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Jordan Wright
March 10, 2017
Special to The Alexandria Times
 (L to R) Hannah Yelland as Valerie Plame and Lawrence Redmond as Joseph Wilson. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. “Hung out to dry” is the phrase that popped into my head regarding the case of Valerie Plame, the CIA covert operative who was outed by a conservative newspaper columnist in 2003. Third in the series of Arena Stage’s “Power Plays”, this cautionary tale focusses on politics and power, and by nature, those that abuse or are abused by the dark forces that control the political climate. Written by Jacqueline E. Lawton, “I write to bear witness”, and ably directed by Daniella Topol, it is set primarily at CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia; Plame and Wilson’s Georgetown home; Amman, Jordan; and various locations in Baghdad, Iraq. The haunting set design of massive grey rotating columns is by Misha Kachman.
 L to R) Ethan Hova as Dr. Malik Nazari, Nora Achrati as Leyla Nazari and Hannah Yelland as Valerie Plame. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. The backstory of Plame, who was later outed by conservative news columnist Bob Novak, was well-known. Plame was involved in securing “assets” in the Middle East. One in particular, Dr. Malik Nazari (Ethan Hova), was the nuclear scientist who provided her with raw intelligence on the development of the Iraqis’ nuclear weapons capabilities. She got to him through his niece Leyla (Nora Achrati), a couturière in Georgetown. Plame directed Nazari to gather intel on the Iraqi scientists he worked with, expecting him to lend credibility to the Bush administration’s reasons for mounting the Iraq war. But that’s not how it went down.
 (L to R) Aakhu TuahNera Freeman as Elaine Matthews and Hannah Yelland as Valerie Plame. Photo by C. Stanley Photography The beautiful spy, played compellingly by the equally stunning Hannah Yelland, led a glamorous life among the Washington cognoscenti where she lived with husband Joseph Wilson (Lawrence Redmond), former U. S. Ambassador to Iraq and later an oversharing TV talking head and Senior Director for African Affairs. If you’ll recall, Wilson’s connection to Africa was crucial to an administration pressed for time and making its case for war with Iraq. Sent by the CIA to confirm Saddam Hussein’s efforts to purchase uranium for WMDs, Wilson reported back that no such transaction had ever taken place. He shared this knowledge with his wife. This inconvenient truth – inconvenient for Bush, Powell, Cheney and Rumsfeld who needed to justify the war – was ultimately Wilson’s, and by default, Plame’s, undoing.
 (L to R) Ethan Hova as Dr. Malik Nazari, Lawrence Redmond as Joseph Wilson, Hannah Yelland as Valerie Plame, Nora Achrati as Leyla Nazari and Aakhu TuahNera Freeman as Elaine Matthews. Photo by C. Stanley Photography. Yelland provides us with a credible picture of an agent whose mission was to protect her assets and get at the truth. Taut, compelling and powerful, the play confronts the realities of gathering the sort of intelligence that rubberstamps what those in a position of deciding the direction of our country’s military, want to hear. Aakhu Tuahnera Freeman portrays Plame’s bloodless boss, a woman who turns on Plame colluding with then CIA Director George Tenet force Plame out and scuttle her intel.
Highly recommended.
Through April 9th at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SE, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information visit www.ArenaStage.org or call 202 488-3300.
Jordan Wright
March 9, 2017
Special to The Alexandria Times
 : Debra Monk as Mrs. Elva Miller ~ Photo Credit is Margot Schulman James Lapine’s latest opus, a story about the housewife with the caterwauling voice who becomes an overnight success, may be a metaphor to showcase how everyone’s wildest dreams can come true…or not. With this latest work, Lapine, best known for Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods, both co-written with composer Stephen Sondheim, has given us an undistinguished anomaly to his earlier masterpieces. His world premiere musical based on the life of Mrs. Elva Miller (Debra Monk), centers around a church lady who was “discovered” by a record producer who pegged her for a comedic diversion. This was in the mid-1960’s when comedians like Allan Sherman and Victor Borge were wittily parodying or satirizing familiar songs and the record-buying public was easily amused during an unpopular war. But Mrs. Miller, as she preferred to be called, was unaware the joke was on her. Or so she is portrayed. “I might have been off on one or two notes,” she allows.
The story begs comparison to this year’s Oscar-nominated film, Florence Foster Jenkins, that features a delusional New York heiress with an equally appalling voice. The movie stars the brilliant Meryl Streep as Foster Jenkins and the eternally soigné Hugh Grant as her adoring gentleman and enabler. Grant plays a winning charmer in a film set a few decades earlier in 1940’s New York, whereas Miller’s husband is a wheelchair-bound, crotchety old gent who resents Mrs. M’s success. Lapine sets his piece in small town Claremont, a bedroom community outside of Los Angeles. Similarly, both women are clueless about their lack of vocal abilities.
