Our Community in Fairfax County, Virginia

The Providence Players, an award-winning community theater company, recently announced its 2008-2009 season, promising a varied bill of three artistically challenging productions.

• On 10 October 10, the Company will open its fifth season in residence at the James Lee Community Center Theater with the performance of Rough Crossing, a comedy of love and betrayal set on a transatlantic cruise ship.
• The February production, Rehearsal for Murder, is billed as a “unique whodunit…that would give Agatha Cristie a run for her money.” Rehearsal, written by the team who created Lieutenant Columbo for the long-running television series, was chosen by the Mystery Writers of America as the 1982 Edgar Award recipient.
• In May, the spring production wraps up the season with the staging of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, recipient of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play in 1947.  Miller’s classic American drama is based on a true story of greed and corruption during World War II.

To order tickets, make reservations, or get information on performance dates and times, e-mail the Players at providenceplayers@cox.net or leave a message at 703-425-6782.  Single show tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students.  Season tickets (including three plays) are 30% off, at $35 for adults and $25 for students and seniors.  Please note that the theater box office, located at the James Lee Community Center at 2855 Annandale Road, is only staffed during performances.

Think you need to travel downtown for a quality theater experience?  Think that play tickets cost too much?  Then you’re in for a great surprise.  You can enjoy excellent, affordable theater right here in our neighborhood, thanks to the Providence Players of Fairfax.

The Providence Players, a community theater troupe, grew from a school fund raising event in 1998.  Today it is an incorporated, non-profit community theater company celebrating its 10th anniversary.  In 2004, the Players took up residence at the beautiful, newly renovated James Lee Community Center Theater near the intersection of Route 50 and Annandale Road at 2855 Annandale Road.  Three entertaining theatrical seasons have followed, each featuring a varied bill of productions, with something sure to please everyone.

Since 2004, the Washington Area Theater Community Honors (WATCH) organization has recognized The Players for excellence in theater with three awards and more than a dozen nominations.  For the 2005-2006 season, the Players’ production of The Women received first-runner-up honors from the Ruby Griffith Awards Program for outstanding achievement in a play for its overall performance, set design, direction and production values.

In 2005, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors honored the Players for their community-based commitment to the performing arts, recognizing their dedication to “putting the community back into community theater.” As Chip Gertzog, Players founding member and director explains, the troupe is unique among area theater companies because it “puts a premium on building community through theatre,” emphasizing teamwork, fellowship and widening the casting net to welcome new members.  A recent playbill invites:

If you love theater and would like to participate in a friendly organization, please consider joining us.  It’s a big tent – big enough to include welcoming first timers to theatrical endeavors and those with significant theater experience.  Join us…as a member of the company on-stage, backstage or behind the scenes, or as an ongoing member of our audience.  We sincerely welcome you!

The 2007-2008 season opens soon with the fall production of Saturday, Sunday, Monday, which Gertzog describes as a “beautifully written piece” set within an extended Italian family.  It opens on 12 October and runs through 26 October.  The winter production, slated for February, is a comedy, Moon Over Buffalo, tracing the misadventures of a husband and wife acting duo.  The season wraps up in May with the spring production of Steel Magnolias, a year in the life of the women who frequent Truvy’s Beauty Parlor.

Single show tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students.  Season tickets (including three plays) are 30% off, at $35 for adults and $25 for students and seniors.  Please note that the theater box office is only staffed during performances.

To order tickets, make reservations, or get information, e-mail the Players at providenceplayers@cox.net or leave a message at 703-425-6782.  For information about the Providence Players’ 10th Anniversary Gala Celebration on 29 September, 2007, contact the Players.