Must-see film: the Rosenbergs' story, 'Heir to an Execution'

At a National Archives presentation last week, the son of Julius and Ethel Rosenbergs, Michael Meeropol, recommended this book, Final Verdict: What Really Happened in the Rosenberg Case by Walter Schneir

The documentary, Heir to an Execution, depicts the love story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and their sons Michael and Robert, ages 10 and 7, as the parents were convicted by the U.S. government of passing secrets to the Soviets and were put to death in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in New York on June 19, 1953.

In splendid detail the film, produced and directed by the Rosenbergs' granddaughter, filmmaker Ivy Meeropol, charts the ends of her grandparents' lives, the trial, and the aftermath in a balanced portrait with film history, newspaper clippings, interviews with major characters, visits to the courtroom, and the apartment where the Rosenbergs lived on the Lower East Side when Mr. Rosenberg was arrested.  Also, the cemetery where they are buried which Michael Meeropol had never visited until the movie's filming.

On stage November 12, 2014 at National Archives were Ivy Meeropol and her father, the Rosenbergs' son, Michael Meeropol/Photo by Patricia Leslie

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Both Meeropols are so likable, so homespun, far more charming than anyone could have expected. If Michael Meeropol had a chip on his shoulder, who could blame him? But there was none to be found.

Ivy and Michael Meeropol at National Archives, November 12, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

When no family member came forward to adopt the boys after their parents' deaths, activists Abel and Anne Meeropol did. "They literally saved our lives," Michael said onstage.   "We have love and tremendous respect for Anne and Abel."  He said his stepparents had lost two children at birth and later, from photographs, Michael Meeropol learned Abel was a pallbearer at his parents' burials. 

Michael (left) and Robert Rosenberg with their parents' attorney, Emanuel Hirsch Bloch, at Sing Sing Prison/From the film, Heir To An Execution, 2004

In the film, a cousin, one of the few relatives who agrees to communicate with Ivy Meeropol about her grandparents, breaks down and cries over his parents' refusal to help the Rosenberg children after the executions. He apologizes to Ivy. 

Spliced throughout the film are visuals of the two boys, dressed up in coats and ties, coming and going to visit their parents in prison.

They saw their mother and father separately in prison because authorities wanted to keep the couple apart, to prevent their physical closeness. The Rosenbergs were able to meet and touch fingertips when Mr. Rosenberg, in a cage, was transported to visit Mrs. Rosenberg in her cell, Mr. Meeropol said.

Michael Meeropol at National Archives, November 12, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

They were executed on the same day.  Mr. Rosenberg went first.  Because of Mrs. Rosenberg's diminutive size, the electrical charges did not initially work, and a second round of electricity was applied.  Eyewitnesses reported smoke rose from the top of her head.

Until the government released the Venona papers in 1995 which provided proof their father passed secrets, the boys grew up firmly believing in their parents' innocence.  The guilt of their mother has never been proved.  She was not linked with any direct proof to the case, and never had a code name, like her sister-in-law, Ruth Greenglass, saved by Ethel's brother, David Greenglass who later admitted he lied about his sister's role in the spy ring to protect his wife.  Ultimately, he sentenced Ethel Rosenberg to death.  Greenglass died July 1, 2014, but his death was not uncovered and reported until October 14, 2014, by the New York Times.

Mr. Meeropol said Heir To An Execution was his daughter's idea, and although he and his wife were skeptical initially, "we felt she was ready and capable, and we had total trust in her....and felt like she could make a real contribution."  Another of Ms. Meeropol's documentaries is All About Abe (2007), all about D.C.'s Abe Pollin, the developer of Verizon Center.

With eerie and haunting qualities, Heir's music by Human matches the film contents.

One questioner in the audience asked the speakers about comparisons between Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, and the Rosenbergs. Michael Meeropol replied that if Mr. Snowden returned to the U.S. from Russia, he would be tried under the same Espionage Act the U.S. government used to find Mr. Meeropol's parents guilty. 

