ROUND HOUSE THEATRE CONTINUES SEASON WITH TONY- AND OLIVER AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL CAROLINE, OR CHANGE

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1 PRESS CONTACTS: Bryan Joseph Lee, Sarah Randall, ROUND HOUSE THEATRE CONTINUES SEASON WITH TONY- AND OLIVER AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL CAROLINE, OR CHANGE Largest Musical in Round House History begins performances January 25 A monumental achievement in American musical theater. The New York Observer Bethesda, Md. (December 15, 2016) Round House Theatre is thrilled to continue its Season with Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner s Caroline, Or Change, directed by Matthew Gardiner. Caroline, Or Change runs from January 25 to February 26, Press night is Monday, January 30, Please see below for complete program details and ticket information. Set in the heat of the Civil Rights Movement, the Tony-nominated Caroline, Or Change follows a black maid working for a middle-class Jewish family in Louisiana. When a small amount of money goes missing, buried tensions threaten to rip two families and the struggling Caroline apart. Loosely based on Kushner s provocative and personal story, Caroline features a virtuosic score from Jeanine Tesori (Tony Award for Best Original Score for Fun Home) that blends blues, gospel, and traditional Jewish melodies into a magical, show-stopping musical masterpiece. Caroline, Or Change continues Round House Theatre s Celebration of Tony Kushner that began with the critically acclaimed Angels in America this fall. Artistic Director Ryan Rilette says, Following both election season and the success of Kushner s epic Angels in America, there couldn t be a better time to visit this story of a strong woman fighting the conventions and circumstances of her time. 1

2 Director Matthew Gardiner returns to Round House Theatre after directing Ordinary Days in 2014, as well as numerous productions at Arlington s Signature Theatre where he serves as Associate Artistic Director. This show has long been on my bucket list to direct, Gardiner says of Caroline, Or Change. Tony Kushner's brilliant libretto, set to music by Jeanine Tesori, speaks to the difficulty we have as individuals and a community dealing with change. With a phenomenal cast led by Nova Y. Payton, a first rate design team, and the full original orchestration conducted by Jon Kalbfleisch, this is sure to be a thrilling experience." The cast features Nova Y. Payton, Theresa Cunningham, Felicia Curry, Will Gartshore, Naomi Jacobson, John Lescault, Elijah Mayo, Griffin McCahill, V. Savoy McIlwain, Oliva Russell, Awa Sal Secka, Dorea Schmidt, Scott Sedar, Micah Tate, Korinn Walfall, Kara-Tameika Watkins, and Delores King Williams. The artistic team includes Musical Director Jon Kalbfleisch, Scenic Designer Jason Sherwood, Costume Designer Frank Labovitz, Lighting Designer Grant Wilcoxen, and Sound Designer Lane Elms. Tickets may be purchased by calling , ordering online at RoundHouseTheatre.org, or in person at the box office. Round House Theatre is located at 4545 East-West Highway, one block from Wisconsin Avenue and the Bethesda station on Metro s Red Line. Jeanine Tesori (Score) has been thrice nominated for Tony Awards for her Broadway scores: Twelfth Night (1998) at Lincoln Center, Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002) at the Marquis, and Caroline, or Change (2004) at the Eugene O Neill. Her first musical, Violet, produced off-broadway in 1997, was nominated for seven Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding New Musical and won the Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, and a Special Obie Citation for Tesori s music. In the field of film, she has composed new songs for The Emperor s New Groove 2: Kronk s New Groove (2005), Wrestling With Angels (the 2006 documentary about Tony Kushner), Shrek the Third (2007), and three animated Disney DVDs (Mulan II, Lilo and Stitch II, The Little Mermaid: Ariel s Beginning). She also wrote the scores for Show Business: The Road to Broadway (2007) and Nights in Rodanthe (2008). Before Millie closed in 2004, the innovative Caroline, or Change, with book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and music by Jeanine Tesori, opened, making Tesori the first woman composer in history to have two original musicals running concurrently on Broadway. Though Caroline is considered more of an opera than a musical comedy, it won a Tony nomination for the score and the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music. The National Theatre production in London s West End received the Olivier Award for Best New 2

