Message from the Providence Players Board President, Kevin Harnisch
Spring is almost here!
The snow has melted, the days are getting longer, and the Spring Equinox is on March 20th!
There is a lot to celebrate and look forward to, as you’ll see within this web letter. We enjoyed a fantastic evening with our friends and members at our annual Winter Party. Our celebrations continued with the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) nominations announcement for the 23rd Annual WATCH Awards. They included seven (7) nominations for Providence Players’ production of Twelve Angry Jurors!
As we celebrate Black History Month, Providence Players is pleased to continue our outreach to our immediate community by sponsoring the 31st Annual Tinner Hill Festival which honors the historically African American neighborhood in which the James Lee Theater is located. Watch this spot for details in the future.
Last but not least, we are into our next production cycle for the spring show, 2 Across by Jerry Mayer and directed by Barbara Gertzog. Two strangers, a man and a woman, board a San Francisco BART train at 4:30 a.m. At that hour their focus is on their own crossword puzzles. What follows, however, is a romantic comedy train ride that is witty and charming. We know you will enjoy the show. The production runs from March 21st to April 5th.
We’re looking forward to seeing you at the theater!
Kevin Harnisch
President, Board of Directors
Coming Attraction: Meet the Cast of 2 Across, by Jerry Mayer
Our March/April production is a breezy little comedy, and we are delighted to have two of our best actors returning for this production. Aaron Truax (Twelve Angry Jurors) and Elizabeth Keith (Surviving Grace) are excited to be working with director Barbara Gertzog and have been looking forward to exploring the lighter side of crosswords and romance. Not only is the cast talented onstage but interesting people offstage as well.
Aaron, who plays Josh, is relatively new to the area, having recently moved here from overseas posts where he served as a Foreign Service Officer. Since there were very few overseas theater opportunities, he is delighted to have found such a vibrant community here in the DMV. Although his original passion was musical theater, he gave up singing and dancing long ago, so we count ourselves lucky that he has joined us for this play (no singing or dancing required).
Elizabeth, who plays Janet, is by day a law professor at American University. She is an avid crossword and sudoku puzzle solver on weekends. While she identifies with Janet on many levels, she still prefers to make her entries in pencil – not pen! Another passion of hers is the theater. This is her first time working with Aaron, and she considers the opportunity to meet and learn from talented artists who are committed to the theater as another benefit. As she puts it “Theater friends are just the best!”
Photos by Chip Gertzog.
Performance Dates and Times for 2 Across:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.
March 21 – April 5
Sunday Matinees 2:00 p.m.
March 23 & 30
Audition Notice!
Shooting Star by Steven Dietz
Directed by John Coscia
Providence Players will hold auditions on Monday March 10 and Tuesday March11, beginning at 7 pm each evening, for our final show of this season, Shooting Star. Auditions will be held in the Urbanites Room at the James Lee Community Center (2855 Annandale Rd, Falls Church VA). The show will be staged from June 6 – June 21 at James Lee.
The cast is comprised of one female role and one male role – both in their 50s.
In this bittersweet romantic comedy. College lovers, Elena Carson and Reed McAllister, are snowed in overnight at a middle-America airport. They have not seen each other for years and are moved by this unexpected reunion. Elena has stayed true to her hippie-ish, counter-culture path, while Reed has gone predictably corporate and conservative. As the night gives way to laughter, banter, remembrance and alcohol, Elena and Reed revisit a past that holds more surprises than they imagined—and a present that neither of them could have predicted. Filled with laughter and heartache,
Shooting Star explores the middle days of our lives, and how we get there. For more information about auditions, please see providenceplayers.org/auditions.
Special Offer
Get our 2 Across and Shooting Star package deal – 2 shows for just $30.00! Don’t mis this chance to experience two engaging, heartfelt love stories this season. For details, click here.
Behind the Scenes: Community Outreach
Providence Players Members participate in fun and fundraising!
This past September, The Young Hearts Foundation hosted the Ryan McLaughlin Memorial Golf Tournament.