Along with Freedom Riders, Ms. Meeropol's Heir to an Execution: A Granddaughter's Story, first released in 2004 and shortlisted for an Academy Award, should be part of every American history class. Both films paint modern-day true portraits of America which are so unthinkable, they could pass for fiction.

The people of the United States are grateful to National Archives for screening the film and inviting the Rosenbergs' heirs to appear. The event was part of Archives' exhibit, Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures, on display through January 4 or 5 (two dates given), 2015. 

The National Archives has the original letter Michael wrote to President Eisenhower on February 16, 1953, pleading with the president to save his parents from execution.

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At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Veterans Day 2014

 

A commemoration  at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014 to honor Sgt. James L. Wieler/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The people gather before the formal program begins at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014.  Some of  the scheduled speakers included Jake Tapper from CNN; Jerry Gast, Vietnam veteran; Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; Robert Vogel, superintendent of the National Mall and memorial parks; Diane Carlson Evans, Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation; and Chris Jackson, bagpiper/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014, volunteers in yellow hats and shirts answered questions and guided visitors/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014, a commemoration to honor Norman "Doc" Keller, killed in action June 4, 1968/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Handmade cards by children to honor the troops at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Some of the floral tributes at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014 this display says in part: "We are here to pay tribute to our failed brothers from our Company, A/2/12, 3rd Brigade, 4th and 25th Infantry Division, 1965-67.  During our tour time in Vietnam, while serving out of Dau Tieng, we had 45 young men killed in combat.  Our Battalion lost a total of 324 men in the jungles of War, Zone C.  Alpha Association/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From the Boy Scouts of America, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

It was the 30th anniversary of the Three Servicemen Statue at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Vietnam vets at the Three Servicemen Statue at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A close-up of the wooden sculpture from the photo above, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Old friends at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Story telling all day at the Vietnam Women's Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Before they arrived at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014, the chants from these Army troops could be heard from far away/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The marching, chanting Army at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 "Service Dogs for America's Heroes" were numerous at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Henick family is bound for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Nov. 11, 2014 to honor veterans, Mr. Henick said/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Three friends at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the park near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Nov. 11, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

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A postcard from 'A London Portrait' at St. John's, Lafayette Square

 

An 1827 woodcut of Temple Church, London/Wikipedia

With little formal musical training and scant knowledge of those skills required, I shall, nevertheless, apply my interpretation of the divine music which echoed from the chambers of St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, upon occasion of last Wednesday's noon concert. 

The artist was the international organist, Greg Morris, newly arrived from London less than 24 hours prior, who came not only to play at St. John's, but to join his choir from London's historic Temple Church and participate in celebrations in Washington, D.C. of the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. Temple Church played a key role in the document's founding (1215), and the Library of Congress has just opened an exhibition about the Magna Carta.

Maestro Morris's program, entitled A London Portrait, began with the popular and much welcome Overture and La Rejouissance (Royal Fireworks) by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) which brought to mind the Thames and the glory of England's celebration in 2012 of their Queen's 60th anniversary of her ascent to the throne.

Mr. Morris said he chose Handel since the composer spent most of his life in London and on this day back home, November 5, it was Bonfire Night (also known as St. John's Eve), the cause for much festivity and fireworks.

Next on the program came Voluntary in D minor for Double Organ, and although the only visible organ was St. John's Lively Fuller Pipe Organ, indeed it did seem at times that the organist played with three hands. 

Between selections Mr. Morris presented historical anecdotes about Temple Church and the Magna Carta: "No man shall be imprisoned without due process of law, essentially" was the way Mr. Morris described the document, used by many nations to guarantee freedom for citizens from rulers' tyranny.  (Some could stand reminders.) Approximately one-third of the U.S.'s Bill of Rights rest upon the Magna Carta.

Mr. Morris then played Voluntary in D major, composed by a blind man, John Stanley (1712-1786), whose remarkable memory, according to Wikipedia, enabled him to compose, play, and teach. 

