Jordan Wright
January 25, 2016
Special to The Alexandria Times
 (L-R) Kimberly Scott as Cynthia, Kevin Kenerly as Brucie, Tara Mallen as Jessie and Johanna Day as Tracey. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. Playwright Lynn Nottage must be gearing up for a second Pulitzer Prize. Her latest production, Sweat, a gritty, hard-driving play has all the elements of a masterpiece. Skillfully directed by Kaye Whoriskey the story plunges us headlong into the underbelly of an American drama in a story centered around factory workers whose jobs are endangered by the implementation of NAFTA – – the controversial trade agreement that forever altered the nation’s manufacturing landscape and destroyed the economic livelihood of thousands of workers and the social fabric of their cities and towns.
In Sweat, Nottage illustrates the fallout of those decisions by focusing on a town whose families have worked at the same factory for generations. The plot, which toggles between 2000 to 2008, shows what befalls the town’s citizens as their rights and salaries are diminished and their unions are rendered defenseless when corporations take production to Third World countries. In researching the story Nottage lived among those disenfranchised workers in Reading, PA, one of the areas of the country most affected by NAFTA.
 (L-R) Jack Willis as Stan, Kimberly Scott as Cynthia and Johanna Day as Tracey. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. Stan (Jack Willis), a former millworker, now on disability, runs the bar where the locals meet to nurse their drinks, mark their birthdays and wallow in their miseries. It serves as a part-time living room for factory working mothers and their sons like Tracey (Johanna Day) and her son, Jason (Stephen Michael Spencer) and Tracey’s best friends and co-workers on the factory floor, Jessie (Tara Mallen) and Cynthia (Kimberly Scott) and her son Chris (Tramell Tillman). John Lee Beatty’s set design of the down-and-dirty local bar is spot on with its neon beer signs and rundown furnishings.
As they struggle through these issues, Tracey and Cynthia learn that a management job has opened up at the factory, compromising their friendship as they vie for the same position. At last after being locked out and walking the picket line for nearly two years, the friends are offered an ultimatum – – take a pay cut and lose your benefits or lose your job – – a scenario played out across the country as corporations sought to bust the unions. “They squeeze us like a sponge,” Tracey indignantly howls.
 (L-R) Johanna Day as Tracey and Reza Salazar as Oscar. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. In a twist of fate, Stan’s barback, Oscar (Reza Salazar), a solicitous young Hispanic working at minimum wage, breaks the line to take a job at the factory and the situation turns uglier.
Nottage focuses on the families, friendships and towns that were changed and challenged overnight by drug addiction, suicide and alcoholism. As the young men’s parole officer Evan (Tyrone Wilson) explains to them, “Shame is crippling. Shame eats away at us until we disappear.”
It is a gut-wrenching, darkly humorous and powerfully visceral story that reveals the suspicion, hatred, racism and jealousies that arise when workers looking for explanations for their cruelly altered circumstances seek to spread the blame. Performed by a seasoned cast who convey these raw emotions exquisitely.
Brilliantly acted and highly recommended.
Through February 21st at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SW, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call 202 488-3300 or visit www.ArenaStage.org.
Having enjoyed this four-time Tony Award-winning musical on Broadway last month, I can firmly attest it has found a national touring company cast to do it justice. Author and lyricist, Robert L. Freedman, and composer and lyricist, Steven Lutvak, can rest assured that not a beat, a line, a dance step, a joke or note will fail to delight.
Here’s what to expect when you go, and you must, to be all the more prepared to sop it up. On your list of expectations should be dreamy love songs, a sinister Edward Gorey-like ambiance, delicious gallows humor, Fred Astaire-inspired dancing and droll Edwardian characters. Be assured there will be murder most foul and romance most delectably forbidden. All the elements of a ripping good show.
 (L-R) Kristen Beth Williams as Sibella Hallward, Kevin Massey as Monty Navarro and Adrienne Eller as Phoebe D’Ysquith – Photo credit: Joan Marcus.
In A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder we find handsome bachelor, Montague Navarro (Kevin Massey), penniless and orphaned, bereft of employment prospects and in love with Sibella (Kristen Beth Williams), a strikingly gorgeous fortune hunter, who, though smitten with Monty, has her sights set on a wealthy scion.
 (L-R) Lesley McKinnell as Miss Barley, Kevin Massey as Monty Navarro and John Rapson as Asquith D’Ysquith, Jr. – Photo credit: Joan Marcus.
