Dancin’ Unlimited Goes Broadway and Beyond

Franklin Park Arts Center Hosts a Jazz Dance Extravaganza

Experience the power, passion, and precision of live jazz dance. Dancin’ Unlimited Jazz Dance Company will perform Dancin’ on Broadway and Beyond, a Broadway showcase tribute, at the Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville. On Saturday, April 27, at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, April 28 at 3:00 p.m., audiences will experience the thrill of Broadway smash-hit numbers, a jazz dance extravaganza of musical theatre and contemporary concert jazz dance.

Leave the prosceniums and drop curtains in Manhattan; Dancin’ Unlimited, directed by Northern Virginia jazz dance icon Marilyn York, brings the best of Broadway to the small theatre setting. The show is packed with signature songs and dance pieces from A Chorus Line, Fosse, and Pajama Game, with medleys of Sinatra songs and the recent movie musical Burlesque.

“We will take you on a jazz dance journey through dance styles that made Broadway famous,” says York. Dancin’ Unlimited’s motto is “Jazz Dance with Class.” They hold true to classical technique and clean lines with the exuberance to light up Broadway to boot. The program is family friendly, great for jazz dance enthusiasts of all ages.

Jeff Hall – Sculpture As a Measure of a Well Pursued Life

“I just want to do exciting work.”

That’s a quote from Lovettsville sculptor Jeffrey Hall. A true artist who earnestly juggles the need to make a living with the joyful talent inside that knows it can produce magnificent work, and wants to share it with the world.

Walk into Jeff’s enormous 19th century barn turned studio and you are overwhelmed with both the size and the scope of what he has produced. A huge cast bronze sundial piece depicting a man, representing the sun, shielding a woman, representing the moon. A quiet, reflective clay bust of a beloved diplomat – preparation for a formal statue that this fall will grace an embassy in Washington DC. A dramatic Lucite and brass piece that reveals multiple figures and reflections as it slowly rotates on a turntable. … Continue Reading

Al Petteway and Amy White Coming to Franklin Park on April 26

Provided by the Franklin Park Arts Center

Award-winning, critically acclaimed, passionate and playful, Al & Amy offer an intoxicating blend of musical styles. Their repertoire includes original, traditional, contemporary Celtic- and Appalachian-influenced music with occasional nods to rock and jazz. Their performances feature acoustic guitar, mandolin, Celtic harp, piano, banjo, lap dulcimer, world percussion, and a touch of vocals.

Beyond the sheer talent of both Al and Amy, audiences love the diversity of instruments they play, their warm stage presence and the multi-media show, ”Land of the Sky” in which they combine live music with projections of their nature photography of the Southern Appalachians. … Continue Reading

An Evening with Buddy Holly Featuring Robbie Limon

Robbie Limon brings his stage and music presentation of “An Evening with Buddy Holly” to the Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville on Saturday, March 23 , at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and & &17 for students and seniors and can be purchased online at http://www.franklinparkartscenter.org

Spend the evening with Buddy Holly as he rehearses his band for the 1958 Winter Dance Party tour of mid-western States. This show features over 20 songs recorded during 1956-1958 and all are performed live and ‘in-person’. You can ask questions about Buddy’s career, his music, and his future. This unique format for a stage play is certain to give an inside look at a life that has been described as eighteen months of fame and generations of influence. … Continue Reading

Watermelon Park – A River and Country Music Jewel

With both cool serenity and a penchant for water and musical fun, the 26-acre Watermelon Park, located on the banks of the beautiful Shenandoah River about 10 miles west of Purcellville, has something for everyone – from the child eager to take her first river-tubing trip, to the country music lover who longs for the days of Patsy Cline.

The park bills itself as “Family Owned and Operated Since 1939.” And, in this case, that old-timey notion of a business that started out doing things the right way, and has never stopped doing it, is absolutely true to fact. Today’s Watermelon Park is owned and operated by John U. Miller Jr. and Family. “Junior” as most folks know him, grew up and still resides in the old stone house which sits upon the hilltop overlooking the park. … Continue Reading

From Broadway to Blue Ridge – CATS Is Coming to Middle School

After a hugely successful 18-year run on Broadway, CATS, the musical based on T.S.Eliot’s book of light verse, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats”, will be making its next stop on the stage of Blue Ridge Middle School in Purcellville. This feline adventure, full off incredible choreography and amazing vocals is not attempted by many high schools, and only a handful of middle schools around the country. Dolly Stevens, director, is very excited to take on this elaborate musical production. … Continue Reading

Last Call for Artists

Visual artists can apply online now for the 8th annual Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour, scheduled for June 22-23. The application deadline is Friday, February 1, no exceptions.

Loudoun artists working in all fine art media may apply to this juried event. Those selected will open their studios to the public for two full days, exposing their work to visitors from the metropolitan region. Last year’s tour brought over a thousand visitors into 50 studios, allowing artists to connect with a targeted audience to increase their visibility and sales.

Professional and emerging visual artists whose studios in Western Loudoun County meet specified criteria may apply as Studio Artists. Loudoun artists who do not have a western Loudoun studio suitable for visitors may apply as Guest Artists. Two- or three-dimensional work will be considered, including painting, drawing, fiber art, wood, ceramics, photography, sculpture, and jewelry. … Continue Reading

Take Two Comes to Town

Take Two? It’s a first! Two Loudoun leading ladies and local directors, Karlah Hamilton Louis and Dolly Stevens will showcase songs from their professional careers and double the fun by performing both January 11 and 12.

