Folger's 'Richard III' is a haunting thriller

King Richard III and Queen Anne in stained glass in Cardiff Castle, Wales, U.K./Wikimedia Commons and VeteranMP

On February 4, 2013, British scientists confirmed the bones found under a parking lot in Leicester, England six months earlier were indeed the remains of the hated king, Richard III (1452-1485), just as the rumors spoke for 500 years.  And the debate continues on where to put them.

But now on stage with remarkable prescience, the Folger Theatre brings the man to life in William Shakespeare's Richard III. 

Richard is a serial murderer in the play whom the playwright charges rightly or wrongly with 13 deaths.  Maybe more.

For the first time the theatre has brought its stage to the people who surround the production without walls and who become members of the cast.  And I loved, loved, loved the production.

Splash!  Slash!  Cut and strangle!  Come one, come all for gory witness in England:

Bloody thou art, bloody will be thy end;

Shame serves thy life and doth thy death attend.

With a haunting set, the human beast perches on a railing and speaks to the audience, giving hints of what awaits.  After all,

Now is the winter of our discontent

The play takes off, and action never lets up.(In the performance I attended, students watched intently, hanging from the railings in the balcony.)

It is difficult not to fall prey to Richard, skillfully acted by Drew Cortese in a strong and forceful presentation.  Lady Anne (Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan) is unable to resist the power and hypnosis of the man who would be king,  whom you never doubt is every bit as evil as he portends.  If it's sympathy he seeks, he finds it not in audience abundance.

Drew Cortese is Richard in Richard III at the Folger Theatre/photo by Jeff Malet

If ever there was a worse man, name him.

Like Anne, we are supposed to be duped and magnetized by the unbelievable, but that possibility sent shudders up and down my spine, and I never felt the least affinity nor warmth towards the serpent with the hiccup.

And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.

Astonishing is Lady Anne's metamorphosis and transformation in minutes from a woman of hate for the man who murdered her husband and father-in-law, to one seduced in the same scene by the killer who soothes her with words to court her ego.

Was ever woman in this humour woo'd?
Was ever woman in this humour won?
I'll have her; but I will not keep her long.

Queen Elizabeth suffers the worst fate imaginable, the murders of her children:

So wise, so young, they say, do never live long.

Remy Brettell (left) is the Duke of York and his brother, Holden Brettell, the Prince of Wales in Richard III at the Folger Theatre/photo by Theresa Wood

She shouts her indignity and spews hate upon the murderer while simultaneously removing some of her clothing and joining the fray of those be smitten by him.  Naturally (?), she plants a big smacker on his mouth. 

Et tu, Elizabeth? 

Julia Motyka is Queen Elizabeth in Richard III at the Folger Theatre/photo by Theresa Wood

We can feel the rage and wrath of Queen Mad Margaret who nails the killer from the get-go in stunning deliveries whenever she appears:

Cancel his bond of life, dear God, I prey,
That I may live to say, The dog is dead!

Next up: The taking of Richard's niece, Princess Elizabeth, the queen's daughter, for she represents a certain path to the kingdom's glory and is a means to the end.

Intermittent chants, a howling dog and sounds from a bell, organ, and percussion increase the mood of death and angst (Eric Shimelonis) while, one by one, the hunted enter the pits, death's trap doors, n'er more to be seen again, except later in the hither light when their ghostly bodies are illuminated by green lights from below.

Was Richard's deformity the root cause of his evil, or simply an excuse, a crutch, used to beguile traumatized victims on his way to the crown at any cost? 

The Folger's balcony becomes an effective prop used by Richard's henchmen who call down to him, awaiting  direction on the next victim to seize.

Throughout the drama, Jim Hunter's lighting adds a atmosphere of dark and death to ghastly design for a dungeon's pit. Sunglasses are never necessary (although worn by a henchman) in this production also billed as a comedy (?), for there is no daylight, only darkness.

