The Shakespeare Theater Company has two works just starting which will run on alternating days (that’s in repertory to you theater nerds): Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. That’s the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Suzanne Bertish there as Cleopatra.

I had the pleasure of going to a quick reception on Friday, complete with a tour of the Harman and a few minutes of watching rehearsal - when I took this picture. As you can see they’re in full dress, what with their first performance for the public happening on the following day.

Aside from the fun of getting a little behind-the-scenes look at the production, I got to meet several other local bloggers, one of whom I’ll tell you about later in the week.

image courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company

Today’s the 28th, which means there’s but 6 more performances of Zimmerman’s Argonautika at the Shakespeare Theater Company. Tonight, tomorrow, and two shows each on Saturday and Sunday. If you’re trying to remember whether I recommended the show or not, well, good luck with that - despite getting to see it opening week I never did a writeup.

Perversely, that’s not because I didn’t like it - I did - or because I had nothing to say about it. In fact, I had too much to say about it and couldn’t decide on an effective tack. So I’ll tell you in short: if you think you might like to see it, you should go - I suspect you probably will.

If you’re interested in a few of the tidbits that made me so conflicted, look below the fold.
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image courtesy of Carf

This Saturday the Shakespeare Theater is going to join the distinguished crowd of local theaters offering material for families interested in taking their kids out for some something a little different than Alvin and the Chimpmunks Get Neutered 7: Totally Nuts. On the Eve of Friday Morning is a play written by local Norman Allen that’s meant for audiences 8 and up. It sounds like a good story regardless of your age, in fact, and I’m sorry that getting Wayan married off is going to keep me from going to see it.

In Iran, Nassrin’s father has been imprisoned for teaching banned books. While Nassrin waits for word of his release, her mother tells the ancient Persian tale of Mushkil Gusha, one customarily told before the Friday holy day. Through the magic of storytelling, Nassrin steps into the story, where she meets Bahad, a boy from a thousand years ago. Together they meet unusual characters, visit worlds beyond the clouds, and learn the ways of the mysterious Mushkil Gusha. On her adventure, Nassrin discovers the importance of passing on good fortune to those in need.

The show’s going to run from the 12th through the 19th with school performances during the week. The shows for the public will be on January 12 at 11 a.m and January 13 and 19 at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and tickets will be $15.

If you’d like to go a little above and beyond, there’ll be an opening celebration at 1:30pm this Saturday for $75 which will “include a performance of On the Eve of Friday Morning and a special post-performance reception featuring food and activities that celebrate Persian culture.”

Sidney Harman Hall
610 F Street NW (at the corner of Sixth and F Streets NW)

Interested individuals should call the box office at 202.547.1122. Interested school groups should contact Group Sales at 202.547.1122, option 5.

If you haven’t seen Scena Theatre’s well-received production of Jean Genet’s “The Maids” yet, you have just three chances left. Final performances are tonight and Friday at 8pm and Saturday at 3pm at the Warehouse Theater, whose stage is beautifully transformed into a Parisian flat filled with a golden bathtub and opulent flowers. That beauty, however, is masking a rotten core, the truth of which is mesmerizingly revealed over the course of the play.

“The Maids” has always been one of my favorite plays, a tragic drama about two maids and their fascination/repulsion relationship with their mistress as they act out their roles in both fantasy and reality. It mines the meaning of fetish, of possession, of acting itself, and what it means to be an artist both against and beholden to the ruling class. When the hated mistress finally appears, like a keen-eyed bird of prey, she dooms the maids to an inevitable conclusion.

Heady stuff, and the three actors in Scena’s production - Jenifer Deal, Nanna Ingarvasson, and Danielle Davy - are giving top-notch, truthful performances that strongly deserve to be seen.

About a year and a half ago, my wife and I attended a performance of Spamalot, the Eric Idle musical based on the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, at the National Theatre. It returns to Washington in December, but take my advice and don’t bother seeing it.
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image courtesy of the
Shakespeare Theater Company

As Jenn mentioned, she and I got to go see the Shakespeare Theater’s production of Edward II on Friday evening. If you’re looking for a review in short: MAN do you have the wrong writer!

Uh.. I mean, if you’re looking for a review in short, I recommend it. The show is free of the scenery-chewing that afflicts some other viewing options, the characters are realized well enough for you to care about them, and the chemistry and interaction between the people on stage is believable and enjoyable. Somewhat unfortunately, while this is a far superior show to Tamburlaine, it doesn’t allow you to really enjoy the space of the new Harman theater as much. There’s nothing wrong with the layout or set but it doesn’t have the “oh wow” factor that the much more open set does in Tamburlaine.

