*Click on the graphic to go to each individual show’s page
read our OBTC 17-18 Annual Report
Life Sucks
By Aaron Posner, directed by Krista Schafer Ewbank
Sept 8 – 30, 2017
In this brash reworking of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, a group of old friends, ex-lovers, estranged in-laws, and lifelong enemies gather to grapple with life’s thorniest questions—and each other. What could possibly go wrong? Incurably lustful and lonely, hapless and hopeful, these seven souls collide and stumble their way towards a new understanding that LIFE SUCKS! Or does it?
Our production of Life Sucks was generously sponsored by Lea Ellwood-Filkins and Brother John Brendan, AF
Be A Good Little Widow
By Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Adriane Galea
Oct 27 – Nov 18, 2017
Young wife Melody has never been to a funeral – until her husband dies in a plane crash. Expected to instantly assume proper widowhood, Melody is left to wonder, what’s the right way to grieve? Fortunately, her mother-in-law is a professional. Widow, that is. Under her guidance, Melody must try her best to be a good little widow. A sad comedy about loss and longing.
*this show contains adult language
“[Brunstetter] writes fresh, unfussy dialogue and characters who earn their laughs and emotional moments by honest means. It’s evident that she feels a generous affection for all four people onstage…” – The New York Times
BE A GOOD LITTLE WIDOW performance dates and times
Friday Oct 27, 8pm *opening night, all tickets $30. Includes afterglow
Saturday Oct 28, 8pm
Friday Nov 3, 8pm
Saturday Nov 4, 8pm
Sunday Nov 5, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Friday Nov 10, 8pm
Saturday Nov 11, 8pm
Sunday Nov 12, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Thursday Nov 16, 8pm
Friday Nov 17, 8pm
Saturday Nov 18, 8pm
Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight
By Lauren Gunderson, directed by Sarah Hawkins Moan
Jan 12-Feb 3, 2018
Passionate. Brilliant. Defiant.
Tonight, 18th century scientific genius Emilie du Châtelet is back and determined to answer the question she died with: love or philosophy, head or heart? In this highly theatrical, fast, funny, sexy rediscovery of one of history’s most intriguing women, Emilie defends her life and loves; and ends up with both a formula and a legacy that permeates history.
“An evening of humor and heartbreak with a powerhouse ending.” – BroadwayWorld.com “Emilie is quite the best play I have read in a very long time,”- Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer Prize Winning playwright
Lauren Gunderson wrote Bauer, the beautiful examination of art and commerce we staged in our second season.
EMILIE performance dates and times
Friday Jan 12, 8pm *opening night, all tickets $30. Includes afterglow
Saturday Jan 13, 8pm
Friday Jan 19, 8pm
Saturday Jan 20, 8pm
Sunday Jan 21, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Friday Jan 26, 8pm
Saturday Jan 27, 8pm
Sunday Jan 28, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Thursday Feb 1, 8pm
Friday Feb 2, 8pm
Saturday Feb 3, 8pm
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
By Christopher Durang, directed by Angie Kane Ferrante
February 23 – March 18, 2018
Vanya and his adopted sister Sonia live a quiet life in the Pennsylvania farmhouse where they grew up, but their peace is disturbed when their movie star sister Masha returns unannounced with her twentysomething boy toy, Spike. A weekend of rivalry, regret, and raucousness begins! Nominated for six Tony Awards and winner of the 2013 Tony for Best Play. “Deliriously funny…a heedless good time.” —NY Times. “Hugely entertaining…few contemporary playwrights have proven as deft as Durang at mining both the absurdity and the dangers of human folly…in its own deliciously madcap way, the new work offers some keen insights into the challenges and agonies of twenty-first-century life.” —USA Today. “Everyone has a monologue that is nothing short of hilarious. (You’ll find yourself using that word a lot.)…You’ve only spent a weekend with these people, but you might want to spend the rest of your life with Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”—Huffington Post.
Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike performance dates and times
Friday February 23, 8pm *opening night, all tickets $30. Includes afterglow
Saturday February 24, 8pm
Sunday February 25, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Friday March 2, 8pm
Saturday March 3, 8pm
Sunday March 4, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Friday March 9, 8pm
Saturday March 10, 8pm
Thursday March 15, 8pm
Friday March 16, 8pm
Saturday March 17, 8pm
Sunday March 18, 2pm
*these dates have changed slightly from what was previously advertised in our season brochure. If this effects your tickets, please contact the box office and we’re happy to exchange them to any other performance!
Time Stands Still
By Donald Margulies, directed by Wendy Katz Hiller
May 11 – June 2, 2018
TIME STANDS STILL focuses on Sarah and James, a photojournalist and a foreign correspondent trying to find happiness in a world that seems to have gone crazy. Theirs is a partnership based on telling the toughest stories, and together, making a difference. But when their own story takes a sudden turn, how will they move on to the next chapter?
“Mr. Margulies is gifted at creating complex characters through wholly natural interaction, allowing the emotional layers, the long histories, the hidden kernels of conflict to emerge organically. Throughout, his dialogue crackles with bright wit and intelligence. —NY Times. “Can you be a dispassionate, uninvolved observer of horrific events, recording them for posterity and still keep a sense of right and wrong, not to mention your sanity? It’s one of several questions getting a workout in TIME STANDS STILL…Insightful writing, the work is smart, stylish, timely and layered with an intriguing seriousness that inspires discussion after the curtain comes down—a rarity these days.” —Associated Press.
TIME STANDS STILL performance dates and times
Friday May 11, 8pm *opening night, all tickets $30. Includes afterglow
Saturday May 12, 8pm
Sunday May 13, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Friday May 18, 8pm
Saturday May 19, 8pm
Sunday May 20, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Friday May 25, 8pm
Saturday May 26, 8pm
Sunday May 27, 2pm followed by a discussion with the artists
Thursday May 31, 8pm
Friday June 1, 8pm
Saturday June 2, 8pm