THREE DIFFERENT PLAYS
Theme: Life Truly Worth Living
JULY 2 - 28, 2019
Three different award-winning and thought-provoking plays, all taking place in the historic Firehouse Arts and Events Center.
3 PLAYS, 6 NIGHTS A WEEK, FOR 4 WEEKS
Bellingham TheatreWorks, in partnership with The Firehouse Arts and Events Center, The Historic Fairhaven Association, and the Palliative Care Institute, presents three plays in repertory.
While the themes of each play involve quality of life, they do so with copious amounts of levity.
Each of these productions will be performed in the round, so audience members will be sitting in close proximity to the actors.
We are the only theatre in the Pacific Northwest that offers a summer repertory season, and we are thrilled to offer you high-caliber literature and talent this summer.
We also invite the audience to stay and participate in the post-show discussions with community organizations that are addressing issues raised by the plays.
FSRT 2019 FEATURED ARTISTS:
Isabelle Bushue, Heather Dudenbostel, Will Eames, Vanessa Guidon, Linnaea Groh, Jason Hamann, Zach Harrison, David Ketter, Beth Leonard, Jim Lortz, Evan Mueller, Brie Turoff Mueller, John Parra, Teague Parker, Monty Rozema, Terry Sacks, Cliff Stephens, Ethel Stephens, Calvin Taylor, Beth Wallace, Cindy Whiston
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Our company works with many students and educators, parents and children, as well as guest artists from far beyond Bellingham Bay, all working together to bring these three plays to life.
1
WIT
by Margaret Edson
Directed by Kayla Adams
Video written, directed, co-edited by Valerie Dalena, videography and co-edited by Jordan Neyens, sound design by Aiken Bömers-Muller.
Wit is a sardonic, funny, and heart-wrenching exploration of the puzzle of our irrevocable journey toward death, as seen through the eyes of a 50-year-old professor of English Literature who has been diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer. She reflects on her academic career and begins to question the single-minded values that have always driven her.
“[A] brutally human and beautifully layered new play. You feel both enlightened and, in a strange way, enormously comforted."
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
Pulitzer Prize Winner, Drama, 1999
THE WISDOM OF WIT**
a dramatized lecture by Megan Cole
Monday, July 8
The Wisdom of “Wit” is Megan Cole’s dramatized lecture of Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Wit” for which Ms. Cole played the leading role in the original production at the South Coast Repertory in 1995. In The Wisdom of “Wit," Megan leads the audience through the play’s gripping story, alternately acting every character and interpreting the play’s perspectives on important end-of-life issues.
*Appropriate for those who have seen "Wit" as well as those who intend to see "Wit."
**The 55-minute performance will be followed by a talk-back led by actress Megan Cole and Dr. Marie Eaton of the Palliative Care Institute.
2
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Mark Kuntz
Video written, directed, co-edited by Valerie Dalena, videography and co-edited by Jordan Neyens, sound design by Aiken Bömers-Muller.
This play centers on a family celebrating the 65th birthday of their patriarch, Big Daddy, whom they have sentimentally dubbed. The mood is somber, despite the festivities, as a number of evils poison the gaiety: greed, sins of the past, and desperate hope as the knowledge that Big Daddy is dying slowly makes the rounds.
“This is a gripping and intensely moving play…brilliant scenes… comes closest to hurling the actual blood and bone of life onto the stage."
—WASHINGTON POST
Pulitzer Prize Winner, Drama, 1955
3
CLEAN HOUSE
by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by David Lee Painter
Video written, directed, co-edited by Valerie Dalena, videography and co-edited by Jordan Neyens, sound design by Aiken Bömers-Muller.
Lane, a doctor who is too busy to clean her own house, hires Matilde, a feisty maid from Brazil who just happens to hate to clean and spends her time trying to make up the perfect joke. To cover for the maid, the doctor's neat-freak sister, Virginia, secretly takes over the housecleaning. As Lane's personal life comes crashing down around her, we are reminded that there is humor and beauty to be found in life’s biggest messes.
“One of the finest and funniest plays you're likely to see."
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Drama, 2005
SHOW GALLERIES
Wit
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Clean House
IN THE MEDIA
July 1, 2019: Whatcom Talk article about FSRT.
July 4, 2019: Entertainment 360 article about FSRT.
July 2019: Entertainment News NW article about FSRT.
July 1, 2019: Bikman Best Bets about FSRT.
June 12, 2019: Cascadia Weekly article about FSRT.
July 2019: Bellingham Alive article about FSRT.
July 3, 2019: Western Front article about FSRT.
July 10, 2019: La Conner News article about FSRT.
POST-SHOW COMMUNITY DISCUSSIONS
Sunday, July 7: Clean House
led by Dr. Marie Eaton of the Palliative Care Institute
Sunday, July 14: Wit
led by Dr. Marie Eaton of the Palliative Care Institute
Sunday, July 21: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
led by Dr. Marie Eaton of the Palliative Care Institute