Hurricane Diane

by Madeleine George

May 18 - June 10, 2023
Gunston Arts Center Theatre 2

Prepare yourself for Hurricane Diane! Enter the garden of a suburban New Jersey cul-de-sac home where the Greek god Dionysus has arrived in the form of Diane, a lesbian permaculture gardener from Vermont. She’s got supernatural abilities owing to her true identity, and her secret mission is to seduce mortal followers and restore the earth to its natural state. Who better to begin with than four suburban New Jersey housewives? Playwright Madeleine George brings us a riotous evisceration of the blind eye we turn to climate change and the bacchanalian catharsis that awaits us . . . in our backyards.

The New York Times cheered Hurricane Diane as an “astonishing new play,” and New York magazine hailed it as “hilarious and full of keen observation and profound human affection.”

Director Stevie Zimmerman makes her Avant Bard debut with this production.

Hurricane Diane is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Performance Days and Times

Note: The Saturday, June 3, 2 p.m. performance will be ASL interpreted. Please email info@avantbard.org for ASL-reserved seating for this performance. Mask-required performances will be Friday, June 2, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 3, 2 p.m.

Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 7:30 pm (PWYC)
Friday, May 19, 2023 at 7:30 pm (PWYC)
Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 2:00 pm (PWYC)
Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 7:30 pm (PWYC)
Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 2:00 pm (Opening performance – invitation only)

Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Friday, May 26, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 2:00 pm (PWYC)
Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 2:00 pm

Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Friday, June 2, 2023 at 7:30 pm (Masks required)
Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 2:00 pm (PWYC, ASL-interpreted, Masks required)
Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 2:00 pm

Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Friday, June 9, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 2:00 pm (PWYC)
Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 7:30 pm (Closing)

Runtime

90 minutes with no intermission

Audience Advisory

Contains loud noises, flashing lights, and mature themes, language.

Cast

Diane: Caro Dubberly
Carol: Jenna Berk
Renee: Lolita Horne
Pam: Alyssa Sanders^
Beth: Diane Cooper-Gould

Production Team

Director: Stevie Zimmerman
Producers: Avant Bard Producing Partners
Production Manager: Sara Barker^
Stage Manager: Valarie McFatter
Scenic Consultant: Sarah Beth Hall
Lighting Designer: Hailey LaRoe
Costume Designer: Alison Samantha Johnson
Props Designer: Liz Long
Sound Designer: Delaney Bray
Choreographer: Robert Bowen Smith
Asst. Scenic Consultant: Brian Gillick