3 Musical. Tesori and Kushner, now close friends, collaborated again in 2006 on a new translation and adaptation of Bertolt Brecht s Mother Courage and Her Children, with Meryl Streep, produced as a part of the Public Theatre s Shakespeare in the Park series. Tony Kushner (Playwright) grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and attended Columbia University and New York University. Kushner is best known for his twopart epic, Angels In America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. His other plays include A Bright Room Called Day, Slavs!, Hydrotaphia, Homebody/Kabul, and Caroline, or Change, the musical for which he wrote book and lyrics, with music by composer Jeanine Tesori. In 2012 he wrote the screenplay for Spielberg s movie Lincoln. His screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award, and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award, Boston Society of Film Critics Award, Chicago Film Critics Award, and several others. In addition, a revival of Angels in America ran off-broadway at the Signature Theater and won the Lucille Lortel Award in 2011 for Outstanding Revival. The first part of Angels in America, Millennium Approaches (1990), won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for best play; the second, Perestroika (1991), also won a Tony Award for best play. Angels in America proved to be extremely popular for a work of its imposing length (the two parts run seven hours in total), and it was adapted for an Emmy Award-winning television film that aired in His recent work includes a collection of one-act plays entitled Tiny Kushner, and The Intelligent Homosexual s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. He received the National Medal of Arts in CALENDAR INFORMATION CAROLINE, OR CHANGE Music by Jeanine Tesori Book & Lyrics by Tony Kushner Directed & Choreographed by Matthew Gardiner Featuring Nova Y. Payton, Theresa Cunningham, Felicia Curry, Will Gartshore, Naomi Jacobson, John Lescault, Elijah Mayo, Griffin McCahill, V. Savoy McIlwain, Oliva Russell, Awa Sal Secka, Dorea Schmidt, Scott Sedar, Micah Tate, Korinn Walfall, Kara-Tameika Watkins, Delores King Williams. Musical Director Jon Kalbfleisch, Scenic Designer Jason Sherwood, Costume Designer Frank Labovitz, Lighting Designer Grant Wilcoxen, and Sound Designer Lane Elms. WHERE: Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway in Bethesda (one block from 3

4 Wisconsin Ave. and Metro s Bethesda station) For directions, parking, and public transportation info, visit RoundHouseTheatre.org/visit- us/ ABOUT THE PLAY: Join us as we present the largest musical in Round House s history! Set in the heat of the Civil Rights Movement, the Tony-nominated Caroline, Or Change follows a black maid working for a middle-class Jewish family in Louisiana. When a small amount of money goes missing, buried tensions threaten to rip two families and the struggling Caroline apart. Loosely based on Kushner s provocative and personal story, Caroline features a virtuosic score from Jeanine Tesori (Tony Award for Best Original Score for Fun Home) that blends blues, gospel, and traditional Jewish melodies into a magical, show-stopping musical masterpiece. DATES AND TIMES: Caroline, Or Change runs from January 25 to February 26, Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Opening night is Monday, January 30, 2017 at 8pm. TICKETS: Tickets can be purchased by calling , ordering online at RoundHouseTheatre.org, or visiting the box office. Available ticket discounts include: PLAY IT FORWARD free tickets for all High School students throughout the DC- Metro area: Round House wants to make attending our shows an integral part of a Montgomery County education. To that end, we have a unique program: Play It Forward. In Play It Forward, all High School students throughout the DC-Metro area can reserve a free ticket to the performance of their choice during the Season. For details and information, visit tickets/play-it-forward/ or call Pay-What-You-Can performances: Wednesday, January 25 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, January 28 at 2 pm. PWYC tickets go on sale in person at the box office one hour prior to curtain. Cash and exact change only. Limit of 2 tickets per order. PWYC tickets are subject to availability. Age 30 & Under, Senior Citizens, Military, and Veterans: Patrons under 30, seniors over the age of 65, and active duty military personnel and veterans qualify for a $10 discount off the single ticket price. Single Ticket fees apply. 4

5 Discounts can be redeemed in person at the box office, or by calling $10 Tuesday: For our Tuesday, February 7, 14, and 21 performances, all Section B seats are available at the discounted price of $10. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, online, or by calling , while supplies last. Group Sales: Groups of 10 or more can save 10% off the single ticket price and are exempt from single ticket fees. These tickets must be reserved and purchased in advance by calling or ing groupsales@roundhousetheatre.org. ABOUT ROUND HOUSE THEATRE Round House is one of the leading professional theaters in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, producing a six-show season of modern classics, new plays and musicals for more than 40,000 patrons each year at our 400-seat theater in Bethesda. Round House has been nominated for 146 Helen Hayes Awards (including six in 2015) and has won 27 (including three in 2014). Its productions have won Outstanding Resident Play four times. Round House s educational programs serve more than 2,500 students of all ages at its six-classroom Education Center in Silver Spring and in schools throughout Montgomery County. Its many innovative education programs encompass Full Day Programs for Youth, including Summer Programs for K 12; a Teen Performance Company, with classes and events for teens throughout the year culminating in The Sarah Metzger Memorial Play, the only play produced by a regional theater that is directed, acted and designed by high school students; School Outreach, including Intersections, Student Matinees, and Play It Forward, a program that allows Montgomery County high school students to attend Round House shows for free; and Classes for Adults & Youth. Round House is a member of LORT (League of Resident Theatres) and LOWT (League of Washington Theatres). The theatre is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with major support from Montgomery County, the Maryland State Arts Council (an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts), and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. ### 5