Jordan Wright
January 11, 2013
Special to The Alexandria Times
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Iris Dement’s singing voice can best be described as the mournful sound of a dove, the backwoods twang of Appalachia, and having what is known in the industry as a “cry” in her voice reminiscent of Patsy Cline. The woman’s got soul – White soul – though she was once classified with a Grammy nomination for the Best Contemporary Folk Album category.
So I was somewhat taken aback when I reached her by phone last week in her Iowa home, where she has lived for the past five years with her singer/songwriter husband, Greg Brown and she spoke with an accent as pure and American as a television anchorwoman. I asked her where her accent comes from when she sings and she explained, “You know I grew up listening to a lot of country music and that’s the music that rubbed off on me. That’s where I actually go and always have. I don’t think it’s like anything in particular. I don’t know what it is. It’s my accent. It’s just me. I grew up in a house full of Southerners in California and I listened to all kinds of music but I’ve always leaned towards country.”
It’s been 16 years since DeMent last put out an album, if you don’t include Lifeline, released in 2004 in which she covered well-known gospel tunes with the exception of He Reached Down, an original composition. During a career spanning over a quarter of a century, she has sung with some of the greats like Ralph Stanley, John Prine and Emmy Lou Harris, and made frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor’s radio show, A Prairie Home Companion. A role in the 2000 film Songcatcher, in which she played the character Rose Gentry, featured her singing on the movie’s soundtrack and in 2010 one of her songs was used in the closing credits of the Coen Brothers film, True Grit.
Released in October 2012, Sing the Delta is DeMent’s long-awaited, self-composed and much anticipated album. On January 21st she will perform at the Birchmere along with a band consisting of guitar, mandolin, bass, drums and pedal steel guitar.
You grew up in a fairly strict Pentecostal household. How much has religion affected your music?
I don’t reject religion. I think I’ve just decided to take religion and tune it up to suit myself. I grew up in the church and that environment had a great impact on me musically and every other way, so I couldn’t separate what I do from that world that I was submerged in. It’s all kind of one and the same. I’ve allowed my self to grow with it. I didn’t long ago. I didn’t buy into the stories and all the answers that were written. It was my job to just go along. I took what I learned from church and I kept moving through life with it and adapting it to where I was at any particular time. I’m willing to move as far away from it as I have to. The heart of the thing is still in there intensely for me.
Would you say that creating a context for social change within your music is part of your inspiration?
I don’t think of things as issues. I’m just talking about what’s going on in my world – what I care about. I am trying to unravel things for myself and put them back together in a way that makes sense, whether that’s music or sitting down having coffee with friends. I think that’s just human nature to try to make sense of your world. And I do that to a great extent through music. I don’t have an agenda. I just want to see what my heart says about the thing.
What was it like growing up in such a large family in a house with over a dozen siblings? Was it hard to get heard?
It was hard to get heard. But looking back I think there was a huge advantage to that. It meant listening a lot especially when you’re the youngest. I learned to be quiet a lot. I’m really grateful that I was in that position. I think it’s a lot of the reason I did end up writing.
Is any one else in your family in music?
Oh yes! They all play or sing in the churches. I’m the only one that went out in the world with my music.
You have your own label – Flariella. Is it more difficult to get airtime with your own label?
For me it’s always been difficult to get airtime. The music business has changed so much that now everybody is on their own label. I enjoy the independence of it. I’m inclined to be by myself. Thankfully there have been enough journalists like yourself that will write about me.
What was happening in your life when you wrote “Before the Colors Fade”?
I had just lost my mother. She had been gone only a few weeks. When you lose somebody they’re gone, but their presence, and my sense of them, is intensified. No matter how close you are, there’s a fading.
Have you played the Birchmere before?
I love the Birchmere. I’ve been playing there just about every year since 1992. It’s a great environment. It’s a world made for music. The sound is wonderful. The audience is always really warm. It’s a good place to play.
How would you define your audience?
I wouldn’t do that.
