Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
7 CELEBRATING GREATNESS
The Kennedy Center launches a season celebrating Leonard
Bernsteins Centennial with a concert of Broadway hits.
By Randy Shulman
By Kate Wingfield
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Celebrating Greatness
The Kennedy Center launches a season celebrating Americas legendary composer-conductor
with a concert of his Broadway hits
A
SK KATHLEEN MARSHALL ABOUT LEONARD Centers season-long celebration of Bernsteins centennial.
Bernsteins impact on musical culture and the answer Its a little bit like being a kid in a candy store because you
comes fast and furious, without a seconds hesitation. know you have all these wonderful shows and all these wonder-
He was the first American to become a major symphony con- ful songs to choose from, says Marshall, taking a short break
ductor at a time when all the conductors were European, says from rehearsal. Its a little of what songs do we think an audi-
the Broadway musical director. He was the first American to ence wants to hear? But were also choosing some things that
conduct the New York Philharmonic, and the first American to arent as familiar to them.... People forget the range of what he
conduct major symphonies around the world. And what he did wrote from something very classical like Tonight from West
through his talent, personality, charisma, and, most of all, musi- Side Story to the sort of wacky I Can Cook, Too from On the
cianship, is to bring classical music to popular culture. Town or Conga from Wonderful Town. He could write soaring
Marshall, whose own works include spirited, Tony-winning operatic duets and he could write these kind of crazy, kooky,
revivals of Anything Goes and Bernsteins own Wonderful Town, novelty songs. Its kind of unbelievable, you know, the breadth
is helming the Kennedy Centers production of Bernstein on of his work.
Broadway this Friday in the Eisenhower Theatre. The con- He wrote these incredibly successful and innovative
cert stars Broadway heavy-hitters Norm Lewis (Porgy and Broadway shows at the same time, she continues. If he had
Bess), Laura Osnes (Cinderella), Santino Fontana (Cinderella), just had his Broadway career, what remarkable life. And if he
Matthew Hydzik (Side Show), Beth Malone (Fun Home), and had just had his composing career outside of Broadway, what a
Mikaela Bennett (The Golden Apple), as well an ensemble of remarkable life. And if he just had his conducting career, what a
eight incredible Broadway singers and dancers, a 40-piece remarkable life. But to combine all of those into one man is really
orchestra, and The Choral Arts Society. It kicks off the Kennedy incredible. Randy Shulman
Bernstein on Broadway is Friday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org for a full rundown of the seasons Bernstein events.
CAMERON CARPENTER
Cristian Macelaru conducts the NSO in an all-American program
with a return engagement from the provocative, bisexual organist.
From the Kennedy Centers grand, 5,000-pipe Rubenstein Family
Organ, Carpenter will perform Aaron Coplands Symphony for
Organ and Orchestra. The NSO will also perform the Suite from
Coplands Appalachian Spring ballet, John Adams Short Ride in a
Fast Machine, and Bernsteins Divertimento, the latter in honor of
Copland and Bernsteins famous friendship. Thursday, Sept. 28, and
Saturday, Sept. 30, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets
are $15 to $89. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
DINA MARTINA
Grady Wests comedic drag performance act, a Provincetown staple, is
nearly impossible to explain, or so The Stranger once summarized. And
it accurately, entertainingly described Martinas uproarious shtick: Her
voice sounds like a cat having an epileptic fit on a chalkboard, her body
moves like two pigs fighting their way out of a sleeping bag, and her face
looks like the collision of a Maybelline truck with a Shoneys buffet. Cant
wait. Friday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. The Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. Tickets
are $25 to $45. Call 202-588-5595 or visit thehowardtheatre.com.
IN THE HEIGHTS
Round House and Olney team up for a tour-de-
force staging of Lin-Manuel Mirandas origi-
nal Tony-winning success, featuring a book by
Quiara Alegria Hudes. Marcos Santana directs
and choreographs the production, which fea-
tures 21 actors and stars two-time Tony nom-
inee Robin de Jesus, who played Sonny in
the original Broadway production. Here, he is
Usnavi, our guide through a vibrant Washington
Heights neighborhood. With Linedy Genao,
Rayanne Gonzales, Natascia Diaz, and Michael
J. Mainwaring as Sonny. Extended to Oct.
22. Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy
STAN BAROUH
T
WO YEARS AGO, CRISTINA CALVILLO-RIVERA DECIDED TO COME
out in front of 600 people at the 9:30 Club. I probably have never had such
an invigorating experience, Calvillo-Rivera says, about sharing all these
different layers to her identity at a Story District event. I shared a very emotional
story about how I express my gender, she says. I am a woman, but I am a mas-
culine-of-center woman. Being Latina and being a lesbian, Im very aware of my
identity in a lot of different spaces. When I was up onstage, I was talking about my
experience, and everyone was right there with me.
