A Lincoln-Douglass debate at Ford's Theatre

Craig Wallace is Frederick Douglass in Necessary Sacrifices at Ford's Theatre/Laura Keene

A serious "conversation" between two American heroes, President Abraham Lincoln (David Selby) and abolitionist Frederick Douglass (Craig Wallace), is occurring nightly through Saturday at Ford's Theatre in a play called Necessary Sacrifices.

It is a world's premiere, written by Richard Hellesen who was commissioned by Ford's to create a play for the celebration of this month's opening of the Center for Education and Leadership located across the street.

Hellesen based his drama on two documented sessions between Lincoln and Douglass.

 David Selby is Abraham Lincoln in Necessary Sacrifices/Laura Keene

Everyone knows who President Lincoln was, but how many are familiar with Mr. Douglass? Not only did he work to abolish slavery, but he was an early supporter of women's rights and in 1848, the only African-American present at the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York.  (The Frederick Douglass home is at 1411 W Street SE in Washington.)

The specific Civil War period in focus for Sacrifices is chiefly August, 1863 and August, 1864. Mr. Douglass is disappointed by the president's policies and tries to convince him that not only is emancipation critical to national health, but the new role of blacks in the U.S. is vital, too.

In dialogue in two acts, the two converse, and the president explains to Douglass the political process and the evolution of public opinion.  Selby's and Wallace's looks, demeanor, and superb acting give undeniable credence to their characters who truly make American history come alive on stage.

Jennifer L. Nelson, the director, writes in program notes that the two Civil War leaders discovered a "common vision" in each other, sharing a "belief in the potential of human beings to be generous of spirit in spite of profound differences." Would that words of yesteryear rang on Capitol Hill today.

Adding to the play's aura is Civil War music and a sad melody composed by John Gromada which is sprinkled throughout the production and expertly played on violin by Thomas Booker or Tony Donaldson, Jr. (depending upon the night of the performance).

The lighting is dramatic (Dan Covey), and the backdrop is a tranquil floor-to-ceiling landscape painting of clouds and sky in heavenly peach, lavender and blue which creates a dichotomy in a time of radical upheaval, where gunfire is sporadically heard in the background to remind all present of war's death and destruction.

Once a portion of the stage with the president's desk and chair move forward, and large white rectangular windows drop, the stage is set (by James Kronzer) for conversation between the two in the president's office.

Makeup by Anne Nesmith is worthy of a Helen Hayes nomination.

It is eerie and remarkable at the same time to sit in Ford's Theatre, to look up at the box where the president and Mrs. Lincoln sat April 14, 1865 the night of his assassination, and realize you are there watching a play about him.

The play is recommended for ages 13 and up. Hurry! On a Monday night, the theatre was packed.  It is easy to see how this play will travel for hundreds of performances.

What: Necessary Sacrifices

When: Every night at 7:30 p.m. now through February 18, 2012

Where: Ford's Theatre, 511 Tenth St, NW, Washington, DC 20004

Admission: Prices begin at $32.20. Check here for possible discounts.

For more information: 202-347-4833

Metro station: Metro Center, Gallery Place, or Archives-Navy Memorial

patricialesliexam@gmail.com

'Van Gogh' opens in Philadelphia, the only U.S. venue

Now through May 6, 2012.

Undergrowth with Two Figures, 1890. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. Oil on canvas, 19 1/2 x 39 1/4 inches (49.5 x 99.7 cm). Cincinnati Art Museum, Bequest of Mary E. Johnston

For art museums, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) is a magnet, comparable to The Nutcracker for ballet companies. Expect thousands.

For anyone with the slightest interest in this most famous artist who died at age 37, the Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition is absolutely “must see.” It stunningly illustrates how the mysterious painter changed the course of modern art.

The show focuses on van Gogh's last four years (1886-1890) beginning with his residency in Paris where he met impressionists whose works affected him so acutely, he changed his brushstrokes and moved to bold colors from the greys and somber hues of paintings he created in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Iris, 1889. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. Oil on thinned cardboard, mounted on canvas, 24 1/2 x 19 inches (62.2 x 48.3 cm). National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

In the first gallery visitors will certainly find a cure for the wintertime blues: Portraits of poppies, irises, roses, zinnias, and sunflowers in bright, happy colors are the theme. (After all, said the museum's senior curator, Joseph J. Rishel, van Gogh was a Dutchman who knew a lot about flowers.) 

From there, guests are introduced to the "Blades of Grass" gallery which focuses on the world under van Gogh's feet, and nature which comforted the artist amidst turmoil. ("I...am always obliged to go and gaze at a blade of grass, a pine-tree branch, an ear of wheat, to calm myself," he wrote his sister in 1889.)

