Charm City Call Board: April 22 - 28

Welcome to Charm City Call Board for the week of April 22 - 28, keeping you up to date each week with all that is theater in Baltimore and the region.            

Discounts and contest notices are listed first.  "On Stage" listings follow in this order: opening this week, in previews, current running productions, closing this week and upcoming productions.  Audition and help wanted notices will be next (arranged by date), followed by "Backstage Babble" - news bites, your letters and book/CD recommendations and "Theatre Events" are at the end.   I hope you find this format even more user friendly! 

Please feel free to send me suggestions/comments at jameshoward@broadwayworld.com.  

NEW THIS WEEK!:

• BEST BETS: The Woolgatherer at Fells Point Corner TheatreW
• NEWS: LMP Fundraiser with Elvis, Helen Hayes Awards, Holocaust Remembrance at MET!
• AUDITIONS: Youth Theatre production of Cats; and the Regional Premiere of bare: the musical!
• COMPLETE LISTINGS:  How to get tickets for all of the local shows!  

 If you have some news or an event you'd like added, please contact me at jameshoward@broadwayworld.com. 

BROADWAYWORLD.BALTIMORE DISCOUNTS! 

• A New Brain at Spotlighters: BWW readers get $5.00 off per ticket for the new musical, A New Brain.  Go to www.spotlighters.org , click on TICKETS and enter code: BWW-ANB.  This offer is also good at the Box Office.  Bring a copy of this article with you to receive discount.
• Variations on Power: Run of the Mill Theater at the Theatre Project.  May 2 – 18.  BWW Readers get 50% off tickets!  Each ticket is only $10!  For reservations, please call 410-752-8558.  You MUST mention the BWW offer at the time of reservation or at the door.

CONTESTS

•  The Color Purple  CONTEST IS OVER!

ONSTAGE THIS WEEK!

A five star system will be utilized in order to differentiate between the various levels of success: artistry and entertainment value.  This system is not directly numeric, however.  That is, a 4 rated show isn't necessarily twice as good as a 2 rated show; neither is a 4 rated show a "B" or an 80%.

◊◊◊◊◊ - The absolute best theatre has to offer!  Missing this should not be an option!
◊◊◊◊ - This is excellent theatre!  Do not miss this show!
◊◊◊ - This is a good production.  Try to get to this one!
◊◊ - This is a fair production.
◊ - Save your money.

Be sure to contact the theatre directly for show times, dates and prices.  All shows subject to change.  

CURTAIN UP!  Shows opening this week.

• The Hot L Baltimore (Play): McDaniel College.  4/23 – 26.  410-848-7000 or www.mcdaniel.edu.
• ◊◊◊◊A New Brain (Musical): Spotlighters Theatre.  Through 5/18.  Adult language, situations and sexuality.  Review posted 4/26.  410-752-1225 or www.spotlighters.org.

IN PREVIEWS! 

• These Shining Lives (World Premiere Play): CENERSTAGE. 4/24 – 6/1. Review to be posted 5/1.  410-332-0033 or www.centerstage.org.

NOW PLAYING!  Shows currently open.    

The Woolgatherer at Fells point Corner Theater; The Happy Time at Signature Theatre

• ◊◊◊◊The Woolgatherer (Play): Fells Point Corner Theatre.  Through 5/4.  Adult language, drug and alcohol use, onstage smoking, sexual situations.  Review to be posted 4/23.  410-276-7837 or www.fpct.org.  BEST BET 4/22!
• Steel Magnolias (Play): Laurel Mill Playhouse. Through 5/11.  301-617-9906 or www.laurelmillplayhouse.org.
• Kimberly Akimbo (Play): Vagabond Players.  Through 5/18.   410-563-9135 or www.vagabondplayers.com
• ◊◊◊◊◊The Happy Time (Musical): Signature Theatre.  Through 6/01.  Review posted 4/9.  703.820.9771 or www.signature-theatre.org.  BEST BET 4/15!
• ◊◊◊ Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat(Musical – Dinner Theatre): Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia.  Through 6/5.  Review posted 3/9.  www.tobysdinnertheatre.com or 1-800-88TOBYS.
• ◊◊◊◊◊The Wizard of Oz (Musical – Dinner Theatre): Toby's Dinner Theatre of Baltimore.  Through 6/8.  Review posted 4/1.  Look for an interviewwith David Bosley-Reynolds, posted 4/17, and with Adam Grabau coming soon!  1.866.99TOBYS or www.tobysdinnertheatre.com BEST BET 4/01!