Iris DeMent will perform with Jason Wilbur for one night only at The Birchmere on January 21st at 7:30pm. For tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com. For venue information visit www.birchmere.com. The Birchmere is located at 3701 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria VA 22305
Jordan Wright
December 10, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
Here’s the grabber up front. Synetic Theater’s A Trip to the Moon is one of the most exciting, imaginative, flawless pieces of theatre I’ve seen in light years. If I were to use a rating system, I would give it five glowing stars.
 Pasquale Guiducci, Ben Arden, and Victoria Bertocci in “A Trip to the Moon.” Projection Design by Jared Mezzocchi. Photo by Johnny Shryock. In this wonder-filled production Japanese director/writer/illustrator and Georgetown professor, Natsu Onoda Powers brings us a lively triptych of vignettes. In the first she sources her inspiration from George Melies 1902 silent sci-fi film, Le Voyage Dans La Lune referenced in Martin Scorsese’s recent Oscar-winning film Hugo. A stage-wide interactive paper scrim delivers illustrations, schematics and film projections dovetailing with the action on stage. Performers seamlessly slide in and out of invisible openings in the paper and there is a heightened experience achieved by integrating an alternate stage above the main stage. By incorporating that usually empty third into the design, there is full use of the space for performers to deliver their performances both from above and below. In one hyperkinetic scene the astronauts, working with a collection of cutout shapes cleverly reconfigure the pieces to depict boats, airplanes and a hot air balloon to create a design for their spacecraft.
The action becomes more and more frenetic including prancing chorus girls and mad scientists whirling about. It’s an hilarious moment when the man in the moon walks on stage, wrapped in shiny black plastic with a white circle of paper surrounding his face, and is slathered with ‘moon whip’. With Synetic there is always that connection to the Theatre of the Absurd.
 Francesca Jandasek and Colin Analco in “A Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.” Photo by Johnny Shryock. The second in this series of space travels is The Bamboo Cutter, an ancient Japanese tale of a woodsman (played by Colin Analco) who finds a child in a glowing length of bamboo. He takes her home to his wife and she becomes a beautiful princess with magical powers. Katrina Clark deftly plays the gossamer moon maiden. To please her father she must marry but first she orders suitors to pass a rigorous test – to find a silver branch with gold pearls from a treacherous island, a necklace from a dragon and a golden egg. The young men attempt to woo her with Kendo fighting, song, juggling, pantomime and modern day sign spinning. There is even a Chippendales-style dancer and a hip-shaking hula hooper bent on winning her affections.
In this piece the costumes by designer Kendra Rai are both fabulous and phantasmagoric with heavily beaded and trimmed robes, gowns and fanciful headpieces. Sets designed by Giorgos Tsappas, seem lifted from classical 17th Century Japanese paintings.
 Karen O’Connell as Laika in “Laika the Space Dog.” Photo by Johnny Shryock The final story is set in Moscow in the 1950’s. It is the story of Laika, the first dog to travel to the moon, and is told from the dog’s perspective. Endearingly and unforgettably performed by Karen O’Connell, who is costumed as the other canines in furry muscular leggings, it is a tale of a little stray who finds her dog family in the mean streets, is then captured and taken to a dismal pound only to be saved by rocketeers for a space mission. It is told through woofing, yipping, baying and whimpering and through the eyes of the adorable Laika. If you’re a dog owner, or have ever known a dog, you will howl with pleasure, especially in the indelibly romantic dream sequence of a pas de deux between Laika’s adoptive mother (Francesca Jandasek) and the Moon King (Ben Arden).
Highly recommended.
Through January 6th at Synetic Theater, 1800 South Bell Street, Arlington in Crystal City. For tickets and information call 1 800 494-8497 or visit www.synetictheater.org.
Jordan Wright
December 3, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
Riddle me this. Do goose bumps get goose bumps? And can you hear a pin drop in the theater? Well, yes, to both – especially if Nova Peyton is singing her pipes out!
