Friday, April 28, 2023

Alexandria's queens duke it out


From left, Sally Cusenza, Paul Donahoe, Sarah Cusenza, and Maria Ciarrocchi in Little Theatre of Alexandria's Mary Stuart/Matt Liptak

The present drama on stage at the Little Theatre of Alexandria is a 2005 version by Peter Oswald of the 1800 play Mary Stuartby German playwright Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), a masterpiece production certain to attract historians and theatre lovers alike to learn more about the conflict between two queens, to gauge accuracy and see nobles vie for the throne of England before ostensible  orders by Elizabeth I ended Mary's life with beheading, like Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn, had died upon direction by Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, who was Mary's great uncle.

(Did you get all that?  If not, the play provides clarity and background for  better understanding.)

Mary Stuart of Scotland (AKA Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587), a Catholic, and Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), a Protestant, experienced different upbringings and lifestyles which no doubt contributed to their clash.

The two powerful women never met but Schiller brings them together for his play. 

A fierce verbal battle erupts on stage when Mary and Elizabeth compete amidst secrets and courtiers who have no allegiance except to themselves

But Mary's chilling words hurled at her cousin cannot be forgotten and seal her doom. 

In the production, both actors (Sarah Cusenza is Mary Stuart, and Maria Ciarrocchi is Elizabeth) are more than convincing in their styles and portrayals of the two queens, although Ciarrocchi's screams became taxing at times.

From left, Sarah Cusenza and Maria Ciarrocchi in Little Theatre of Alexandria's Mary Stuart/Matt Liptak


The Earl of Leicester (Thomas O'Neill) was a typical hypocrite who does a splendid job of loving both two queens, but neither is more important than his love of self. 

John Paul Odle is the Schiller-fictionalized and aptly named "Mortimer," Mary's confidant who commits suicide after Mary's enemies learn about his plan to rescue his queen from imprisonment.

Poor William Davison (Stuart Fischer), one of Queen Elizabeth's aides who is understandably confused by the death warrant for Mary which Elizabeth gives him.  

To kill or not to kill?

The surly and conceited Lord Burleigh (John Henderson) takes the warrant from Davison without hesitation, making headway to do the Queen's will...which was? 

Lord Burleigh will interpret it his own way, if you please. Off with her head!   To which Elizabeth claims error.  

"How dare you?" and to the tower and banishment they go. 

The show runs three hours, but its complexity, intrigues, and costumes (!) demand attention, and make it seem shorter.  

Elizabeth had Mary imprisoned for 19 years and the play begins and ends in 1587 at the Castle of Fotheringhay, the scene of Mary's last confinement and her trial. 

The set by Matt Liptak is a realistic depiction of high brick walls (and landscaping) found in pictures of English castles in the Middle Ages.

With a few quick turns, Mary's prison quickly converts to Queen Elizabeth's Westminster Palace.

If the script were absent, Juliana Cofrancesco and Abbie Mulberg's  lavish costumes and hair and makeup by Robin Maline and Lanae Sterrett, assisted by Karen Malin, are practically worth the cost of admission. 

Elizabeth's gowns sparkle with jewels, multiple "diamonds" lining her apparel. Standup collars, and the men's white stockings and their own luxurious wardrobe produce gladness and a singing heart that these styles are not in vogue today.  

Wardrobe coordinators, Mary Beth Smith-Toomey and Margaret Snow help fit Mary in a white gown for her execution, like the one she wore for her death by ax.  

To maintain historical accuracy as much as possible, bright red and auburn hair for the queens result in appearances similar to portraits of the women.  

Queen Elizabeth I, c. 1575/Wikimedia Commons
Mary, Queen of Scots/
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Life Museums, unknown artist


Sound director Janice Rivera and her crew use drums to herald strife and stringed instruments, choruses, crowd and animal noises in the background at critical moments to complement the show.  

Even now, hundreds of years later, the interminable themes of man v. woman and who's in charge here? can be heard and seen today, echoing in courtrooms, state legislatures and found in daily (and hourly) news reports, including art reviews, like one recently in the Washington Post about the misognyist, Pablo Picasso.  

 Sam Beeson, John Barclay Burns, Paul Donahoe, Richard Fiske, Kirk Lambert, Sally Cusenza, and Lee Swanson are other cast members.

