SANCTUARY CITY

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tHEIR PAST BROUGHT THEM HERE, BUT WILL THE FUTURE LET THEM STAY?

SANCTUARY CITY

By Martyna Majok

MARCH 6 - MARCH 22, 2025

Sanctuary City by Pulitzer Prize-winner Martyna Majok is an intensely moving tale set in 2001 Newark, NJ, where two teenagers, brought to America as children, grapple with an impossible choice: what are they willing to risk to stay in the only home they've ever known? As they navigate the tender moments of coming-of-age, they must confront the harsh realities that threaten their dreams. A powerful exploration of love, sacrifice, and resilience, Sanctuary City transcends time and memory, offering a poignant look at the struggles and hopes of those seeking a place to belong.

PERFORMANCES WERE HELD AT RICHMOND TRIANGLE PLAYERS- ROBERT B. MOSS THEATRE (1300 ALTAMONT AVE, RICHMOND, VA 23230)

SANCTUARY CITY is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by

TRW PLAYS 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.trwplays.com

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“A BRIDGE OF DREAMS”

5th Wall Theatre's stylistically ambitious “Sanctuary City” delivers an emotional punch.

Style Weekly Review by David Timberline

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SANCTUARY CITY PHOTOS BY DESTINY MARTINEZ

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H*tler’s Tasters

H*TLER’S TASTERS

By Michelle Kholos Brooks

OCTOBER 17 - NOVEMBER 2, 2025

Three times a day, every day, a group of young women have the opportunity to die for their country. They are Adolf Hitler’s food tasters. H*tler’s Tasters is a fictional retelling of a largely unknown story of the young German women conscripted to taste Adolf Hitler’s food for poison. This dark comedy explores the way girls navigate sexuality, friendship, patriotism, and poison during the Third Reich. Using an anachronistic retelling of a historical footnote, H*tler’s Tasters considers what girls discuss as they wait to see if they will survive another meal.

Performances were held in Partnership with Virginia Rep located at 114 W Broad St Richmond, VA 23220

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“THE 5TH WALL THEATRE’S 2024/2025 SEASON IS BILLED AS A CELEBRATION OF EMPOWERING STORIES THAT INSPIRE CHANGE. THE ‘THEATRE BEYOND BOUNDARIES’ FIRST PRODUCTION OF THE SEASON, H*TLER’S TASTERS FULFILLS THIS PROMISE ON SEVERAL LEVELS.”

-Julinda D. Lewis

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Cast

Hilda - Rebecka Russo

Liesel - Preston Bradsher

Anna - Eva Linder

Margot - Kylee Márquez-Downie 

Understudies

Hilda/Margot - Tory Davidson

Liesel/Anna - Emma Rivet

Creative Team

Director - Kaitlin Paige Longoria

Choreographer - Kayla Xavier

Fight Choreographer - Marr Hovastak

Lighting Designer - Gretta Daughtrey

Sound Designer - Candace Hudert

5th Wall Costume Designer - Maggie Ronck

NLTP Costume Designer - Ashleigh Poteat 

Set Designer - Kaitlin Paige Longoria

Production Associate - Emily Adler

Production Stage Manager - Tariq Karriem

Content Warning: This production contains depictions of Nazi symbols, strobe lights, mature themes, potentially sensitive or controversial content and imagery, including discussions of sexual assault, politics, war, and race. Viewer discretion is advised.

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“INVENTIVE. CHALLENGING. FUNNY. TOUCHING PIECE OF THEATER - SEE IT!!!”

-@twizzledsass

“LONGORIA... DIRECTS WITH A SENSE OF ENERGY AND INEVITABILITY THAT IS URGENT, AND MANAGES TO SOMEHOW SUGGEST THAT HOPE NEVER DIES.”

-Julinda D. Lewis

“CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS SHOW AND ITS SOBERING THEMES AND ARTFUL PRESENTATION. NEEDS TO BE SEEN.”

-Stephen Ryan

“...EXPLORES URGENTLY RELATABLE THEMES WITH UNPREDICTABLE CREATIVE GUSTO..”

