A Thing For Redheads

I will be quite busy this summer, performing in two shows at the Capital Fringe Festival. The first one is a dark, brooding comedy called A Thing for Redheads (how did I get cast, right?). It is by local playwright John Morogiello, author of last year's fringe hits Jack the Ticket Ripper and Irish Authors Held Hostage. John also recently enjoyed great success with his off-Broadway debut of Engaging Shaw at the Abingdon Theatre. The New York Times called Shaw "a charming romantic comedy featuring four razor-sharp tongues."

Last summer I was part of the cast of Jack the Ticket Ripper and had a wonderful experience with cast, script, and director. It's a thrill to be able to work on another Morogiello script, especially since this cast reunites many of us from Jack the Ticket Ripper. In A Thing for Redheads are Jim Gagne, who was the eponymous Jack, and Ian Blackwell Rogers, who played the Playwright. The cast is rounded out by Lori Boyd, who is no stranger to Morogiello, having been in Irish Authors Held Hostage last summer, and also wrote the tune for the song I sang in Jack.

We've been rehearsing for a couple weeks now, led by our director Juliana Avery, who also happens to be a redhead. Since we have all worked together before or at least know each other, it's been a lot of fun so far, and I am looking forward to continuing the work.

I'm also enjoying the process because the part is not within my comfort zone. I'm playing a 19-year-old pop star sensation. I love being able to play someone so different from me, but it can also be a challenge. I'm doing my best to do lots of research, but there are only so many Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift music videos I can watch before my head threatens to explode. My lack of pop culture knowledge has become a running joke with the cast already, which is even funnier because Jim Gagne, though he doesn't look it, is a pop culture guru. Someone will mention a song, and I will have no idea what it is, and he will be able to sing it on the spot. With dance moves and everything.


Jack the Ticket Ripper and Irish Authors Held Hostage both sold out quickly, so I have to encourage you to buy tickets ahead of time for A Thing for Redheads. Tickets will go on sale June 21.

A Thing for Redheads will be playing at the Warehouse Theatre, 1019 7th Street NW, on the following dates:
Sunday July 11 @ 11am
Sunday July 18 @ 4:15pm
Wednesday July 21 @ 8pm
Friday July 23 @ 10:30pm
Saturday July 24 @ 3:30pm