Production crew members also included Margaret Chapmen and Hilary Adams, producers and (Adams) dialect coach; Helen Bard-Sobola and Fred C. Lash, assistant producers; Kathleen Barth, director; Mia Amado and Jenna Dawkins, assistant directors.

Also, Dana Maksymova, stage manager; Lauren Markovich, assistant stage manager; Griffin Voltmann, dramaturg; Matt Liptak, set design; Julie Fischer, set construction; Luana Bossolo, set painting; Donna Reynolds, set decoration; Allison Gray-Mendes, properties; Matthew Cheney, lighting, Pam Leonowich, master electrician; Ian Claar, fight/intimacy choreographer; and Russell M. Wyland, rigging.

 When: Now through May 13, 2023, Wednesday - Saturday nights, 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees, 3 p.m.

Where:  Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria, VA 22314

Tickets:  $24 (Wed.- Fri.), $27 (Sat. and Sun.). Prices includes fees.

Masks are required in the auditorium and strongly encouraged but optional in other areas of the theatre.  

Audience:  For ages 13 and up. 

Duration:  About 3 hours with one 15 minute intermission

Public transportationCheck the Metro and Dash bus websites. Dash is free to ride and has routes which are close to LTA.

Parking: is free on the streets and at Capital One Bank at Wilkes and Washington streets, a block away.  Paid parking is available at nearby garages.

For more information:  Box Office: 703-683-0496; Main Office, 703-683-5778 or boxoffice@thelittletheatre.com.


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Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Vienna's hilarious open and shut show



From left, Bob Cohen, Janice Zucker, Bruce Alan Rauscher and Dave Wright in Vienna Theatre Company's Unnecessary Farce at the Vienna Community Center/By Matthew Randall

It’s a bedroom romp-o-rama!

For a laugh-a-minute good time, head for the motel rooms, see the action, and watch the jamboree unfold in a dive of a place where the crazies jump and hide and keep you in suspended animation wondering who's gone where.

And, what's next?

It's delightful, it's delirious, and very funny by the name of Unnecessary Farce now onstage at Vienna Theatre Company where the cops, the lovers, an accountant and, of course! the politicians and a sneaky criminal chase one another from room to hall to room and back again, in and out of beds hoping to catch the criminal(s) in the act. (Which act?)

They run and hide behind eight doors, reminding me of a commercial break at a Capitals' hockey game to "find the puck." (Huh?)  It's easy to get lost in this swingathon.


From left, Liz Owerbach, Dave Wright, Bruce Alan Rauscher and Kate Bierly in Vienna Theatre Company's Unnecessary Farce at the Vienna Community Center/By Matthew Randall


Eddie Page makes his directorial debut at the Vienna theatre, drawing on these actors' strengths and passions (!) to flatten the possibility of any weak-willed characters in the adult comedy.  (There are none.) 

Take the Scotsman (Bob Cohen) who speaks gibberish. Was it just me who couldn't understand him?  

But, no, those on stage couldn't interpret his remarks either except for Vienna debut actor, Kate Bierly, as a policewoman who repeats in rapidfire order the Scotsman's words, winning applause in the middle of a scene for her incredible memory and performance. 

Theatre favorite Bruce Alan Rauscher is another cop, quite effective at stuttering and repeating words as he tries to find his pants.  (His pants?)

Liz Owerbach is the "hot, very hot" (!) animated accountant, Karen, who almost manages to snag a two-for-one deal, caught by video in suspicious circumstances with another officer (Dave Wright) who rolls in and out like the rest of 'em.

Not to overlook the mild and bumbling, appropriately named mayor of the unnamed town near D.C., Mayor Meekly (Steve Rosenthal) and his lovely wife (Janice Zucker), the mayor enjoying some of the benefits of the romps he observes and interrupts.

Producer Laura Fargotstein helps to ensure the show rocks all night long.  

At the end, you may think you are bouncing on a bed, but for sure, you'll be chuckling, happy you spent a good time in the old town tonight.

