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The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Aisha Mitchell
Auditions
Show Dates
Performances are 7:30pm on June 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22, 2025.
Evening shows start at 7:30pm.
Sunday matinees start at 2:00pm.
Bringing a group? Are you a part of a church, school or other organization that enjoys group outings? Bring your group to The Bear to see a hilarious play at a special discounted rate of $15 per ticket. Must have a minimum of 10 people in order to qualify for the discounted group rate. Call or text the box office at 540-397-5202, or email boxoffice@beartheatre.com, to reserve your group seats today!
About the Show
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage and the resulting satire of Victorian conformity. Some contemporary reviews praised the play's humour as the culmination of Wilde's artistic career, while others were cautious about its lack of social messages. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest an enduringly popular play.
Crimes of the Heart
By Beth Henley
Directed by David J. Colatosti
Show Dates
Performances are on July 19, 20, 26, 27 and 28, 2024. Evening shows start at 7:30pm; matinee is at 2pm. Doors open 30 minutes prior.
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Tickets
This event is in the past.
About the Show
Crimes of the Heart won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best American Play and was a Tony nominee on Broadway for Best Play. (It has also been described as a black comedy.) Set in Mississippi, in three acts, Crimes of the Heart follows three quirky sisters as they struggle to cope with life and trauma – including one sister who shoots her husband. The acclaimed play became a movie in 1986 starring Jessica Lange, Diane Keaton and Sissy Spacek. Playwright Beth Henley wrote Crimes in 1978 and followed it up with The Miss Firecracker Contest in 1979. PS: there’s also cake involved – you’ll have to come see it at The Bear Theatre this July for an explanation.
Arsenic and Old Lace
By Joseph Kesselring
Directed by Brian Lee
Show Dates
October 4 @ 7:30pm
October 5 @ 7:30pm
October 11 @ 7:30pm
October 12 @ 7:30pm
October 13 @ 2:00pm
About the Show
Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the 1944 film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. Of the 12 plays written by Kesselring, Arsenic and Old Lace was by far the most successful. According to the opening night review in The New York Times, the play was "so funny that none of us will ever forget it."
Closing Arguments
Written and Directed by local playwright, David Walton
Show Dates
Performances are 7:30pm on April 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13, 2025.
About the Show
Closing Arguments Synopsis:
In the small town of Pikeville, a family matriarch has died unexpectedly. As the funeral is planned, her never married “junque” shop owner son and his better-heeled sister come to terms with a lifetime of unresolved issues. Their relationship is complicated by extended family that gathers to “help” them, bringing dysfunctions of their own. Missed or no communication, clashing expectations and silly accusations make for a poignant story that is often funny, occasionally uncomfortable, yet somehow familiar. After all, what family doesn’t have a little “junque” in its past?