Arlington News

Following a celebratory New York season, which opened with a December 3rd Golden Anniversary Gala with Oprah Winfrey as Honorary Chair and Honored Guest, and the Empire State building shining in golden tribute, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) will now bring the beauty, power, passion and artistry that are its hallmarks to audiences across the United States. As part of a 50-city global tour in celebration of AAADT's 50th Anniversary, a 26-city U.S. tour will begin February 3rd at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center and continue through May 24th with visits to Atlanta, GA; Tucson, AZ; Berkeley, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; Boston, MA; Newark, NJ and other cities. Led by renowned Artistic Director Judith Jamison, the Company will present a diverse repertory of exciting premieres, dramatic new productions, revered classics, and repertory favorites. AAADT company member Hope Boykin's Go in Grace; an innovative collaboration with Grammy-Award winning female a cappella musical group Sweet Honey In The Rock, who will perform their original score live onstage with the dancers, will be performed in 10 different cities including Atlanta, GA and Newark, NJ. Acclaimed Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti was so inspired by the dancers that he cast the entire company in Festa Barocca, his first world premiere for an American modern dance group, and one of the rare occasions to see all the Ailey artists together on the stage. A retrospective of Alvin Ailey's phenomenal choreographic career will be presented in a new Anniversary Highlights program that includes excerpts of over a dozen ballets. Spanning each decade, from Blues Suite, the dance that launched the Company in 1958, to Opus McShann, his final piece thirty years later, the program will also include his masterpiece Revelations in its entirety.

The Riverdale Y's Jr. Rising Stars children's theater company begins its third season with the high flying musical of Peter Pan; opening Thursday, January 15, at 7pm. The show will run Saturdays, January 17, and 24, at 7:00 pm; and Sundays, January 18, and 24, at 7 pm; and Thursday, January 22, at 7pm. Matinees are offered on Sundays, January 18, and 24, at 2 pm.

Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance comes to Arena Stage in a contemporary and provocative new staging under the direction of experienced Albee collaborator Pam MacKinnon. Featuring Broadway stars Kathleen Chalfant (Wit, Angels in America), Terry Beaver (Henry IV, The Last Night of Ballyhoo), Ellen McLaughlin (Angels in America) and Carla Harting (Eurydice),joined by Helen Hedman and James Slaughter, A Delicate Balance runs February 6-March 15, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. 'Albee is fearless about writing stories that get us in the solar plexus, and he does so with his brilliant wit, dynamic storytelling and rigorous use of language,' shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. 'His work draws the best artists, and with this production audiences are fortunate to have an enormously strong cast and creative team-approved by Albee himself.' A frequent director of Albee plays, MacKinnon has directed The Play About the Baby, the world premieres of Peter and Jerry: Homelife and The Zoo Story (now titled At Home at the Zoo) and Occupant, as well as the U.S. regional and European premieres of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

Dallas Theater Center, in association with SMU Meadows School of the Arts, presents In the Beginning, an adaptation of the first 10 chapters of the Book of Genesis, featuring the newly announced DTC acting company, and directed by artistic director Kevin Moriarty. In the Beginning runs Jan. 21-Feb. 15 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Presenting familiar stories from Genesis - the creation of the world, Adam and Eve in Eden, jealousy and murder among brothers, the world's destruction by water - In the Beginning offers a fresh retelling of age-old tales interspersed with engaging dialogue taken directly from conversations with local community members and respected religious scholars about the text. 'In the Beginning does not present a single, definitive interpretation of the stories we find in Genesis,' Moriarty says. 'Rather, it is a reflection of the conversations we've had with people of faith throughout our community about the text and the personal truths and insights they've found through their own explorations into these stories.'

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts celebrates the 12th Anniversary of the Millennium Stage on January 31, 2009 with 'Broadway Today'-a star-studded, free concert, produced by Michael A. Kerker and presented in cooperation with ASCAP, in the Opera House as a part of the Center's season-long artistic initiative Broadway: The Third Generation. With the composers at the piano, original cast members and Broadway stars perform signature songs that made these artists household names. Free tickets are required. Tickets will be given away one (1) per person in line in front of the Opera House beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, 2009.

Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden will star in GOD OF CARNAGE, the new play by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, directed by Matthew Warchus, opening on Broadway at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45 Street) on Sunday March 22. Previews will begin on February 28.

Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden will star in GOD OF CARNAGE, the new play by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, directed by Matthew Warchus, opening on Broadway at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45 Street) on Sunday March 22. Previews will begin on February 28.

The Riverdale Y's Jr. Rising Stars children's theater company begins its third season with the high flying musical of Peter Pan; opening Thursday, January 15, at 7pm. The show will run Saturdays, January 17, and 24, at 7:00 pm; and Sundays, January 18, and 24, at 7 pm; and Thursday, January 22, at 7pm. Matinees are offered on Sundays, January 18, and 24, at 2 pm.

I Love a Piano, an enchanting revue of the music and lyrics of Irving Berlin, spans over seven decades of American history and includes 64 of Berlin's most enduring and popular favorites. Under the direction and choreography of Ray Roderick (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang national tour), who co-created the show with Michael Berkeley, these show-stopping song and dance numbers performed by a cast of talented young actors bring fresh energy to Berlin's material. I Love a Piano runs January 29-February 15, 2009 at Arena at the Lincoln Theatre.

Julie Wilson, the legendary theatre and cabaret star, will make a guest appearance at Steven Brinberg's A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular.She joins the previously announced Tituss Burgess and The Broadway Boys. The event will benefit The Ali Forney Center, New York's primary emergency housing resource for homeless LGBT youth. A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular will play at Symphony Space (2357 Broadway at 95th Street) on Saturday, December 20 at 8 pm.

DC's Signature Theatre has announced casting for their production of the Tony Award-nominated comedy The Little Dog Laughed, Douglas Carter Beane's satire of Hollywood ambition, truth, and illusion. The Little Dog Laughed is scheduled to play Jan. 13-March 8, 2009.

Julie Wilson, the legendary theatre and cabaret star, will make a guest appearance at Steven Brinberg's A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular.She joins the previously announced Tituss Burgess and The Broadway Boys. The event will benefit The Ali Forney Center, New York's primary emergency housing resource for homeless LGBT youth. A Simply Barbra Holiday Spectacular will play at Symphony Space (2357 Broadway at 95th Street) on Saturday, December 20 at 8 pm.

American Century Theater audiences are getting a special gift this holiday season: An American Century Christmas, a new musical revue full of old classics, Christmas chestnuts, memories, laughs, tears and Christmas spirit, opening Wednesday, December 10 and running through January 4 at Theater II, Gunston Arts Center, 2700 S. Lang Street in Arlington, Virginia.

American Century Theater audiences are getting a special gift this holiday season: An American Century Christmas, a new musical revue full of old classics, Christmas chestnuts, memories, laughs, tears and Christmas spirit, opening Wednesday, December 10 and running through January 4 at Theater II, Gunston Arts Center, 2700 S. Lang Street in Arlington, Virginia.

The Riverdale YM-YWHA's (5625 Arlington Avenue in the northwest Bronx) teen theater group, Riverdale Rising Stars, begins its ninth season with one of the country's first productions of RENT, the School Edition; opening Saturday, December 6, at 8pm. The show will run Saturdays, December 6, 13, and 20, at 8:00 p.m., and Sundays, December 7, 14, and 21 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, December 11, at 7pm. Matinee Sunday, December 14, at 2 p.m. Note: RENT contains mature themes and is not recommended for young children.

News from Broadway and theater in the Baltimore/Washington area

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell S. Bernard, Trustee) in association with the Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) have awarded Adam Gwon the fourth annual Fred Ebb Award. The invitation only award presentation and cocktail reception took place on Monday, December 1, 2008 at The American Airlines Theatre's Penthouse Lobby (227 West 42nd Street).

New Schedule including New 'Princess and the Pea' Production and Premiere Spanish Cinderella 'La Cenicienta'

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell S. Bernard, Trustee) in association with the Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) announced today that Adam Gwon has been awarded the fourth annual Fred Ebb Award. The invitation only award presentation and cocktail reception will take place on Monday, December 1, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. at The American Airlines Theatre's Penthouse Lobby (227 West 42nd Street).

The previously announced Kathleen Chalfant (Obie Award-winner for Wit) and Ellen McLaughlin (original Angel in Broadway's Angels in America) will be joined by Terry Beaver, Carla Harting, Helen Hedman and James Slaughter for the upcoming production of Edward Albee's provocative drama A Delicate Balance. Directed by Pam MacKinnon, A Delicate Balance will officially open February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The show will run February 6 through March 15, 2009. Full release to follow at a later date.