Still mourning the loss of his mother Monty is visited in his shabby garret by Miss Shingle (Mary VanArsdel) a spinster who knew her well. The old lady tells Monty that his mother was disinherited by her family, the D’Ysquiths, for marrying beneath her station and that he is eighth in line for the title of Earl of D’Ysquith replete with the vast estates of Highhurst Castle. Devising a plan to jump the line of succession by whatever means necessary, our charming hero uses his wits, and some intricate plotting, to knock off the eccentric lords and ladies that precede him. “What can I take from the D’Ysquiths except their lives,” he merrily posits.
Commencing his fact-finding journey by touring Highhurst on Visitor’s Day, he runs into Lord Adelbert who, in full hunting regalia trills a snooty tune entitled, “I Don’t Understand the Poor”. Twenty-two numbers accompany Monty’s murderous plots while you find yourself cheering on his diabolical schemes.
 John Rapson as Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith – Photo credit: Joan Marcus. John Rapson, plays all eight D’Ysquith cousins, both male and female roles, ranging from the sputtering, apoplectic Lord Reverend and Lady Hyacinth, who has a monopoly on the downtrodden, to the gay athlete, Henry, who he humors in “Better with a Man”. As Monty continues to ingratiate himself with the others, he meets and falls in love with his cousin Phoebe (Adrienne Eller), the embodiment of the perfect Victorian lady.
 (L-R) Kristen Beth Williams as Sibella Hallward, Kevin Massey as Monty Navarro, Matt Leisy, and Adrienne Eller as Phoebe – Photo credit: Joan Marcus
That lepers in the punjab and cannibals in deepest, darkest Africa figure into the plot is all part of the fun, though the Gothic chorus reminds us that, “suddenly they’re congregating under the sod”.
Amid all the lethal high jinks and criss-cross romance are the fabulous voices of the cast, Music Director Lawrence Goldberg’s 12-piece orchestra and Linda Cho’s turn-of-the-century costumes.
Highly recommended.
Through January 30th at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call 202 467-4600 or visit The Kennedy Center.
Jordan Wright
January 19, 2016
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Nicky McDonnell as Little Edie – Photos by Matt Liptak For those of you who saw the 1976 Maysles brothers’ documentary of the two Bouvier family women – – mother, Edith Bouvier Beale, and her daughter, Little Edie, who lived in squalor in a decaying 25-room mansion in Easthampton, NY, this story will be familiar. Aunt and cousin to former First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis, the two society women grew up with Jackie, but took distinctly separate paths. Their shocking story and the decaying of Grey Gardens was chronicled in New York Magazine in the early 1970’s while I was living in a nearby town and I remember it well.
Composer Scott Frankel and Lyricist Michael Korie have turned Doug Wright’s book into a riveting musical, bringing to life the tragic tale of a mother, who kept her daughter from leaving home and a debutante daughter, whose guilt-ridden dreams of fame kept her at her eccentric mother’s side. It’s a tale with a dark side, told by two recluses whose artistic leanings lead them down a rocky road to despair.
 Penelope Gallagher (Lee Bouvier), Kate Brown (Little Edie), Dick Reed (Major Bouvier), and Cassie Cope (Jaqueline Bouvier) – Photos by Matt Liptak There is a certain fascination with the privileged and glamorous who have lost their fortune and are forced to live in reduced circumstances. And this tale does not disappoint. But it is also a fateful story of a mother’s jealousy of her daughter’s youthful beauty and eligible suitors, and her fear of living, and dying, alone.
Director Christopher Dykton has assembled a talented cast, taking us from 1941 with Little Edie played by Kate Collins Brown, and the elder Edith portrayed brilliantly by Nicky McDonnell who segues into the role of the daughter when Act 2 takes us to 1973 and Jennifer Strand becomes Big Edie. Having seen the documentary, it’s clear the three actresses nailed the characters, and their New York upper class accents, perfectly. Costume Designer Grant Kevin Lane completes the portrait by recreating the quirky clothing that Little Edie designed for herself.
 Jennifer Strand as Big Edie – Photos by Matt Liptak In the forties, when Big Edie was married to “Major” Bouvier (Dick Reed), Grey Gardens was the setting for many lavish parties where she entertained her guests with popular songs of the day. Accompanied by her companion, pianist George Gould Strong (Blakeman Brophy), Jackie, Little Edie and Jackie’s sister Lee Bouvier (Penelope Gallagher) sang along. It was what the Major called “a madhouse, that bohemia”. Abandoning his family on the night of Edie’s announcement of her marriage to Joseph Kennedy Jr. (Marshall Cesena) and destroying Edie’s chances at love and a hopeful escape from her mother’s clutches, he flees to Mexico for a divorce. Meanwhile her mother had already been undermining her by regaling young Joe with tales of her daughter’s wild adventures at the local country club. “I’m not your daughter. I’m just your shadow,” Edie realizes.
