NEW ELITE TEEN PROGRAM TO OPEN SIX THE MUSICAL

Teen Version of Award-winning Broadway musical to take the CT Stage

The Cumberland Theatre Stars of Tomorrow ELITE Teen Program will present their inaugural show August 22^nd – 24^th. The musical SIX Teen Edition will play for four performances and features actors 13 – 19 years old.

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the mic to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st-century girl power! This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over.

At its heart, SIX is about celebrating the talent and individuality of the women and non-binary people onstage. The Queens should therefore be played by cis women, trans women, trans people and people who exist beyond the gender binary in any capacity, who feel on a personal level that this is their story to tell.

The Stars of Tomorrow ELITE program features local actors 13 - 20 years old and was created as a supplement to the existing Stars of Tomorrow program with a focus on teen actors performing edgier and more challenging materials. The program was created this with assistance from a grant from the Naylor Family Foundation and Allegany County Foundation of the Community Trust Fund.

The show features Gracie Doman (Aragon), Gillian Myers (Boleyn), Lily (Seymour), Cassidy Witt (Cleves), Sophia Brill (Howard) and Gabi Robertson (Parr).

Serving as understudies are Braelyn Wilhelm, Julia Rae Jackson, Sophie Kolwaski, Reese Tabb,  Alice Wecker Bailey Llewellyn.

The show is under the direction of Michaela Hale with music direction by LeaAnn Alter and choreography by Carly Hanna. The design team for the show is comprised of Joel Hoover (set design), Rhett Wolford (lighting design), and Ila Steelman (costume design. Denise Gilks is serving as the stage manager.

Evening performances on Friday and Saturday begin at 7:00 pm. There will be a matinee on both Saturday and Sunday starting at 2:00 pm. Please note that Saturday’s matinee will feature the understudy cast. More information on ratings, group sale, etc. can be found on cumberlandtheatre.com where single tickets are available for purchase.

Free Shakespeare in the Park Returns to Western Maryland

Cumberland Theatre will present pirate-themed Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Gilchrist Gallery this weekend

The Cumberland Theatre is proud to once again be presenting free Shakespeare in the Park to local residents.  In 2023, the theatre partnered with the Embassy Theatre in Downtown Cumberland and Our Town Theatre in Oakland to create a month-long festival of events centered around the works and styling of William Shakespeare. Since then, the theatres having been working together to devote the month of August to the works of the Bard.

The Cumberland Theatre’s production of Love’s Labour’s Lost will take place at the Gilchrist Gallery Garden on August 8^th and 9^th at 7:00 pm. Admission is free and residents are welcome to bring their own blankets and chairs to enjoy a relaxing evening.

Reimagined the time times of Pirates and plundering, this comedy centers on four young men who fall in love against their wills. The men, pledge to better themselves for three years, avoiding all contact with women. When the Princess of France arrives on a state visit, the king insists she and her ladies camp away from the ship. Even so, each young man falls in love with one of the ladies.

Meanwhile, Don Armado, a Spaniard, falls for a servant girl, Jacquenetta. Costard, an illiterate local, mixes up two letters he is to deliver, one from Armado to Jacquenetta and the other from Berowne, one of the king’s companions, to Rosaline, one of the French ladies.

The men confess they are in love, and devise a pageant for the ladies, who set a trap for them by exchanging identifying markers.  The play features laughter, dance and plenty of sword-fighting!

The cast features a diverse group of actors – many of whom were a cast members in the recent productions of The Wedding Singer and Grease. Playing the roles of King Ferdinand and the Princess of France will be Nolen Petrosky (recently Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer) and Kassie Kueffner (recently Sandy in Grease). Playing their respective courts will be Brian Records, Addie Skillman, Gianni Saverio, Kiersten Gasemy, Emily Snyder and Abel Haddish who is making his CT debut.

Featured as Don Aramado and Jaquentta are Sean Besecker and Shanna Brajevic. Also appearing in featured roles are Graham Luker, Emma Schilling, Kirk Squires and Grace Stevenson.

The show is under the direction of Darrell Rushton with script editing by Sam Little. Marcus Hardinger serves as the stage manager with Graham Luker serving as assistant stage manager.  Jennifer Clark will be designing the costumes with Kyle Wolford providing sound design.

The show is performed with one short intermission and is appropriate for all ages. 

More information on Love’s Labour’s Lost as well as the offerings from Our Town Theatre can be found at cumberlandtheatre.com and ourtowntheatre.org.

CT 2026 Season Announcement...plus a sneak peek at 2027!

The Cumberland Theatre will be holding their annual Season Launch Party to announce plans for the 2026 Season on Wednesday, July 30th at 7:00 pm. Patrons are invited to be the among the first to know what'ss coming in 2026 as the CT staff and Thespian Society reveal the exciting line-up of shows for next year's 38th Season! Announcements include the shows in our 2026 Main Stage Season ...and a few more exciting developments! The Stars of Tomorrow youth program will also reveal its 2026 line-up.

PLUS! We will be revealing the first two shows of 2027...so exciting!

Also, once again, we have let you - our audience - select one of the play choices for our Main Stage Season - our season opener! ....and we will continue letting you vote until the Launch Party officially starts! Cast your vote for this year's Audience Choice by visiting our Facebook page and clicking the link provided. 2026 will be another exciting year for the Cumberland Theatre and we want to include our loyal patrons and sponsors as much as possible.

There will be food, an open bar and entertainment provided by some of our local performers, as well as prizes and games throughout the evening.

Please join the CT staff and board of directors for an evening filled with

performance, gratitude, good food and exciting announcements about the future of

Cumberland Theatre! Tickets are only $25 and include open bar, hor d'oeuvres and

entertainment. Get your ticket at cumberlandtheatre.com.

**please note, 2024 Season Pass Holders and Show Sponsors will be admitted

to the event for no charge – as a special thank you! Please RSVP to

kim@cumberlandtheatre.com