-Stephen Ryan

Photos taken by Ivy and Lace Photography

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H*tler’s Tasters has captivated audiences worldwide with bold storytelling and dark humor, exploring the lives of young women forced to taste Hitler’s food for poison. Following a SOLD-OUT 2019 run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was named among the Best of EdFringe, and earning a Time Out Critic’s Pick Off-Broadway, the play now makes its Richmond debut. Directed by original cast member and producer Kaitlin Paige Longoria, it’s hailed as “one of the best evenings” in theater (Susan Stroman) and “unbelievably relevant” (Spy in the Stalls).

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NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT

THE H-WORD

I understand that some people are triggered by the name, Hitler. I am too. However, as a Jewish woman, I am more terrified by what I’m currently seeing in the world around me than I am by a name—albeit the worst name.

H*tler’s Tasters is a play about many things but, most importantly, it is a play about the dangers of complacency.


The girls in H*tler’s Tasters are the girls whose families didn’t resist the tide of tyranny. They didn’t catch the signs, or, worse, they accepted the “inevitable” and looked the other way when the “others” lost their homes, their businesses, and their lives. What they failed to realize is that madmen first come for the “other,” but when there is no one left, he turns on his own. Hitler was willing to sacrifice young, German women; the future of the Reich, the potential bearer of German sons, to taste his food for poison. The tyrant is insatiable and, because power makes him even more paranoid, there is no amount of privilege—be it race, economic, social, or even family status that protects us when the tyrant turns his gaze in our direction.

Right this very minute, bad actors in government are working to undermine our country. They are once again trying to control the ability for women to have autonomy over their bodies. They are surgically and deftly slicing away at our democracy with tiny, barely noticeable cuts. However, as with the Nazi’s, these small fissures, paired with outrageous lies about immigrants, Blacks, Asians, Jews, the LGBTQ2+ community, Hispanics, Muslims, or any number of “others” are conspiring to create a chasm into which we’re all in danger of falling. It is devastating to think that our children’s children could look back and wonder why we didn’t pay attention when the signs were so glaring.

H*tler’s Tasters is also very much about the treatment of young women—the way society exploits and then discards them is a story as old as time. It’s disproportionately true for poor women and women of color, but there is not a woman in the world who has not felt the fear brought on by an unhinged male with power—be that at work or walking down the street. In H*tler’s Tasters we see the way young women, raised with Hitler as their father figure, have been indoctrinated. We have the heartbreaking experience of watching them submit to their fate.

We have true dictators and a number of aspiring dictators in our midst right now. We watch their lies, manipulation, and destruction in real time. We see their supporters believe they can trust these bombastic male figures to do what is right when most of us know that they are only interested in their power. These are dangerous times.

For all these reasons, H*tler’s Tasters feels more relevant today than when I conceived of it a few years ago. I wish it wasn’t. I wish I had written a story that was trapped in the amber of history. But the young women of H*tler’s Tasters are powerful reminders of what can happen when a society indulges in complacency and fails to notice that what affects some of us, eventually affects all of us.

Thank you for getting past the H-word and experiencing this play for yourself. I think you will see why so many Jewish publications, organizations, and even Holocaust survivors have supported this play. I promise it is so much more than the name of a tyrant.

Yours in peace and solidarity,


Michelle Kholos Brooks

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BASED ON THE TRUE STORY OF MARGOT WÖLK

H*tler's Tasters by Michelle Kholos Brooks is inspired by the real-life story of Margot Wölk, a German woman who was one of 15 young women forced to serve as food tasters for Adolf Hitler during World War II. Margot, recruited at age 24, spent two and a half years in this perilous role at Hitler’s secret military headquarters, the Wolf’s Lair. After the war, Wölk remained silent about her experience for decades, only sharing her story in the last years of her life. Her testimony reveals the deep fear and emotional trauma these women endured as they tasted Hitler’s food, never knowing if each bite would be their last.

The play captures the tension, fear, and uncertainty that defined their lives, while also exploring the psychological impact of their unique—and dangerous—position in history. Through contemporary dialogue and interactions, H*tler’s Tasters sheds light on themes of survival, complicity, and the haunting effects of war.

