Cumberland Theatre Now Casting for 2024

Auditions scheduled for 36th Season of Entertainment

The Cumberland Theatre is now scheduling audition appointments and accepting submissions for their 36th Season of Entertainment.  The theatre is casting a variety of shows for the main stage season as well as the Theatre for Young Audiences program, Shakespeare in the Park and other events throughout 2024.

The main stage season consists of nine shows, of which eight have roles open: The Rose Tattoo (March), Jesus Christ Superstar (May), Sideways (June), Footloose (July), The Cover of Life (September), Biloxi Blues (September), Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe (October), and It’s a Wonderful Life (December). Please note casting has closed for The Play That Goes Wrong, which will be performed in February.

Two of the main stage shows (The Rose Tattoo and It’s a Wonderful Life) have roles for children.

Live Auditions will be held at the theatre on 101 North Johnson Street, Cumberland, MD on January 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th. Those who wish to audition should visit cumberlandtheatre.com and complete the digital audition form to either reserve an audition time and provide the shows and roles for which they would like to be considered. Online submissions will also be accepted; however attending the live auditions is encouraged. 

Those auditioning will be asked to sing at least 16 bars and/or perform a short monologue. Those auditioning for the musicals will be asked to attend a short dance call.

The theatre casts both local and out-of-town actors. All roles are paid and housing is available for out-of-town actors and designers. For more information and character breakdowns, please visit the Main Stage Audition page of the theatre’s website. www.cumberlandtheatre.com

Hallmark Christmas Parody Next Up at Cumberland Theatre

Hilarious comedy of rom-coms will close 35th Season of Entertainment

The Cumberland Theatre will conclude their 35th season of entertainment with the Christmas comedy “The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon” opening on December 7th and running through December 17th. The show is being sponsored by Mary Splain Shrout with the concession stand being sponsored by Allegany College of Maryland.

Based on a contemporary societal confection of six sugary original Hallmark meets Netflix holidays movies, the show is a fast-paced silly comedy that pokes fun at the holiday rom-coms that serve as everyone’s guilty pleasure during the holiday season. The playwright Don Zolidis - originally from Wisconsin - is one of the most prolific playwrights of contemporary theatre, having scribed 102 plays and staged 12,000 theatrical productions across the United States.

The show is guided by two binge-watching narrators played by Jmonet Hill (last seen at CT in Rock of Ages) and Alex Stompoly, who is making his CT debut. They set the stage for Hopewood Falls, Vermont, during a snowy night when a dozen wayward travelers, all single and alone and, coincidentally, tragically orphaned or widowed on Christmas, to the Evergreen inn, and, naturally, shenanigans ensue.

With a dozen backstories to explain and romances to resolve in two Acts, the action and humor is fast paced and swings from charming to downright creepy—think gas lights to gaslighting—and back. Along the way, runaway princes and frustrated writers get tangled up with Christmas tree farmers and incognito movie stars as they are confront the usual rom-com dilemmas: Can disguises help royalty and/or movie stars find the down-to-earth connections they crave? Will evil city slickers destroy charming inns and/or Christmas tree farms? Isn't it a little creepy for a meet-cute to depend on one person being in a coma? Will they live happily ever after? Or be attacked by wolves in Act 2? And can the sassy red-haired friend played by Savannah Tagliaferro (fresh from last month’s Evil Dead the Musical) keep it all straight?

The proprietor of the Inn, Holly, will be portrayed by Brenna Peerbolt who has been seen on the CT stage this season in Murder on the Orient Express, Perfect Wedding and The Taming of the Shrew. Playing her new “handyman” (who is really a prince!) will be local actor Brian Records who was last seen in A Few Good Men and Evil Dead the Musical. Two passive-aggressive and one-upper-type romance novelists are portrayed by Samantha Kennedy and Shane Lynn. Both were seen in last season’s production of Company.

Seth Thompson returns to the CT stage as the sensitive Christmas tree farmer, Blake, with Kimberli Rowley (the theatre’s Artistic Director) portraying Merry – the big city executive with no time for Christmas who is trying to buy the tree farm and turn it into a golf course. Both were last seen in The Taming of the Shrew and A Few Good Men. Bill Dennison (also last seen in A Few Good Men) portrays dog-owner Jackson, who is knocked into a coma by Carol – played by Tori Weaver (last seen in July’s Escape to Margaritaville).

