Oliver Lee Jackson in person Sunday at the National Gallery of Art

 

Oliver Lee Jackson, No. 7, 2017 (7.27.17), 2017, oil-based paint on panel, courtesy of the artist. Photo M. Lee Fatherree. © Oliver Lee Jackson

On stage and talking about his art and more on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the East Building at the National Gallery of Art will be Oliver Lee Jackson with curator Harry Cooper which will be the last event before the closure of the exhibition, Recent Paintings.

It’s not often that a living artist appears on stage for an audience to hear and see with the curator, an opportunity not to miss.

Oliver Lee Jackson, Painting (5.27.11), 2011, oil-based paint on canvas, courtesy Lucy Goldman. Image courtesy of Rena Bransten Gallery/Photo M. Lee Fatherree. © Oliver Lee Jackson

Oliver Lee Jackson was born in 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri, and can claim professions as a painter, sculptor, draftsman, Army veteran, teacher, and organizer whose works are found in major American museums.

In the exhibition at the National Gallery are about 20 paintings Mr. Jackson has made over the last 15 years, some on view publicly for the first time. 

Oliver Lee Jackson, Painting (10.14.06), 2006, oil-based paint on canvas, courtesy of the artist/Photo M. Lee Fatherree. © Oliver Lee Jackson.  During the middle of the night when I was awakened by the tromping of footsteps above, this painting was immediately evoked by its similarity to the effects from the prison-like yard lights streaming on the inside walls of my unit. There the comparison ends for Mr. Jackson's Painting is much more colorful and cheerful than the dark and grey surroundings of a night with artificial light.

Oliver Lee Jackson, Painting (11.30.10), 2010, water-based paint and metallic enamel paint on canvas, courtesy of the artist/Photo M. Lee Fatherree. © Oliver Lee Jackson  

Oliver Lee Jackson's, Painting (11.4.10), 2010, on the left, and No. 5, 2018 (3.24.18), 2018 on the right/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oliver Lee Jackson, Painting (11.4.10), 2010, water-based paint, metallic enamel paint, and applied canvas on canvas, courtesy of the artist/Photo M. Lee Fatherree. © Oliver Lee Jackson

The National Gallery says Jackson's works remain "rooted in the human figure while drawing on all the resources of modernist abstraction and expression.”

Guests admire Oliver Lee Jackson's, Painting (8.10.03), 2003, water-based paint and silver leaf on canvas, courtesy of the artist/Photo by Patricia Leslie  

 Oliver Lee Jackson, Triptych (3.20.15, 5.21.15, 6.8.15), 2015, applied felt, chalk, alkyd paint, and mixed media on wood panel, courtesy of the artist/Photo by Patricia Leslie



The works on display are like gigantic silhouettes, puzzles, some parts found in oceans; others, in dreamy states. Bold colors and big designs mark them as Jackson's own. It’s fun to try and decipher their meaning; interpretation lies in the eyes of the beholder. That's what art is all about. Jackson's paintings are contemporary, abstracts without obnoxious, blatant in-your-face messages. 


Unlike Psalm 14: "The fool said in his heart: 'All are corrupt and commit abominable acts; there is none who does any good,'" Mr. Jackson's works present hope that today's state of the world is more than dark and evil, for there is room for growth and optimism like a viewer finds on these walls.

Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art, with Harry Cooper, curator, center, and Oliver Lee Jackson at the opening of Recent Paintings, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019. Behind them is Jackson's, Painting (10.14.06), 2006/Photo by Patricia Leslie


Mr. Cooper is the senior curator and head of modern art at the National Gallery of Art whose friendship with Mr. Jackson spans several decades and helped Mr. Jackson win an artist-in-residency position at Harvard University in 2002.

Michael Stein from Morgan Stanley, the sponsor of the exhibition, Recent Paintings, with Harry Cooper, curator, center, and Oliver Lee Jackson at the opening at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oliver Lee Jackson, left, and Harry Cooper at the opening of Recent Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oliver Lee Jackson, left, and Harry Cooper at the opening of Recent Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oliver Lee Jackson, center, at the opening of Recent Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oliver Lee Jackson, center, at the opening of Recent Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What: Oliver Lee Jackson:  Recent Paintings

When: Now through September 15, 2019




Where: The East Building at the National Gallery of Art, between Third and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall. The National Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. 


How much: No charge.

Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: 202-737-4215

patricialesli@gmail.com

Extended! Olney's 'Cabaret,' a sensational feast, now thru Oct. 13

Mason Alexander Park is the Emcee and Alexandra Silber is Sally Bowles in CABARET at Olney Theatre Center/Photo credit: Stan Barouh
 
What good is sitting alone in your home when you can come to the play? Life is a Cabaret, old chum. Come to the Cabaret.

It's a holiday in September! 

It's raunchy, robust, and it rocks Olney Theatre Center's 82nd season start.

It's the music which brings us to the show.

The timing is post-World War I in Weimar Germany, in Berlin, then the third largest city in the world where citizens sought joy amidst dire economic circumstances, and here they came!  To the "cabaret."

If Joel Grey is the actor who immediately pops into your mind when you think of Cabaret, Olney Theatre Center's newest show has got his double starring on stage. (Joel Grey is still kickin' at age 87.)

Mason Alexander Park, the master of ceremonies, is magnificent. He's the centerfold with a personality and voice who directs the pizazz and revelry which increase alongside spreading Nazi weeds in this garden of tawdry delights.

Besides Mr. Park, the marvelous music is the star here.  Forget the growing gloom and sit back (or sit up right on stage, if you like) and enjoy "Money, Money," "Two Ladies," "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," and "If You Could See Her," among many tunes.

Mason Alexander Park (center), the Emcee,  with the Kit Kat Girls in CABARET at Olney Theatre Center/Photo: Stan Barouh

The Kit Kat Klub, the place to be for ribaldry, is every bit as raucous as the name sounds with a stage at a nightclub and a glittering backdrop of rich, velvety floor-to-ceiling drapes which cascade behind an 11-member orchestra (led by Christopher Youstra) who are decked in tails.  

Overshadowing the fun on the backdrop is a ghastly face in a cracked mirror which reflects the hot dancing girls in spectacular ooh-la-Las Vegas costumes whose kicks almost reach the chandeliers.
    

Gregory Maheu is Clifford Bradshaw, an American who arrives in Berlin to write a novel.  He woos a cabaret star, Sally (Alexandra Silber) and tries to convince her to eventually return with him to America and save herself.  Director Alan Paul successfully changes Mr. Bradshaw from a timid weakling into a confident man who can say no.

It's not all debauchery. Some balance is presented by the sweet relationship which develops between Herr Schultz
 (Mitchell Hébert) and Mr. Bradshaw's landlady, Fraulein Schneider (Donna Migliaccio) until.... The credibility of both actors swept up the audience which hoped for the best.

That Cabaret was chosen for staging now was not by chance, but planned to coincide with events as a reminder that this, too, can happen again in a world of persistent evil.

The powerful ending is a shocker and leaves you dazed. Artistic Director Jayson Loewith writes In program notes that it's a bit different from Olney's usual climax, but as anyone will tell you who's seen the show, Cabaret is another huge hit in Olney's expanding and renowned musical portfolio.

Lights out!  

The Cabaret is closed.

Other cast members are Jessica Laurel Ball, Jessica Bennett, Patrick Ford, Ben Gunderson,  Andre Hinds, Lina Lee, Connor James Reilly, Bridget Riley, Tyler Quentin Smallwood, Tom Story, Katy Tabb, Louisa Tringali, and Rick Westerkamp.

More members of the creative team, Wilson Chin, scenics; Kendra Rai, costumes; Colin K. Bills, lighting;
Matt Rowe, sound;   Ali Pohanka, wigs;  Zach Campion, dialects; Madison Bahr, assistant stage manager; John Keith Hall, production stage manager; Josiane  M. Jones, director of production; Katie Spelman, choreographer; and
Katie Ciszek, dramaturg.

What: Cabaret by Joe Masteroff, John van Druten, Christopher Isherwood with music by John Kander and lyrics, Fred Ebb

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Where: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832.

When: Through Oct. 6, 2019, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; matinees on Saturday, Sunday and some Wednesdays (Sept. 11, 18, Oct. 2) at 2 p.m. An audio-described performance for the blind and visually impaired Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 8 p.m. and a sign-interpreted performance Thursday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. 

Tickets: Begin at $42 with discounts for groups, seniors, military, and students

Ages: Olney rates this as "PG-13" but I rate it an "R" although most of the sex and debauchery are not pronounced.  One "F-bomb."

"Afterwords": Post-show discussions after most Saturday matinees with the cast and crew
  
Duration: About 2.5 hours with one 15 minute intermission. You'll wish the show would go on.