 Boyd Gaines as Mr. John Miller, Debra Monk as Mrs. Elva Miller ~ Photo Credit is Margot Schulman The plot takes us through a three-year span of Miller’s short-lived yet meteoric career against the backdrop of her niece Joelle (Rebekah Brockman) and Joelle’s romance with Miller’s accompanist Simon Bock (Corey Mach) and, later, Simon’s looming draft service. Unfortunately, there is not enough heft to carry an hour and forty-five minutes of pop music covers sung in a screeching voice with a trio of backup singers drawn from predictable stereotypes – one groovy African American gal, Denise (Kimberly Marable, who pulls off arguably the best scene in the show), one fluffy blonde, Carol Sue (Kaitlyn Davidson), and one gay guy, Bobby (Jacob ben Widmar doubling as Tiny Tim) who runs off to Greenwich Village in search of sexual diversion. I won’t fault the actors. They did a fine job given the material.
 Photo Credit is Margot Schulman ~ Photo Credit is Margot Schulman Monk is superb in the role of Elva Miller. Despite the thin plot and hackneyed script, she’s totally believable as the ditsy, maniacally cheery Miller with her ingratiating manners and off-key, nails-on-a-blackboard howling. There’s even a bit of toggling back and forth to her actual singing voice in a few dream sequences. And character actor Will LeBow is exceptional in all seven roles – among them a stoner record producer, Ed Sullivan, Mr. Miller’s Jewish doctor and a snooty salesman at Tiffany’s.
Those under fifty may be clueless as to the obscure references to Tiny Tim, Ed Sullivan and Topo Gigio as well as many of the songs of that era. Millennials won’t fare any better. But if the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s are in your wheelhouse, you’ll feel right at home.
Through March 26th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
Samantha Lee
March 2016
Photo credit – Samantha Lee
Early last November Carlie Steiner, owner and beverage director, and Kevin Tien, owner and executive chef opened Himitsu – a Japanese restaurant with a Latin American and Asian flair, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC. The duo met at ThinkFoodGroup’s Oyamel on 7th Street where Steiner was bartending and Tien was cooking.
The name “Himitsu” came to them by accident. As curiosity-seekers dropped by during construction, they told them the restaurant’s name was a secret. This was entirely true. In Japanese, the word himitsu means secret. The two liked the name and felt it represented their ideas well.
Himitsu enjoys an open kitchen concept that lets diners interact with restaurant staff. With a total of capacity of 24 seats – eight at the bar and 16 in the dining room, it’s cozy and friendly and lightly decorated with potted plants hung from the ceiling.
 Carlie Steiner, co-owner and beverage director, and Kevin Tien, co-owner and executive chef Prior to opening Himitsu, Chef Tien had graduated from Louisiana State University with a business administration degree specializing in finance. He had cheffed at Tsunami Sushi; was Sushi Chef at Uchi in Houston, TX; Oyamel in DC; Momofuku CCDC; and the crazy-hot noew resto, Pineapple & Pearls. Steiner graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and was Chef of Spirits at Minibar by José Andrés. Their stated philosophy is to operate a kitchen with a smile and a heart full of love and see that translate into their food.
The menu changes daily combining freshness, acidity and herbs, leaning heavily towards Latin American and Asian flavor profiles. The first page features a drink menu with a selection of seven beers, five temperance mocktails, classic cocktails with a twist, and contemporary cocktails. The second page lists an expansive variety of nigiri, makimono, cold appetizers and hot appetizers.
I began with the “Baransu”, a cocktail of sake, smoked green tea, pineapple vinegar and a touch of shisho. I continued with two other cocktails – “Smoked + Iced”, made with lightly sweetened Japanese cherry wood and smoked matcha tea, and “Cinnamon Soda” made with lemon, cinnamon, sparkling water and rose water. My dinner companion remarked that the Cinnamon Soda was a unique and pleasant combination of ingredients.
 Baransu, Smoked + Iced, Cinnamon Soda The food menu peaked our curiosity due to combination of ingredients and we felt that we should try as many of the items as possible. Chef Tien’s personality and cultural upbringing influenced some of the dishes, especially the Hamachi Kama, which was prepared with lightly deep fried hamachi collar, topped with a variety of herbs, and tossed in a slightly spicy fish sauce vinaigrette and served with two glasses of Manzanilla “Pasada Pastrana” sherry. It was reminiscent of fried catfish dinner from Hanoi with its complement of Thai basil, mint leaves and fish sauce.
