Arlington News

On April 12, 2010, the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre will honor beloved stage, screen, and television actress Angela Lansbury with the company's first Stephen Sondheim Award. (The celebration was originally scheduled to take place on April 26, 2010). The award, established last year in honor of America's most influential contemporary musical theater writer and composer, will be presented at a black-tie Gala Benefit at the Embassy of Italy. The 2010 Sondheim Award Gala is chaired by C. Daniel and Juliann Clemente; Honorary Hosts include actresses Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bernadette Peters, philanthropists Helen Henderson and Ted and Mary Jo Shen, and Congressman James Moran and LuAnn Bennett. The Sondheim Award Gala will benefit Signature Theatre's artistic, education, and community outreach programs.

Ordinary Days, Adam Gwon's charming musical ode to New York, will kick off the new year at South Coast Repertory. Fresh from a successful run at the Roundabout Theatre Company, Ordinary Days will make its West Coast debut Jan. 3-24 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

Gunner Johnson is not filled with the Christmas spirit. 'I'm tellin' ya, it's just another Hallmark holiday that got outta control,' he tells his wife Clara. But he's about to have to learn how to stop being a Grinch, as Stage West presents the utterly hilarious A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol, beginning Thursday, December 10.

Arena Stage presents Stick Fly, a thought-provoking comedy that explores the role of race and privilege in the African-American social aristocracy.

New York: Urban Stages will present an evening of songs by award-winning composer and lyricist Adam Gwon on Tuesday, December 15th at 9:00pm. Gwon will perform selections from his musical Ordinary Days, currently finishing its sold-out run at Roundabout Theatre Company's Roundabout Underground, as well as previews of upcoming projects.

Get into the spirit of the season when Swingin' Santas Michael Barry, James Gardiner, Zachary Prince, and Stephen Gregory Smith belt, croon, and harmonize through refreshingly different holiday offerings for eight performances December 15 - 20 at Signature Theatre.

Brown Bag Thursday with Jim Kronzer THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3 1:00 - 2:00PM

The Phoenix Theatre for Children celebrates the holiday season with the presentation of Madeline's Christmas, a musical play based on the popular and beloved Madeline character featured in a series of children's books, an animated TV series, and a major motion picture.

As we wait for the first snowflakes to transform our nation's capital into a winter wonderland, the DC area theatres are giving families so many holiday-themed shows to choose from. Here are some productions which will make the holidays very jolly indeed!

Brown Bag Thursday with Jim Kronzer THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3 1:00 - 2:00PM

Gunner Johnson is not filled with the Christmas spirit. 'I'm tellin' ya, it's just another Hallmark holiday that got outta control,' he tells his wife Clara. But he's about to have to learn how to stop being a Grinch, as Stage West presents the utterly hilarious A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol, beginning Thursday, December 10.

The cast and creative team of Glory Days, Signature's world premiere musical, will reunite to celebrate the cast recording of the show in a special concert on Monday, November 30 at 8:00 pm in Signature's MAX Theatre.

The Phoenix Theatre for Children celebrates the holiday season with the presentation of Madeline's Christmas, a musical play based on the popular and beloved Madeline character featured in a series of children's books, an animated TV series, and a major motion picture.

Featuring: Nick Blaemire, James Gardiner, Steven Booth, Andrew Call, Jesse JP Johnson, and Adam Halpin. GLORY DAYS is an original musical with music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire, and a book by James Gardiner, about four best friends who reunite a year after high school graduation, only to find how much they have grown apart.

Ghostlight Records has proclaimed November 24, 2009 - the official release date of the GLORY DAYS Original Broadway Cast Recording - ‘Glory Day' in honor of the show's history-making run at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre last season. The GLORY DAYS CD is now available for pre-order at http://sh-k-boom.com/glory_days_broadway.shtml and will also be available for digital download on iTunes on Glory Day.

The Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre continues the celebration of its 20th anniversary season with a series of cabaret evenings November 17 - 22 spotlighting the exciting Helen Hayes Award-winning actress/singer Natascia Diaz and the acclaimed Scottish singer Euan Morton, whose performances have been called 'sensational' by The New York Times.

A Piece of My Heart, Shirley Lauro's celebration of women who served and sacrificed in Vietnam, has received an overwhelming emotional response from audiences of all ages and backgrounds during its current run at Arlington's Gunston Arts Center.

The cast and creative team of Glory Days, Signature's world premiere musical, will reunite to celebrate the cast recording of the show in a special concert on Monday, November 30 at 8:00 pm in Signature's MAX Theatre.

Arena Stage presents an innovative take on the world's longest-running musical, The Fantasticks by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. Director Amanda Dehnert (Oregon Shakespeare Festival‘s All's Well That Ends Well and Stratford Shakespeare Festival's Cabaret) and famed set designer Eugene Lee (Tony Award for Broadway's Wicked, Candide, Sweeney Todd) take a spin on this timeless love story by staging it in Rocky Point, an abandoned amusement park in Rhode Island. This whimsical twist on the classic musical is full of buoyant humor, charming music and incredible magic that will thrill audiences of all ages. The Fantasticks runs November 20, 2009 - January 10, 2010 at Arena Stage at the Lincoln Theatre, with an official opening on Friday, November 27, 2009.

Full casting is set for the upcoming Arena Stage production Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond (The Bluest Eye and The Gift Horse).