If you thought the Declaration of Independence was etched in stone, think again. Remember the part about “Hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”? In Jeanne Sakata’s drama, We Hold These Truths offers up a civics lesson in how that document didn’t apply to the more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during World War II.
Ryun Yu as Gordon Hirabayashi in Hold These Truths. ~ Photo by Patrick Weishampel for Portland Center Stage.
After long interviews with Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee and religious pacifist Gordon Hirabayashi, Sakata used her imagination to bring to life the dramatic story of his struggles against the U. S. Government. From his Seattle childhood to his college days at the University of Washington in the 1940’s and into his later years, the play take us through his refusal to sign the document that would have sent him to one of the camps. He fought for his rights in a case that went all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court. There is so much more to the story of the camps and the negligence and the secrecy of the government that most of us never knew. Did you know Japanese-American citizens had to sign a letter agreeing to relocation? Did you know their Issei parents and grandparents did too? Why would they? Did you know their homes and businesses were destroyed? Did you think this couldn’t happen to American citizens? Think again. It did.
Ryun Yu as Gordon Hirabayashi in Hold These Truths. ~ Photo by Chris Bennion for ACT-A Contemporary Theatre.
Gordon “Gordy” Hirabayashi, was an All-American college kid and Nisei (a person of Japanese descent born in the U. S.). An A student who worked after school at the YMCA and attended a Quaker Meeting House on Sundays. Gordy and his pals were as American as apple pie. Until…they weren’t.
Directed by Jessica Kubzansky, Ryun Yu plays Gordy with power and humor, his lithe frame using all the real estate on and off the stage as he morphs into the many characters from the social activist’s fascinatingly fraught life. Yu assumes the personalities and dialects of all the other characters, from Boston to Brooklyn and drawl to twang to the sing-song cadences of his Japanese parents.
A difficult subject, there is a great deal of humor and sweetness too as Gordy finds both freedom and true love through persistence and self-sacrifice while standing up for his rights and yours too.
Recommended for everyone you know.
Through April 8th 2018 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SE, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call 202 488-3300 or visit online.
The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s production of playwright Peter Morgan’s The Audience may be the closest we’ll get to Buckingham Palace, Balmoral Castle and an audience with the Queen of England. But no worries, as the Brits say. This play will give you an insider’s peek, at least an imagined one, at Britain’s ruling monarch and the stream of prime ministers she faced down for over a half-century.
Nicky McDonnell as Queen Elizabeth II – Photographer: Kyle Reardon
Since her coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II (played exquisitely by Nicky McDonnell) welcomed 12 British prime ministers to her private audience room for weekly tête-à-têtes. There they would bring her up to speed on the affairs of state, and, just as often, their personal and professional travails. And because England enjoys a constitutional monarchy, the Queen limits her responses to sage advice and a spot of whiskey. She must receive the heads of both the Labour Party as well as the Conservatives and play her hand judiciously. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” Shakespeare wrote in Henry IV. It’s an excellent primer on diplomacy and restraint and a far cry from the monarchy’s sweeping powers from Ye Olde Medieval Ages.
(l-r) Robert Heinly as Winston Churchill and Will Cooke as Harold Wilson ~ Photographer: Kyle Reardon
Director Ruben Vellekoop has assembled a fine cast to depict the Queen’s seminal moments with some of England’s best known prime ministers – from Winston Churchill (Robert Heinly), Anthony Eden (Robert Heinly), Harold Wilson (Will Cooke), Margaret Thatcher (Janette Moman), John Major (Brian Lyons-Burke) and Tony Blair (Richard Isaacs) to Gordon Brown (Kirk Lambert) and David Cameron (Richard Isaacs) with Paul Donahoe playing the Queen’s equerry – witness to palace gossip, deliverer of both bad and glad tidings, and announcer of her august guests. For you Anglophiles keeping track of the PMs of the period, Attlee, Douglas-Home, Edward Heath and James Callaghan are not represented. They just didn’t make the cut. Too dull, perhaps.