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SAW THE SHOW AND ENJOYED THE MUSIC?

MOST OF THE MUSIC USED FOR THE SHOW ARE FROM LOCAL RICHMOND ARTISTS! CHECK OUT THE SOUNDTRACK LIST BELOW.

1. Opening Number - “Von Dutch” by Charli XCX

2. Table Ritual #1, #2 & #3 - “Fear Not Creation” by Lobo Marino (LOCAL RVA ARTIST)

3. “Nobody’s Baby” by Toxic Moxie (LOCAL RVA ARTIST)

4. “Oversoon” by (Eli)zabeth Owens (LOCAL RVA ARTIST)

5. “S&M by Rihanna

6. “Safe” by Dear (LOCAL RVA ARTIST)

7. “Family Annihilator” by Dorthia Cottrell (LOCAL RVA ARTIST)

Radiant Vermin

MARCH 14 - 30TH, 2024 AT THE BASEMENT

by Philip Ridley

When a young couple is offered an ideal house by a mysterious stranger, it prompts the question: How far would any of us go to get our dream home?

Cast in alphabetical order:

Miss Dee & Kay.................... EMILY ADLER

Jill................. KAITLIN PAIGE LONGORIA

Ollie.......................... MATT MITCHELL

Production Team:

Directed by Morrie Piersol

Produced by Tom Kazas and Kaitlin Paige Longoria

Scenic Design by Daniel Allen, Lighting Design by Michael Jarrett and Sound Design by Roger Price, Costume Design by Kayli Warner, Technical Director William Luther, Vocal Coach Amanda Durst and Stage Management by Jamie Wilson, Assistant Stage Management by Constance Moreau.

WARNING: This production includes the use of strobe lights and flashing lights, which may pose a risk to individuals sensitive to such effects or prone to seizures.

RADIANT VERMIN photo credit: Tom Topinka

AWARDS: RTCC Award for Best Play (2024)

Lonely Planet

NOVEMBER 10 - 26, 2023 AT FIREHOUSE THEATRE

by Steven Dietz

Jody runs a map store in a great American city in the early 1990s. As friends fall victim to AIDS, Jody’s store becomes his sanctuary. Enter Carl, whose imagination, unpredictability, and kindness help open the world to Jody.

Called “a moving portrait of loss and undying friendship” by The San Diego Union- Tribune, LONELY PLANET demonstrates the power of compassion to see us through even the darkest of nights.

Cast in alphabetical order:

Carl.......................................ADAM TURCK

Jody..............................EDDIE WEBSTER 

Understudies in alphabetical order:

Carl.......................................ALEX HARRIS

Jody..............................WILLIAM VAUGHN 

Production Team:

Direction by Nathaniel Shaw

Scenic Design by Daniel Allen, Costume Design by Colin Lowrey II, Lighting and Sound Design by Todd LaBelle Jr., Dramaturgy by Kendall Walker and Stage Management by Emily Vial.

LONLEY PLANET photo credit: Tom Topinka

The Glass Menagerie

January 17th - February 8th, 2020 at The Basement

by Tennessee Williams


Amanda Wingfield is a faded remnant of Southern gentility who now lives in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura, who has a physical handicap and debilitating shyness. The father has left home; Tom supports his mother and sister with a shoe-factory job he finds unbearable. When Amanda convinces Tom to bring home from his workplace a "gentleman caller" for Laura, the illusions that Tom, Amanda, and Laura have each created in order to make life bearable collapse around them.

