Category Archives: We Love Arts

Dupont Circle, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Seagull on 16th Street

Naomi Jacobson and Jerry Whiddon in "The Seagull" at Theater J. Photo credit: Stan Barouh

Naomi Jacobson and Jerry Whiddon in "The Seagull" at Theater J. Photo: Stan Barouh

Most people don’t associate Chekhov with comedy. We think Russia in all caps, passion with a punch, alcoholics, suicides, depressives. And yes, there’s a lot of that. Except it can all be pretty hysterical stuff, as Theater J’s adaptation of “The Seagull” proves. It’s a thin line between tragedy and comedy, and Chekhov certainly meant us to see the absurdity in our own hyperbolic neuroses. Or put more simply – when a guy presents a dead seagull to his girlfriend, it’s ok to laugh.

Theater J’s mandate is to explore the Jewish cultural heritage and they usually tackle bold new plays. To pull Chekhov into this mandate involved a new translation by Carol Rocamora and an adaptation by Artistic Director Ari Roth that weaves in Jewish cultural references, mostly at the top of the play. If you aren’t familiar with “The Seagull,” these changes will barely register. If you are, they are easily accepted, unless you’re a hardcore Chekhovian scholar. And so we have “The Seagull on 16th Street,” a reference to 16th Street’s Jewish history and a nod to “Uncle Vanya on 42nd Street.”

The core of “The Seagull” is the idea of faith – in oneself, in one’s work and talent – and the terrible capacity to do both good and evil, on a whim. Director John Vreeke delicately pulls this out in a production that makes an excellent introduction to Chekhov. And an ensemble cast of Washingtonian theater regulars is admirably up to the task. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: but Lear is unlovable

Photo courtesy of
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courtesy of ‘Joel Washing’

In brief: this is Shakespeare as torture porn.

It’s tough to organize this review. Put marginally less briefly, this production of King Lear pretty much sacrifices the story in order to wallow around in physical violence, partially demolished sets, thrusting and grunting and marital rape. It has a lot of visual appeal with regards to the sets and costuming but that’s not enough to recommend it.

That’s not really the fault of anyone on stage. With one significant exception every one of the actors does a nice job, though only Jonno Roberts as Edmund really puts in an notable performance. Others suffer from some odd choices that may or may not be their fault, such as the painful sing-song that Joaquin Torres uses when voicing Edgar’s alter-ego Tom.

The truly offensive content – and there’s a fair amount – likely all can be laid at the feet of the director, Robert Falls. If you’re going to go anyway you may want to skip the rest of this review, as it’ll be filled with spoilers for how several scenes are staged. That it’s possible for there to be a spoiler for a four-hundred year old work is an interesting fact in and of itself, I think, but not a reason to subject yourself to this production.

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Entertainment, We Love Arts
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A Historic Rage

Photo courtesy of
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courtesy of ‘musicalhedonist’

No matter what Craig Finn may tell you about a unified scene, The Hold Steady comes at you in fragments.

Blame it on the sometimes sloppy, jangly old-school rock and roll riffs — unashamedly lifted straight from your dad’s collection of vinyl — the drunken sing-speak proclamations of Finn, or just the confusion over just what you’re watching; America’s biggest bar band throws the craziest fist-pumping house party in town.

Granted, it’d be a strange place thing to witness from the rafters, a seat, or just a spot on the balcony — boredom and misplaced analysis falls easy— but when you’re packed into the rolling, bouncing first rows of the 9:30 Club on a sloshing Sunday night, there’s no scene that I’d rather fall into.

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Penn Quarter, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Fever/Dream

KenYatta Rogers and Kate Eastwood Norris in "FEVER/DREAM" at Woolly Mammoth. Photo by Stan Barouh.

KenYatta Rogers and Kate Eastwood Norris in "Fever/Dream" at Woolly Mammoth. Photo by Stan Barouh.

Battle of the sexes, generational conflict, and class warfare all tied up in a screwball comedy that re-imagines Calderon’s classic “Life is a Dream” – this is Woolly Mammoth‘s world premiere of Sheila Callaghan’s “Fever/Dream.” It’s a frolic, but with bite.

