Skating for a cause: a legacy

One of the skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Tears rolled down the faces of many of the skaters and me and others in the audience at Sunday's Legacy on Ice, the fundraiser set up in just over a month to honor first responders, aviation rescuers and the families of the 67 victims killed January 29, 2025 in the plane collision over the Potomac River at Washington's National Airport.  

Never have I been in such a crowd of thousands who remained silent and somber throughout the afternoon while they watched the show on ice.

No one talked; no one whispered in Capitol One Arena, known for its boisterous crowds when the Capitals play hockey.

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

A skater at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025. Did he forget to bring his uniform?/By Patricia Leslie

Although we expected the show to last about 90 minutes, the performers kept coming, for almost 2.5 hours.

As the skaters came out, they each carried a white rose, which they lay upon a table.

During a pause, first responders arrived in uniform, marching in, to sit on a front row. Representatives from Washington's professional teams attended and were recognized.

Although some falls occurred, each skater got back up in a millisecond and continued on his or her routine.

Olympic star Johnny Weir came out of retirement to skate for Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025. It may look like it from this picture, but Weir did not fall/By Patricia Leslie

Olympic star Johnny Weir came out of retirement to skate for Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

A skater at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Isabella Aparicio who lost her brother, Franco, and her father, Luciano, from Dunn Loring, VA in the crash, at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025. At the end of her performance, she fell to her knees and sobbed, and the audience sobbed with her /By Patricia Leslie

Isabella Aparicio at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Isabella Aparicio at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Brielle Breyer who was killed with her mother, Justyna, in the crash, was honored with this skate by one of her coaches at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Brielle Breyer's coach at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Maxim Naumov whose parents, Olympic stars Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov died in the crash, skated at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025. Skating with determination, Maumov ended his performance, dropping to his knees and holding his head in his hands, sobbing for several seconds until three skaters came out and helped him up/By Patricia Leslie

Friends of Maxim Naumov came out to help him off the ice after his emotional performance at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

By the time headliner and world champion Ilia Malinin came out to end the afternoon with his quad leaps and backward flips to thrill the crowd, my phone had run out of power to photograph him and others.

Lighted skaters ("robots") at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

"Robots" at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

A skater at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Legendary skater and Olympic star Peggy Fleming at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Legendary skater and Olympic star Peggy Fleming at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025 who surrounded a skater in black with white wings/By Patricia Leslie

It's no surprise that the Washington Post got the price of the tickets wrong in its story Monday since who's left there to check facts? 

While some of the tickets may have been $30 like WAPO reported they all were, prices ranged from $18-$19 to more than $60 which is what we paid for excellent seats.

Also, the Jeff Bezos Trump echo conveniently omitted the large donation Monumental Sports made to the effort:  $200,000. Its owner, Ted Leonsis (and his granddaughter?) were pictured on the big screens over the center of the ice.

Monumental announced that $1.2 million was raised at Sunday's event with more to come on Sunday, March 30, 2025 when NBC broadcasts Legacy on Ice at 1 p.m.

After a national skating competition in Boston March 25, a similar benefit in Boston may be held.

I believe these were local skaters who raised a white bouquet at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

A skater at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

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A skater at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Skaters at Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Olympians Scott Hamilton and Nancy Kerrigan, both dressed in suits, skated off the ice with the other stars at the end of Legacy on Ice, Washington, D.C., March 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie

Salute to Canada's impressionist, Helen McNicoll

Helen McNicoll, The Brown Hat, c. 1906. Art Gallery of Ontario. This is one of McNicoll’s earliest known paintings and displayed in 1906 at one of her first exhibitions. The austere background and mood suggest McNicoll may have painted it prior to 1906 when she was a student in London and Montreal, the label said.  Although it is not believed to be a self-portrait, it shows her style before she found “light.”

Helen McNicoll, Midsummer, c. 1909, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

Who was Helen McNicoll and why should we care?

Helen McNicoll, Study of a Child, c. 1913, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.  Although McNicoll never used the word "mother" in any of her titles, she often painted women as caregivers, working in and around the home. The label noted that McNicoll joined Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot describing the value of women's work, juxtaposed beside subjects chosen by male artists.

