Olney Theatre Center Presents GODSPELL, 7/29-30

Olney Theatre Center, a 73-year-old professional, award-winning, year round performing arts institution, announces today the opening of a special production of Godspell, a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. The production will be performed by the high school students from Covenant Life Church on July 29 and July 30 at 7:30pm on the Historic Stage.

The Covenant Life Church production director Cathy Graham Mays and her sister Carole Graham Lehan hope to raise $7,000 to carry on the legacy of their father, William H. Graham, Chairman Emeritus of Olney Theatre Center. The cast and crew are volunteering their time to the production, and all proceeds go toward supporting Olney Theatre Center's educational outreach programs, which includes the National Players, America's longest-running touring company.

The production of Godspell not only gives back to the local community but also fulfills Cathy and Carole's wish to continue to contribute to theatre and arts education as their family has for many years. In 1956, when Olney Theatre Center was struggling financially, Fr. Gilbert V. Hartke, then chair of the Drama Department at The Catholic University of America (CUA), handed their father, William H. Graham, the responsibility of bringing the theatre out of debt. By the end of that summer, he raised $7,000 for the Theatre. Cathy and Carole hope to match this figure with this production.

"We are thrilled about this opportunity to give back to Olney Theatre Center and the National Players," said Cathy Graham Mays, Director.

Both Cathy and Carole are theatre educators and have worked for the National Players, the cornerstone of the educational outreach of Olney Theatre Center. The National Players continue to provide a professional transition for students of theatre, just as they did when Fr. Hartke chaired the CUA Drama Department, and has brought literature to life for more than 2.5 million audience members since 1949.

All tickets are $10. For tickets, call Olney Theatre Center's Box Office at 301-924-3400 or purchase online at www.olneytheatre.org.