Backstage

Directors of a dance studio and a preschool displaced by the Aug. 2 fire at the Bryant Woods Neighborhood Center say they are determined to bounce back quickly."

Angela Bowie's bitter. Her youthful marriage to rock star David Bowie didn't work out as she had hoped, and neither did the Swiss divorce settlement.Thanks to Switzerland's divorce laws, Angela was awarded a paltry $750,000, payable over 10 years, when the couple's split became final in 1980 after a decade spent building his career. For various reasons, she didn't fight for custody of the couple's only child, Zowie. To her sorrow, her son -- now 21 and answering to the name Joe -- hasn't spoken to her for two years.

After 15 years of satisfying the culinary whims of concer greats such as Pavarotti, Springsteen and Sinatra, backstage caterer par excellence John D'Anna has learned a valuable lesson he'd like to share.It has nothing to do with soothing out-of-control egos or filling outrageous demands for exotic food and drink. Instead, it applies to anyone faced with feeding a horde of hungry people:Don't run out of food!Obvious, you say? Not really . . . at least, not if you're feeding the hundreds of musicians, crew members, friends and hangers-on that make up a touring star's entourage.

Given the group's reputation for hell-raising, you might think that there would be no wilder place on earth than backstage at a Guns N' Roses concert.And boy, would you be mistaken.Just ask Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum. He and his bandmates recently spent a couple months touring Europe as the Gunners' opening act, and will reprise their role for GNR's American outing with Metallica, which comes to RFK Stadium in Washington tonight. Bottum, therefore, knows whereof he speaks when it comes to backstage life with Axl, Slash and crew.

Given the group's reputation for hell-raising, you might thin that there would be no wilder place on earth than backstage at a Guns N' Roses concert.And boy, would you be mistaken.Just ask Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum. He and his bandmates recently spent a couple months touring Europe as the Gunners' opening act, and will reprise their role for GNR's American outing with Metallica, which comes to RFK Stadium in Washington tonight. Bottum, therefore, knows whereof he speaks when it comes to backstage life with Axl, Slash and crew.

The common advice given to novice writers is: "Write what you know." Kimberley Lynne seems to have followed it in her entertaining first play, "Brief Candle," receiving its premiere at the Vagabond Theatre as part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival.A local actress whose background, according to the program, includes jobs on the production staffs at various regional theaters, Lynne has penned a backstage comedy-mystery chock-full of the sort of roles actors love to play -- i.e., they get to portray actors.

Tommy Tune and his fellow cast members from "Bye Bye Birdie" will present a benefit for the Chase-Brexton Clinic and Equity Fights AIDS at 11:30 p.m. Friday at Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St.Titled "Backstage at Bye Bye Birdie," the benefit is an informal revue of Broadway show tunes that has been performed to sold-out audiences in Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and Tampa, raising a total of more than $50,000.Mr. Tune, a nine-time Tony Award winner, is the headliner in the touring production of "Bye Bye Birdie," currently playing at the Lyric Opera House.

Tommy Tune and his fellow cast members from "Bye Bye Birdie" will present a benefit for the Chase-Brexton Clinic and Equity Fights AIDS at 11:30 p.m. Friday at Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St.Titled "Backstage at Bye Bye Birdie," the benefit is an informal revue of Broadway show tunes that has been performed to sold-out audiences in Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and Tampa, raising a total of more than $50,000.Mr. Tune, a nine-time Tony Award winner, is the headliner in the touring production of "Bye Bye Birdie," currently playing at the Lyric Opera House.