CAST:
Amanda Wingfield................... Lian-Marie Holmes
Tom Wingfield.......................... Matt Bloch
Laura Wingfield........................ Louise Keeton
Jim O'Connor.......................... Cooper Sved

PRODUCTION TEAM:
Direction: Morrie Piersol
Producer: Carol Piersol
Scenic Design: Tennessee Dixon
Lighting Design: Michael Jarett
Sound Design: Ryan Dygert
Costume Design: Kym Mincks
Stage Management: Cailin Lindsay
Properties Management: Pam Connolly
Photography: Tom Topinka
Videography: Remember Tommy Productions, LLC
Original Score by composer Jonathan Beard

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PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

5th Wall Theatre 2019

Videography by Remember Tommy Productions

PRODUCTION PHOTOS

Louise Keeton

Photo: Tom Topinka

Lian-Marie Holmes

Photo: Tom Topinka

Lian-Marie Holmes, Matt Bloch

Photo: Tom Topinka

Lian-Marie Holmes, Matt Bloch, Louise Keeton

Photo: Tom Topinka

Lian-Marie Holmes

Photo: Tom Topinka

Cooper Sved

Photo: Tom Topinka

Louise Keeton, Cooper Sved

Photo: Tom Topinka

Louise Keeton, Cooper Sved

Photo: Tom Topinka

Lost Boy Found In Whole Foods

October 11 - November 2, 2019 at The Basement

by Tammy Ryan


In the early 90's in Sudan after civil war destroyed their villages, an exodus of boys trekked eight hundred miles across Africa before making it to refugee camps in Kenya where they lived on a bowl of grain a day for ten years. In 2001, the U.S. resettled 3,600 of these "Lost Boys" in cities across America. LOST BOY FOUND IN WHOLE FOODS tells the story of Christine, a middle-aged, middle class white woman who meets Gabriel, a former "Lost Boy" working in the produce section of Whole Foods in Pittsburgh. Moved by the story of the trauma he survived as a child, she invites him to live with her and her teenage daughter. The play explores what can happen when we open up ourselves to help another human being.


CAST:
Gabriel......................................................DANIEL HURT
Christine......................................LIAN-MARIE HOLMES
Alex......................................................KRISTIN BAUER
Panther......................................................ASHTON LEE
Michael Dolan...........................................JOE WALTON
Segel Mohammed...........TARNEE' KENDELL HUDSON

PRODUCTION TEAM:
Direction: Keith Fitzgerald
Producer: Carol Piersol
Scenic Design: TJ Spensieri
Costume Design: Alex Valenin
Lighting Design: Erin Barclay
Properties Master: Barry Green
Dialect Coach: Donna Coghill
Stage Management: Alison Devereaux

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production photos

Lian-Marie Holmes, Daniel Hurt

Photo: Tom Topinka

Daniel Hurt, Kristin Bauer

Photo: Tom Topinka

Daniel Hurt, Ashton Lee

Photo: Tom Topinka

Lian-Marie Holmes, Joe Walton

Photo: Tom Topinka

Lian-Marie Holmes, Tarnee' Kendell Hudson

Photo: Tom Topinka

Lian-Marie Holmes

Photo: Tom Topinka

Daniel Hurt

Photo: Tom Topinka

The Women's Theatre Festival: Pretty Fire

March 27 – April 20, 2019 at The Basement

With the increased focus on Women’s Rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, and the #MeToo movement, The Women's Theatre Festival aims to celebrate, champion, and advance women’s rights, women’s stories, and the work of female theatre artists in Richmond. Over the course of four weeks, we will bring to the Richmond stage stories of women overcoming strife, finding their voice, and making their place in the world.


Women's Festival: Pretty Fire by Charlayne Woodard
Produced by 5th Wall Theatre
Directed by Carol Piersol, starring Haliya Roberts
Performing March 27, March 31, April 6, April 12, April 17


Festival Coordination by Jacquie O'Connor; Lighting Design by Erin Barclay; Sound Design by Kelsey Cordrey; Costume Design by Ruth Hedberg; Props Design by Morgan Lynne Meekins; Photography by Destiny Martinez; Production Stage Management by Breezy Potter.

AWARDS: RTCC Award for Best Actress - Play (2019) - Haliya Roberts

TALK RADIO

January 10 - January 26, 2019 at The Basement

5th Wall Theatre brings the dark and witty comedy of Talk Radio to Richmond in January 2019.  Scott Wichmann plays Barry Champlain, a no nonsense late night talk radio host with a few biting thoughts on life, love, commercialism, and free speech in America.