Calvillo-Rivera has been engaged in storytelling since her college days at the
University of Texas at El Paso. Yet it wasnt until the community trainer and advo-
cate moved to D.C. with her wife that she realized the confidence-boosting and
ALEXANDER MOROZOV
I Did It For The Story is Saturday, Sept. 23, with doors at 6 p.m., at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW.
Tickets are $25 to $40. Call 202-888-0050 or visit thelincolndc.com.
Queer Cuentos is Wednesday, Oct. 11, with doors at 6:30 p.m., at Town, 2009 8th St. NW. Cover is $10.
Call 202-234-TOWN or visit facebook.com/LatinoGLBTHistory.
including Fried Calamari with hot also the Chief Spirits Advisor for TEAISM UNION MARKET: Bowman, Belle Isle Craft Spirits,
cherry peppers and cocktail sauce, the National Archives Foundation, MATSUKAWAYA Boar Creek Whiskey, Catoctin
Creamed Spinach with parmesan, where he leads regular History Teaism is currently sharing its Creek, Chesapeake Bay Distillery,
cream cheese and Tabasco, and Happy Hour discussions and tast- booth in the trendy culinary haven Five Mile Mountain Distillery,
String Beans with garlic. All of this ings. Next up comes a focus on the next to Gallaudet University with MurLarkey, Virginia Distillery
is in addition to the Silver Spring evolving world of culinary cock- this Japanese sweets company. Company, Vitae Spirits and Keep
restaurants regular menu and sig- tails, or those specifically paired Matsukawaya specializes in raw It Simple Syrup. Presented in two
nature raw bar. Now to Sept. 30. All with food. Browns guests include wagashi, or sweets made of sessions, with VIP tickets offering
Set Restaurant & Bar, 8630 Fenton James Beard Award-winning chef fruits with mochi rice, and usually early access before the spirited
St., Plaza 5. Silver Spring. Call 301- Michelle Bernstein, John Lermayer served with matcha tea. Through masses. Saturday, Sept. 30, at noon
495-8800 or visit allsetrestaurant. of Sweet Liberty, Lynnette Marrero September. Teaism Union Market, and 3 p.m. The Passenger, 1539 7th
com. of Speed Rack, and Johnny Spero 1309 5th St. NE. Call 202-409-1285 St. NW. Tickets are $40 to Session 1
of Columbia Room and the forth- or visit teaism.com. and $50 for Session 2, or $75 for VIP
NATIONAL ARCHIVES: coming Reverie. Saturday, Sept. to either. Call 202-853-3588 or visit
CULINARY COCKTAILS 23, at 2:30 p.m. National Archives VIRGINIA SPIRITS FESTIVAL virginiaspirits.org/vsf.
Most of the time Derek Brown Museum, Constitution Avenue Virginias best distilleries come
is known as the owner of the between 7th and 9th Streets NW. together at Shaw hotspot The
Columbia Room and the trio of NW. Tickets are $60, or $50 for Passenger for an all-inclusive tast-
Shaw restaurants that has become Foundation members. Call 202-357- ing event, co-hosted by organizer
the site of the overly popular 5000 or visit archivesfoundation. Craft Hospitality and the Virginia
Miracle on 7th Street- and Game of org/history-happy-hour. Distillers Association. Participating
Thrones-themed pop-ups. But hes distilleries include A Smith
Cathy Renna with Alison Bechdel and Windsor at the opening of Fun Home
REMEMBERING EDIE
Edie Windsor was a friend to many, and a hero to all
By Cathy Renna
I
TS ONLY BEEN A WEEK, AND IT SEEMS THAT at an event, but she rarely said no to a request for a photo.
