production

The Pink Unicorn
by Elise Forier Edie
July 28 – August 15, 2021
Directed by Raja Benz

Activists come in many guises.

Trisha Lee considers herself to be open-minded and accepting, that is, at least compared to the other mothers in her conservative hometown of Sparkton, Texas. But Trisha’s values are called into question when her teenager Jo comes out as genderqueer and attempts to start a Gay Straight Alliance. Faced with opposition from her family, church, and the local high school, Trisha embarks on a journey to meet her child with love. The Pink Unicorn is an award-winning show that traces one mother’s journey from apprehension to tolerance to acceptance.

4000 Days
by Peter Quilter
Onstage April 29 – May 22, 2021
On Demand beginning May 8, 2021

Directed by Lucian Restivo

What would you do if you forgot the last decade of your life? After a blood clot unexpectedly forms in his brain, Michael (played by Carlen Kernish) ends up in a coma for three weeks. His bitter mother Carol (Jacqueline Jones) and his dull but well-meaning partner Paul (Todd Patterson) are united in their grief over Michael, and in their intense dislike of each other.

When Michael wakes, 11 years of his memory have vanished. He remembers nothing of the last 4000 days. He remembers nothing of Paul. It is as though the relationship never existed. Paul must now fight to bring Michael’s memory back while Carol fights to remove him from their lives completely.

Michael, still charming and witty, concentrates his recovery on creating a giant mural on the back wall of his hospital room. An expression of his loss, his hopes, and his desire to live his life as the man he was 11 years ago, not the man he has become.

This production will feature a reduced capacity of 27 seats per performance, in accordance with CDC guidelines.  Please contact the Box Office for any specific seating requests, including handicapped seating. A streaming version will also be available.

SPECTRUM FINAL PERFORMANCE: Us and Them
Streaming March 12 and 13, 2021, 7:00 pm

Spectrum is a theatre arts education program for queer youth and their allies in grades 8-12. The program is presented in partnership with SPARC, Richmond Triangle Players, and The Conciliation Lab. Through a series of master classes and workshops, students will learn the basics of storytelling, performance, production, and playwriting, as they collectively produce original works.

Oftentimes, telling your own personal stories can be intimidating; the goal of this project is for each ensemble member to express their truth in a safe, supportive, and creative environment with proper artistic training and support. Using performing arts to break down barriers, students will be encouraged to use their authentic voice to promote social justice as well as create systemic change in their communities.

Learn more about the program and make a donation.

About the performance, written by the Spectrum Youth Ensemble:

Our Us and Them scenes and short stories were created to highlight the differences and similarities that the queer community has with people who are not in the queer community.  Us and Them helps to better understand what we perceive as “our” view versus  “their” views. “Us” refers to individuals within the queer community.  “Them” are others that don’t see eye to eye with folx in the queer community.

These scenes were written to highlight our differences, and show the oppression of queer folx in relation to non-queer people who aren’t necessarily oppressed for their gender identity or sexuality. For these projects we wrote four scenes, based on moments in LGBTQ history. Topics were chosen to educate our audience and celebrate our victories and our humanity. “Us and Us” are short stories written to show that people in the LGBTQ community are not much different than anyone else, and are still people worthy of respect.

Please note, there is language used in this project that may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable for you to hear but it is important to honor the voices and experiences of the youth who created it. 

This Bitter Earth
by Harrison David Rivers
Onstage Jan 28 – Feb 20, 2021
On Demand beginning Feb 13, 2021

Directed by Brandon Rashad Butts
featuring Evan Nasteff and Andrew Rou Reid

A deep love is challenged by divisive political realities. Jesse, an introspective black playwright, finds his choices called into question when his boyfriend, Neil, a white Black Lives Matter activist, calls him out for his political apathy. As passions and priorities collide, this couple is forced to reckon with issues of race, class and the bravery it takes to love out loud.

This production will feature a reduced capacity of 20 seats per performance, in accordance with CDC guidelines.  Please contact the Box Office for any specific seating requests, including handicapped seating. A streaming version will also be available.

Get Your Favorite Beverage at RTP Faster, Easier and Safer Than Ever!

We know that one of the things our patrons like to do is visit our Bar Nonesuch to order their favorite cocktail, craft brew or wine to enjoy before the show or at intermission. But you know standing in long lines is something no one wants to do these days. And now you don’t have to!

We have partnered with Noble, one of the nation’s best-known mobile ordering applications to put our fabled bar right at your fingertips!