Rain, 1889. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. Oil on canvas, 28 7/8 x 36 3/8 inches (73.3 x 92.4 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Henry P. McIlhenny Collection in memory of Frances P. McIlhenny

Landscapes of Arles, Saint-Remy, and Auvers and their horizons figure prominently in another gallery, followed by hidden forests and sunlit dappled scenes.

Undergrowth, 1887. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. Oil on canvas, 13 x 18 1/8 inches (33 x 46 cm); Framed: 20 1/4 x 25 3/8 inches (51.5 x 64.5 cm). Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands

The infrequent inclusion of people are seen at a distance, none close enough to have facial features for they are not so important here.

One side gallery includes examples of prints from Japan, identical to the hundreds owned by van Gogh and his brother, Theo, pieces which influenced Vincent and show up in his paintings, including the last one in the show, Almond Blossom, created to celebrate the arrival of Theo's son, Vincent's namesake, born January 31, 1890, only a half year before his uncle died.

Philadelphia Museum of Art's Senior Curator of European Painting Before 1900, Joseph J. Rishel, in front of van Gogh's Almond Blossom (1890)/Patricia Leslie

It seems like the show includes more than 40 works, perhaps because of the smart layout.   Many are uncommon paintings, borrowed from private collectors and museums around the world: the Art Institute of Chicago, Baltimore Museum of Art, Basel, Carnegie Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Dallas, Dresden, Geneva, Honolulu, London, Madrid, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musee d’Orsay, St. Louis Art Museum, Stockholm, The Hague, the National Gallery of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Phillips Collection, Tokyo, Utrecht, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Zurich, the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the joint co-organizer of the five-year project, with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Sun Life Financial and GlaxoSmithKline were major underwriters.

The press preview drew far more representatives than any recent press event, said museum director, Timothy Rub, which leads to expectations of greater than the 300,000 who came for the last van Gogh show at the museum about 10 years ago, and the one before that in the 1970s when 200,000 visited.

Philadelphia will be the season's national art destination, boasted Mr. Rub and Gail Harrity, museum president.

An audio tour included with the entry price expands the van Gogh experience, and movies about van Gogh and lectures complement the presentation on various dates. (Check the schedule here.)

It’s an easy and comfortable day trip to Philadelphia from Union Station on Amtrak (made more pleasant by a 15% van Gogh discount), and early train reservations reduce costs. (For those who have not traveled recently on Amtrak, there is plenty of leg room, no restrictions on taking food and beverages on board, free Wi-Fi, and the best benefit of all: no security checks, hassles, or long line waits.)

Amtrak stops at Philadelphia's 30th Street station where a short taxi ride of less than $10 can carry passengers to the museum. Hotel discount packages are available, too.

Go before crowds make viewing difficult. Or travel to Ottawa beginning May 25 through September 3 where the exhibition moves to the National Gallery of Canada.

A Pair of Shoes, 1887. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. oil on canvas, 12 7/8 x 16 5/16 inches (32.7 x 41.5 cm). The Baltimore Museum of Art: The Cone Collection

What: Van Gogh Up Close

When: Now through May 6, 2012, every day except Monday (exceptions: February 20 and April 30), open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. – 8:45 p.m., Friday, and 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (until 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday beginning April 7 through May 6)

Where: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia 19130

Admission: $25 (adults); $22 (seniors; age not specified); $20 (students and youth, ages 13-18); $12 (children, 5-12); and under age 5 and members, no charge.

Getting there from Washington: Amtrak (please see above) or take a bus (not the Chinatown!), car, or plane

Tickets: 215-235-7469 (service charge added) or online

For more information:  215-763-8100 or visitorservices@philamuseum.org.

TOP DEAL__Save on Cancun Vacations
 

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Aznar's reign in Spain at GWU

Former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar/Patricia Leslie


Maybe it was a long plane ride.

Or he had just landed at Dulles and had jet lag.

Or had eaten Italian and was drowsy from dinner.

Whatever it was or is, the former prime minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar who spoke at George Washington University last week, had little life in him when he addressed a group of mostly 150 students to talk about Iraq and terrorism at an event sponsored by the International Affairs Society and the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Maybe that’s the way he always is: lethargic. He would not make it as a candidate here.

But he is not a candidate here.

Okay, he was a candidate in Spain, a successful candidate, and perhaps flash is not important to Spanish voters. Whatever...

Former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar/Patricia Leslie

“Politics is about making things happen…not sitting…,” Aznar said.

