The Young Columbians are a theater troupe established by

Toby Orenstein Toby Barbara Orenstein (née Press; born May 23, 1937) is an American theatrical director, producer, and educator. She has two honorable mentions for the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre. Orenstein was inducted into the Maryland Women's Ha ...

in 1975 under the auspices of the

Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

. It is a unique ensemble of talented youth aged 15–21.

History

The Young Columbians were founded in 1975, in anticipation of the bicentennial. The first performers to debut as the Young Columbians were a group of children aged 10 to 18, who toured stages across the country from 1975 to 1979 with a program of American patriotic songs. Their bicentennial show at the Lincoln Memorial in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, was aired on television.

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...

called the performance "one of the best productions of the bicentennial." A copy of that television program was placed in the nation's bicentennial time capsule.

Performances

The Young Columbians have three shows developed by director

. These include the ''Spirit of America'', ''Broadway'', and ''Christmas''. Each performance includes a medley of songs and dances from the corresponding era. Performance venues include the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, Wolf Trap,

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Merriweather Post Pavilion Merriweather Post Pavilion is an outdoor concert venue located within Symphony Woods, a lot of preserved land in the heart of the planned community of Columbia, Maryland. In 2010, Merriweather was named the second best amphitheater in the Uni ...

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fillm ...

Lake Kittamaqundi Lake Kittamaqundi is a man made reservoir located in Columbia, Maryland in the vicinity of the Mall in Columbia as well as Merriweather Post Pavilion. It is also adjacent to offices and visible from US-29 MD, US-29. The lake was created by The ...

Howard Community College Howard Community College (HCC or Howard CC) is a public community college in Columbia, Maryland. It offers classes for credit in more than 100 programs, non-credit classes, and workforce development programs. In addition to the main campus in C ...

Toby's Dinner Theatre Toby's Dinner Theatre is a Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area professional dinner theater based in Columbia, Maryland. History Soon after the establishment of the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts (CCTA), Toby Orenstein decided to o ...

The Ellipse The Ellipse (sometimes referred to as President's Park South) is a park south of the White House fence and north of Constitution Avenue and the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Ellipse is also the name of the circumference street within t ...

The Mall in Columbia The Mall in Columbia, also known as the Columbia Mall, is the central shopping mall for the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, United States. It has over 200 specialty stores and the anchor stores are AMC Theatres, Lidl, Main Event Enter ...

House of the Temple The House of the Temple is a Masonic temple in Washington, D.C., United States that serves as the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A. (officially, Home of The Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient & Accepted S ...

, the

Washington D.C. Temple The Washington D.C. Temple (formerly the Washington Temple) is the 18th constructed and 16th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is located in Kensington, Maryland, United States, just north of W ...

, and others.

Notable alumni

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...

(Actor) *

Caroline Bowman Caroline Bowman is an American theatre actress who has performed in multiple Broadway musicals, including '' Fame'', '' Grease'', ''Spamalot'', '' Evita'', ''Wicked'', '' Kinky Boots'', and the national tour of ''Frozen''. Education Bowman a ...

(Broadway Actress) * Steve Blanchard (Actor) * Harolyn Blackwell (Opera Singer) *

Mary Page Keller Mary Page Keller (born March 3, 1961) is an American actress known for roles on television. Keller began her career on the daytime soap operas ''Ryan's Hope'' (1982–1983) and '' Another World'' (1983–1985) and later starred in a number of tel ...

(Television Actress)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Columbians Columbia, Maryland Theatre companies in Maryland Performing groups established in 1975 1975 establishments in Maryland

History

Performances

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links