The Santa Closet
by Jeffrey Solomon
Available on Demand through December 25, 2020
Directed by Nora Ogunyele
featuring Eddie Webster
In this hilarious and at times touching one-person show Little Gary’s gender-atypical gift request, sent to the North Pole, is denied. A series of subsequent heart-felt letters from the child nudge Santa Claus out of the closet and right into the center of a heated culture war.

Playwright Jeffrey Solomon, a theatrical documentarian in the mold of Anna Deveare Smith, lovingly sends up the form, purporting to have interviewed all the key players in the scandal known as “Santa-Gate!”

The Santa Closet is a funny, sensitive and imaginative tale that pulls at the holiday heartstrings while asking the question  “How do we speak honestly and openly to children, and each other, about LGBTQ+ lives and issues”? If you liked The Santaland Diaries, you will love The Santa Closet!

Chris Hester
A Nightmare on Altamont Avenue
October 30 – 31, 2020

Chris Hester, who has been thrilling and chilling RTP audiences for over a decade with award-winning performances in shows such as Cabaret and The Boy from Oz,, returns to our stage for a hair-raising cabaret performance.

Along with the haunting Kim Fox as music director, and some fang-tastic instrumentalists, Chris is plotting an evening of song and stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Let the ghoul times roll!

If Chris doesn’t make you wake-up singing, then you may not wake up at all!

This limited run will feature a reduced capacity of 27 seats per performance, in accordance with CDC guidelines.  A streaming version will also be available.

See what RTP is doing to ensure your safety during your visit.

Virtually Insane
with Georgia Rogers Farmer and Joshua Wortham
October 15 – 17, 2020

Georgia Rogers Farmer — who has been thrilling RTP audiences with her unique and unparalleled brand of cabaret — returns to our stage to thrill audiences with a CDC-approved performance, along with the talents of musical director and accomplice Joshua Wortham.

This limited run will feature a reduced capacity of 27 seats per performance, in accordance with CDC guidelines.  A streaming version will also be available.

See what RTP is doing to ensure your safety during your visit.

RTP is committed to keeping you safe when we welcome you back to the theatre. Because we care about the health and safety of our patrons, staff and artists, we have enacted policies to address the dramatic rise of COVID-19 :

• For the safety of everyone at RTP, we require that everyone attending performances be fully vaccinated (and preferably boosted), or be able to show proof of a recent (48-hour prior to arrival) negative PCR Covid test. All of RTP’s staff and artists, as well as the volunteers you encounter at the theatre, adhere to a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy. In addition, all performers and others working on the production are tested at the beginning of each performance week.
• Please bring a copy of your Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card or test statement (or a photo of the same on your phone) or you will not be allowed to enter the building. If you forget to bring proof of status with you, we will happily exchange your ticket for another performance.
• Everyone inside our building must wear a mask, regardless of status. You may lower your mask briefly while seated to enjoy your cocktail or other drink.
• As always, if you are feeling sick or symptomatic, we ask that you stay home.

In addition:

• Seating: We are currently playing at our full reserved-seating capacity. However, your safety is our top priority, and we will continue to monitor and update our plans as the ongoing situations require. Should you wish different seating once you arrive, please check with our house manager and we will try to accommodate you.
• Sanitation and social distancing: We will continue to make operations as touch-free as possible, and will continue to offer our mobile bar-ordering app. Hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the building, and we will be asking our patrons to keep a respectful social distance from others wherever possible.
• Flexible ticketing: We will offer a fee-free exchange or full refund of your tickets until the day of the performance if you or any member of your household are not feeling well and cannot attend the performance.

The success of these changes depends on all of us valuing the health and safety of the persons near us. We have faith in our RTP patrons to help make this plan a success! Please contact us at 804-346-8113 if you have any questions.

The Cake
by Bekah Brunstetter
February 12 – March 7, 2020

Sponsored by Carreras Jewelers
A proud part of the city-wide Acts of Faith Festival

Della makes cakes, not judgment calls – those she leaves to her husband, Tim. But when the girl she helped raise comes back home to North Carolina to get married, and the fiancé is actually a fiancée, Della’s life gets turned upside down. With her church upbringing bearing down on her, she can’t really make a cake for such a wedding, can she? For the first time in her life, Della has to think for herself.  From one of the writers of the TV smash This Is Us.

Directed by Dawn A. Westbrook; featuring Terri Moore, Gordon Bass, Nicole Morris-Anastasi and Zakiyyah Jackson