Capital Fringe's 'Last Train to Nibroc' is a sweet exchange

Lena Winter stars in Last Train to Nibroc at the Capital Fringe Festival

    

A man and a woman sit side-by-side on a train bound from California for Chicago, strangers until they meet, like we all are.  The time is World War II.

He’s a recently discharged soldier ("medical reasons"), and she’s a religious “goody goody,” sporting the hurt of a recent break-up.

They share the train with the coffins of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathaniel West, and I'm not sure what that connection was, other than "Raleigh" (Justin McLachlan) is an aspiring writer, and "May" (Lena Winter) is a reader.  A religious reader, at that.  It's the last train Fitzgerald and West will ride.  Maybe it's May's "last chance."

It doesn't take long for the two living travelers to discover their common link in Kentucky where May is headed to meet family, but Raleigh is bypassing the state, his homeplace, too, for New York.

Hold it: May has never been to Kentucky’s Nibroc Festival (that's Corbin spelled backwards) and Raleigh invites her to go, of course. She hesitates:  "Do you really want me to go?"  Oh, come on, May!

Like one might expect of a sheltered, conservative woman brought up in an evangelical household, May shuns anything which remotely suggests fun and excitement.  With library shoes on her feet, an old-woman's hairstyle, and in a sedate dress with a brooch conveniently pinned at the center to hide cleavage, May is correctly costumed for her role in the 1940s.

 

In the second scene (which could be eliminated), Raleigh wears a wife-beater with suspenders, no belt, and a cap, perfect for the era and quite a contrast to his military uniform in the first scene. 

Their southern accents are a trifle overdone, and their conversations, not all sweetness and timid affection like one exudes when trying to make a favorable impression.  (In WWII, I believe they called it "courting.") 

Innocent conflicts are heard over the three scenes spanning several years for, after all, what's a performance without conflict?  Not a play.

Some of the dialogue is redundant.  However, the ending was a surprise  for I thought it was on a different track.

Props are minimal and totally adequate:  a bench and two chairs, and what more do you need?  A sunset.  Provided.

The two actors made me realize more than ever the wealth of talent found in Washington, D. C.  which Fringe allows us to observe with its myriad, versatile offerings.  Some friends tell me they love theatre but don't even know what I am talking about when I say "Fringe." They don't get out much.  How could theatre-types not know Fringe? I like to say I am "doin' the Fringe."

Another thing I adore about this festival of independent works is the hole-in-the wall buildings which come alive for some of the venues (all, air-conditioned!)  like the Nibroc site conveniently located right around the corners from Fringe Capital ("Fort Fringe") where you can get good cold beer at reasonable prices and the best hummus and pita I've eaten. 

On last Saturday's  hot afternoon,  service was a mite slow, no doubt explained by waitstaff and volunteers who have never waitstaffed or rung up a bill, but the beer temperature and the tasty morsels made up for it.

Get out and support your local arts community and have a good time, too.

Last Train to Nibroc, directed by Scott Sparks, written by Arlene Hutton, and presented by Homeward Theatre, was first staged by the New York International Fringe Festival before it went on to Off-Broadway.

 

What:  Last Train to Nibroc

When: July 17, 7:45 p.m.; July 21, 6:15 p.m.; July 24, 9:15 p.m.; July 26, 9:45 p.m.; July 28, 12 p.m.

Where: 612 L Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

How much: $17 + a one-time charge for the $7 Fringe button required at all venues, or buy discounted seats in multiples.  Buy online or at the box office.

Metro stations:  Metro Center, Mt. Vernon Square- Convention Center, Gallery Place-Chinatown, Archives

For more information:  866-811-4111

Language:  Nothing offensive

patricialesli@gmail.com

 

'Angel Street' is theatre at its best

Julie-Ann Elliott and Jeffries Thaiss star in Olney Theatre Center's Angel Street. Photo by  Stan Barouh

Like a Victorian Alfred Hitchcock,  Angel Street now playing in its last week at Olney Theatre Center will keep you on edge with the story of a woman driven nuts by her husband who seeks to undermine her self image for his own advancement.

Imagine that.