The costuming contrast (Mariah Hale) is at first vexing since different eras are represented by male and female characters, but the males' modern-day garb sheds light on the timelessness of the script.  All the men in black wear neckties, leather pants and coats, chains, and nose rings, like hoodlums or singers in a London band, whereas the women are dressed in Victorian  apparel with standout jewelry. 

Richard was only king for two years (1483-1485) until he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last king to die in battle. 

A horse!  a horse!  my kingdom for a horse!

Go and see what effect the brute has on you.  Beware of his charms and gird yourself with mental sword to safeguard the theft of your being with sweet words of deceit. 
 
And upon closing, look center for bone-chilling reminders of  what's left of the dragon monster, the python who lingers amidst us all.  Beware, saints who enter here.

Shakespeare wrote Richard III around 1592 and since then, many actors have portrayed the assassin, including John Wilkes Booth.

What do I fear? Myself? There’s none else by.
Richard loves Richard; that is, I and I.
Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am.
Then fly! What, from myself? Great reason why:
Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself?
Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? For any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no! Alas, I rather hate myself
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
I am a villain. Yet I lie. I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well. Fool, do not flatter:
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the highest degree;
Murder, stern murder, in the direst degree;
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, “Guilty! guilty!”
I shall despair. There is no creature loves me,
And if I die no soul will pity me.
And wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself?

Other members of the cast and crew:  Jenna Berk, Andrew Criss, Daniel Flint, Sean Fri, Michael Gabriel Goodfriend, Nanna Ingvarsson, Paul Morella, Howard W. Overshown, Michael Sharon, Richard Sheridan Willis, Tony Cisek, scenic designer, Casey Dean Kaleba, fight director, Michele Osherow, resident dramaturg, Daryl Eisenberg, casting, Che Wernsman, production stage manager, Keri Schultz, assistant stage manager, Janet Alexander Griffin, artistic producer, Beth Emelson, assistant artistic producer. Daniel Polk, general manager, and Charles Flye, production manager.

What:  Richard III

When:  Now extended through March 16 , 2014

Where:  Folger Theatre

Tickets: $25 - $72

Metro station:  Capitol South or Union Station

For more information:  202.544.7077 or 202.544.4600

Special Richard events:


Pre-Show Talk Wednesday, February 12, 6:30 p.m.
A scholarly discussion of the play with Folger Director Michael Witmore. Includes light fare reception. Click here for information and to purchase tickets.

Post-Show Talk with Cast  Thursday, February 20
Following the 7:30 p.m. performance

Folger Friday
Friday, February 21 at 6 p.m.
Poets Sarah Browning and Brian Gilmore respond to the play with original works. Browning is the executive director of Split This Rock and Gilmore is a public interest lawyer and professor. No charge.


Folger Friday
Friday, February 28 at 6 p.m.
Mimi Yiu, a scholar at Georgetown University, discusses early modern architecture in the context of the Folger's production of Richard III.  No charge.

Open-Captioned  Sunday, March 2, 2 p.m.
Call the box office at 202.544.7077 for details

Forsooth, Helen Hayes Nominations:

Outstanding Resident Play

Outstanding Director, Resident Play:  Robert Richmond

Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play: Drew Cortese

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play:  Julia Motyka

Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production:  Jim Hunter

Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production:  Eric Shimelonis 


For a listing and reviews of other area performances, click here for DC Metro Theater Arts.



 patricialesli@gmail.com

Free Valentine music Feb. 5 at St. John's, Lafayette Square

piandodiscoveries.com

For those who need help recovering from the Super Bowl, alas, or who want to get a head start on Valentine's Day celebrations, or who may not have reason to celebrate Valentine's Day, sigh, or who just want to enjoy elegant music in a setting of tranquility and bliss, you are invited to a free concert of baroque music Wednesday, February 5, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, beginning at 12:10 p.m. 