The Wizard of Oz at Toby's Baltimore

CLOSING THIS WEEK! Your last chance… 

West Side Story at CCBC - Essex

• ◊◊ 1/2 The Winter's Tale (Shakespearean Comedy): Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.  Through 4/27.  Review posted 4/6.  410-366-8569 or www.baltimoreshakespeare.org.
• ◊◊◊◊◊ Gem of the Ocean (Regional Premiere Drama): Everyman Theatre.  Through 4/27.  Review posted 3/22.  410.752.2208 or www.everymantheatre.org.  BEST BET 3/25!
• She Stoops to Conquer (Play): UMBC Theatre.  Through 4/27.  www.umbc.edu.
• ◊◊◊West Side Story (Musical): CCBC – Essex.  Through 4/ 26.  Stylized violence, use of knives, guns, and sexual content.  Review posted 4/21.  410-780-6369 or www.ccbcmd.edu.

The Winter's Tale at Baltimore Shakespeare Festival

OPENING SOON!   

• The Color Purple (Musical): The Hippodrome.  4/29 – 5/18.  Review to be posted 4/30.  410-547-SEAT or www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/  

AUDITION NOTICES: 

Cats

• WHO: Laurel Mill Playhouse (Young Actors Show)
• WHAT: Cats, musically directed by Stu Knazik and produced by Patti Kanzik. 
• WHEN: Saturday, April 26, at 1:30pm and on Sunday, April 27, at 6:00pm. 
• WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR: Actors ages 8-18
• WHAT TO PREPARE: bringing sheet music for the accompanist that will be provided or a CD
• REHEARSALS: Rehearsals will start in May - two evenings a week and Saturday afternoons.
• PERFORMANCES: There will be twelve performances: Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, and Sunday matinees at 2:00pm. with a possibility of some additional Thursday evening performances. This schedule is subject to change.
• CONTACT/INFORMATION: Laurel Mill Playhouse is located at 508 Main Street in historic Laurel.  Contact Maureen Rogers at maureencrogers@gmail.com or 301-452-2557. For additional information visit www.laurelmillplayhouse.org

bare: the musical – Baltimore/DC Regional Premiere

• WHEN: May 3 beginning at 12PM; May 6 beginning at 7PM
• WHERE: The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre in Baltimore*
• WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR:
• 6-9 males and 6-9 females, ages 18 – mid-20's, must be able to play high school age
• 1 African-American woman, mid-30's or older
• 1 woman, 30's to 40's
• 1 male, mid-30's or older
• Due to the adult content in the show, no one under the age of 18 will be seen.
• INFORMATION: Full details of audition requirements, complete synopsis of the show, and much more at www.barethemusicalinbaltimore.com
• PERFORMANCE DATES: August 8 – 31, Fri – Sun at the Baltimore Theatre Project.*

*NOTE: Neither Spotlighters Theatre nor the Baltimore Theatre Project are producing this project.  They are merely providing facilities.

BACKSTAGE BABBLE!  News, Best Bets, etc. (New items in RED.)  

BEST BET : The Woolgatherer at Fells Point Corner Theatre

New to the scene director Erin Billings and her company of two, Vince Eustace and Sarah Zietlow have crafted a riveting evening of theatre.  You'll laugh, you'll be horrified, you'll think.  Don't miss The Woolgatherer at Fells Point Corner Theatre through May 4.  See above for details.  (NOTE: There will be no performance, Saturday, April 26^th.)

NEWS: APRIL 26: Laurel Mill Presents Elvis and Johnny Cash Fundraiser

Saturday, April 26, Jed Duvall performs as the King of Rock n' Roll, Elvis! and the legendary Johnny Cash. The performance begins at 8pm and will be held at 508 Main Street in historic Laurel. This event is a fundraiser for roof repairs at the theatre.

For further information about Jed Duvall, check his web site at www.jedduvall.com.

Email lmp@laurelmillplayhouse.org for reservations or contact Maureen Rogers at maureencrogers@gmail.com or 301-452-2557. Visit www.laurelmillplayhouse.org for further information. Make your reservations early as the last time Jed appeared LMP was packed. Tickets are $12 general admission. 

NEWS: April 26: FPCT Gala to Celebrate Purchase of Theatre; Mayor Dixon to Attend 

The Board of Directors of the newly purchased Fell's Point Corner Theatre proudly present an evening of celebration, fundraising, and entertainment: "Standing Room Only: A Celebration of Ownership" on Saturday, April 26th 2008. The cocktail reception begins at 7:30 pm, with the ceremony at 9:00 pm, and music and dancing until 11:00 pm.   Tickets are $50 ($38 tax deductible), and may be purchased on line at www.fpct.org or send checks made payable to Fell's Point Corner Theatre. 

The biggest event of the theatrical season! Be there to witness this historical moment as the City of Baltimore turns over the key for 251 South Ann Street to Fell's Point Corner Theatre! You won't want to miss this magical evening of music, food, dancing, and much more!  Share special memories of FPCT as you mingle with local dignitaries and celebrities. 

