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Jordan Wright
April 29, 2013
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Susan Lynskey and Paul Morella – Photo credit Christopher Banks As MetroStage celebrates receiving three Helen Hayes Awards for Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, we are treated to another brilliant show by Producing Artistic Director, Carolyn Griffin, who has spent the last seven years searching for the perfect vehicle for actress, Susan Lynsky. At last she appears to have found it in Ghost-Writer. She chose well. As the last production for the current season and a Washington, DC premiere of the play, it’s a spellbinding piece for the three-actor cast – most especially for its leading lady.
Franklin Woolsey (Paul Morella) is a renown novelist married to a proper Victorian lady (Helen Hedman). Moving in the rarified circles of aristocratic Old New York, he draws from its foibles like a hawk preying on a field mouse. Playwright, Michael Hollinger was inspired by Henry James’ relationship to his real-life secretary, Theodora Bosanquet, and used it as a vehicle to inform the background for a play that examines the art and act of writing.
 Helen Hedman -Photo credit : Christopher Banks Woolsey’s newly schooled, but oh-so-clever typist, Myra Babbage, is a hunter of sorts too – one who dallies with her target while keeping him enthralled. The play is set in 1919, the age of women’s advancement in the workplace and the beginning of their post-war freedoms. The 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote was then reaching the House floor for approval and women were experiencing a newly achieved independence. It is no coincidence that Hollinger sets the play in this power-shifting moment.
Miss Myra Babbage is a woman with ideas about writing and editing and she isn’t afraid of appearing presumptuous in order to express herself. She jousts with the author and his obsession with commas and dashes, periods and semicolons until he begins to trust her judgment and with it her way of turning a phrase when she sometimes finishes his sentences. (A curious clue in the punctuation of the play’s title is revealed at the outset and explains his typist’s successful insinuation into his writerly sphere.)
We meet the duo in Woolsey’s study. The décor is the austere Mission style befitting a serious writer of the late Victorian period. A Royal typewriter is front and center with the primly dressed Miss Babbage at its helm. She has been recently hired as Woolsey’s amanuensis, a taker of dictation, her fingers poised to record his every word. He soon grows addicted to her presence and the staccato sound of her typing and cannot think clearly when she pauses awaiting his next dictation. She devises a phrase she types over and over again until he is able to retrace his thoughts. “Don’t tell me what it is,” he insists. And her secret becomes her power.
“The waiting is part of the work,” she explains, “We waited together.” Thus begins their long and very close collaboration as Myra, addressing the audience as if we were her inquisitors, explains how, after Woolsey’s death mid-novel, she is able to complete his work by divining his words. “No one else has an intimate relationship with his style,” she insists, emboldened by their relationship and not wanting to abandon the book to Vivian nor his publishers’ inquiries.
From time to time, Myra and Franklin are visited in his study by his jealous wife, Vivian. Can you blame her? When the socialite tries to replace Myra by learning to type, a hilarious scene ensues and Hedman is at her best as the dithering pupil of the Myra the Taskmistress.
The piece is wonderfully tongue-in-cheek comical and its trio of actors superbly in synch. But it is Susan Lynskey as the stalwart heroine who captivates. Lynskey is magnetic, giving an enthralling portrait of a young woman gaining her footing in that brave new era, confident and well educated, polite yet outspoken, secure in her expertise, and unafraid to stand up to anyone. She is utterly captivating in the role and worth Ms. Griffin’s wait.
Highly recommended.
At MetroStage through June 2nd – 1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, 22314. For tickets and information visit www.metrostage.org.
 Susan Lynskey, Helen Hedman and Paul Morella – Photo credit Christopher Banks Share on Facebook
Jordan Wright
January 28, 2013
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Lori Williams, Anthony Manough, Yvette Spears, Sandy Bainum, Roz White Photo credit: Christopher Banks The pioneering influence that Charlie “Yardbird” Parker made on the world of jazz, blues and bebop in the mid-twentieth century is the most inextricable part of his legacy. Blowing new sounds from his alto saxophone, he crafted a sound so original and so addictive that fans would do anything to “chase the music…just to hear what Bird heard”. Every hall of fame jazzman and jazz singer of the era brought their craft to Birdland, the eponymously named club in the heart of Manhattan, where they could marvel at Parker’s signature technique of playing the higher intervals of a chord for the melody, then backing it up with double- and triple-time extensions.
Jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Stan Getz and Billy Eckstine played the club with Bird in those golden days along with the divine divas, “The First Lady of Jazz” Ella Fitzgerald, Billie “Lady Day” Holiday, Sarah “Sassy” Vaughan and Peggy Lee, each bringing the music to new heights with their unique vocal interpretations. Within the span of a decade Parker brought forth a sound so captivating, so under your skin and bones, that it galvanized American music and helped break down racial barriers as white celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Marilyn Monroe and Beat Generation author, Jack Kerouac, became regular denizens of the iconic club.
In the world premiere musical “Ladies Swing the Blues – A Jazz Fable” at MetroStage, Author, Director and Lyricist Thomas W. Jones ll in partnership with Composer, Arranger, Pianist and Musical Director William Knowles, who co-wrote five of the show’s original numbers have, through their divine collaboration, crystallized the essence of that era by portraying both the on-stage and behind-the-scenes lives of Birdland’s leading musicians from those heady days.
 Sandy Bainum, Yvette Spears, Roz White and Lori Williams – Photo Credit Christopher Banks Set in New York City the story features four female singers – Roz White as Lady, Lori Williams as Ella, Yvette Spears as Sassy, Sandy Bainum as Peggy, and Anthony Manough as Parker, better known by the nickname “Bird”, who are backed up by a sizzling hot five-piece band.
The story begins with Parker’s untimely but not unpredicted death at the age of thirty at the Stanhope Hotel apartment of his friend the Baroness “Nica”, scion of the Rothschild family. Parker had been living on the edge battling addictions throughout much of his career. He’s got the “junkie monkey” the ladies declare, trying to pinpoint what killed him. “All jazzmen die a mystery,” insists Ella.
As his ghost visits the women, they sing his memory through stories and song. If you like classics like Fever, Thelonius Monk’s Round Midnight, George Shearing’s Lullaby of Birdland plus twenty-three more evocative jazz numbers performed up close and personal, this show is for you. If there is mo betta’ singing in one show, I have yet to hear it. The vocals are mad crazy and the band with its ripping solos could uncurl an Afro.
To single out any of the performers as less than brilliant would be criminal. But it would be unconscionable not to spotlight Lori Williams, whose scattin’ Ella blew the roof off the theatre, and Anthony Manough’s Bird, whose octave-bending vocal range knows no boundaries. And who used his velvet voice to carve out a piece of the world, which, for all I know, he still owns.
Highly recommended.
At MetroStage through March 17th – 1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, 22314. For tickets and information visit www.metrostage.org.
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Jordan Wright
November 26, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
What merriment is in store for us this holiday season? Well some are naughty (R-Rated) and some are nice (G-Rated) but check my quirky ratings for special notations. Here’s all the holiday drama you’ll need in a host of scintillating Christmas shows nearby.
 Broadway Christmas Carol – Michael Sharp,Tracey Stephens and Jacob Kidder. Photo courtesy of MetroStage. It’s getting to be a habit at MetroStage with the third annual mad hilarious A Broadway Christmas Carol. The tidy three-person cast of Michael Sharp, Jacob Kidder and Tracey Stephens trills harmonious whilst decking the halls with lots of show tunes and dizzying costume changes in this delicious dose of Christmas spoof. Under the musical direction of Howard Breitbart, this screamingly funny pastiche is rated SGIFB for “Sophisticated Grownups with Intact Funny Bone”.
From November 15th through December 23rd; Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm; Sundays at 3 and 7pm. For tickets and information call 800 494-8497 or visit www.metrostage.org. 1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, VA
 A Christmas Carol – Photo courtesy of LTA The Little Theatre of Alexandria revives their time-tested production of A Christmas Carol. Directed and adapted by Rachael Hubbard, this Charles Dickens’ classic will warm the cockles of everyone’s heart. Replete with elegant Victorian costumes, the accursed curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge, and the adorable Tiny Tim, you can almost smell the chestnuts roasting as ghostly guides transport you through Christmas past, present and future. Settle in beside a crackling fireplace along with wassailing couples to relive this Currier & Ives picture postcard depicting the true meaning of Christmas. Rated RCV for “Required Christmas Viewing”.
