‘Franciscan Monastery Candle’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Pepe The Mail Order Monkey

Mom told me that if I couldn’t think of anything nice to say I shouldn’t say anything at all.

Hopelessly Devoted

Vincent Lacey & Natalie Sullivan do a show that is – more or less – about being Catholic which runs under an hour and… well, it’s fun. That’s really pretty much it and that’s enough: this show never pretends that it’s going to dig into any weighty analysis, ask any hard questions or deliver any hard answers about faith in the modern world. Sure, there’s one somewhat serious scene about what happens when a religious conversion outlasts the relationship that prompted it but its awkwardness is packaged with an equal amount of humor. The show ends strong and on its most amusing number. In it, both performers do a delightful sendup of just how wrong an institution can go when its desire to become more modern and relevant outpace its actual ability to be hip.

A few moments don’t work well; there’s an implication that there’s some more weight in the conversion scene than is actually there but it moves on into another unconnected bit quickly enough that you won’t mind. That’s true of any of the stumbles here, most of which revolve around an audio setup that could use better balance – by the time anything irks you they’ll be on to something new. Odds are it’ll be something that will bring you a smile.

Pepe the Mail Order Monkey Musical has two more showings on the 24th and 25th at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church.
Hopelessly Devoted runs once a day through the 26th at the Goethe Institut.

Don Whiteside

Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.

Hmm, guess I just did.

My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.