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Jordan Wright
January 30, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Red Knight & Fanglett
As I took my seat on press night I overheard that The Ballad of the Red Knight producers had recommended parents bring along their children. It explained why all four little ones behind me were chattering like monkeys and wriggling in their seats before the first line was uttered. “I don’t want to be here,” one of them said. “You’re gonna love it,” a patient parent assured. And from the moment the knights-in-tights burst out onto the stage they all fell as silent as tiny mice, except of course for the communal roars of laughter.
It seemed writer Scott Courlander had gotten exactly the reaction he’d expected. His “Director’s Note” urges the audience to, “Think of this as a Saturday morning cartoon come to life….as in Rin Tin Tin, The Lone Ranger…or Ninja Turtles.”. Though I can’t for the life of me explain his reference to the famed German Shepherd, we were certainly a rapt audience for Courlander’s crazy fable that seems more like Monty Python and the Holy Grail meets The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show’s “Fractured Fairy Tales” than canine TV.
 Gloom Mage If you’ve a predilection for wizards and heroes, sword fights and a princess who happens to be a bat, you’re going to love this, but first you’ll need to disabuse yourself of any Arthurian preconceptions. In a tale that caters to the funny bone – where knights sport Lurex and carry logoed lunchboxes, the Red Knight (Christopher Herring) is the hero crusader. His mode of conquering his kingdom’s foes is to shower them with absurd compliments until they surrender to his charms. He and his brother Prince Richard (Kyle McGruther) must seek revenge on Lord Fango (Charles Boyington) and his vampire Bat People for the murder of their father, King Marthur. But the nefarious Lord Fango has dire plans of his own and captures the bumbling Prince Richard, tossing him into the dungeon and forcing the Red Knight to go on a quest with the aid of The Gloom Mage (John Stange) an untrustworthy sorcerer while Fango tries to marry off his pretty but blood-sucking daughter Fanglett (Katie Zitz) to the Red Knight in order to produce an heir. Got it? Bring on the Fertility Mages!
Three hapless Bat Guards in thrall to Fango and a trio of colorful knights – Yellow, Green and Blue – faithful to the brothers, keep the swords clacking throughout. Boyington plays Fango to the hilt with a performance, and a physical appearance, reminiscent of Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil and Flash Gordon’s Ming the Merciless. Fanglett, the only female in the production, sums it up nicely. “It was suggested that the playwright struggled with writing fully developed female characters.”
 Lord Fango & Bat Guard The madcap adventure features a Narrator, an adorably silly court jester, played captivatingly by Stephen Mead, who in Richard’s words, “does this stupid bit where he says what everyone is doing”. This device is of particular assistance to the audience in order to keep the mayhem sorted out for those of us who are reeling from the sorcery, wizardry, teleportation and passel of knights in this over-the-top comedy top-loaded with a constant stream of puns (“good cop, bat cop”) and double entendres.
I’d advise suspending logic – a suggestion that comes too late for one of the tykes behind me who remarked, “But, Daddy, you can’t turn a man into a bowl!”
Fun for children and grownups who still are.
At Port City Playhouse at The Lab at Convergence, 1819 North Quaker Lane, Alexandria, VA 22302. Remaining performances are on the following dates – February 1, 7, 8, at 8:00 p.m. Matinees on February 1 & 8 at 2pm. For tickets and information visit www.portcityplayhouse.org.
Jordan Wright
January 23, 2014
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts, Broadway Stars, and LocalKicks
 Spain’s Ambassador Ramon Gil-Casares (right) chats with a guest Dozens of foodies and fashionistas crammed into the former residence of the Ambassador to Spain on 16th Street Thursday night to celebrate Spanish food and wine. “TAPAS, Spanish Design for Food” runs through March 23rd in what is now a cultural center. Current Ambassador Ramon Gil-Casares was clearly having a grand time receiving all guests. The exhibit celebrates some of the most unique contemporary cooking and serving implements from Spanish product designers, including the latest innovations used in molecular gastronomy by elBulli Chef Ferran Adrià, named by Time Magazine in 2004 as one of the “Ten Most Creative Figures in the World”, and his Harvard lecturing cohort, Chef Jose Andrés whose restaurant empire remains firmly footed in the U. S.
“Working with the best ingredients is how we create an astonishing dish. But in order to create a memorable experience, the best elements of design, from the kitchen, to the table, to the plate, all must come together to tell an exciting story,” Andrés concludes.