Other members of the production team are:

Larry Grey, stage manager; Susie Poole, assistant stage manager; Ari McSherry, lighting; Adam Parker, sound; Helen Bard-Sobola and Charles Dragonette, properties and Dragonette, set decoration; Michelle Harris, costumes; John Downing, set; Robin Maline, hair and makeup; Mark Adams, dialects; Michael Page, fight and intimacy choreographer; Art Snow, special effects; De Nicholson Lam and Beverly Benda; set painting.

WhatUnnecessary Farce by Paul Slade Smith

When: Friday and Saturday ni
ghts at 8 p.m. through May 6, 2023 with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., April 30 and May 7, 2023. The May 7 show will be sign-interpreted with reserve seating in the front row. Email 
lily.widman@viennava.gov or call 703-255-5738 for reserved seats.

Where: Vienna Theatre Company, Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St., SE, Vienna, VA 22180

Tickets: Buy in advance at www.viennava.gov/webtrac, or in person at the Vienna Community Center or at the door, if available, $15.  

Language: "X" 

Audience: For mature teens and adults

Duration:  About two fast hours with one 15-minute intermission.   

For more information, please call: (703) 255-6360


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Friday, April 14, 2023

Maya Lin's 'One Life' closes Sunday


Maya Lin, age about 4, who said later that "play," despite advice from a professor, has always been an important part of her life and work. From a photograph at the National Portrait Gallery exhibition.


Maya Lin  (b. 1959) was only 21 years old and an undergraduate student when her submission for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial  was chosen as the winning design from approximately 1,420 entries.

When the winner was announced, her design met considerable opposition and resistance. Former U.S. Senator James Webb of Virginia, himself a Vietnam veteran, called it "a nihilistic slab of stone"; President Ronald Reagan's secretary of the interior delayed issuing a building permit. 

Since its dedication in 1982, the memorial has become "something of a shrine," according to the founder, Jan Scruggs. 

The U.S. Department of Defense says more than five million people visit the memorial annually, making it the most popular monument on the National Mall ...  and the first monument there to be designed by a woman.

On two pieces of black granite, the names of 58,320 persons (the number is debatable) who are missing in action or died as a result of the Vietnam War are carved in chronological order of their deaths.

Closing Sunday at the National Portrait Gallery is a short celebration of Ms. Lin's life in an excellent exhibition, One Life:  Maya Lin.  

In 2016 President Barack Obama awarded Maya Lin the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S./by Chip Somodevilla (b. 1972)
In the Maya Lin gallery at the National Portrait Gallery/by Patricia Leslie
In the Maya Lin gallery at the National Portrait Gallery/by Patricia Leslie

Her life's story is shown in chronological order with family photos, personal items, three dimensional models, designs and pictures of other buildings she has accomplished since the memorial thrust her into the world's limelight which has never waned.

Dorothy Moss, the museum’s curator of painting and sculpture, curated the show.

Maya Lin's Langston Hughes Library in Clinton, Tennessee, from a photograph by Timothy Hursley (b. 1955), National Portrait Gallery
Maya Lin's Riggio-Lynch Interfaith Chapel, Clinton, Tennessee, from a photograph by Timothy Hursley (b. 1955), National Portrait Gallery
The introduction to Maya Lin at the National Portrait Gallery/by Patricia Leslie
The introduction to Maya Lin at the National Portrait Gallery/by Patricia Leslie


When Ms. Lin entered college, she wanted to be a zoologist. Part of her schooling took her to Denmark where she learned memorials could become community spaces. 

As a child she spent hours playing with her brother in the woods behind the family home in Ohio, nature's surroundings which continue to play a criticial role in her life and work as an environmentalist and climate change soldier.

This is the museum’s first One Life exhibition dedicated to an Asian American.

For photos from the memorial on Memorial Day 2014, go here. For a visit Ms. Lin made to the former Corcoran Gallery in 2009, go here.


What:  One Life:  Maya Lin

When: Closing April 16, 2023. The National Portrait Gallery is open daily from 11:30 a.m - 7 p.m. 

