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"Elizabeth" the "Magnificent"
"Women at the Footlights" gets historical Monday, March 3, when we
discuss "Elizabeth the Queen" (1930), by Maxwell Anderson. In
"Elizabeth the Queen," an aging monarch must reconcile her royal
responsibilities with her passion for a handsome & ambitious young nobleman.
It's "magnificent" drama, "rich in character, thought and
imagination" (New York Times), "smart" (New York Herald Tribune),
"exciting" (New York Post), & "beautifully written" (New
York Telegram)--a theatrical "triumph" (New Republic). A 1939 film
version, "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex," starred Bette
Davis & Errol Flynn.
Director Richard Clifford will lead our discussion. A classically trained actor,
Clifford has worked with Sir Derek Jacobi & Dame Judi Dench & toured
extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He appears on screen in
"Little Dorrit" (1988), "Carrington" (1995), & three
Kenneth Branagh films: "Henry V" (1989), "Much Ado About
Nothing" (1993), & "Love's Labour's Lost" (2000). In 2001
Clifford directed the Folger Consort's production of "Comus"; last
year at the Folger Library he directed "She Stoops to Conquer." His
production of "Elizabeth the Queen" opens March 22.
To attend our dinner-discussion you will need a reservation. Call Mark Gruenberg
at 202-898-4825 or e- mail [email protected].
We'll meet at Luna Books, 1633 P St., NW (202-332-2543), three blocks east of
Dupont Circle. Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m.; our discussion runs 7:30-9:30. Unseat
"Elizabeth" at Backstage Books, 545 8th St., SE, & for a special
Footlights discount at Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave., NW, &
Olsson's Books & Records, 1307 19th St., NW, & 7647 Old Georgetown Rd.,
Bethesda. Local libraries have copies of "Elizabeth," but only in
collections of verse plays by Maxwell Anderson.
A Learned Pleasure
The Nation found "Elizabeth
the Queen" "a pleasure to listen to." We'll listen to & watch
"Elizabeth," starring Michael Learned ("The Waltons"), on
Sunday, April 13, 2 p.m. at Folger Shakespeare Library's Elizabethan Theatre,
201 East Capitol St., SE (near Capitol South & Union Station metro
stations). Tickets are $32 & include a post-show discussion. We must receive
payment by March 27, also the refund deadline. Mail your check to Robin Larkin,
5403 Nibud Ct., Rockville, MD 20852 (240-669-6300 & [email protected]).
We'll distribute tickets in the lobby just before the performance, & have
dinner afterwards at a nearby restaurant.
Stalking April
On Tuesday, April 8, Footlights
addresses a phenomenon that annually affects over one million American women. In
Rebecca Gilman's "Boy Gets Girl" (2000), a sophisticated, confident
New Yorker accepts a blind date, only to find herself terrorized by a man whose
persistent unwanted attention escalates into violence. "Disturbing"
(USA Today), "compelling" (Variety), "powerful" (New York
Magazine), "Boy Gets Girl" also manages--amazingly--to be
"comic" (New York Daily News), even "funny" (Times Literary
Supplement). A "terrific" play (Financial Times) that "reads like
a suspenseful page-turner" (Chicago Sun-Times), it's not only
"gripping" (New York Post) but "important" (Time Magazine).
Gilman is "just about the hottest new playwright in the country right
now" (San Francisco Chronicle). Our discussion will feature Tracy L. Bahm,
director of the Stalking Resource Center at the National Center for Victims of
Crime..
Dinner Discussions
Mon., Mar. 3: "Elizabeth the
Queen," Luna Books
Tues., Apr. 8: "Boy Gets Girl," Luna Books
Thurs., May 22: "The Rainmaker," Delray Viet Gdn
Wednesday, June 11: "Ghosts," location TBA
Theater Trips
Sun., Mar. 16: "Intimate
Apparel," Center Stage
Sun., Apr. 13: "Elizabeth the Queen," Folger Library
Sun., May 18: "Buried Child," Keegan/Fountainhead Theatre
Sun., June 8: "The Rainmaker," Center Stage
Sat., June 28: "Ghosts," Shakespeare Theatre
More Information
For more information about
Footlights, or to change your subscription settings (including your e-mail
address), check our website,
www.footlightsdc.org.