 Salmon crudo – Octopus tapas – Mussels with potato chips served in sardine cans To that end the show is organized to display over 200 items by leading the visitor through five separate rooms and passing alongside the ornately Moorish tiled room in the home’s interior courtyard. Each area delineates the categories of kitchen, food and table with a place of distinction for the country’s treasured Iberican hams.
 Iberican Hams – the pride of Spain The exhibition includes an audio-visual presentation that reveals a selection of restaurant interiors and a wine tower showing some of the most daringly designed wine labels on over 100 bottles of wine.
 A ten-foot wine bottle tower Executive Chef Javier Romero of DC’s famed Taverna Del Alabardero worked alongside of Head Chef Rodolfo Guzman Aranda of Andrés’ Jaleo to send out delectable tapas. Alas, the besieged servers were mobbed while exiting the kitchen door with trays of mussels nestled in sardine cans and topped with potato chips from Andrés’ new product line of gourmet Spanish delicacies. Those tapas had to share the spotlight with Iberican ham wrapped around a tiny breadstick with a tutu of white cotton candy, mashed potatoes as vehicles for bits of omelet, and a luscious cherry gazpacho that hit all the right sweet-to-tart notes. Viva España!
 Cherry Gazpacho – Iberican Ham in cotton candy tutus – An unusual way to serve olives The Spanish Cultural Center is at 2801 16th Street, Washington, DC. 20009. For further information visit http://www.spainculture.us/city/washington-dc/tapas-spanish-design-for-food-in-washington/
 Modern coffee mugs that create an animal face when sipped from – Nesting paella pans – Contemporary glassware shot through with 24 carat gold Photo credit to Jordan Wright
Jordan Wright
January 28, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Siân Phillips as Lady Bracknell in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Keith Baxter. Photo by Scott Suchman. It is always satisfying to while away the hours at the theater, but it is most especially pleasurable to let playwright and poet Oscar Wilde remind us of the imbroglios of the Upper Class in Victorian England. In this delightful piece of froth we are allowed a glimpse behind the looking glass of London society.
Algernon Moncrieff is a terminably bored dandy with a grand sense of getting up to no good. His avatar is a naughty character he calls “Bunbury”. Algy’s equally ne’er-do-well friend Jack Worthing, trumps himself up as “Earnest”, a man caring for a beautiful young ward, Cecily, whose care has been entrusted to him by a relative.
 Gregory Wooddell as Jack and Vanessa Morosco as Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Keith Baxter. Photo by Scott Suchman. The merriment begins when Algy’s aunt, Lady Bracknell and her niece Gwendolyn Fairfax arrive at his fashionable West End home for a visit. When Jack declares his intention to marry Gwendolyn, who prefers the name Earnest, “It produces vibrations,” she admits, the frolic begins. Lady Bracknell, who delivers all of her high-minded remarks as pronouncements, feels it is her duty to grill him on his social standing. Discovering that he was a foundling discovered ignobly in a railroad station, she gives him short shrift, despite his fortune.
When Algy races off behind his friend’s back to woo Cecily, he portrays himself as Earnest too. Cecily assures him that she too could only marry a man named Earnest to which he replies, “What if my name were Algernon? It’s a very aristocratic name. Half the chaps that get into bankruptcy courts are named Algernon!” Yet both she and Gwendolyn remain firm in their convoluted determination.
 Gregory Wooddell as Jack and Patricia Conolly as Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Keith Baxter. Photo by Scott Suchman. The how, when, and wherefore of the gentlemen’s love lives may be what turns the plot. But it’s the steady repartee, quaint in its moralistic rhetoric and added to the hilarious misunderstandings, that renders the play irresistible. Forgetfulness is referred to as “mental abstraction” and arguments are considered “vulgar and often convincing”. It’s a topsy-turvy Wodehouseian world.
Sian Phillips, a veteran of the BBC’s “I, Claudius” series, imbues Lady Bracknell with the steely demeanor of a true Victorian matriarch; Anthony Roach crafts a delightfully whimsical Algernon; Gregory Wooddell plays Worthing effortlessly and Patricia Conolly, as Cecily’s governess, the self-righteous Miss Prism, creates the perfect foil for the rest of the cast.
Flawless and fabulous.
Though March 9th at the Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20003. For tickets and information contact the Box Office at 202 547-1122 or visit www.shakespearetheatre.org.
 Gregory Wooddell as Jack and Anthony Roach as Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Keith Baxter. Photo by Scott Suchman.
