Herndon's 'Godspell' is next stop for theater fans

Alan Naylor (center) is Jesus in Godspell at NextStop Theatre/Photo by Lock & Company


Godspell is so good that on his show last Thursday night, Stephen Colbert carried around a Barbie doll who was wearing a Godspell t-shirt!  

Talk about great press!  

The performance in Herndon at the NextStop Theatre Company is like watching a party of Jesus freak college kids dance and sing non-stop while they present his parables in high kickin' fashion.

The cast's chemistry and enthusiasm can't help but infuse audience members with a good dose of the power of the message and reminders to "let the one of you who is faultless cast the first stone" and "no man can serve two masters—God and money," and the most important:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind

and

Love your neighbor as yourself.

You don't have to be Christian. 

It all started in 1970 with a master's thesis by John-Michael Tebelak at Carnegie Mellon University who wrote the script, and Stephen Schwartz, another Carnegie Mellon alumnus, who was hired by producers the next year to compose music and lyrics when the show moved to off-Broadway.

Mr. Schwartz based many of the songs on selections from the Episcopal Hymnal, like "Save the People," "Bless the Lord," "All Good Gifts," "Turn Back, O Man," "We Beseech Thee," and the most popular, "Day by Day."  

Most of the parables are from the Gospel of Matthew.

Alan Naylor is "Jesus," and he authentically looks the part  and has no trouble convincing anyone on stage or in the audience that he's the man to follow. 

The production opens on the interior of a modern day, used furniture, locally owned coffee bar (you've been there), this one aptly named the "Holy Grounds Café," found in Everywhere, USA, and occupied by solo guests attached to their devices, all heads down, please.

(On the backdrops projectionist Sean Cox casts their words  to insure their non-privacy.)

Jack Golden has created a single effective set whose actors deftly move furniture pieces to side shows, their actions almost undetected until the lights (by Brittany Shemuga) shine on the next artists who let loose in melody.

With plenty to fill eyes and ears, the audience is never left yearning for more.

That the director, Lorraine Magee, is also the choreographer demands considerable acclaim since constant dancing and action pack the production, quite a role.

Jennifer Lambert is a member of the ensemble in Godspell at NextStop Theatre/Photo by Lock & Company

The delightful ensemble is essentially nameless but Jennifer Lambert as the sexy "come here, Sugar Boy" tease is memorable, and the baseball player (A.J. Whittenberger) wearing a Washington Senators uniform (he said at the play's end) makes him easy to pick out. 

Costumer Maria V. Bissex fits everyone in varied and typical millennial styles.

Willing audience participation is invited to play "Charades." 

Elisa Rosman on keys directs the hidden six-piece orchestra who add depth and enjoyment although the musicians occasionally eclipse some of the soloists.

Everyone has a good time, and the show's infectiousness quickly transmits to the audience who gradually realize that despite the mostly merry mood prevailing, the Last Supper and the crucifixion loom.

The scene in Godspell reminded me of Salvador Dali's The Sacrament of the Last Supper, 1955, on view in the West Building at the National Gallery of Art

At the closing a member of the audience was overheard to say: "This is great timing for Easter" which is the last day for the show (April 1).

Stadium seating means there is not a blocked view in the house.

The ensemble includes Angeleaza Anderson, Philip da Costa, Javier del Pilar, Tess Higgins, Bobby Libby, Jolene Vettese, and Chani Wereley.

Other creative team members are Neil McFadden, sound; Rebecca Talisman, stage manager; and Colleen O'Brien, assistant stage manager and properties.

What: Godspell

When: Thursday through Saturday nights at 8 p.m., Sundays, 7 p.m., and weekend matinees at 2 p.m., through Easter, April 1, 2018.

Where: NextStop Theatre Company, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170 in the back right corner of Sunset Business Park, near the intersection of Spring Street/Sunset Hills Road. Right off the Fairfax County Parkway. A wee big hard to find on a first visit, so allow an extra 15 minutes.  The program notes that GPS map systems often give incorrect driving directions once inside the Sunset Business Park. From the "Taste of the World" restaurant, circle counter-clockwise around the building and look for maroon awning.

Free parking: Available near the door.

Admission: Tickets start at $35 with dynamic pricing which fluctuates with demand. Groups of eight or more get a 20% discount, and student rush seats, if available, sell for $5.  See FAQ or call 866-811-4111 to purchase, however, online ordering is recommended.

