ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA UP NEXT AT CUMBERLAND THEATRE

Classic tale by William Shakespeare opens next week

The Cumberland Theatre will continue their 37th Season with the classic Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare. The show will run March 27th – April 13th for ten performances.

The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Sicilian revolt to Cleopatra's suicide during the War of Actium. 

Mark Antony—one of the triumvirs of the Roman Republic, along with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus—has reached the heights of power. Now he has neglected his empire for a life of decadent seduction with his mistress, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. He ignores Rome's domestic problems, including the fact that his third wife Fulvia rebelled against Octavius and then died.

Caesar calls Antony back to Rome from Alexandria to help him fight against Sextus Pompey, Menecrates, and Menas, three notorious pirates of the Mediterranean.  At Alexandria, Cleopatra begs Antony not to go. In a tragic fight between devotion and duty, obsession becomes a catalyst for war. Politics and passion are violently intertwined in a gripping tale of power and betrayal. Torn between love and duty, Antony’s military brilliance deserts him, and his passion leads the lovers to their tragic end. 

Productions of Antony and Cleopatra over the years have included many famous actors playing the title roles: Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh in 1951; Michael Gambon and Helen Mirren in 1982; Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench in 1987; Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter in 2006; Kim Cattrall and Jeffery Kissoon in 2010 and Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo in 2018.

CT’s upcoming rendition is being directed by visiting guest director Kathleen Barth with script editing and fight direction by Sam Little, who recently directed last season’s Nevermore.

Playing the roles of Marc Antony and Cleopatra will be Michael Brewer who is appearing on the CT stage for the first time and Kimberli Rowley who was last seen in last fall’s The Cover of Life.

Playing the roles of Octavius Caesar and Lepidus will be Charlie Meeks (last seen as Duncan in Macbeth) and Reiner Prochaska (last seen as Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life. Also playing principal roles are Savannah Tagliaferro as Charmian, Katie Zimmerman as Octavia, Sean Besecker as Enorbarbus and Chase Fowler (also making his CT debut) as Pompey.

The supporting cast also includes local actors Brendon McCabe, Clayton Muir, Kirk Squires, Ellen McDaniel-Weissler, and Marcus Hardinger.  Visiting actors include Erik Alexis, Katelyn Shreiner, Eryk Bluto and Graham Luker who is also serving as the show’s fight captain.

The design team for the show is comprised of Maggie Jackson (set design), Jennifer Clark (costume design), Rhett Wolford (lighting design) and Jaiden Courrier (sound design). Joseph DiBiase is serving as the stage manager.

A preview performance will be held Thursday, March 27th at 8:00 pm. Following the preview, performances are March 28th – April 13th with Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm.. More information on ratings, group sale, etc. can be found on cumberlandtheatre.com where single tickets are available for purchase as well as 2025 Season Passes.

Cumberland Theatre presents Comedy by Tito Beveridge

This Side of the Dirt to play for a limited run of four performances

The Cumberland Theatre will present the comedy This Side of the Dirt by Tito Beveridge – of Tito’s Vodka fame – for a limited run of four performances. The show will play March 13th – 16th. Thursday – Saturday performances will be at 8:00 pm and Sunday’s performance will begin at 2:00 pm. The show has been described as “a South Texas family drama steeped in satire and humor.”

The story takes place days after the death of the family patriarch, Papo. We find his daughter, Jean Ann, alone and weeping as she comes to terms with her loss. As each new character enters her home, the layers of her pain and paranoia unfold.

Tito pieced together a story based on characters in his own life and others that he simply dreamed up. Writing about the subjects that interested him most -- family, friends, land and philosophy – he tinged this all together with a little South Texas flair to create This Side of the Dirt. Tito’s love of these characters drives his narrative through the ups and down of life and family – touching upon those hard-hitting moments when people are their weakest then building back up to their best and often times funniest. This Side of the Dirt is about love and family and the importance of telling it like it is and knowing that in the end it will all work out like it should. According to Tito, himself, “it’s a story of how one strong minded willful person lives on, after death, in spirit, through his family and friends.”

The Cumberland Theatre will become only the second theatre in the country to produce the play, which made its debut in Austin, Texas in 2016. It was later filmed and released in 2017.  “We are thrilled to be granted permission to perform this hilarious play, “said CT Board President BettyJo Gehauf. “We are honored that Tito has trusted us with his work and hope the community will come out and support this project!”

The show is being directed by Kimberli Rowley and features a blend of local actors and out-of-town guest artists.

Appearing as a special guest star in this production will be professional actress Rebeca Arthur.  A Cumberland native, Arthur left home for the University of Maryland at College Park, but finished her education at New York University.