Also returning to CT are Sean Besecker, Kiersten Gasemy, Pierce Bunch, Amanda Talero and Justice Courrier. Besecker plays Kris – who just can’t be Santa in the parade, despite Noelle (Gasemy) desperately trying to convince him that it is his destiny to follow in his father’s footsteps. Bunch and Talero play royalty – one Hollywood, one…who knows? – who discover love among the chaos in spite of both being hopelessly self-absorbed. Courrier portrays a wide variety of characters in a very short amount of time including an evil real estate developer and the ex-boyfriends of every female character in the show.

The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon is under the direction of Reiner Prochaska. The design team includes CT’s Technical Director Rhett Wolford (set design), Reed Simiele (lighting design), Cody Gilliam (costume design), and Trevor McCabe (prop design). Run crew is comprised of Anthony Tagliaferro (stage manager) and Rowan Dickson (assistant stage manager).

The show plays Thursday – Saturday nights at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available by calling 301.759.4990 or online at cumberlandtheatre.com. Special VIP “comfy” couch seats are available, which include popcorn, drinks, and other perks. Group rates are available for groups of twenty or more. A complimentary opening reception will be held following the official opening night on Friday, December 8th for no additional charge. On December 15th, the theatre will host a Tito’s Ugly Sweater party beginning at 7:00 pm. Follow the Cumberland Theatre’s Facebook and Instagram pages for upcoming details.

Cumberland Theatre Announces 36th Season of Entertainment

Passes & Subscriptions Now on Sale for Nine Show Main Stage Season

The Cumberland Theatre has announced their 2024 Main Stage Season and season passes are now available for purchase. The theatre will enter its 36th year of entertainment in 2024 and an exciting line-up of shows has been planned as well as youth productions, readings and other events.

The season will open in February with the popular show The Play That Goes Wrong. A smash hit farce on both Broadway and the West End, the play zeros in on opening night of the Cornley University Drama Society’s newest production, The Murder at Haversham Manor, where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. This 1920s whodunit has everything anyone never wanted in a show—an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines). Nevertheless, the accident-prone thespians battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences! Part Monty Python, part Sherlock Holmes, this Olivier Award–winning comedy is a global phenomenon that’s guaranteed to leave audiences aching with laughter!

In March, the theatre will produce the Tennessee Williams classic The Rose Tattoo. Winner of the 1951 Tony Award, The Rose Tattoo is the story of a woman for whom love was stronger than death. Set among a colony of Sicilian fisher-folk on the American Gulf Coast, the play tells the story of Serafina Delle Rose, a restless widow whose intense and absorbing instinct for love drives everything before it. She dominates the small town where she and her friends are living and embodies the exultation and danger of unbridled passion. Her story, and that of the lover she chooses and the daughter she denies, are forged into a play of power, humanity, and soaring emotion. The play was Williams's third smash hit and was adapted into a film in 1955. The movie starred Burt Lancaster and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three including Best Actress for Anna Magnani’s portrayal of Serafina. The most recent revival on Broadway starred Marisa Tomei. Ultimately, The Rose Tattoo is about humanity, acceptance, and love—and the lengths people go to deny themselves those things. It is about the theatre of appearance and what one looks like when they unmask themself.

The season will continue in May with the Tony-award winning musical Jesus Christ Superstar. The first musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be produced for the professional stage, Jesus Christ Superstar has endured for over 50 years. A timeless work, the rock opera is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally known series of events but seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Superstar follows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. The iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Gethsemane.” A true global phenomenon spawning countless revivals and a film of the same name, Superstar continues to touch new generations of audiences and performers.

