DIRECTOR TIMOTHY DOUGLAS gives Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" an update in the Folger Theatre's current production -- it's set in modern-day D.C. and is inspired by the city's annual Caribbean Carnival.
"Much Ado About Nothing" is about two couples -- Claudio (Alexis Camins) and Hero (Roxi Victorian), who are about to be married, and Beatrice (Rachel Leslie) and Benedick (Howard W. Overshown) won't admit they love each other. Claudio and Hero try to trick their friends into admitting their feelings, and they conspire with Don Pedro (Tony Nam), a prince, to get them together. As if that's not complicated enough, the prince's brother Don John (Joel David Santner) is jealous of Claudio's favor with the prince and decides to undermine the wedding.
Continue Reading "Shakespeare Goes to Carnival: 'Much Ado About Nothing'" »
Curtis, 29, is a tax policy analyst. Johanna, 26, is a program analyst. They live in D.C.
» The Main Event: The couple will swap vows Oct. 17 on Capitol Hill, with more than 200 guests in attendance.
» How They Met: At work. He was an economist at the Tax Foundation and she came to D.C. as a (graduate student) intern. "We are both nerds," Johanna says.
» First Date: "Pretty casual," Curtis says: ice cream and trivia at Ireland's Four Fields in Cleveland Park.
JUST AS Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery boasts, this really is "good stuff". Every day this quaint burger joint dishes out piping-hot burgers and hand-spun shakes to the nines, but with such a limited menu, it can grow old...and very quickly. How many times can you honestly eat the same twelve burgers? Well, you"ll be happy to hear that a new burger has now officially been added to the menu. Finally! A little more variation! What would an Obama burger be without a Michelle's Melt by its side? This new, Michelle Obama-inspired addition is comprised of a free-range turkey burger topped with sweet caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, a ruby red tomato, crisp lettuce, and South Lawn Herb Garden mayo with herbs plucked straight from the garden, all on a freshly baked wheat bun.
Continue Reading "Ben Franklin Would Be Proud: Michelle's Melt Debuts" »
IT'S A RIOT TO WATCH Fido chomp away at his favorite chew toy. But an apartment littered with rubber hedgehogs and ratty dog beds is likely to land you in the "before" category on one of those HGTV makeover shows. But does adopting a dog, cat or, heck, guinea pig mean you have to surrender your pad to paw print-stamped pillows, fusty carpet scratching posts and metal crates that resemble canine jails?
"There's this desire on the part of home-owners to beautify their spaces, but for many years, the pet-product industry didn't take that into account," says Julia Szabo, pet columnist for the New York Post and author of the new book "Pretty Pet Friendly" ($17, Wiley). But luckily for design-conscious pet lovers, a new generation of chic pet companies has moved to the front of the pack.
Getting your paws on hipper, sleeker puppy beds, cool birdcages and haute cat collars is easier than teaching a dog tricks now, thanks to fresh stock at online outlets, indie boutiques and big-box stores such as Petco and PetSmart. What began with a few high-end designers offering handmade wares with a mod sensibility has evolved into an industry-wide phenomenon -- a growing piece of the $45 billion pet-product pie, according to the American Pet Products Association.
"Carpet-covered monstrosities were not cutting it," says Kate Benjamin, a Phoenix blogger who defies the "crazy cat lady" stereotype on her blog, Moderncat.net, where she emphasizes design-forward products -- from "Jetsons"-esque cat pods by Hepper Home (Hepperhome.com) to sleek cat perches and DIY sheepskin-topped acrylic cubes -- and shows how she incorporates her six felines into her swanky, boutique hotel-ish pad.
Continue Reading "Paw & Order: Accessories for the Modern Pet" »
THIS WEEKEND: It's all girls, all Shakespeare, all butt-kicking, gender-bending, skateboarding fun at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop on Friday as Taffety Punk Theatre's "Measure for Measure" opens.
The Bard of Avon's problem play about pregnancy and the role of women in society adapts perfectly to this riot grrrl-driven production.
» Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 7th St. SE; opens Fri., Sept. 18, through Oct. 10, $10; 202-261-6612. (Eastern Market)
Photo by Kirstin Holodak
CAPITOL HILL
Condo: Bryan School Lofts
1315 Independence Ave. SE, #3
» $519,000: A few blocks northeast of Eastern Market, this airy 1,250-square-foot loft condo — housed in a 1906 elementary school converted by Jim Abdo into 20 luxury units — will make creative reuse buffs geek out. Enter through stone columns with the original "Girls Entrance" carved above the door, then head downstairs to the corner unit, a warm space with 13-foot ceilings, some exposed brick walls, cherry floors and Italian granite counter tops. An added perk: The reseller is a handyman builder who made custom upgrades such as a walled-off bedroom nook, tiny wood-burning fireplace and pendant lighting. An open floor plan leaves endless possibilities for arranging (and, er, minimal privacy). Storage unit and uncovered parking spot included. (Listed through Urban Pace Fine Homes.)
U STREET CORRIDOR
Condo: The Flats at Union Row
2125 14th St. NW, #224
» $509,900: This ship-like fortress of a contemporary mixed-use condo building — complete with Yes! Organic Market — is docked a block north of the nexus of busy 14th and U streets. The new 1,135-square-foot condo offers "loft-style" nine-foot unfinished ceilings and exposed ductwork but also a snug pentagon-shaped bedroom and den behind closed doors. If the cove-like den had windows and a bigger closet, the place could be called a two-bedroom. Nearly floor-to-ceiling windows face east and open onto handsome landscaping and an inviting terrace. Residents can grab free coffee from the lobby lounge on the dash out each morning and unwind after work on the eighth-floor terrace, cozied up to the gas fireplace while peering down on the courtyard below. (Listed through PN Hoffman Realty, LLC.)
Written by Express contributor Katie Knorovsky
Photos courtesy Bryan School Lofts, the Flats at Union Row
MONDAY: If you're feeling miserable about our struggling economy and various national crises, you need some Irish poetry. And no one elucidates miserable like the bards of the Emerald Isle.
Check out Eamonn Grennan, an accomplished poet who's reading at the Folger Theatre tonight. His work is heartbreakingly open without being simplistic or ringing false. After the reading, you can meet the author.
» Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE; Mon., May 18, 7:30 p.m., $12; 202-544-7077. (Capitol South)
Photo by Neal Greig
FRIDAY: Calvin Trillin is probably most famous for his work as a political poet. He's published several volumes of rhymed political commentary — and yes, that's awesome.
He's been a novelist and a journalist for decades, and he knows from humor. It's not entirely clear what he has to do with Shakespeare, but nobody should make a fuss because Calvin Trillin is wonderful, and any venue that chooses to bring him to D.C. has our full support.
» Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE; Fri., Feb. 20, 8 p.m., $15; 202-544-4600. (Capitol South)
Photo by Michael Williamson/The Washington Post
MONDAY: If we had been born in the '50s, there is no doubt we would have been another drop in the emotional sea of screaming fangirls diagnosed with "Beatlemania." As fate would have it, we arrived in 1981, forever destined to be a screaming fangirl diagnosed with, er, "New-Kids-on-the-Block-o-mania." Oh, preteen silliness!
Years have passed. While we're all on a first-name basis with John, Ringo, George and Paul, we'll never have the pleasure of witnessing the Fab Four live, unlike the indulgent reunion tour of Jordan, Joe, Jonathan, Donnie and Danny. So we'll salvage what we can to get as close to the band we'll always love but will never see. That could include supporting cover bands like 1964 or Strawberry Fields or popping into to a Harry Benson Beatles retrospective.
As such, there's no doubt we'll attend Richie Unterberger's discussion of his book "The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film" at the Library of Congress.
» Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE; Mon., Jan. 5, 7 p.m., free; 202-707-5677. (Capitol South)
Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images
EVERY YEAR, the Folger Shakespeare Library honors the birthday of Emily Dickinson, the poet whose reclusive lifestyle and creative use of the dash (among other things) have accorded her a place in the American pantheon of poets.
This year, poet Elizabeth Spires will read from her own work and that of Dickinson, and she'll join the audience at a wine reception for a cake baked from Dickinson's own recipe.
How can you resist? Poetry AND cake!
» Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE; Mon., Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m., $12; 202-675-0344. (Capitol South)
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