“Big Fish” Wins Ruby Griffith Award
- “Big Fish” Show Page
- British Players/Ruby Griffith Awards
2026 Director/Show Proposals Being Accepted
Bring Your Vision to Life on Our Stage and be part of Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s 60th Anniversary season!
Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre (ASGT) is seeking proposals from potential directors who have a passion to direct a musical at ASGT in 2026. Proposals must illustrate that the show embraces the mission of ASGT to engage and entertain audiences while providing opportunities for the community to participate in and experience the joy of live theatre.
Proposals should be fully developed with suggested staffing for key roles, if possible, and will be accepted on a rolling basis until February 28, 2025, for consideration for the 2026 season. All proposals will be acknowledged. After review by the Artistic Committee, we may ask for references. In addition, ASGT will be soliciting proposals from directors for theatre-selected shows.
ASGT is committed to nurturing a diverse and vibrant community of artists, volunteers and patrons that actively supports our presence in the community. We strive for professional quality in our community theatre productions and strive to cultivate a welcoming, fun and respectful atmosphere for all. We offer small stipends for key artistic staff positions.
For more information, Click HERE.
ASGT Receives 8 WATCH Award Nominations
The Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) is an organization founded for the adjudication and presentation of annual awards recognizing artistic and technical excellence in community theater throughout the metropolitan Washington D.C. area.
99 productions (39 musicals, 60 plays) were adjudicated in 2024. Twenty-seven community theater companies participated in WATCH adjudication.
- Congratulations to all of the nominees (See Full List Here) .
We are especially proud of ASGT’s nominees:
- Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical
- Todd Croteau (“Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville”)
- Outstanding Set Painting in a Musical
- Gigi Kingsland (“Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville”)
- Outstanding Properties in a Musical
- Carol Jones (“The Prom”)
- Wren Lake (“Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville”)
- Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical
- Dianne Trickey-Rokenbrod (“The Prom”)
- Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
- Lucinda Chase (“Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville”)
- Outstanding Choreography
- Billy Luzier & Elda Trombley (“Big Fish”)
- Elysia Merrill (“The Prom”)
The WATCH awards ceremony will take place on 7:00 p.m. Sunday, March 23, 2025 at the Birchmere, 3701 Mt Vernon Ave., Alexandria, VA 22305. Tickets are $20.00 at the Birchmere Box Office or through Ticketmaster (plus service charge).
2025 Season Directors Chosen
Season Tickets on Sale Starting Nov. 15th!
We are thrilled to welcome back Shane Jensen to ASGT. Dr. Jensen will be directing our first show of the Season “Disaster!” (May 22, 2025 – June 14, 2025). He will also serve as the Music Director for this production. A creative and visionary educator and leader, we are confident Shane will knock this fun-filled show out of the park. His impressive resume includes two previous productions at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre: “Rock of Ages” (Director & Music Director) and “Chicago” (Music Director).
Mark Briner is returning to Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre to direct our second show “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (June 26, 2025 – July 19, 2025). An accomplished and multi-skilled director, we are sure Mark Briner is a great fit for this irreverent and rollicking show. You may remember Mark’s previous productions at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre: “Head Over Heels”, “The Wedding Singer”, “Altar Boyz”, and his Ruby Griffith Award-winning production of “Catch Me if You Can”. Mark’s creativity will be an asset to this show.
– Jerry Vess, who you may recognize as pirate “J.D.” from ASGT’s 2024 production of “Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville” will direct our final show of 2025, “Groundhog Day” (July 31 through August 31, 2025). Jerry, a multi-talented director and actor (and great set builder), has directed 11 shows at ASGT, including 2023’s amazing “Footloose”. Previous shows he directed at ASGT include “SHOUT: The Mod Musical”, “Anything Goes”, “Marvelous Wonderettes”, “Forever Plaid”, “Copacabana”, “Forever Plaid”, “Cabaret” and his Ruby Griffith Award-winning productions of “Bright Star” and “The Producers”. His attention to detail and creativity makes him the perfect choice to direct this technically challenging, yet fun, crowd-pleaser.
Season tickets on sale starting November 15th!
GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE NOW!
August 8th Performance Cancelled
Due to weather and safety concerns, tonight’s performance of “Big Fish” has been cancelled. Ticketholders will be refunded within 48 hours. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated if Friday’s performance is affected.
Tickets for future dates can be purchased here: https://summergarden.showare.com/
Don’t delay as seats are selling quickly. Additional questions can be sent to boxoffice@summergarden.com (please be patient as we may not be able to respond immediately).
2025 Season Announced
We are pleased to announce Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s 2025 Season lineup! It is sure to be another fun summer next year. Season Tickets will go on sale November 15, 2024 Individual show tickets will go on sale April 1, 2025.
Disaster!
May 22, 2025 – June 14, 2025
Directed by Shane Jensen
It’s 1979, and New York’s hottest A-listers are lining up for the opening of a floating casino and discotheque. Also attending is a faded disco star, a sexy nightclub singer with her eleven-year-old twins, a disaster expert, a feminist reporter, an older couple with a secret, a pair of young guys who are looking for ladies, an untrustworthy businessman and a nun with a gambling addiction. What begins as a night of boogie fever quickly changes to panic as the ship succumbs to multiple disasters, such as earthquakes, tidal waves and infernos. As the night turns into day, everyone struggles to survive and, quite possibly, repair the love that they’ve lost… or at least escape the killer rats.
