Mosaic Theater's outstanding 'Agitators'

 Ro Boddie is Frederick Douglass and Marni Penning is Susan B. Anthony in Mosaic Theater Company's The Agitators/Photo by Stan Barouh


It is unlikely that I would have had the keen interest in Mosaic Theater's newest play, The Agitators, had I not read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave nor had visited his Washington home earlier this year, Cedar Hill.

My visit to Cedar Hill was occasioned by the 200th birthday celebration for Mr. Douglass (1818-1895) although his exact birth year and date are conjecture since he was born into slavery when record-keeping of slaves was not guaranteed.

Mosaic's Agitators are Mr. Douglass and his longtime friend and collaborator-in-charge-of-change, Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) who happened to share the same time frame in life. 

 

 Seated are Ro Boddie as Frederick Douglass and Marni Penning as Susan B. Anthony with Adanna Paul and Josh Adams in Mosaic Theater Company's The Agitators/Photo by Stan Barouh

"Slavery is what stole the first 20 years of my life," Mr. Douglass says in the play, and, agitation is the spark leading to change.

Ms. Anthony says her father didn't vote because, had he voted, he would have become part of the corruption.
 
Mr. Douglass and Ms. Anthony are friends, they are rivals, they are revolutionaries, she, an ardent suffragette, and he, an impassioned abolitionist who also shared Ms. Anthony's ideas to get the vote for women.

They worked night and day to correct society's wrongs.
 
The Agitators' director KenYatta Rogers writes in program notes: "They spent a lifetime pursuing perfection for their fellow Americans....The time has come to learn from their example. 'To use the past only as it [is] useful to the present and the future.'"

Ro Boddie is Mr. Douglass and Marni Penning is Ms. Anthony who did not live to see the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote. For more than five decades, she worked tirelessly for the amendment's passage.

The play exceeded all forecasts for enlightenment, acting, format, and just plain good theatre, and its program includes an excellent chronology of important events in Douglass's and Anthony's lives.

Rather than two actors sitting on a stage reminiscencing about their times together, they fight and scream and don't always take to each other.  They convincingly discuss their battles to win over public acceptance of their hopes and dreams.

Scenes (by Jonathan Dahm Robertson) change frequently, and they are more than a piece moving once or twice. The initial set led me to low visual expectations, given the rectangular outline with white  flowing curtains, but the versatility soon became obvious.

In one of the most creative places, the duo stand on opposite elevated platforms at a railway station, shouting at each other over the tracks.

Time moves on, projected by listing of years, different hair colors, hairstyles, and Ms. Anthony's fashions (by Amy McDonald.  In the manner of the Kennedy Center which exhibits costumes of ballerinas and opera stars in foyers, Ms. McDonald's designs would be welcome in the Mosaic foyer.)

After the show, the playwright, Mat Smart told me the play originated from a visit he made to  Ms. Anthony's home in Rochester, New York.

He spent a year conducting primary research on the couple, pinpointing visits by both at the same times to the same places:  Albany, Boston, Rochester, Washington, D.C. and more.  Except for the baseball game which he could not say with certainty that Ms. Anthony attended, he speculated she was there because "everybody in town was."

The game was one of the most hilarious scenes in the play which  overall had much more humor than I anticipated.  "Do not quote me to me." 

Mr. Smart told me he left the music choices up to the director and the sound director, David Lamont Wilson, with the stipulation that they mix "the old with the new."

They did and lots more. 

At intermission I turned to the stranger beside me and said I wanted a copy of the music, and she replied that she wanted a copy of the music.  The only piece whose title I could positively identify was Jimi Hendrix's "Star-Spangled Banner."

The music was deliciously eclectic, modern with hip hop and a mix of 19th century songs and sounds, which are rare together, at least on my shelves.

Two nights after the Pittsburgh tragedy, the play ended on an emotionally charged stage with Ari Roth, Mosaic's founding artistic director, Victoria Murray Baatin, the associate artistic director, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Smart and others from the crew holding hands and leading the standing audience to sing several verses of "We Shall Overcome."

Many words from the script fit the sad times that we live today.  Still, the agitators' hope that becomes reality illuminates the dark to tell us that a better day, a new day will come.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me. - (Emily Dickinson)

Also in The Agitators are Adanna Paul and Josh Adams who are background ensemble members.

Additional creative team members are Robert Garner, sound engineer; James Morrison, projections; Alec Sparks, assistant projections; Elena Velasco, movement coordinator; Alberto Segarra, lighting, Emily Boisseau, properties; Shirley Serotsky, dramaturg; and Laurel VanLandingham, production stage manager.

