Botanic Garden's phallus plant stars in D.C.

On the day before Britain's Royal Baby arrived, the American "Royal Baby" made its appearance at the U.S. Botanic Garden to the delight of thousands who filled the Garden to witness (and sniff) the rare blossom which erupts every few years (or decades) and features a rotting odor/Patricia Leslie

 Now, wouldn't you stand in line on a hot day to smell what's known as the "corpse flower" with a "fragrance" similar to rotting meat?  Yes, and so would thousands of others. The line extended in a half circle from the Garden's entrance on Maryland Avenue down and around the corner of Third Street. Guards said the wait was 60 to 90 minutes, but it was less than 30.  A FDA microbiologist traveled from College Park, Maryland to witness the pageant/Patricia Leslie

It could be an upside-down lamp! (The yellow cylindrical leaf is the lamp post and the flower or spathe, which can come in different colors just like at the shops, the lampshade.)  Or, a ballerina iceskating on her head?  A yellow dolphin showing off in the green ocean?  A candle? What do you see? Botanists see an amorphophallus titanum, native to Indonesian rainforests and first discovered in 1878. Although "Andy" arrived at the Botanic Garden in 2007, this was the birthing of its first blossom which the Houston Museum of Natural Science says probably will not happen again/Patricia Leslie

Holy Mother of Jesus! That looks like the Holy Mother of Jesus carved at the top. Do you think this is related to the pope's visit to Brazil? Save the titan arum (the nickname) and do not let it collapse before we make copies and sell them for $20 each.  The blossom usually fades after 24 to 48 hours/Patricia Leslie

The Botanic Garden staff passed out literature and never lost its cool, perhaps because cool went missing on the hot day. Plant stench was nowhere to be smelled at the Botanic Garden on Monday, however, one visitor reported an ample supply of human essence/Patricia Leslie

The American Royal Baby's gestation period was seven years. At blossom it weighed approximately 250 pounds (!) and grew four feet in 10 days. Its height can reach 10 feet. What does it eat?  Just in case, visitors did not stand too close/Patricia Leslie

Meanwhile, back outdoors with the humans:  By 7:15 p.m. the line stretched to reach Independence.  Everyone was in good humor, though, waiting to see and smell a stinky plant.  The Botanic Garden offers much more to see and smell than just one plant.  Check it out/Patricia Leslie

What:  The U.S. Botanic Garden

When:  Everyday including weekends and holidays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where:  100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20001

How much:  It's free

Metro station:  Federal Center Southwest

For more information:  202-225-8333

Patricialesli@gmail.com

Capital Fringe's 'Politician' scores big win

The playwright, John Feffer, is a. D.C. resident who has never worked for the U.S. government, but is well versed in its composition, stemming from his background as a D.C. journalist, pundit, and foreign affairs authority. Last year his Fringe production of The Pundit sold out, and this year's version, The Politician, picks up the story, but you don't need the first to know which way the winds blows.

At the Politician's Fringe premiere, the audience packed the Goethe-Institut 's main stage in Chinatown, eager to see
another political show, for in this town, another political show is always welcome. (Many are not on stage yet.)

The Politician is all about one assistant assistant undersecretary at the State Department, "Peter Peters," (Sean Coe) a typical Washingtonian A-lister moving up and over bodies to reach higher and higher plateaus, none which remain satisfactory for longer than a nanosecond. Isn't that the nature of the human beast? (Especially the ones in D.C.)

Peters advances to assistant deputy secretary to under secretary, and next stop: NATO.

Wait!

Along the way he’s got to deal with his wife (Lisa Hodsoll; does she have to call so much?), his son (“No! I don’t have time to go to his violin concert!”), interns, interviews ad nauseum, a terrorist from Kharzaria (?), and even a pesky radio d.j.

The play is a comedy-drama with lots of great lines, many coming from the hilarious but serious terrorist, Ruslan X (Ethan Kitts) who says his parts with the solemnity of a bomb about to detonate. To the audience's delight, he often mixes up his English: "puddle" for "splash," and "ghost us" for "haunt us." (You have to be there.)

For Fringe, it’s a big cast of seven, with four who have two or more roles (and five who are the radio callers). Smooth transitions gave no hint about multiple parts, only afforded the experienced. No weaknesses were observed in any presentations, however, "show stealers" were Conor Scanlan, Peters' intern who also acts as his son, and Morganne Davies in three roles, including Peters' mistress.

It's not often you see one person in four roles, deftly acted here by Michael Crowley. In one of her two parts Sarah Strasser delivered the ideal exaggeration and inflection of an entertaining television reporter.

The sound director deserves special recognition, but at left center stage was a burned-out light bulb needing replacement. Microphones would have aided reception. Costuming was match perfect.

Doug Krehbel directed with assistance from Christine Barry.

