THIS WEEK: Two one-act plays, "Artist Descending a Staircase" and "The Oogatz Man," make up the double-bill at theater troupe Longacre Lea's fall show. The first is a classic Tom Stoppard murder mystery; the other is a new one-act, whose plot will remain a mystery until you see it.
We feel bad for the playwright, though: It's tough to compete with Stoppard.
» Hartke and Callan Theatres at CUA, 3801 Harewood Road NE; through Sept. 13, $15-$18; 202-460-2188, Longacrelea.org. (Brookland)
Photo by Elliot Homburg
THIS WEEKEND: With terpsichoreal explorations that jump from serious to lighthearted, Gravity Optional dance company will pay a visit to Dance Place Saturday and Sunday. The performance topic? Nothing major, just the ranges and depth of human experience.
» Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE; Sat., Aug. 1, 8 p.m. & Sun., Aug. 2, 7 p.m., $22; 202-269-1600, danceplace.org. (Brookand-CUA)
Written by Express' Rue Khalsa
Photo by Geoffrey Wade
SATURDAY: The acclaimed local dance troupe Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh and Company doesn't need a reason to premiere one of its innovative meldings of Indian and Western classical dance. But since it's Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, choreographer Singh will debut two new works at Dance Place this weekend, and his troupe will perform "Dreams," a harrowing but finally redemptive work by modern dance pioneer Anna Sokolow.
» Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE; Sat., May 9, 8 p.m.; Sun., May 10, 7 p.m., $22; 202-269-1600. (Brookland)
Written by Express' Arion Berger
FRIDAY: Tom and Susana Evert's Dancevert is a young, vibrant troupe that trafficks in bold physicality and emotional depth. Prepare for consumately professional expressions of states of the human heart — and brief nudity — when the Cleveland-based company comes to Dance Place this weekend.
» Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE, Fri., Feb. 13 & Sun., Feb. 15, $17-$22; 202-269-1600. (Brookland-CUA)
Photo courtesy Dan Whitlye
MODERN DANCE, when done right, is terrifying and electrifying and strange. Benjamin Levy, founder of LEVYdance, understands that, and his company is one of the finest new modern dance companies in the U.S.
Want to see them? They'll be in Northeast this weekend, at Dance Place, performing some of their latest work.
» Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE; Sat., Jan. 3, 8 p.m. and Sun., Jan. 4, 4 p.m., $22; 202-269-1600. (Brookland-CUA)
Photo by Lois Raimondo
THIS WEEKEND, Dance Place is celebrating the African diaspora with the 21st year of DanceAfrica, two days filled with African dance.
Besides the ticketed performances on Saturday and Sunday, there will also be a variety of free outdoor shows and $15 master classes available to the public. Bring the kids to enjoy the marketplace, a street fair celebrating African crafts and food.
» Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE; Sat. and Sun., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., $10-$30; 202-269-1600. (Brookland)
Photo by Enoch Chan
IF FOLKS UP near Catholic University have felt left out of the city's development boom, that feeling won't linger much longer.
The university has reached an agreement with developer Jim Abdo that, if approved by the city, would "create a destination across from the Brookland/CUA Metro Station in a neighborhood that developers have largely ignored during the recent real estate boom," NBC4 reports.
The school would bulldoze three dorms to make room for the development, but officials say student housing will be rebuilt on its main campus.
PERFORMANCE ARTIST and culture warrior Tim Miller would prefer his next project be something about gardening or dogs — his "weird passions."
But the core subject of his work — life as a gay American man — is made perpetually pertinent by an indolent democracy and slow-to-accept social fabric. And Miller is too much of an activist not to respond to each new discriminatory quirk in the system.
"As an artist, I have to respond to inequality ... to talk about it," Miller says. He's been talking about it for some time now.
As one of the notorious "NEA Four" group of artists whose National Endowment for the Arts grant proposals were sensationalized in 1990 after being resoundingly repulsed by a Republican chairman, protest is primary to Miller's life-as-art art form.
FOR YEARS, the escalators at the Brookland Metro station have been regularly out-of-service. In fact, a 2005 investigation by The Post found that the station's escalators were among the most problematic in the system.
Since the transit agency began to install canopies over many station entrances to protect equipment like escalators from rain, snow and other inclement weather, Metro's overall escalator performance has improved. But one of Brookland's problematic escalators — the one at its eastern entrance near the Metrobus bays, pictured at right — never got a canopy. And recently, amid continued breakdowns, residents are wondering why.
One neighbor, Alex Mathews, wrote a letter to Metro and posted it to Brookland's neighborhood message board, which has been discussing the situation:
The escalator on the bus lot side of the Brookland station has been out of service for [approximately five] months. Prior to the latest outage, it suffered numerous breakdowns each year previous to this most recent and lengthy one. There is only one escalator at this exit site and therefore the inadequate stairway and equally inadequate elevator must be used. This escalator does not have a covering above it as many stations now do. ... When will a cover be placed over that escalator?Probably not anytime soon, Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel told Express. "There are no funds," he said, for a new canopy.
Continue Reading "Escalator Canopy Not Coming Brookland's Way" »
Metro to Set Up Special SmarTrip Sales Kiosks
Map It:
Anacostia Ballston Brookland Columbia Heights Minnesota Ave Potomac Ave Silver Spring Union Station
AS METRO GEARS UP to make its fare hikes a reality next month, the transit agency is also working to make it easier to buy one of its rechargeable SmarTrip fare cards.
Bus riders will be especially interested in SmarTrip cards. After the new rates go into effect on Jan. 6, riding the bus will still cost $1.25 if you pay with a card, but fares will rise to $1.35 for those paying in cash.
No surprise, then, that the special kiosks Metro officials are setting up to sell the cards next week will be in rail stations that they say cater to a large number of bus riders. The special sales of SmarTrip cards, which cost $5 to buy, are scheduled from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at these dates and locations, according to a Metro press release:
» Jan. 3 at the Anacostia Metrorail station (near the bus bays)
» Jan. 4 at the Minnesota Avenue station
» Jan. 7 at the Columbia Heights station
» Jan. 8 at the Union Station and Potomac Avenue stations
» Jan. 9 at the Silver Spring and Ballston-MU stations
» Jan. 10 at the Brookland-CUA station
Riders can also pick up SmarTrip cards online, as well as at Metro sales offices, some Giant stores, commuter stores and vending machines at Metrorail stations that have parking facilities, Metro says.
Addison Road