The Mosaic has scheduled other events in conjunction with The Agitators. Before you go, check with the box office about possible changes: 202-399-7993, ext. 2.

Nov. 10, 3 p.m. Voting Rights Today-The Meaning of Centuries of Struggle

Nov. 11, 3 p.m. Black Women's Suffrage-Abolition was Not Enough
 

Nov. 15, 11 a.m. Cast talkback
 

Nov. 17, 3 p.m. Inexhaustible Souls in Collision-The Struggle for the 15th Amendment Meets the Claims of Race and Gender
 

Nov. 18, 3 p.m. We Hold These Truths-Quakers in America
 

Nov. 20, 8 p.m. It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right-Necessary Coalitions/Imperfect Partners
 

Nov. 24, 3 p.m. What Makes a Movement?
 

Nov. 25, 7:30 p.m.The Rooms Where It Happens: Politics of Place and the Geography of Freedom 

What: The Agitators
 

When: Now through Nov. 25, 2018 at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday nights; 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25; 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20; weekend matinees at 3 p.m. A Nov. 15 student and senior matinee at 11 a.m. has sold out.

Where: Mosaic Theater Company, Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 

Getting there: Riding public transportation from Union Station on the streetcar is easy and free, if you can find the streetcar behind Union Station since signage in the station is poor. Parking options are available for those who drive to Atlas.
 

Tickets start at $20.

Language: Some of the songs drop the F-bomb, and maybe another epithet is heard here and there in the dialogue.

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

For more information: Please call the box office and leave a message: 202-399-7993, ext. 2.
 

patricialesli@gmail.com

Last day to see Trump satire on stage!

From left, John de Lancie, Brian George, and Haaz Sleiman in Mosaic Theater Company's Vicuna and The American Epilogue/photo by C. Stanley Photography

It's at the Mosaic Theater on H Street, easily accessible by the free trolley which runs up and down H, boarding behind Union Station, and it's a h-u-g-e show, amazing (!), really, really great.  It's beautiful with some very, very good laughs. A surefire winner!  And everyone loves a winner, right?

In Vicuña & The American Epilogue, John de Lancie is "Kurt Seaman," a really, really smart person and also a presidential candidate getting ready for a debate. Director Robert Egan ensures Mr. de Lancie is as non-p.c. and morally outrageous as possible, enough to inflame belly gut laughter from the audience which, at times, is so loud, dialogue cannot be heard. But, no matter, it's all part of the fun and the show's pleasure.

You will likely recognize Mr. de Lancie. His presentation and remarkable delivery will leave you wanting more. 

The production concerns the egotistical candidate (with never a mention of comparison to the current president) who preps for his debate, in words and apparel, as a clothier, Anselm (Brian George), tries to outfit him in vicuna wool, a precious material whose cost makes it affordable for only the One Percent.  (Costuming by Brandee Mathies is a mite improbable since Mr. Trump does not wear brown and grey, but this is not about Trump, believe me.)

Complementing the fantastic comedy are incredible, amazing men and women, an all-star cast which leaves audience members in awe of their fast-paced dialogue and flawless memories.

First on the rung is "Senator Kitty" (Kimberly Schraf), who does a fantastic job and happens to be the head of the Republican National Committee who will pay Mr. Seaman an outrageous sum if he'll agree to withdraw from the race.  (Fat chance. Ms. Schraf is so realistic, she must have held elected office at some point.)
 

Laura C. Harris is Mr. Seaman's daughter, Srilanka (a tad more liberal than her dad), and Haaz Sleiman is an apprentice to his father.

The effective set (by Debra Booth) is a modern, fab-50s styled New York apartment with excellent use of an "elevator" center-stage, a handy device for quickly moving actors on and off the floor.

Jon Robin Baitz is the writer of this area premiere and the dark epilogue which is the world premiere here in Washington. 

Other creative team members are Brigitte Thieme-Burdette, understudy as Srilanka; Alberto Segarra, lighting; Karl Lundeberg, music and sound; Michelle Elwyn, properties, and C. Renee Alexander, stage manager.

In his short three years at the helm of Mosaic after a departure from Theater J, Ari Roth's success leaves one marveling at what all he has achieved with one hit after another.  Congratulations to him and his staff.
   
Mosaic's mission statement includes: "Our plays speak truth to power and to the private parts of our soul. In short, we make art with a purpose and strive for impact." And that, playgoers, is what Mosaic has done again.  Bravo for theatre in D.C.!

And, while I am at it, the Atlas Performing Arts Center is absolutely stunning, comfortable, modern and more, a thoroughly delightful place to be and, easily accessible.


What: Vicuña & The American Epilogue
 
When: December 3, 2017 at 3 p.m.