Four soloists from St. John's choir will sing romantic selections from Handel, Purcell, Dowland, Guedron, and Durant accompanied by text like Shakespeare's If Music Be the Food of Love, Sing On, and John Gay's Love Sound the Alarm.

askinyourface.com

 

Performing will be Sara MacKimmie, soprano; Lauren Campbell, alto; Matthew Hill, tenor; Brandon Straub, bass; Amy Domingues, viola da gamba; and Michael Lodico, organ.

Sara MacKimmie, soprano

 

Amy Domingues will play the viola da gamba at St. John's, at 12:10 p.m. Feb. 5, 2014

 

St. John's hosts First Wednesday concerts every month from October through June. The church is known to many Washington residents and visitors as the welcoming yellow church at Lafayette Square, the “Church of the Presidents.” President James Madison, who served as president from 1809 to 1817, began a tradition for presidents by either attending or joining 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. 

Other St. John's First Wednesday concerts, all starting at 12:10 p.m., are:

March 12 (2nd Wednesday): Virtuoso Organist Dongho Lee performs Charles Ives's Variations on "America" and other works

April 2: The U.S. Air Force Strings conducted by 2nd Lt. Shanti Nolan, with Michael Lodico, organist, perform Francis Poulenc's Organ Concerto

May 7: Easter music for trumpet and organ with A. Scott Wood and Benjamin Hutto

June 4: Organist Alan Morrison

Who on February 5:  Sara MacKimmie, Lauren Campbell, Matthew Hill, Brandon Straub, Amy Domingues, and Michael Lodico to sing and play music for heartstrings

What:   First Wednesday Concerts at St. John's

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

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16^th and H, Washington, D.C. 20005

How much: No charge

Duration: About 35 minutes

Wheelchair accessible

Metro stations: McPherson Square, Farragut North, or Farragut West

Food trucks: Located two blocks away at Farragut Square

For more information: Contact Michael Lodico at 202-270-6265, Michael.Lodico@stjohns-dc.org.



patricialesli@gmail.com

Vincent van Gogh leaves Washington Sunday

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Entrance to the Public Gardens at Arles, 1888. The Phillips Collection.  This painting is one of the first van Goghs acquired by an American museum (1930).

Where else can you find 30 Vincent van Goghs together in the U.S. other than at The Phillips Collection, where they are set to depart Sunday, Super Vincent Day?

It is the first van Gogh (1853-1890) exhibition in 15 years in Washington, the first at The Phillips, and the first anywhere to focus on his "repetitions," the word he used to call his different versions of the same subject.  They are on loan from collections around the world, juxtaposed to make changes from one to the next easier to view, detect, and discuss.

Who knew the master painted so many of the same subject?

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), The Postman Joseph Roulin, February-March, 1889.  Collection, Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo.

 

If you saw the Yes, No, Maybe exhibition which closed last month at the National Gallery of Art, you got a glimpse of  dilemmas and decisions artists face and make and the number of times they re-work results.  The theme of Van Gogh Repetitions, is to "examine how and why [van Gogh] repeated certain compositions," says The Phillips. 

Visitors will observe the evolutions of 13 repetitions with adaptations noted in shapes, positions, colors, and facial expressions.

The man whose career only spanned a decade before he died, did not hurriedly slosh paint upon the canvas outdoors, a mental picture many van Gogh fans may share:  There he is, standing in the fields with brush and easel along a dusty road, amidst the tall sunflowers wearing a hat with a large brim to shield his already-sunburned head from the sun and heat. Repetitions "shows how the artist was also methodical and controlled." 

The display opens with The Road Menders (1899) from The Phillips and another version on the adjacent wall painted in the same year, The Large Plane Trees, on loan from the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Stand and compare the two and note variations.   Which do you think he painted first?  Are the styles the same?  Does one have brighter colors?  More life?