 A proud moment for Effie White (Nova Y. Payton) in the musical “Dreamgirls” Photo: Christopher Mueller Peyton plays Effie White in Signature Theatre’s current production of Dreamgirls – a career-establishing role made famous by Jennifer Hudson in both the Broadway and film version. So there’s a lot on the line. Peyton not only nails it but carves out her own definition of the role in songs like the poignant “I Am Changing” and the earthshaking “I’m Not Going”. I promise you won’t be disappointed by the powerful vocals, the muscular hep cat and cool kitty dancing, or the lavish costumes. In fact there is so much to like that it’s hard to pinpoint why some moments seem flat. Here’s a show with a theatrical pedigree evidenced by six Tony Awards, a cast brimming with talent and a tear-drenching plot to melt the hardest heart. So what’s wrong with it? Not much but we’ll get to that.
The story centers on an African-American girl group from Chicago and their meteoric rise to fame and fortune. You’ll immediately recognize them as The Supremes and, though the story is legally defined as “loosely based on” them, there are innumerable parallels.
 Deena Jones (Shayla Simmons) leads the new incarnation of The Dreams, with Michelle Morris (Kara-Tameika Watkins, back left) and Lorrell Robinson (Crystal Joy, back right) in the musical “Dreamgirls” Photo credit: Christopher Mueller. The trio known as the ‘Dreamettes’ starts out as runners up in a rigged talent show at the Apollo Theatre, but are soon urged to tour as backup singers for the velvet-voiced, slick dancing, ego-centric singer Jimmy Early, brilliantly played by Cedric Neal. “I don’t do oohs and aahs,” Effie complains, though she’s quickly overruled by partners Deena Jones (Shayla Simmons) and Lorrell Robinson (Crystal Joy), and they hit the road. As the women rocket to superstardom they go through a series of business challenges, jealousies, diva meltdowns and heartbreaks. Costume designer Frank Labovitz chronicles the trio’s ascent with gorgeous electric-hued gowns that increase in fabulousness with miles of chiffon and lurex stitched up with tons of ostrich feathers, spangles and sequins. As for the menswear, shiny sharkskin suits neatly define the times.
 Jimmy “James Thunder” Early (Cedric Neal) makes a grand entrance in “Dreamgirls.” Photo: Christopher Mueller. The show is set in the early ‘60’s when the pop music biz was controlled by big record labels and disc jockeys were known to take payola to play and promote certain records and artists. Soul and black R&B was a hard sell, and radio stations played “white” music, aka black music done by white performers. Has anything changed? It was a hard road for all black musicians until the Motown sound began to dominate the airwaves. Dreamgirls captures the essence of that Berry Gordy/Phil Spector period thanks to Krieger’s music whose twenty-five glorious numbers are dead center of that unforgettable sound.
Set Designer Adam Koch created the painted black set and mechanical stage that is so cavernous that at times it seems to swallow the cast. It is only when the women sashay onto center stage with increasingly spectacular wigs, jewels and gowns that it becomes a frame for their glamour.
Thankfully it’s all about the music and dancing since actor Sydney James Harcourt’s portrayal of the Dreamettes’ impresario,Curtis, is not convincing either as a Svengali or a Lothario. The role calls for Taylor, their agent and Deena’s boyfriend, to be a self-centered, slimy, backroom double-dealing manipulator and Harcourt lacks the smarminess to pull it off.
Matthew Gardiner does double duty as both director and choreographer, and you can’t find fault there. The dancing is stellar particularly for Neal’s character Jimmy who shakes, rattles and rolls till the cows come home in the number “Baby-Baby”.
See it, love it and spend some time backstage with the Dreamettes back when Motown was the pinnacle of the music world.
Through January 13th 2013 at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.signature-theatre.org.
Jordan Wright
November 9, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
Sisterhood is alive and well and coming to the Carlyle Club in Alexandria. For two nights only the city’s most sophisticated nightclub will be taken by storm by five rip-roaring tell-it-like-it-is women in Girls Night: The Musical! The production, written by British playwright, author and television producer Louise Roche, has toured throughout Britain and the U.S. to rave reviews, with Applause Magazine describing it as “Desperate Housewives meets Mamma Mia”. In it the all-female cast including Anita, Carol, Kate, Sharon and Liza, invites gals and their pals to spend a wild girls’ night out, and to sing, dance and sip on cocktails at a karaoke bar.