Not only was she Canadian (drawing more attention than usual because of the White House occupant's obsession with Canada), but she was a fine impressionist and featured artist in a show ending earlier this year at the National Museum of Fine Arts of Québec, Helen McNicoll An Impressionist Journey.

Helen McNicoll, Beneath the Trees, c. 1910, McNicoll Canadian Art Collection

Helen McNicoll, The Apple Gatherer, c. 1911, Art Gallery of Hamilton. When exhibited in 1911, the Montreal press praised this "delightfully sunshiny pictures of which Miss McNicoll is now an almost perfect master," blending impressionism and plein air naturalism.

Helen McNicoll, The Apple Gatherer (detail)

Helen McNicoll, Garden, 1913, Pierre Lassonde Collection

Helen McNicoll, Garden (detail), 1913, Pierre Lassonde Collection

Upon first glance her style immediately brings to mind that of Mary Cassatt with whom she shared many commonalities. 

The two artists often lived about the same time, McNicoll (1879-1915) and Cassatt (1844-1926). They spent part of their adult lives studying and painting abroad, in London (McNicoll) and France (Cassatt).

Helen McNicoll, Picking Flowers, c. 1912, Art Gallery of Ontario.  The label said this was likely made when McNicoll was traveling and based on a plein-air study.

Helen McNicoll, Fishing, c. 1907, private collection. McNicoll's companion, Dorothea Sharp, carried "pretty frocks" which fishermen's children loved to wear when modeling for the artist.  See below.

Helen McNicoll, The Children's Playground, 1912, private collection.

Helen McNicoll, Landscape, c. 1910, Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection

McNicoll and Cassatt both painted domestic scenes in soft colors with children and women the frequent subjects amidst pleasant almost idyllic backdrops.  

Neither married nor had children. They shared a close bond with female companions. Both came from wealthy families.  

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, McNicoll was in France, soon forced home by her father. She died the next year in England. 

Helen McNicoll, Venice, 1910, Pierre Lassonde Collection

Helen McNicoll, The Open Door, c. 1913, Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection.

Helen McNicoll, The Gleaner, 1910, Pierre Lassonde Collection. Her face seems a bit rough for a woman as she almost sneers.  Unhappy in her work?

Helen McNicoll, Stubble Fields, c. 1912, National Gallery of Canada. Shortly after this was exhibited, it was purchased by the National Gallery which, the label noted, boosted the artist's confidence.

 

Helen McNicoll, This Gleaner was painted in 1908, again with a red, rough face, almost identical to the Gleaner above, painted two years later and in similar apparel. Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection

Helen McNicoll, The Chintz Sofa, 1913, Pierre Lassonde Collection. The woman may be Dorothea Sharp who shared this studio with McNicoll in London.  The label said the woman pictured may be sewing mementos for the women's suffrage campaign in England. This work in 2023 produced the highest price, $653,775, that I found for a McNicoll.

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Helen McNicoll, The Victorian Dress, c. 1914, Art Canada Institute

Helen McNicoll, Evening Street Scene, c. 1910, Women's Art Association of Canada

Helen McNicoll,, The Avenue, 1912, Pierre Lassonde Collection. This reminds me of several of van Gogh's.

Helen McNicoll, Montreal Snowstorm, c. 1911, Pierre Lassonde Collection

Helen McNicoll, Fruit Vendor, 1910, Pierre Lassonde Collection. The label noted that most of the artist's markets were French scenes but this one was in Venice.  The girl wears a black shawl, then (and now) in vogue and shows three women in various roles.

Helen McNicoll, In the Market, Montreuil, 1912, private collection.

Helen McNicoll, The Market Cart, Brittany, 1910, Robert McLaughlin Gallery 

Helen McNicoll, The Market Cart, Brittany, 1910, Robert McLaughlin Gallery 

Unknown photographer, Helen McNicoll in her studio, c. 1906, Robert McLaughlin Gallery Archives

Helen McNicoll, Dorothea Sharp working with a child model, n.d., Robert McLaughlin Gallery Archives

 

McNicoll and Cassatt each suffered ill health, complications from diabetes leading to McNicoll's early death at age 35.  At age 2, she had scarlet fever which left her practically deaf and unable to communicate normally. 

