At the think tanks: the Russian Ambassador to the United States

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov at the Stimson Center, March 4, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He came not to brandish a sword but to bring peace and understanding.

He came not to praise so much as to complain.

"We are in crisis," said Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov at the President's Forum at the Stimson Center Monday afternoon, speaking of arms control and nuclear disarmament.  

They were his favorite topics of the day (and the subject of his dissertation), but the moderator and the audience had other ideas.

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov at the Stimson Center, March 4, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

(What's this new chapter in U.S-Russia relations? Have the Russians decided that talk is better than social media?)

We are waiting, waiting, waiting on the U.S. to make decisions, Ambassador Antonov, age 64, said.

Can't we just talk? He invited discussion.  He wants discussion. 
  
The ambassador said talking can achieve much progress between the U.S. and the Russian Federation (calling it always, the "Russian Federation" and the U.S., the "United States").

His message was a constant refrain: "Please, I just want to talk this through" and stop this lover's quarrel between my nation and yours.  Can't we advance cultural understanding?

Talking with help soothe frayed nerves, he seemed to say, and simplify the task of getting things like visas.

Russian artists, academicians, "our sportsmen"... "cannot come" to the U.S. because they can't get visas, he moaned. Can't you do something about it? 

"What is more important than just only dialogue between the United States and Russia?" I ask you! And urge you to "relax the tension," at least, in this sphere which can help solve problems in other areas.

Rather than the bullying personality he receives at Wikipedia, Mr. Antonov was personable and inviting (part of his negotiating skills), willing to sit down and iron out arms control, a subject he strove to accentuate the entire hour, but Stimson president and moderator Brian Finlay and audience members would have little of it.

Early in the session Mr. Finlay tried to steer the ambassador's history lesson on post-World War II and the U.N. Security Council back to the future, but, the ambassador would not give up his quest.  

He said he was "very upset when the United States decided to withdraw" from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the "Iran deal." Iran has followed all the rules and regulations required in the agreement, he said. 

Mr. Antonov quoted a Japanese proverb: "It's very easy to destroy a castle but it will need three years to erect a new one," and he hopes the U.S. will reconsider. (The U.S. Department of State's website has not been updated for more than three years (!), failing to show Trump's withdrawal from the deal, perhaps because no one is left at the State Department to change it.  Go to Wikipedia for current information.)


Maps?  if anyone needed map clarification, the ambassador  brought colored ones made by a Russian Federation defense agency (where he went to school) to show how much of Europe (all of it) and Russia would be susceptible to missiles shot from...the U.S.?

When pushed obliquely to criticize the "Hanoi Summit," all Mr. Antonov would say was "North Korea is our neighbor," and "we are in favor of peaceful solutions for all problems we face today in that region," but "that's not so easy." 

He mentioned Trump's name only twice without criticism. Or praise. (My count of "Putin" utterances was four; nothing worth writing home about.) 

The ambassador complained about the Russian prisoner Konstantin Yaroshenko held in a "Kentucky" (sounds like Connecticut) prison for eight years (he said nine), badly needing medical treatment.  

Help! I've lost my teeth, and I cannot eat, the ambassador quoted the convicted.  I am not asking that he get out of jail free, the ambassador said (paraphrasing), but can't you people please get this man some medical treatment? Some medicine? Can't you reach out to the authorities and request aid? In the name of human decency (like what's practiced in the Motherland), I call on human rights activists to provide medical assistance!  

(Obviously, the ambassador is not familiar with U.S. medical treatment. This is not Russia, Mr. Ambassador, where a doctor comes to your house on the first day you report a cold. For teeth, the waiting period in the U.S. is eight plus years!)

(Mr. Yaroshenko is serving a 20-year sentence in a Connecticut prison, not CONtucky which Ambassador Antonov said twice, actually pronouncing it correctly.  However, he may know something we don't know, and may have revealed a top state secret.

Mr. Yaroshenko was caught in a drug bust in Africa in 2010. Wave if you've heard this one:  His arrest was "set-up.") 
 
The two nations do agree on one topic, the ambassador said:  Syria (with little discussion).


After about 45 minutes of ambassadorial talk, Mr. Finlay invited questions from the audience which came from reporters from ABC News, the Guardian, and the Washington Post.

The ABC News reporter asked if the "Kentucky prisoner" could be a possible swap or "gotchas" with Americans presently held in Russian prisons: businessman Michael Calvey and former marine, Paul Whelan.

The ambassador said there was really no comparison since Mr. Whelan's case was still being investigated, and his innocence or guilt has not been determined, so, no, a trade or swap is out of the question. (Maria Butina's name never came up.)

At the end of the talk, Mr. Finlay asked Mr. Antonov to please identify missing topics from the afternoon discussion, and the ambassador said simply: "Afghanistan" (without elaboration).

He offered to visit any group and answer any questions.  
He smiled often and seemed quite at ease, making the audience laugh on several occasions.