John Stanley (1712-1786)/Wikipedia

The first notes were rather nondescript with short pipes which soon gave way to flourishing "horns" and "bubbles" (?) in a stream, coinciding with quick movements of  the artist's hands and fingers up and down the keyboard.  (I suppose a psychologist could tell me why I often associate classical music with water.) 

After the lively music, it was time to slow down, which the organist certainly achieved with Elegy by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918). 

The music of another blind composer, Jean Langlais (1907-1991), an anomaly among these Englishmen, brought the short concert to a close. Langlais' Triptyque (not the 2013 movie of the same name) made me recall the prolonged Halloween (indeed it was for many, suffering the pangs of the election results from the night before) with low pipes and creepy ghosts I saw floating above a cemetery, smiling broadly and dancing happily to scary music.  (Shades of Republicans Present.) And what a fit ending. The enthusiastic audience awarded Mr. Morris two encores. 

Readers are invited to St. John's First Wednesday Concerts which are free and offer, in a beautiful setting, a half-hour's tranquility amidst the rough seas of Washington's daily rush.

Next up are St. Albans & National Cathedral schools' Madrigal Singers, under the direction of organist Benjamin Hutto, who will sing seasonal music on December 3, 2014.

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

All concerts start at 12:10 p.m. (with an exception in April), and last about 35 minutes. Food trucks are located at Farragut Square, two blocks away.

Other dates and artists in the series are:

January 7, 2015: Iris Lan plays the Complete Sonatas of Paul Hindemith on the organ

February 4: Lena Seikaly, jazz vocalist, with the Dan Dufford Trio performing works by Duke Ellington and friends

March 4: Jared Denhard, bagpiper, assisted by Michael Lodico, St. John's organist and choirmaster, performing Pipes and More Pipes

April 19 (Sunday), 4 p.m.: Spring Concert by St. John's Choir

May 6: The U.S. Air Force Strings accompanied by Benjamin Hutto performing a Handel organ concerto and other pieces

June 3: Benjamin Straley, organist at the Washington National Cathedral

 What: The First Wednesday Concerts

When: 12:10 p.m.

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16^th, 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 associate organist and choir director, at 202-270-6265

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Free organ concert Nov. 5 at St. John's, Lafayette Square

 

 Organist Greg Morris

From London's Temple Church comes organist Greg Morris who will play A London Portrait at St. John's, Lafayette Square beginning at 12:10 p.m. Nov. 5, and the public is invited to attend at no charge.

Musical and historical notes are set for the 35-minute program, one of St. John's First Wednesday Concerts, which will feature English favorites by Handel, Purcell, Stanley, Parry, and others, along with a bit of history about Temple Church, consecrated in 1185 and built by monks to protect pilgrims going to and from Jerusalem.

The church played a leading role in the signing of the Magna Carta, the subject of a new exhibition, Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor, opening Nov. 6 at the Library of Congress to honor the document's 800th anniversary. 

"Magna Carta, the great charter of rights and liberties, stands at the heart of English and American law and has influenced the legal systems of many other democratic nations," says the Library of Congress.
St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

St. John's, known to many Washington residents as the yellow church at Lafayette Square, is called the “Church of the Presidents.” Beginning with President James Madison, who served from 1809 to 1817, every president has been a member of St. John's or has attended services at the church. A plaque at the rear of St. John's designates the pew where President Abraham Lincoln often sat when he stopped by St. John's during the Civil War.

All concerts will start at 12:10 p.m. (with an exception in April), and last about 35 minutes. Food trucks are located at Farragut Square, two blocks away, for those on lunch break.

