The Great Gatsby finally hits the stage this weekend!

The Cumberland Theatre will continue their 2021 Season with the opening of The Great Gatsby this weekend. The show, based on the classic literary work by F. Scott Fitzgerald, will run April 8th – 18th with Thursday – Saturday performances at 8:00 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm.

Last season, the COVID shutdown occurred in the middle of the rehearsal process for the show and the theatre has reassembled most of the same cast members to finally bring The Great Gatsby to the CT stage under the direction of Jennifer Clark.

Top row (left to right): Marty Jellison, Cory Asinofsky, Jen Ayer Drake, John Barker

Second Row: Ashley Snow, Sean Besecker, Kimberli Rowley, Kevin Shreve

Heading the cast as Nick Carraway, who serves as the narrator to the show, is Marty Jellison, who was last seen on the CT stage in Miracle on 34th Street. Playing the titular character, Jay Gatsby, will be Cory Asinofsky who is making his Cumberland Theatre debut. He is currently based in Brooklyn, New York where he is a member of the Less Than Rent Theatre Company.

Also making her first appearance at the theatre will be Jen Ayer Drake as Daisy Buchanan. Drake has appeared on stage throughout the tri-state area as will as in film and television. She recently won Best Supporting Actress at the Fusion Film Festival in London for her work in the psychological thriller Black Island. Returning to the Cumberland Theatre as her husband Tom Buchanan will be John Barker, who was last seen as Stanley Kolwalski in the theatre’s 2019 production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Ashley Snow (who recently starred as Doris Walker in CT’s Miracle on 34th Street) and Sean Besecker (last seen as Sam Byck in Assassins) will return to play Jordan Baker and George Wilson. Co-Artistic Director Kimberli Rowley will appear as Myrtle Wilson and also serves as choreographer for the show. Local actor Kevin Shreve will be featured as Meyer Wolfsheim.

Playing a variety of supporting roles and dancing in the classic style of the 1920’s will be Morganne Chu, Ebony Genes, Emily Haworth, Connor McCabe, Wyatt Neff, Brielle Windle, and Hayden Kline who also serves as the Assistant Stage Manager for the production.

Other members of the production staff include Rhett Wolford (set and lighting design), Clark (costume design) and Karen Hutcheson (stage manager).

COVID precautions are in place for both patrons and staff. Masks must be worn for the duration of the performance and at all times when moving about the building. Audiences members will be temperature checked at the door and asked to observe social distancing regulations. Online ticket purchases are encouraged; however, the CT staff reserves the right to alter any reservations that do not comply with social distancing standards.

The Great Gatsby has an approximate running time of two hours with one intermission and is appropriate for audiences 12 and up. Parental discretion is encouraged. Tickets are available at www.cumberlandtheatre.com or by calling the theatre at 301-759-4990. Reservations are also being taken for the VIP Star Box which includes food, beverage and balcony seating for 8 people.

The Last Five Years will open our 2021 Season!

The Cumberland Theatre will open its 33rd Season this month the two-person musical ‘The Last Five Years’. The show will be the first in planned season of eight main stage productions following the theatre’s year-long closure due the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Last Five Years is a song-cycle musical by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Browne that bends time and points of view to tell the story of two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. The show’s unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backwards while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically; the two characters are only on stage together once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.

The show won the Drama Desk Award, has been translated into several different languages and was named one of TIME Magazine’s ten best shows of 2001. A film adaptation was released in 2014, starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan.

Savannah Tagliaferro

The Cumberland Theatre version stars local singer and actor Savannah Tagliaferro as Cathy and, as Jamie, newcomer Matt Rothenberg who currently resides in Orlando, FL. Tagliaferro is a veteran to the CT stage and was last seen as Alice in Closer and Judy in Night of the Living Dead Live. She has also appeared in featured roles in Mamma Mia, Gypsy and Carrie the Musical. Rothenberg is a graduate of the musical theatre program at Shepherd University and has performed with the Orlando Repertory Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre and Universal Orlando Resort.

Matt Rothenberg

The Last Five Years is will play for six performances: March 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th at 8:00 pm and March 14th & 21st at 2:00 pm. Seating will be limited to 100 tickets per performance in accordance with state COVID guidelines. The VIP Star Box with private seating and food and beverage for eight is all available for booking. Audience members will be temperature checked upon entering the theatre and masks must be worn at all times including during the performance. The theatre, lobby, restrooms and all other common areas will be sanitized between each performance and patrons are asked to social distance accordingly.