Drawn from The Phillips' collection in the second gallery are paintings by artists who influenced van Gogh, who had personal connections to many: Delacroix, whom van Gogh called "the greatest colorist of all," Seurat, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Daumier, Millet, Rembrandt, and, of course, Gauguin, are some. Van Gogh copied many of them and built a personal print collection of 3,000 images which he used as basis for his own productions. 

From there to the next, to the next gallery, the paintings flow, a vast van Gogh bliss for followers.
 
One version of three of The Bedroom at Arles (1889)  (yes, it is that bedroom, the one which immediately leaps to mind) is included.  Text reveals van Gogh made all the walls in each Bedroom violet, however, time has turned some of the reds into blue walls.

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), The Bedroom at Arles, October, 1889. Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

 

Six works of Postman Joseph Roulin from 1888-1889 are included.  Notable for its sharp contrasts from all the rest is the Winterthur version done when Paul Gauguin was visiting van Gogh, urged by his temporary housemate to become bolder, more abstract, and modern.

That rendition looks unlike the van Goghs you know, and the stilted subject sits in a weird way with his head tilted and his eyes seemingly focused on separate points, its exceptions extreme in a garish way, almost a character from a haunting novel.

Only one of Joseph Roulin is signed, the Barnes' Roulin, which The Phillips calls "the most naturalistic" of three done in 1889, and it is that one which appears to be the most popular, one I know well, a print of it purchased long ago somewhere that now hangs in my bedroom.  

The postman was a friend to van Gogh, helping and visiting the artist when he was in the hospital at Arles.  Van Gogh loved the Roulin family and painted individual portraits of all the family members, all found in the presentation.

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Lullaby:  Madame Augustine Roulin Rocking a Cradle (La Berceuse), February-March, 1889. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of John T. Spaulding

 

Accompanying the show is a catalogue published by Yale University Press with 125 color illustrations and available at the shop or online.  Preparation and research for Repetitions began eight years ago.  A cell phone tour provides more information.

If you miss Repetitions  at The Phillips, you may travel to Cleveland where it will be staged from March 2 - May 26, 2014.  The Phillips and the Cleveland Museum of Art organized the show.  The Musee d'Orsay was a major lender, and Lockheed Martin, a major sponsor.

What:  Van Gogh Repetitions

When:  Now through February 2, 2014.  Saturday, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Where:  The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St., N.W. at Q St., Washington, D.C.  20009

Tickets:  $12, $10 for those over 62, and free for members always, for children 18 and under, and for students (with I.D.).   Advance ticket purchase, highly recommended since tickets are timed.

Metro Station:  Dupont Circle (Q Street exit.  Turn left and walk one block.) 

For more information:  202-387-2151

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National Symphony Orchestra tickets on sale for $11

Martin Frost will debut with the National Symphony Orchestra April 24 when he plays Aho's Clarinet Concerto/Photo by Mats Backer

Can you believe it?  For less than the price of a movie.

A mailing I received from the Kennedy Center says a minimum of any three concerts (certain dates and times) without a handling fee are all you need to buy to get $11 tickets.

You can get better seats for $22 or $33 each, depending upon the level where you want to sit, but since my purse is mean and lean, I'm going with the extra super-duper low price to beat all.

Timpanist Jauvon Gilliam will play Oliverio's Concerto No. 1 in a night of symphony and dance at NSO May 13/Photo by Margot Schulman

Okay, the details:  No Saturday nights, but there are plentiful Thursday and Friday nights available: Feb. 27-28, Mar. 13-14, Mar. 20-21, April 10-11, April 17-18, April 24-25, May 7-8 (Wednesday and Thursday), May 13 (Tuesday), May 16, June 5-6, and June 12-13. 

 

The programs are fantastic:   Beethoven, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Strauss, Prokofiev, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Gershwin, and Copland to name many of the composers.

Violinist Leila Josefowicz will join NSO in a night of symphony and dance when she plays Adams' Violin Concerto May 16/Photo by Henry Fair

The May programs feature "symphony and dance" like Bernstein's On the Waterfront (May 7-8),  The Three Faces of Duke Ellington (May 13), and Adams' Violin Concerto (May 16). 

