CENTERSTAGE Kicks Off Season with AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, Now thru 10/21

CENTERSTAGE's historic 50th Anniversary Season officially kicks off with AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, directed by Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, in a landmark production that takes Arthur Miller's translation of Ibsen's classic and uses it to examine the contemporary media landscape. The production begins previews tonight, September 19 and opens September 27.

"I thought when we were running up to the election, that this was a wonderful piece to investigate the role of the citizen, the role of the individual, and to have the debate about the majority and the minority," says Kwame. "This play is a conversation starter: Who or what is an enemy of the people?"

The production takes its stylistic cue from the 1960 Kennedy/Nixon debate and the moment when live television changed the political landscape. Ibesn's riveting saga pits brother against brother and a community against itself as it asks, does the good of some outweigh the good of the rest?

Leading the cast are Dion Graham and Kevin Kilner as Dr. and Peter Stockmann, two brothers torn apart by a discovery that impacts the whole community. Dion Graham returns to CENTERSTAGE after a long absence (The Heliotrope Bouquet, All's Well That Ends Well). His many credits include Broadway and touring productions of Not About Nightingales, and the role of State's Attorney Rupert Bond in The Wire. Kevin Kilner, a Johns Hopkins alum, returns to his hometown of Baltimore after making a name and face for himself both on stage and in extensive film and television roles, including Raising Helen, A Cinderella Story, American Pie II, Home Alone III, House of Cards, Damages, and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. (A full cast list and bios are included below.)

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, by Arthur Miller, adapted from the play by Henrik Ibsen, and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, begins previews tonight, September 19. The show opens officially on Thursday, September 27, and closes October 21. Tickets start at $10, and can be ordered online at www.centerstage.org/Enemy, or by calling 410.332.0033.

This production is supported by Bank of America, with additional support from KPMG.

CENTERSTAGE, the State Theater of Maryland, celebrates its 50th Anniversary Season in 2012-13. The professional, nonprofit company serves as a local hub and national leader for provocative, entertaining theater and as a catalyst for conversation in the community. Each year, a broad range of productions in two intimate performance spaces attracts a highly diverse audience of more than 100,000 people-including more than 8,000 fiercely loyal members. Under the leadership of acclaimed playwright, actor, and director Kwame Kwei-Armah (Artistic Director) and national arts leader Stephen Richard (Managing Director), CENTERSTAGE enters its 50th year with a renewed dedication to the production of world-class theater in the heart of Baltimore.

CENTERSTAGE's 50th Anniversary is made possible by DLA Piper, M&T Bank, The Rouse Company Foundation, T. Rowe Price and the T. Rowe Price Foundation, Ellen and Ed Bernard, Stephanie and Ashton Carter, James and Janet Clauson, Lynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation, Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins, Judy and Scott Phares, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Smith; with additional support from Kathi Hyle; and season media partners Maryland Public Television, The Baltimore Sun, WYPR, and WBAL.

CENTERSTAGE is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, the MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to non profit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

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