PAST PRODUCTIONS
Past productions from 2018 and onward are featured below. For requests/recommendations regarding our future seasons please visit the contact section of our website; we'd love to hear from you!
She Kills Monsters
February 2022
Directed by Julie Pesak | Assistant Directed by Kathleen Polking | fight Choreography by Kaitlyn Shifflett
She Kills Monsters follows the story of Agnes, a young girl who had lost her younger sister, Tilly, in a tragic accident. Agnes starts to reminisce on her time with Tilly playing her favorite game 'Dungeons and Dragons,' and discovers a whole other side to Tilly that she had never known about before. She Kills Monsters is a beautiful play about love, loss, and finding closure.
The Wedding Singer!: A Musical
April/May 2022
Directed by Isabella Galway (assisted by Anthony De Souza) | Music Directed by Nathan Nichipor (assisted by Nora Spring) | Choreography by Alex Lopez
Aunt Sophy Plays Matchmaker: A Bright Star Radio Play
November 2021
Directed by Katie Chmielewski
'Aunt Sophy Plays Matchmaker' is a radio play that was originally produced in the 1950's for the Irene Dunne and Fred MacMurray Show, and it was part of their series entitled Bright Star that had many celebrity guests. This show is in collaboration with Catholic University's on-campus radio station, WCUA, making it a theatre experience like no other.
City of Stars: A La La Land Cabaret
October 2021
Music Written by Justin Hurwitz
Directed by Ella Giegerich and Carolyn Tachoir | Music Directed by Lucky Dunne and Kaitlyn Clark
Heathers: The Musical
April 2021
Book, Music and Lyrics By Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy
Directed by Michael Stromberg | Music Directed by James Woods
Heathers The Musical is the darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. But before she can get comfortable atop the high school food chain, Veronica falls in love with the dangerously sexy new kid J.D. When Heather Chandler, the Almighty, kicks her out of the group, Veronica decides to bite the bullet and kiss Heather’s aerobicized ass...but J.D. has another plan for that bullet.
Six
November 2020
By Timothy Mason
Directed by Cecilia Bracey
Six undergraduates spend a summer in an isolated wilderness, studying the surrounding ecosystem under the tutelage of two graduate teaching assistants. As they learn of the five global mass extinctions that life on Earth has suffered in its history, and the sixth that may be upon us, they get to know each other and themselves. Unrequited love is in the air along with the mosquitoes. Requited love comes with its own perils. Is one of the students an imposter, a so-called eco-terrorist? Is he a hero or a con man?
Happy Birthday Stephen: A Virtual Sondheim Cabaret
November 2020
Music by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Sophie Williams | Music Directed by James Woods
With 90 years of timeless music and melodies, there’s no better time to celebrate the one and only Stephen Sondheim. This cabaret encapsulates Sondheim’s career as a composer and lyricist from Broadway to the big screen. Celebrate with him being alive with us!
March 2020
By Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
Directed by Michael Sullin
Don’t feed the plants! Enter a world of 1960s music, sadistic dentists, and plants with very particular appetites. One of the longest running Off-Broadway shows, this charmingly devious production will definitely feed your need for musical chaos and hilarity.
January 2020
Directed by Sophie Williams and Brandon Horwin
With a stage musical and not one, but TWO, movies, it’s safe to say “Mamma Mia!,” is filled with enchanting, energetic, and unforgettable music. This production aims to unify students from all walks of life to come together to jam out to ABBA songs, because who doesn’t love a little ABBA in their life?
November 2019
Written by Rick Elice
Directed by Joseph McAlonan
With a novel, several movies, and a stage musical, the character of Peter Pan has become well-known and beloved by many. This play with music provides the backstory for the “boy who would never grow up”, his friends, and the world they live in. Loaded with pirates, Monty Python-esque comedy, and a whole lot of heart, this show is certain to stay with you long after you’ve left the theatre.
October 2019
Written by Alan Haehnel
Directed by Cecilia Bracey
Based on responses from actual students around the country, playwright Alan Haehnel explores the intimacy and vulnerability of sharing one’s private thoughts. With additional monologues written by Catholic University students, this show will leave you asking the question: what do I want to say?
May 2019
Directed By Rebecca Malachowski
"Ya Like Jazz? is a cabaret celebrating the genre and becoming of jazz in the performing arts across the years. Songs included "It Don't Mean a Thing" and "Lullaby of Broadway". The large cast consisted of triple threats: singers, dancers, and jazz enthusiasts. The cabaret features a selection of jazz standards, musical theatre jazz styles ranging between a ballad solo and a swinging dance trio, and lots of jazz hands."
The Addams Family: A New Musical
April 2019
Music & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Directed by Gabriel Brown
The Addams Family features an original story, and it’s every father’s nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met. And if that weren’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before – keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents.
For the Students, By the Students: A Night of New Musical Theatre
February 2018
CenterStage presents selections from two new musicals by current students and graduates.
Our Man Harry
Music by Rebecca Nisco | Book & Lyrics by Lindsay Adams
Determined to find her husband who is serving as a medic during the Civil War, Harriet disguises herself as a man and enlists. Her journey takes her into unfamiliar territory, teaching her about sacrifice, family, and how little she knows about her own country.
Little awning, little sign – little everything but the line of cranky, cupcake-craving tourists. It’s just another day for the famous Magnolia Bakery, in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Until a sudden fire alarm forces the store to evacuate, disbanding the hungry crowd. More determined than the rest, a small party of 4 strangers (a middle-aged couple from the midwest, a cynical local girl, and an ambitious young YouTuber) decide to stick it out across the street, in Abingdon Square, and wait for the store to reopen. They are joined by an intoxicated beggar, who – at the YouTuber’s behest – sings his life story to a camera phone. Hypnotized by the display of musical frankness, the others follow suit, all revealing deeper motives that have drawn them to Magnolia Bakery. Matters are complicated by the sudden arrival of the NYPD (New York Police Department), the philosophical musings of an inquisitive hot dog vendor, and the arrival of one more mysterious stranger. Could these events and characters all be connected? And what draws them to Magnolia? And will the crowd ever get their cupcakes?
December 2018
Catherine has inherited her father’s mathematical brilliance, but she is haunted by the fear that she might also share his debilitating mental illness. She has spent years caring for her father with him gone she feels left alone to pick up the pieces of her life without him. Caught between a new-found connection with Hal, one of her father’s former students, and the reappearance of her sister, Claire, Catherine finds both her world and her mind growing increasingly unstable. Then Hal discovers a groundbreaking proof among her father's notebooks. Catherine is forced to further question how much of her father’s genius or madness will she inherit. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, David Auburn’s Proof is a passionate, intelligent story about fathers and daughters, the nature of genius, and the power of love.
Born This Way: Pop Music from Iconic Women of the 21st Century
September 2018
Through the pop music of greats such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, and more, this amazing cast of ladies showcases the strength and resilience of women. This year has been monumental for the women’s rights movement with #MeToo, Time’s Up, and the second annual Women’s March. What better way to capture and celebrate these victories than through listening to the pop music of some of the most influential women artists of our time? CenterStage will collect donations for the Me Too Movement at this event.