Compass Rose Theater, an award-winning and critically acclaimed professional theater and educational nonprofit in Annapolis, has just received a Helen Hayes Awards Recommendation for its recent production, I and You by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Jerry Winters. The show featured actors Lilli Brown and Alie Karambash and was performed in the Compass Rose Theater at Maryland Hall.
Barbara Webber, Executive Director of Compass Rose Theater, said, “We are truly honored to receive a Helen Hayes Awards Recommendation. We add this well-respected recognition to our previous nominations and awards, including a Helen Hayes Award for A Chorus Line and five Helen Hayes Award nominations. This is a testament to our mission of bringing high-quality, professional theater to our community, and we are grateful.”
The group also announced its upcoming production, The Gin Game by D. L. Coburn, showingJanuary 19 to February 18, 2024, and featuring Equity Actors Janet Luby as Fonsia and David Elias as Weller. To buy tickets, visit www.CompassRoseTheater.org.
Webber added, “To attain Equity membership in the actors’ union means having devoted thousands of hours of training and experience working in professional theater. We are fortunate to have two such talented actors on our stage. “
In this 1978 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Fonsia and Weller, two residents at a retirement home play repeated gin rummy games, revealed as metaphors for their lives. Over hilariously feisty games, they share the laughter, tears, intimate details of their long lives, and the bittersweet realities of their most challenging chapter.
The Compass Rose Theater Artistic Team for The Gin Game includes Rick Wade (Director), Barbara Webber (Producer), Theater Advisor (Lucinda Merry-Browne), Emily Palmerchuck (Lighting Designer), Omar Said (Stage Manager, Scenic Artist), Susan Flynn (Costume Designer), and Craig Martien (Sound Designer). The production team includes Gavin Fernandez (Sound Assistant ) and Ariyanna Hill (Assistant Stage Manager).