Without question the presentation will earn Helen Hayes nominations for its excellent drama, convincingly portrayed by all the actors, my favorite who was Laura Giannarelli,  "Elizabeth," the maid whose English accent and mannerisms were spot-on. (Kudos to Nancy Krebs, the dialect and vocal coach.)

Set in England in 1880, the dialogue soon discloses that Mrs. Manningham (Julie-Ann Elliott) is at the mercy of her husband (Jeffries Thaiss).  Like a dog which sits on the floor at her master's knee, Mrs. Manningham, whom Ms. Elliott interprets to perfection, cries for attention, a pat on the head, some affirmation that she, filled with self-doubt which the arrogant Mr. Manningham consistently encourages, is not such a bad wife, after all. 

Is she?

Accompanying the heightening suspense is Mr. Manningham’s increasing nefariousness and playgoers' shrinking doubt  about which character is the antagonist.

The scene is a night in London at the Manninghams' (Maddinghams'?) residence, a Victorian home filled with pictures, mantle pieces, china, and plentiful gaslights which brighten and dim depending upon whims,  strategically placed over the mantle, in the parlour, stairwell, and hallway, rooms which each have special roles in the stunning single set created by James Wolk.

The large, draped window lends more of a heavy presence to the oppressive room where Mrs. Manningham begs her husband not to leave her again on his nightly jaunts through the city.

He teases his pet with a morsel of meat (theatre tickets): “Now darling, be a good sort while I go out”(again and enjoy my pursuits while you languish here), he says, becoming angry that she has "misplaced" something else, a bill.  If she continues to act like a woman, he warns, he’ll have her dismissed and sent away, just like her mother was sentenced to a mental out house!

"Please don’t lock me in it again,” she implores her master about her bedroom on the second floor (which construction is similar to the distinctive upstairs bedroom seen last winter at the Kennedy Center's Metamorphosis).

While Mrs. Manningham ponders her fate confined in her chambers, a dangerous liaison unravels downstairs with comedic relief provided by “Nancy” (Dylan Silver), an excellent characterization of a maidservant who responds quite aggressively to an amorous advance.

To Mrs. Manningham’s rescue (or maybe not) comes a gentleman, an Inspector Rough (Alan Wade) who says he’s in hot (many years) pursuit of a criminal who may inhabit her house. Why should the mistress of the house believe a total stranger who invites her to join him for drink and unwind?

Indeed, what’s a poor girl to do?

The “sentencing” Mrs. Manningham faces at the whim of her spouse is not that far removed from present day for it was only in the last century that in the United States, with a stroke of a pen, husbands, weary of their wives, could commit them to institutions, especially if they did not “obey” or if they acted too womanly, and then, the husband was free to, perhaps, remarry ? (In Mrs. Manningham’s case, with her money).

What a convenient marriage! Who would have thought?

(The great-aunt of a former colleague was “committed” in the 1900s by her husband to the Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia where she died, perhaps murdered by an inmate, my friend suspects, and is buried on the grounds in a forgotten, weed-covered site. The institution closed as a mental ward in 1994 but not before it housed 2,400 patients in the 1950s in a place built for 250 in the mid-1800s, and not before some patients were confined to cages in the 1980s.  The place is open for public tours which some tourists find too eerie to visit.)

Young women today may find it hard to believe a single person could “commit” another to years of depravity and life’s end in an institution. It happened then.  Does it happen now?

The play was written by Patrick Hamilton (1904-1962) whose Rope (1929) Alfred Hitchcock used for his film of the same name.  Directing Olney's Angel Street (originally titled Gas Light (1939)) was John Going.  Dennis Parichy directed the extraordinary lighting which changes constantly. Sound director was  Jeffrey Dorfman who utilized the hauntingest (not in my dictionary either) clock you'll ever hear tick and dong.  Liz Covey was costume designer and Carissa Thorlakson, wig director.  Rounding out the cast are Matt Boliek and Michael J. Fisher, policemen who aid the inspector.

All, in all, ready for Broadway and certainly, not to miss.

Olney Theatre is a marvelous venue, with plentiful free parking, pleasant outdoor seating for intermission and pre-performance enjoyment, costumes and china displays, and a crew eager to supply at reasonable prices  munchies and your favourite beverage which you may take to your seat.