Where: Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F streets, N. W., Washington, D.C. 20001

Admission: No fee

For more information: 202-633-8300 or visit the website

Closest Metro station: Gallery Place-Chinatown or walk 10 minutes from Metro Center

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Sunday, April 9, 2023

Easter at the Washington National Cathedral

 

Easter Day at the Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023.  Repairs continue at the Cathedral damaged by the 2011 earthquake. (See tower above.) Some $14 million still need to be raised to meet the total $38 million cost of restoration/By Patricia Leslie

Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie


Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

The War Memorial Chapel on Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023 in /By Patricia Leslie

Easter Day at the Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023 in the War Memorial Chapel. British artist Steven Barry Sykes (1914-1999) sculpted the head of Jesus surrounded by a halo which hangs above the altar. British women, including the Queen Mother (1900-2002), mother of Queen Elizabeth (1926-2022), made the kneeling pads in the chapel in commemoration of sacrifices made by U.S. Armed Forces during World War II/By Patricia Leslie

A banner of Armed Forces in the War Memorial Chapel on Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

Detail of the 9 x 12 foot Tree of Life embroidery which hangs at the left of the altar in the War Memorial Chapter with seals of all 50 states. Some of the seals (Tennessee's, above) appear to be unfinished which matches Tennessee's unfinished chapter in granting justice for all its citizens. Pictured Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

The entrance to the Children's Chapel on Easter Day, the Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

The altar in the Children's Chapel, Easter Day, the Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

Flowers on the altar at the Children's Chapel, Easter Day, the Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

The baptismal font in the Children's Chapel, Easter Day, the Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

At the altar in the Children's Chapel, Easter Day, the Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

A kneeling cushion at the altar in the Children's Chapel, Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie


The conclusion of Choral Evensong, Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

The conclusion of Choral Evensong, Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

A tower undergoing repair due to the 2011 earthquake, Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie
A tower undergoing repair due to the 2011 earthquake, Easter Day, Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

Easter Day at the Washington National Cathedral, April 9, 2023/By Patricia Leslie

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Saturday, April 8, 2023

See Hillwood's Russian glories and gardens

The entrance to Determined Women at the dacha at Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens/by Patricia Leslie


The Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens is a respite of soothing and enchanting glorious springtime colors where guests may wander lush grounds, and walk green pathways to admire endless flower gardens.

A sense of peace and serenity prevails; time is unhurried.

One pathway leads to a small Russian dacha*, built about 1969 and the setting of an exhibition of 100 pieces from the collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973) who lived and died at Hillwood and made it what it is today: luxurious galleries and a museum of incredible works of art.

The Grand Duchesses, the four daughters of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia, 1916, two years before they were murdered.

 Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 1906, whose daughters are pictured above.


Left:  Star of the Order of Saint Anna, 19th cent. St. Petersburg, silver, diamonds and enamel. Translated from the front:  To those who love justice, piety, and faith. In the center is the Russian imperial eagle.

Right:  Badge of the Order of Saint Anna, 19th cent. Russia, gold, diamonds, enamel/by Patricia Leslie


Ms. Post's inheritance as the only child of her parents no doubt made possible her philanthropic efforts and marshaled her business smarts (she founded General Foods with her second husband**).

At age 27 she was the richest woman in the U.S.

Her father had founded the Post cereal company.

Georgii Musikiiskii (miniaturist), after Johann Gottfried Tannauer, Abraham Heydrich (watchmaker), 1725, watch with miniature portrait of Catherine I, Peter the Great's second wife, gold, silver, diamonds, enamel, copper, St. Petersburg. The ceiling lights at the exhibition are reflected on the watch/by Patricia Leslie

Back of the watch above/By Patricia Leslie


Her admiration of influential women and their designs, works, and artistry form the basis of the exhibition, Determined Women: Collectors, Artists, and Designers at Hillwood which begins in the 1700s and continues to present day. (A curator has added recent pieces about, for example, Stacey Abrams.)

For any cultural and history Russophile like me, the dacha brimming with priceless, historical pieces is another magnificent "find" in Washington, D.C.
After Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun, Portrait of Marie Antoinette and Children, after 1787, at Versailles with the jewel cabinet of Marie Antoinette on the right.
Christina Sanders Robinson (1796-1854), Portrait of Nicholas I, 1840, Russia. His grandmother was Catherine the Great.
Two evening dresses of Ms. Post, the one on the left by Thum (1865-1954), 1920-1925, and the one on the right, by Hattie Carnegie (1886-1956), 1935-1940/by Patricia Leslie
Embroidery by Aunte Mollie Post, Marjorie Merriweather Post's baby bonnet, n.d./by Patricia Leslie

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, designer, altar cloth, c. 1899, Russia/
by Patricia Leslie
 
 Needlework by Caroline Lathrop Post, 1854/by Patricia Leslie

Joseph E. Davies was Ms. Post's third husband who took her to Moscow when he was U.S. ambassador to Russia, 1937-1938. Those years coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and Joseph Stalin's sale of Russian imperial and pre-revolutionary works, money he needed for his industrial agenda.