Who:  Greg Morris, organist

What: The First Wednesday Concerts

When: 12:10 p.m., November 5, 2014

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16^th, 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 associate organist and choir director, at 202-270-6265

Future dates and artists of the First Wednesday Concerts are:

December 3: Madrigal Singers from St. Albans & National Cathedral schools directed by organist Benjamin Hutto, sing seasonal music

January 7, 2015: Iris Lan plays the Complete Sonatas of Paul Hindemith on the organ

February 4: Lena Seikaly, jazz vocalist, with the Dan Dufford Trio performing works by Duke Ellington and friends

March 4: Jared Denhard, bagpiper, assisted by Michael Lodico, St. John's organist and choirmaster, performing Pipes and More Pipes

April 19 (Sunday), 4 p.m.: Spring Concert by St. John's Choir

May 6: The U.S. Air Force Strings accompanied by Benjamin Hutto performing a Handel organ concerto and other pieces

June 3: Benjamin Straley, organist at the Washington National Cathedral

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George Mason U. presents a zany 'Edwin Drood'

Dylan Toms is the wicked John Jasper in George Mason University's The Mystery of Edwin Drood/Photo by Autum Casey

The acting in George Mason University's musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood,  is so spectacular, you'll come away mystified that the actors are only college kids. 

Such a talented bunch, and boy, do they have a good time.  Let's party, hearty.   And they did and we watched, and were caught up in the soiree, the gaiety, and the fun.

The voices far exceed what playgoers might expect, and you may search the program to find out that Dylan Toms (John Jasper in Drood) has not come from the New York stage but is a mere freshman from Bedford, Virginia. Under the direction of Ken Elston, Toms is absolutely stellar with exaggerated mannerisms, style, and delivery.

Rachel Harrington is Princess Puffer in George Mason University's The Mystery of Edwin Drood/Photo by Autum Casey

If you are a little mystified  at the end, you won't be the only one. From the arrival in the lobby where actors in their fancies enthusiastically greet theatregoers, to the show's end, you'll be whetted by action, smiles, social media and more, brought to you by Mason's School of Theater and School of Music.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood was Charles Dickens's last novel, one he left unfinished when he died in 1870, but Rupert Holmes's adaptation into a musical comedy (which won five Tonys in 1986) leaves it to the audience to complete. 

The program promises every performance has a different ending because no two audiences are alike, but our ending seemed confusing, and we were left wondering:  What happened? And when did it happen?  Is he dead or alive?  It may be 1892 in Cloisterham  where the Music Hall Royale presents the play within a play, but it's also 2014 at George Mason University with 33,000 mostly millennial students who use social media. 

The large cast leaves an audience member with many choices to make (via smartphone or by hand vote) for perpetrator (and you can vote more than once since the tally is unofficial.  Vote early and vote often).  The dancers  (Ruthie Rado, Stephanie Risch, Savanna Stanton-Ameisen, Puyang Tian) even flash the audience handy cue cards from the stage, in case anyone is confused.

Rosa Bud (Emma Gwin), is the fiancee of Edwin Drood (Alexandra Bunger-Pool), who is the nephew of Rosa's music teacher, the evil John Jasper.

Emma Gwin is Rosa Bud in George Mason University's The Mystery of Edwin Drood/Photo by Autum Casey

The passionless couple agrees to call the whole thing off, however, Teacher Jasper is madly in love with Rosa, also sought by Neville Landless (Lawrence Hailes), who arrives with his sister, Helena (Arami McCloskey) from Ceylon(?).

Jasper visits an opium den (with excellent red, mood lighting by Autum Casey) "managed" by the delightful Rachel Harrington, as Princess Puffer whose voice may carry listeners to the Metropolitan Opera.  (The audience later chooses her and the Reverend Crisparkle (Daniel DeVera) as the the couple Most Likely to Succeed in Love.)

The princess is rather opera-like in carriage and in a dance number with several couples participating, picked up the effervescent and impish mayor, the moderator (acted by Kyle Imperatore) and swung him around the stage  while the male dancers did the same with the female actors. 

From his perch on a landing, the mayor has more slapstick lines than anyone and carries the whole night with his explanations, directions, and pithy remarks:   "Her parents are in the iron and steel business. Her mother irons, and her father steals."  He's a leprechaun in red plaid.

Drood disappears, and we are left guessing. The motives of many are prime. Amidst this complexity are dancing and hullabaloo to send your mind soaring.