There’s something for everyone to relate to here. The generations are neatly drawn – Boomers worrying about relinquishing control, Gen Xers bitterly bemoaning the loss of their ideals to get ahead, Millennials seemingly disinterested but eager to be inspired. Witty references to the modern mania for celebrity culture abound.

Poor neglected Segis (an engaging Daniel Eichner) is chained up in the basement of a mega-corporation, doomed forever to serve in Customer Service. His crime? Being born on Black Monday, symbolizing the worst double losses of his corporate shark father Bill Basil – his money and his wife. But what if this hapless kid became head of the company? Would he be able to rise above revenge and pain to do what’s right for his employees? It’s really a King-for-a-Day morality play, peppered with hilarious moments – the accountant staff literally whipped into shape, the struggling temp (a heartbreaking Jessica Frances Dukes) grinding out meaningless tasks to perfection, the associates blogging on the job.

While Segis flounders in his new role, two rivals for the throne of CEO wage war against him and each other. “Coward,” hisses Kate Eastwood Norris as the chilly Stella Strong. “Cougar,” snaps KenYatta Rogers as the dapper Aston Martin. It’s a Hepburn/Tracy pairing for the 21st Century, and these two give what could have easily been cold caricatures a brilliant sheen. Love them. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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International Booty-Shaking

Photo courtesy of
‘Embassy of India Dance Performers’ (Dhoonya Dance)
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

So, on a lark, I signed up for a Bollywood dance class. I figured I’d get to listen to some music I’m not familiar with, work out on a predictable schedule, and have a little fun. I even signed up for my dance studio’s recital, figuring that if I was going to put all that effort into learning, I might as well perform. But I didn’t really invite anyone to attend- first of all, I’m 30 years old and felt a little weird talking about my dance recital. Secondly, the last dance recital I went to was an interminable bore- class after class of tiny kids who couldn’t remember the steps, progressing up into teenagers, and finally getting to the experienced classes at the end of the night. Hearing that our show was going to last two and a half hours, I decided I didn’t want to subject them to it.

Now I feel bad, because I completely underestimated the appeal of a recital put on by a studio specializing in world dance styles. My friends probably would have enjoyed it quite a bit. Flamenco! Belly dance! Salsa! Bollywood! Hip-hop! (hey, American styles have to be represented too). Scarves! Veils! Ankle bells! Cheering and whooping like would never happen at the ballet. (Oh, and by the way, my class’ performance went very well and rocked the house just as much as everyone else’s.)

So if Jenn’s enthusiasm for her belly dance class or my Twitter-gushing about Bollywood class has sparked any interest at all, I’ve got a roundup of how to find a class that works for you. Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Men Fake Foreplay

Oh Mike Dugan, You're Telling me

Maybe it was the Women’s Studies major joke in which Dugan’s father asks his former girlfriend, “Women’s Studies? You go to school for four years just to learn how to cook?” (I took a Women’s Studies course or two at Vassar) or it could have been the “militant feminist lesbian chiropractor” joke, “She cracks my back and breaks my balls” (I was a member of the feminist alliance in college. I read Bitch magazine.) Early on in Mike Dugan’s one-man show, “Men Fake Foreplay,” adapted from his book by the same name and now playing at the Bethesda Theatre, I realized I wasn’t quite the target audience for either Dugan’s jokes or his message. Despite my skepticism and even criticism, however, I left with an appreciation for Dugan and what it is he’s attemping to convey. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Alex Mills as Puck in Synetic Theater's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Photo credit Raymond Gniewek, courtesy of Synetic.

Blending both breathtaking physical control and hypnotic emotional projection, Synetic Theater is the bright star of the Washington arts scene. Seriously, if anyone ever yaps on and on to you about DC having nothing to offer in the way of brilliant theater, get them to the current production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and dare them to say so afterwards. This is both a beautiful and hysterical night out. For a company known for dark tragedy and breaking hearts, they also prove themselves more than capable of splitting your sides.

