Red Herring: Performed nationally and locally

Arden Theatre Company has a strong commitment to developing and producing new work, in 21 seasons we have produced 30 world premieres including My Name Is Asher Lev and Something Intangible this season. Plays that premiered at the Arden have gone on to be performed at more than 60 other theatres in cities such as New York, London, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere. Past premieres include Opus, Incorruptible, Baby Case, The Chosen, and Red Herring, among others.

When a show goes on to be produced at another theatre in this country (and occasionally even internationally!) it helps build the reputation of both the Arden and the playwright. It is also incredibly gratifying when people in our local community are inspired by a show at the Arden and go on to produce it themselves.

Most recently, the students at Penncrest High School performed Red Herring, a play by Michael Hollinger that debuted at the Arden in 2000. One of the performers in the show shared her thoughts with us:

This year at Penncrest High School in Media, Pennsylvania, we performed RED HERRING, a Michael Hollinger play that debuted at the Arden. Our director saw this play and saw an opportunity for a great production that has contemporary humor and an eccentric cast of characters. The production was a challenging and rewarding one that gave us, as actors, plenty of space to experiment in a way that other more traditional plays would not have. We owe Arden Theatre Company deep thanks for presenting this play so that it was available to us – RED HERRING was a huge success! Thanks, Gwyn

Red Herring has been produced at over 25 theatres across the country since its premiere at the Arden nine years ago. Other community performances of Red Herring include past productions at Abington Friends School, St. Joseph’s Prep (directed by Tony Braithwaite) and, later this spring, at Drexel University.

Have you ever seen an Arden world premiere here and again at another theatre? Tell us about it!