To adequately describe in words the beauty and strength of the voices of Gwin and Harrington would do an injustice to the singers. You must hear them to believe them.

Costumes (by Laurel Dunayer) are handsome, colorful, and intricate, especially appealing to the Victorian lovers in the crowd.

The set (by Clayton Austin) suffices with a large screen of location stills (a train station, a parlor, a dinner party, etc.) sandwiched between two identical "brick walls" with steps, a door, and landing

Adding significantly to enjoyment is a 35-piece professional student orchestra in the pit, under the direction of Dennis Layendecker. Occasionally, the sounds of music dwarf the script, but not enough to cause unpleasantness.

Based on the title and the author, you might think The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a drama, but not this one.  It's a comedy tonight.

Other key cast members are Justin Sumblin, Chris Hrozencik; Emily Gruver, and Gabriel Komisar.

Kevin Dunayer is sound director, Ethan Osborne, technical director; Nicole Pradas, choreographer; Colby T. Snyder, properties; Jessica Holloway, dramaturg; David Elias, production stage manager; Libby Stevens and Bruce Scott, graphic design.

The production is part of Daniel Pearl World Music Days, established after the 2002 kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan.   His family and friends formed the Daniel Pearl Foundation to "promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music, and innovative communications."

What:  The Mystery of Edwin Drood

When:  8 p.m., October 31, 2014, and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., November 1, 2014

Where:  Hylton Performing Arts Center, George Mason University, Prince William Campus, 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA 20110

Parking:  Free in the lot adjacent to the Hylton Center

Tickets: Adults, $25; Students, faculty, staff, seniors, and groups, $15

Duration:  About 2.5 hours with one 15-minute intermission

For more information:  703-993-7550

For more theatre in Washington, check out the DC Metro Theater Art's website here.


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Ford's Theatre drives a marvelous 'Daisy'

Craig Wallace is Hoke Coleburn and Nancy Robinette is Daisy Werthan in Ford Theatre's Driving Miss Daisy/Photo by Scott Suchman

Driving Miss Daisy at Ford's Theatre is so good, I could see it again.  For theatre lovers and others, you have less than a week to see the show.

I cannot recall any theatre performances when the audience applauded after every scene change like it did for Miss Daisy, but applaud it did, and there are a few scene changes.

From beginning to end, Daisy is a charmer, full of humor and life and relationships and all that's important, and it will keep you laughing while simultaneously serving as a painful reminder of last century's civil rights turbulence in the South.

The story is based upon the family of the playwright, Alfred Uhry (b. 1936 in Atlanta):  A black man (Craig Wallace is Hoke) is hired to drive a white Jewish lady, age 72, (Nancy Robinette is Daisy) around town after her son (Ron Heneghan is Boolie) deems her too incapacitated to drive.  She's got a tongue, all right. It sizzles and strikes without mercy, sending the audience into frequent hysterics: "She sounds like she has a bowl stuck in her throat," and "If I had a nose like Maureen's, I wouldn't say 'Merry Christmas' to anybody."

The crew of three delivers knock-out performances, and the elders' (Daisy and Hoke) aging on stage occurs so subliminally, their increasingly right-angle postures and slower paces almost go unnoticed.  Boolie doesn't stay young forever, either.

At first glance the set (by Tony Cisek) appears almost too minimalist, but that initial misconception quickly dissolves as dialogue takes over, and the set becomes secondary.  That said, rapid small changes give way to totally new times and circumstances spanning the years 1948-1973 when Atlanta first elected a black mayor.  An elegant living room evolves into an office. The car is traded for a newer one. A cemetery with tombstones and chrysanthemums blossoms into a kitchen which is a later empty mansion, and on and on.  The quantity and substance of props are understated as they should be, but add immensely to the overall enjoyment and scene progressions.

Costuming (by Helen Huang) is realistic and timely, and Miss Daisy's little old lady dress with its later added accessories (hat, coat, sweater) join set changes nicely to convert moods and places. In his first scene, Hoke's big, hand-me-down suit tells his station-in-life and need for a job. 

