Sunday, September 06, 2009

Wittenberg - The Play's the Thing to See in Columbia, MD

Last evening we did something unusual for us - went to see a play. We're more a symphony concert couple, but Phil saw a write-up and it sounded interesting, so we decided to check it out.

Wittenberg logo

Short review: Fantastic! If you are in the Baltimore area, make it a point to see Wittenberg at Rep Stage in Columbia at Howard Community College. Four characters - one a real historical figure, the other three strictly fictional but known to us all. Martin Luther, Dr. Faustus, Hamlet, and the Eternal Feminine all at the University of Wittenberg in Germany, 1517. Sounds kind of heavy, doesn't it? Not at all!

Wittenberg - Faustus with Hamlet Wittenberg - Faustus with Luther Wittenberg - Gretchen, Luther, Faustus at the BungHole Tavern

The four actors were great, especially Seth Reichgott who played Dr. John Faustus, and Michael Stebbins who played Rev. Martin Luther. Intelligent dialog with clever references to lines from Hamlet, impassioned discussions of faith vs. questioning of everything, laugh out loud schtick, and the occasional ukulele bit by Faustus. I'm not nearly doing it justice, so you need to see it for yourself.

The play by David Davalos is relatively new having premiered in Philadelphia last year where it won the Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play. It has been produced a few times and I expect it will show up in more local productions. When one comes near you, go see it. You'll find yourself writing a blog like this the next day.

Signature

Facebook Fan page for The Cat Lover's Book of Days

Follow me on Twitter @McFrugal

2 comments:

Michael Stebbins said...

Hello! Thank you for attending the theatre. I played Martin Luther in the production of WITTENBERG @ REP STAGE - I am also the producing artistic director of REP STAGE. It means a lot that you ventured out to the theatre to check out this play and supported professional theatre in Howard County! Regards and thanks, Michael [Stebbins]

Peg Silloway said...

Thank YOU, Michael! We were absolutely enthralled with your passionate portrayal of Martin Luther and with the entire production. I expect this will not be the last time we attend a Rep Stage production.