The Little Theatre of Alexandria

Here is the fourth video in a series of video blogs for Cantorial.  In this video, you learn more about Cantorial's set and meet cast member James Myers. Thanks again to Jim Hartz for his outstanding work on these videos!

     I was first introduced to the works of Ira Levin in fourth grade through a cousin who loved horror novels. Rosemary’s Baby was a must read. You can only imagine the letter home to my parents from the school concerning my choice of reading. My mom’s response was, “You mean he’s actually reading a book!”      Having directed area productions of Stephen King’s Misery, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I was excited at the prospect of adding a work by Levin to my résumé. And as I read Cantorial for the first time, I kept turning the page waiting for that moment like Rosemary walking down the long hallway to see her baby for the first time.      I don’t think I’m giving anything away by stating that the moment never came! From the mastermind behind Rosemary’s Baby (and its unfortunate sequel), The Stepford Wives, Deathtrap and The Boys from Brazil is this realistic st...

Heather Benjamin (Lesley Rosen) is happy to return to LTA after playing Rose in Enchanted April in 2008. Recent work includes The Confines of Flattery at the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival and Stage Door at American Century Theater. Heather has also performed with Quotidian Theatre, Adventure Theatre, Embassy Players, New Old Theater and Silver Spring Stage, among others. Recent film roles include Sarah Haynsworth Gayle in a documentary about Francis Scott Key, Proof Through the Night, and a lead in the short film The Pardon. Her next project will be directing Copenhagen at Rockville Little Theatre in March 2013.  Heather Benjamin John Franklin (Philip Quinn), an accomplished trainer, Toastmaster and award-winning public speaker is returning to the stage after a long absence with his LTA debut in Cantorial. Past performances have included Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth and numerous dramatic interpretations, including Neil Simon’s The Star-Spangled Girl and Woody All...

Here is the third video in a series of video blogs about Cantorial!  Director C. Evans Kirk continues his talk about Cantorial's set design along with set dressing. Thanks again to Jim Hartz for putting this together.

Here is the second video in a series of video blogs about Cantorial. Director C. Evans Kirk talks about the set design and costumes. Thanks again to Jim Hartz for continuing to do great videos for us!

Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol has been cast and rehearsals started for this year annual production of the classic at The Little Theater of Alexandria. This year will feature an all-new adaptation by Donna Ferragut and directed by Rachael Hubbard. The show runs from November 30 to December 16.  And it features choreography by Grace Machanic who returns this year for her 22 season.  In this segment, which is a part of a longer documentary for the theater, she shows how easy it is for the adult actors in A Christmas Carol to learn the steps. Thanks to Jim Hartz for putting this video together.

The Little Theater of Alexandria’s next production, Cantorial (October 27-November 17), is a play by Ira Levin ( Rosemary’s Baby, Deathtrap, No Time for Sergeants ).   C. Evans Kirk returns to direct the play, which is billed as a “ghost story.”  A dead cantor returns to a former synagogue on New York’s lower east side, but that’s only a small part of the story.  Here is the first in a series of video blogs about Cantorial.  Background from Director Kirk. A special thanks to Jim Hartz for putting this video together.

The volunteers who worked backstage for Sweeney Todd, The Little Theater of Alexandria’s opening show of the 2012-2013 season, were singled out for special praise by several local critics.  Jordan Wright of The Alexandria Times wrote: Countless elements contribute to the realism of the show. Art Snow adds much in terms of special effects including designing blood-spurting razors synchronized to the slashing of Todd’s victims’ throats, a chair that sends victims sliding into an abyss, and a dungeon-worthy oven billowing smoke and flames. The technical complexities of the show are impressive: the two double-decker turntable stages rotate an astonishing 64 times. Add to that the 80-plus sound cues and dozens of mood-shifting lighting cues designed by the WATCH Award-winning team of Ken and Patti Crowley, and you have a tremendously dynamic stage set. Audiences seldom applaud sets and props but the mechanical barber chair that sent Sweeney’s victims rocketing thro...