From “Another Op’nin’ to “So Long Dearie,” the show is packed with songs from Annie to Chicago to Mame and tied together with a humorous storyline about two dueling divas who show up to audition for the leading lady role. Each tries to convince the casting director that she is best for the part. … Continue Reading

Andrew Mcknight with Beyond Borders at Franklin Park Arts Center

Beyond Appalachian, Beyond Blues, Beyond Folk

Andrew McKnight and Beyond Borders, a Loudoun band with a growing national reputation, will perform at Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville on Saturday, January 5 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and are available online at www.franklinparkartscenter.org

Since permanently leaving his corporate environmental engineering career in 1996, award-winning folk and Americana artist Andrew McKnight’s musical journey has traced nearly half a million miles of blue highways nationwide, and earned him a wealth of critical acclaim for his captivating performances and five CDs. Together with original Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member Les Thompson and his wife Stephanie Thompson along with award-winning singer/songwriter Lisa Taylor, Andrew McKnight & Beyond Borders blends McKnight’s charming tenor voice and acoustic and electric guitars with upright bass, drums, banjo, percussion and more into a wide-ranging soundscape well described as “beyond Appalachian, beyond blues, beyond folk”. Since their collective debut at the Kennedy Center in 2008, these four seasoned musicians and longtime friends’ tight delivery, sweet vocal blend and eclectic arrangements of Andrew’s masterfully crafted songs has inspired enthusiastic responses at festivals and concerts around the mid-Atlantic region.

The Franklin Park Arts Center opened on February 2, 2008 after more than a decade of fundraising and construction. The 2012/2013 season runs thru June 2013 and features local, national and international performers. Subscription and group discounts are available. For more information visit www.franklinparkartscenter.org

StageCoach Theatre Company Announces Playwright Competition for Local Teens

Do you have the perfect scenario for a crime? Can you baffle your audience with clues and laughter? Are you a Loudoun County teen?

StageCoach Theatre Company is proud to announce its first playwriting competition for teens. This competition is open to all teens 13-19 years old who live or attend school in Loudoun County, VA. StageCoach Theatre Company would like to support budding playwrights and encourage more teens to consider playwriting as a form of creative expression. The winning script will be produced by StageCoach Theatre Company during the Summer of 2013.

Plays must be full-length mystery scripts; murder is optional. All scripts will be read. The top three finalists will be asked to meet with directors and professional actors to discuss their scripts and vision for the play. One script will be selected for production.

A $20 fee should accompany the submitted script. However, that fee will be waived if the playwright or a member of the playwright’s team attends the following workshop: … Continue Reading

“Christmas Carol” Likely to Become a Loudoun Institution

By Mark Dewey printed with permission from The Shenandoah Press

There’s a moment in Once Upon A Christmas Carol that appears to be a mismatch. Phil Erickson, who plays Scrooge, is trying to hide from apparitions and regrets, those sisters. He has laid himself back down in his bed and covered his head with the quilts. Molly Warndorf, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, has to make him get up. Erickson is an accomplished, prodigious actor whose charisma tends to dominate the stage, and Warndorf is an eighth-grade girl who played a munchkin at Harmony Middle School once. Asking her to bully him would not appear to be a good idea.

I expect the moment to ring false, and I cringe as it approaches because I’ve been liking the play so well and I want to keep liking it, but I doubt a one-time munchkin little girl can generate enough personal power to roust Phil Erickson, even if he cooperates. Why not give that task to somebody like Shawn Malone, who’s bigger than the bed Erickson’s hiding in, and whose experience with Not Just Shakespeare, Inc. is even more substantial than his person? And he’s right there in the middle of the cast — a couple of scenes earlier he picked up Drew Hare and wrapped him around his waist with one arm. I’d make that guy kick Erickson’s butt out of bed. … Continue Reading

Franklin Park Presents “Mame”

BITWC Imagine That Theatre will present “Mame” on Friday, November 16 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, November 17 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, November 18 at 3:00 p.m., at Franklin Park Arts Center. Tickets are $20.00 for all ages, and can be reserved by calling 540-554-8889. Visit www.franklinparkartscenter.org for more information.

Mame is a musical with the book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Set in New York and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

A pre-theatre dinner on Friday and Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Savoir Fare in Round Hill can be arranged by calling 540-554-8889. $60 includes dinner, tax, gratuity and show ticket—cash bar for beer and wine.

Loudoun Symphony Presents a Chamber Concert

The Loudoun Symphony Chamber Players will present a concert on Sunday, October 28 at 3:00 p.m. at the Franklin Park Performing Arts Center in Purcellville. Tickets in advance are $13 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, Children 12 and under are free. Tickets may be purchased online at www.loudounsymphony.org

Selections in the concert will include:

• Charles Huguenin (1870-1939): Wind Trio, Op. 30
  Allen Howe, Clarinet; Jane Hughes, Oboe; William Jokela, Bassoon
• Mozart: Serenade No. 11 in E-flat Major for Winds, K 375 … Continue Reading

The Growing Stage Presents: The Sound of Music

Community Theatre Production at Franklin Park Arts Center

The Growing Stage will present Rogers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” at the Franklin Park Arts Center on Friday, October 19 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, October 20 at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, October 21 at 3:00 p.m.. Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased online at www.growingstage.org.

The Loudoun foothills are alive with the Sound of Music and the von Trapps are not the only family singing. This fall, Growing Stage Inc. expanded to include adults, attracting families for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s famous hit.

“This is such a great opportunity for families to perform together. What better experience than to sing and dance with your children?” said director Karlah Louis. … Continue Reading