CT continues 33rd Season with dark comedy
The Cumberland Theatre will continue its 33rd Season the weekend with the dark comedy The House of Yes by Wendy MacLeod. The show will have its official opening this Friday, May 14th at 8:00 pm and continue through May 23rd with Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm.
The House of Yes premiered in San Francisco in 1990, and had its Off-Broadway debut in 1995; a feature film adaptation was released in 1997 starring Parker Posey, Tori Spelling and Freddie Prince Jr. Since then, it has become a favorite in regional theatres throughout the country and lauded for its quick witticisms, dark humor and ability to alternate between crass satire and dark comedy with ease.
The play follows the Pascals, a wealthy family in McLean, Virginia, and the conflict that ensues after oldest son Marty surprises the family with news that he is engaged. There is a strange connection between Marty, his twin sister Jackie-O. (was recently released from a psychiatric hospital), the Kennedy Assassination and their missing father, and the imminent hurricane on its way to their home – which just happens to be next door to the Kennedy compound.
MacLeod has stated that The House of Yes is about "people that have never been said no to," and that she wished to depict the "insularity I see in the upper classes, people who have cut themselves off from the rest of the world and are living by the rules they've invented." The play was inspired by a house MacLeod saw in a wealthy suburb of Washington, D.C., while its title came from a piece of bathroom graffiti seen by MacLeod that read "we are living in a house of yes."
The show features Kimberli Rowley and John Barker as the twins, Jackie-O and Marty. Rowley is the Co-Artistic Director of the Cumberland Theatre and recently appeared as Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby. Other recent appearances include Lucy in Dracula and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire. Barker’s most recent CT appearances have been as Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby and as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Playing their younger brother Anthony will be Seth Thompson, who made his CT debut last fall as Officer Larkin in American Son. Other regional appearances include George in Of Mice and Men and Mortimer in Arsenic and Old Lace. Nicole Halmos will return to play Mrs. Pascal, the matriarch of the family. Halmos was last seen in the musical Assassins as Sara Jane Moore and has also recently graced the CT stage as Mama Rose in Gypsy and Nat in Rabbit Hole.
Performing for the first time on the CT stage will be Caitlin Cremins as Lesly, Marty’s fiancée. Cremins is originally from Hagerstown but now hails from Boston, MA. Regional theatre credits include Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Dawn in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
The show is being directed by Jennifer Clark, who recently directed last month’s production of The Great Gatsby and also serves as CT’s resident costume designer. The creative team also includes Rhett Wolford (set and sound design), Matthew Georgeson (lighting design), Hayden Kline (stage manager) and Ebony Gennes (assistant stage manager).
Tickets are available at www.cumberlandtheatre.com or by calling 301.759.4990. Thursday shows are currently buy one ticket, get the second free. The VIP star box is also available for bookings which include food, beverage and balcony seats for eight people.
COVID protocols are in place which include temperature checks for patrons when they enter the theatre and mask requirements. The theatre staff reserves the right to alter seating assignments to comply with social distancing guidelines.
The House of Yes contains strong language, sexual situations and violence including live gun fire. It is not intended for younger audiences.