EVERYONE HAS FDR fever these days. Wonder if it could be the combination of a new, Democratic president and an economic crisis that has everyone hoping that Barack Obama will do for the current financial climate what Roosevelt did for the Great Depression (i.e. create massive social programs that revitalize the U.S. infrastructure and create new jobs.)
Anyway, not to be outbandwagoned, Arena Stage has an economic-downturn special for you, and they've called it the New Deal. Anytime on Friday, Nov. 14, from midnight to midnight, you can buy tickets for any Arena show for $25. If your group numbers more than 15 people, it's only $22 per ticket. That can be as high as a 60 percent discount, so jump on this one.
Call 202-488-3300 or go here for tickets.
Click here to see their season schedule.
Photo courtesy FDR Library
TONIGHT IS YOUR last chance (well, for this year anyway), to catch Twilight Tattoo at Ft. McNair. More than 100 people-of-the-military (including the Old Guard and the U.S. Army Band) gather to entertain the public with pageantry, music and that crazy thing where they flip big guns around in the air like they're tutu-clad preteens with batons.
The pageant starts at 7 p.m., and the Old Guard and Army band are on for an hour starting at 7:30.
» Ft. McNair, 4th and P Streets SW; Wed., 7 p.m., free; 202-685-2888. (Waterfront-SEU)
Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post
THE DOCUMENTARY FILM "Africa Unite" isn't yet another recycled Bob Marley artifact trotted out to celebrate an anniversary and cash more checks.
While the movie covers the giant concert the Marley family held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in 2005 to celebrate what would have been Papa Bob's 60th birthday, the primary point of the film is much larger, according to eldest son Ziggy Marley.
"I know [my father] would have said, 'It's not about my 60th birthday; it's about the unity of Africa.' This is the more important message.'"
"Africa Unite," which makes its D.C. debut on Saturday, documents the coming together of people from around the world to share ideas, cultures and good vibes against the backdrop of a family-and-friends concert that brings the entire Marley clan together.
But the most powerful aspects come from the historical footage that displays the dehumanizing colonialization of Africa and Jamaica.
WHEN D.C. OFFICIALS and developers gathered in November to start the demolition of the Waterside Mall in Southwest, they used a gold-painted wrecking ball to tear down the eyesore, which will be transformed into a new home for two District government offices, 1.2 million square feet of residential space and at least 110,000 square feet of retail space.
Well, look at how quickly the demolition is progressing.
If you're looking to scratch a retail itch in the area in the short term, you can find the mall's CVS housed in a portable trailer.
» "SW Waterside Ahead of Schedule" [D.C. Metrocentric]
» EARLIER: "A Golden Wrecking Ball for Waterside Mall in SW" [Free Ride/Express]
THOSE WITH POLITICALLY DIVIDED guests this holiday season may find solace in Arena Stage's "Christmas Carol 1941." Conservatives will enjoy the chest-pounding, pro-war sentiments, while liberals will love all the talk of charity and government regulation of business.
The last production at Arena Stage's Fichandler Arena for the next 29 months, James Magruder's commissioned take on the Dickens classic takes place in D.C. just after Pearl Harbor. Our grinchy central figure is one Elijah Strube (James Gale), a war profiteer who reflexively barks "Bullcrap!" at the mere mention of Christmas. His trade of choice: the scaly underbelly of the pineapple industry.
DEMOLITION is nothing new to the city's Southwest quadrant. In fact, the vast majority of the area was razed in the 1950s and '60s for urban renewal schemes.
Now, one Southwest's concrete dinosaurs, the old Waterside Mall, is coming down. This time however, the wrecking ball being used is extra special: It's painted in gold. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is pictured above at right getting ready to sign the wrecking ball with developer Charlie Bresler.
As The Post's Alejandro Lazo reports, the long-delayed $800 million project to redevelop the Waterside Mall site, at 4th and M streets SW, is back on track. Home mortgage lender Fannie Mae had planned on moving its headquarters to a new complex at the site, but when it backed out in 2005, the future of the project was in question.
Two District government offices will eventually move into the mixed-used site, which will consist of 1.2 million square feet of residential space and at least 110,000 square feet of retail space, all located near a reconnected and re-opened 4th Street SW, Lazo reports.
Want to see Thursday's demolition ceremony? Click here for a video from washingtonpost.com's Akira Hakuta.
» "After Delays, Ground Breaks on Waterside Mall Project" [WaPo]
» "Symbolic Demolition in Southwest" [WaPo Video]
» EARLIER: "A Wreck of a Plan" [WaPo]
Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post
WHAT DO ARENA STAGE and noted restaurateur Roberto Donna have in common? They're both using Crystal City in Virginia as temporary refuge as their District digs are being renovated.