Director and Production Supervisor, Sonya Carter, whose unique experience as an International Risk Manager for American Express has informed her career, has racked up over 250 performances on tour and Off-Broadway playing one of the women in the production. In a recent interview Carter talked about the show and its effect on audiences.
Jordan Wright – What was the playwright’s original inspiration?
Sonya Carter – Louise Roche saw a musical in London and she saw all these women in the audience laughing and having a good time and thought, “I could do this. I could reach these women.” It’s actually about five women that she knew. She wrote about her own experiences and as a result she created these five characters that everyone can relate to. She’s really quite brilliant and the show has had great success in the UK playing in large venues. When our producer Tim Flaherty saw it, he went out and purchased the US rights.
How long have you been doing this show?
I’ve been with the show since the U.S. premiere in 2007 in Scottsdale, AZ.
You came from an executive position in the corporate world. What prepared you for life as a performer and director?
Oh my goodness! Life is life and people are people. Whether you’re in an executive arena or you’re in theatre, it’s all about reading them. My executive experience gave me a lot of patience and taught me to use my words wisely. That is a very good lesson. I reached a point in my life after I had been in corporate for many years when I wanted to do something else and I auditioned for the show and I got the part. For a while I did both.
What are some of the funniest or most heart-warming stories you have heard from audience members after the show?
Every show is different because we break that ‘fourth wall’ between the performers and the audience. You really get a different response every night. I’ve had so many women come up to me afterwards and say things like, “I was battling cancer and this is the first time I’ve laughed so hard that I’ve cried from happiness.” The show is so much about relationships between girlfriends and sisters and moms. People have told me, “I lost my best friend and you were able to make me laugh. You remind me of her.” It’s very heartwarming to be able to impact people that way to make them happy to bring them joy.
How do the cast members prepare before the show? What revs them up?
We’re dealing with a comedy here and the dressing room shenanigans are pretty funny. Most of these girls are naturally funny. In the dressing room everyone has her own routine. Somebody will do a silly dance or play music or do a chant. They really do have to connect, because on stage they’re best friends. These girls travel together, share hotel rooms and laugh and cry together. They really have learned to love each other and all their idiosyncrasies over 20-plus years. It’s really great to see.
Is there any audience participation?
Plenty! But it’s not intrusive. We allow you to speak back, to dance and sing. We throw out boas and give tiaras to some.
Over the years you have played three of the five roles. Which is closest to your personal experience?
Well, I’m a little bit of each one. But the first part I played was Louisa. She’s always going for the laugh. In that respect I relate to her a lot. Though there are issues Louisa has where I hope I don’t! Kay’s the schoolteacher. She’s shy but during the show she comes out of her shell and really loosens up after a little wine. Anita is the most complicated character. She has such a big heart. I’d like to think that I relate to her loyalty to her friends.
The characters are really universal. Every night people will say, “ I am you, or I am her, or my friend is like Carol.” They go on down the line. Sometimes we get large groups of women, moms and daughters or co-workers and after the show they’ll come around and take pictures with the character they most identify with.
Who are your favorite comediennes?
I really like Tina Fey. I think she’s absolutely brilliant. I love her writing. Loved her book! She’s my standout. From the past I like Carole Burnett and Lucille Ball, who I grew up with and can watch over and over again.
Does Louise Roche have any other productions in the works at this time?
She does have a few. She actually wrote a Girls Night Two that’s currently touring the UK. And we are having the US premiere this week of another show she wrote called Big Pants and Botox. It’s a one-woman show that is very poignant and funny and sweet.
What do you want women to experience with this show?
I want women to have a good time to leave the day-to-day things behind and not to worry about tomorrow! To take time for yourself and bring your sister, your mom, your friends to a really great show, because life is really short and you’ve got to laugh!