“In memory of Ryan, who was 13 years old when leukemia took him away from us, this tournament raises funds to support pediatric patients facing life-threatening illnesses. In celebration of 25 years of community support, the Young Hearts Foundation has a goal of raising $250,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Dare to Dream Project. This project is transforming treatment for pediatric blood cancer patients.”
For over a decade The Young Hearts have partnered with the Providence Players to raise money during our holiday productions. Again, this year, many friends of the McLaughlin family, including current and former Providence members, have continued to participate in the golf tournament. However, this year is the 25th anniversary of the Young Hearts Foundation and, in honor of Ryan’s parents Mike and Prince McLaughlin, a “Dream team” of friends, including Providence Players members, secretly raised $157,000.
These funds will be directed toward The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Dare to Dream Project, to focus on care for pediatric blood cancer patients. In addition, the “Dream Team” and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society named a community impact award in Ryan’s name, which will be given annually at the Northern Virginia Student Visionaries of the Year gala. Below are a few photos, by Chip Gertzog and Adam Lee, of the golf tournament – and of the surprise presentations.
Save the Date
June 9: The Annual General Membership Meeting – The Providence Board of Directors will host this meeting on Monday, June 9th. More details to follow but please add Providence Players to your calendar. It should be an informative – and fun – meeting.
Member Updates
- The Washington Area Theatre Community Honors, better known as the WATCH Awards, are theater awards recognizing excellence in Community theater in the Washington, D.C. area. Member companies supply judges to attend and to review plays throughout the year. We want to thank our Providence WATCH judges Mario Font, Elizabeth Keith, Ward Kay and Sarah Baczewski for their service.
- Congratulations to our 2024 WATCH Award nominees! Ninety-nine productions (thirty-nine musicals and sixty plays) were adjudicated by WATCH judges during the 2024 season. Twenty-seven community theaters participated. Awards will be presented on Sunday March 23rd at The Birchmere in Alexandria VA. Congratulations to our production of Twelve Angry Jurors which was honored with seven nominations for this past year:
- Outstanding Costume Design in a Play – Nicole Andres – Twelve Angry Jurors
- Outstanding Direction of a Play – Dave Wright – Twelve Angry Jurors
- Leta Hall Outstanding Ensemble in a Play – Twelve Angry Jurors
- Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play – Eric Kennedy as “Juror #8” – Twelve Angry Jurors
- Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play – Bruce Alan Rauscher as “Juror #3” – Twelve Angry Jurors
- Outstanding Lighting Design in a Play – Ari McSherry – Twelve Angry Jurors
- Outstanding Play – Twelve Angry Jurors
- Teresa Preston will be featured as Ladybug in James and the Giant Peach for the McLean Community Players. The show runs the last two weekends in March. Does one say “Break a Leg” to a Ladybug? We do.
- Mario Font and Jason Damaso remain a creative (and fun) theater duo. They just finished casting On Your Feet! The Gloria Estefan Musical for Dominion Stage. Jason is producing and Mario is directing this show which will be running from May 2 thru May 17.
- The Providence Players Winter Party took place on January 25, 2025, at Clare & Don’s Beach Shack in Falls Church. Again, the Providence Board invited the current members and donors to celebrate an upcoming year of fun and entertainment with new theater friends and old.
- Welcome New members: Matthew Baker, Frances Millhouser, Liz Pena and JoAnn Perrini. Welcome to Providence Players!
- Renewing members include: Marjorie Clark, Susan Dye, Mario Font, Robin Gold, Mike & Prince McLaughlin, and Carol McDevitt
- If your membership is lapsed and you wish to renew, you can click here.
If you love this company, we need your help! We love our auditioners but we also need box office, marketing, production volunteers, house managers, ushers and more playbill advertisers. We are happy to train you. Come Volunteer!
To let us know of your interests:
Since our Member Interest Survey is currently under re-construction, please email directly to info@providenceplayers.org to share a bit about your theater experience and how you would like to volunteer. We will review your comments, pass along your interest to Producers and Directors, and reach out to you when opportunities present themselves.
We look forward to working and playing with you!
Final Curtain?
(Have an update you would like to share with your fellow members? Please send an email to members@providenceplayers.org with the subject line “Member Update” and we will include it!)
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