'Glory Days' Headed to Broadway
Signature's Musical to Play at Circle in the Square; Schaeffer to Direct

By Jane Horwitz
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Signature Theatre's "Glory Days," the coming-of-age musical set on a football field, is moving to Broadway next month.

Staged by Signature Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer, the four-man show will play at the Circle in the Square Theatre, which specializes in intimately scaled musicals. "Glory Days" begins previews April 22 and opens May 6. Until recently, Circle in the Square hosted the Tony-winning "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."

Adriana Douzos of theatrical press agency Boneau/Bryan-Brown Inc. said that other than Schaeffer's directing, no casting or creative decisions have been confirmed. Schaeffer was in rehearsals and did not return several phone calls yesterday.

The transfer of a play from Washington to Broadway is an exceedingly rare occurrence. Arena Stage's award-winning "The Great White Hope" moved to Broadway in 1968, and the Signature Theatre/Rep Stage production of "Never the Sinner," based on the Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb murder case, was produced off-Broadway in 1998 at the John Houseman Theater.

"Glory Days," with a book by James Gardiner and music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire, uses a variety of musical styles, from folk to pop to rock, to tell the stories of four young men as they reunite a year after their high school graduation. The friends -- none of whom made the "cool crowd" -- roughhouse with each other, try to relive the past and discover some uncomfortable truths about one of them. The musical ended its world-premiere run at Signature on Feb. 17.

Catalyst to Move to Atlas

Catalyst Theater Company has opted out of its residency at the soon-to-reopen Source Theatre on 14th Street NW and will instead make its home at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street NE.

"It was feeling a little crowded at Source," said Catalyst's founding artistic director, Scott Fortier. The ambitious small company would have shared the Source space and calendar with three other resident troupes -- the In Series, Constellation Theatre Company and Washington Improv Theater (WIT) -- as well as the D.C. Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative, which will have its headquarters there.

The nonprofit Cultural Development Corp. (CuDC), which owns and operates Source, is renovating the iconic Washington theater as a multi-use performance venue. It is due to open in late spring with a 150-seat black box theater, offices and rehearsal space.

"It didn't feel like there were enough weeks of programming available to achieve our season," Fortier said. Catalyst has been doing three shows per season in the tiny 49-seat theater at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, and he hopes to expand it to four shows in the 2009-10 season.

CuDC Executive Director Anne L. Corbett said the Source schedule was tightly packed to make the space financially viable and to foster an atmosphere of collaboration.

"We chose a group that would make it a bit crowded, [but] it wasn't untenable. . . . We needed to hedge our bets and everybody needed to come in with a spirit of collaboration," she said.

Corbett expressed disappointment at the small troupe's move. "It was my top priority to make Catalyst successful at Source, but I didn't get the opportunity to do that," she said. She wouldn't comment on whether she is seeking a group to replace Catalyst.

The leaders of Constellation, WIT, the In Series and the Education Collaborative all told Backstage they intend to be in residence at Source.

At the Atlas, Catalyst will be in the flexible Sprenger Theater, which can seat more than 200, but Fortier intends to configure it for 180. "It's a lot of seats to fill," he conceded, but noted recent Catalyst shows, such as "Swimming in the Shallows" and "The Trial," averaged 90 percent or more of capacity at the Capitol Hill venue and people were often turned away.

Fortier said he'll keep the company's $10-per-ticket policy, even though Atlas rents will be higher than at Source. Catalyst will seek corporate sponsorships, apply for grants and expand its marketing.

Catalyst's 2008-09 season will open with a reprise of its well-reviewed 2004 adaptation of "1984" (Aug. 27-Oct. 12, 2008), by company member Christopher Gallu. This time it will be staged by Jim Petosa and, Fortier predicted, should resonate in an election season.

The second show is Bertolt Brecht's "Roundheads and Peakheads" (Feb. 11-March 14, 2009). Set in the fictional land of Yahoo, where which the races and classes are pitted against one another, the 1936 play is based in part on Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." Gallu will direct, with actors singing, dancing, playing instruments and taking on multiple roles.

A third show (May 20-June 21, 2009) is to be announced.

"It still was a difficult decision to leave Source, because I think it's going to be an incredibly successful venue," Fortier said of Catalyst's move. "But as far as our long-term growth plan, the Atlas is a much better fit for us."

The state-of-the-art complex clearly thrills him. "When I walked through those doors -- I don't think I had been at Atlas before we considered that as an option -- I was transformed to another world," he said.

Follow Spots

¿ The Cultural Development Corp. was presented a Mayor's Arts Award for "excellence in service to the arts" in a ceremony at the Kennedy Center last week. In addition to operating the Flashpoint arts incubator and Source, CuDC consults with arts organizations and works with developers to incorporate arts elements such as theaters and galleries.

¿ Ray Ficca, a company member of Charter Theatre and president of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Georgetown, will become artistic director of the Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayetteville, Pa., starting in September. A frequent summer performer there, Ficca will also continue his Washington gigs.

Staff writer Teresa Wiltz contributed to this report.