Duration: Under two hours with one intermission.

Rating: G without any adult language although the crucifixion ending may be too intense for young guests .

For more information: 703-481-5930 or info@nextstoptheatre.org

patricialesli@gmail.com

Free guitar and organ concert Mar. 7 at St. John's, Lafayette Square

Mak Grgić

Slovenian guitarist Mak Grgić and organist Stephen Ackert will play preludes and fugues from J.S. Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier" in a free lunchtime concert Wednesday at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square. 

Mr. Grgić, born in Ljubljana, performs at venues throughout the world.  He earned his bachelor's degree at the University for Music in Vienna and his doctorate at the Thornton School of Music, the University of Southern California where he was the first guitarist in USC's history to be invited to the artist diploma program.

In his non-music hours, Mr. Grgić helps fund raise for Bosnian children in need. 

Stephen Ackert

Mr. Ackert, also a well known harpsichordist in addition to his organ playing, is the recently retired director of the music department at the National Gallery of Art, where he produced Sunday concerts. He received a doctorate in organ from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and was a Fulbright Scholar to Germany. From 1974 to 1978 Mr. Ackert was the music advisor and resident keyboard artist of the National Iranian Radio and Television Network in Persia.
 
Mr. Grgić and Mr. Ackert will play:
 
Prelude and Fugue in C Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Transcribed for guitar and organ by Stephen Ackert

Prelude and Fugue in F Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II Transcribed for guitar and organ by Ackert

Prelude, Allemande, and Courante from Suite for Cello in D Major, BWV 1012
Transcribed for guitar by Mak Grgić

Prelude and Fugue in A Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I Transcribed for guitar and organ by Ackert  

Maybe a young Bach/Wikipedia

The presentation is one of St. John's First Wednesday Concerts, always performed without charge and lasting about 35 minutes.

St. John's was founded in 1815 and is known to Washington residents as the yellow church at Lafayette Square. It's often called the “Church of the Presidents” since beginning with James Madison, who was president from 1809 to 1817, every president has attended services at the church, and several have been members. A plaque at the rear of St. John's designates the pew where President Abraham Lincoln often sat when he stopped by the church during the Civil War. 

Benjamin Latrobe, known as the "father of American architecture" and the architect of the U.S. Capitol Building and the White House porticos, designed St. John's Church in the form of a Greek cross.

The church bell, weighing almost 1,000 pounds, was cast by Paul Revere's son, Joseph, in August, 1822, and was hung at St. John's that November where it has rung since. Wikipedia says two accounts report that whenever the bell rings on the occasion of the death of a notable person, six male ghosts appear at the president's pew at midnight and quickly disappear.

St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dolley Madison, wife of President Madison, was baptized and confirmed at St. John's, according to the National Park Service, which calls the church "one of the few original remaining buildings left near Lafayette Park today."
 
For those on lunch break Wednesday, food trucks are located at Farragut Square, two blocks away.

Who: Preludes and Fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier by Mak Grgić, guitar, and Stephen Ackert, organ


What: First Wednesday Concerts

When: 12:10 p.m., March 7, 2018

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16th, Washington, D.C. 20005

How much: No charge

Duration: About 35 minutes

Wheelchair accessible

Metro stations: McPherson Square (White House exit), Farragut North, or Farragut West

For more information: Contact Michael Lodico, St. John's director of music ministry and organist, 202-270-6265 or Michael.Lodico@stjohns-dc.org or 202-347-8766
 
Future First Wednesday concerts, all beginning at 12:10 p.m. and lasting until 12:45 p.m., are:
   
April 4: The premiere of Paul Leavitt's Fanfare for Trumpet and Organ by Lisa Galoci, organist, and Chuck Seipp, trumpet

May 2: Music for Angels, including Craig Phillips' Archangel Suite by Michael Lodico, director of music and organist, St. John's

