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Theater J Confronts its Audience with Contemporary Political Drama
Theater J begins its 2010-2011 Season of Combustible Couplets, with Willy Holtzman's Something You Did, an edgy, political drama. After 30 years in prison for a fatal, anti-war bombing, a once-stellar student from a good family is now petitioning for parole. She’s visited by a former comrade turned neo-conservative media celebrity who not only argues against her, but implicates a past associate, now a public official residing in the White House.
Holtzman is a Pulitzer Prize Winning American playwright who often creates representations of actual events. Something You Did draws on the headlines surrounding Kathy Boudin, the daughter of a prominent left-wing attorney whose radical activity led to her incarceration in 1984.
Director Eleanor Holdrige leads the cast (Rick Foucheux, Deborah Hazlett, Norman Aronovic, Aakhu Freeman and Lolita-Marie) and the design team (Luciana Stecconi, Jason Arnold, Frank Labovitz, Michelle Elwyn) in staging this controversial work in the seat of the nation's politics.
Holdridge recently moved to DC to lead the Directing Program at The Catholic University of America. This is the first production with Theater J for both Holtzman and Holdrige.
Something You Did runs August 28 through October 3, 2010.
On September 15, the show will be Open Captioned for the hearing impaired. Tickets are available for $35-$55 at boxofficetickets.com or (800) 494-TIXS. Limited tickets for patrons 35 and under are $15.
Theater J will also hold panel discussions during its run of Something You Did. On Sunday, September 19 at 4:30 pm, the topic is Switching Sides: Neo-Conservatism and the Journey of Gene Biddle. On September 26, the post-matinee panel addresses Protest Movements and the Internet: Political Activism Yesterday and Today. Thursday, September 28 at 9:00 pm will be a Peace Café on Defining Terrorism.
Theater J at Washington District of Columbia Jewish Community Center
1529 16th Street NW, 202-518-9400
Provocative Images Abound at Irvine Contemporary
Brooklyn-based artist Bruno Perillo presents a new series of oil paintings at Irvine Contemporary. Uniform: New Paintings will run Sept. 11 through Oct. 16. The artist's style re-interprets historical and contemporary realist styles with dramatic contrasts of light and dark.
Perillo's work has been called provocative, challenging the realisms in our common cultural reference. He has participated in 13 group exhibitions since 1998, primarily in Boston and New York, including the New Realisms exhibition at Irvine Contemporary in 2009. This is his second solo exhibition; his first was in 2004, also at Irvine Contemporary. Perillo studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Running concurrently with the Perillo exhibit is Phil Nesmith's, Flow, a series of photographs on black glass plates depicting Gulf coast in Louisiana and Mississippi in June 2010, including many places and people normally unseen by the public. This is his third solo exhibition with Irvine Contemporary.
Irvine Contemporary emphasizes contemporary art by early and mid-career artists, especially those with growing national and international reputations. The gallery is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, from 11AM to 6PM.
Irvine Contemporary -1412 14th Street NW - 202.332.8767
Back to School for Philosophy Class at Velvet Lounge
Saturday, Sept. 25, Velvet Lounge will host The Cornel West Theory, a DC-based, hip-hop band. With full support from Dr. Cornel West, author and Princeton University professor, the six-member band takes its name from his philosophies which are generally focused on race, gender, and class.
The band's first CD, Second Rome, looks at America through a dystopian lens viewing the the birth of the nation and traveling to somewhere in the future, around 2025.
Band member Tim Hicks, who is responsible for much of the songwriting, says, “The title "Second Rome" derives from a list of potential names (or nicknames) for what we know today as the nation's capital, Washington, DC. This list of names came to us via a little known booklet containing unknown information on the District of Columbia, The Hidden History of Washington, DC: a guide for Black Folks.“
Also on the 25th, the all-female trio noon: 30 brings a unique blend of musical styles to the stage. Though their focus is rock, they feature sounds ranging from purely ambient to intense and melodic. Though not DC natives, the band now calls DC home and is determined to make its mark on the local music scene.
The Cornel West Theory and noon: 30 are sharing the bill with Voids Moan, Thela Blu, and Zebulun.
The Velvet Lounge - 915 U Street NW - 202.462.3213 - http://www.velvetloungedc.com/
Doors open 9pm; Show begins 10pm 21+/$8 |