{l-r) Janette Moman as Margaret Thatcher and Kirk Lambert as Tony Blair ~ Photographer: Kyle Reardon
Queen Elizabeth would be a tough role for any actress (Dame Helen Mirren starred in The Audience in 2013 at the Gielgud Theatre in London and later in New York in 2015), but McDonnell is clearly up to the task. She brings both intimacy and a incisively dry humor while maintaining the regal haughtiness the role demands. When Major admits, “I never thought I’d win.” she replies coolly, “Why don’t you resign?” Touché, Queenie!
Nicky McDonnell and Evie Graham Jewett as Queen Elizabeth II and Young Elizabeth – Photographer: Kyle Reardon
You’ll feel like an insider watching Morgan’s imagined Queen justify her role as monarch of Great Britain despite mounting resistance to the monarchy and pressure from her citizenry to modernize. Watch for Janette Moman who inhabits the feisty “Iron Lady” Thatcher as she goes toe-to-toe with the unflappable Queen, making for some delicious and snappy repartee and spot-on pacing. Ditto for the rest of the cast including the adorable Evie Graham Jewett who plays Elizabeth as a child and nails some lengthy monologues.
Lighting effects by Ken and Patti Crowley lend drama to the stately meet-and-greets and costumes by Ceci Albert and Lisa Brownsword reflect the Queen’s penchant for matchy-matchy ensembles. Another clever touch is Ken Brown’s revolving stage that allows everyone to enter and exit with graceful sangfroid.
Recommended for all Anglophiles and royals watchers.
Through March 17th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 683-0496 or visit online.
John Sygar, Natascia Diaz, Luke Smith and Robbie Schaeffer in LIGHT YEARS. Photo by Christopher Mueller.
Artistic Director, Eric Schaeffer, presents us with yet another world premiere musical. This time it’s a tender tale of a father and son who go in and out of each other’s lives over a period of decades. Light Years features the music, lyrics, and book by Robbie Schaefer (no relation to Eric). Robbie is a member of Eddie from Ohio (EFO), a Northern Virginia indie/folk/rock band known for their beautifully blended four-part harmonies.
It’s part concert, part sentimental journey. Three guitar playing performers play Robbie – John Sygar as Young Robbie, Luke Smith as Middle Robbie and Robbie Schaefer as the adult Robbie. Veteran actor Bobby Smith plays Robbie’s Jewish father, Konnie, a man reticent to share his past as a former White House economist. Natascia Diaz becomes Robbie’s wife, Annie, and Kara-Tameika Watkins, his friend, Amelia, but not before the two play backup singers Chantelle and Soma who lay down harmonies for the band during their tours in the 90’s.
John Sygar, Kara-Tameika Watkins, Robbie Schaefer, Natascia Diaz, and Luke Smith in LIGHT YEARS. Photo by Christopher Mueller
Framed by video projection screens and a simple concert-style stage, this no-intermission, 90-minute musical hints at Konnie’s peripatetic past – one that has him fleeing Nazi-occupied Romania for Israel, then later emigrating to the U. S. “Everything is temporary,” Konnie repeatedly warns Robbie. But it’s only towards the very end of the story that we, and Robbie, learn of his father’s tragic beginnings. Up till then there is only a child’s confusion, and ours as the audience, as to why his father seems unable to connect. Ultimately when Robbie has his own wife and family, can they express understanding and compassion towards one another. But is it too late?
Shaefer’s music is of the story-telling kind, a there are fifteen songs filled with joy and heartbreak, disappointment and redemption. Its sweet melodies and pitch-perfect harmonies will please those who enjoy a laid back concert-style experience.
Through February 18th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
Bryce Pinkham and Ensemble in CHESS_Photo by Teresa Wood.jpg
Kennedy Center theatregoers were treated to an all-star inaugural production of Chess on Thursday night. Heading for its Broadway run, this latest treatment of the original 1986 rock opera is chockful of enough extraordinary singers to make any producer green with envy – Raúl Esparaza, Ramin Karimloo, Ruthie Ann Miles, Karen Olivo, Bradley Dean, Sean Allan Krill and Bryce Pinkham.