June 6: Music by Women Composers, including Margaret Sandresky's Dialogues for Organ and Strings by Ilono Kubiaczyk-Adler, organist, with the U.S. Air Force Strings

patricialesli@gmail.com

Take a hike in winter on Gerry Connolly's Cross County Trail

Ain't it a beaut?  Even in winter. That's the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail in Fairfax County/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Through the woods we go!/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Yeeks!  It was deer hunting season where deer slayers can kill deer in the park!  Poor little deer.  The season has ended already/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Roots, roots everywhere as they reach for room and water/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Pavement in a park? Baa humbug/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Evidence existed that big beavers with big, precision teeth liked the surroundings, too/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Yonder above stood civilization/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What's this growing on the tree?/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Oh, no!  Trees get tumors, too, but they are not like mammalian tumors, but, according to a New York Times' article, they are held in place by cell walls and caused by a virus, bacteria, or fungus stemming from injury.  In other words, they look worse than they are /Photo by Patricia Leslie

My hair in the morning (if I had this much)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At night, she's a tap dancer/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Yonder there! What looks to be...hunters!/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A hiking we will go, a hiking we will go, hi ho the derry o, we are not... cold/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A girl and her dog is ever the pleasantest thing/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He wore University of Tennessee orange to ward off the hunters/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Look!  Even on the trail!  Free eatins' and lots of iron! You try them first/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Ain't it gawgus? And see those tire marks?  This was before the big rains but you get the picture: Trump is right: We live in a swamp/Photo by Patricia Leslie


On a warm (relatively speaking) winter's Saturday afternoon, friends and I hiked a wee portion of the 40+ miles long Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail in Fairfax County which extends from one end of the county to the other. 


Who needs a car?

We hiked about two miles roundtrip on the Difficult Run Stream Valley Trail portion, beginning at the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Colvin Run Road. (Parking at the "septic site" (?) at the intersection at Colvin Run is easier than parking at the mill up the hill since there's nowhere to walk safely on the street to reach the trail from the mill, but their cars are nicer than mine, and just to be on the "safe side," they parked upstream. )


We had not gone far on our little venture until we found a sign announcing we were in the middle of deer hunting season which was a mite disconcerting until an important Fairfax County official told me later that hunters have been taking out precious deer for a long time on the trail, and this practice was nothing new. (I declare if you live long enough you can learn something new every day.)


Besides, deer hunters don't come out until dusk when the deer come out (!), so we had no reason to worry. That the trail weaves in and around neighborhoods still makes for some consternation, but being that Fairfax County residents are not known for silence when it comes to matters of controversy (or any matters, for that matter), I suppose this is not a controversial matter since you never hear about it, the little deer being slayed. (If it doesn't bother them, it surely doesn't bother me, especially since I don't even live there!)

With the curves, rocks, roots, dogs, soggy conditions, streams, talks and scenery, we non-runners completed our short hike in about 90 minutes. 


Why is the trail named after Congressman Gerry Connolly?  Glad you wondered.  He is considered the father of the trail since he essentially started it 19 years ago (pre-Congress), working on it years and years and years until the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors decided to call it after him.  And then he quit.  Just kidding!

The trail is part of the East Coast Greenway which stretches from Maine all the way to Key West, and on it, they recycle, using plastic and fiberglass for all the signs. Glorify!


So, take a hike in winter! A delightful way to spend a Saturday afternoon getting some exercise and enjoying the outdoors with friends at no cost! (A cheap date.)

What:  The Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail


When:  Not at dusk during deer hunting season

Where: Fairfax County

How much:  It's free!  (The Fairfax County Park Foundation welcomes donations.)

patricialesli@gmail.com

A visit to Frederick Douglass's home in Washington, D.C.

"Frederick Douglass" and his aide welcome hundreds of visitors to his home, Cedar Hill, in Anacostia, Washington, D.C. on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth/Photo by Patricia Leslie

His birth date is uncertain since he was born a slave, but it is often listed as February 14, 1818. 

On the occasion of the 200th birthday celebration last weekend of Frederick Douglass, I ventured out to his home, Cedar Hill in Anacostia in Washington, D.C., where I joined hundreds of others to learn more about the man and his legacy.

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Visitors climb the steps to Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The National Park Service was out in full force with many park rangers on hand to guide and direct visitors, and although the Park Service budget is too low for all it does,  the people of the United States and visitors are grateful to the Park Service for its preservation and protection of our historic places.

Visitors climb the steps to Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

I was led to Cedar Hill by Mr. Douglass's first book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,  An American Slave, published in 1845.  I read it recently, stunned by his eyewitness accounts of treatment received by him and others at the hands (and tools) of slave masters who beat and tormented their slaves. 