Direction by Morrie Piersol

CAST: Scott Wichmann, Chandler Hubbard, John Mincks, Haliya Roberts

AWARDS: RTCC Award for Best Sound Design (2019) - Roger Price

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production photos

Chandler Hubbard, Scott Wichmann, Haliya Roberts

Photo: Tom Topinka

Scott Wichmann

Photo: Tom Topinka

Chandler Hubbard, Scott Wichmann, Haliya Roberts

Photo: Tom Topinka

Scott Wichmann, John Mincks

Photo: Tom Topinka

LIZZIE: THE MUSICAL

October 10 - November 3, 2018 at The Basement

Music by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt
Lyrics by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Tim Maner
Book by Tim Maner
Additional Music by Tim Maner
Additional Lyrics by Alan Stevens Hewitt

Revisit the story of infamous accused axe murderess Lizzie Borden, a Victorian-era heiress suspected of murdering her wealthy father and stepmother in cold blood. With music and lyrics by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt and Tim Maner and book by Tim Maner, LIZZIE tells Bordens gory tale in rock star fashion with an epic rock opera score powered by hard-hitting female vocals. The play earned multiple Drama Desk nominations and delighted many a sold-out audience in New York City, with the New York Times raving, "Presented with wall-rattling glee...deliciously watchable."

Direction by Keith Fitzgerald

CAST (in alphabetical order):
LANI FELLING as Roadie #2
ANNE MICHELLE FORBES as Alice Russell
RACHEL ROSE GILMOUR as Lizzie Borden
RACHEL MARRS as Emma Borden
MICHAELA NICOLE as Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan
MORGAN LYNNE MEEKINS as Roadie #1

AWARDS: RTCC Award for Best Costume Design (2019) - Alex Valentin

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Production photos

Rachel Marrs

Photo: Tom Topinka

Rachel Rose Gilmour

Photo: Tom Topinka

Michaela Nicole

Photo: Tom Topinka

Anne Michelle Forbes

Photo: Tom Topinka

Rachel Rose Gilmour, Rachel Marrs

Photo: Tom Topinka

Rachel Rose Gilmour

Photo: Tom Topinka

Anne Michelle Forbes & Rachel Rose Gilmour

Photo: Tom Topinka

Rachel Marrs, Anne Michelle Forbes, Michaela Nicole, & Rachel Rose Gilmour

Photo: Tom Topinka

Rachel Rose Gilmour

Photo: Tom Topinka

HAND TO GOD

July 13 – August 11, 2018 at TheatreLAB’s The Basement

by Robert Askins


After the death of his father, meek Jason finds an outlet for his anxiety at the Christian Puppet Ministry, in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason’s complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door, and—most especially—his mother, are thrown into upheaval when Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. Hand To God explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us. Co-produced with TheatreLAB.

CAST:
Jason/Tyrone.......................................ADAM TURCK
Margery..............................KIMBERLY JONES CLARK
Jessica/Jolene...................ANNE MICHELLE FORBES
Timothy......................................... ADAM VALENTINE
Pastor Greg..........................................FRED IACOVO

PRODUCTION TEAM:
Direction by Gary C. Hopper; Scenic Design by David P. Melton; Lighting Design by Michael Jarett; Costume Design by Elizabeth Weiss Hopper; Sound Design by Joey Luck; Properties Design by Barry Green; Fight Choreography by Aaron Anderson; Dialects by Erica Hughes; Puppetry by Heidi Rugg; Assistant Stage Management by Connor Scudder; Photography by Tom Topinka; Stage Management by Kelsey Cordrey.

AWARDS: RTCC Award for Best Actor - Musical (2018) - Adam Turck

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production photos

Adam Turck

Photo: Tom Topinka

Adam Turck, Anne Michelle Forbes

Photo: Tom Topinka

Fred Iacovo, Adam Turck

Photo: Tom Topinka

Adam Valentine, Anne Michelle Forbes, Fred Iacovo

Photo: Tom Topinka

Adam Turck, Fred Iacovo, Kimberly Jones Clark

Photo: Tom Topinka