Firebelly's Gollwitzer And Walthall And Photographer Gniewek To Be Honored

May 9, 2008 - This year's recipients of the Arlington Branch of the American Association of University Women's Elizabeth Campbell Award for the  Advancement of the Arts will be the Artistic Director and Producer of Firebelly Productions, Kathy Gollwitzer and Barbara Walthall. Firebelly, which they formed in 2002 to provide training and performance opportunities for young adult performers, puts on its shows in Arlington's Theatre On The Run. Three of the twelve productions of the company that Potomac Stages has reviewed have been designated Potomac Stages Picks: Proof, Butterflies Are Free and Of Mice And Men. The recipient of this year's award for Notable Achievement in the Arts goes to Ray Gniewek who has been the production photographer for innumerable shows in the Arlington theater community. The citation will point out that he refuses compensation for his photographic services, which makes his contribution to the arts in Arlington all the more noteworthy. The awards will be presented at a luncheon to be held at the Army-Navy Country Club on May 17.

Bulletin: Two Performances of Anima Cancelled

Doorway Arts Ensemble has announced the cancellation of tonight's performance of Anima at Flashpoint as well as of the matinee previously scheduled for Sunday, May 11. No reason for the cancellation was provided.

Glory Days Closes On Broadway

The official opening night at the Circle on the Square Theatre in New York of the four-person, one-act coming of age musical that received its world premiere at Signature Theatre this January, Glory Days, turned out to be its official closing night as well. In an exceedingly rare event, the Signature Theatre production transferred essentially unchanged to Broadway with the same cast (Steven Booth, Andrew C. Call, Adam Halpin and Jesse JP Johnson) and the same set, costume and lighting design under the same director, Eric Schaeffer. The morning-after reviews ranged from dismissively negative to charitable, and the show took in only $46,848 at the box office for its final week of previews. This is less than 10% of the $486,000 that is the potential take for a week for the show. Click here to read our review.

Glory Days Opens On Broadway

The four-person, one-act coming of age musical that received its world premiere at Signature Theatre this January, Glory Days, had its official Broadway opening last night at the Circle on the Square Theatre in New York, a 623-seat house in the basement of the building that also houses the nearly two thousand seat Gershwin Theatre where mega-hit Wicked is playing. In an exceedingly rare event, the Signature Theatre production transferred essentially unchanged to Broadway with the same cast (Steven Booth, Andrew C. Call, Adam Halpin and Jesse JP Johnson) and the same set, costume and lighting design under the same director, Eric Schaeffer. Few, if any, changes in the text or the songs were made. The morning-after reviews may determine the financial success of the effort. Neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post gave very much praise and the New York Post and Variety reviews are very negative. Click here to read our review.

Theater J Cancels Previews for Tonight Through Thursday

As Theater J prepares for the world premiere of David in Shadow and Light, a musical based on the life of the biblical King David, technical challenges have required more time than originally scheduled and, so, the theater has delayed the beginning of previews from tonight until this Saturday. The first preview will now be Saturday evening and there will be two previews on Sunday, at 3 and 8 o'clock. The 8 o'clock preview on Sunday will be "pay what you can," while admission to the other two previews of the weekend, and those leading up to the May 18 opening, will cost $25 a seat.

Bethesda Theatre To Re-Open With Jewtopia Show

After shutting down operations due to water damage from a plumbing leak and canceling the remaining run of Smokey Joe's Café three weekends ago, the Bethesda Theatre has announced it will resume presentations with the area premiere of World of Jewtopia by Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson, creators of the show Jewtopia and authors of Jewtopia: The Chosen Book for the Chosen People. The show will run June 5 through 22.

Biblical Black Comedy Gets Free Premiere Reading This Sunday

The Last Days of King Solomon, a comedy by Anthony E. Gallo (Margherita, Vandergrift!) will be given its premiere in a staged reading directed by Darryl Winston at the Universalist National Memorial Church at 16th and S Streets NW this Sunday at 3 pm. Described as "a black comedy with music about doubt and faith during the later days of Solomon" the play will feature Cora Alter, Jim Epstein, Anita Jones, Leon Levenson, Steve Leventhal and Thavma Phillips. For reservations, call 202-544-6973.