“Disaster!” is a new musical straight from Broadway, featuring some of the most unforgettable songs of the ’70s. “Knock on Wood,” “Hooked on a Feeling,” “Sky High,” “I Am Woman” and “Hot Stuff” are just a few of the scintillating hits in this hilarious musical comedy with a book by three-time Emmy Award nominee and SiriusXM Broadway host, Seth Rudetsky, and Jack Plotnick.
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
June 26, 2025 – July 19, 2025
Directed by Mark Briner
This happy-go-lucky view of small-town vice and statewide political side-stepping recounts the good times and the demise of the Chicken Ranch, known since the 1850s as one of the better pleasure palaces in all of Texas. Governors, senators, mayors, and even victorious college football teams frequent Miss Mona’s cozy bordello, until that Puritan nemesis Watchdog focuses his television cameras and his righteous indignation on the institution.
Carol Hall’s bawdy-but-wholesome crowd-pleaser skewers pretension, celebrates life and touches the heartstrings. This raucous, red-blooded, hilarious musical comedy about a “Lil Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place” took Broadway by storm and continues to enthrall audiences worldwide.
Groundhog Day
July 31, 2025 – August 31, 2025
Directed by Jerry Vess
How would you spend your time if forced to repeat the same day over and over again? Phil Connors, a seasoned big-city weatherman, is frustrated to be reporting the annual Groundhog Day Ceremony in small town Punxsutawney, PA. His arrogance and cynicism are in direct opposition to the cheery townsfolk, who are ready for their favorite Groundhog to not see his shadow and welcome an early spring. After disdainfully covering the rodent’s negative forecast, he awakens the next day only to discover it’s February 2 once more. Initially in disbelief, Phil finally accepts he is doomed to repeat the same day over and over again….
Will Phil accept that he is doomed to repeat the same day over and over again? Or will he find the courage to change himself and his fate?
Critically acclaimed on both the West End and Broadway, Groundhog Day revels in one man’s journey of self-discovery, day after day. Inspired by the hilarious film starring Bill Murray, “Groundhog Day” features a book by original co-screenwriter Danny Rubin, and music and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Tim Minchin (“Matilda the Musical”).
June 8th Performance Cancelled
“Head Over Heels” June 8th Show Cancelled Due to Safety Concerns
Based on government recommendations regarding air quality, the performance of “Head Over Heels” scheduled for tonight (June 8, 2023) has been cancelled.
ASGT Receives 6 WATCH Nominations
The Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) is an organization founded for the adjudication and presentation of annual awards recognizing artistic and technical excellence in community theater throughout the metropolitan Washington D.C. area.
98 productions (38 musicals, 60 plays) were adjudicated in the combined 2020/2022 years. Twenty-seven community theater companies participated in WATCH adjudication.
- Congratulations to all of the nominees (See Full List Here) .
We are especially proud of ASGT’s nominees:
- Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical – Todd Croteau – The Drowsy Chaperone
- Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical – John H. Purnell – Rock of Ages
- Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical – Paul Pesnell – Rock of Ages
- Outstanding Cameo in a Musical – Ellen Quay as “Trix” – The Drowsy Chaperone
- Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical – Traci Denhardt as “The Drowsy Chaperone” – The Drowsy Chaperone
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical – Tom Wyatt as “Man in Chair” – The Drowsy Chaperone
The WATCH awards ceremony will take place on 7:00 p.m. Sunday, March 19, 2023 at the Birchmere, 3701 Mt Vernon Ave., Alexandria, VA 22305. Tickets are $20.00 at the Birchmere Box Office or through Ticketmaster (plus service charge).
We Stand in Solidarity with the Black Community
ASGT has built a theatre community that is broad and diverse. We are proud to have partnered with outstanding black directors, actors, and other artists in recent years and to have presented shows that champion inclusion and diverse points of view. And we believe that the theatre can and should be a safe space for conversation, creativity, and empathy. We know we can and must do more to ensure our organization reflects our community and entertains and inspires all people, and we are committed to continuing that work. Today, and always, ASGT stands with our black artists, volunteers, patrons, and donors in support of equity and justice.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
How can you help? Check out the Black Lives Matter Resources 101 from Playbill.
June 5, 2020
“Crazy for You” Receives 9 WATCH Nods
We are so proud to announce that Crazy for You has just received 9 Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH Awards) nominations! Congratulations to all who helped put together this amazing production, especially our nominees:
Outstanding Musical
Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, stage-managed by Jennifer Smith
Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Vince Musgrave – Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
Outstanding Music Direction
Anita O’Connor – Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
Emma Godfrey as “Polly Baker” – Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical
Jonathan Jackson as “Bobby Child” – Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
Outstanding Choreography
Andrew Gordon – Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Bob Foery – Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical
Miriam Gholl & Beth Deitrick – Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical
Tommy Malek – Crazy for You – Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
The full list of nominees can be found here.
Re-live a little of the magic of Crazy for You here:
The Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) is an organization founded for the adjudication and presentation of annual awards recognizing artistic and technical excellence in community theater throughout the metropolitan Washington D.C. area. ASGT was excited to join WATCH in 2019.
Click here to learn more. And a big thank you to all the WATCH judges who travel to Annapolis to see and review our shows!
January 20, 2020
OUR SPONSORS