“The world is not a perfect place.” Leadership is exercising power with imperfect information. Making decisions, taking action.  “Leadership and popularity rarely go together.”

It’s “essential to know what you believe in.” 

Iraq is now “a working nation, self-sufficient with pluralistic institutions that perform well.” (?)

“Islam can be and should be made compatible with Democratic practices.”

America is not looking at Europe any more. Europe has good relations with the U.S., but Europe is no longer a U.S priority, he said.

 Former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar/Patricia Leslie

Aznar served as prime minister of Spain from 1996-2004 and elected not to seek a third term. He strongly supported the Bush administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq against the will of the majority (92%, Wikipedia) of Spanish citizens and many Spanish politicians. Wikipedia says Aznar told the Spanish people in a television interview that he had evidence of "weapons of mass destruction," and they should trust him.   (Spain pulled all its troops from Iraq in 2004.  Eleven Spanish soldiers died in Iraq including seven on the same day, November 29, 2003.)

 Aznar was the subject of a car bomb attack in 1995.

The euro? (Aznar steered Spain to the EU's single currency in 1999.)

The financial crisis? (Spain has the highest unemployment rate, almost 23%, of any of the 17 euro zone countries.)

The downgrading of Spanish debt? (Announced five days before he spoke)

These subjects were not on the agenda. Nor asked by the polite audience in the Q and A which followed his talk.

Prime Minister Aznar seemed to be stuck in the last decade, but not to belittle the threat of terrorism which is very real to Spain and which cost the nation 191 citizens when terrorists bombed the railroad in Madrid in 2004.

He talked about the unpopularity of making unpopular decision. (See Iraq.) And he spent several minutes on the widespread use of Spanish which is found in major American airports, he said.

He asked how many in the room spoke French. One "girl" raised her hand. And he may have said (his voice was soft spoken and the words, frequently hard to understand) that he had put Spanish vs. French on the table with the French president and, and, ?  I believe the point was Spanish is more prevalent worldwide than French.

Former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar/Patricia Leslie

He is 58, looks 48, is drop-dead handsome, and although his gloomy mood, grey words, and lack of enthusiasm would not make nice on the political stage here, Hollywood may want to get him on contract.

Aznar serves on the board of directors for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.  Wikipedia says Aznar has expressed doubt that climate change is a global problem, calling it "scientifically questionable' theory.

patricialesli@gmail.com

'Man of La Mancha' is a hit in McLean

"Don Quixote" (Mike Baker, Jr.) and "Aldonza/Dulcinea" (Janice Rivera)/Traci J. Brooks Photography

You don't have to be a resident of McLean to enjoy a decades-old favorite, Man of La Mancha, staged by the McLean Community Players at McLean's Alden Theatre now through February 11.

It's about the cheapest theatre ticket in the region, and it is a treat.

A sold-out audience loved the show on Saturday night, and the music and orchestra made us all dreamers of the impossible.

 The stars, "Cervantes/Don Quixote" (Mike Baker, Jr.), "Aldonza/Dulcinea" (Janice Rivera), "Sanchez" (Nathan Tatro), the Duke/Doctor/Knight (Lance Adell), and the Governor/Innkeeper/Moor (Jay Tilley) are some of several who lead the way and sing admirably to delight the crowd.

The best melodies are the duets and quartets ("The Impossible Dream," "Golden Helmet of Mambrino," "I'm Only Thinking of Him") sung by the cast, the prisoners in a dungeon of 17th century Spain during the Inquisition. (A contemporary setting could work just as easily.)

Part of the cast from Man of La Mancha/Traci J. Brooks Photography

Don Quixote is a new resident of the prison where men and women stay for a day or a lifetime. The other prisoners immediately attack him, put him on trial and demand all his possessions if he is found guilty. Quixote asks that he be allowed to defend himself with his play within a play, his book he has with him, authored by Miguel de Cervantes who is also Don Quixote. The play/play takes the group on Quixote's make-believe journey with his faithful sidekick, Sancho (who "really likes him").

Nowhere are there "horses" (Chris Gallegos and Celina Gomez) who can act, show emotion, and prance as well as these "ridden" by Quixote and Sancho.  Their costumes (Kathy Dunlap) match their performances.

From left, Sancho's horse (Celina Gomez), "Don Quixote" (Mike Baker, Jr.), Quixote's horse (Chris Gallegos) and "Sancho Panza" (Nathan Tatro)/Traci J. Brooks Photography

While the revolutionary, the "knight-errant," travels the countryside with Sancho, those he meets along the way in his dream world call him loco. (Are all dreamers crazy? Anything out of the ordinary is suspect.) At last, he meets his "sweet lady," "Aldonza" whom he calls "Dulcinea," a prostitute who rejects the world and those around her. Quixote tries to convince her that all is not lost. Does he succeed?

