Heurich House's got beer

 

Heurich House and Museum at 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C./Patricia Leslie

This house is so much more than you expect.  The monthly event at Heurich House Museum is a Washington "find."


At first glance, $30 seemed like a big sum for a happy hour, an open beer house, and a look inside “the most intact Victorian house in the country," but the fee for the evening fete covers flowing beer “samplings,” tasty tiny treats (dinner for some) and the tours.

The tours!

"Come into my parlour, darling, and have a spot of bier with me."/Patricia Leslie

At your leisure, please.

“Drop on and off” whenever you like and listen to the docents describe the history and contents of Heurich House right off Dupont Circle. It is a glorious place to drink, eat, and learn some history inside the luxurious mansion where guests are kept at a minimum so you’re not bumpin’ and grindin’ in the beer lines.

Heurich House at 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. has treats and brews/Patricia Leslie

And guests are not confined to the courtyard with its well-appointed butlers under a tent serving up the brews, but are invited to go inside the residence with beverages and carry them on all the open floors, and find replenishment in the kitchen, too.

The lovely courtyard at Heurich House and all its attractions make it difficult to escape and venture inside/Patricia Leslie

A brief stop in the kitchen with the docent.  Wait!  What's this?  Brew refills for the thirsty/Patricia Leslie

My kind of place, Heurich House.

If you’ve frequented the Dupont Circle area in the last 100 years, you’ve seen this house, no? And wondered, like me, about the inside and read the historical marker attached to the building, but the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday tours* do not mix well with your work schedule.

Well, wait no more. (At least until June 20 for this month's “History and Hops” which, as of this writing, has only 39 places left. (Please click below for tickets.) Heavy Seas Brewery from Baltimore is Thursday's featured brewery. The soirees usually sell out in advance preventing walk-ins from walking in.)

A bedroom at Heurich House/Patricia Leslie

Heurich House (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) was built in 1892-94 by German immigrant Christian Heurich (1842-1945) who arrived in the U.S. in 1866 with $200.  He became an American beer baron, building a massive brewery on land which now separates the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge and the Kennedy Center. (Would that be in the Potomac River? I can't quite figure out the location. Maybe I've had too much of the brewmaster's brew.)

In its day the house, AKA the Brewmaster's Castle, was a “technological marvel” with "modern inventions" like full indoor plumbing, circulating hot water heat, an elevator shaft, and gas and electric lighting fixtures. It was Washington’s first fireproof house and has hand-painted ceilings.

Inside Heurich House/Patricia Leslie

Many family heirlooms are still here, and the first two floors are preserved intact with furniture constructed on site, according to a docent. (Once you visit, you'll understand…the size of the pieces.)

All the furniture at Heurich House is hand-crafted, and the wood in the dining room is walnut/Patricia Leslie

 

According to Kimberly Bender, the museum's executive director, the mantle and furniture in the dining room are oak, and the rest of the house, with its 30 more rooms and 15 never-used fireplaces (Mr. Heurich was afraid of fire), has furniture made of what's called “white mahogany” until someone can figure out what it is.

The docent was unsure what this setee is, but perhaps the sittee moved the curtain to allow cooler air to circulate? The first air-conditioned chair!  You know how stuffy chairs with three sides can be, rather like people/Patricia Leslie

Mr. Heurich lived in the house with Wife #2 (Mathilde who helped him build the house but who died shortly after its completion in 1894 as a result of injuries from an accident in a horse-drawn carriage) and Wife #3 (Amelia, the niece of his first wife, also named Amelia).  The year before she died in 1956, Amelia II deeded Heurich House  to the Historical Society of Washington which later deeded it to the Heurich House Foundation. The Heuriches (Amelia II) had four children and were assisted by German servant girls who lived on the fourth floor.