Right from the start Synetic puts their signature wordless stamp on a play most of us know well. The fairies are powerful, pagan and exotic. In a perfect twist on the plot, Puck becomes the orphan that Titania and Oberon fight over, instead of it being some nameless child, and that battle is a glorious dangerous display of both the physical and the magical. The thwarted young lovers are discovered drinking away their sorrows with a bottle of Jack. They go from sadly tipsy to athletically audacious on a dime – there are some frighteningly daredevil toss-and-catch fights. The goofy “rude mechanicals” are a hodge-podge of leather and denim. There’s even a delightful nod to the Marx Brothers with a pianist in a Chico hat (and was that a riff from “A Night at the Opera” maybe? brilliant job as always by composer Konstantine Lortkipanidze). Not to mention a hilarious parody of Synetic’s past Shakespeare productions. You have to love a company that can make fun of itself. Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Arts
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Artomatic 2009 Opens!

Photo courtesy of
‘Twirling Fire at Artomatic’
courtesy of ‘starbuck77’

The building at 55 M St SE, right above the Nationals Park entrance of Navy Yard Metro still hasn’t become much. With area development on hold due to the economy, the completed, but unoccupied, monolith along the Capitol Riverfront is a perfect host for this year’s Artomatic. This the tenth anniversary of the roving art show that takes place in the District’s most ad-hoc gallery. This year, it covers 8 floors of the building, with several performance artist spaces, as well as the traditional art-mounted-on-plywood.

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We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Design for Living

Design for Living

Robert Sella as Leo, Gretchen Egolf as Gilda and Tom Story as Otto in Noel Coward’s Design for Living, directed by Michael Kahn. Photo by Scott Suchman.

I postponed this review (sometimes being “new media” is convenient) because I wanted to make a 100% confident statement about the Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Design for Living: you should go.

The only problem I experienced with the production was a few noticeable hiccups with forgotten or flubbed lines. They were minor but sufficiently distracting to reduce some of my enjoyment of the production. With another week and a few days under their belt I have no doubt they’ve put that problem behind them.

Beyond that, this play was a delight.There’s a lot to recommend it, but maybe the best reason to go is so that when Tom Story wins the Helen Hayes award for lead performance next year you’ll have seen why for yourself. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: “Legacy of Light”

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Stephen Schnetzer as Voltaire and Lise Bruneau as Émilie du Châtelet in "Legacy of Light" (courtesy Arena Stage)

It makes perfect sense that a theater company whose current renovations will include a new space to be christened “the Cradle” would commission a play about motherhood in all its forms. Karen Zacarias’s “Legacy of Light,” at Arena Stage in Crystal City now through June 14, is a wide embrace of these themes – the purely physical act, the creative endeavor, even the scientific genesis. Maybe too wide an embrace. Its first act had me a bit impatient. But if you can get through the beginning exposition and make it to the second act, you’re rewarded with some truly funny and poignant moments that bring these themes to life.

The production weaves together two sets of couples – in the past, scientist Emilie de Chatelet works furiously on her thesis while balancing a young lover, a longtime companion (who just happens to be Voltaire), a military husband, and a fiesty daughter who shows more interest in fashion than learning. In the present, scientist Olivia struggles to come to terms with balancing the impending birth of her child by a surrogate mother while investigating the more exciting birth of a star in a distant galaxy.

You could say these two have a lot on their plates.

The first act plays with mutable gender roles – both the young male lover in the past and the modern husband register as rather feminine (not to mention, a tad annoying), while the women read masculine at least in terms of their assertiveness and consuming drive. It’s a conceit that gets turned on its head in the second act, when timelines intersect and traditional roles become harder to ignore.

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Entertainment, Music, Night Life, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Saffron Dance

"Shimmy" courtesy of Saffron Dance
“Shimmy” courtesy of Saffron Dance

This past Sunday when I arrived for my Oriental bellydance class at Saffron Dance in Clarendon, the studio was a frenzied hive of activity. Costumes fluttering, dancers rehearsing in every available space, everyone giving their all in that wonderful energy that takes over the week before performances. Every glimpse I catch inspires me to try harder in class so that one day I might be able to shimmy around a stage. But until then, I’m content with enjoying not one but two performances this weekend at Rosslyn Spectrum – and I highly encourage you to do the same.