The book is an eye-opener and much of it takes places right outside Washington at St. Michael's in and around Talbot County, Maryland where Mr. Douglass was born.  If I were in charge, I would make this short book required reading for all high school students.

A National Park Service ranger presents the history of Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. to visitors waiting in line to enter the home on the 200th birthday celebration of the abolitionist and former slave/Photo by Patricia Leslie

One woman standing in line at Cedar Hill told me she had been waiting about 40 minutes/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What drove Mr. Douglass to want to learn how to read?  He knew education would open doors and offer opportunity.   How did he learn this?

Until her slave master husband made her stop, a woman began teaching Mr. Douglass how to read.  Even after the private lessons ceased, Mr. Douglass knew enough to keep going, teaching himself and other slaves how to read. During Sunday school classes he led where he taught reading, he took a huge risk that the slave master would find out and beat him.

Visitors climb the steps to Cedar Hill/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The south side of Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Anacostia, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

The view from Cedar Hill, Frederick Douglass's home in Anacostia, Washington, D.C. looking towards the U.S. Capitol, in the distance/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The dome of the U.S. Capitol can be seen in the distance from the front of Frederick Douglass's home, Cedar Hill, in Anacostia, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the Narrative, the first of three autobiographies he wrote, Mr. Douglass refused to tell exactly how he made his way to freedom, fearful the information would impair escapes for other slaves. 

He was an abolitionist, an orator, a supporter of women's suffrage, a builder of rental housing for blacks, presidential appointee, the first black to receive a vote for president of the United States from a delegate at the Republican National Convention (1888).

On display in the small museum at Cedar Hill are items which Frederick Douglass and his wife, Helen Pitts, may have collected from their trips to Italy, England, France, Ireland, and Greece in 1886 and 1887/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Bible of Frederick Douglass on display in the small museum at his home, Cedar Hill/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On June 17, 2015 Loretta Lynch used Mr. Douglass's Bible when she was sworn in as the first black woman to be appointed U.S. Attorney General.  The photograph is on display in the museum at Cedar Hill/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A display case of Mr. Douglass's Bible and other items/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The death mask of Frederick Douglass by Ulric Dunbar made on February 21, 1895, the day after he died.  Before the advent of photography, death masks were an important remembrance for loved ones. Visitors to Cedar Hill immediately after Mr. Douglass's death included Susan B. Anthony/Photo by Patricia Leslie


Until he died of a heart attack at his home in 1895,  Mr. Douglass lived at Cedar Hill from 1877 with his first wife,  Anna Murray who died in 1882, and then, his second wife, Helen Pitts, a white lady and his employee whom he married in 1884.

More history of the house, its price, acreage, and a photo from 1887 are here.  

I waited too long in the afternoon to stand in the 40-minute line to see the interior of the house before I had to leave for the concert opera, but I did have time to stop by the small museum and walk around the grounds.   

The postcards I bought in the tiny gift shop I sent to family members, writing that Cedar Hill would be on the agenda the next time they come to visit.   

Black History Month is celebrated in February because it is the birthday month of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln.  The NAACP was founded on the centennial of Mr. Lincoln's birthday, February 12, 1909.

Today at 2 p.m. in the East Building auditorium at the National Gallery of Art, a free lecture and book signing on Mr. Douglass will be presented by Celeste-Marie Bernier, professor of black studies and personal chair in English literature, School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, University of Edinburgh, and coeditor in chief, Journal of American Studies, Cambridge University Press. 

What:  Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass

When:  Open every day, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Where:   1411 W Street SE, Washington, DC, 20020

Getting there:  Parking is limited in the area and in the small, free parking lot.  

The best way to get there is via Metro.  Take the Green Line and disembark at the Anacostia station.  Take Bus #B2 to Mt. Rainier or Bladensburg Rd. V St., NE or Bus #V2 to Minnesota Avenue or Capitol Heights Station. The bus stops directly in front of the site at the corner of W and 14th Streets.
 
Or walk from Metro, about 3/4 mile. Take a right on Howard Road and walk a block. Turn left on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue  and walk three blocks. Turn right on W Street and walk four blocks to the Visitor's Center.

Cost:  Admission is free, however, reservations to tour the house (only permitted with a park ranger) are encouraged ($1.50).

patricialesli@gmail.com