Olney Theatre

"The world of the theater is as closed a tribe and as removed from other civilian worlds as a Gypsy encampment, and those who enter it are spoiled for anything else and are tainted with its insidious lure for the rest of their lives," wrote playwright Moss Hart in his memoir, "Act One."Hart gave theatergoers a rollicking, warm-hearted glimpse of that alluring world in his 1948 comedy, "Light Up the Sky," which is receiving a glowing production at Olney Theatre Center under the sure-handed direction of John Going.

Mark Twain's sadness and worries about money are all right there - hidden under the cross-dressing plot that puts a cigar-chomping gent in hoop skirts and hair bows, beneath the satirical swipes at the French, the art world and Limburger cheese. Is He Dead?, a recently discovered 1898 comedy by the great humorist and adapted by David Ives, has all the sparkle and brilliance of a shooting star. But it leaves behind a trail of dust, stones and space debris. In the farce, currently receiving a solid production at Olney Theatre Center, Twain cheekily placed a beloved, recent painter, Jean Francois Millet, in stage center.

If women think they have it tough in the 1990s, they should consider the pioneer women who staked claims in the Western territories.Five of those women are the subject of "The Fifth Season," a musical making its world premiere at Olney Theatre Center.Though not flawless, "The Fifth Season" -- music by Deborah Wicks La Puma, libretto by Kathleen Cahill -- is one of the better new musicals staged by this theater, which has a patchy record with musical premieres.The show's quintet of fictitious women includes: A prim schoolteacher and single mother (Jennifer Kathleen Murray)

Bill and Willy -- brothers under the skin? There are unsettling similarities between the 42nd president of the United States and former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt -- at least as the latter is portrayed in a thought-provoking, if flawed, production of Democracy at the Olney Theatre Center. If you go Democracy runs through Aug. 12 at the Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. Call 301-924-3400.

Of Mice and Men is about the specific loneliness afflicting the inhabitants of hardscrabble landscapes, the kind that hollows you out and crushes you in the middle like a discarded aluminum can. Different manifestations of this isolation come poignantly to life in an affecting production at Olney Theatre Center. If you go Of Mice and Men runs through Oct. 28 at the Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road. Showtimes vary. Tickets are $25-$46. Call 301-924-3400 or go to olneytheatre.

Moss Hart's "Light Up the Sky" is the first touring production in Olney Theatre Center's history, and this glowing rendition of the 1948 backstage comedy does the Maryland theater proud. Though the play may not be as well-known as Hart's famous collaborations with George S. Kaufman ("You Can't Take It With You," "The Man Who Came to Dinner," etc.), this rollicking chronicle of an out-of-town tryout is a warm-hearted paean to what the playwright once called the "insidious lure" of the theater.

"Therese Raquin," a tale of adultery, murder and guilt, opens tomorrow at Olney Theatre Center. Adapted for the stage by Neal Bell from Emile Zola's novel, the play will be presented in Olney's intimate Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab. Valerie Leonard portrays the title character, a young woman trapped in a dull, loveless marriage. Daryl Lozupone is her sickly husband, Camille; and Christopher Lane plays Camille's friend, with whom Therese has a passionate affair. Directed by Jim Petosa, the production features a scenic design by James Kronzer, built around gilded picture frames in varying states of decay.

At 95, Kitty Carlisle Hart doesn't exactly have to sing for her supper. Yet, she's doing just that, singing American show tunes and sharing stories about the people in her life, from the Marx Brothers to George Gershwin, in an act she has taken around the country. Now she's bringing, Here's to Life, her tribute to American musical theater (and, of course, to longevity itself) to Olney Theatre, where she will perform on the afternoon of May 14. HERE'S TO LIFE / / One-woman show by Kitty Carlisle Hart / / 4 p.m. May 14 / / Olney Theatre, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney / / $55 / / 301-924-3400 or olneytheatre.

Stories, puppets -- Transformations Theatre Troupe of Boston (above), a new group of young women recently graduated from Boston University, will present an original musical play, Pearls From Salt, at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. The piece, for older children and adults, tells complex folk tales about the lives of young girls, using masks and puppets. Pearls From Salt will be presented on the Root Family Stage at Will's Place (at the Olney Theatre Center) at 6 p.m. today, Thursday and Aug. 18; 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. tomorrow and Aug. 19; and 2 p.m. Sunday and Aug. 20. Admission is free.

Olney Theatre Center's stylish, engrossing production of Jean Anouilh's "Becket" wraps up its run this weekend. Using Jeremy Sams' 1991 translation, the production vibrantly traces the increasingly troubled relationship between King Henry II and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.Under the co-direction of Jim Petosa and Halo Wines, Tony Rizzoli and Paul Morella are especially good at conveying the easygoing, even boyish, camaraderie between the young Henry and Becket, respectively.Showtimes for "Becket" at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Route 108, Olney, are 8 p.m. today, tomorrow and Saturday, with matinees at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.