With a rich score by Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA songwriter) and Benny Andersson (ABBA bandmember), and lyrics by Tim Rice (collaborator on Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Lion King, Alladin, Beauty and the Beast), Broadway Center Stage expects this new version to achieve supersonic stature. Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer, who is top-loaded with stage and screen credits, has been charged with pulling it all together. In this five-day only musical concert, all performers remain on stage reading their lines and singing their numbers from script books which, unfortunately, renders most of their words unintelligible.
Ramin Karimloo and Raul Esparza in CHESS_Photo by Teresa Wood.jpg
For pill-popper and American grandmaster Freddie Trumper (the oddest choice of names), it’s a mental duel with himself – and he’s losing. His paranoia (though it turns out the Russians were spying on him and trying to psyche him out) threatens to undermine his chances for success. It all goes down against the backdrop of the historic SALT II Treaty talks, the success of which hinges on convincing Freddie to lose the tournament so the Soviets can regain their pride.
Raul Esparza and Karen Olivo in CHESS_Photo by Teresa Wood.jpg
Freddie (Raúl Esparaza Company, Sunday in the Park with George) and Anatoly (Ramin Karimloo Anastasia) are both in love with Florence (Karen Olivo West Side Story, In the Heights), a Hungarian national forced to work for the CIA, but Anatoly is still wed to Svetlana (Ruthie Ann Miles The King and I, Here Lies Love) who lives apart from him in Moscow with their two children. Alex Molokov (Bradley Dean Dear Evan Hansen) is Anatoly’s KGB handler and Walter de Courcey (Sean Allan Krill Honeymoon in Vegas) is Freddie’s CIA handler. The Arbiter (Bryce Pinkham A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) relates the backstory while the tournaments are held in different countries. It’s a fairly basic love story brightened by international cloak-and-dagger schemes backgrounded by the Cold War.
Video projections by Darrell Maloney reflect history-making moments and Lorin Latarro (Waitress) choreographs the dance sequences (one of which is super erotic) in this human chess game where winning is the only goal despite the threat of a looming nuclear war.
Through February 18th in the Eisenhower Theatre at The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call 202 467-4600 or visit online.
Nabil Elouahabi as Tareq and Heather Raffo as Noura ~ Photo credit by Scott Suchman
Can any of us really know what it’s like to be a refugee in America from a war-torn country? Can we understand the heartbreak of leaving family and loved ones to starve or perish? Playwright and actor Heather Raffo delves into the terrifying world of refugees with her tragedy Noura, a story of an Iraqi father, wife, and son Yazen (Gabriel Brumberg) struggling to assimilate into American life after fleeing the only country they have ever known.
Matthew David as Rafa’a, Gabriel Brumberg as Yazen and Nabil Elouahabi as Tareq ~ Photo credit by Scott Suchman.
Noura (Heather Raffo in an unforgettable performance) has forsaken her work as an architect in Mosul to keep a traditional household in New York City where husband Tareq (Nabil Elouahabi) works as a doctor alongside his longtime friend and fellow doctor Rafa’a (Matthew David). Scenic Designer Andrew Lieberman lets us know they are fairly well off with his stylish mid-century modern set dominated by a large Christmas tree. And although it’s clear they are Christians, they suffer many of the same prejudices in America as their Muslim friends.
Noura is excited because Maryam (Dahlia Azama), an orphan she has supported and sponsored to become an American citizen, is coming to visit them for the holidays for a Christmas Eve feast. But when she arrives from her studies at Stanford, six months pregnant and without a husband, or use for one, Noura slut-shames her, only to regret it when Maryam runs off in disgust.
Dahlia Azama as Maryam and Heather Raffo as Noura ~ Photo credit by Scott Suchman.
We see a couple in constant turmoil, striving to stay together while battling their own inner demons. This emotional roller coaster of dueling cultural identities becomes more intense as the walls seem to close in on their personal problems. Should they sacrifice their deeply held traditional roots or let love prevail? Tareq, too, is confused about his role as a man in modern American society. Is Noura too independent? Was she too bold and outspoken during their courtship so many years ago in Iraq? Were they complicit in ignoring the pleas for help from their Muslim friends’ during the war? “I am not a victim,” Noura cries out. I am a coward.” And, though they feel “safe” from ISIS in America, will guilt and fear destroy their ability feel compassion as surely as any war could?