Fell's Point Corner Theatre has spent its entire life, all 20 years, in Upper Fell's Point, thanks in part to the kind generosity of Baltimore City and the support of the State of Maryland.  We are now delighted to announce that Baltimore City continues to support the Arts and has helped make possible our purchase of the building formally known as 251 South Ann Street.  To us it has always been and will now always be the Home of Fell's Point Corner Theatre.

NEWS: Spotlighters Gala, April 27.  Performance, Awards and Local Restaurants Featured 

Join Spotlighters Theatre for A TASTE of THEATRE - the flavor of Spotlighters!
 . . . and our local restaurants!

On Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 2pm, beginning with a matinee of A NEW BRAIN, a musical by William Finn & James Lapine, directed & choreographed by David Gregory, with musical direction by Michelle Dunkle.

Following the show, there will be an awards ceremony & reception (5pm)
honoring:

• Sherrionne Brown & Roy Hammond for their leadership and dedication to the theatre during the Back Stage Renovation; and
• J. Wynn Rousuck, recipient of The Audrey Herman Award – 2008 for embodying Audrey's passion and support of theatre and the arts in Baltimore.

Restaurant Sponsors will be providing appetizers and desserts, wine & beer.  They include: Sascha's, Red Maple, Donna's of Mt Vernon, Mt Vernon Stable & Saloon, and Jay's Restaurant Group.

Tickets are $60 which includes the performance, and may be purchased online at www.spotlighters.org.

 NEWS: APRIL 28: Helen Hayes Awards; Creative Team Announced

The creative team for the 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards on April 28 is comprised of a crew of extraordinary theatre artists in their own right.  The show will be directed by Jerry Whiddon, written by Renee Calarco, and designed and co-produced by Daniel MacLean Wagner.  Glenn Pearson will serve as the Musical Director in collaboration with George Fulginiti-Shakar.  Helen Hayes Awards President and CEO Linda Levy Grossman will co-produce the show with Wagner. The team also includes Production Manager Shari Moxley, Production Stage Manager Martha Knight, and Media Producer Jack Stillwell.

On the stage of the majestic Warner Theatre, The 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards will be replete with humor, celebration, and great tributes to Washington professional theatre.  Stars of Washington and national stages will join together to present awards in 24 categories for artistic achievement.  In addition, four special awards will be presented: The Helen Hayes Tribute sponsored by Gilbert and JayLee Mead, The Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theatre Community, The John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre, and The Governors' Award.

Director Jerry Whiddon is a six-time Helen Hayes Award nominee and the former Producing Artistic Director of Round House Theatre where he led the organization for over 20 years.  Whiddon has directed in New York (Double Image, CSC Repertory, York Theatre) and in the DC region (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Arena Stage).  Credits include such productions as World Goes Round, Mystery School, Our Town, Three Days of Rain, Travels with My Aunt, Jack and Jill, and The Swan.

Recipient of the 2007 Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play (Short Order Stories), writer Renee Calarco has been improvising, teaching, and writing comedy since 1987.  Calarco's play Good Counsel was read at Charter Theatre's First Draft Reading Series, Source Theatre's Ten-Minute Play Competition, and will receive a reading at Geva Theatre in Rochester.  Her other comedies include Rest Stop and The Seven Habits of Highly Defective People.  She is an Artistic Associate at Charter Theatre and an Associate Member of the Dramatists Guild of America.  She teaches improvisational comedy for the Theatre Lab.

Co-Producer and Production Designer Daniel MacLean Wagner is a ten-time recipient of the Helen Hayes Award and 29-time nominee for Outstanding Lighting Design.  This year marks Wagner's twentieth as production designer for the Helen Hayes Awards ceremonies.  He has worked on more than 350 productions at many regional theatres, including Berkshire Theatre Festival, Portland Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Arden Theatre Company, The Shakespeare Theatre, The John F. Kennedy Center, The Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.  Wagner is Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Maryland.  

Musical Director Glenn Pearson will be collaborating with George Fulginiti-Shakar to create the memorable musical moments for this year's celebration.  Pearson is a longtime DC institution who has performed around the world with his band Floating Opera, including many White House and presidential inaugural functions.  Fulginiti-Shakar has received seven Helen Hayes Award nominations for his work on such shows as Camelot and South Pacific at Arena Stage and The Oedipus Plays at the Shakespeare Theatre.  He has been Music Director for the Kennedy Center's Theatre Lab as well as most theatres in the DC area, and was invited to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center's National Music Theatre Conference as music director.

MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2008

• The 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards, 8:00 p.m. at the Warner Theatre, 13th and E Streets, NW
• Award presentation honoring excellence in Washington professional theatre
• The Ovation Gala, 10:30 p.m. at the JW Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
• Celebrating the nominees and recipients at Washington's largest cast party

The Helen Hayes Awards

Founded in 1983, the Helen Hayes Awards is a vibrant living legacy to Washington native and "First Lady of the American Theatre," Helen Hayes, whose legendary work ethic and standards of excellence continue to inspire Washington artists.  Helen Hayes began her lifelong love affair with theatre at the age of five after seeing her first play at The National Theatre.  Eighty years later, she presided over the inaugural presentation of her namesake awards on the same stage.

NEWS: APRIL 30: A Sparrows' Song: MET Features Local Playwright

In commemoration of Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust Day of Remembrance (May 1), the Maryland Ensemble Theater will perform a staged reading of A Sparrows' Song, a one act piece by Julie Heifetz of Frederick.  The performance will take place on Wednesday, April 30 at 7pm at the MET in historic downtown Frederick.  Tickets are $10.

A Sparrows' Song is based on the true story of Janusz Korczak, a Jewish writer, physician, educator and director of a Jewish children's orphanage in Warsaw, Poland before and during the Second World War.  Dr. Korczak was beloved by the Polish people, Christians and Jews.  When the Nazis came to deport the 200 Jewish children in the orphanage the soldiers recognized Dr. Korczak and offered the opportunity to have his life spared, but Korczak elected to go with his children and was murdered at Treblinka along with them.

Korczak's picture is on the Polish stamp as a symbol of what Poland lost in the war.  A large statue of the doctor and some of his children stands outside the Children's Memorial at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

A discussion with the author will follow the reading.

Julie Heifetz, writer and oral historian, was Writer-in-Residence for the St. Louis Center for Holocaust Studies, 1985-89 and an interviewer for Steven Spielberg's Shoah Film Project.  Among other published books and works for the stage, she is the author of two books about the Holocaust, Oral History and the Holocaust, Pergamon Press and Too Young to Remember, Wayne State University Press.  And two one-woman shows Nelly, about Nelly Sachs, the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for poetry and Voices and Echoes, based on the stories of Holocaust survivors.

Heifetz has lived in Frederick for over a year.  She is a psychotherapist, writer and actor and has been involved in theatre most of her life.  As for choosing MET to produce her play, Heifetz says, "I was so impressed with the quality of the MET's gutsy choices of plays, cast and performances, I wanted to participate here as well.  I thought I could make a contribution to my new community in this way, particularly as a minority voice, being Jewish and female."

THEATRE EVENTS (New items in RED.)  

April 18 – May 11: Laurel Mill Playhouse to Present Steel Magnolias, Pay What You Can 5/1 

Laurel Mill Playhouse, located at 508 Main Street in historic Laurel, MD., is proud to present Steel Magnolias written by Robert Harling. Directed by Tricia Schwaab and produced by Maureen Rogers, this heart tugging play opens April 18.
 
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service Inc., performances run April 18, 19, 20, May 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 2 P.M. Tickets are $13 for general admission, $10 for students (18 and under)  and seniors (65 and over). For reservations, please call 301-617-9906. For further information visit the web site at www.laurelmillplayhouse.org or contact Maureen Rogers at maureencrogers@gmail.com or 301-452-2557. 

The May 1 performance is Pay-What-You-Can.

Various Dates: Mark Scharf, Local Playwright, to Have Several Productions of His Works 

• May 16th through May 18th, 2008: The Rockville Little Theatre's production of Mark's one-act comedy GET STUFFED will be performed at the 2008 Eastern States Theatre Association Festival (ESTAFest 2008).  ESTAFest will be held at the Chapel Street Players in Newark, Delaware. Go to their website for more details: http://www.estafest.org/ 
• June 13, 14, 20, 21, 2008: The Silver Spring Stage Production of Mark's one-act LIZARD BRAINS will be performed at the 2008 Northern Virginia Theatre Association (NVTA) One Act Festival slated to be held at the James Lee Center. The production will continue to be directed by Kendra Simmons-Maurer and feature the performances of McCall and Brian Doyle.  
• July 17th through August 2nd 2008: Chesapeake Arts Center's production of Mark's full-length KEEPING FAITH -- part of the 27th Baltimore Playwrights Festival. For information about CAC, visit their website: http://www.chesapeakearts.org/ The play is the winner of the 2008 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence. 
• August, 2008: Mark's new ten-minute play, OFF THE GRID, has been selected to appear in Cedar Lane Stage's offering of Summer One-Acts. Cedar Lane Stage, which produced Mark's one-act GET STUFFED last summer, is located at 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814.  For information, check their website: http://www.cedarlanestage.org/ or call 301-949-3685.