Rush!  (Whew!  This puts me in one.)

James Conlon will conduct NSO April 10 and 11 in works by Zemlinsky, Korngold, and Brahms/Photo by Robert Millard

Log on to nationalsymphony.org/tripleplay and choose the Triple Play Subscription under NSO Classical. Make your selections and check out.  Last year I couldn't get online reservations to work for me so this year I called 202-416-8500, and "Billy" got me all signed up and squared away, pronto.  Thanks, Billy!

 

The offer ends February 21, 2014, and it can be withdrawn at any time.  Time's a fleetin'.  Enjoy the show!  (You know, don't you, about the free shuttle which runs about every 10 minutes from the Foggy Bottom Metro Station to Ken Cen?  And back.)


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'This' on Vienna's stage is lots more than 'this'

 From left, Matthew Randall, Shannon Benton, Allen McRae, Rikki Howie Lacewell, and Kevin Walker with baby, and, mostly hidden in the background, pianist Scott Richards in This at Vienna Theatre Company/Photo by Peter Hill

The weakest link in this chain has got to be the title of this Northern Virginia premiere of This, yes, This, now playing at the Vienna Theatre Company. 

A dull, nondescript pronoun?

You got it (or this) right, Sister.  I mean we all have hang-ups, but This?

It is so much more than this.  It is a modern-day world, a contemporary drama/comedy as written by Melissa James Gibson with its ups and downs and how humans deal with adversity.  "I am sick of being human," says the show stealer, Alan (Matthew Randall). 

From left, Allen McRae, Shannon Benton, Matthew Randall, and Kevin Walker in This at Vienna Theatre Company/Photo by Peter Hill

It's today, after all, in New York City meaning f-bombs drop often in the second act, but not to worry.  At least, last Friday night's crowd didn't seem too bothered, and there was a goodly number of senior citizens present (and others) despite the ice and snow and low temperatures, but "f" is so common nowadays whatever do you think is its replacement?

Anyway, not to talk about that all night, but This where the stage star is the acting, especially by the two female stars,  widow and poetess Jane (Shannon Benton) and Marrell (Rikki Howie Lacewell), who are BFF, or they are until...

The location is mostly Tom (Kevin Walker) and Marrell's apartment where a new friend, a doctor from France (?), Jean-Pierre (Allen McRae), joins old friends, including gay Alan and Jane in an evening of games.  Jean-Pierre is a set-up by Marrell for Jane undergoing the stress of her dearly departed husband (or when she remembers him, only in the ashes a year). Marrell and Tom have a new baby who puts additional strains on their marriage as babies do. 

Mama and Papa constantly bicker:  "I thought when you got married, you were supposed to make each other feel better. We make each other feel worse."

Alan's one-liners produce lots of audience laughter and without them, it would be a dreary presentation:  "How much money do you make and is it more money than I make and how can you help me?"  

Jean-Pierre says he doesn't have a television, and Alan responds:  "Oh, don't tell me you are one of those!"  One of the best:  "I wish this room had more wainscoting."  (You have to be there.)

The set is fine, however, a room divider placed in front of the sofa when the scene changes to Jane's apartment, or two artificial trees behind the bench for the park talk would have improved the appearance and reduced the intrusion on the new scenes by the old scenes. 

Throughout the production two large wall screens display photographs of the outdoors, changing seasons, and neon bar signs, and were quite successfully employed.

Scott Richards' original music and piano playing enriched the performance in a dramatic way, particularly with perfectly timed single notes.

The script and meaning of the short last scene left me confounded. But the acting makes you realize, once again, how lucky we are in the D.C. region to be blessed with so much theatre talent.

WOMEN'S COSTUMES

After the show, the producer, Jesse Roberts, said the weather wrecked havoc with rehearsal time, but theatregoers never knew.

