Church Hill Theatre is delighted to present Adam Weiner, the founder and frontman of Low Cut Connie, in a solo concert on Thursday, September 18.  The band is famous for high-energy performances that feature Weiner’s piano skills, original songs and remarkable onstage persona.

The six-person Low Cut Connie band is both a crowd and critics’ favorite. The Los Angeles Weekly called it “unmatched in all of rock right now” and Sir Elton John publicly called it one of his favorites when he performed at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.  Low Cut Connie was even on Barak Obama’s playlist. Rolling Stone characterized the music as “what indie rock might sound like where it invented in Alabama in the late Fifties.”

Weiner was a solo pianist before forming the band, touring North America and Europe and playing in bars, warehouses, pubs—wherever he found a piano and eager audiences. He will bring both that spontaneous verve and some of his later songs to the CHT performance. Weiner is appearing at Church Hill Theatre at the request of Shelagh Grasso (one of CHT’s veteran directors), who was his high school teacher and mentor in South Jersey.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear an international star in a small and intimate performance space. Don’t miss it!

Adam Weiner will perform on Thursday, September 18, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $40. The theater is located at 103 Walnut Avenue in Church Hill Maryland. Tickets are available on the CHT website: churchhilltheatre.org.

 

 

Church Hill Theatre invites actors to audition for Clyde’s, a brilliant play by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Michael Whitehill, the production will run weekends from November 7 -23. Nottage, who received a MacArthur “Genius Grant,” is known for dramas that explore the experiences of working-class people. She has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama—twice—and Clyde’s was the most-produced play of the 2022-2023 season. Bitingly funny, Clyde’s is set in a truck stop diner staffed entirely by the formerly incarcerated. The search for a perfect sandwich takes Clyde and her employees on a journey of empathy and empowerment.

Director Whitehill promises his actors hard work, respect, inclusion, and even a few sandwiches as the team brings Nottage’s vision to the stage. He enjoys working with new talent, so encourages both novices and more experienced actors to audition. While there may be some “cold reads” from the script, Whitehill’s auditions always include the unexpected, from role playing exercises to slam poetry. Some actors audition only for the opportunity to see what he plans this time.

The characters in Clyde’s are both quite specific—and extremely nuanced. Even if a role doesn’t seem quite right, Whitehill encourages you to audition. Here are the parts, all of them leads, all of them requiring great comic timing:

Montrellous is a middle-aged, working-class Black man. After many years in prison, he is sensitive, caring, and has a sharp sense of humor. Using cooking as a means of meditation, he tries, not always successfully, to bring along members of the younger generation.

Jason is a young White man, a bit of a doofus, who just finished 8 years in prison. He presents as a white supremacist but can be open and vulnerable. A man with a lot to learn, Jason gets some of the best comic opportunities.

Letitia is a young Black woman with a special needs child, eager to rebuild her life.  She really depends on this job, even if the work conditions are toxic. A romantic, she still hopes to find a genuine partner. She is a hoot and a half.

Rafael is a Latino, playful and full of charm. He also is in recovery, working to find a spiritual path to a better future. And he falls, hard, for Letitia, who isn’t very impressed. And, of the whole crew, Rafael is terrified of his boss.

Clyde, the sandwich shop owner, is a Black woman of indeterminate age. She is brash, domineering, and even wickedly seductive. She controls the menu, the rules, and her staff’s lives—but she is the only one who will hire them. She drives the play.

Auditions will be held at the Kennard African American Cultural Heritage Center, 410 Little Kidwell Avenue, Centreville, Maryland, on August 30 and on September 1 and 3. The Wednesday date may include call-backs. For more information about Clyde’s audition dates and times, visit the CHT website at https://churchhilltheatre.org/shows/auditions/ or call the CHT office at (410) 556-6003.

At its annual members’ meeting on June 17, Church Hill Theatre reviewed a successful year, elected four new board members and announced an exciting roster of productions for the 2026 season. And, in an exciting new twist, the meeting concluded with live performances of several songs from the current and upcoming season.

Board Chair Kathy Jones and committee representatives shared lots of good news about financial vitality, the near completion of a major campaign for new stage lights, growing audiences, an incredibly strong youth program, and plans for ongoing improvements. The Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Carrie York for years of dedicated service and outgoing board members Rory Flood, Shelagh Grasso and Christopher Wallace were thanked for their many contributions.  All will be recognized with nameplates on the new theater seats.