And although she lived to age 82, Cassatt gave up painting at age 60 or 70 (sources vary) due to blindness.

In 2023 their art did meet in Cassatt — McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds at the Art Gallery of Ontario which has featured solo McNicoll exhibitions in the past.

I am sure there are other similarities which must be the subject of a dissertation or two. Here is a link is to a good article about the two artists in Art Herstory.

Searching Washington museums (the Phillips, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the National Gallery of Art), I found none with a McNicoll but they all have at least one Cassatt.  Yes:  Cassatt was American, but still... 

The highest price I found for a McNicoll was one she made likely of her companion, Dorothea Sharp, The Chintz Sofa (c.1912) which sold for $653,775 in 2023. Cassatt's high price was almost $7.4 million in 2022 for Young Lady in a Loge Gazing to Right.

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Vienna's 'Rumors' is hilarious

Steve Rosenthal is Ernie Cusack, the husband of Cookie (Anne Hilleary), right, in Vienna Theatre Company's Rumors/By Eddie Page

 Football game?

What football game? Who's talking football?

There was an important football game in the DMV on Sunday but who was minding the television? There was a lot more action in the games on stage at the Vienna Theatre Company where players were flying high and fast! 

Who's talking? Who cares?

Well, they were all were talking, some at the same time in Neil Simon's play Rumors presented to a packed house on Sunday afternoon.

From left, Kate Bierly is Cassie Cooper; Dave Wright is Lenny Ganz; Anne Brodnax is Claire Ganz, and Liz Owerbach is Chris Gorman in Vienna Theatre Company's Rumors/By Eddie Page

The play is a one-night stand on a summer evening in New York when words and actions go awry as Rumors’ characters try to sort out what's going on. 

Leave it to Neil Simon to make merry from stress.

Four couples meet at Myra and Charley’s house to help the happy couple celebrate their 10th anniversary, but, … where was Myra? 

And Charley?  He was missing, too.

A gun goes off, and soon another! (Prepare yourselves for really loud bang, bangs with bang!  bang! adult language.)

Ken (Ilan Komrad) and Chris (Liz Owerbach) are the first party goers to arrive and discover Charley is hurt, but is he still alive?

They try to hide the truth, if only they knew it. Ken soon loses his hearing due to another gunshot blast and repeats what he thinks he is hearing but he's not.  

(With the dynamism of a talking human volcano and under the directorship of Eddie Page, Komrad’s antics and expressionism while he weaves on the second floor from bedroom to bathroom and back again are wild comic scenes.)

Meanwhile, Chris patiently puts up with her husband’s sudden peculiarities to welcome Lenny (Dave Wright) and Claire (Kim Paul) who've been in a car accident in Lenny’s brand new BMW and into the fold of lies and super lies they fall at the party. (Or, is it a wake?)

Arriving next are the funniest couple, the oldest, the most doddering, Ernie (Steve Rosenthal) and Cookie (Anne Hilleary), who well display the mannerisms of old folks.

Cookie has an aching back and can’t find her grandmother's precious earrings. 

Wait!  What’s this? She's holding them in her hand.

And here comes the youngest but certainly not the lovingest couple, Glenn (Nick Koutris) and Cassie (Kate Bierly), who argue over ... what else? You got it! Crystals! Yes, crystals! (You have to be there.)

The couples bicker and lash out at themselves, trying to cover tracks and spill the beans to the...oh, no!

Here come the cops in the form of Officer Welch (Christian Aguilar) and more police to question the circumstances and for sure, Aguilar is so real as a cop, he’s gotta be a real cop with his long drawn and suspicious speech, holding his belt while he ambles in the parlor, walking around from side to side.

Whatever can the anniversary party tell the police?

It’s an entertaining show that gains momentum with each passing scene, as one couple after another enters, argues and becomes confused by the crime.  

What crime?

Michelle Harris dresses the actors to the nines for the festive occasion. Lighting director Ari McSherry has hands working fast to shine on those commanding the stage which are all of them.