From November 30th through December 16th, Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm and 5pm. For tickets and information call 703 683-0496 or visit www.TheLittleTheatre.com. 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
After a day of shopping and dining Signature Theatre, located in the heart of Shirlington Village, will be the perfect spot to jolly up with glass of wine and a Christmas-inspired cabaret.
 “Holiday Guys” – Marc Kudisch (left) and Jeffry Denman. Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre Three-time Tony Award nominee, Mark Kudisch and Astaire Award nominee, Jeffry Denman pair up in Holiday Guys – a limited run holiday show complete with song, dance, and silliness. Special performance schedule: December 11th at 7:30pm; December 12th at 7:30pm; December 13th at 8:00pm; December 14th at 8:00pm; December 15th at 2:00pm and 8:00pm; December 16th at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.
Also at Signature and back again, by popular demand, is the festive series Holiday Follies. Featuring a wonderful wintry line-up of special guest performers, along with a host of Signature’s closest friends and artists, there’s never been a better way to keep company on a cold night. Special performance schedule: December 18th at 7:30pm; December 19th at 7:30pm; December 20th at 8:00pm; December 21st at 8:00pm; December 22nd at 2:00pm and 8:00pm; December 23rd at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.
Both shows are rated HXS for “Hip Xmas Special”. Tickets for Holiday Guys and Holiday Follies are on sale online at www.signature-theatre.orgor through the Signature Box Office at 703 573-SEAT. 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206
 Best Christmas Pageant – Photo from Synetic This holiday season Synetic Theater will present The Best Christmas Pageant Ever starring the Synetic Teen Ensemble. In this irreverent comedy about an annual Christmas pageant the usually festive celebration by the Sunday school children has gone awry. The Herdman family, a bunch of rotten, misbehaving, swearing, bullying kids take part in the Christmas Pageant and all chaos breaks loose. Can the church learn to love even its most wayward children? It could be a total disaster, or it just might be The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!
The show is rated GKCI for “Gives Kids Cool Ideas”. Special performance schedule: December 15th at 2pm; December 16th at 11am; December 21st at 10am and December 22nd through the 27th at 11am. Family friendly indeed! For tickets and information call 800 494-8497 or visit www.synetictheater.org. 1800 South Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202
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Jordan Wright
September 8, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Bobby Smith, Sam Ludwig, Bayla Whitten, Natascia Diaz – Photo credit: Christopher Banks Poets and thinkers do very well during times of political and social upheaval and Jacques Brel was no exception. Born in war-torn Belgium in 1929 he threw off the constraints of the bourgeoisie to become a songwriter whose emotionally charged songs catapulted him to worldwide success. For a European musician to transition to the American market is rare indeed. Very few do. Iconic singers Charles Aznavour, Genevieve and Edith Piaf, and virtuosos like Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt immediately come to mind. But for a composer making records in France it is nearly unheard of. No French record company enjoys US distribution and artists who sell millions of records in Europe, Africa and Asia, are unknown here.
Brel was one of the lucky ones when in 1957 American Nat Shapiro, Director of International A & R for Columbia Records, heard “Quand On a Que L’Amour”. Over the following years his music would be covered by every singer worth his or her pipes – Frank Sinatra, Gilbert Becaud and Ray Charles turned his songs to gold. Brel’s music appealed to singers for its powerful lyrics and unusual constructs, but to an audience hungry for lyrics that transcended time and place and addressed the universal human condition.
 Natascia Diaz – Photo Credit Christopher Banks Carolyn Griffin, Producing Artistic Director of MetroStage, has brought in the big guns for Jacque Brel Is Alive and Living in Paris, not least of all the incomparable Natascia Diaz, who triumphed in the 2006 New York revival and subsequent cast recording.