Along with theater appearances in various off off-Broadway theatre productions, she started appearing sporadically on soap operas in New York. She then relocated to Los Angeles where she continued to work in television before landing the role of Mary Anne in the hit sitcom Perfect Strangers. She remained with the television series -- a staple of ABC's TGIF line up for the 1980s, for eight years.

Other notable film credits include, About Last Night, Scrooged, A Dangerous Woman, Get Shorty, Men Seeking Women, and Every Breathe. Arthur will play the role of Sally in This Side of the Dirt.

Making CT debut in the role of the family matriarch Jean Ann, will be NY based actor Carrie Baker.  A graduate of Portland State University, Baker has appeared regional theatres throughout the country including the Roxy Regional, Eugune Cabaret Theatre and the Hanger Theatre.

Returning to the Cumberland Theatre in the role of Juan the gardener will be Juan Calix, who has previously been seen on the CT stage as Bobby in Company and, most recently, Player 2 in Nevermore the Musical.

Local actors joining the cast will be Emily Snyder, Andy Duncan and Andrew Watkins. Snyder was last seen in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Duncan and Watkins both last appeared in It’s a Wonderful Life.

The design team for the show is comprised of Brendon McCabe (lighting and costume design) and Kimberli Rowley and Anika Jones (props coordinators). Jones will also serve as the show’s stage manager.

A happy hour featuring Tito’s cocktails will begin an hour before each performance. More information on ratings, group sale, etc. can be found on cumberlandtheatre.com where single tickets are available for purchase as well as 2025 Season Passes.

Local Edgar Allan Poe Scholar to Speak at Cumberland Theatre

Book-signing and Poe discussion this Saturday before Nevermore the Musical

Professor Amy Branam Armiento, who is currently employed in the English Department at Frostburg State University, and the immediate past president of the Poe Studies Association, will lead at discussion on Edgar Allan Poe this Saturday, October 19th at 7:30 pm at the Cumberland Theatre. The talk will immediately precede the performance of the musical Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, which begins at 8:00 pm. The talk is open to all patrons who purchase a ticket to that evening’s performance.

Professor Amy Armiento

In addition to publishing articles on Poe, she is the editor of More Than Love: The Enduring Fascination with Edgar Allan Poe (Mercer UP, 2024) and co-editor, with Travis Montgomery, of Poe and Women: Recognition and Revision (Lehigh UP, 2023).

Professor Armiento will also be signing copies of More Than Love: The Enduring Fascination with Edgar Allan Poe in the theatre’s lobby during intermission.

The book, which was recently published, discusses Edgar Allan Poe's legacy, which continues to thrive more than one hundred seventy years since his mystery death. Poe's ubiquitous presence is evident in not only literature published today but also film, television, music, visual arts, the tourism industry, and many more fields. Although Poe's impact transcends time and place, the book's essays feature those creators who have direct knowledge of Poe's significance for contemporary U.S. culture. They work in professions in which Poe himself had been employed (e.g., poet and short story writer) or represent fields known for engaging with Poe and his works (e.g., music and film). Too often, they are not invited to participate directly in scholarly research related to pop culture. This book foregrounds their voices, allowing them to answer specific, vital questions: When did they first learn about Poe? Who introduced them to him? What were the circumstances? Which stories, poems, or other writings by Poe resonate with them? Why do they feel a connection to him? How do they integrate Poe into their own work? Writers of poetry, detective fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and horror stories along with actors, visual artists, musicians, tour guides, teachers, and many others reflect on how Poe has influenced their careers. Local contributors include Andy Duncan, Jamison Odone, and Emily Michael.

Nevermore is a wildly theatrical musical that combines haunting music and poetic storytelling to chronicle the fascinating life of the iconic American author. A literary rock star of his day, Poe struggles with tragedy and addiction, poverty and loss, yet produces some of the world’s most original, visionary and enduring literature before dying in unexplained circumstances at the age of 40. At once gorgeous and grotesque, Nevermore explores the events that shape Poe’s character and career, blurring the line between fact and fiction–after all, as Poe himself writes, “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

The show was originally produced at the Catalyst Theater in Edmonton, Alberta, for an 11-week production that then went on to be performed at theater festivals, theaters across Canada, to the Barbican Theater in London, and the New Victory Theater in New York City. The Cumberland Theatre production is being sponsored by Charles Romano in honor of his late uncle and aunt, Dr. Nicholas and Shirley Giarritta.

Nevermore runs through October 27th with Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Ticket are available at cumberlandtheatre.com or by calling 301.759.4990.