Is it only for women?
The show has all the great girl anthems like “I Will Survive”, “It’s Raining Men”, “Lady Marmalade” and more. But men don’t need to be afraid to come. There’s no male bashing. If anything they’ll get a bit of an education. Sometimes when I’m on stage I will hear a man laughing louder than any woman!
Girls Night Out: The Musical! will be at the Carlyle Club on November 29th and 30th at 8 pm. For tickets and dining information call 703 548-8899 or visit www.TheCarlyleClub.com. There will be a special girl’s night drink menu and dinner service begins at 6:30pm. Street parking is available or adjacent garage parking is $5.00 per car. The club is located two blocks from the King Street Metro.
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
Jordan Wright
November 5, 2012
Special to The Alexandria Times
The Soul Collector brings us into the Cleveland, Ohio junk-strewn home of two African-American men, Darnell (Chaz D. Pando) and his uncle Cedric (DeJeanette Horne). It’s 1972 and the men are city sanitation workers. Cedric has raised the boy since his parents died in an auto accident. We are greeted by a set filled with nostalgia of the day – old skis, a Snoopy phone, a sled, mementoes of everyday life plus shelves of figurines – the sort ladies kept on fireplace mantels.
Darnell is an untalented but doggedly aspiring Motown songwriter whose passion for music is turning Christmas carols into love songs while plunking out the melodies on a tiny child’s piano. He is locked in a time warp since the day he lost his parents in a Christmas Eve auto accident when he was a child. Cedric has a different plan. He hopes Darnell will be his partner in a chicken wing restaurant. “This is a calling,” he insists trying to convince his nephew. “Maybe it’s the wrong number!” snaps Darnell urging his uncle to forget about waitresses sporting huge chicken wings.
 Chaz Pando (l) as Darnell and DeJeannette Horne (r) as Cedric – photo credit to Michael deBlois Their neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Coleman (played by Donnell S. Boykin and Kecia A. Campbell respectively), are both their landlords as well as their close friends, visiting the apartment and delivering some of the funniest lines of the show.
When a shape-shifting spirit pops out of a box and into their lives, they agree to join forces to help her back to life. Claire (played by Lolita-Marie) is cursed by two spirits with unrequited deaths – a man who’s a washed-up Jewish talent agent and a Japanese girl killed in Nagasaki in World War II. They decide to care for her by confronting their fears, speaking truth to their lives and letting go of past wrongs.
Washington, DC playwright and actor David Emerson Toney has written a haunting yet redemptive story in comic drama form using a mash up of familiar themes from The Jeffersons, In Living Color (where Toney was a staff writer in the ‘90’s) and Sanford and Sons as a stepping off point. He has kept the feistiness and the ethnic humor we remember from these beloved characters from the 70’s hipster genre, but in this play our characters are have more developed personalities and the plot has deeper import. We can no longer treat them as one-dimensional comedic figures, but are compelled to climb into their skins and even more into their souls.
 Cris Dinwiddie as Wisher – photo credit to Michael deBlois When Wisher (Cristopher Dinwiddie) appears in the guise of a morlock threatening to co-opt their lives and wreak vengeance they must rise to each other’s defense. Dinwiddie is brilliant, plumbing the depths of evil personified.
Director Deirdre Starnes has assembled a wondrous cast with no weak links. And kudos to Set Designer/Master Carpenter/Co-Lighting Designer, Frank Pasqualino, who has his masterful handprint on this dramatic production. It’s a perfect piece for Port City Playhouse – deeply affecting coupled with powerful acting. I would see it again for the crack performances if only I could steel my mind against its haunting imagery.
At The Lab at Convergence, 1819 North Quaker Lane, Alexandria, VA 22302. Performances continue on these dates – November 9, 10, 13, 16, 17 at 8pm and November 10 and 17 at 2pm for matinees. For tickets and information call 703 838-2880 or email PortCityInfo.com for reservations or visit www.portcityplayhouse.org.
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