A doll's house at Heurich House/Patricia Leslie

The luggage room at Heurich House.  Mr Heurich crossed the Atlantic 73 times, and Amelia II, 44.  Their three children grew weary of travel and liked to stay home or at the family farm near Hyattsville, Maryland/Patricia Leslie

Mr. Heurich and Amelia II both died in the house whose longevity stands as an example of beer's benefits.  Mr. Heurich lived 102 years and outlived two of his three wives. As they say in Germany:  "Viva Bier" or, at Heurich House: "Practice moderation and drink Heurich's beer."

Looking out on the courtyard from the parlour at  Heurich House /Patricia Leslie

BTW, the Heurich Mausoleum, sculpted by Louis Amateis, at Rock Creek Cemetery is worth a look, too. It was part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey from 1993.

Other summer events at Heurich House are free Friday night movies in the garden (bring your own treats) and one-week camps for children ages 10-12 beginning June 24 and July 22 ($350).
 

 

What: Heurich House Museum

*When: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. for the brew tours on the third Thursday of every month, and tours every Thursday and Friday at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Saturday at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. with reservations, highly recommended

Where: 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20036

How much: $30 for the Third Thursday Happy Hour with tours, and $5 (unless you're a member of the National Trust, $3) for the tours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.  Private tours are offered. Click here for beer tickets.

Metro station: Dupont Circle South

For more information: 202-429-1894 and check this link for an extensive article on Mr. Heurich by Mark Benbow of Marymount University who also writes the blog, rustycans.com, which describes the Heurich Brewery, its history, and the beers manufactured there.

Heurich House at 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C./Patricia Leslie

 

   patricialesli@gmail.com

Signature Theatre's 'Company' is mixed

Company's group dancing is tops at Signature Theatre in Arlington/Scott Suchman

If you want to discourage anyone from getting married, Company is the play to see. I went expecting to hear more humor than reality.

The ending of this musical, now on stage at Signature Theatre in Arlington, is not a “happy" one.  Depending upon which way you lean, it's either "for" or "against" marriage, and it's left to the viewer to decide.  Throughout the presentation, however, most of the characters "suffer" marriage and all its pitfalls and are miserable.  (Hmmm, maybe an opportunity to appreciate your own relationship and strive to make it better?)

The music is routine and forgettable.

Company did earn six Tonys when it was nominated for 14 in 1971 (a record), so somebody up there must like it, but it is the composition, written by the notable Stephen Sondheim (b. 1930) who based it on George Furth's book, which is mediocre. Who cares in 2013 what marriage is for a bunch of provincial New York dilettantes?

April (Madeline Botteri) and Bobby (Matthew Scott) up in the swing/Scott Suchman

Given the script, Signature's director, Eric Schaeffer, does an admirable job, yet the production lacks soaring flash and dash.   

"Bobby," or "Robert," acted and sung passably by Matthew Scott, is a 35-year-old bachelor who surrounds himself not with other singles, but with five married couples who, natch, try to get him to jump on their loveless boats and get married.  (Misery loves company.) Why would Bobby want to hang out with them? Why would anyone?

Bobby has three girlfriends, about par for today's course, and is smitten by none. Marta (Carolyn Cole), by looks and appearance seems out of sync with the other two (Jamie Eacker, also dance captain, and Madeline Botteri), and all three women deliver some of the strongest performances of the production, especially Botteri who plays the stereotypical air brain airline hostess whose bed romp with Bobby was about the best I've seen on stage. 

The three girlfriends, from left, Marta (Carolyn Cole), Kathy (Jamie Eacker), and April (Madeline Botteri)/Scott Suchman

The costuming (Frank Labovitz) is an excellent fit with the ordinary which mirror the show's general malaise.  Everyone is dressed up in muted grey and white or bone, except for Bobby in a dark blue shirt.  For the striking dance numbers (Matthew Gardiner), the apparel is classy. (One gratuitous scene was a female solo dance number which left me confounded as to its purpose.)