 Hamachi Kama The kitchen proved quite versatile with sushi offerings like Supaishi Tuna and Hamachi Zen. The Supaishi Tuna consisted of bigeye tuna, jalapeno, sriracha, avocado, cucumber, and shichimi togarashi (Japanese spice mixture) wrapped in roasted seaweed and rice vinegar-infused Japanese sticky rice with sesame seeds.
 Supaishi Tuna The Hamachi Zen consisted of roasted seaweed topped rice vinegar-infused Japanese sticky rice topped with fresh Japanese yellowtail, micro mustard, crispy shallots, and avocado rolled and sliced. These rolls were served with a yuzukosho, a fancy term for yuzo chili paste. The sushi rice used in the rolls had the perfect texture and temperature and proved to be a satisfying and unique sushi experience.
 Hamachi Zen From the five “Cold Plates” I sampled the Hamachi + Orenji, Akami + Gohan, and Kawaii Salad.
 Hamachi + Orenji The Hamachi + Orenji consists of sushi-grade Japanese yellowtail and orange segments. The dish was served in Thai chili fish sauce vinaigrette and garnished with orange and yuzu tobiko. It was a nice balance of sweet and spicy.
 Akami + Gohan The Akami + Gohan is a dish of cubed bigeye tuna tartare mixed with shoyu, ginger, scallion and quail egg, topped with sesame rice cracker. This was my favorite dish of the night.
 Kawaii Salad The Kawaii Salad consists of baby lettuce greens, radish, yuzu-pickled golden raisins and almonds, evenly tossed in a miso-creole mustard vinaigrette. It reminded me of a salad I had in Tokyo two summers ago.
Among the six “Hot Plates”, I tried the Agedashi Tofu, Ton Ton + Mame, and Karaage.
 Agedashi Tofu The Agedashi Tofu has deep-fried salt and pepper battered tofu served in a traditional Japanese dashi stock with Chinese scallion ginger and garnished with bonito flakes that moved with the air current.
 Ton Ton + Mame The Ton Ton + Mame is braised honey-hoisin Chinese pork belly with pork jus marinated ginger-garlic white beans that are garnished with both fried shallots and pickled shallots. This dish reminded me of my childhood eating roasted suckling pig with hoisin sauce as well as my uncle’s braised pig knuckles with rice.
 Karaage The Karaage was a delightful combination of Korean gochujang-marinated tender chicken dipped in buttermilk and deep fried, and served with house made sweet pickles and kewpie mayo.
 Buttermilk Panna Cotta We ended our meal with a Buttermilk Panna Cotta, which was certainly not your typical panna cotta. This panna cotta was rich in flavor and served in a shallow bowl topped with fresh plum, ginger Szechuan honeycomb candy and matcha oil. Not only was the combination of flavors unusual, but the honeycomb candy was more chewy than expected.
Overall, I enjoyed the various aspects of the restaurant – atmosphere, service, food and drinks. I highly recommend the Himitsu Zen, Hamachi Kama, Akami + Gohan, Kawaii Salad, Ton Ton + Mame, and Karaage. I look forward to returning to Himitsu to explore my taste buds, try new dishes, and enjoy these dishes once more.
Insider’s Tip – The restaurant opens for dinner service at 5pm, Tuesday – Sunday. However, they do not accept reservations and seating is strictly walk-ins. If there isn’t a table for your party size, join the waitlist and they’ll notify you when there’s an opening. Three weeks after opening the place was packed and there was around a 45-minute wait. Since then, it’s gotten rave reviews. Prepare to go early and stand in line.
Himitsu is located at 828 Upshur St. NW, Washington, DC 20011. Ample street parking along Upshur St and its cross streets.
http://himitsudc.com/
Jordan Wright
March 1, 2017
Special to The Alexandria Times
Shakespeare Theatre Company is currently playing host to the Elevator Repair Service’s off-beat The Select (The Sun Also Rises). Directed by John Collins the famed New York-based troupe caps off their trilogy of singular adaptations based on classic American novels with this final production based on one of Hemingway’s most venerated novels. Set in Paris and Spain, it is filled with dialogue and prose from the original and re-interpreted to form the core of the play.