Next up:  a competition for better title!

This was directed by Tom Flatt, Set Design: Kevin King,
Lighting: Anne Marie Castrigno, Sound/Projections: Jon Roberts, Projections: Ed Conley, Costumes: Susan Boyd,
Set Decoration/Props: Jocelyn Steiner, Stage Manager: Don Libretta, Assistant Stage Manager/Crew: Laura Moody, George Sinks, Dina Green.

For a listing and reviews of other area performances, click here for DC Metro Theater Arts.

What:  This

When:  January 31, February 1, 7, and 8 (Fridays and Saturdays) at 8 p.m., and February 2 and 9 (Sundays) at 2 p.m. 

Where:  Vienna Theatre Company,120 Cherry Street, Vienna, VA 22180

Tickets:  $13

Language and adult themes make it inappropriate for most children under age 16.

For more information: 703-255-6360 or visit the website

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Contemporary contraptions at McLean's Project for the Arts

Melissa Burley, Geared Up/Patricia Leslie

 

How can anyone visit a modern art show and not come away astonished by what artists can create and make?

The newest exhibition at the McLean Community Center will leave viewers' eyes open wide.  It's called Contraptions:  Reflections on the Almost Functional, and they are.

Stephanie Williams, Alex, is priced at $2,500/Patricia Leslie

 

The brochure says the artists draw, make, sculpt, and assemble works which deal with "real, imagined, or implied" functionality.  I'll say.   Not all the pieces conjured up "functionality" for me.  Take Stephanie Williams' Alex, for example. Alex struck me as a gynecological model of a one-legged being, maybe a harnessed man? A harassed man ensnared by a wheelbarrow's bars? He begins to reach for assistance, for help with his (he is a "his," of that I am quite certain) long, skinny appendages. Perhaps, that is the message:  Men determine body decisions for women, so let's capture man, and we'll make body decisions for him.  I'll vote for that.

The "thing" is headless so thinking equipment, if it exists, may reside elsewhere on the structure. And what is that end product, please, the pink blob?

The artist, Rima Schulkind with her Say Cheese, priced at $2,500, and perfect for a camera shop/Patricia Leslie

 

 

A few steps away in the Ramp Gallery are Eric Celarier's Wasteland Series, old and new computer parts strung out on leather quilts, stitched together with leather ties.  I can just see them hanging on entrance walls at Apple, HP, and ASUS.  They are a visual history of a computer's parts, a tech landscape and available in various sizes. 

Eric Celarier with one of his Wasteland Series/Patricia Leslie

Mr. Celarier said some parts are quite old, going back several decades. Computers are not as new as one might think.  I can recall about 1985 when a colleague brought his new computer to work, after Christmas.  It was the size of a refrigerator.  (He always had to be the first kid on the block to have the newest of everything. I am certain a robot is driving him to work by now if he is not luxuriating on a sea on Mars.)

Eric Celarier, Wasteland Series XIV/Patricia Leslie

Meanwhile, in the Atrium Gallery are sculptures by Melissa Burley who has used recycled equipment, including bicycle chains, to show off her creations encased in lighted boxes. (I wonder how old Melissa is.  Anyone remember light boxes?)  Round and round they go, circles and wheels suggesting motion like our brain waves which never stop (are you sure?), trapped by our own limitations and constant repetitions.

For those dinner guests who insist on staying beyond the midnight hour, you can pull out Melissa Burley's Hot Seat/Patricia Leslie

 

You see what art can do!  Go and find out what the pieces say to you and please, write soon.

Nancy Sausser curated Contraptions, and other artists represented are Blake Hurt, Adam Hager, and Dymphna de Wild.  All Contraptions are for sale.

Scheduled talks and workshops at the McLean Community Center are:

Friday, Feb. 21, 7 - 9 p.m. "Waste in Contemporary Art" with Eric Celarier.  Free.