Jordan Wright
January 27, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
 “Crime of the Century” featuring Dana Cass, Sarah Gale, Claire O’Brien, Holly McDade, and Rebecca Phillips – Photos by Keith Waters for Kx Photography Thirty-seven performers make up the tremendous ensemble in this touching story of intersecting lives. Set in the early part of the 20th century author E. L. Doctorow focused his novel on three distinct elements of American society – – Black America, on the rise as a strong middle class in Northern cities, middle and upper class White America, and Jewish immigrants bent on hard work and assimilation to their new found country. The Little Theatre of Alexandria has chosen Director Michael Kharfen to express a story where Terrence McNally’s book blends so beautifully with Lynn Ahrens lyrics and Stephen Flaherty’s music.
The characters here are familiar to us all. There’s capitalist foe and union organizer, Emma Goldman, a reformer from the days when child labor was the norm and harsh working conditions prevailed; Harry Houdini, the Jewish immigrant who became the world’s most famous magician; and Evelyn Nesbitt, the great beauty who carved out her vaudeville career on a velvet swing while paramour to a millionaire. Iconic Americans Booker T. Washington, the great African-American orator and Presidential advisor, the financier J. P. Morgan and even Henry Ford make cameos in this story too. In Doctorow’s sweeping saga of the landscape of America, ordinary people become extraordinary people as their lives intersect and they are tested for their capacity to love.
It harkens back to the turn of the 20th Century, a time when ladies of a certain class carried parasols and wore stiff corsets under voluminous dresses. Ragtime music was sweeping the country and a certain Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Malcolm Lee) a Scott Joplin avatar, was creating a new sound that crossed over into White high society.
Father is off on a polar expedition with Admiral Peary when Mother discovers a Black newborn abandoned in her garden and goes about finding the boy’s mother. “I never thought they had lives besides our lives,” she confesses while searching for the indigent unwed mother. When at last she and her son Edgar find Sarah (Aerika Saxe), she offers Sarah the comfort of their home – – allowing her humanity to overtake her Victorian rigidity.
 “Harlem Women” featuring Kadira Coley, Tiara Hairston, Corisa Myers, and Jessica Pryde – Photo credit Keith Waters Shaun Moe plays the stiff Victorian era “Father” secure in his position and his marriage. Jennifer Lyons Pagnard is “Mother”, a wife learning to have her own say.
Scenic designer J. Andrew Simmons has created a dramatic Industrial Age backdrop of massive connecting clock gears to express the passage of time, while scene changes are cleverly accomplished by painted panels that unfurl from the rafters to denote a sense of place. The Lighting Design team of Ken and Patti Crowley sets the tone with a wide array of colors and effects to change the mood and heighten the drama.
Known as one of the most important musicals ever to grace Broadway, this production does the author’s material (twenty-eight brilliant tunes!) justice with a strong and interconnected cast who sing their faces off. Jennifer Lyons Pagnard demonstrates that she can infuse a leading role with fresh vigor much as she did as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd for which she won “Best Leading Actress in a Musical” with a WATCH Award last year. The ensemble’s voices reflect the powerful emotions of this poignant story of hope, redemption, human rights and a call for justice. Of particular note is the exquisite voice of “Sarah’s Friend” played by Corisa Myers who does a brief but deeply affecting solo turn in “When We Reach That Day”.
There is a beautiful flow to the dancing choreographed by Ivan Davila. Keep an eye peeled for Sherrod Brown who is a standout.
The Little Theatre has taken on one of its most ambitious productions to date with Ragtime and from the “Sold Out” sign on press night, it’s already proven to be a great success.
Through February 15th 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
 The Ragtime Cast Photos credit Keith Waters
Jordan Wright
January 21, 2014
Special to The Alexandria Times
 The Tallest Tree in the Forest. Illustration by Ricardo Martinez. Paul Robeson is a name that many may not recognize in modern day America. If you’re among those wracking your brain to recall his legacy, you can thank J. Edgar Hoover who did everything in his considerable power to erase the memory of this brilliant performer in the American conscious. In Arena Stage’s latest production, The Tallest Tree in the Forest, the reason becomes very clear as to why one of our once most lauded African-American icons is remembered by so few.
For Actor/Playwright Daniel Beaty, the history and legacy of Robeson has become a mission – – for Director Moises Kaufman, who originally commissioned this one-man show as its Artistic Director, its page-to-stage reality is a dream come true.
As the show opens Beaty enters from the top of what appears to be a backstage fire escape leading down to a simply dressed stage. He is singing “Ol’ Man River”, the great Negro ballad penned by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for Showboat, the iconic production that was Robeson’s Broadway debut. Beaty’s voice is a rich bass-baritone, deeply etched with emotion and suffering, a true reflection of the artist. There will be twelve more songs, plucked from the pantheon of Negro spirituals and Harlem heyday Jazz tunes, to echo the highlights of Robeson’s life and career.