What:  Angel Street

When:  Now through July 14, 2013

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

How much:  Tickets start at $31

For more information:  301-924-3400

(With apologies to Mae Axton, Tommy Durden, and Elvis Presley)

Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell.
Its down at the end of Angel Street
In my bedroom of hell.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Although it's seldom crowded,
You still can find some room.
Where broken hearted lovers
Do cry away their gloom.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Mrs. Maddingham's tears keep flowin,
And she's always dressed in black.
She's been so long on Angel Street
She will always take him back.

You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

Hey now, if your baby leaves you,
And you got a tale to tell.
Just take a walk down Angel Street
To my bedroom of hell.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Nats are a cheap date

A budding bat boy ponders the meaning of baseball at the Nationals' game Friday night in Washington. "Should he bunt or hit a line drive?" Hmmmm.../Patricia Leslie

Ticket:  $5

Beer, nice and cold and a big one, too:  $5 ( at the Miller Lite bar before the first pitch)

Dog:  $2.50 with some mustard (no charge)

Now where else you gonna get in this cheap in Washington, D.C.?  With ice cold brew and a dog for dinner?

And I haven't even mentioned the game.  All I've mentioned are the eats and treats, but there was the game, too, the entertainment, the reason we came!  (Or was it?) The Nats beat San Diego 8 - 5.  The Nats are on fire now, for sure.  And the Braves lost to the Phillies.  Take that, Braves.

$5 tall iced brews drew a crowd before the first pitch Friday night at the Nationals game/Patricia Leslie

The crowd at Nationals Stadium ain't your typical Kennedy Center audience, but that's all right, Mama:  It's why we love D.C.!  So much to do and so many places to go, and you can do it without a loan at the bank, and sit back and enjoy and eat and sip and watch. My kind of place, Washington is.  Forget about those bullies up on Capitol Hill who spy on us. 

Early in the game the stands had not filled up yet, but by the fourth, about 75% of the seats were occupied, and how about this view? For a $12.50 night, not too bad/Patricia Leslie

Early in the game our boy Bryce Harper pondered...? Maybe he was thinking about Gavin Rupp, 13, a terminally ill cancer patient, who threw out the first pitch, and with whom Harper spent an hour before the game, out on the field, playing ball/Patricia Leslie

Bryce Harper later had "a swing and a miss" but batted in a run with a sacrifice fly.  Manager Davey Johnson gave Harper the rest of the weekend off.  Update:  Bryce tweeted "Play me or trade me," and he played Saturday/Patricia Leslie

Meanwhile, the empire chastises the Padres' pitcher, Andrew Cashner, after he hit Gio Gonzalez who walks to first base. "And don't let it happen again!"/Patricia Leslie

The ball is headed that way, says Adam LaRouche at bat while Jayson Werth waits in the wings/Patricia Leslie

Jayson Werth does the splitsville.  Do you like his beard?  I can't stand it.  Is he going to keep it until the Nats win the World Series?/Patricia Leslie

Jayson Werth makes a hit and takes off/Patricia Leslie

Whoops!  Another calamity among Capitol Hill chaps in the outfield/Patricia Leslie

The Nats make it to first, again!/Patricia Leslie

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Free harp and organ concert Sunday at Immaculate Conception

Michael Lodico will play the organ and Rebecca Anstine Smith, the harp, in a free concert at 6 p.m. July 7 at Crypt Church, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The Lafayette Square Duo, composed of Michael Lodico on the organ and Rebecca Anstine Smith on the harp, will play Fantasy in F-Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and "Rhapsodic Poem" by Dewey Owens (1925-2006) at Crypt Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday.

It will be the first performance in the church's 2013 summer organ recital series.

This Sunday's program will also include "O Festive Day" (Dan Locklair, b. 1949), "Wondrous Love Variations" (Daniel Pinkham, 1923-2006, with arrangement by Burton/Lodico), "Aria in Classic Style" (Marcel Grandjany, 1891-1975), "Salamanca" (Guy Bovet, b. 1942), and "Prelude in A" (Henry Martin, b. 1950).