Some of the memorable lighting Dan Covey creates include the backdrop of strings of Christmas lights, a starry sky, and a overhead light shining on Daisy in a scary nighttime stop somewhere in Alabama. Short background musical selections a la NPR, from gospel to cello, violin, and banjo, although taped, helped ease scene transitions in excellent fashion.

At the end, Robinette is a 90-year-old with shaking hands, thinning hair, and impaired speech.  She needs help eating but is still a tough old bird.  I watched and wished my own mother, long in the grave and a Southerner, could see Driving Miss Daisy. She would love it.

The play debuted off-Broadway in 1987 and won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. With The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Parade, it is part of Uhry's trilogy about life in the South.

The performances by Robinette and Wallace are well worth Helen Hayes' nominations. 

Jennifer L. Nelson directed Driving Miss Daisy, and other key crew members are Elisheba Ittoop, sound; Anne Nesmith, wig and makeup; Lynn Watson, dialects; Brandon Prendergast, production stage manager; and Hannah R. O'Neil, assistant stage manager.

What:  Driving Miss Daisy

When: Evenings at 7:30 p.m. with matinees on Thursday,  Saturday, and Sunday, through Oct. 26, 2014

Where: Ford's Theatre, 511 Tenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004

How much: Tickets start at $33.65 with discounts for groups, military personnel, senior citizens, and those younger than 35.

Duration:  About 90 minutes with no intermission

For more information: 202-347-4833

Metro stations: Metro Center, Gallery Place-Chinatown, or Archives-Navy Memorial

For more theatre in Washington, D.C. check out the DC Metro Theater Art's website here.

patricialesli@gmail.com
 

Movie review: 'Skeleton Twins' is a trip

Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader in The Skeleton Twins/Roadside Attractions

If the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal gave it good reviews and each newspaper published an interview with the star, Bill Hader from Saturday Night Live, plus it does well (84%) at Rotten Tomatoes, it must be good, right?

It is.  For mostly arty types.  (Will someone, please, remind me to restrain myself from making a mad dash to the movie house to see a film praised in high terms by major newspapers?  They are seldom worth it, but this one was worth it.)

A lip sync scene in The Skeleton Twins with Hader and co-star, Kristen Wiig, another former SNL star, is unforgettable and quite funny, and it's likely you'll not hear Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" again without Hader coming to mind. 

In a script which has something for all (hetero and homo sex), humor, and a serious side, Hader and Wiig deliver convincing jobs unfolding their story of estranged twins who reconcile after 10 years, and catch up while trying to adjust to life they have largely dealt themselves which means healing their own self-estrangements.  Of course, ad nauseam, the mother (Joanna Gleason) is at fault for much of her children's problems, and her unannounced visit, courtesy of Brother Milo, undermines the credibility of the story even if it is, sadly, quite funny. You just don't do that, scriptwriters. Besides, Gleason looks far too young to be their mother. 

Poor Kristen Wiig's husband (Luke Wilson). You have got to be kidding:  Are there any husbands that nice and naive? (The film was written by men.) He's like a small Golden Labrador (a line suggested by someone), and you just want to hug and shake him at the same time: Get some moxie. He was too good to be true and needed a bit more drama. 

What else is wrong with the film? 

1.  It frequently borders on melodrama, with an overboard ending.

2.  Wiig's character is rather listless, like her hair, except when she has a fit to meet the stereotype.

4. Speaking of stereotypes, I am tired of "mean mother," "cheating wife" movies.  Can't there be balance?  It's not always the woman's fault.  I think the Garden of Eden story could stand rewrite. Suggested title:  Garden of Meneden.  (Where are the naked men?  Per normal, we see breasts in Twins.)

3.  The title.

4.  It's probably a little too shrewd and a trifle chick flicky for the shoot'em up, macho-macho moviegoer. 

Costuming (Mikaela Wohl) and sets (Lauren DeTitta) work well for today's climate, and the music (Nathan Larson) is memorable. 

