Three regional premieres and a world premiere will mark the Rep Stage Company's 16th season -- its second under the artistic direction of Michael Stebbins.

The season, which is set to open Wed., Aug. 27, will also be the Actor's Equity troupe's first full season in the new Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, located on the troupe's home base at Howard Community College.

The upcoming season will find Stebbins again programming six shows instead of the theatre's usual four. He's also thrown in a few extra attractions.

Opening the proceedings will be the Baltimore-Washington premiere of the documentary play "Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted." The work tells of the life of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, the writer of "Spartacus" who was blacklisted after he came up against the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947.

The play was written by the late screenwriter's son, Christopher Trumbo, who used actual letters and documents to piece together the story of his father's life. It will star Helen Hayes Award winner Nigel Reed when it runs Aug. 27-Sept. 28.

In conjunction with the production, the company will also host a free-of-charge "Trumbo Film Festival" showcasing three of the screenwriter's films: "Spartacus" (Sept. 8), "Roman Holiday" (Sept. 15) and "Papillon" (Sept. 22). All films begin at 7:30 p.m. after a pre-screening lecture at 7 p.m.

Kenneth M. Cameron's "Intelligence" will get its world premiere when Obie Award-winning director Walt Witcover brings it to the stage Oct. 9-Nov. 9. Cameron's politically charged drama looks at a national security head who is challenged by an idealistic writer.

The season's holiday offering will come in the form of the cult hit "The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut, & The Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols in a Pear Tree," running Dec. 3-Jan. 4. Rep Stage managing director Lee Mikeska Gardner will oversee William Gibson's unconventional retelling of the story of Mary and Joseph.

The production is being touted as an "all ages" show and will reopen the renovated Smith Theatre. Rep favorite (and Helen Hayes winner) Bruce Nelson will star.

Nelson can also be seen in two non-seasonal readings of David Sedaris' "The Santaland Diaries," in which he starred for the Rep the past two years. These readings will be held Dec. 6 and 13 in the college's Monteabaro Recital Hall. They will benefit, in part, the Rep Stage/Valerie Lash Arts and Humanities Scholarship.

The Rep's first production of 2009 will be a revival of Sam Shepard's "A Lie of the Mind," a little-seen drama about the conflict of two families uneasily brought together by a marriage. Xerxes Mehta will be the guest director for this multi-award winning work, which can be seen Feb. 4-March 8.

Jenny Schwartz's 2007 drama "God's Ear" will get a regional premiere under the direction of Helen Hayes-winning direction Kasi Campbell April 1-May 3. The work tells of a wife and husband trying to deal with the death of a child.

The company's season will close with yet another local premiere, "Hysteria," by British playwright Terry Johnson. This 1993 sex farce won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy with its fanciful tale of a meeting between Sigmund Freud, Salvador Dali and the daughter of one of Freud's former patients.

Steven Carpenter will direct the production, running June 3-July 4. It will also star Bruce Nelson.

New this season will be the Rep's policy of hosting free opening night receptions for each production, as well as two Friday night post-show discussions and a Saturday afternoon pre-show lecture. All Wednesday shows will be pay-what-you-can performances, thanks to the success of the program last year.

Subscriptions to the Rep Stage's season can be bought in either six-show or four-show packages, ranging in prices from $52 to $138. Call 410-772-4900, or go to www.repstage.org.

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