 Ambassador Antonov said he had been "lazy" and visited the University Club near the Russian D.C. residence where he was surprised, during the World Cup, to find Americans watching the competition and supporting the Russians. (During the afternoon, our Washington Capitals championship hockey team, many whose stars are imported Russians, never came up, possibly because the Washington Post's coverage of them is quite lame, and the ambassador might be unaware of Russian heroes in the District of Columbia.)

Mr. Antonov said it appeared the audience was all journalists (there were several empty seats), save one woman shaking her head and waving an object (a white feather?) in the air, but she was not called upon for a question.
  
Neither was I who wanted to ask him to name, please, the Russian preferred U.S. presidential candidate(s) for 2020.

He said Russians have recently blocked three million U.S. attempts to hack into its I.P. addresses, but do we hear about those? 

Can't say that we do!  Welcome, Mr. Ambassador, to global exchange and trade!

For video and precise language of the session, see C Span.

P.S. My first draft of this carried a Tass link on Mr. Yaroshenko, but my computer went haywire after a while, flashing messages of concern, and the security system required immediate attention, so I deleted the Tass connection, thinking that might be the cause, and inserted instead (now that my computer likely has a "Russian virus"), a link to Mr. Yaroshenko from ABC News. Things have settled down.  It's almost like getting a new set of teeth.
  
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'You Can't Take It With You' but I did in Alexandria

From left, cast members of You Can't Take It With You at Little Theatre of Alexandria:  Bernard Engel (Gramps), Jonathan Gruich (Ed), Jerry Hoffman (Mr. Henderson), Ted Culler (Paul Sycamore), Amy Griffin (Penny Sycamore) and Raeanna Nicole Larson (Essie)/Photo by Matt Liptak

 It was a joy to leave the theatre and almost skip along the brick sidewalk in the rain which is the sensation I felt after seeing Little Theatre of Alexandria's marvelous new show, You Can't Take It With You. 

From the get-go, this is a lark. And you thought your family was crazy?

You ain't seen nuthin' yet.


Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman's 1936 Broadway show is lots of laughs and gaiety in 2019 when a young man takes his ultra-snooty parents to meet his fiancée's family and have dinner. 

Try canned salmon and frankfurters since, whoops!  They came on the wrong night.  Tony, the son, (Matt Tucker) screwed up his calendar, or did he?

Dressed to the nines in fur and tuxedo, the Kirbys (Kate Ives and James McDaniel 5th) arrive at the Sycamores' where the lady of the house, Mrs. Sycamore (Amy Griffin) has multiple hobbies, Gramps (Bernard Engel in as natural a role as anyone could expect) collects snakes and doesn't pay income tax, Mr. Sycamore makes fireworks in his cellar with an assistant, Mr. DePinna (Steve Rosenthal) who came for dinner and stayed eight years, and two daughters, who are ...

The "normal" one, Alice (Emmy Leaverton), who is Tony's fiancée, and the other one, Essie (Raeanna Nicole Larson), a dancing queen in constant motion, pirouetting and sticking her legs out whenever she can, always talking and never missing a beat.  (She wants to be a dancer.)  

She is married to Ed (Jonathan Gruich) who plays the xylophone.  

Essie's Russian instructor (Peter Halverson is Boris ) arrives, and a drunk "Grand Duchess" (Melissa Dunlap) slips in and crashes upside down on the sofa.  (Don't ask. You have to be there.)

The kitchen help (Chantel F. Grant is Reba and Robert Freeman is Donald) are a sane couple who bring levity and reason to the crazies found in the living room.


The star of the show, Amy Griffin as Mrs. Sycamore, begins the show pecking away on her typewriter on her newest hobby, play writing.  

Surely a next year nominee for a WATCH  Outstanding Actress, she's like a butterfly which flits and floats from one topic to the next, but always exuberant. 

The single set scene is the Sycamores' cluttered living and  dining room in New York City (but any place will do), nicely designed by Grant Kevin Lane, assisted by many. 

Costume designer Erin Nixon dresses her in June Cleaver fashions (from Leave It to Beaver, if anyone is old enough to remember that) with pearls, constant dresses, and high heels, at home.  (That's the way they used to dress...supposedly.)
 
Meanwhile, here come the FBI and the IRS,  and you get the picture, or you will, if you can still get a seat and come away from it all.

Others in the cast are Jerry Hoffman and Mark Stein as "the men."  

The play won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and when made into a motion picture in 1939, won Best Picture and Best Director (Frank Capra) and was nominated for six more Oscars. 


Masterful direction by Stephen Jarrett, assisted by Matthew Munroe; choreography by Melissa Dunlap ; sound by Janice Rivera and more (how about an explosion in the cellar accompanied by pow! zoom! wow! lighting by Franklin C. Coleman?), hair and makeup by Susan Boyd; dialects coach, Julia Abakaeva; fight choreographer, Michael Page; stage managers, Samantha Jensen and Shannon Starcher; producers, Jamie Blake and Eileen Doherty and many more help bring it all together and make for one enjoyable time at the theatre.
 
What: You Can't Take It With You

When: Now through March 16, 2019. Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. The Sunday March 10 matinee has sold out.