First up, Saffron Dance Company performs “Shimmy” on Saturday May 16 at 8pm, highlighting classical Egyptian inspired bellydance as part of the Planet Arlington World Music Festival. What makes this performance really exciting is that they will be accompanied by live music. Moroccan vocalist Hatim Idar (whom I’m told is rockstar incredible) and the El Anmari Ensemble will perform original musical compositions on traditional Arabic instruments including the oud, nay, qanum, violin, tabla, riq and frame drum. It’s a rare treat to be able to watch the interplay between dancer and musician, and will no doubt make for a captivating evening. Tickets are $25.

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The Features, We Love Arts
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Art Spiegelman: Comics From Mickey Mouse to Manga

def: comic

On a large screen behind legendary comic artist Art Spiegelman is an image of a page from the dictionary. A fat red loop lassoes the definition of “comic strip.” “comic strip. A narrative series of cartoons.” The comic strip, Spiegelman explains is an inherently narrative form and their story-telling capability puts them at the heart of our culture. “And any definition of comic strip that is illustrated by Nancy is getting something right,” he joked of the marginal picture.

This was “Comix 101,” or, as Spiegelman retitled the Corcoran’s Argentina Copello Dudley Lecture, “What the %@~*!! happened to Comics?” It was a walk through the halls of the museum of comics and culture, the walls lined with panels of characters both familiar today and obscure: Little Nemo, Donald Duck, Little LuLu, Charlie Brown, and – of course – those poster boys of the comic book – Batman and Superman. Spiegelman, winner of a Pulitzer-prize for his Holocaust narrative Maus, traced the graphic evolution and influence of comics as well as underlined the politics of the genre. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Antebellum

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Jessica Frances Dukes as Edna and Jenna Sokolowski,shot by Stan Barouh

I pondered letting this one pass without comment; one of the virtues of writing for a blog rather than a Paper of Record is that I’m not obligated to weigh in. In the end, though, I decided I’d weigh in, however briefly. In no small part because I’m so struck by the difference in reaction between Missy Frederick over at DCist and Peter Marks of the Washington Post. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Music, Special Events, The District, We Love Arts, WMATA
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We Love Arts: Cherry Blast

I think we can all agree that one of the reasons “we love DC” is the arrival of spring each year when our city is transformed from a bleak, gray land of zombies into a cheery land of fresh-faced partiers.  The harsh winter weather is behind us, the cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom, girls swap their jeans for skirts, and it’s time to start planning how you’ll enjoy every waking minute before the sweltering heat invades our city.

What better way to celebrate the disappearance of winter than checking out the National Cherry Blossom Festival?  While it officially started on March 28th, it runs until April 12th and is packed full of fun things to do, ranging from blossom tours to photo safaris to wicked awesome Japanese-themed art fashion anime parties.  Say what?  That’s right, on Friday the Pink Line Project kicks into gear again to throw a party that is sure to be the highlight of this year’s festival.  Enter stage left: Cherry Blast.

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Comedy in DC, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Hexagon 2009: What So Proudly We Bailed

hexagon2009posterart

Political satire. Comedy. Music. Charity. Hexagon has been putting on satirical musical theater performances in DC since 1955, and every year, a different local charity benefits from the proceeds of ticket sales. Due to my spaciness in getting this posted, tickets are now nearly sold out, but there are still seats available for several shows! You can still catch this year’s show, What So Proudly We Bailed, until April 3rd This year, the beneficiary is Rebuilding Together, which does low-cost home repairs for low-income DC area residents. So it’s a fun night out that helps your neighbors. What’s not to love.

Night Life, Special Events, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Greatest Show On Earth

Photo courtesy of
‘Fly’
courtesy of ‘Thomas Hawk’

So I think March is cursed. These past two weeks have been some of the toughest I’ve had in recent history, both personally and professionally,  and so when I was offered a night at the circus? YES PLEASE. Let’s escape, I’m ready for trapezes and clowns to distract me from my own messes. So off we went to the big tent, err, Verizon Center for a night of magic and performance with the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

In short? It was exactly what I needed.

It may have been a touch cheesy, but it was surprisingly more Cirque than Disney on Ice on the scale. Most of the acts really DID have me on the edge of my seat, or impressed with the acrobatics, and I thoroughly enjoyed the silly musical numbers if only because there was so much to watch – from clowns, mini horses, motorcycles, goats, spinning teacups and one random porcupine, the show truly had it all.

