Olney Theatre Center is heating up this already warm time of year with a play full of spies, intrigue and politics. It's called Democracy and is written by Olney favorite Michael Frayn. Olney has an affinity for the edgy wit of Mr. Frayn, having produced the area premiere of Copenhagen and three highly successful productions of the Frayn farce, Noises Off. The play Democracy is set in Germany and deals with the interaction between Chancellor Willy Brandt and his devoted personal assistant Gunter Guillaume. The mysterious, mercurial Gunter is played by Jeffries Thaiss, who recently appeared in the highly received Olney production of Rue de L'Amour. Thaiss is joined on this week's ARTWORKS THIS WEEK by Olney Artistic Director Jim Petosa, who directed both Rue De L'Amour and Democracy.

Democracy runs at Olney Theatre Center through August 12.

NOTE: There are three performance theaters at the Olney Theatre Center. In addition to Democracy you might also want to see Brooklyn Boy (also directed by Mr. Petosa) in the Lab Theatre and a production of Godspell on the Historical Stage. Olney is a lovely country's drive, convenient from both Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Olney Theatre Center

Singer/songwriter, Oleta Adams is a multiple Grammy, Stellar and Dove nominee with a personality as big as her voice. Though classically trained as a lyric soprano, she uses her full, round and deep voice to pull in even the most tepid of listeners. A veteran of the hotel lounge circuit for 17 years, Ms. Adams received worldwide acclaim in 1991 with her sumptuous rendition of Get Here. It promptly became the Gulf War anthem and helped to catapult her Circle of One album into gold status in the US and number one status on the UK charts. Like many artists, Oleta chooses to make venues like Ramshead Tavern the spot to showcase her talents in a warm and intimate setting. She appeared at Ramshead in Annapolis this past weekend as she continues to tour non-stop around the world. You can check out her website for tours near you. As well as her touring schedule, she also has two CDs available. Her Christmas Time with Oleta and Very Best Of can be purchased from her website.

Oleta Adams website
Ramshead Tavern On Stage website

Hairspray: The Musical opened in Baltimore in a big way. The red carpet rolled out in front of the Charles Theater in Baltimore. On it walked the younger members of the cast, James Marsden (Corny Collins), Zac Efron (Link Larkin), Elijah Kelley (Seaweed), Amanda Bynes (Penny Pingleton), and Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad). Also in attendance were the director and two of the Producers, Adam Shankman, Neil Meron and Craig Zadan. John Waters talked with host Rhea Feikin about the pride of watching his little film about a girl with big dreams and bigger hair get its third re-imagining.

Hairspray: The Musical is in theaters now.

The Charles Theater

Art on the Gwynns Falls Trail is a site-specific exhibition that invites regional artists to install original artworks within the natural environment. Over 22 artists participated this year, exploring a wide variety of mediums. The exhibition is on view through September 2, 2007. A self-guided tour brochure is available online.

Art on the Gwynns Falls Trail

This week's Salon Art is by Mary D. Ott. A Ph.D. in Education who developed physics curricula, a printmaker, a painter—Mary D. Ott is all of these things. After nearly twenty years in educational research, Ott made a career move and decided to embrace the world of visual arts. The medium she chose, printmaking, can be as exacting as physics, but Mary's usage of natural elements (i.e., leaves, branches) makes her work come across as unfettered. Many of her creations are monotypes; they are unable to be duplicated, like nature. Mary's unique approach also carries over into her mixed-media painting style. Her "grass-painting" series is a collection that is created with embroidery yarn dipped in acrylic paint and dragged across a canvas blade by blade. While Ms. Ott has exhibited in more than 120 shows across the country, she is an Artist in Residence at the Montpelier Art Center in Laurel, MD and her work can be seen continuously at the Touchstone Gallery in Washington, DC.

Touchstone Gallery
Mary D. Ott Website

The Maryland Institute College of Art presents its second annual Open House, Saturday, August 18 at the Brown Center from 10am to 2pm. It’s a great opportunity to tour the studios, computer labs, and learn all about MICA’s Center for the Fine Arts. You should RSVP by August 15th. Neil Meyerhoff is a noted Baltimore photographer, but there’s a new talent on the horizon, his wife Sayra, who has apparently been bitten by the shutterbug. Her first exhibition, Faces of India is on display at An Die Musik through August 31st. And two very popular fairs are coming up…the Howard County Fair, August 4th through the 11th and this year's Maryland State Fair, August 24th through September 3rd. Both fairs promise lots of domestic art, performances and good times.

MICA
An Die Musik