so much has already been said of Edie Windsor, the Edie only insisted on a few things: One, that is be a good
extraordinary 88-year-old force of nature who, for photo; two, no flash; and three, that the person email her
decades, worked for fairness and equality for all. a copy. As her publicist/photographer, I took hundreds of
Mostly known for the historic Windsor v U.S. mar- photos over the years and she always wanted copies and
riage equality case, whose victory began dismantling the in many cases asked me to print some out. She asked for
so-called Defense of Marriage Act and paved the way for one of my most precious shots, my Mom and Edie at an
marriage equality, I was thrilled to see the world recognize awards gala in Queens, to put up in her apartment, which
her impact. But there was a lot more to Edie than marriage meant the world to me. She truly cared for and was very
equality. And that is saying something. As someone who protective of those she called friend and chosen family, and
was blessed to work for and with Edie after her Supreme I learned the full extent of that several times. She gushed
Court victory (what she referred to as her new-found over me when she met my Mom, and they ended up joking-
celebrity), and as exciting it can sound to recount sto- ly arguing of bragging rights for me. She adored my partner,
ries of travel, galas, events and media, it was in the quiet not just because Karen is a fabulous, kind, beautiful woman
moments of our time together that Edies extraordinary (Edies words and mine), but because she treats me with
spirit really touched me. the love and kindness Edie wants all of us to be blessed
We all saw how social media became a flurry of photos with in life.
with Edie and the shared words of love, sadness and admi- Edie often spoke about her love affair with the LGBT
ration. Some knew her for decades, some only met briefly community, especially after the Supreme Court decision,
Weekly Events
ANDROMEDA
TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH
offers free HIV testing and HIV
services (by appointment). 9
a.m.-5 p.m. Decatur Center,
1400 Decatur St. NW. To
arrange an appointment, call
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
edatransculturalhealth.org.
A TOAST TO FREEDOM
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van
Buren St. NW. For more infor-
mation, visit swimdcac.org.
U
socializing afterward. Route
NCENSORED UNDERGROUND IS OUR CELEBRATION AT THE END distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at
of Banned Books Week, says Linnea Hegarty, executive director of the 7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
DC Public Library Foundation, which hosts the event. It is a party cele- For more information, visit
dcfrontrunners.org.
brating banned books, and the freedom to read, express, and create.
On Sept. 30, lovers of literature and the First Amendment will have a chance DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay
to raise a glass to their favorite books as they commemorate Banned Books Week. and lesbian square-dancing
group features mainstream
Now in its fourth year, the annual cocktail party is designed to celebrate those through advanced square
books that have been banned or challenged by censors, from the politically-moti- dancing at the National City
vated to the prudish, for a host of reasons. Christian Church, 5 Thomas
For the party, which brings in about 400 guests each year, the DC Public Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m. Casual
dress. 301-257-0517, dclamb-
Library Foundation brings in some of D.C.s top bartenders and mixologists to dasquares.org.
create cocktails based on their favorite book. Given this years theme of Texts
Against Tyranny, expect concoctions that allude to some of the most well-known DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds
practice. The team is always
dystopian novels, such as Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Nineteen Eighty-Four, looking for new members. All
The Giver, and The Handmaids Tale. welcome. 7:30-9:30 p.m. King
Tickets to the event costs $50 per person. Attendees can also purchase a host Greenleaf Recreation Center,
ticket package for $250, which includes four tickets and what Hegarty promises 201 N St. SW. For more infor-
mation, visit scandalsrfc.org or
will be an awesome gift bag. dcscandals@gmail.com.
Banned Books Week is an international celebration thats put on by book sell-
ers and libraries across the world, she says. The purpose of it is to highlight the THE DULLES TRIANGLES
Northern Virginia social
fact that, even in the U.S., banning and challenging books is still happening, and to group meets for happy hour at
celebrate the freedom we have to read the books we want to read. Sheraton in Reston. All wel-
Its in part a cautionary tale. I think people often assume it doesnt happen come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise
here, but it does in schools and school libraries, she adds. I think were lucky in Valley Drive, second-floor bar.
For more information, visit
Washington that we live in a very literate and progressive city. I think its import- dullestriangles.com.
ant for the people who live here, many of whom are in positions of power, to really
think about it. John Riley HIV TESTING at Whitman-
Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525
14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12
Uncensored Underground: The Cocktail Party is on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 7-11 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max
p.m. at Dupont Underground, 19 Dupont Circle, NW. For tickets or more informa- Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr.
Ave. SE. For an appointment
tion, visit dcplf.org/uncensored2017. call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
man-walker.org.
Right
trolls much more if they likened Log Cabin
Republicans to White Whales for Ahab.