Charles Dragonette composed a realistic parlor and upstairs setting, complete with bar and fluttering art of flowers on the walls to set the stage for flittering flirtations of flames, but who’s talking?

Affairs? Who?

Bob Hannan's skillfully designed sounds of cars, phones, and crashes complement the fun. 

Other production team members are Margaret Chapman, properties; Art Snow, special effects; Adrienne Kammer and George Farnsworth, set construction.

Vienna is fortunate to have one last weekend of this hilarity to leave you smiling when you exit the doors. 

What: Rumors by Neil Simon

When: 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2025 and 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025

Where: Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St., SE, Vienna, VA 22180 (703) 255-6360.


How much: $16.


For more information: vtcshows@yahoo.com or call the Community Center, ph. 703-255-6360 

Patricialesli@gmail.com

Mark your calendar now for 2025 New Year Eve’s reservations at

 

Thompson Italian in Falls Church/Thompson Italian website

Thompson Italian in Falls Church (or Alexandria) before they sell out again! 

A six-course feast with different wines from Italy at every course. And fresh glasses to boot with every wine!

A memorable evening (for an understatement) and worth every dollar! ($198 or $260 with tax and tip).

Beginning with the first course...

That would be Steak Tartare Crostini served with Alta Langa sparkling white from the Mirafiori winery in Italy's Piedmont region. Both wine and steak, delicious/By Patricia Leslie

 

The second course was blackened tuna carpaccio, served with Roero Arneis, a dry white, and Tenuta Carretta Cayega, aged in stainless steel tanks, and Tenuta Carretta, aged in barrels, all from the Piedmont. The aged-barrel wine was a little heavy, especially in competition with the Roero Arneis and the tuna and salsa verde/By Patricia Leslie

 

Next up was yummy burrata with pomodoro sauce, basil and toasted focaccia (pictured below) accompanied by Broccardo's Barbera and Nebbiolo also from Italy's Piedmont region.  By this point, we were getting pretty full, but (it was a "miracle") kept going/By Patricia Leslie

The toasted focaccia/By Patricia Leslie

This was heavy and I could not eat all of potato-taleggio agnolotti, truffle butter and parmesan, the fourth course served with Pakravan-Papi's cabernet from Tuscany/By Patricia Leslie

The fifth course was osso bucco (veal shanks with saffron risotto and gremolata) which came with wine from Tuscany's Casanova di Neri's Brunnello di Montalcino. The wait staff offered me a "to go" box since I had no room left for even half of it/By Patricia Leslie

This was the last course, a cranberry-hazelnut tart with brown butter, apple cider caramel and orange gelato served with a sparkling Tenuta Carretta's Nebbiolo, classico metoda from the Piedmont region. Even this (!), I was unable to finish, alas/By Patricia Leslie

 I can't wait for next year!/By Patricia Leslie

For the third year in a row, my pal Cashmere (?) and I had a heckuva good time eating at Thompson's NYE, practically none of the wines (or courses) we were able to finish, unlike our first year of celebration when we drank every last drop (until close to the end when we had no more room). 

I honestly can't remember driving home that year, but Cash reminded me I slept in the car for a while in a parking lot. (Perhaps awakened by the low temperatures.)  Since then, it's been riding a good old, reliable bus.

 And now we pace ourselves and don’t consume every last drop and feel better the next day, too! 

It's a delicious, delightful, dazzling tradition! 

YOLO!

Patricialesli@gmail.com

An art lover's must read

If you love anything about art, this is a fascinating excursion into the wild world of art.

The Devil in the Gallery: How Scandal, Shock, And Rivalry Shaped The Art World (2021) by Noah Charney is full of outrageous art, with detailed descriptions and reproductions in black and white and color, most from Wikipedia.

Nothing is sacred here. All art's scandals and controversies are included which build more traffic. (Natch)

And the more controversial, the better: “It is difficult to think of any artist who was involved in a scandal that proved their absolute ruin both in the short and long term.” (P. 45)

The book spans about five centuries, from Caravaggio in the 16th century to contemporary artists (Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Ai Weiwei and more).

Caravaggio was a murderer which has not affected his long-term following:

“Being a bad person, even a murderer, does not seem to negatively impact an artist’s legacy.” (P. 44) 

And he wasn't the only one. 

