lesbian construction worker, interact in this one-woman show performed by Kate Redway and produced by a New Jersey company.
"Bad Beans," Nov. 30-Dec. 16. PussyCat Theatre Company presents four one-act plays about forgiveness, written by Center Stage associate dramaturg James Magruder and directed by Susan Lev.
Stephanie Powell Dance Company, Feb. 22-24. An evening of new pieces by the local African-American troupe.
A new work by Theatre Company Jerusalem, March. The Israeli troupe that produced last season's "Esther" will present an ensemble piece from its repertoire.
"Son of Drakula," April. Drake, a former Marylander whose award-winning play, "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me," was filmed at the Theatre Project in 1999, returns with his latest solo piece, which interweaves his own history (his original surname is "Drakula") with his efforts to trace his lineage to the legendary count.
"Queer CafM-i," May 31-June 16. PussyCat Theatre Company's annual anthology of short gay and lesbian plays.
"Sister Solstice," June 21-July 2. In its third Theatre Project appearance, Baltimore's Medusa Speaks (formerly Medusa Theatre Company) will offer a performance series by and about women.
To kick off the season, the Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St., will hold a benefit on Sept. 16 titled "Red Eye." The evening, which begins at 7 p.m., is being billed as an "artistic all-nighter" and will feature a video history of the Theatre Project by Kathie Lee; a short radio play by Action Theater; and the rockabilly band, Barn Burners, among others. Tickets are $7 and include an hors-d'oeuvres buffet. A cash bar will be available.
Season passes range from $40 to $70. For more information, call 410-752-8558.
The best of and worst of it
The 19th annual Baltimore Playwrights Festival wraps up this coming weekend. This year's productions took theatergoers from modern Belgrade to ancient Greece, with varying degrees of success. Among the highs and lows:
The cleverest craftsmanship showed up in PS Lorio's "Four Scenes: A Hungarian Trilogy," in which a series of scenes - most with surprise endings - set in a Chicago bar were neatly linked by an ending in which the protagonist grew and learned from the events of the previous scenes.
Strong characters were a hallmark of Carol Weinberg's "Freedom Summer," a drama about a housewife in Queens, N.Y., whose life is altered by the civil rights struggle of the mid-1960s.
These two plays were notable for their naturalistic dialogue. Others included Ronda Cooperstein's "Juanita Bloom" and Sheila Kleinman's "Up on the Roof."
Festival veteran Mark Scharf again showed a good command of dialogue, but the plots of his two entries this year - "Beltway Roulette" and "No Riders" - lacked subtlety.
A tendency to emphasize issues over drama hampered both Rosemary Frisino Toohey's "Animal Instincts" and Cooperstein's other festival offering, "Dusting Belgrade." If these plays tried too hard to be serious, John Wallace Teahan's "Ancient Geeks," the festival's only out-and-out comedy, tried too hard to be funny. Lastly, a few performances deserve further mention: Rachel Myrowitz's spunky portrayal of a pregnant drifter in "No Riders," Gina DiPeppe's high-octane portrayal of the self-destructive protagonist in "Beltway Roulette," Laura Gifford's sensitive depiction of the desperate title character in "Juanita Bloom," Sherrionne Brown's mischief-tinged depiction of the dissatisfied bar owner in "Four Scenes" and Matthew J. Bowerman's moving portrayal of slain civil rights volunteer Andrew Goodman in "Freedom Summer."
The deadline for script submissions to next year's festival is Sept. 30. For guidelines call 410-276-2153. And you can still catch "Ancient Geeks" at Fell's Point Corner Theatre, 251 S. Ann St. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $11-$12. Call 410-276-7837.
Religion lessons
Brush up your catechism. "Late Nite Catechism," the long-running off-Broadway interactive comedy, will make its Baltimore debut at the F. Scott Black Theatre Oct. 3-Nov. 5. Presented by Performing Arts Productions, the show will be the organization's first theatrical venture away from its usual venue, the Lyric Opera House.
The one-woman comedy, written by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, will star Patti Hannon as a nun who conducts an adult catechism class with the audience as her students. Calling it "a compelling piece of environmental theater," Nicholas A. Litrenta, Performing Arts president, said, "I went to St. Elizabeth's in East Baltimore, and I saw the show in Montreal and the only seat left was in the front row. Within 10 minutes I was transported back to Sister Marcellina's sixth-grade class."
Show times at the theater, 100 E. Chesapeake Ave., will be 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturdays, and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays. Tickets will be $32.50-$35. (This is not a dinner theater production.) For more information, call 410-494-2712.
