FROM THE FOOTLIGHTS April 1997

"Love!" & Friendship

On Wednesday, April 16 we begin a new series on friendship with "Love! Valour! Compassion!" (1994) By Terrence McNally. Winner of the Obie, the Tony, & the Drama Desk awards, "Love!" follows 8 gay friends over 3 holiday weekends at a remote lake house in upstate New York. Jack Kroll in Newsweek found "Love!" "affecting, tender, funny, painful." The Associated Press called it "amazing, heartfelt & stirring" & Newsday described "Love!" as "one of the major plays of our time." We will meet at Luna Books, 1633 P St., NW (3 blocks east of DuPont Circle), with dinner at 6:30 p.m. & our discussion starting around 7:45. Make reservations early: e-mail [email protected] or call Susan Kimmel (301-229-3037, eve & 202-418-1679, day), Elizabeth Dixon (202-223-1763), or Mary-Margaret McGrail (703-751-8126). Look for "Love!" (at a special Footlights discount) in northwest DC at Chapters, 1512 K St.; Olsson's, 1307 19th St.; & Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. You can also find "Love!" at discount bookstore Super Crown, 11 DuPont Circle & 5110 Nicholson Lane (in the White Flint Shopping Center).

Meet the Director

Our discussion of "Love! Valour! Compassion!" will feature director John Going, whose production of the play will open at the Studio Theatre April 30. Mr. Going is Associate Artistic Director of the Olney Theatre, where he directed the very 1st play Footlights attended, "A Streetcar Named Desire" (summer 1995), & has most recently directed George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man" (closing April 6).

See the Play

On Saturday, May 24, at 2 p.m., Footlights will attend "Love! Valour! Compassion!" at the Studio Theatre, 1333 P St., NW, in DC (6 blocks east of DuPont Circle). Tickets are $16.50 & include a post-performance discussion with the cast. Make your check out to The Ushers & mail to 20202 Ravensdale Ct., Gaithersburg MD 20879. Note on your check that you are a Footlights member. Footlights member (& Ushers founder) Joel Markowitz will distribute tickets near the box office just before the play begins. Tickets are limited, so act now!

"Buffalo" Keeps Charging

We have rescheduled our viewing of the 1996 film of David Mamet's play "American Buffalo" (starring Dustin Hoffman) for 5:30 p.m. Sunday, April 20, at the Kennedy Center's American Film Institute Theater. Admission is $5.50 for AFI members & $6.50 for the general public; we will have some free passes at our April 16 meeting. After the film we will reconvene in Georgetown for dinner & further discussion.

"Heidi" & Wendy in May

May brings a unique opportunity to meet a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright just before we discuss her play. On Thursday, May 15, we will discuss Wendy Wasserstein's "The Heidi Chronicles," winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize. The previous evening, May 14 at 7 p.m., Wasserstein will lecture on "Life in the Theatre" at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St., SE. We have 10 tickets for Wasserstein's lecture for $7.50 each (a 25% discount). Make your check out to Robin Larkin & mail to Robin at 5403 Nibud Ct., Rockville, MD 20852.

"July" in June & "Becket" in July

Our friendship series continues at our June 16 meeting, when we discuss Lanford Wilson's "5th of July," about the effects of the Vietnam War on a group of friends. We attend the Washington Shakespeare Company's production of "5th of July" on Sunday, June 29. On July 15 we conclude our friendship series with a discussion of Jean Anouilh's "Becket," about the effect of Thomas Becket's election as Archbishop of Canterbury on his close friendship with King Henry II. "Becket" opens July 22 at the Olney Theatre.

Location, Location, Location

We're always on the lookout for a new place to meet. If you know of a private, quiet, well-lit space near a metro station- especially in a moderately priced restaurant-where 25-30 can sit comfortably, call Bob Jenner at (301) 270-2032. Thanks!

Write Your Own: The Theatre Lab

This summer the Theatre Lab will offer a course in Beginning Playwrighting. covering everything from dialogue to marketing. Classes take place Wednesdays 7-9 p.m. June 18-July 23. Tuition is $160 & the registration deadline is June 6. For further information call Theatre Lab at 202-588-8113 or send e-mail to [email protected].

Footlights Moves-In Cyberspace

Footlights has moved in cyberspace! To make sure you stay on our Internet list, send the message "join theatre" (without the quotation marks) to [email protected]. (We copied the latest member list, but mistakes do happen.) To quit the list send "leave theatre" to the same address. Visit our new website at http://www.jskay-consulting.com/theatre/ .