Twenty-eight of Brel’s songs depicting love, tragedy, anti-war themes, aging, irony, fantasy and hope, are delivered by four singers whose voices capture the fierce emotionality of the lyrics and turn the musical into an electrifying evening of raw passion and soaring vocals. Diaz delivers climactic moments in “Ne Me Quitte Pas”(It’s American version was “If You Go Away”.), the spellbinding “Old Folks”, and “Marieke” in a performance that ranges from spine tingling to meltingly tender. Bobby Smith, whose Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include the Original Cast of Forever Plaid and Crazy for You, and is no stranger to MetroStage, is a heart-winner whose snappy Fosse-like moves create an element of cool retro Rat Pack sophistication in “Jackie”, and the grim portrait of a sailor’s life in “Amsterdam”. Sam Ludwig, a leading local performer and MetroStage veteran, brings youthful snap and sex appeal to “Next” a song about the loss of virginity in a whorehouse. And newcomer, Bayla Whitten, as the ingénue, proves she can croon with the best of them in “Sons Of” and the tragic all-cast number, “Timid Frieda”.
Choreographer, Matt Gardiner, also the Associate Artistic Director at Signature Theatre, shows his versatility in creating multiple vignettes without props on a simple set, while pianist Jenny Cartney’s musical direction of the three-piece band is masterful.
At MetroStage through October 21, 2012-1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, 22314. For tickets and information call 800 494-8497 or visit boxofficetickets.com. www.metrostage.org.
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Jordan Wright
May 14, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Eric Sutton and Michael Russotto in Lonely Planet by Steven Dietz Photo credit: Christopher Banks When an entire cast consists of only two characters, such as in Steven Dietz’s play Lonely Planet, be assured the piece will reveal a deep exploration of the psyche. This thoroughly engaging Ionesco-influenced drama affords a 1980’s gay perspective of a time when the HIV/AIDS crisis was at its apex and death was the prolonged yet assured outcome. It is a window writ large into the private fears and anguish of those who faced the daily loss of their loved ones.
Jody is the urbane proprietor of Jody’s Maps, a cartography shop in Anytown, USA. He is consumed with the incongruity of wonky-proportioned Mercator maps its out-sized dimensions of Greenland. He wants a world more clearly defined by Peters’ Equal Area Maps that reflect the actual scale of the continents. He is trying to resolve these conflicting issues and sell maps at the same time.
His friend Carl is a fantasist who adopts new professions as seamlessly as a chameleon changes color. On each visit to Jody’s shop he spins new tales of his day. Sometimes he’s a crime scene investigator, or an auto glass repairman or a fine art restorer. Grappling with the constant reality of the death of his friends, he confesses, “I don’t make up things. I lie.” But what’s his angle? Is it a coping mechanism, an innocent transference, or is he a con artist? Jody is wary but captivated.
The men pass the time with mock tales of Richard Nixon-inspired Shakespearean skits and swordplay with rolled up maps. “We need to play our game,” Jody challenges. “The game where we tell the truth? I prefer to lie a little longer,” Carl admits, spinning tales of Jesus-imaged china as they bear constant witness to the mind-numbing reality of losing their friends.
Each day as their relationship deepens and Carl delivers more chairs to Jody’s small shop, Jody’s disconnectedness grows into agoraphobia. “No one prepares you for the fear,” he reveals with resentment of how the “straight world” views the deaths of gays from AIDS. But this play is not a redux of Ionesco’s absurdist farce Les Chaises (The Chairs), nor Angels in America. It is an intimate and darkly humorous portrait of universal love and loss and the methods we use to cope. In Carl’s case signified by the burgeoning collection of metaphorical chairs representing his late friends.
Kudos to award-winning Director John Vreeke and Set Designer Jane Fink, a local grad student from George Washington University, who does a brilliant job of evoking a musty map store with all its nooks and crannies. Memorable performances by Michael Russotto (Jody) and Eric Sutton (Carl) who create a believable bond in the face of unimaginable loss with ferocity, humor and fluidity.
At MetroStage now through June 17th. 1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, 22314. For tickets and information call 703 548-9044 or visit www.metrostage.org.
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