As president of Log Cabin Republicans,
the nations largest organization of LGBTQ
Republicans, Angelo has had to develop a thick
skin. Facing nearly daily criticism from
Democrats, Republicans, and the media he
Stuff
has to stand by decisions he feels are in the best
interests of Log Cabins long-term viability.
It takes a unique type to willfully take on
the responsibility of being the national point
person for LGBT Republicans and allies around
the United States, because youre always taking
What does it take to lead one of the LGBTQ communitys most heat from Democrats and LGBT Democrats,
controversial organizations? Just ask Gregory T. Angelo. especially, he says. Frequently, youre taking
heat from members of your own party or youre
in a position where you have to stand up to
Interview by John Riley members of your own party. That creates a
Photography by Todd Franson climate where anything and everything I do is
necessarily criticized, by either the right or the
left. Every time.
Due to the vast number of people itching
to lambaste his actions, Angelo has to pick and
choose his battles. But he is always ready to
defend his organization, its members, and their
political beliefs. He believes that fighting spirit
and combative nature are part of Log Cabins
DNA, dating back to its inception 40 years ago.
There are times that we have fought the
most bare-knuckle brawls in D.C. that one can
see, he says. The battles that we had in the
past with the American Conservative Union,
that have now led to a very fruitful relationship
between the two of us. The fight that Log Cabin
Republicans waged in the aftermath of the
passage of the GOP platform in 2016. The fight
that our Texas chapter has waged to participate
formally in the Texas GOP Convention. These
are all battles and theyre not easy.
Fighting those battles comes naturally to
Angelo. Born in Long Island and raised in the
Northeast, he has always been something of a
go-getter.
When I was in fifth grade, I ran for pres-
ident of my class, and really made a point of
going all-out in my campaign, he says. I had
a campaign manager. I had friends holding
up this American flag behind me as I gave my
closing speech, imploring people to vote for me
for fifth-grade class president, and I won in a
landslide.
A product of the Catholic school system,
Angelos faith though briefly shaken in his
twenties hasnt conflicted with his sexuality.
When he found his way back to Christianity,
it wasnt through the Catholic church, but in a
Protestant denomination in New York. There,
he found like-minded conservatives who wel-
I DO IS
had and the Catholic university that I was just hanging around and he had asked me,
attending. At the time, the school did not very causally and nonchalantly, What are
recognize the LGBT group on campus. It your plans for New Years? I said, My
was eternally the source of debate in the NECESSARILY friend Junior and I are going to a nightclub
few meetings I went to, how we can get the in Boston thats called The Machine. I
school to recognize us.
Maybe this betrays my conservative
CRITICIZED, went to Boston and had a great time. Then
I went back to school.
thinking even at the time. After I came
out, I didnt want to sit around having a
BY EITHER Shortly before classes began, my phone
rang at school. It was my father. He asked
pity party about why the school didnt
recognize the LGBT group on campus. I
THE RIGHT if I knew that the club, The Machine, was
a gay nightclub. I said, Yes. He asked me
didnt need Boston College to validate me
by certifying a club for LGBT individuals.
OR THE LEFT. if the guy who I went to the nightclub with
was gay. I paused for a second and said,
I wanted to be out and celebrate who I was
and the fact I was able to finally be out as Every time I Yes. Then he asked me, Are you gay?
I paused again. I had all these thoughts
a gay man.
MW: Who did you come out to first? make a decision running through my head: Do I try to keep
up a charade? Do I lie about this or do I
ANGELO: There was a party that I went to
at another university while I was a junior, there will be just come clean? After that long pause, I
said, Yes, and he hung up the phone. I sat
and got into a little mischief at that event. alone in my room for maybe a minute. It felt
I came back to Boston College and asked individuals like an eternity.
my best friend Mike if my making out with Then the phone rang again. It was my
another guy meant something. He said, who dont like mother. She was in tears. She was beside
Probably. herself, exceptionally upset that her son
At the time, I was still very afraid of
what coming out would mean to me, pro-
what I do, or was gay. They came to Boston for my com-
mencement ceremony, but we shared very
fessionally, personally. Most of my friends
were and still are straight guys, and
what I say, or few words there. A couple of weeks later, I
received a letter in the mail from my father
I was very concerned with the way my
friends would react if they found out that
the position outlining all the reasons why I was making
a terrible choice. Thinking back, part of
one of their best friends was gay. I strug-
gled with this throughout my junior year,
that this me wishes I saved that letter, but at the
time I was just so enraged I remember just
and determined that I didnt want to live
my last year at university in silence, or in organization tearing it up and throwing it away.