The rest of the 2021 Main Stage Season consists of The Great Gatsby, Clue on Stage and A Christmas Carol, which are being rescheduled from the 2020 Season, as well the dark comedy The House of Yes, the classic coming-of-age story The Outsiders, and the Johnny Cash juke box musical Ring of Fire. Single tickets and a variety of Season Pass options are available at www.cumberlandtheatre.com or by calling 301.759.4990. The Cumberland Theatre reserves the right to alter any online reservations in order to comply with social distancing regulations.

Meet the Cast of American Son!

American Son opens this week and we are so excited that all four actors are making their Cumberland Theatre debuts in this powerful show! Rehearsals have been going very well and we are proud to introduce you to this talented group of performers who have been working so very hard!

Krystal Pope is happy to be participating in the first Cumberland Theatre production of American Son and she is honored to work with such a hard-working group of people! In an environment where work is very limited, she is extremely grateful that she has been given this opportunity. She studied theater at Northern Arizona University and has been performing, working, and traveling around the world in various entertainment roles. Her last theatrical production was playing the role of Ca’mae in the premiere of The Mountaintop at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in New Hampshire. She wishes to thank her family and friends for loving, supporting, and always allowing her to chase her dreams. Although they won’t be here to see it, she gives a special shout out to Michelle, Barack, Blake, and Broseph! Enjoy the show!

Thomas J. McCarthy was born just outside of San Francisco, CA and grew up in suburban Detroit, MI. Upon graduating from the University of South Carolina he moved to Chicago,IL to embark on a career in financial services for appx. 10 years. He then shifted gears and entered the commercial real estate arena leasing high rise office towers in downtown Chicago for 6 years. After deciding to take his first acting class at age 42, Tom was officially bitten by the acting bug. He moved to Los Angeles, CA to embark on an acting career where he continued his training with both theatre and camera based classes while building his acting resume. He recently moved back to Chicago to get married and continue with his acting career. His focus has been in the area of independent films. He was recently cast for principal/lead roles in the feature films Torment a Love Story, What Happened in Danville, Relationships, Irrational Fear, The Headmistress and Broken Silence. Tom and his wife Chris currently reside on the north side of Chicago

Seth Thompson has been performing in the tristate area for over a decade. He is honored to be working with the Cumberland Theatre for the very first time, and to be a part of performing this brilliant script by Christopher Demos-Brown. Seth began his acting career at Authentic Community Theatre in Hagerstown, MD. Since then he has worked at the Washington County Playhouse in shows such as: Arsenic and Old Lace (Mortimer), Funny Girl (Nicky Arnstein),

and The Church of Diminishing Marginal

Returns by Jay Huling. He also served as Production Manager for Maryland Entertainment Group where he worked in various capacities for 4 years. While with MEG Seth performed in various shows including: Of Mice and Men (George), The Pillow Man (Tupolski), and Red (Ken). He also has been credited as Director on a few occasions including his directorial debut: Fool for Love by Sam Shepard also performed

by Maryland Entertainment Group. With all the chaos that is the year 2020, Seth is just thankful to be able to get on stage again and he hopes you enjoy the show.

Greg Mays is New York based actor and is making his Cumberland Theatre debut in this production. He has numerous film, web and television credits including appearances on The Perfect Murder, Dead of Winter, and Power. Theatre Credits include: The Curse Within (Pastor Kevin Miller), Love Me Tender (Mitch) and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (Dasher). Greg studied with the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Billie Holiday Theatre, Negro Ensemble Company, and the Frederick Douglas Creative Arts Center. He is represented by Dream Maker Talent Management.

American Son focuses on both sides of the racial divide in American, when an estranged couple must confront their feelings about race and bias after their son is detained by the local police following a traffic stop incident. Their disparate histories and backgrounds inform their assumptions as they try to find out what happened to their son.

The show will play for just five performances: October 15th, 16th, & 17th at 8:00 pm and October 17th & 18th at 2:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.cumberlandtheatre.com or reserved by calling 301.759.4990. All patrons will be temperature checked at the door and masks are required. All areas will be sanitized between performances. The play is performed without an intermission. The CT staff reserves the right to alter seating assignments to comply with social distancing regulations.