The set's frame (Daniel Conway) remains stationary, but that is immaterial since frequent scene changes of furniture and lighting shifts (Chris Lee) combine to deliver an abstract stage filled with triangles, shadows, and glorious cool mood lighting, presenting theatregoers with a viewpoint of watching a light show while perched on a refrigerator shelf or on a spaceship.  It's a rambunctious ride with large, changing photographs high on the backdrop to distract and create confusion. 

 

A nine-piece orchestra under the direction of Jon Kalbfleisch complements the production nicely without overpowering any voices. Matt Rowe's sound is inconspicuous, the best kind.

The production's highlights belong to the excellent group choreography, and the vignettes acted by Erin Weaver as Amy and Erin Driscoll as Jenny.  Women rule this show.  And three of the couples are really married:  Joanne (Sherri Edelen) is married to Larry (Thomas Adrian Simpson), Sarah (Tracy Lynn Olivera) is married to Harry (Evan Casey), and Jenny is married to David (James Gardiner).

Will she (Erin Weaver as Amy) or won't she? Marry Paul (Paul Scanlan) in Company/Scott Suchman

This production is not for the young, but for comfortably married old folks, i.e. "baby boomers" (certainly for not anyone considering d-i-v-o-r-c-e!) and theatre-lovers, too, especially in halls that are as seductive as Signature’s. 

Two years ago Sondheim’s Follies left the Kennedy Center after a month’s run,  bound for New York, so why can’t this go to New York, too?  It’s certainly better than Follies. 

What:  Company

When:  Now through June 30 every night with weekend matinees, too.  Dark on Mondays.

Where:  Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, Virginia 22206

How much:  From $30.   Click here for tickets.

Metro station: Pentagon and then, a short bus ride from there.  Use Metro's Trip Planner to plan a route.

Free parking:  At two nearby garages.  Check here. 

For more information: 703-820-9771 or email tickets@signature-theatre.org.

patricialesli@gmail.com

'Praying Hands' closes Sunday at the National Gallery of Art

Albrecht Durer, The Men's Bath, 1496/1497, Albertina, Vienna

Another stunning exhibition which includes one of the world's most famous drawings, Praying Hands, comes to a close this weekend at the National Gallery of Art.

Albrecht Durer, Praying Hands, 1508, Albertina, Vienna

The single U.S. venue for Albrecht Durer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina, is the only time many of Durer's masterpieces have hung together.

By extraordinary arrangement and collaboration with the Albertina in Vienna, the repository of some of the artist's greatest masterpieces, the National Gallery has brought together the show which seems much larger than the 118 works spread over six galleries. On Friday afternoon the first galleries were packed, but strangely enough, Praying Hands had no spectators lined up when I was there, luckily for me, but the crowd thinned as the exhibition, arranged in chronological order, progressed.

(One way to see a crowded display is to advance to the works without viewers, enabling you to devour contents without being pushed or elbowed. You may not be able to see every work up close, depending upon your schedule, but some are better than none, and Durer's particularly are well worth close inspection with their detail and meticulous devotion to reality and perceived reality. They will leave you wondering how time permitted the artist to achieve all the fine line drawings in a little more than four decades, beginning with his self-portrait at age 13, which is found in the first gallery.)

Albrecht Durer, Nemesis (The Great Fortune), 1501-1502, Albertina, Vienna.  Nemesis was the Greek goddess of fortune and fate.  As she circles the globe, she carries a goblet for fortune and a bridle for fate.

The National Gallery's Andrew Robison, the Gallery's senior curator of prints and drawings, and the Gallery's staff spent ten years bringing the presentation to fruition which includes some of the Gallery's own engravings, woodcuts, drawings, and prints.

The Albertina's Durer collection starts with the Holy Roman Empire and Rudolf II whose favorite artist was Durer (1471-1528) born in Nuremberg and generally considered one of the four greatest Renaissance artists. (Can you name the others?*)

With pen, ink, brush, and chalk, he drew religious scenes, including the Last Supper, the Death of the Virgin, Adam and Eve, and other subjects such as the human body, nature, animals, and he depicted allegorical themes.