Ms. Anstine Smith and Mr. Lodico first teamed up in 2010 when they performed with the choir at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, where Mr. Lodico is the assistant organist, choir director, and artistic director of the church's First Wednesday Concert series.  

He is also keyboard artist at St. Albans and National Cathedral schools, and director of choral activities at St. Anselm’s Abbey School in Washington.

Mr. Lodico is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, and a 2004 recipient of a Fulbright grant for graduate study on historic instruments in the Netherlands.

Ms. Anstine Smith is a former principal harpist for the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra who teaches at St. Mary's College and Anne Arundel Community College.  She graduated from Dickinson College and received a M.M. from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She studied at the Salzedo Summer Harp Colony and at Tanglewood Institute. In 2008 she recorded Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols with the Washington National Cathedral Girls Choir.

Who: Rebecca Anstine Smith and Michael Lodico

What: Harp and organ concert

When:  6 p.m., July 7, 2013

Where: Crypt Church, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C.

How much:  It's free

Metro station:  Brookland/CUA

patricialesli@gmail.com

July 4 Capitol Concert is dynamite

At the rehearsal of the 2013 July 4 Capitol Concert on July 3, Neil Diamond sang the premiere of his Freedom Song:  They'll Never Take Us Down composed in honor of the 2013 Boston Marathon victims, first responders, and the city's recovery. He also sang Sweet Caroline/Patricia Leslie

Not to miss on PBS tonight at 8 p.m. EST!

Washington, D.C. for all its bad has a lot of good at the U.S. Capitol, and one of the best is the July 4 Capitol concert which, after attending last night, I vow not to miss again.  It would be hard to top free Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, and John Williams performances, and Barry sang a lot more than an expected one or two patriotic songs.

The Choral Arts Society of Washington, the National Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, the U.S. Army Ceremonial Band, cannons (the U.S. Army Presidential Salute Battery) and fireworks shot off behind the Congressional office buildings made the evening an unforgettable experience.  Bravo!

The next inaugural committee might consider hiring Barry Manilow who did not lip sync, but wowed thousands at the July 4, 2013 Capitol Concert rehearsal with his eternally energetic and distinctive voice.  He invited members of the crowd to join him in singing, and he held the microphone for some individuals to sing a few seconds of solo which delighted the audience and proved how magnetic his voice and stage presence are. Barry Manilow is 70 years old/Patricia Leslie 

(My friend says to me:  "Ah, um....isn't Barry Manilow kind of smaltzy?"  And I say to my friend:  "I wouldn't mind schmaltzing with him.")

Barry Manilow at the rehearsal of the 2013 July 4 Capitol Concert.  He sang I Write the Songs That Make the Young Girls Cry, It's a Miracle, Can't Smile Without You, Could It Be Magic?, Let Freedom Ring/Patricia Leslie

Members of the Broadway cast of Motown: The Musical sang Get Ready, but they weren't.  They were the only performers who exhibited lack of rehearsal for the rehearsal.  Behind the jumbotron is what looks like a jumbo pencil but is the Washington Monument under repair/Patricia Leslie

Michelle Obama might do well to use Darren Criss in her Move It! weight loss campaign for it was easy for him to get audience members on their feet and shaking tail feathers with his dynamic Shout! backed up by Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music/Patricia Leslie

At the foot of the steps to the U.S. Capitol it was hard to keep still when Darren Criss belted out Shout!/Patricia Leslie

Jackie Evancho sang an electric Star-Spangled Banner.  Other performers were Christopher Martin, Megan Hilty, Scotty McCreery, and Candice Glover/Patricia Leslie

This is what the stage looked like about 75 minutes before show time/Patricia Leslie

Union Station was bedecked in July 4 regalia/Patricia Leslie

Before the concert rehearsal started, these folks at the foot of the U.S. Capitol steps did what Washingtonians like to do: read, eat, and lay on concrete to stake out space and rest before the really big show/Patricia Leslie

The view from the Capitol steps/Patricia Leslie

The Embassy of Canada celebrates July 4 with Canadian flags/Patricia Leslie

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'Book dating' in Reston

Book dating at the Reston Public Library/Patricia Leslie

At the Reston Public Library's "book dating" night, the ratio of women to men was about 3 - 1, per the D.C. norm, but I don't think sex was on the minds of attendees too much. It was books which drew us together.