Skeleton Twins is enjoyable and entertaining enough, and what more do you want from a movie? 

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Modern artists pictured at Sofitel Hotel

 

A sideways look at Salvador Dali in 1965 at Cadaques, Spain by Tony Saulnier, Paris Match

A series of 30 photographs of modern day artists at work, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Rene Magritte, and Jeff Koons, are on view at the Sofitel Hotel near Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.

The pictures in Revealed come from the periodical, Paris Match, and were selected by Picasso's grandson, Oliver Widmaier Picasso, an audiovisual media producer based in Paris, who was not available for the Washington opening.

In 1959 Kees Van Dongen sketched an unknown starlet, Brigitte Bardot, in Paris/Izis, Paris Match

A smart, 28-page guide which includes anecdotes and quotes from some of the artists accompanies the show. 

Raoul Dufy at his home in Perpignan, France, 1949/Izis, Paris Match

Henri Matisse is seen shortly before he died, in his hotel apartment, bedridden and drawing religious subjects on the wall with a long instrument.  When he was unable to hold paint brushes, he used scissors to cut up paper and pinned the pieces to the wall.  "Scissors can be more evocative than pencils," the guide quotes Matisse.

And Picasso: "To my sadness and perhaps to my joy, my work is shaped by my love affairs."  Picasso did not try to hide any of his lovers from the others, cruelly reading many of their letters to his ladies-in-waiting, the guide says.

Guests at the Sofitel opening of Revealed, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Some of the other pictured artists in the exhibition are Pierre Soulages, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, and Francis Bacon. None of the 30 artists are women.

Sofitel's Dominique Colliat helped assemble the presentation, which launched at Sofitel in New York, and is also scheduled for Sofitels in Beverly Hills, Chicago, and Quebec.

Revealed at Sofitel Hotel, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

What:  Revealed, 30 photographs of modern artists from the collection of Paris Match

When:  Now through October 31, 2014

Where: Sofitel Hotel, 806 15th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005

Admission: No charge

For more information:  202-730-8800

Metro Station:  McPherson Square 

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'Degas/Cassett,' the tape, and more at the National Gallery of Art

Mary Cassatt, Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878, National Gallery of Art, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

Two impressionists, Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) and Edgar Degas (1834-1917) are linked artistically but not romantically no matter how much a romanticist might wish it otherwise, no matter what the wall label copy and catalog at the National Gallery of Art's show, Degas/Cassatt,
say to remind readers that their relationship was only professional; they were not "a couple" and, indeed, "drifted apart" in later years. Neither ever married, but they owned more of each other's works than they owned of any other contemporary artist's. 

Sadly, it all comes to an end this weekend (I want them all to remain forevermore, at least through my life, selfish beast that I am; can they go to the new Corcoran?) when Degas/Cassatt, the story of their professional relationship exits the world's stage.

Washington is the only venue for this magnificent display.(However and in a nearby gallery comes Degas's sculpture, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen who springs to life with some of her dancing buddies, the ones painted by Degas, which opens on the day of departure for Degas/Cassatt, October 5.  Cassatt thought Degas's future might be more fruitful in sculpture than in painting.)

A classy and free color brochure at Degas/Cassatt describes the painters' styles:  They painted the human body, clothed and unclothed, avoiding landscape portraiture. Degas rejected the label, "impressionist," preferring to be called a "realist" which also defines Cassatt's work. They both were highly educated and from well-to-do families.

For only $5, one may rent a tape to hear while you stroll (or elbow, depending upon the crowd's numbers which I believe will be pretty hefty this weekend) through the 70 or so works, guided by professionals who provide background for about 13 of the pieces in the show.

Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, c. 1879-1884, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the Regents' Major Acquisition Fund

 The tape's talk time is about 35 minutes, but I listened for much longer than that, hearing some portions more than once, like the description of Degas's Mary Cassatt, c. 1879-1884. Can you blame her for wanting to get rid of this? What woman (or man) wants to look worse that she looks?