MW: Did you ever make peace with your
shame, or in secret, or hiding who I was
from people who were dear to me. I figured takes. Tough. parents?
ANGELO: Two years later, I was in a serious
I should just rip the bandaid off and let the relationship with someone who I had been
chips fall where they may. with for several months. We were living
When I came back to campus for my senior year, I pulled my together in New York City. Out of the blue, my mother called up
three roommates aside. Everyone was hanging out, and I said, and told me that she and my father were going to be in town to
Guys, come to the living room. Theres something I want to tell go see a Broadway show and asked me if my friend and I would
you. One of my buddies, Tom, said, Does Greg want to tell us be interested in meeting them for brunch. We did. My fathers
hes gay or something? Thats exactly what I did. They were all background is finance and the guy who I was dating at the time
totally cool with it I still remain friends with those guys. worked in the financial industry in risk management. The two of
My buddy Jim cut the tension in the room by saying, Its them got along swimmingly.
interesting that you chose this moment to come out forever I think at that moment thats when my parents saw that if
because my father asked me over the summer, What would you you were a gay man it was not your destiny to be a window dress-
do if you found out that one of your friends was gay? I thought er or a hairstylist as your greatest career aspirations, that it was
about it, and I told my dad that it wouldnt change anything. possible for same-sex couples to be in committed relationships
Now, Greg, I can say that I was 100 percent right. Nothing has and that gay people are just as complex and lead lives that are
changed between us. I still hate you just as much as I always just as rich as heterosexual individuals. In other words, over the
did. course of that one brunch, my parents had numerous stereotypes
MW: When did you come out to your family? shattered.
ANGELO: That summer before my senior year at university I That showed me, in a very personal way, years before I got
came out to my sister. She had told me that she had her suspi- involved with Log Cabin Republicans, that these types of per-
cions anyway, but was very accepting. I didnt come out to my sonal interactions and telling our stories are ultimately what
parents. I had trepidation about the way they would react if they moves hearts and minds, especially what moves the hearts and
learned that their son was gay. In some ways, those reservations minds of conservatives.
were proven to be very legitimate. MW: As the public face of the Log Cabin Republicans, has there
Body Language
QUEER ACTIVISTS FROM POST-YUGOSLAVIA
A
BOSNIAN REFUGEE, ALMA SELIMOVIC WAS tral. Now that shes back, shes curated an exhibition of
granted political asylum in the U.S. in 2009 on paintings, photographs, and video installations by seven
account of the violence and threats she faced as queer artists and activists from Bosnia and Herzegovina,
a prominent LGBTQ activist in her homeland. Earlier Croatia and Serbia: Kristofer Andric, Azra Causevic,
this year, the visual artist did a two-month residency at Ranka Delic, Nedziba Idrizovic, Damir Prljaca, Anita Prsa,
Berlins Institute fur Alles Mogliche, where she inter- and Alex Spyke. Through Oct. 7. Otis Street Art Project,
viewed and created digital drawings of other people from 3706 Otis St. Mt. Rainier, Md. Call 202-550-4634 or visit
Eastern Europe who are queer, trans and/or gender neu- otisstreetarts.wixsite.com.
A
never a dull moment. Not just because
CCORDING TO ITS PROGRAM NOTES, WOOLLY MAMMOTH DECIDED the plot moves apace, but because Frisch
to stage Max Frischs The Arsonists (HHHHH) after last years election results, refuses to allow his main characters to be
finding its themes suddenly more relevant than ever. But dont come expect- morally simplistic.
ing anything so obvious as a Trump bashing. Originally written to grapple with the Case in point is protagonist Betterman.
advent of Nazism and Communism in Europe, the play raises questions far bigger than He is, for want of a better word, a dick.
just one election. Indeed, it is a provocative What would you do? in which a typical Before the arson attacks he was unpleas-
middle-class man is inexorably pinned like a butterfly onto Frischs merciless board. ant, and the crisis hasnt changed him a
Updated in a translation by Alistair Beaton and tweaked by director Michael John whit. When a stranger arrives at his door
Garcs, its questions are urgently here and now. and then inveigles his way in, the ten-
Set parable-style, we join the tensely bourgeois George Betterman and his wife sion is delicious. Betterman may be being
Becca in the midst of societal chaos. Arsonists are systematically burning down their played, but perhaps he deserves it. He is
town and the residents appear to be trapped. Every night, people lock down and wait something of a Larry David, wearing on
for the smell of smoke or the wail of sirens heading elsewhere. That they cant his sleeve what the rest of us have learned
escape the town (for whatever unexplained reason) allows Frisch to increasingly turn to dismantle, suppress or hide.