Carpe diem!

And Ms. Post did! Now, outside of Russia, her Russian collection is considered the best in the world. (What would Mr. Putin exchange for it? Or, some of it?)

Many more Russian artifacts are on display in the mansion.

From left: Maid of Honor Cypher Pin, 1796-1801.
 The cypher states for Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Paul I.  These pins were worn on the left side of the breast by Maids of Honor to the Empress. Gold, diamonds, Russia.

Center: Another Maid of Honor Cypher Pin, 1907. Attributed to the firm of Karl Karlovich Hahn.  The pin consists of the ciphers in Russian letters of the last two Empresses, Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. It was given in 1907 to Irene Rimsky-Korsakoff (1883-1972) (Madame Mishtowt of D.C.). The ciphers are topped by the imperial cleft crown of Russia, all set in diamonds with gold and silver, St. Petersburg

Right: Attributed to Carl C. Blank, Lady of Honor Insignia with miniature portraits of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 1912. Gold, diamonds, silver, silver gilt, glass, St. Petersburg/by Patricia Leslie

Three busts of Empress Catherine II. 

From left, by Felix Chopin (1813-1892), made in Russia, c. 1867. 

In the center is a marble by an unknown sculptor, made in Russia, after 1771. 

On the right, by August Spiess, designer (1817-1904), the Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, after 1872 after a model by Jacques-Dominique Rachette (1744-1809) based on a marble original by Fedot Ivanovich Shubin (1740-1805)/by Patricia Leslie

Mather Brown (1761-1831), King Louis XVI Saying Farewell to his Family, 1793, U.S.A.



A pathway at Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie



At Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie

Determined Women at Hillwood/by Patricia Leslie



Despite its small size, the exhibition packs two rooms with photographs, paintings, sculpture, jewelry, embroidery and more, a "must see" for Russian cultural aficionados.

But you don't have to love Russian history, culture, and people to want to come since it's more than all things Russian. Artists and designers from other nations, especially France, are represented, along  with dress designers of her own whom Ms. Post admired.  And, I am guessing it was a relative who made Ms. Post's baby bonnet.

Pictures, descriptions and locations of all the objects in the exhibition may be found here

After she and Mr. Davies divorced in 1955, Ms. Post established Hillwood where she is buried on the grounds. (She reclaimed her maiden name after her fourth and last marriage.)

Of note: Ms. Post built and owned Mar-A-Lago in Florida, another of her "notable" five homes before Donald Trump, the present owner, bought it in 1985 for about $10 million. She had willed it to the National Park Service which deemed it too expensive to maintain. Forbes places the current value around $160 million.

The Hillwood exhibition accompanies a new publication, The Houses and Collections of Marjorie Merriweather Post ($60, hardcover; $30, paperback).

*A dacha is a small Russian country house or villa. In 2017, approximately 60 million Russians or more than 40 percent of the population of 145 million, were estimated to own one.

**Ms. Post's husbands were, in order:

Edward Bennett Close (married 1905; divorced 1919)

Edward Francis Hutton (m. 1920; d. 1935)

Joseph E. Davies (m. 1935; d. 1955)

Herbert A. May (m. 1958; d. 1964)

What: Determined Women: Collectors, Artists, and Designers at Hillwood

When: Now through Sunday, June 18, 2023, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Where: Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Admission: Suggested donations are $18 (adults), $15 (seniors), $10 (college students), $5 (child, ages 6 -18) and free for members and those under age 6. $3 discounts are available for adults and seniors who make reservations online for weekdays, and $1 off, for weekends. For busy times (Mother's Day, anyone?), reservations are highly recommended.

Directions via bus, rail, car

Parking: Free and on-site

For more information: 202-686-5807

Café onsite


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