 Kaneza Schaal as Georgette. Photo by Scott Suchman. The story centers around the expatriate community of the 1920’s, a group Hemingway fraternized with when he was a war correspondent. Many of this “Lost Generation” were artists, writers, scions of well-to-do American families and an occasional noble of lesser pedigree. Most were there to soak up the Parisian joie de vivre while seeking creative inspiration. The story is colored with Hemingway’s penchant for drinking, fishing, drinking, bull-fighting, drinking, eating and drinking. In other words, steady volumes of whiskey, martinis, champagne and wine consumed, followed by periods of fighting, boredom, sticky love affairs and enfeebling hangovers.
 Vin Knight as Count Mippipopolous, Mike Iveson as Jake Barnes and Stephanie Hayes as Brett Ashley. Photo by Scott Suchman. The main characters are writer and Princeton grad Robert Cohn (John Collins); newspaperman Jake Barnes (Mike Iveson) who serves as the story’s narrator; Frances (Kate Scelsa) Robert’s erstwhile paramour; Mike (Pete Simpson) Brett’s fiancé: and Lady Brett Ashley (Stephanie Hayes) who is inclined to hook up with every handsome fellow she meets including the dashing young bullfighter Romero (Susie Sokol) who proves this cougar’s ultimate undoing.
 Susie Sokol as Pedro Romero. Photo by Scott Suchman. The 13-member cast plays multiple roles in this dizzying staging that spotlights the post-war bohemian life in Paris with all its witty remarks and cutting retorts punctuated by manly pursuits. And Scenic & Costume Designer David Zinn does a fine job with the clever set of five exits providing the cast with multiple ways to quickly exit and re-enter as a new character.
 Vin Knight as Diner, Mike Iveson as Jake Barnes and Stephanie Hayes as Brett Ashley. Photo by Scott Suchman. I kept thinking this is just the ticket for millennials who are lately much enamored of the Paris of this period. To that end, the playbill includes recipes for Hemingway’s favorite cocktails among other theatre events being held during the run. Or check out the “Hemingway Daiquiri Cocktail Workshop” on March 9th between 6:30 and 7:30pm in Sidney Harman Hall.
Running time – 3 hours and 15 minutes
Though April 2nd 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
Jordan Wright
March 1, 2017
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Charlene Sloan as Harriet, Peter Harrold as Gordon, and Dana Gattuso as Anne – Photos by Keith Waters for Kx Photograhy What’s more fun than a British farce by LTA? It’s the theater’s stock-in-trade and each season they get more masterful at this vehicle. Written by John Chapman (no relation to our current City Councilman) and Dave Freeman, it is a hoot in the grand tradition of delightfully naughty drawing room comedies. Freeman began his writing career on The Benny Hill Show and Carry On TV series, later writing for Peter Sellers and other notable British comedians. Chapman was best known for a slew of British sketch comedies in the 70’s and 80’s. The writers collaborated on Key for Two, winning “Comedy of the Year” in London’s Society of West End Theatre Awards for their efforts.
 Dana Gattuso (Anne), Elizabeth Replogle (Magda) and Charlene Sloan (Harriet) – Photos by Keith Waters for Kx Photograhy In Key for Two, Harriet (Charlene Sloan) is mistress to two married men, successful adman Gordon (Peter Harrold) and ship owner Alec (Cal Whitehurst). They each are unaware of the other, as well as the existence of Harriet’s estranged spouse. In order to keep the charade alive, the pretty polygamist cleverly concocts a balancing act to entertain them on alternate days. The fun begins when Gordon twists his ankle, leaving him bedridden in her Brighton flat. To add to the confusion, her best friend Anne (Dana Gattuso), smarting from a recent separation, arrives unexpected. Anne’s husband Richard (Justin Latus), a taxidermist, soon shows up drunk as a skunk and still carrying a torch for Harriet. The two women quickly join forces creating hilarious excuse after excuse to explain away the untenable situation. “It’s been a very busy year for kept women,” Harriet complains to Anne as the two conspirators attempt to keep the men from bumping into each other.
 Cal Whitehurst (Alex) and Charlene Sloan (Harriet) – Photos by Keith Waters for Kx Photograhy There’s a lot of leaping in and out of bed as Harriet pretends to be married to Anne’s fictional husband the women dub “Bob the Murderer” in order to keep Gordon at sixes and nines. But it’s Anne who has to go the extra mile pretending to be married to Gordon in order to preserve Harriet’s charade. It begins to unravel when Anne, now pretending to be a caregiver at Harriet’s “nursing home”, claims that Alec has “polygamist palsy” and believes he is married to Harriet. Are you still with me? If you can keep that much in mind the rest is a snap…that is until Gordon and Alec’s wives, Magda (Elizabeth Replogle) and Mildred (Liz LeBoo) turn up and all hell breaks loose. Richard’s brief love affair with Magda’s fox stole is classic.