Heather Raffo as Noura and Matthew David by Rafa’a ~ Photo credit by Scott Suchman.
Directed by Joanna Settle, Raffo’s intelligent and brilliantly crafted drama brings us into this fraught scenario cautiously, tenderly, and without judgment, making absolutely certain we recognize the universality of our foibles and frailties. It is a deep dive into the human conscience and an examination of the degree to which empathy and forgiveness can bring us to a greater understanding of all of humankind.
Destined to be a classic, this play is highly recommended.
At the Lansburgh Theatre through March 14th 2018, 450 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20003. For tickets and information contact the Box Office at 202.547.1122 or visit www.shakespearetheatre.org for additional info on post-show playwright discussions.
(L to R) Jack Willis (President Lyndon Baines Johnson) and Susan Rome (Lady Bird Johnson) in The Great Society. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
In The Great Society, Robert Schenkkan’s 2016 sequel to his Tony Award-winning All the Way based on Lyndon Johnson’s early presidency and the Civil Rights movement, the playwright continues with the final years of LBJ’s administration between January 1965 till December 1968. Those of us who lived through these turbulent times will remember how desperately divided the country was during the Vietnam War and the bloody struggle to achieve the Voting Rights Act for African Americans. I couldn’t help but reflect on our current state – voting machines compromised, Russians interfering with our elections, gerrymandering and trumped-up demands for personal identity keeping legitimate voters from the polls. The fight continues…
(L to R) Tom Wiggin (Robert McNamara and others) and Jack Willis (President Lyndon Baines Johnson) in The Great Society. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
This second term portrays a president who fell under the deceitful influence of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and F. B. I. Director J. Edgar Hoover. At the same time, Johnson was sacrificing American lives in the war, he was also pushing a raft of social programs including Medicaid, Medicare and the expansion of immigration. He was a complicated man during difficult times.
(L to R) Deonna Bouye (Coretta Scott King and others) and Bowman Wright (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) in The Great Society. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
Icons in the Civil Rights movement feature prominently – Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Stokely Carmichael, Bob Moses and others whose relationships with Johnson were often stymied by Johnson’s need to pacify his Southern base. “There’s no issue of state’s rights. It’s only human rights,” Johnson insists.
There are plenty of dramatic moments depicted here, including a brutal attack on African American marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in George Wallace’s Alabama and another that reflects the savage tactics against the nation’s anti-war protesters.
(L to R) Jack Willis (President Lyndon Baines Johnson) and Cameron Folmar (Governor George Wallace and others) in The Great Society. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
Directed by Kyle Donnelly, the play moves back and forth between the escalation of the Vietnam war and the accompanying anti-war protests to Johnson’s tireless efforts to achieve real social change while arm-twisting members of his own party. A powerful and compelling drama, it reveals much of the rough-and-tumble backroom dealings that later came to light. LBJ made it his business to exploit his adversaries and capitalize on their weaknesses, even if it took threats to achieve his ends. Jack Willis offers up a formidable LBJ, strident, bullying, foul-mouthed and oftimes terrifying, yet an indelibly effective, larger-than-life politician armed with buckets of Southern colloquialisms.
(L to R) Lawrence Redmond (Vice President Hubert Humphrey) and Jack Willis (President Lyndon Baines Johnson) in The Great Society. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
Many of the original actors from All the Way return in this tour de force including Jack Willis as LBJ, Richmond Hoxie as J. Edgar Hoover, Desmond Bing as Bob Moses, Craig Wallace as Ralph Abernathy, Tom Wiggin as McNamara, Bowman Wright as Dr. King, Jaben Early as Stokely Carmichael, John Scherer as Bobby Kennedy, Stephen F. Schmidt as Senator Dirksen, Susan Rome as Lady Bird Johnson, and Cameron Folmar as Governor George Wallace. Lawrence Redmond returns in a different role, this time as Hubert Humphrey. Set Designer Kate Edmunds adds rising flames to a rotating presidential seal to remind us of the riots in Watts.
Highly recommended. Be sure to bring your teens.
Through March 11th, 2018 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SE, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call 202 488-3300 or visit online.
Jack Willis as President Lyndon Baines Johnson in The Great Society. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
