Art Notes: Tap Kids take the stage

Eight of the nation’s most talented young tap dancers will hit the Academy of Fine Arts’ stage next weekend.

New York Stage Originals’ Tap Kids are scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23 in the Warehouse Theatre in a performance that tells the story of a group of teenagers during their last months at school.

They come to terms with young love, their first big dance, graduation and pending adulthood — complete with dancing on lunch trays in the cafeteria and mischief in detention.

Since its debut at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in 2002, the show has been performed all over the world, including at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.

Tickets are $30 for adults, $27 for seniors and $15 for students. For more information, call (434) 846-TIXX or visit www.AcademyFineArts.com.

CVCC opens exhibit

“Venice of the North,” an exhibit of photographs of Stockholm, Sweden, is opening in Central Virginia Community College’s Merritt Hall Gallery with a reception from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Melinda Wheeler, a graduated of CVCC’s photography department, took the photos during a trip there in July, when she traveled from Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Stockholm, to the island of Birka, which has a wild Viking past.

For more information, contact CVCC curator Kathy Cudlin at kcudlin@aol.com.

Theater auditions

Little Town Players are holding open auditions for the comedy “Greater Tuna” at 7 p.m. Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 in the Elks National Home Theatre. Roles are available for two males who can portray multiple characters. Information on the show, which runs March 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 2010 can be found at www.littletownplayers.com or by contacting the director at kchop64@yahoo.com.

- Wolfbane Productions will hold auditions for “The Last Five Years” with book, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Show dates will be April 22-24, April 29-30 and May 1 at Renaissance Theater. All shows will be held at 8 p.m.

Auditions will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday at the Renaissance Theatre, Commerce Street. Bring two contrasting songs of about 16 to 32 bars. Do not bring Jason Robert Brown material. There are only two roles available, one male and one female.

War exhibition at LC

“Peace Warriors and Solitudes: Recent Photographs by Carl Chiarenza” opens at the Daura Gallery at Lynchburg College with a reception at 4 p.m. Jan. 20.

As one of the preeminent photographers of the 20th and 21st centuries, Carl Chiarenza (American, born 1935) has influenced not only the practice of art, but also the study and promotion of photography inside academia and beyond. This exhibition features 24 silver gelatin and Iris prints from two recent series of abstract works — Peace Warriors (2003) and Solitudes (2004) - inspired in part by the artist’s reactions to the war in Iraq.

This exhibition was organized by the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, University of Richmond, and will remain at the Daura Gallery through March 5.

LAC accepting art

The Lynchburg Art Club will accept work for the 78th annual Georgia Morgan Civic Art Show to be held Feb. 5 through Feb. 21.

Any resident within a 35-mile radius of Lynchburg, at least 16 years of age, is invited to submit original works of art including paintings, sculptures and photographs. Two works may be entered. If space is limited, only one may be hung. The fee is $8 per work. Work will be received from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 25 and Jan. 26.

For more information, call 528-9434 or visit www.lynchburgartclub.org.

Mystery dinner theatre

Appomattox Christian Academy, 1916 Redfields Road, will hold a Mystery Dinner Theatre, featuring a Radio Show from the 1940’s replaying two separate Sherlock Holmes mysteries, at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 and Jan. 23. Dinner will consist of appetizers, soup and light dessert. The cost is $7 per person or $12 per couple. Due to limited seating, reservations must be made no later than Jan. 20 by calling 352-7373.

Big Read begins

A reading initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) — aimed at bringing communities together to read and discuss a single novel — starts Friday in Lynchburg.

The program begins with “The Maltese Falcon.” Dashiell Hammett’s classic detective story follows the adventures of hard-boiled private eye Sam Spade as he attempts to solve the mystery of his partner’s death and track down an elusive statue.

Amazement Square and the Lynchburg College Library will have free copies of “The Maltese Falcon” available for interested readers and will present a series of activities for children, teens and adults. Amazement Square will host a Maltese Mystery Day Friday at the museum with a special reduced admission rate of $3.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. The Big Read Lynchburg is sponsored by Amazement Square and the Lynchburg College Library. For more information, visit www.bigreadlynchburg.org.