The Arsonists runs to October 8 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St., NW. Tickets are $20 to $84.
Call 202-393-3939 or visit woollymammoth.net.
D
full-bodied portrayals of two inveterate
AVID HENRY HWANGS EAST-MEETS-WEST DRAMA M. BUTTERFLY liars. Hazlett, as Renes fairly self-delud-
(HHHHH) twists and coils so cleverly, the play might be dangerous in uncer- ing wife, adds another layer of tender
tain hands. There would seem to be countless ways to mishandle the Tony- humanity, with Katharine Ariyan bringing
winning fusion of Butterfly lore and the stranger-than-fiction true story of a French a bright, comic energy to her brief turn as
diplomat embroiled in a scandalous affair with a gender-disguised Chinese performer. Renes other mistress. Ariyan and Yaegel
Yet, Everyman Theatres well-calibrated new production, directed by Vincent T. Welch, both performing multiple sup-
M. Lancisi, succeeds with a skillful elegance that belies just how complex the power porting roles, contribute admirably to the
dynamics are between the fallen diplomat, Rene Gallimard (Bruce Randolph Nelson), shows playful spirit.
and his Beijing mistress, Song Liling (Vichet Chum). Occasionally the humor, delivered just
Although both lovers relate their desires and schemes to the audience, the play a beat shy of a rimshot, feels out-of-step
proceeds predominantly via Renes narration, delivered from within a prison cell. Its a with the sophistication of Hwangs story,
compelling story in the hands of Nelson, a rapturous storyteller who forges a practically the design of Yu-Hsuan Chens sets, and
conspiratorial kinship with the audience, right from Renes first rose-colored recollec- Eric Abeles lovely costumes. The pro-
tion of meeting Liling at the ambassadors residence in Beijing. duction is in most aspects bold yet taste-
Rene happens to be in the audience that night to see Liling perform the death ful, a quality exemplified by a pair of
scene of Puccinis Madame Butterfly. As the operas Ciocio-san, Liling is an exquisitely nude scenes, and by Jay Herzogs lighting,
delicate and vulnerable blossom. Rene declares her the perfect woman. Little does which helps shape one powerful onstage
he know her truth. Or does he? Having first encountered her performing a fictional transformation, and capture the lingering
version of his fantasy of total romantic supplication, he almost cant help himself. image after Lilings identity is revealed
Immediately, and compulsively, he pursues her. of her costume crumbled on the floor
It might first appear that Rene is a self-satisfied chauvinist, who cheats on his wife, like a corpse.
Helga (Deborah Hazlett), and mistreats his mysterious mistress, a star of the Peking Flirting with life and death, imperial-
Opera. But, like the upper hand in Rene and Lilings fraught relationship, sympathies ism and independence, fantasy and fetish,
shift sharply and swiftly as Cold War-era espionage and coordinated deception enter M. Butterfly offers a sexually and racially
the plot, which unfurls over decades. charged reversal of what Rene refers to as
The real secret between the couple, suggested beautifully by Nelson and Chums the comforting fiction about the passive
Oriental and the cruel Westerner. Of course, thats what this is nation or another, Curry is so precise in her portrayal as to fully
and what it isnt. register her Lelas malleable adolescent intelligence and buoyant
Led by Lincisis sensitive direction, and Nelsons astute per- personality. She draws her audience into Lelas tragic, miser-
formance, the production tells a complete story that, as much ably constricted existence without sacrificing the girls innate
as it dissects stereotypes about warring nations and cultures, strength.
reveals a man whos recognizably, woefully at war with himself. Lelas smiling snake of a husband would have her believe
shes ugly, unwanted, unlovable, and alone. Curry ensures we
IN CORDELIA LYNNS INTENSE 2015 drama Lela & Co. instead see the indomitable young woman who describes herself,
( ), the titular heroine fights a war not within herself, with endearing good humor, as a flower on a dungheap.