There she sits leaning in a chair, a woman in her mid to late 30s but looking much older, like she's going to fall out of the seat upon the floor. She is hunched with a grim expression, wearing black as if in mourning for...? What might have been?

The tape describes her as manly and gaunt, but I beg to differ. She seems pensive, a trifle irritated, bent in an unusual pose and sitting for what may have been long periods of time to satisfy the artist. She could have been doing something else: "What am I doing here? And why am I doing it?" No wonder she tried to unload the painting later without his knowledge. She called it "painful." Mary, you were right!

Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt at the Louvre, c. 1879, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Henry P. McIlhenny Collection in memory of Frances P. McIlhenny, 1986

The most fascinating part of the show to me is the gallery where it hangs, the one devoted to Degas's images of Cassatt as she toured the Musee de Louvre. The many and varied sexy silhouettes he drew of her give a viewer pause. The works are each distinctly different, most, drawn of her back side while she strolled through the galleries. For a single woman of her age, there were not many public places acceptable for her to venture out unaccompanied, like culture finds women sheltered today in certain Middle Eastern countries.

Perhaps Degas wanted more from Mary Cassatt than collegial exchange.

Mary Cassatt, The Loge, c. 1878-1880, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Chester Dale Collection

 

For The Loge, the tape says the young women at the theater seized an opportunity to mix with gentlemen and show off their beauty. They are dressed for the occasion and sit like dolls, almost expressionless but glum, displayed on a shelf for the men to ogle.   Since it was a husband's duty to provide the goods, no jewelry is worn except the artist, Cassatt, has placed on the neck of one,  a black choker.  What do you make of it? A symbol of a prison confinement that marriage can become? Like the black bars of prison which lock in an inmate and can strangle.  Contrast it with the pastels in the work.   About 150 years ago it is doubtful criticism of marriage as an institution was often heard, but now more Americans are unmarried than married. Mary Cassatt believed marriage would restrict her career.

On the other hand, could the choker symbolize the confinement the women have experienced growing up? Marriage will set them free?  Based upon their expressions, the future does not look so bright for these women. Maybe, the pickings are not to their liking.  Is this all there is? 

It seems likely that an academician has written about Cassatt's gender renderings.  Doesn't The Black Choker sound like the enticing name of a novel?  It reminds me of Girl with a Pearl Earring, Vermeer's painting which evolved into a book which became a movie which became a play.  I wish someone would query the experts and ask their explanations of the Black Choker. 

In the meantime, calling for a script.  I can't wait to read it. 

Edgar Degas, Scene from the Steeplechase: The Fallen Jockey, 1866, reworked 1880-1881 and c. 1897, National Gallery of Art, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

When you enter the exhibition, at the far end on the wall facing you is a large painting, Degas's Scene from the Steeplechase: The Fallen Jockey, which seems oddly out of place, juxtaposed between two Cassatt paintings of females reaching. (Reaching for what?) 

Cassatt wanted to buy The Fallen Jockey for her brother, a horse lover, but Degas refused to sell it, saying he needed to rework it, and over the next 30 years, on and off, he did. After his death, it was found in his studio.

 

Without the tape would I have paid much attention to the brown and muddy flooring of Cassatt's Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (which a thorough analysis revealed later Degas extensively reworked)? The weirdly spaced furniture stands on opposite side of the "shore" where a sleepy little girl sprawls in an illuminated chair lost in thought, perhaps contemplating her future, dogged (!) by what the painter knew lay ahead.  She appears about eight years old, but her image suggests someone older, experienced and wondering, what if?     
 
You see what art can do!  There is much more than what you see.

Little Girl in a Blue Armchair is on the cover of the "must have" 160-paged catalogue available in the shops.

What: Degas/Cassatt

When: Now through Sunday, October 5, 2014 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: Main Floor, West Building, National Gallery of Art, between Third and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall.

Admission: No charge

Metro stations: Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: 202-737-4215

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