Albrecht Durer, The Death of the Virgin, 1510, Albertina, Vienna.  The apostles gather around Mary's deathbed, and John helps her hold a candle while Peter sprinkles her with holy water.

The year his mother died (1514) found Durer composing Melencolia I (found in the fifth gallery) which the label calls "perhaps his most original, complex, and puzzling image." Many objects fill the scene: a hammer, tools, an hourglass, a bat carrying a sign, a sad woman, maybe a self-portrait, a fallen angel with wings, resting at the end of life's journey, while she (or he) ponders what she may have missed on her passage. The sun sets or is that heaven with a shining star beckoning? Sitting nearby and hard at work on a tablet is a little boy whose head sits below judicial scales.

Albrecht Durer, Melencholia I, 1514, Albertina, Vienna. 

In the watercolor, The Great Piece of Turf (1503) in the third gallery, the viewer has the perspective of a dragonfly buzzing at a pond, amidst fine ferns and the natural environment.

A 300+ paged color catalogue, co-edited by Mr. Robison and Klaus Albrecht Schroder, director of the Albertina, is available.

The people of the United States are grateful to the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, the Melvin R. Seiden Memorial Fund, the National Gallery's Exhibition Circle, and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany for making the presentation possible.

*Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci are the others.

What: Albrecht Durer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina

When: Now through Sunday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Where: the East Building Mezzanine, the National Gallery of Art, between Third and Fourth at Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.

Admission:  No charge

Metro stations: Smithsonian, L'Enfant Plaza, Archives-Navy Memorial, Judiciary Square

For more information: 202-737-4215

patricialesli@gmail.com

Dupre, Bach, and Durufle set for free noon concert Wednesday

Jeremy Filsell

 

World acclaimed organist, pianist, and composer Jeremy Filsell will play works by Dupre, Bach, and Durufle at a free noontime concert Wednesday at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square.

Filsell is the artist-in-residence at the Washington National Cathedral and director of music for Washington's Church of the Epiphany.

The concert will begin at 12:10 p.m. and last about 35 minutes and will close this year's series of First Wednesday concerts at St. John's.

On the Wednesday program are Veni Creator from Le Tombeau de Titelouze (Dupre), Komm, Gott Schopfer, heilinger Geist (Veni Creator) (Bach), and Prelude, Adagio et Choral varie sur ‘Veni Creator’ (Durufle).

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

St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square/Patricia Leslie

The concert is an excellent respite from Washington's hectic pace.  Sit and enjoy a moment of peace amidst beautiful sounds and surroundings, and afterwards, eat a bite, if you like, at the food trucks to be found at nearby Farragut Square, before office life resumes.


Who:  Jeremy Filsell plays Dupre, Bach, and Durufle on the organ

When: 12:10 p.m., June 5, 2013

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 or Farragut North or Farragut West

Food trucks:  Located two blocks away at Farragut Square

For more information: 202-270-6265

patricialesli@gmail.com

Bradley Manning rally at Ft. Meade, MD

Bradley Manning

On the eve of his court-martial at Ft. Meade, MD, hundreds gathered on Saturday to show support for Bradley Manning, a whistle-blower who has been nominated again this year for the Nobel Peace Prize. Manning is being tried for releasing documents and videos to Wikileaks including a video which he found especially revolting of an American airstrike in Baghdad which killed at least 12 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including children, and the Americans can be heard laughing about it. 

 

The documents revealed evidence of torture of detainees, participation by an American contractor in child trafficking, and 15,000 more Iraqi civilian deaths than the military previously reported.  Bradley Manning thought the people of the United States should know the atrocities their government kept hidden.