Performance and body art which desecrates the body to shock and draw attention is nothing new. Hang yourself with nails, float in human waste. Invite onlookers to use tools to hurt the artist. It’s all been tried before.

Many of the depictions are too extreme to describe here.

What’s new?

“Shock has become the new norm.” (P. 87)

Washington's Museum of the Bible is included on page 127 about stolen art.

Charney, the author of The Art Thief and other books, founded the Association for Research into Crimes against Art, and has been a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize. He has taught at Yale, Brown, and American universities. 

It's a must read, must see book! How I wish an institution would mount an exhibition! Enough of the exclamation marks, but I can't resist.

patricialesli@gmail.com

 

Tom Stoppard's stunning 'Leopoldstadt' at Shakespeare Theatre

Shakespeare Theatre Company's Leopoldstadt opens with a happy Christmas scene/Teresa Castracane, photo

Leopoldstadt is the name of a district outside Vienna which was the most cosmopolitan of cities in the late 19th century, with celebrated music, theatre, and the arts. Many of Leopoldstadt's residents were Jewish, and notable residents have included Billy Wilder and Johann Strauss and his son.

The play, Leopoldstadt won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2023, making Sir Tom Stoppard, the playwright, the winner of five Tonys for Best Play, more than anyone else, he, the author of more than 35 stage plays.

Stoppard is famous for his comedic, realistic portrayals of society and the issues of the day, but Leopoldstadt is no comedy.

The cover of Shakespeare Theatre Company's program is a photograph of a young Stoppard (now 87) when he was a toddler, although he says Leopoldstadt is not an autobiographical play.

The production opens upon a luxurious set at the home of a wealthy Jewish family amidst ostensibly happy times in 1899 with a holiday celebration and a Christmas tree.

Critical family members are introduced and we follow them along as they grow up and mature with stops in 1924, 1938, and 1955. Due to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, the family disintegrates.

Hermann (Nael Nacer) becomes the new "papist" in the group, so tabbed by Grandma Emilia, (Phyllis Kay) the family's strong matriarch. Hermann realizes he'll never be successful in Vienna as a Jew and he marries a Catholic.

Over time, scenes grow darker, more somber. Books disappear from shelves; the increasingly bleak chambers match the dull clothing.

The cast of Shakespeare Theatre Company's Leopoldstadt/ Teresa Castracane, photo

Even with the big family tree included in the program, it is not easy keeping up with the large cast (22) and who's who, but that remains secondary to the message.

STC's production is outstanding and certain to linger: the costumes (Victorian for a while), the sets, the acting, the sounds. The sounds! They’re excruciating as the play develops. The Nazi noises; the explosions, the sirens, the pounding at the door (by Jane Shaw).

You know the ending but getting to it with the Merz family and their slow recognition over the years of the harsh realities of their futures; their avoidance of what they knew was likely to be.

And who can blame them?

Stoppard was an adult before he learned of his Jewish background, that all his grandparents and three of his mother's sisters who were Jewish died in the Holocaust. Stoppard was born in Czechoslovakia whose father died when he was 4. His mother married a British officer whose surname Stoppard adopted.

According to program notes, Stoppard did not write Leopoldstadt until after his mother’s death.

Three generations celebrate their existence until there is no more. A theatre classic which reminds us it can happen again. And it is.

Six young local actors are the delightful children who perform at alternate shows: Harrison Morford, William Morford, Teddy Schechter, Adrianna Weir, Mila Weir, and Audrey Ella Wolff.

Everything about the performance is stunning, from the lighting (by Robert Wierzel) to costumes (by Alex Jaeger), and acting (director, Carey Perloff).

Other production designers are Ken McDonald, scenics; Tom Watson, wigs and hair; Yuki Izumihara, projections.

Director Perloff's family also was affected by the Nazis: Her mother had to flee Vienna in 1938.


What: Leopoldstadt

When: Now through Dec. 29, 2024

Where: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Harman Hall, 610 F St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

Duration: Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes with one 15-minute intermission (but it seems much shorter).

Single tickets start at $35. Call the box office at 202-547-1122. Visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.

patricialesli@gmail.com