 Liz LeBoo (Mildred), Charlene Sloan (Harriet), Dana Gattuso (Anne) and Cal Whitehurst (Alex) – Photos by Keith Waters for Kx Photograhy Director Eleanore Tapscott (Caught in the Net, Noises Off and I’m Not Rappaport at LTA) corrals a talented cast and puts them to work tickling our collective funny bones with snappy repartee, double entendres, puns and malapropisms. And to our delight, they never stop.
If you like silly British slapstick comedy, this is the one to see!
Through March 18th 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
Jordan Wright
February 21, 2017
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Ryan Sellers as Petruchio and Irina Tsikurishvili as Katherina. Photo Credit: Johnny Shryock Some of Synetic’s “Silent Shakespeare” series productions are of the more classical variety. Knights in leather armor and ladies in diaphanous gowns, kings with proper crowns and gallant, swaggering lads who rescue damsels. That works for those who like their Shakespeare neat and undiluted. For my money, the crazier, the more outlandish and the sexier, the more I’m going to love it. Directed by Irina Tsikurishvili, one of the founding members of the Georgian troupe together with her husband and Artistic Director, Paata Tsikurishvili, this new version of The Taming of the Shrew is decidedly over the top outrageous. We need this. A straight 90 minutes of madcap silliness strung together by a familiar plot and performed by a cast of inspired dancers. Sign me up.
In a stunning Magritte-like formality, fellow mourners gather. Clad in black Victorian garb with umbrellas held aloft, they grieve the demise of fashion designer Baptista’s wife. The explosive sounds of thunder and lightning frame their little scene. As they depart, several of the gentlemen lovingly kiss the hand of Katherina (Irina Tsikurishvili). One brazen swain grabs her, bends her backwards and plants one on her lips. She is the most sought after, and unattainable of all – a girl on fire garnering headlines in the scandal sheets for her uncontrollable behavior. Her sister, Bianca (Nutsa Tediashvili), a flirty starlet, glamorously clad in electric yellow mini dress, is no match for her sister’s intensity. As for her paramour, Lucentio (Justin J. Bell) he must woo Bianca on the QT, and does it as a woman in a tiny dress and Louise Brooks bob as her music teacher. It’s outlandish. Beyond the pale. Such fun!
 Irina Tsikurishvili as Katherina and Ryan Sellers as Petruchio Photo Credit: Johnny Shryock The story is set in PADUAWOOD, the iconic Hollywood sign has been replaced. Here the men are flashy hipsters in pegged trousers, the women fiercely trendy and the paparazzi ubiquitous. It’s all about the nightlife, hooking up at the club and vogueing for the camera. Fashion shows are where they strut their stuff and here we are treated to an ersatz Victoria Secret runway scene, as elaborate as anything from Ziegfeld’s follies, with models in de rigeur feathery angel wings and erotic lingerie. Additional suitors Tranio (Scott S. Turner), Hortensio (Stephen Russell Murray), Gremio (Zana Gankhuyag) and Grumio (Alex Mills) swarm around the ladies, alternately posing and roughhousing, eager to impress their targets.
Petrucchio, selected by Katherina’s father to pursue her in marriage, is a painter bereft of inspiration. He is portrayed by the sensational dancer Ryan Sellers, whose acrobatic leaps are Baryshnikovian and whose physical attributes are swoon-worthy. His fights with Katherina are as deliciously chaotic as the steamy love scenes. Tsikurishvili mirrors his enmity and passion exquisitely. This may be one of her greatest roles – one in which she shows her magnificent range as a both a comic actor and powerhouse performer.
 Full cast (minus Irakli Kavsadze as Baptiste and Chris Galindo as Ensemble). Photo Credit: Johnny Shryock Zana Gankhuyag has choreographed this unique and visually sensuous production, showing off this talented cast to their fullest. And credit Anastasia Rurikova Simes for the countless, elaborate, crazy costumes that never fail to amuse, most inexplicably a banquet wherein all the guests save Katherina wear massive chicken heads and a girl in skimpy black patent leather biker gear lures Petrucchio from atop a motorcycle. A lobster codpiece makes an appearance. Don’t ask. Just go.
Highly recommended. (And for those of you who have never been to a Synetic Theater production, they have garnered a total of 93 Helen Hayes Award nominations and 27 Awards for directing, choreography, acting, costume design and best play.)
Through March 19th at Synetic Theater, 1800 South Bell Street, Arlington in Crystal City. For tickets and information call 1-866-811-4111 or visit www.synetictheater.org.
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