THERE'S SOMETHING UNIQUELY APPEALING about a 10-mile run -- just ask the 26,000 people who will be lining up this Sunday for the Army Ten-Miler. "It's challenging because it's not your regular 5K or 10K, but it's not so daunting as a marathon or a half-marathon. You can do it without being wiped out afterwards," explains Alisa Harvey, who makes it sound so simple because she's won the race four times.
While other folks might not be as speedy as Harvey, she thinks just about anybody has the ability to complete the course. But it could help to get some advice from her and from two-time Olympian runner Meredith Rainey Valmon, who are offering pre-race expo clinics this Friday and Saturday (at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel — see Armytenmiler.com for details).
Continue Reading "The 10-Mile Commandments: Army Ten-Miler" »
IRA LEVIN — author of "The Stepford Wives" and "Rosemary's Baby" — wrote the thriller "Dr. Cook's Garden," now being staged by the American Century Theater. Suffice it to say things do not end well. This shiver-inducing story involves a young man, protégé of the titular doctor and a seemingly perfect town where nasty secrets grow.
Photo by Micah Hutz
LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT Callie Kimball has impish fun with a 2,000-year-old play as she adapts Aristophanes' surprisingly resilient "Peace" into a bright, scathing antiwar comedy.
The Washington Shakespeare Company shoots at everything that moves in this impudent work, in which an anguished father from Carthage, Tenn., demands restitution — or at least an explanation — from the gods after his son is killed in battle. And getting answers from anyone in charge proves to be tougher than this citizen bargained for.
» Clark Street Playhouse, 601 S. Clark St., Arlington; through Sept. 28, $24-$50; 800-494-8497.
A HEALTH-FOOD STORE in the projects is "like a fried-chicken joint in a vegan compound," the owner of said shop opines in Daniel Beaty's "Resurrection." Indeed, Mr. Rogers (Michael Genet) considers closing his anomalous store, from which his brilliant 10-year-old son, Eric (Thuliso Dingwall), concocts a mystery tea for the soul.
The lives and struggles of six African-American men from six decades converge in Arena Stage's latest. The play, which is making its official world premiere, has D.C. roots, having originally been first read last summer at Busboys and Poets.
Continue Reading "Connected Struggles: Daniel Beaty's 'Resurrection'" »
DID YOU GET AROUND to seeing "Across the Universe"? Yeah, me neither. It looked cool though. It's in my Netflix queue.
Anyway, if you did see "Across the Universe," you've seen Dana Fuchs (she played Sadie, the landlady). If you didn't, you can see her tonight at Iota. She has a sultry voice that's soulful and perfect for covers of '60s music. She writes her own songs too. Want a preview? You can hear her singing an Etta James classic here.
» Iota, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; Mon. Sept. 15, 8:30 p.m., $12; 703-522-8340. (Clarendon)
Photo by Abbot Genser
IT'S A DRAMATIC STAPLE: Introduce a bratty kid in the opening moments of a story, and by the end, he's a peach.
It's no different in Signature Theatre's latest musical, "Ace," the story of surly 11-year-old Danny (Dalton Harrod), whose defenses crumble in the face of caring foster folks, a perky schoolmate and, most crucial, a story that unlocks family mysteries. "Ace," with music by Richard Oberacker and lyrics by Oberacker and Robert Taylor, makes its East Coast premiere at the Max theater this month.
When Danny's mother, Elizabeth (Jill Paice), is hospitalized after a suicide attempt, Danny is sent to live with rare benevolent foster parents Louise and Edward (Emily Skinner and Duke Lafoon). Scowling and uncommunicative at first, Danny begins to drop the attitude once Elizabeth — communicating through a social worker (Florence Lacey) — begins sending him clues to a mystery that began in World War I.
JULIANA HATFIELD is perhaps most famous for her bitchy anthem "My Sister." Thank goodness Hatfield doesn't actually have a sister, or things might have gotten awkward.
Her sound is a kinder, gentler punk — filtered through the indie-rock label, no doubt. It's easier to listen to than your run-of-the-mill screaming anger, but it retains the irritation with the world. With Spoils of NW.
Read Meg Zamula's personal reflections on Hatfield's latest CD here.
» Iota, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; Tue., Sept. 9, 8:30 p.m., $15; 703-522-8340. (Clarendon)
JOAN WASSER is the Kevin Bacon of the music world. In some 15 years, she has played and collaborated with so many people that she can conceivably be connected with any other musician in six quick steps.
Following the dissolution of her first band, Boston alt-rock quartet the Dambuilders, in the mid 1990s, Wasser became a gun for hire, playing in various groups (Those Bastard Souls, Antony & the Johnsons) and touring or recording with many more (Rufus Wainwright, Sheryl Crow, Dave Gahan).
"Collaborating," she says, "is one of the great pleasures of being a musician. As a writer, you work alone. As a painter, I think you rarely collaborate. But music is something that can be shared."
Continue Reading "Arresting Jazz-Pop: Joan as Police Woman" »
IT'S DIFFICULT TO classify Erin McKeown's music, but if pressed I would say it's sort of a folk-pop-swingish... Maybe it's best just to call it "smart music."
It's at turns bouncy and pensive, but it always reflects McKeown's education and keen observational powers. It's a shame she's not more well known, but this way you can be the first of your friends to discover her.
» Iota, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; Thu., Sept. 4, 9 p.m., $18; 703-522-8340. (Clarendon)
Photo courtesy Nettwerk Records
ARENA STAGE hasn't let its temporary homelessness get it down. It currently has two shows running, including the new "Resurrection," which details the intersecting lives of six African-American men in an effort to address what playwright Daniel Beaty calls the crisis of black men in America, from slavery onward.
» Arena Stage, 1800 S. Bell St., Arlington; Tue.-Sat. through Oct 5., $47-$61; 202-488-3300. (Crystal City)
Photo by Scott Suchman
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