Saturday, Feb. 22, 10 - 11:30 a.m. Family Art Workshop:  "Multi-Media Mobiles" for ages 4 - 8. $10/family

Saturday, Feb. 22, 1 - 4 p.m. Workshop with Eric Celarier:  "Anatsui and Reuse Art" for ages 9 - 14. $10

What: Contraptions:  Reflections on the Almost Functional with more art in the galleries

When: Now through March 1, 2014, Monday through Thursday: 9 a.m. - 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m. - 12 a.m., and Sunday: 12 - 6 p.m. 

Where: McLean Project for the Arts at the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, VA 22101. For directions and a map, click here.

Admission: No charge

Parking:  Plentiful and free

For more information: 703-790-1953 or 703-790-0123

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D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier lured by tuition benefits

Washington, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Jan. 15, 2014/Patricia Leslie

Cathy Lanier was a single mom and working as a secretary and a waitress, enjoying her jobs but wanting to go back to school. Once she "got common sense" after her "turbulent" teen years, her mother told her daughter that if she wanted to get ahead, to get an education.  

Chief Lanier took her mama's advice.

Last week at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, D.C.'s popular police chief talked about her past and the changes at the police department for the church's Lafayette Fellowship.  One man said he came from New York City to hear her talk.

Her motives for joining the police force were not totally altruistic, she said, and she didn't think she'd stay too long when she was hired in 1990, but the tuition benefits the department offered were mighty attractive, and she was anxious to get back in school.

Washington, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Jan. 15, 2014/Patricia Leslie

 

Now, a few years later, she has a B.S., two master's degrees, and is a graduate of the FBI's National Academy.

In the department over the years she advanced up the ranks until 2007 when Mayor Adrian Fenty appointed her police chief. She was 39. (Her present five-year contract ends in 2017.)

Speaking "off the cuff" without notes, she paced back and forth in front of the audience of about 100 who sat quietly in the pews and later asked questions. She talked quickly and enthusiastically. It is quite obvious she loves her job.

She spoke proudly of the reduction in the number of homicides in the District which fell 53% between 2008 and 2012. The lowest number of murder cases in recent history was recorded in 2012 (88) after a high of almost 500 a year.

She hated that Washington was known as the murder capital of the world and has tried to inspire the force with "can do" thinking and and show "what we can accomplish" instead of perceptions of what can't be done.

Before she became chief, she was bothered by the department's attitude about murders. Within the ranks some homicides were considered more important than others, but to the chief: "personally, I think they all [murders] are important….every murder really matters," a belief she has fought to instill within the force.

Critical to her are closing old murder cases which are now happening at the rate of 18 to 20 "cold cases" a year, some going back to the 1990s.

The department has been aided by the addition of new technologies and tools, making Washington "the most technically advanced police department in the country," she said. "We've come a long way."

She noted that Washington's nighttime and daytime populations are now about the same. The District is one of the fastest growing cities in America, meaning there's lots more work for law enforcement.

The district force works closely with Homeland Security and Capitol Hill police, in addition to police and troopers in Maryland and Virginia. It's essential to be able to get along well with others and have a positive attitude if you want to achieve common goals, she said.

Since she's on the news so much, seemingly for every major crime story, does she have any free time? Answer: yes, but no hint about what she does with it.

Has she ever considered or been asked to run for public office? Demurely, Chief Lanier said she didn’t think she had the temperament. Some might say she speaks too truthfully and tells it too much like it really is.

When asked for good advice for citizens, she said: "Please don't walk around with your mobile device in your hand. They sell quickly." Property crimes are the vast majority of crimes in the District.

She answered questions about gun control, race v. class divisions within the District, the influx of millennials moving back to the area and how it affects crime, and promoting more women within the police department.

The chief comes from a family of public servants: one brother is a police officer and another brother is a firefighter like her dad was. Her mother acts as consultant for her daughter, dispensing advice. Mothers are always right.

 

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