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Entertainment, Music, Special Events, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Denyce Graves Lends Her Voice to Help Ellington School

‘The Kennedy Center‘
Courtesy of public.resource.org

Denyce Graves, a native of Washington, DC returned here last month for a recital to support her alma mater, DC’s Duke Ellington School for the Arts. The Kennedy Center was crowded for the recital, which featured a nice mixture of classical, jazz, gospel, and contemporary selections as well as the talents of the Ellington School Show Choir.

Miss Graves, ably accompanied by pianist Joseph Thalken, started the evening with a selection from the opera Adrianna Lecouvreur that highlighted her dexterity as a singer. From loud to soft, intense to whimsical, and low to high, she gave a glimpse of what the rest of the night had in store.

Unamplified through the operatic first half of the program, Graves paused between numbers to enlighten the audience about the pieces she was performing, and relayed a few thoughts about her time at the Ellington School, where she was a student in the 1980s.

After she sang Habanera from Carmen, Graves joked that the crowd enjoyed it because they recognized the tune. But the applause wasn’t just because it was familiar. Her lyrical phrasing contrasted with the staccato beat of the piano, and Graves mastered it and made it her own.

She closed out the first half of the program with two African-American Spirituals and a piece by Gene Scheer, American Anthem, which seemed appropriate for a concert in her hometown of Washington, DC.

The Duke Ellington School Ellington Show Choir under the direction of Samuel L. Bonds gave Graves a brief respite as they performed two energetic selections. Dancing around the stage, the black-tie and black gown clad high schoolers put on an impressive energetic show.

Graves returned to the stage with the haunting Milonga sin Palabras, a piece whose lyrics consist entirely of “oohs” and “ahhs.” Sung by Graves, it inspires similar reactions from the audience, along with enthusiastic applause. She finished the concert with more recent material, borrowing from jazz, blues, and even the Beatles to round out the very varied recital.

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Ion

Photo courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

Yes, there are puppets. More on that later.

I chose the above picture out of STC’s flickr stream to give you some idea about some of the unusual choices that director Ethan McSweeny takes in adapting this Euripides play. The caption for the above photo is Patricia Santomasso in rehearsal for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of “Ion” And she’s not rehearsing a post-death pose – that’s from a period when her character, a member of the chorus, is sunning herself on a rock. At the temple of Delphi. Since she and the other handmaidens are dressed and behave like crass American tourists on vacation.

As Dave Barry would say, I Am Not Making This Up. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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Workbook at Flashpoint

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Flashpoint is having an amazing year so far in terms of the exhibits they’ve chosen.  First there was Cory Oberndorfer’s Flavor of the Month show featuring his deliciously fun paintings of Roller Derby girls (not to mention the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and gummy bears – also delicious).  Next was DCist Exposed, a photography show focused on highlighting some of DC’s best up and coming photographers.  Now, in what is sure to be some beautifully creative eye fodder is Workbook, a collaboration by Kate McGraw and Ann Tarantino.

From Flashpoint’s website:

Workbook is a video that documents the ten days artists Kate McGraw and Ann Tarantino will spend creating a mammoth work stretching across the walls of the Gallery at Flashpoint. The installation will be on view beginning March 19, 2009 and the film will be projected at the exhibition entrance beginning March 28, 2009.

Financial support for the production of the video will be provided by the sale of prints hand-marked by the artists. Each 7½” x 7½” print will be hand-marked and embellished by Kate and Ann and hand-stamped with a signature seal created by the artists. Each unique piece will be printed on 300 gsm, 100% cotton Crane Museo Portfolio Rag paper.

This strikes me as an amazing idea, selling individual pieces outside of the exhibit to fund a video that captures the creation of the exhibit itself?  How very “out of the box” this is as well as a great opportunity to support the local art community and add to your collection.  All patrons who purchase the $50 prints (supported by The Pink Line Project) by March 24, 2009 will be listed in the video.  To get your own custom print, visit the Workbook site and click on the “Buy a Print” link.  I can’t wait to see how mine turns out!

Kate McGraw & Ann Tarantino: Workbook
March 19 – April 17, 2009
Opening reception: Thursday, March 19, 6 – 8 p.m.