Robeson was a big man in every way. The famous educator and Civil Rights leader, Mary McLeod Bethune, once referred to him as “the tallest tree in the forest”, and it stuck. Well respected as a stage and screen performer, he was also known as a scholar, an athlete and political activist, and to his enemies, a “firebrand”.
Early New York friends with connections to the theatre led him to a life on the stage. And there he might have stayed, if not for his commitment to use his celebrity to fight for human rights and against racism. His experiences put him in solidarity with the oppressed who found a sympathetic voice in Robeson, who had been Valedictorian of his class at Rutgers University where he was their first African-American graduate – – the outspoken student later receiving his law degree from Columbia University. Later, through his worldwide concert tours, he used his influence to rally for social change wherever he went.
In Lenin’s idyllic Bolshevik Russia of the 1920’s, where he witnessed Blacks, Jews and Chinese working together for under Communism, he claimed to have experienced real freedom. “For the first time in my life I was treated as a man. Not just as a Negro,” he would say, though he found things quite different during Stalin’s reign.
The music in this production played by Pianist/Conductor Kenny J. Seymour and backed by two musicians on multiple instruments is rich with meaning and the history of Black America’s struggle. “Go Down Moses”, “Battle of Jericho” and other powerful spirituals echo the pre-Civil Rights era and serve to highlight Robeson’s life and times.
When he brought his experiences and idealism back to America in the early 1950’s he came up hard against Hoover and McCarthyism and the “Red Scare”, a repressive movement that was just beginning to gain steam in tandem with Robeson’s powerful ascent as an activist and performer. Outspoken and fearless, he was branded a traitor. Ultimately it was his unapologetic stance at the House Un-American Activities Committee’s trials that blacklisted him destroying his reputation and costing him his career. “The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for Freedom or for Slavery,” he had declared.
Beaty plays 40 different roles in this riveting production, segueing effortlessly from male to female, black to white, young to old, and American to foreigner, imitating his family, friends and considerable enemies. Told through sketches and vignettes, the course of Robeson’s life and career are highlighted by projections from actual newsreels of the day. You’ll revel in Beaty’s Robeson, as complicated and vibrant and larger-than-life as the man himself.
Highly recommended.
Through February 16th at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SE, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call 202 488-3300 or visit www.ArenaStage.org
 Daniel Beaty as Paul Robeson in Tectonic Theater Project’s The Tallest Tree in the Forest. Photo by Don Ipock.
Monday January 27, 2014
It’s Restaurant Week!! Learn about Alexandria’s magnet restaurants and what they mean to our city’s regional and national appeal.
In recent years, the reputation of Washington’s restaurant scene has soared nationally. Not coincidentally, more Alexandria restaurants are climbing the list of DC’s top dining venues. Our celebration of Alexandria’s dining scene features Chef Cathal Armstrong – one of the best-known chefs in the culinary industry, exhibiting great culinary command creativitiy, technique, presentation, and even business. He will share his vision – including why he chose Alexandria as the base for his growing gastronomic empire. Alexandria-based food writer Jordan Wright will talk about Alexandria’s rising stature in the DC dining scene and share tips on places you should know about. Claire Mouledoux of the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association (the organization that gives us “Restaurant Week”) will explain how this dining renaissance benefits our city.
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| FEATURED SPEAKERS |
 Star Chef Cathal Armstrong |
Irish chef Cathal Armstrong’s cuisine and philosophy reflect ideas planted in the atypical Dublin household of his childhood, where garlic was used fearlessly and fruits and vegetables were grown in the garden. The family’s travel business launched Armstrong into a myriad of different countries, cultures and cuisines where he began to develop an appreciation for gastronomy in the differing landscapes of Europe. As the family traveled, Armstrong was educated in the languages he now speaks fluently: English, French, Spanish, German and Irish. For those not versed in the Dubliner’s native language, the “t” in Cathal is silent.
At the age of seven, Armstrong began his annual student exchange in France with the Boudain family. His food curriculum involved visiting truffle-farms and vineyards, eating peasant-style food and picking fruits and vegetables on the farm. These early culinary experiences inspired Armstrong’s philosophy. He is committed to sourcing locally, valuing animals and respecting the land, so much so that Armstrong cites innovative farmer David Lankford of Davon Crest Farms in Maryland as one of his biggest inspirations. Armstrong is now an active member of The American Farmland Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the nation’s agricultural resources.