June will take audiences to California wine country with the comedy-drama Sideways. A wine-tasting road trip to salute the final days of bachelorhood careens woefully sideways as two friends hit the gas en route to mid-life crises. The comically mismatched pair, who share little more than their history and a heady blend of failed potential and fading youth, soon find themselves drowning in wine and women. Emerging from a haze of Pinot Noir, wistful yearnings, and trepidation about the future, the two inevitably collide with reality. Adapted by Rex Pickett from his novel, the play was also adapted to the silver screen in 2004. The film version starred Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The summer musical will be Footloose the Musical, which will run the entire month of July. The show was the winner of the Audience Choice vote and is based on the 1984 film of the same name. When Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, he is prepared for the inevitable adjustment period at his new high school. But he’s not prepared for the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing instituted by the local preacher, who is determined to exercise control over the town’s youth. When the reverend’s rebellious daughter sets her sights on Ren, her roughneck boyfriend tries to sabotage Ren’s reputation, with many of the locals eager to believe the worst about the new kid. The heartfelt story that emerges pins a father longing for the son he lost against a young man aching for the father who walked out on him. To the rockin’ rhythm of its Oscar and Tony-nominated Top 40 score, augmented with dynamic new songs, Footloose celebrates the wisdom of listening to young people while guiding them with a warm heart and open mind.

In September, for the first time ever, the theatre will perform two plays in rotation for three weekends. The plays, both taking place during World War II, will feature many of the same actors and will run for six performances each. The first play, Biloxi Blues, is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. It portrays the conflict of Sergeant Merwin J. Toomey and Arnold Epstein, one of many privates enlisted in the military stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi, seen through the eyes of Eugene Jerome, one of the other soldiers. The play won the Tony Award for Best Play and was adapted into a film starring Matthew Broderick and Christopher Walken.

The second play, The Cover of Life, portrays Tood, Weetsie, and Sybill -- brides in rural Louisiana in 1943 -- each married a Cliffert brother. The men are off to war and a local news story about these young wives keeping the home fires burning intrigues Henry Luce. He decides that they belong on the cover of Life Magazine and assigns Kate Miller to the story. She has been covering the war in Europe and, though she views doing a "women's piece" as a career set-back, she accepts because it will be her first cover story. Kate spends a week with the Cliffert women, and her haughty urban attitude gives way to sympathy as she begins to understand them while coming face-to-face with her own powerlessness in a man's world.

The macabre musical Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe will run during the month of October – just in time for Halloween. This unique and wildly theatrical musical combines haunting music and poetic storytelling to chronicle the life of iconic American writer Edgar Allan Poe. 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. Nevermore explores the events that shape Poe’s character and career, blurring the line between fact and fiction.

Finishing out the season in December will be the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful LIfe, an adaptation of the beloved Frank Capra film starring Jimmy Stewart. It is Christmas Eve, and George Bailey stands on a bridge looking over the icy waters below, contemplating suicide. Joseph, an unseen angel, calls on The Boss for advice, and they decide on Clarence Oddbody, an Angel Second Class who, after 200 years, has yet to earn his wings. Joseph takes Clarence into the past to see George as a boy, rescuing his brother from drowning, enduring a beating from grieving druggist Gower, saving a child from accidental poisoning, then growing up to forgo college so he can save the family business and keep the citizens of Bedford Falls from being ruined by the Depression and the machinations of the conniving Henry Potter. When his Uncle Billy misplaces $8,000 of the Building and Loan's money, George takes responsibility and runs to the bridge to commit suicide. Clarence stops him, and when George wishes he had never been born, Clarance makes the wish come true – allowing George to see what the world would be like without him and that his has, indeed, been a wonderful life.

Also, announced for 2024 are the Stars of Tomorrow youth actor productions which will take place in April and November. The theatre will produce James and the Giant Peach in the spring and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for the holiday season.

The artistic and managing staff at the theatre include Kimberli Rowley (Artistic Director), Rhett Wolford (Technical Director), Seth Thompson (Artistic Associate), Chris Ashenfelter (Box Office Manager), Karen Slemmer (Front of House Coordinator), Tori Weaver (Marketing Associate) and Lindsay Tyler (Concession Manager).

Serving on the theatre’s Board of Directors are BettyJo Gehauf (President), Phyllis Lyon (Vice President), Emily Haworth (Secretary), Joel Hoover (Treasurer), Bob Mayhew, Anthony Pinardi and Julie Ferris. The theatre is currently seeking new board members for the 2024 season. Inquiries may be sent to info@cumberlandtheatre.com.

Season Subscription Passes, Flex Passes and Platinum Passes (new this year!) are now available for purchase by clicking HERE. Show sponsorships and program ads are also available for purchase. Any questions, can be directed to

info@cumberlandtheatre.com or by calling the box office at 301.759.4990.