Refreshments: Available and may be taken to seats

Parking: Free, lighted and plentiful on-site

For more information: 301-924-3400 for the box office or 301-924-4485.

patricialesli@gmail.com

   

Mosaic's 'Fabulation' is fantastic fabulous fable

Kevin E. Thorne II's performance as Flow was my favorite in Mosaic Theater Company's Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine. Watching from left are Grandma (Aakhu TuahNera Freeman) and Undine (Felicia Curry) /Photo by Christopher Banks

Undine undoes the audience.

At times the laughter at Mosaic Theater Company prevented my hearing all the lines in the uproarious production, the D.C. premiere of Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine.

The show is solid entertainment, sketching the no-nonsense life of a New York businesswoman, "Undine" (Felicia Curry), who becomes undone by a conniver named Hervé (Carlos Saldana).  

Hervé could convince a snake to fly. 

Girlfriends, Roz White, left, and Felicia Curry in Mosaic Theater Company's Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine/Photo by Christopher Banks

In program notes dramaturg Faedra Chatard Carpenter writes that "Undine" is a mythological "soulless creature" who can recapture her soul if she marries a mortal and bears his child. It's an unhappy union since the mortal does mortal things as we are wont to do.

With proclivities to trick, Hervé whirls Undine round and round the stage in a magnificently choreographed seduction. (Rashida Bumbray was the movement consultant, and Christylez Bacon, rhythm/musical consultant.) 

In a different scene in the solo spotlight, Hervé calls out the names of romantic cities, immediately conjuring bliss. (I, too, was captured in Hervé's spell.)

The manipulator, dast he, fells Undine, forcing her to return to her old home place and her people she hasn't visited in 14 years.  

"Brother, can you spare a dime?"

You laugh at the serious stuff in Undine telling yourself it's just not right, but it can't be helped and away you go.

Herve (Carlos Saldana) rocks Undine (Felicia Curry) in Mosaic Theater Company's Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine/Photo by Christopher Banks

The sad but riotous scene in the social services office ("the form!") is too real even for the imaginations of those who've escaped such an ordeal. Director Eric Ruffin builds frustrations to an hilarious apex of a welcome but unlikely exchange. 
 
Script for Undine's girlfriends Rosa (Roz White) and Devora (Lauryn Simone) brought lots of laughs. In their dual and triple roles, Ms. White and Ms. Simone had no trouble projecting their personalities for desired effects.

Ms. Curry, naturally, carries the fast-paced comedrama with flair and confidence as her life unwinds and awakens her to an existence she tried to ignore.

The actors handled their multiple roles with New York stage finesse, but the absolute knockout was Kevin E. Thorne II who is "Flow" in the show, Undine's brother and poet who fiercely protects his "territory" and decries his sister's laments about her life. (The D.C. resident and Howard University graduate was also an FBI agent in the show.)

Except for the long ending with too much melodrama, the script is brilliant, threaded with complex issues of African-American culture and history, most which bypassed me who was enlightened later by the program.
 
For quick scene changes, Mr. Ruffin's clever design of a "ring shout" has actors dressed in white moving in slow, shadowy circles to make African music by beating wooden and steel instruments.

Andrew Cohen's set and Willow Watson's props are nicely balanced and serve purposes more than adequately.

John D. Alexander's lighting chases quick movements and streams upon soloists on the darkened stage, mostly Undine who often turns and addresses the audience in monologues.

Wikipedia says critic Robert Scholes promoted "fabulation" (related to  "postmodernism") to describe contemporary novels of "magical realism" which veer from standard practice. In other words, Undine is a "disrupter" much like the world of disruption we experience daily.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for drama (the only woman to be so honored), Lynn Nottage (b. 1964), is the playwright. 
She was at least a decade ahead writing current disrupting literature. Undine opened off-Broadway in 2004. 
 
You can go home again, Undine, but, make sure you don't burn any bridges.

Other members of the cast are James Whalen, the accountant; Aakhu TuahNera Freeman, grandma/doctor/inmate; and William T. Newman, Jr., father/priest.

Other creative team members were Moyenda Kulemeka, costumes; Crescent R. Haynes, sound; Kim James Bey, dialect coach; Jared Smith, assistant director; April E. Carter and Laurel VanLandingham, stage managers.

A listing of post-show discussions may be found under "Dates" at this link.

What: Fabulation or The Re-Education of Undine

When: Now through Sept. 22 at 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday; 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 and 19. Check the calendar for accessibility and post-show discussions dates.

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. Valet and parking options are available for those who drive to Atlas.

Tickets start at $20.

Language: Adult but not heavily laden

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