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Our series "Arts and Sciences" ends Wednesday, July 24, with a story set in the near future. Centuries of scientific progress have brought brutally bigoted genetic engineering, mass extinction, & rampant global warming--a world of "Rain. Some Fish. No Elephants." In Y York's 1989 play, humanity's only hope rests with one wacky family. Can they resist the pressure to conform? The New York Times found "Rain" a "thought-provoking comic parable about mankind's indomitability"; Bob Mondello just called it "'Brave New World' on laughing gas" (Washington City Paper). "Funny," even "loony" (Newsday), yet "truly affecting" (Village Voice), "Rain" "makes a stirring plea for freedom" (Variety).
Our meeting will feature director Cheryl Faraone. Professor Faraone earned her B.A. & M.F.A. from Catholic University & her Ph.D. from Florida State University. Since 1986 she has taught at Middlebury College. Faraone co-founded & co-directs the Potomac Theatre Project. In 1994 she directed PTP's DC-area premiere of "Rain. Some Fish. No Elephants." More recently, she directed Olney Theatre Center productions of "Arcadia" (2000) & "The Real Thing" (2001), both by Tom Stoppard.
Make reservations by calling 202-898-4825 any time, day or night, or e-mailing [email protected]. We'll meet at Delray Vietnamese Garden, 4918 Del Ray Ave., Bethesda (301-986-0606). Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m.; our discussion is 7:30-9:30. From Bethesda metro, take both up escalators, turn left onto Old Georgetown Rd., walk five short blocks to Del Ray Ave. & turn right. Drivers can find inexpensive garages on Cordell Ave. & Old Georgetown Rd. (park above the first floor to avoid the two-hour limit). "Rain" refreshes--especially with your special Footlights discount--at Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave., NW, & Olsson's Books & Records, 1307 19th St., NW & 7647 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda.
Our 2002-03 season begins Thursday, September 5, with a play the Los Angeles Times called a "slap-in-your-face masterpiece": "The Maids" ("Les Bonnes") (1947), by Jean Genet (1910-86). "The most original and provocative writer of his generation" (Times (of London)), Genet based "The Maids" on a notorious French murder case. In a secret, sadistic game, two maids take turns acting as an imperious employer & her resentful servant. During breaks from the game they scheme to murder their mistress. "Spooky," with "poisonous beauty" (London Daily Mail), "dense with intellectual poetry" (Newsday), "The Maids" has "a shocking power and fascination" (New York Post). It's a "moving" (Guardian), "searing study of the fantasies bred by oppression" (New York Times). Our meeting will feature director & Footlights Advisory Board member Jose Carrasquillo, whose production of "The Maids" we'll attend 5 p.m. Saturday, September 21, at the Washington Shakespeare Co., 601 S. Clark St. in Crystal City. Tickets are $13 & include a post-show discussion. We can provide transportation or detailed directions, both by car & from Metro. Mail your check to Robin Larkin, 5403 Nibud Ct., Rockville, MD 20852 (240-669-6300 & [email protected]).
For more information about Footlights, check our website, www.footlightsdc.org. You can subscribe to our list & receive our monthly e-letter for free by sending any message--even blank--to [email protected].