but almost entirely by herself, as she perseveres through brutal, Currys onstage partner McClinton who largely creates
demoralizing circumstances. the well-populated world of Lelas family, husband, abusers,
Director Rick Hammerlys stark, emotionally raw staging of and one debatably true friend especially shines in the role of a
the play, in a new production at Factory 449 Theatre, artfully foreign soldier who offers some thin lifeline of hope to the poor
suggests more violence and suffering than it depicts. But this girl during her darkest times. However, neither he nor the text
first-person account of survival during wartime still packs quite do enough to firmly distinguish the voices and intentions of the
a wallop. plays many disparate characters. It doesnt help in that regard
Born during a storm, Lela enters into a life thats turbulent that foreign soldiers and uneducated villagers alike, including
from the start. Shes raised in a house full of women, save for her Lela, all speak with uncommon erudition.
stern father (Renaldo McClinton), and is but a teenager when The set, composed of stony rubble arranged just so, along
her family marries her off to a man she barely knows. This vir- with mattresses and box springs stripped down to form walls of
tual stranger, also portrayed by McClinton, takes Lela from her coils and wires, doesnt much distinguish Lelas world, either.
home in a mountain village to live on the other side of a hostile The naked springs and piled blocks provide a literal structure for
border in a bomb-ridden city. set designer Greg Stevens rendering of Lelas confinement, yet
Stuck in an unfamiliar country, she endures the natives the surroundings dont express any really illuminating sense of
aggressive hostility towards people of her homeland, and suffers place for this particular military conflict.
far worse at the hands of her husband, who holds her captive, William DEugenios lighting and Tosin Olufalabis sound
beats her, and eventually traffics her to one or more johns per design contribute as much to the atmosphere, evoking the sleep-
night. The grim litany of indignities forced upon Lela who less nights and felled buildings that so torment Lela. From the
might be a girl in Africa, or the Middle East, or elsewhere rubble, she indeed rises like a flower, fragile yet somehow dura-
could dull the dramas potency to a relentless, numbing ache ble. Curry assuredly conveys the girls determination to defend
were it not for the moving performance of five-time Helen her mind, body, and spirit against unfathomable cruelty. Her
Hayes Award nominee Felicia Curry. embattled metamorphosis complete, Lela emerges a true and
Though the play pointedly avoids locating the action in one inspiring survivor. l
Lela & Co. runs until October 1 at Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Road, S.E. Tickets are $22.
Call 202-335-9449, or visit lelaandco.brownpapertickets.com.
M. Butterfly runs until October 8 at Everyman Theatre, 315 W. Fayette Street, Baltimore. Tickets are $10 to $65.
Call 410-752-2208, or visit everymantheatre.org.
A
back of their own on October 6. Valley
FTER A BUSY AND OCCASIONALLY HARROWING SUMMER, 2017 LOOKS Boy, the first single from the upcoming
set to wind down in style musically, anyway. If after Cry Cry Cry, is full of
slogging back to work and classes you find yourself bombastic riffs promis-
needing a distraction, a soundtrack for the shorter days and ing a callback to the glo-
clear, chilly nights, or just a quick detox after hearing new riously grandiose melo-
Taylor Swift, this Falls release schedule has you covered. drama of their first run.
Things get off to a promising start with solo albums from Anyone who found
EMILY HAINES of Metric and ROSTAM BATMANGLIJ of Vampire themselves captivated
Weekend. Haines and Batmanglij, both the hearts and souls by KELELAs mixtape and
of their respective bands, are striking out on their own and subsequent EP can look
exploring deeper and more personal subject matter. Rostam forward to the October 6
(just Rostam now) has hinted in interviews that Half-Light will release of Take Me Apart,
showcase a more introspective approach to songwriting than the the second-generation
one he brought to Vampire Weekend. The cerebral, openly gay, Ethiopian-American
D.C.-raised son of Iranian parents has a lot to say about duality artists first full studio
and the complexities of identity. If the single Bike Dream is album. It may have been
any indication, the album is likely to sound a lot like a more Rostam a long time coming, but
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Like the clich movie monster who suddenly comes back to life,
Republican senators have revived Trumpcare from the dead.
Its the first time two human beings were born themselves and
in love with each other as the same gender.
ANTHONY RAPP, explaining to CBSnews.com a storyline on Star Trek: Discovery that follows the series first on-screen same-sex
relationship between his character and Wilson Cruzs character.