When the women’s dire circumstances are revealed in Act 2, “The money tree came down with Dutch Elm disease,” Big Edie quips, Little Edie is now 56, her beauty fading fast. When she realizes she is forever tethered to her mother and their 52 felines, it is then she turns a gimlet eye to her mother’s trap. “Nobody except a cat gets out,” she laments.
 Cast Photo of Grey Gardens – Photos by Matt Liptak Grey Gardens has sophisticated humor, witty Cole Porteresque lyrics, fine dramatic performances and all the schadenfreude of a prominent family’s personal debacle. It’s tough to handle, but so is the truth.
Through February 6th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 683-0496 or visit www.thelittletheatre.com
 (L to R) John Ahlin as Mr. Dangle, Robert Dorfman as Mr. Sneer, and Robert Stanton as Mr. Puff in The Critic – Photo by Scott Suchman. Director Michael Kahn presents a rollicking game of “skewer the critic” when he rolls these two irreverent comedies into one fast-paced production. In the immortal words of Mr. Puff, “Anyone can be a critic. All you need is a paper, a pen and a well of resentment.” Ouch!
 Sandra Struthers as Actress 1, John Catron as Actor, and Charity Jones as Actress 2 in The Critic – Photo by Scott Suchman. That an 18th-century British farce could pair so seamlessly with an American existentialist whodunit, might not seem so surprising a task. But that a singular cast could take on and exquisitely conquer such disparate settings and characters proves that humor is as delectable to Britain’s upper crust as to the American playgoer – notwithstanding a mere two hundred-year span.
 (L to R) Charity Jones as Signora Decollete, John Ahlin as Mr. Dangle and Robert Dorfman
as Mr. Sneer in The Critic – Photo by Scott Suchman. Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher (The Turn of the Screw, Tuesdays with Morrie and A Confederacy of Dunces), The Critic is a tale of two self-important theatre critics, who pull a fast one on their frivolous colleague, aptly named Mr. Puff (Robert Stanton), by conning him into thinking an important producer will attend the rehearsal of his new drama, “The Spanish Armada”. The two snarks, Mr. Dangle (John Ahlin), an imperious lady’s man, and his equally conceited cohort Mr. Sneer (Robert Dorfman), devise a plan to make a fool of Mr. Puff and therefore tank his play.
 Charity Jones as Actress 2 in The Critic. – Photo by Scott Suchman. At the rehearsal they tell Puff that the influential Mr. Sheridan tolerates neither foreign terminology nor Shakespeare. Hobbled by these and other last minute concocted restraints, Mr. Puff complies by making ridiculously inappropriate revisions while the performance is ongoing. Actors are flummoxed, ham-handed mishaps revealed and props misfire to the delight of the conniving critics. Meanwhile we are treated to uproarious comedy, eye-popping costumes by Murell Horton and towering pompadours by a crew of wig builders led by Kelly Anne Johns. Lavish period sets are courtesy of Scenic Designer James Noone.
 (L to R) Robert Stanton as Moon and John Ahlin as Birdboot in The Real Inspector Hound – Photo by Scott Suchman. At first glance The Real Inspector Hound appears to be a light-hearted comedy cum murder mystery replete with mishaps and misrepresentations. But it is so much more. Tom Stoppard’s play-within-a-play treats us to a pair of bloviated theatre critics who hash out their reviews and boast about their past successes. “Did you see my review in neon?” asks Birdboot (John Ahlin), an over-the-hill roué whose predilection for actresses has him salivating after the play’s leading ladies. His cohort, Moon (Robert Stanton), is more concerned with the play’s analytics and his fellow competitors. “Élan without éclat” he insists describing a play he reviewed after which Birdboot trumps Moon by whipping out a viewfinder stocked with transparencies of his quote in all its marqueed glory. As they sit there wallowing in their professional triumphs and chomping on chocolates, we note a body on stage half-hidden beneath the Victorian settee. It’s been there all along, though only we seem to be aware of it.