Books and more books.

The event worked rather like musical chairs, except no chairs were removed, and we spent four minutes chatting about our book loves with the stranger seated across from us.  (The inner circle of fans moved, while those of us in the outer lines stayed put.) 

Friends of the Reston Public Library and Harris Teeter provided treats/Patricia Leslie

Three minutes was the initial time allotted for each "couple" to discuss books, but that rapidly gave way to four minutes which the group, about 40, requested,  and the librarians quickly agreed.  (The fantastic librarians were not only skillful event planners, but listeners and order takers, too.) 

I took two from my current crop of library books to share and was definitely in the minority since everyone I talked with brought their own personal books which I found shocking.  No library users at the library?  (No e-readers were mentioned or spotted.  After all, what would you show?  "Here, have a look at my screen.")

Finally, I met some people who read spiritual books, sci fi, self-help, and contemporary fiction (and admit it), and all of them knew who Pat Summitt is and a few knew a little about Peter the Great.  (Yes, he was 6'7" and had a tic.)

Ages ranged from early 20s to 70s, I would say, and people came from as far away as Manassas, another shocker.  One woman, a very attractive 40-year-old or so with long, dark hair, said she's a member of four (!) book clubs and never goes out because she'd rather read.  She had read every book I mentioned, I think.  She likes all genres!

Probably the best benefit to me, besides learning there really are people who read contemporary fiction, was introduction to a woman from eastern Europe who gave me tips about visiting Russia and securing a visa.  Good grief!  It's no wonder Edward Snowden is stuck in the Moscow airport.  He's probably still running around in circles trying to figure out how much money to pay, where to pay it, and filling in all those security sheets.   Like, trying to remember the name of your first grade classmate who sat beside you and was suspended for attaching chewing gum to the bottom of her chair. 

But, back to books:  Smiles all around at the library revealed a good time was had by all.  The Tysons regional branch hosted a similar event a couple of months ago. 

Thank you, Fairfax County Public Libraries!  I love you!

P.S.  Come to think of it, I saw no wedding bands.  So, maybe, some came for more than books?

Book reviews in Washington Post and Wall Street Journal are too similar

William Fields, Alabama, 1936, by Walker Evans/Library of Congress

Is it just me who found it odd that the weekend book reviews in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post about the just published Cotton Tenants: Three Families by James Agee and Walker Evans started with the same five words and used the same quotes?

Daniel Stashower wrote the review for the Post and Cameron McWhirter wrote for the Journal, and this is how their first sentences begin:

"In the summer of 1936..." with "the 26-year-old" Agee.

Quoting Agee, here are the (practically) identical quotes the reviewers used:

"A civilization which for any reason puts a human life at a disadvantage; or a civilization which can exist only by putting human life at a disadvantage; (… Post) is worthy neither of the name nor ("or" Post) of continuance. And a human being whose life is nurtured in an advantage which has accrued from the disadvantage of other human beings, and who prefers that this should remain as it is, is a human being by definition only, having much more in common with the bedbug, the tapeworm, the cancer, and the scavengers of the deep sea."

And this one, quoting Agee describing one of the farmer subjects, Frank Tingle:

"Crepe (the Journal uses a small "c") forehead, monkey eyebrows, slender nearly boneless nose, vermillion gums.  A face pleated and lined elaborately as a Japanese mask; its skin the color of corpsemeat."

It is perplexing that the same quotes appear, but maybe they are the ones on the blurb, or in the publicist's promotion which leads one (me) to wonder: Did the reviewers read the book? I haven't seen it, so maybe it's mostly photos, and there is little written content to quote. The book has 224 pages.

Whatever, the sameness is disturbing.  It's like competing dance reviewers picking out 30 seconds of a ballerina's pirouette and focusing on it.  Maybe Rupert Murdoch owns the Post, too, and Edward Snowden will reveal same.

I checked the New York Times and couldn't find a review there other than a review of how the manuscript was discovered and the process which led to the book's publication. 

Yes, according to the Post and the Journal, the book is well worth reading, and I've signed up for it at my favorite public library, Fairfax County's.

patricialesli@gmail.com