FROM THE FOOTLIGHTS - January 2000

Eat/Talk/"Stop Kiss"

On Monday, January 24, 2000, Footlights continues our series Time & Memory with a "delicately balanced comic drama" (New York Times): "Stop Kiss" (1998), by American playwright Diana Son. "Stop Kiss" alternates episodes from the lighthearted beginnings of a tentative romance, with scenes from the "sad, yet genuinely inspiring aftermath" (Newsday) of a vicious hate crime. "Stop Kiss" is "poignant, funny, painful" (Variety) & "very moving" (New York Post).

Our meeting will feature "Stop Kiss" director Lee Mikeska Gardner, whose production opens January 12 at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre. Lee's prior directing at Woolly has already earned her 2 Helen Hayes nominations, for "Life During Wartime" & "Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)." She also received a Hayes nomination as lead actress in Freedom Stage's "Patient A." Most recently Lee directed "Three Tall Women" at Rep Stage & "Vaudeville!" at Washington Jewish Theatre. Last June, she led our discussion of "Angels in America."

We will meet at Luna Books, 1633 P St., NW (3 blocks E of Dupont Circle).  Dinner begins at 6:30 & our discussion at 7:30. Make reservations by calling Mark Gruenberg (202-638-0444) or e-mailing [email protected]. We expect "Stop Kiss" by mid-January at 3 NW DC bookstores: Backstage, 2101 P St.; Olsson's, 1307 19th St.; & Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. Before then, for a photocopy, mail a check for $4, payable to Footlights, to Mark Gruenberg, Press Associates, 815 15th St., NW, Suite #1102, Washington, DC 20005. After the play arrives in bookstores we will no longer provide photocopies, so after January 10, check with Mark before sending for a photocopy.

"Stop Kiss"/Watch Play

On Sunday, January 30, at 2 p.m., Footlights will attend "Stop Kiss" at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 1401 Church St. (between P & Q), NW. Robin Larkin will distribute tickets in the lobby just before the performance. After the post-show discussion, join us for dinner at Teranga, 1636 R St., NW.  Tickets are completely sold out. To get on our waiting list, contact Robin at 240-669-6300 or [email protected]. For tickets to another performance, call ProTix at 703-218-6500..

February Forecast

Footlights continues our study of time & memory on Tuesday, February 15 with "Three Days of Rain" (1997), by Richard Greenberg, a playwright Variety calls "one of America's sharpest." The play takes us back in time, from 1995 to 1960, to illuminate a cryptic entry in the diary of a famous architect. "Three Days of Rain" is "sophisticated and moving"  (Chicago Tribune), "elegantly structured" (New York Times), with "beautiful and incisive dialogue" (San Francisco Chronicle)--"a major achievement" (Los Angeles Times). Our meeting will feature director Jerry Whiddon, artistic director of Round House Theatre, 12210 Bushey Dr., Silver Spring, where we'll see "Three Days of Rain" 3 p.m. Saturday, February 19. Tickets are $16 & we expect to sell out. Mail your check today to Robin Larkin, 5403 Nibud Ct., Rockville, MD 20852.

Calendar

Monday, January 24, 6:30 p.m.: "Stop Kiss," Luna Books
Sunday, January 30, 2 p.m.: "Stop Kiss," Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Tuesday, February 15, 6:30 p.m.: "Three Days of Rain," Delray Viet Garden
Saturday, February 19, 3 p.m.: "Three Days of Rain," Round House Theatre
Wednesday, March 15, 6:30 p.m.: "Available Light," Luna Books
Sunday, March 26, 2 p.m.: "Available Light," Signature Theatre
Thursday, April 13, 6:30 p.m.: "All My Sons," Luna Books