 Foregroud: Robert Stanton as Moon and Naomi Jacobson as Mrs Drudge; background: Robert Dorfman as Inspector Hound and John Catron as Simon Gascoyne
in The Real Inspector Hound – Photo by Scott Suchman. The action takes place at Muldoon Manor in the foggy marshes of Essex, England where Lady Cynthia Muldoon (Charity Jones) is entertaining her guests. A murder has been committed in the nearby hamlet and the police are hard on the heels of the perp. The parallel whodunit involves a dashing cad, Simon Gascoyne (John Catron); the incapacitated Major Magnus (Hugh Nees); an adorable ingénue, Felicity Cunningham (Sandra Struthers); a haunted parlor maid, Mrs. Drudge (Naomi Jacobson); and of course, the natty Inspector Hound (Robert Dorfman).
 The cast of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of The Real Inspector Hound directed by Michael Kahn. Photo by Scott Suchman Could it be Magnus, “I think I’ll go and oil my guns”, or Simon, paranoid his past loves are catching up with him? Perhaps Felicity has revenge on her pretty little mind? The tittle-tattle of the critics becomes the backdrop to the unfolding mystery as they try to discern the killer while critiquing the play and musing on their middle-aged fantasies until the otherworldly moment when they are drawn into the reviewer’s no-fly zone…the ongoing play.
Thanks to a crack cast this two-fer is so fast-paced you’ll want to secure your bowler before entering the theatre lest it blow off in a storm of bon mots.
At the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre through February 14th at 450 7th Street, NW Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information call 202 547-1122 or visit Shakespeare Theatre.
Jordan Wright
January 10, 2016
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Costume design by Amy Andrews Harrell In our October interview with Mercy Street Co-Producer Lisa Wolfinger, we examined the story behind the new PBS Masterpiece Theatre’s Civil War era miniseries. Set in Alexandria, VA the plot is based on the true story of the Green family of Carlyle House and their hotel, Mansion House, which was commandeered by Union troops to serve as a hospital for both Union and Confederate soldiers. Part I of six episodes was screened at the Alexandria Film Festival on November 5th and I’m thrilled to report that Alexandria is repeatedly mentioned. The first installment premieres January 17th.
In exclusive interviews with Mercy Street Costume Designer and Richmond, VA resident Amy Andrews Harrell, and the show’s hat designer and Petersburg, VA resident, Ignatius Creegan, I gleaned some interesting facts about the creation of the show’s beautiful period costumes.
 Costume design by Amy Andrews Harrell Harrell’s professional career started when she became Set Costumer on Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Soon after she graduated to Costume Supervisor on HBO’s TV miniseries, John Adams, the winner of four Golden Globes and thirteen Emmys, earning more than any miniseries in history. In 2012 she was Key Costumer for Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, winner of two Academy Awards. By 2013 she was designing costumes for National Geographic Channel’s docudramas, Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy. Most recently she was Costume Designer on the yet-to-be-released thriller Imperium. Filmed in Richmond, VA the feature film stars Daniel Ratcliffe and Toni Colette. Harrell has a Master’s Degree in Costume Design from Southern Methodist University.
 Costume design by Amy Andrews Harrell What was your primary resource for research on the period?
For inspiration I used the book by John Guntzelman, “The Civil War in Color: A Photographic Reenactment of the War Between the States” as a guide.
Did you use any fabrics from the era?
I discovered a bolt of ten yards of original cotton from 1860 on eBay that I used in Jane Green’s dress. Also I had good luck with an antiques store in Mechanicsville that had pieces of dresses of the period. The silks were shattered, as old silk will do, but we were able to use parts of things. We used a lot of things from there as well as from a vintage store in Richmond called Halcyon, owned by Connie Carroll. She found some wonderful pieces of embroidery, lace and net that I could add onto Jane Green’s dress. I loved that it came from an estate in Richmond and is of the period.
 Costume design by Amy Andrews Harrell How many multiples did you need to make to hold up to the mud and blood?
Only in one instance. The first dress that Hannah wears gets ripped, so we had to make two of those. We had very limited resources to work with, but still it was very exciting. Whenever I looked out a window I could see one person doing three people’s jobs. We didn’t have the breathing room I’ve been accustomed to. We really worked without a net.
How did you keep them clean?
We knew beforehand which characters would get bloody or hurt and we had extra things for them. While stage blood has detergent built in to it, it can wash out if it’s on too light of a fabric. It’s unpredictable. It can turn a garment pink when you least expect it.
What’s a costume disaster from the filming?
We had really good luck, even though at night I would sometimes have dreams that there were things I forgot – – like someone without a costume!