Four new and very talented members were then elected to the board for three-year terms: Tom Blackiston, Sharon Herz, Tess Jones and JW Ruth.  All have strong backgrounds in multiple aspects of on-stage and back-stage theatre experience. Since CHT has only two part-time paid employees, all the board members serve on several committees and share front-of-house assignments. As always, willing volunteers are encouraged to become part of the immediate Church Hill Theatre family.

The main event of the evening was the revealing productions for the 2026 season followed by the surprise of short musical performances.

January          A star-studded cabaret fundraiser

February        A commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington and Black History Month

March            Lend Me A Soprano, a mad-cap comedy about an opera performance gone very, very wrong

April               A 2-weekend musical show featuring our teen performers

June               Chicago, the high-energy, much-loved musical

September     Something’s Afoot, a witty musical spoof of a classical British mystery in a remote British mansion

November      The Transylvanian Clockworks, a terrifyingly spooky vampire tale set in the time of Jack the Ripper

December      A Christmas Carol, a classic CHT holiday offering

 

The annual meeting concluded with short performances by Erin Bradley and Matt Rein from The Bridges of Madison County, by Jane Copple from next year’s Something’s Afoot, and by JW Ruth, who brought the house down with “When You’re Good to Mama,” from Chicago.

Actors are invited to audition for the musical The Bridges of Madison County, directed by JW Ruth. With gorgeous music and a heart-breaking love story, it recounts the tale of Francesca Johnson, an Italian war bride, who is swept off her feet by National Geographic photographer, Robert Kincaid.

Auditions will be held on the Church Hill Theatre stage on:

Monday, March 17. at 7 pm

Wednesday, March 19, at 7 pm

Saturday, March 22, at 10 am

Parts are being cast for:

4 men, ages 16-60, principal roles

4 women, ages 16-60, principal roles

5-10 ensemble performers of any age or gender expression

Anyone who wishes to audition but cannot attend these dates can call the CHT office to inquire about alternate arrangements.

The auditions will consist of cold readings from the script and one verse and the chorus from a song of the auditioner’s choice. The song should showcase the singer’s vocal range and can be from any genre related to the show’s score, including but not limited to classical, musical theatre, Americana, folk, 60s pop, or country. Audition sides will be available for preview closer to the audition dates.

The Church Hill Theatre production will run from June 9 -22, 2025, with performances at 7:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm on Sundays. More information about the roles can be found on the CHT website: churchhilltheatre.org. For questions about the show or auditions please call the CHT office at (410) 556-6003. Church Hill Theatre is located at 103 Walnut Street in Church Hill, Maryland.

Based on the novel of the same name, The Bridges of Madison County was adapted into a movie in 1995 starring Merryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, and an award-winning musical that opened on Broadway in 2014. The Bridges of Madison County was developed for the stage by Jason Robert Brown and Marsha Norman. The original Broadway production starred Kelli O’Hara and Stephen Pasquale. Jason Robert Brown won the Tony Awards for Best Original Score Written for the Theatre and Best Orchestrations.

Church Hill Theatre is accepting applications for a paid staff position for the 2025 Green Room Gang program. The theatre is in need of a  Director for Green Room Gang Sr. which is a 5-week summer theatre program.

Green Room Gang is a summer theatre workshop that consists of two programs. GRG Sr. is a five-week, full day program of theatre instruction for youths entering grades 6 through 12 while GRG Jr. is a four and a half week, half day program for youths entering grades 1 through 5.. Both camps are in session Monday through Thursday.  GRG Sr. begins June 23, and GRG Jr. starts June 24. Performances for both groups will be held on July 24 through 27.

The director of Green Room Gang is the instructor who oversees the theatrical education of the Green Room Gang, Sr. students.  The instructor also directs of fully scripted musical by creatively facilitating all aspects of the production.  The director has the challenging task of bringing together all the pieces of a production: script, actors, set, costuming, lighting, sound and music into a unified whole. They are  responsible for all aspects of the production, the casting, directing and rehearsing of the show but the focus of the position is the instruction of the students. Applicants should have extensive formal education and experience in all aspects of theatre, and should be able to work closely with young people.

Interested applicants can learn more about CHT and its previous seasons by visiting our website at http:/www.churchhilltheatre.org.

Applications are available on the website, by calling the CHT office at 410-556-6003 or email at [email protected].

The deadline for applications is March 15, 2025.

Contact: Tina Johnson

Phone: Church Hill Theatre Office 410-556-6003

Website: http://www.churchhilltheatre.org