Where: Mosaic Theatre, Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 

Getting there: Riding public transportation from Union Station on the streetcar is easy and free, if you can master the first hurdle, that of finding the streetcar behind Union Station. Signage in the station is inadequate. Parking options are available for those who wish to drive. 

Tickets start at $20 for students and those under age 35. Neighbors, seniors, military, and first responders get discounts. Other tickets start at $45. A $4.50 "box office fee" is added per ticket online. Order by phone (202-399-7993, ext. 2), online (boxoffice@atlasarts.org), or at the box office.

Language: Adult (but not much)

Duration: About two hours minutes with one intermission.

For more information: Please call the box office and leave a message: 202-399-7993, ext. 2.
patricialesli@gmail.com

'Devil' sings Bessie Smith's blues at Mosaic (extended)

Miche Braden as Bessie Smith with Anthony E. Nelson, Jr., in The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith/Photo by Stan Barouh

Bessie Smith fans, this one's for you!  The Devil's Music:  The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith now on stage at Mosaic Theater on H Street, in one of the most dynamic theaters in Washington, D.C.

The music of Bessie Smith (1894-1937) and parts of her life are the story here, told in song and sketches by Miche Braden  who belts out the blues in her strong and passionate voice,  supported by a trio of consummate musicians: Jim Hankins on bass, Anthony E. Nelson, Jr., playing sax, and Gerard Gibbs, pianist who provide verbal, visual, and sexual backdrops.

Miss Smith's big hits are all here:  I Ain't Got Nobody, St. Louis Blues, Taint Nobody's Bizness If I Do and ten more.

She enters from a center door atop steps to descend to  a crowded, though handsome set (by Brian Prather) of heavy Victorian design with lamps, plants, and liquor bottles, several which sit on a table and suggest the arrival of another much needed actor to join the dialogue, but it doesn't happen.

Before the show, theatergoers are warned by a sign at the entrance to the auditorium that the script contains adult language which is, indeed, coarse, and more hard-core than expected.

The simulated sex sax scene is off putting and denigrates the singer's reputation, even if she was as boorish as portrayed.

The music clearly is what this is all about and the show delivers on this most important element.

Bessie Smith by Carl Van Vechten on February 3, 1936/Wikipedia, Library of Congress

Designer Patricia E. Doherty dresses Ms. Braden in an elegant purple gown which flows with her swings and sashays throughout the evening, seeming to fill the stage at times.  The musicians' apparel (three piece suits and ties) is right in keeping with the vestments of the age.

Known as the "Empress of the Blues," Ms. Smith was "the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s....often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era" and "a major influence on other jazz singers," says Wikipedia.

Born in Chattanooga (which has a Bessie Smith Cultural Center), Bessie got her start around age 18 dancing for her brother's troupe before she climbed the ranks to become the highest paid black entertainer of the time. Her shows included 40 performers. Ms. Smith traveled in her own railway car.

Miche Braden is Bessie Smith in The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith/Photo by Stan Barouh

Too soon, the Depression (1929-1939) suspended her stardom, decimating the recording industry, about the time talking movies effectively ended vaudeville show like Ms. Smith's. Her last hit, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, was recorded in 1929, but she continued entertaining during the market downturn until her death from an automobile accident on a Mississippi highway in 1937.

Bessie Smith's death certificate/Wikipedia, State of Mississippi

Her grave in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania went unmarked until 1970 when Janis Joplin and a former Smith housekeeper, Juanita Green, bought a headstone for it. Ms. Smith's estranged husband was unsupportive of a gravestone for his wife, keeping the money contributors gave for one.

Bessie Smith was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. 

What: The Devil's Music:  The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith by Angelo Parra. Conceived and directed by Joe Brancato with musical arrangements by Miche Braden.  Todd O. Wren, lighting designer; C. Renee Alexander, stage manager

When: Extended through October 1, 2017.  Shows at 8 p.m., Thursdays - Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. on Sundays, 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees, and a student matinee at 11 a.m. this Thursday, September 14.

Where: Lang Theatre, Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002
 
Getting there: Riding public transportation from Union Station on the streetcar is easy and free, if you can master the first hurdle, that of finding the streetcar behind Union Station. Signage in the station is inadequate. For those who wish to travel by private automobile, there are parking options: Advance valet parking is $15 for subscribers with vouchers; $20, without; or park in a nearby lot or for free on city streets Sundays.

Tickets to the show start at $20. Buy online, phone (202-399-7993, ext. 2), or at the box office.

Language:  Adult

Duration: About 85 minutes without intermission.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Rush to see Mosaic's 'January' hit in June

From left, Vaughn Ryan Midder is Jeron and Jeremy Keith Hunter is Devaun in When January Feels Like Summer at Mosaic Theater Company, now through June 12, 2016/Photo by Stan Barouh

At intermission I turned to my seatmate and said:  "I love this!" And I wasn't the only one.