 

On Saturday the most unpopular name heard during the afternoon was President Barack Obama's.  His administration has targeted government whistleblowers twice as much (6) as all past presidents combined (3).  (Mr. President:  Rather than spending so much time on whistleblowers who seek to inform the citizenry, why don't you spend time on gun control, closing Guantanamo, getting your judicial appointments confirmed, reducing sexual assaults in the military, and breaking the blockade in Congress?)

 

Although the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that

 

"[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy . . . trial . . . ." The Clause protects the defendant from delay between the presentation of the indictment or similar charging instrument and the beginning of trial," (Wikipedia)

 

Bradley Manning has been imprisoned for three years, including solitary confinement and stripped of his clothing ("fear of suicide") in conditions deemed torture by the United Nations.

At the Fort Meade main gate at Highway 175 and Reece Road/Patricia Leslie

 

At the Fort Meade main gate at Highway 175 and Reece Road/Patricia Leslie

 

At the Fort Meade main gate at Highway 175 and Reece Road/Patricia Leslie

 

A billboard for Bradley Manning at the Fort Meade main gate at Highway 175 and Reece Road/Patricia Leslie

At the Ft. Meade main gate at Reece Road and Highway 175/Patricia Leslie

Listening to speakers at the Bradley Manning support rally.  The temperature neared 90 degrees/Patricia Leslie

Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, the Bradley Manning Support Network, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Courage to Resist, and the ANSWER Coalition were some of the groups which participated in the Bradley Manning support rally at Ft. Meade Saturday/Patricia Leslie

At the Fort Meade main gate at Highway 175 and Reece Road/Patricia Leslie

The mile march for Bradley Manning along Highway 175 which borders Ft. Meade. The group was about three times the size of the March, 2011 rally for Bradley Manning at Quantico, Virginia/Patricia Leslie

The mile march for Bradley Manning along Highway 175 which borders Ft. Meade/Patricia Leslie

A rolling drum set the tone for chants: 

We will

We will free you.

Brother, sister,

Do not hide,

We've got truth on our side

A Ft. Meade guard rode a motorcycle up and down the fence line, following the marchers and kicking up dust/Patricia Leslie

A police escort along Highway 175/Patricia Leslie

These Bradley Manning supporters walked more than a mile along Reece Road to reach the Ft. Meade main gate.  With permission they had parked their cars at a school/Patricia Leslie

patricialesli@gmail.com

Folger's 'Twelfth Night' rocks Capitol Hill

At Folger's Theatre's Twelfth Night, Richard Sheridan Willis is Malvolio who tries to learn how to smile while James Konicek as Sir Andrew Aguecheek spies on him. Willis's performance is worthy of a Helen Hayes Award nomination/Scott Suchman 
 

It was the most enjoyable Shakespeare I have seen.

Bar none.

Hands down.

No exaggeration.

Twelfth Night at the Folger Theatre is a hit, a lark, a delight, and everyone feels good at the end, including the gal in my row who caught the bridal bouquet and squealed like a little piggy with several of her friends. And I would have squealed, too.

It's a fantastic ride in a land of make-believe, built on the shipwreck of the Lusitania from World War I in the kingdom of Illyria on a set which doesn't change, but there is so much action, who cares or needs change? It was brilliance by the director, Robert Richmond, and his "creative team" who conceived the landing.

The photographer's perfect timing of the shots and the airy leaps in unison made for mouth drops. The characters run around the stage hither and yon, just like those actors from the silent films of the era, but this is live. It's played upon a stage now, and carried off with aplomb.

And so much music. If ever there was a Shakespeare with more, which is it? Thank goodness we get to hear Joshua Morgan (Valentine) play Debussy's Claire de lune  more than once on the piano. If music be the food of life, play on.

The Twelfthth Night cast could have danced all night to the tunes played by Feste (Louis Butelli) on the ukulele and Valentine (Joshua Morgan) on the electric piano/Scott Suchman
 

Oh my gosh: Richard Sheridan Willis as Malvolio. A show stealer par excellence. He was simply fantastic. His eyes almost rolled out of his head. Those moments when he tried to smile could have cracked Congressional communication and cooperation. Send him to the Hill! (Wait, he's there.)