Where: Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Tickets:  $21 to $24

Rating:  "G"

Public transportation: The closest Metro station is King Street, about 13 blocks away.  From there, a Dash bus will take you near the theatre.

Parking:  On the streets and in many garages nearby.  If Capital One Bank at Wilkes and Washington streets is closed, the bank's lot is open to LTA patrons at no charge

For more information:  703-683-0496

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Olney's outstanding 'Once' extended

Gregory Maheu, the "guy" and the ensemble of Once at Olney Theatre Center/Photo: Stan Barouh You can hear the music from the pictures.

It's a wonderful night (or day) at the theatre. They sing! They dance! They act! They play! 

You like music?  You're gonna love Once at the Olney Theatre Center and its common language which speaks throughout the world.

Malinda Kathleen Reese is "Girl" and Gregory Maheu is "Guy" in Once at Olney Theatre Center/Photo: Stan Barouh

The music starts before you enter the theatre when the troupe's music rings out in the entrance hall to welcome you and tease with the promise of a good time ahead.

How can things go wrong with such a dandy beginning?  What's a play, a novel, life, without a bit of contrast, some problems? It's all about ups and downs and taking advantage of every single day.

And isn't that what entertainment is all about?

John Sygar (Andrej), Carlos Castillo (Svec), Daven Ralston (Reza), Malinda Kathleen Reese (Girl), Somaya Litmon (Ivanka), and Emily Mikesell (Baruska) in Once at Olney Theatre Center/Photo: Stan Barouh

A "Guy" (Gregory Maheu) is down in the dumps in Dublin (or any city) suffering ill effects of unrequited love when suddenly (you never know what the day is going to bring), a "Girl" (Malina Kathleen Reese) appears.  She tries to drag him out of his slump from the dump in Dublin, and there they go!

A woman rescues the man!  (That they have no names means they are everybody.)

Mr. Maheu plays the guitar and Ms. Reese, the piano, and, like the rest of the cast, they sing and dance practically non-stop.

They've got talent!

Billy (Dave Stishan), one of my favorites who plays four instruments, is the virile shop owner, the "he-man" who takes guff from no one, including Guy who is a competitor for Girl, but she has no time for aggressors like Billy. 

In a post-show exchange with members of the audience, Baruška (Emily Mikesell) said one of the hardest demands on the actors is to sing while making music (she plays violin, ukulele, and accordion, but not at the same time), but the cast succeeds in making it look so easy.  

An actor's skill, no? 

At the audience session, actors credited voice and dialect coach Lynn Watson for their convincing Irish speech.

First a movie, then a play, Once's "Falling Shortly" received the 2007 Oscar for Best Original Song, and five years later, the production won eight Tonys. 

This band of strolling musicians  play banjos, accordion, piano, guitars, mandolins, electric bass, violins, cello, papoose (?), bodhran (?), ukulele, tambourine, melodica (?), castanets (?), and cajón (the instrument from Peru which looks like a box, acts like a box and sounds like a box when hit by fingers, hands and sticks).  

Except for the children, every actor plays at least one instrument in the show, and "Svec" (Carlos Castillo) plays six, and "Andrej" (John Sygar, the dance captain), five. (My notes say: "Buy the soundtrack" which is rarely found among my pages.)


As it should be, the set by Michael Schweikardt is simple and uncomplicated with colorful pieces of lumber hanging at angles for backdrop.  

The musicians sit in the shadows in a semi-circle while actors talk.  Scenes change quickly with movements of the piano, a chair or two, a cajón.

Costumer Frank Labovitz looks like he pulled every outfit straight from heaps of dirty clothes lying in millennials' bedrooms. It's the times!

Some of the memorable lines from the show: "This day has such promise. Every day has promise!" "Life is good." "Wasting life because you are frightened of it is terrible!"  "Those who live in fear die miserably in their graves." (Yogi Berra's name is missing from the credits.)

Congrats to Olney's music director, Christopher Youstra (four instruments) who acts as emcee in the show.

Other members of the cast are Katie Chambers, Nick DePinto, Craig MacDonald, and Brian Reisman. Daven Ralston is Reza, a "hot mama."  

At alternate performances, Kyleigh Fuller and Somaya Litmon share the daughter role. Swings are Linda Bard and Ian Geers.

It is astonishing that one person, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, directed and choreographed the show.

No wonder Once been extended.  A great way to celebrate St. Paddy's Day!

Other members of the creative team are Colin K. Bills, lighting; Matt Rowe, sound; Karen Currie, production stage manager; and Josiane Jones, director of production.
 
Music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglova. Based on the movie by John Carney.
 
What: Once by Enda Walsh

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

When: Extended through St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2019, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and a sign interpreted performance Thursday, February 28 at 8 p.m. 

Tickets: Begin at $42 with discounts for groups, seniors, military, and students

Ages: Olney rates Once as "R," appropriate for those age 16 and above. Adult language.

"Afterwords": After the matinees on March 2 and March 9

Duration: About two hours with one 15 minute intermission

Refreshments: Available and may be taken to seats

Parking: Free and plentiful on-site

For more information: 301-924-3400 for the box office or 301-924-4485.

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