As The Post's Jacqueline Trescott reports, Arena Stage is set to undergo major renovations starting in January and will relocate to a renovated 460-seat facility that once housed the Crystal Forum movie house. Arena Stage will also utilize the Lincoln Theatre on U Street NW, as well as other venues. The new Arena Stage on Maine Avenue in Southwest is scheduled open in 2010.
It's another major score for Crystal City, the much-maligned planned office and residential complex between the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport, which is seeing a major exodus of military and other office jobs.
Continue Reading "Arena Stage to Use Crystal City Flex Space" »
IF YOU MISSED hip-hop artists Bahamadia and locally-grown Emoni Fela rip the mic this last Wednesday at the Rock Roll Hotel, no worries. That was just the kickoff event for the third annual "Can a Sista Rock a Mic?" festival.
There's still an entire weekend's worth of performances remaining, and the event's coordinators were sure to save the best for last. MC Lyte, an official (and literal) first lady of hip-hop, will close out the festivities with a grand finale perfomance at Zanzibar on the Waterfront Sunday. And, she assured us, "It's going to be a show [D.C.] won't forget."
Rhyming since the age of 12, Lyte was not only one of the first female rappers, but she was also among the first to use her music to directly address the sexism and misogyny that plagues her chosen genre.
When asked how it felt to have blazed trails for the Li'l Kims and Missy Elliots of the industry, Lyte replied, "Most women are put out by a male artist or producer. I just want to see women stand up and come from their heart. And talk about the topics they want to talk about, not so much the topics other people want to hear."
With this kind of conviction, it's obvious why Lyte is the perfect choice to wrap up the CSRAM festival, which was founded to directly combat the negative imagery of women, not only in hip-hop, but also in the media as a whole.
Other artists set to prove it's a man's world no more include: Carol Riddick, YahZarah is Purple Saint James, Sy Smith and D.C.'s own Afi. And as if this isn't enough, the festival also includes spoken word and live art.
Various locations and prices, through Sun.; see bgirlmanifesto.com for details.
Photo courtesy SGI/CMM
AS A CHILD, Hugh Masekela said his ambition was to "live inside the gramophone, so I could be with all those people in there."
But it wasn't just love of music that made the future trumpet player, flugelhornist and singer want to escape reality — it was the infamous South African apartheid system of government that was first put into place in 1948, when Masekela was 9 years old.
Masekela grew up to be one of his country's most famous jazz musicians and, later, world-fusion pioneers, incorporating indigenous musical styles, such as the hypnotic and lilting mbaqanga, with improvisation and funk. But politics was always at the heart of Masekela's dancing jams.
"The general fabric of thinking of all South Africans has always been protest music because we've had 400 years of war," Masekela said. "In South Africa, we have very few songs about the weather or love."
But underpinning these fight songs were booty-friendly grooves. "Almost every band was a dance band, because dancing is a major part of our music," Masekela said.
"You can't do it without dancing — even when you're protesting. Dizzy [Gillespie] used to tell me, 'Man, you come from a nation of dancing fools. I want to be a part in that revolution.'"
A SLAVE SHIP looms in front of the Statue of Liberty. It's a bold statement, and it's one at the center of Daniel Beaty's one-man show, "Emergence-SEE!," which returns to Arena Stage's Kreeger Theatre after a weekend run in February. Using slam poetry and song, Beaty portrays 43 characters who reflect on contemporary African-American life.
» EXPRESS: What gave you the idea for the story?
» BEATY: I began thinking about the story based on my own personal journey to be free, as well as what I was seeing in my own community and also as a teacher in some of the most challenged school systems in New York City. There's a large portion of our society in a state of emergency, particularly people of color in our cities. I wanted to tell a story that could be entertaining and enlightening and delve into the issues.
» EXPRESS: When did you start doing slam poetry?
» BEATY: My background is actually first as a motivational speaker. I had a mentor as early as elementary school who encouraged me to follow my passion for Martin Luther King Jr. ... I worked as an actor in New York City and discovered the slam poetry community. It gave me an opportunity to talk about issues I cared deeply about.
» EXPRESS: Where did you learn how to do so many voices?
» BEATY: When I was in high school, I participated in the National Forensics League. … I was the 1994 champion in a category called "Dramatic Interpretations." You take a 10-minute excerpt of a play and play all the characters. That was my first experience playing men, women, young and old.
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