Exquisite lighting (Ken and Patti Crowley, Richard Hildebrand), constant action, drama, and song are more than sufficient to keep things moving quickly, and so many people fill the stage that lack of a set change is hardly noticeable. Props are used judiciously: rectangular boards become a table becomes a church pew or confessional becomes a bed.

Don Petersen directs, and Cathy and George Farnsworth produce, assisted by Linda Stone. The 14-piece orchestra led by Walter McCoy adds immensely to the evening's entertainment.

Program notes say the play is suitable for ages 16 and up.

What: Man of La Mancha

When: Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. through February 11, 2012 with a Sunday performance at 2 p.m., February 5, 2012

Where: Alden Theatre, McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, VA 22101

Parking: Plentiful, free, and on-site

How much: $20 ($18 for seniors, students, and McLean "tax district residents")

For more information: 703-790-9223

patricialesliexam@gmail.com

Secretary of State James Baker scolds Congress

Former Secretary of State James Baker spoke at St. John's-Lafayette Square/Patricia Leslie

You know you're out of power when your limousine is yellow and your driver speaks Farsi, said former Secretary of State James Baker Sunday morning when addressing the Adult Forum at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square.

With apologies to his Farsi friends, he added.

Secretary Baker, 81, came to the church to talk about "Faith, Public Service, and Public Policy," and attending his presentation was his "very best friend in life," President George H.W. Bush, who sat in the President's Pew with Mrs. Bush.



President George H.W. Bush at St.John's-Lafayette Square/Patricia
Leslie

Former First Lady Barbara Bush at St. John's-Lafayette Square/Patricia Leslie

Mr. Baker, tanned and relaxed, spoke and answered questions (nothing was off-limits, he said) for about 50 minutes and frequently interspersed his comments with praise for President Bush.

The secretary supports the nomination of Mitt Romney because Gov. Romney represents the best chance the Republicans have to defeat President Obama next November, he said.

"Governor Romney would be far and away the strongest candidate in the fall."

The election will be determined by independent voters in critical swing states [Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia, and some say Nevada] since the coasts will go Democratic and the heartland will vote Republican.

"A contested primary is good for the candidate in the general election."

The 13-year Capitol Hill veteran who worked for President Gerald Ford, President Ronald Reagan, and President Bush said people everywhere desire affirmation, recognition, and fulfillment, not just D.C. power brokers. Power can be "intoxicating and addictive," but it alone does not "bring the fulfillment that many people think it does."

When asked about the possibility of American troops going into Yemen, Somalia, or other African nation, Mr. Baker said "our economy is in the tank, and we don't have the money to go" and "be the policeman of the world." He talked about "wars of choice" versus "wars of necessity." 

He commended President Obama, the Navy Seals, and the military for taking out Osama bin Laden, and he cited last week's successful rescue of an American in Somalia. He made no negative remarks about the president but he had a few for members of Congress.

Harmony is lacking in "the cynical world we live in today, especially in the city of Washington, D.C. ," and the blame rests with both parties. It is time to redevelop a bipartisan approach to government. "We all have to start to return some sense of comity." Washington gridlock is caused by one party wanting to increase spending, and the other party wanting to cut it.

"The parties must find a way to compromise" which "is not a dirty word..... We need to start focusing on the Number One Problem: we are broke."

Besides the economy, Mr. Baker said another major problem in the U.S. is the proliferation of media outlets and the "talking heads" who stimulate divisiveness that sells. "Comity does not sell." He mentioned cable channels and the Internet where anyone can put anything up, true or not.

Redistricting is another problem and another divider.

When one party gets in office, it redistricts to favor itself, and the reverse happens when the other party wins. Democrats tend to nominate candidates who are left of center, while the Republicans nominate candidates right of center, leaving out the center which is disappearing. Mr. Baker said he has no remedy since redistricting is constitutionally protected, and suggested it's easier if one party controls the House, the Senate, and the White House, then "maybe something can be done, but President Obama had that for two years."

Answering another question, he said he believes the Arabs and Israelis will reach a peace agreement, likely not this year, but later, but not too much later, since 80% of the Israelis want peace although the present Israeli government "is unwilling to lean forward for peace."


About the Iranians, he said he thought they were too smart to block the Strait of Hormuz since it would be an act of war and a violation of the international sea agreement which would likely compel the U.S. to act. He  has no insider information but thinks and hopes the Iranians are merely talking rhetoric and they "may be posturing a little bit."