What did he lay upon inside the piano? It hurt to look at him cooped up inside the metal cage for so long. It looked so uncomfortable. Poor lad. I began to really feel sorry for him. Does anyone remember the great actor Peter Lorre? A resemblance, no?
 

Okay: the story (briefly): Twins are shipwrecked, and each believes the other has drowned. Viola makes it to shore where she lands (ahem) a job with Orsino who is in love with Olivia who soon falls in love with Viola who becomes a man, Cesario (to obtain his job), who falls in love with Orsino. Of course.

Malvolio is smitten by Olivia, and Viola's twin brother, Sebastian, turns up at the perfect moment, and Olivia invites him to marriage (thinking he is Cesario), and this all makes sense, doesn't it? An improbable madness rather like life which all goes round and round, up and down, like the swirling waters in the fantastic first scene when the siblings almost drown.

Rachel Pickup seemed so natural in her role of Olivia, she must have been playing herself. (?)

In Twelfth Night Olivia (Rachel Pickup) falls in love with Cesario/Viola (Emily Trask)/Scott Suchman

 

And I haven't mentioned the supporting cast, dominated by James Konicek (Sir Andrew Aguecheek) who flutters about and steals the thunder.

There's a lot of action up and down the center aisle, too, and another show-stopper who served as musical narrator of sorts was Louis Butelli, master ukuleleist who plays Feste who became entranced by an audience member in the second row, a woman who may have been part of the exquisite cast, too, but that was unlikely since she seemed genuinely flattered. Whatever you will. All's well that ends well.

Another feather in the play cap is the costuming (Mariah Hale). For lovers of Victorian dress, they will adore the gowns. Olivia's are marvelous, darling, especially the bridal gowns at the end which are only on stage such a short time. (Which reminds me: At the DAR Museum (Constitution Hall) over on D at 17th is a terrific exhibition of women's fashions of the 1920s. It's free!)

But back to the subject at hand: The choreography (Eleni Grove) and fight scenes (Casey Kaleba) made me wince several times, fearing the swords were real, and the sounds of the clashes soon gave me to know they were. Or flashed like they were.

And the title: Twelfth Night derives from the twelfth night of the Christmas season, the Epiphany on January 6, the end of the season's merrymaking, somewhat like Mardi Gras when foolishness, gaiety, and fun cease (for a while). So have at it what you will, but hurry for the time draws nigh when these frolics do end.

By the way: I wonder if the designer/artist for the program cover based his or her concept on Ophelia by John Everett Millais, likely the most popular piece in the Pre-Raphaelites exhibition which just ended at the National Gallery of Art. They are very much alike.

(Sshhhhhh….for non-Shakespearean scholars (a minority in this town, but keep mum), we all know that Bill's content can be difficult at times to keep up with, what will all the characters, multiple plots, sub-plots, love triangles, quartets. It does help and adds much to the production's enjoyment to read SparkNotes in advance (3X; it's not long). Available right here which permits readers to mentally straighten out the characters, their roles, and who does what, when, and where, and makes for better grasp of the quick action than that usually gained by reading the synopsis in the program notes while you wait for the show to start. (And you'll score 100 on the test, too, at the end, but who's counting?) Try it and see what you think.)

And now for the nominations:

Hear ye! Hear ye!

Helen Hayes Outstanding Director, Resident Play: Robert Richmond

Helen Hayes Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play: Richard Sheridan Willis

 

 

Helen Hayes Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production: Mariah Hale

What: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

When: Now through June 9 (dark Mondays) with matinees also on Saturdays and Sundays

Where: Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, D.C. 20003

How much: $39 - $60

Metro stations: Union Station or Capitol South

Duration: About 2 hours and 40 minutes with one intermission

For more information: 202-544-4600 or (ticketing) 202-544-7077

patricialesli@gmail.com