At the age of 20, Armstrong opened a fine dining restaurant in the Dublin suburbs with two partners. After a two-year tenure atThe Baytree, Armstrong decided to move to Washington DC where for the next 11 years he moved his way through various top kitchens learning the fundamentals from mentors including Greg Mitchell of New Heightsand Jeffrey Buben of Bistro Bis. It was during his time spent at Gabriel under Gregory Hill that Armstrong met his future wife and business partner Meshelle Armstrong. Together, they dreamed of a place where they could balance a commitment to farmers with their vision of fine dining.
The Armstrongs found it in Alexandria, where in April 2004, 13 years after first arriving in DC, they opened Restaurant Eve. The modern American restaurant (with French, Spanish and Irish influences) showcased Armstrong’s playful personal style and deep-rooted commitment to purveyors. In the summer of 2006, Armstrong openedEamonn’s A Dublin Chipper and PX, or The PX, a cocktail-driven speakeasy lounge five blocks from Restaurant Eve. Both venues are named for Armstrong’s children, Eve and Eamonn. Armstrong has since been inducted into the Share Our Strength Leadership Council, a group of culinary notables from around the country who advise this non-profit dedicated to eradicating childhood hunger in the U.S. Armstrong’s self-described “pork fetish” and the Irish roots at the base of his culinary experience are showcased in decadent but playful dishes like “Bacon, Egg, and Cheese.” The dish makes full use of the versatility of pork fat with a cured and braised pork belly, seared to order, a tender crepe with ham and leeks, and a rich golden cheddar foam.
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Claire Mouledoux
Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association |
Claire is the Director of Communications for ACVA, Alexandria’s nonprofit tourism marketing organization, which contributes to the economic vitality of the city. Each year $738 million in visitor spending generates $23.7 million in tax revenue, providing needed city services and helping to support the community’s many small businesses. Claire directs the overall message and voice of the Alexandria visitor brand by managing ACVA’s communications strategies and guiding a team of professionals in media relations, social media and digital marketing. An Old Town resident with a passion for the city, she has been promoting the allure of Alexandria’s remarkable dining, shopping, arts and history for nearly four years as part of the ACVA team. Formerly the Director of Communications for the Torpedo Factory Art Center, she currently serves on the advisory board of The Art League and is an active member of the Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Alliance.VisitAlexandriaVA.com
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 Jordan Wright
Whisk & Quill |
Jordan Wright is an accomplished writer on food, spirits, travel, and theatre. Her clients have included the tony Georgetowner and hip sister publication the Downtowner, the Washington Examiner and San Francisco Examiner, as well as LocalKicks.com, DC Metro Magazine, Washington Life Magazine, Washingtonian Magazine, MDTheatreGuide.com, Indian Country Today On-Line and Print Publications, The Alexandria Times, Hartkeisonline.com, and now DCMetroTheaterArts. Her articles feature restaurant openings, food and wine events, food-oriented film reviews, food trends, restaurant reviews, food memories, new food products, hotels, spas, resorts and interviews with the country’s leading chefs – from Jose Andres and Top Chef’s Carla Hall, to CakeLove’s Warren Brown and Top Chef’s Spike Mendelsohn. She has also interviewed famed chef and TV star, Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert, cookbook author Joan Nathan, and director Robert Kenner for an in-depth article about his film Food, Inc. |
Program
Co-Chairs: |
Alan Dubow, Shari Bolouri, Terri Hauser andMichael Hobbs
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All programs are held at:
Holiday Inn Eisenhower Metro Center – 2460 Eisenhower Avenue CLICK HERE for directions
Reception at 6:15 p.m. (Cash Bar) Buffet Dinner at 6:45 p.m.
| MEMBER PRICE |
NON-MEMBER PRICE |
SAVE BY PLANNING |
| $28 |
$33 |
with reservations made by 5:00 pm on the Friday prior to each meeting |
| $35 |
$40 |
for late reservations and walk-ins |
Program only 7:15 p.m. (free to members/$5 non-members) – Presentations are followed by a question and answer session based on written questions from the audience. Programs end promptly at 9 P.M.
Dinner reservations strongly encouraged. Seating is not guaranteed for walk-ins. CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE
Agenda:Alexandria, a non-partisan, non-profit organization which began in 1998, sponsors eight dinner meetings a year with presentations on topics of interest to Alexandrians. Membership is only $35 a year and open to anyone, whether or not you live or work in Alexandria. Topics are wide-ranging and past topics have included such issues as transportation, education, the arts, public safety, history and preservation, public health, the City budget, the waterfront, the environment and aging in Alexandria.
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