Former Secretary of State James Baker at St. John's-Lafayette Square/Patricia Leslie

Mr. Baker spoke sincerely about his faith and friendship.

To "live a life of faith doesn't come easy" and "takes some serious hard work." Baker said he was not a saint unless a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.

Friends, friendships and lasting personal relationships that enrich lives and help individuals find their way are the most important ingredients to a satisfying life, he said, acknowledging several times the help his wife, Susan, has provided.

He quoted a favorite Biblical passage of his mother who lives "through the communion of saints": Proverb 3: 5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. "

"Faith and friends bind people," the secretary said.

Coming up at St. John's:

February 1, 12:10 p.m. Cupid's Heart, a half-hour harp and organ concert by Rebecca Smith and Michael Lodico

February 12, 10 a.m. John Milton Cooper, Jr., author, history professor, and former fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, will talk about Wilson's presidency at the Adult Forum

February 19, 10 a.m. Kristie Miller, author of Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies, will speak at the Adult Forum

February 26, 10 a.m. Gigi Bradford, writer, editor, and chair of the Folger Shakespeare Library Poetry Board, will discuss similarities between faith and poetry at the Adult Forum

The National Gallery of Art opens 'triple header'

Pablo Picasso, Head of a Woman, 1921, pastel, Fondation Beyeler, Basil


Two new exhibitions and newly refurbished galleries were unveiled in the West Building at the National Gallery of Art over the weekend and its director, Earl A. Powell,III, called them "a triple play."

They are:

* The opening of the renovated 19th-century French galleries on the main floor

* Picasso's Drawings, 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition through May 6, 2012 on the ground floor (near the 7th Street entrance)

* The Baroque Genius of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione prints and drawings through July 8, 2012 on the ground floor (also near the 7th Street entrance)

After a two-year makeover, the French impressionism and post-impressionism galleries are now open, and many of the masterpieces which hung in the Chester Dale Collection up for two years on the ground floor which recently ended and you feared you would never see them again are here: Manet, Cezanne, Courbet, Cassatt, Morisot, Renoir, van Gogh, Degas, Gauguin, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and finally, Picasso, are some of the artists. The way some of them are hung now, they can have "conversations" with each other, according to the Gallery's Mary Morton, head of French paintings.

The Monet gallery in the renovated French galleries at the National Gallery of Art.  It is the smallest of the new 14 galleries, good for "quiet contemplation," said Mary Morton, French painting curator and head/Patricia Leslie

On Sunday she spoke about the new show to several hundred people in the packed East Building auditorium.  Earlier in the week Dr. Morton called the Chester Dale Collection "one of the greatest of its kind in the country, if not the world."

Director Powell said the completion of the 14 French galleries ends 10 years of renovation at the West Building which is now "completely open again."

Gustave Caillebotte, Skiffs, 1877, collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

The 55 or so Picasso drawings, pastels, watercolors, and collages are much, much more than what visitors may expect.  The show is a history of early Picasso art including his earliest work, Hercules (age 9), and displays his first three decades of drawings in  chronological arrangement.

More than half the works come from private collections, most of which Gallery visitors will never see again. On an energetic flight through the exhibition, Curator Andrew Robison enthusiastically described them, pointing out one wall in the third gallery where three of four works are private. 

In the third gallery of the Picasso exhibition, three of these four paintings are from private collections/Patricia Leslie

The exhibition presages the Picasso masterpieces to come. Art education was important to the youthful Picasso whose father was a painter.

The 17th century drawings are detailed pen and ink scenes by the Italian baroque master, Castiglione, and his contemporaries and followers. Whether or not visitors are "churchy," the meticulous etchings and finest of pen strokes of many Biblical scenes will produce deep appreciation for this fine art where close-up inspection is permitted.

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, The Flight into Egypt, 1647/1649, etching, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Pietro Testa, The Infant Christ at the Foot of the Cross, 1635/1637, etching,  National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

The Frick Collection in New York and the National Gallery of Art organized the Picasso show for which the Hearst Foundation, Inc. is a major sponsor.

In celebration of the exhibitions, the National Gallery of Art is hosting talks, concerts and films. See the schedule here. 

When: Open daily from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m.- 6 p.m., Sunday

Where: The West Building of the National Gallery of Art between 4th and 7th streets along Constitution Avenue

How much: No charge

Metro station(s): Archives, Judiciary Square, Federal Triangle, or L'Enfant Plaza and/or ride the Circulator bus with stops at the West Building

For more information: 202-737-4215  or click here

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