Although the performance lasted two hours (long for Fringe), I was not ready for it to end, and would welcome a combined production on a bigger platform, like maybe Woolly Mammoth's? Latecomers' intrusions would be thwarted.*

Whatever, not to miss!

*About latecomers: When I placed my order for a Fringe ticket package, I had to acknowledge three times my understanding that latecomers would not be seated, but they were at the Goethe-Institut. Not just one or two individuals, but trickling groups, too. The entrance to seating at the Goethe is at the front, so latecomers have to walk on the stage platform. Which is what they also did after intermission. Maybe they were politicians on waivers. 

What: The Politician

When: July 24, 5:45 p.m. and July 28, 12 p.m.

Where: Goethe-Institut, Main Stage, 812 Seventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

Duration: About two hours with one short pause

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

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

For more information: 866-811-4111

Language: X-rated 


patricialesli@gmail.com

Capital Fringe's 'STATUS' is an experiment, all right

Limousines, Inc.

 

Guurrrrlll!!!  We should all have a year (or part of one) like Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly had in 2011 when her boyfriend ended their six-year affair, and she took off and said "yes" to all invitations.

Wow!  You talk about a wild side.  Or was it a wild ride?  I think it was both.  

I've heard about this in Washington, D.C., and I believe Ms. Kelly's show at Capital Fringe, STATUS - A Social Media Experiment, could be up on the big screen, and can't you just imagine the film?  I am ready to buy a ticket.

You see, my lifestyle ain't exactly like Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly's, being that I am much older (one reason) but some of us can live vicariously, can't we? And when does the movie start?

Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly stars in her own play, STATUS - A Social Media Experiment at Capital Fringe/Phil Kogan

Okay, she's a Kennedy Center dancer (she said it was a true story) who starts going out "on the rebound" real fast, like the speed of water gushing from broken pipes, to parties galore, where "Mr. Billionaire" paid her mortgage (!!!) after she agreed to try on one of the many new bikinis he kept  on his yacht on the Potomac where all the women, she said, had been his sleeping partners at one time or another. (Not all at the same time, I don't think since that would require a mattress as big as FedEx Field.  I don't guess a mattress is necessary though. Do you ever wonder how these people remain disease-free?  Maybe, they aren't!) 

(In her one-act, one-person play, Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly never mentions having sex with any of her new "friends."  Shame.)

Anyway, one party led to another and another, and four hours' sleep per night became the norm along with all those alcoholic calories and friends.  Oh, she found a lot of those on FB: to be exact, 687 she "friended" over the year. 

Once she got out her dancing shoes, it didn't take long to break into the D.C. party  circuit and rub shoulders with the elite, including one of the female U.S. Supreme Court justices, and they discussed dance:  modern or ballet? 

And pretty soon, Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly was going to all the fancy digs with so many escorts who knew their way "in," invited or not.  Just act like you know what you're doing, she said, and the hosts will be too embarrassed to kick you out.  (She didn't name the Salahis at the White House, but their images appeared to many of us.)

Ms. Kelly's props are a computer on a fold-out table, a chair, a bell, and the screen behind her where activities, friends, and male pals are displayed in a slide show.  Sadly, no real names supplied.  Just nicknames ("Captain Morgan," Mr. Liteweight," "Lieutenant Delicious.")  There is no intermission (but all the Fringe intermissions I know about are nothing more than pauses). 

Honestly, I don't think she was really acting as much as pouring her guts out about her incredible year over 60 minutes which, for sure, won't appeal to all, but I'll bet a large portion of "all" might be interested in seeing this movie.  (A book?  No.  Well, maybe, written in sixth-grade style for all those people who don't like to read.) To Hollywood or bust!

When I went last Saturday evening, the audience was about 90 percent female.

I can visualize the movie right now and all the scenes in Georgetown, on the water, the yachts (!), restaurants, and the fancy clubs and magic places.  

Let's think of titles since Status makes me think of concrete.  How about D. C. Party Girl or Diary of a Washington Dancer?  Fabulosity in the Potomac? Phabulous Phantom on the Potomac?

Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly has some tips, too, the most important of which is: 

1.  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" as in be there and show up.  (She did not name the Bible verse, but I'll supply some:  Luke 6:31 or Matthew 7:12.)

and

2.  Never pay a cover charge. 

3. If a guy buys you a drink, you are only obligated to converse with him the time it takes you to gulp the drink. 

4. Always carry an extra cocktail dress in your car. (!) 

5. Never drink red wine when wearing a white dress.  

This was the first sold-out Fringe show I've been to this year, and thank goodness I had a reservation since the venue's box office was turning away last-minute purchasers.

What:  STATUS - A Social Media Experiment

When: July 20, 7:45 p.m.; July 21, 10:30 p.m.; July 24, 6:30 p.m.; July 27, 3:30 p.m.

Where:  Caos on F, 923 F Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 2000r

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:  X-rated

patricialesli@gmail.com

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

patricialesli@gmail.com

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