If you’re looking for a longer review… well, try below the fold here.
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image courtesy of
The Shakespeare Theatre Company

Well here’s something I didn’t think I’d ever find myself saying. Peter Marks is far more generous in his remarks than I.

Not to say he isn’t right, and not that there aren’t a few things that I was more impressed by than him. But to lead with the negative, I’m flat-out astonished that the limit of his remarks on Avery Brooks’ performance amount to commenting on his excellent voice - “sonorous basso” and “honeyed tongue,” and “The role is huge, speech-packed and positively exhausting; that he gets through it at all is an achievement.” I’m reminded of the old quote, “It’s not amazing how well the bear dances, but that he dances at all.” The fact that Brooks gets through the role is about the extent of his achievement in Tamburlaine. Well, that and putting teeth marks on every piece of scenery in the place. I was starting to worry I’d be next to be chewed on - and I was up in the balcony.
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image courtesy of Mayzsoul

If children’s theater and crafts aren’t your thing, how about some dance? Watching, not doing - Darpino’s got you covered on the BYOB (bring your own booty) on Friday night.

Saturday and Sunday at the Jack Guidone theater in Friendship Heights there’s an event that purports to put on a show with “ballet, modern, jazz and hip-hop dance.” There’s apparently a connecting thread in the form of an actor-narrator, played by Michael Wiener, who will be a part of all eleven vignettes. Sounds interesting, and seems to have some talented people attached.

Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 7pm
The Joy of Motion Dance Center
5207 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington DC 20015

Today’s WaPo has an article mentioning Michael Bobbitt’s helming the Adventure Theater in Glen Echo Park as artistic director. The theater’s been newly renovated and is kicking off this Saturday. It’s a pretty fair value at $12 a seat, I think, but you can come enjoy some of the festivities for free, including crafts for the kids, a storyteller at 12:30 and 3p, and tours and a chance to watch some of the rehersal for their upcoming “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” show. If you’re willing to part with some coin the The Secret Garden is at 1:30p

As Micheal is quoted in the Post story, “Where else can you go and see a play and then ride a carousel?” Capitol Weather predicts clear skies and temps in the 50s - not great carousel weather but hey, it’s November.

I’m looking forward to seeing what they do and hope they’re roaringly successful. I’ve met Micheal a few times, most recently at Fringe when attending the show he directed, Queen of the Bohemian Dream. I’m hesitant to mention this, given that it’s one of the couple of shows I never got around to writing up, despite being one of the ones my darling girlfriend and I enjoyed the most.

Of course the real reason I’m ashamed is that I failed to do the writeup after he was so gracious to us personally. We came in having hustled over from another show and found ourselves taking a couple of the last few seats. They were at the top corner of the bleachers…. right under a positively roaring air conditioning vent. When he was walking by I recognized him and waved at him to ask him if I had time to dash out to the car for a coat for my shivering darling girlfriend. He said no, they were about to start… and doffed his own jacket and handed it over. A nice thing to do for anyone, but particularly thoughtful for someone he’d only ever been introduced to in passing. That same generosity comes across on the blog where he writes about some of the goings-ons at Adventure and solicits feedback and suggestions for future shows. Give it a look.

image courtesy of The Shakespeare Theater

If you like your theatrical experiences a little more highfalutin than spoken word poets, how about a little Marlowe? Christopher, not Philip. The Shakespeare Theater is kicking off a new program designed to put more youthful butts in seats and it’s pretty cool. If you happen to be a year or two *cough* younger than me you can take advantage of their new 20/10 program. 20 seats in every single production that week (minus Friday and Saturday) will be set aside to be sold for $10 to anyone 35 or younger. Considering the seats normally run up to $55, that’s a pretty nice deal.

The seats are released every week starting at 10am on Tuesday for the shows through that Sunday. You just need to show up at the Sidney Harman Hall Box Office at 610 F St. NW with ID in hand, otherwise they’ll have to saw you in half and count the rings.

If you’re a little more on the decrepit side you can still enjoy the kickoff for this new program. According to the press release, all the seats for the November 6th opener of Tamburlaine will be sold for $10 when the program’s first week starts tomorrow morning at 10am.