Theater: ‘Steel Magnolias’ cathartic for mourning mother and daughter stars

The upshot is that Adventure Theatre’s production leaves Wednesday for an Aug. 4-Sept. 25 tour to Singapore and neighboring Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia. Bobbitt, who is staging the remount, says Singapore Repertory Theatre is flying him, actors Josh Sticklin, Ayanna Hardy and Alex Vernon, and stage manager Ryan Maxwell over, covering their salaries and housing them while they do the show. The Singapore theater will also build a set per Adventure Theatre’s specs.

It’s not a prop-heavy play, so Bobbitt will pack up props in extra suitcases, hoping the Customs folks don’t balk at a couple of foam-rubber axes, needed for a tree-cutting scene.

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Bobbitt says he was dumbfounded to be on the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s radar, though he had put the word out more than a year ago via the Internet that his company was premiering an adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s 1990 book, “Just a Dream,” scripted by Bethesda lawyer Sandra Eskin. It’s about a little boy who’s a litterbug, and who learns to care about the environment in a dream.

Adventure’s 2011-12 season

Adventure Theatre’s 2011-12 season in Glen Echo Park will include a world-premiere holiday play by the Washington-based, Broadway-seasoned playwright Ken Ludwig (“Lend Me a Tenor”).

The company’s full season:

●“Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse” (Sept. 23-Oct. 31), based on the book by Kevin Henkes, adapted by Kevin Kling. Nick Olcott will direct and Felicia Curry will star.

●“ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas” (Nov. 18-Jan. 2), by Ken Ludwig, about a mouse, an elf, a little girl and a house that Santa missed. Jerry Whiddon will direct.

●“The Snowy Day” (Jan. 20-Feb. 13) is a world-premiere musical, based on the book by Ezra Jack Keats, with a script by David Emerson Toney and music and lyrics by Darius Smith. Jessica Burgess will direct.

●“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” (March 2-April 9) is a musical with script and lyrics by Judith Viorst, based on her book, with music by Shelly Markham. Gail Humphries Mardirosian will direct.

●“Just a Dream: The Green Play” will tour area schools again, April 10-May 11.

●“Five Little Monkeys” (April 27-June 3) is another world premiere, adapted by Ernie Nolan from the books by Eileen Christelow. Karin Abromaitis will direct.

●“If You Give a Moose a Muffin” (June 22-Sept. 2, 2012) is adapted by Steve Garfinkel from another book in the series by Laura Numeroff. Michael Russotto will star, directed by Jeremy Skidmore.

●“Big, the Musical” (July 13-Aug. 5) will mark a collaboration between Adventure Theatre and the Musical Theater Center school in Rockville. At the Round House Theatre in Bethesda. (www.adventuretheatre.org).

Follow spot

●Studio Theatre will hold its annual garage sale featuring items from each show of the past season on Saturday, Aug. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its 14th and P streets NW location.

For more theater and dance reivews reviews, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater-dance.

Horwitz is a freelance writer.