Laughter from the audience sometimes drowned out the dialogue, and that was okay!  Everyone was having a good time, even a woman near the front who said she couldn't hear.

Never mind. It's time to leave our worries behind us and enjoy.

From left, Shravan Amin is Ishan and Indira, and Lynette Rathnam is Nirmala in When January Feels Like Summer at Mosaic Theater Company, now through June 12, 2016/Photo by Stan Barouh

Mosaic Theater Company's When January Feels Like Summer now onstage at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street is sheer delight, so much fun from beginning to end, with never a laggard in it, as it zooms into the stratosphere right from the get-go when I had experienced a mental quick flash a few seconds before liftoff of "Oh, no. Not another 'message' play. Haven't we had enough of these already?" 

(But when is a play not a message play?)

And before the thought could finish its roll through my brain, it collapsed mid-sentence, overcome by January and the rockin' New York subway and two hip lads (Jeremy Keith Hunter who is Devaun, and Vaughn Ryan Midder is Jeron) jumping on the train and the rumble, jumble of lives of five New Yorkers begin to unfold. (David Lamont Wilson's sounds help to quickly reproduce the Big Apple in January.)


It doesn't take long for alll the actors to meet and cross paths.  Besides Jeron and Devaun there's Nirmala (skillfully presented by Lynette Rathnam), Ishan and Indira (an incredible metamorphosis by Shravan Amin), and Joe (Jason B. McIntosh, a reject who portrays his loneliness with distinction).

Without question, the show stealer is Mr. Hunter. He and Jeron discuss current issues and how to woo women. Devaun's training techniques are a riot. 

Which brings me to question the frequent costume changes for the two young men.  Designer Robert Croghan dressed the duo appropriately enough, but why so many outfits?

January's got "contemporary language" all right with F and S bombs aplenty, but in this modern-day setting, the bombs fit, and are not as offensive as those heard in settings where they add nothing to content.

The various props from difference scenes (by Debra Booth and Michelle Elwyn) generally remain stationary on stage and go dark with scene switches, not as distracting as it may sound.  Speaking of, the mechanical breathing machine for the invisible patient on life support behind the curtain with the red blinking light is memorable and lives on!

As the end of the evening approaches, you wonder and gasp:  Will he or won't he? And I doubt anyone guesses what happens next.  

Cori Thomas's play embraces contemporary issues at a fast pace, meaning dialogue which doesn't languish and allow your mind to escape.  It opened Off-Broadway in 2014 and won a New York Times Critics Pick choice and earlier, an American Theatre Critics Association award for new play by an emerging playwright.  That tells you something, right?
  
You won't leave the play down in the mouth or wondering "what was that all about?"  You'll be skipping down the sidewalk, smiling and laughing with the rest of the theatergoers who pondered the exchanges just seen, but perhaps the lady doth flatter too much.

We can journey into the lives of others and may find a reason or two to be more respectful of them who differ from you and me on the street, in the shops, or on the Metro, but ain't we all got stories?  Funny ones, at that.

The production's vitality and professionalism belies far more than Mosaic's 18 months' life, but that's the combination and magic of producer/director Serge Seiden and artistic director Ari Roth who left Theater J after two decades and birthed his new "kid on the H Street block" in late 2014.  January ends Mosaic's first season.

The new Atlas Performing Arts Center is an excellent venue with a large lobby and comfortable, stacked theater seating so none is bad or blocked.  And there are ample stalls in the women's restroom for a speedy in and out! Amazing.
 
The only thing I would change about the whole affair is the title of the play: Rather droll for all the lively content, like a dull book title and equally boring jacket that no one stops to pick up from the bookstore table.

With only a single week left, there's a rush on H Street.

Other January crew members are Max Doolittle, lighting designer, William M. Woodard, technical director, and Allie Roy, production stage manager

What:  When January Feels Like Summer by Cori Thomas

When:  Now through June 12, 2016

Where:  Lang Theatre, Atlas Performing Arts Center,  1333 H Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002  (Ride the free streetcar from Union Station, but never on Sundays when it doesn't run.)

Advance valet parking reservations available for $20 or park for free on the street like I did (on a Sunday).

How much: Tickets start at $40, but there are discounts for seniors, students, military, first responders, neighbors, those under age 30, and rush tickets for $25, if any seats are left 30 minutes before show time,

Tickets:  Buy online, phone (202-399-7993, ext. 2), or at the box office.

Duration:  Two and a half hours with one intermission. 

patricialesli@gmail.com