 Photo credit: Antony Platt/PBS Milliners Ignatius Creegan and partner Rod Givens who live and work in their 7,000 square foot Civil War era mansion in Petersburg, VA, have worked with Harrell on many of the abovementioned films and were responsible for creating the historically accurate bonnets and caps. Creegan’s career goes back to 1987 when he started designing and making hats for theatre, movies and private clientele.
How did you decide what to design?
We worked with Amy’s designs and found a fair number of photographs of hats from the period. We also had designed historic era hats in the past. We have an antique straw sewing machine we used for some of the hats. These “straw machines” were the first commercial machines made for the industry. Notably the Civil War was the first time sewing machines were used.
 Photo credit: Antony Platt/PBS What was the process like?
It was interesting because I was able to use actual fabrics from the period. I cut them up to match the dresses. It was wonderful to be able to take a couple days to hand sew them. Hats were something that people made by hand then. It was an education for me to be able to work with those vintage styles and a luxury to incorporate those fabrics and trimmings including some wonderful old velvet ribbons that Amy had collected.
 Photo credit: Antony Platt/PBS What was it like to design hats for a period piece?
It’s interesting to consider what people were wearing in our neighborhood back then. A lot of the men’s designs are still wearable today and we are now starting a men’s collection based on what we did for Mercy Street. We plan to expand on those designs of hats and caps for our own clientele.
Jordan Wright
December 21, 2015
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Jennifer Cordiner (Graziella) and Max Clayton (Riff). Photo by Christopher Mueller There’s a rumble going on at Signature Theatre as Director Matthew Gardiner reinterprets West Side Story in a production that breathes new energy into the story of two rival New York City gangs, the Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants) and the Jets (a local white gang). Based on Shakespeare’s classic, Romeo and Juliet, the modern version of the two star-crossed lovers, was written and created nearly 60 years ago by four members of theatre royalty with music by the legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, book by the highly esteemed writer Arthur Laurents and lyrics by Broadway great, Stephen Sondheim. The original production, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, debuted on the Great White Way in 1957, but its relevancy to modern day racial conflicts cannot be ignored.
 MaryJoanna Grisso (Maria) and Natascia Diaz (Anita). Photo by Christopher Mueller Parker Esse stays true to Robbins original choreography. Yet in placing the action on a rectangular stage no more than 20 feet from any seat, we are rewarded with the bonus of visceral energy and muscle coming from the dance and fight sequences. In this condensed setting it is easier to witness the intensity of the 30 dancers and singers who, surprisingly, share space with a 17-piece orchestra. Such intimacy makes character interaction immediate and explosive and renders the tender, forbidden romance between Maria (played winningly by the adorable Mary Joanna Grisso) and Tony (played by local actor Austin Colby), more heartfelt. Juxtaposed with the gang fights, it is riveting to the core. As Riff, the leader of the Jets, tells his gang founder Tony in their motto of solidarity, “Womb to tomb, worm to sperm.” It’s that close.
 J. Morgan White (Snow Boy), Joseph Tudor (Baby John), Tony Neidenbach (Big Deal), Ryan Fitzgerald (Action), Kurt Boehm (Diesel) and Ryan Kanfer (A-Rab). Photo by Christopher Mueller In this hyper-physical production, all movement must be tightly executed and solidly synchronized to work well in such close quarters. And it is. To expand the real estate, Esse makes use of a second story steel catwalk as tenement fire escape. Spanning three sides of the perimeter, the metal walkway clangs and clatters directly above the audience’s heads when the gangs are in hot pursuit. It is a highly effective, heart-poundingly sensory experience aswirl with romance and conflict.
 The cast of West Side Story. Photo by Christopher Mueller As an ensemble the cast is solid, though some gang members lack the credible machismo expected from street-hardened blood rivals. Max Clayton as Riff, stands out, as does, Natascia Diaz, as Anita, the spitfire who is Maria’s protective older sibling. Another captivating performer is dancer Shawna Walker in a secondary role as Pauline. She’s the one with the short blonde hair who has the movements of a gazelle and the fierce tenacity of a leopard. You can’t miss her. And not to be overlooked is the charm of J. Morgan White as Snowboy, who has a scene stealing dance moment in Act Two in the number “Gee, Officer Krupke”, and Maria Rizzo as Anybodys, the androgynous Sharks’ gang groupie. Notwithstanding the humor, the artistry of the dancers and the sweep of the memorable score, there is an important message here – one of tolerance, inclusion, and hope told through such classic songs as “Something’s Coming”, “Tonight”, “Somewhere” and “America”.
 Austin Colby (Tony). Photo by
Christopher Mueller Highly recommended.
Through January 31st, 2016 at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
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