September 2009 Archives

The equestrian arts are infused with magic and emotion in the multimedia extravaganza Cavalia, an homage to the poignant history and fascinating bond between humans and horses. The production, helmed by Normand Latourelle, who helped build the Cirque du Soleil empire, relates a fairytale through live music, image, dance and acrobatics and features over 30 horses. Through Sept. 27. Under The White Big Top, across from the Pentagon, Virginia. Tickets are $45.50 to $190.50. Call 866-999-8111 or visit www.cavalia.net.

One In Ten, the organization that produces October's annual Reel Affirmations film festival, offers a novel sneak peak of The Big Gay Musical, a musical-comedy from director Casper Andreas (Between Love and Goodbye) that's been making a splash at gay festivals around the country this year and will serve as Reel Affirmations 19's closing night film. “Get Wet & Watch” is the tagline for this screening at a heated outdoor pool, “the last big pool party event of 2009.” It's one last chance to show off your swimsuit -- and that summer body. Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Rain date: Sept. 30. Hosted by Evolve Property Management, 1375 Maryland Ave. NE. Tickets are $55. Visit www.reelaffirmations.org.

The Swedish quintet The Sounds, fronted by bisexual lead singer Maja Ivarsson, makes unobjectionable, straightforward, radio-aspiring pop-rock that betrays real passion for the music. After opening for No Doubt this summer, the band is now on its own tour in support of Crossing the Rubicon, its first album since splitting from major label New Line Records and starting its own. Ivarsson and the four men in the band express eagerness throughout the music and lyrics to repeat, revisit and re-imagine the past. It’s the type of group that fans of The Cars and especially Blondie could get into – as well as fans of other new-wave inspired contemporary acts, including Tegan & Sara and Junior Senior. Monday, Sept. 21 at Nightclub 9:30, 815 V Street NW. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

Margaret Cho's new show is a work in progress, with a mix of new stand-up material but especially live music, including a preview of her forthcoming “comedy music” album, which has the working title of Guitarded and will feature guest appearances from some of pop/rock music’s leading producers, including Patty Griffin, Jon Brion and Grant Lee Phillips. Monday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Rams Head On Stage, 33 West St., Annapolis. Tickets are $30. Call 410-268-4545 or visit www.ramsheadonstage.com.

Billed as a return “after babies, breast cancer and the boob tube,” Betty, the D.C.-bred New York pop trio of Amy and Elizabeth Ziff and Alyson Palmer, is touring in support of its first studio album in years. Produced by David Maurice (Garbage, Kerli), the album Bright & Dark reflects on the vagaries of life and love and includes guest vocals from Kate Pierson of The B-52’s. Sunday, Sept. 20. Doors at 7 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $25 at the door. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

One of the most touted female talents in jazz, Jane Monheit has a sound that blends “natural elegance with potent yet impressively controlled presentation,” says the All Music Guide. Sunday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $35. Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

My Diva: 65 Gay Men and the Women Who Inspire Them is a new book edited by Michael Montlack, who will join several authors included in the anthology to read from essays about their favored divas. Scheduled are David Bergman on Lotta Lenya, RJ Gibson on Annie Lennox, John Dimes on Bjork, Allen Smith on Jessica Lange and Bill Fogle on Julia Child. Montlack himself is a Stevie Nicks devotee. Sunday, Sept. 20, at 2 p.m. The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St. Bethesda. Donations are suggested. Call 301-654-8664 or visit www.writer.org.

This 2003 English adaptation of Mozart's tale about women tricked into betraying their fiancés was re-imagined and set in Hollywood in 1929 by Nick Olcott. This is one of three “pocket operas” the In Series is producing this season, so called because they’re being staged in such a small space, with few resources. Tonight, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 20 (Out at the In Series! for the GLBT Community), at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 7:30 p.m. and next Saturday, Sept. 26, at 8 p.m. In rep with From U Street to the Cotton Club. Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets $31 to $38. Call 202-204-7763 or visit www.inseries.org.

Daniel Berrigan was one of nine Catholic activists who in 1968 seized records from the Catonsville, Md., draft board office and publicly burned them in protest of the Vietnam war. They were condemned as criminals in court but hailed by many as patriots. And now, as a poet, Berrigan relates his experiences and raises big questions still being debated today in Trial of the Catonsville Nine from Tim Robbins’ Actors’ Gang: Is it right to break the law for your beliefs? Can a government demand that citizens participate in war? What is the role of faith in civic life? Tonight, Friday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m. A panel discussion precedes the performance at 7 p.m. relating tales from the Vietnam-era in the region. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Ina and Jack Kay Theatre, University of Maryland, University Blvd. and Stadium Dr. College Park. Tickets are $37. Call 301-405-ARTS or visit www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.

Long a mainstay of 17th Street -- some might even call it one of D.C.'s most iconic restaurants -- Annie Paramount Steak House offers a mix of modern meets comfortable without a lick of pretension, be it morning, noon or late night -- 24 hours a day on weekends. While steak is what made Annie's famous -- we salivate particularly for the filet mignon Oscar, with crab imperial and Béarnaise -- lighter fare abounds these days. Make a meal of the Greek supreme salad with beef tips or grilled chicken, go for the blackened-salmon sandwich, or pass an hour at the bar enjoying one of Annie's signature Manhattans with some Maryland crab-cake sliders. Or try a wedge salad, if you're partial to iceberg with bacon, gorgonzola and a blue-cheese dressing. Pure heaven.

ANNIE'S PARAMOUNT STEAK HOUSE 1609 17th St. NW Washington 202-232-0395 Cost: $$

Annie's Salmon photographed by Todd Franson/Metro Weekly

This world-premiere event is billed as “a night of razzle dazzle,” and that it will be, given that six Broadway and Signature performers will sing and dance to more than 35 songs from the John Kander and Fred Ebb playbook, which includes Chicago and Cabaret. Signature’s own Eric Shaeffer directs, with choreography from Karma Camp. An onstage 19-piece orchestra rounds out this celebration of both Kander & Ebb and 20 years of Signature. Through Sept. 27. In The Max at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Buy one regularly priced ticket – $60 to $65 – and get up to three additional tickets for just $20 each. Call 703-820-9771 or visit www.signature-theatre.org.

Georgetown University’s Theater and Performance Studies Program in association with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company presents two productions from Belarus Free Theatre, an internationally acclaimed rebellious troupe banned in its home country. Generation Jeans is a freedom fighter’s semi-autobiographical monologue, moving from the former Soviet Union to modern-day Belarus. Discover Love, meanwhile, intermingles the true story of a woman whose husband was kidnapped and murdered with similar stories of women worldwide. Jeans will be staged Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. Discover plays on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Devine Studio Theatre at the Davis Performing Arts Center on Georgetown University’s main campus. Tickets are $12. Call 202-687-ARTS or visit www.performingarts.georgetown.edu.

The Pittsburgh funk-fused bluegrass band Rusted Root has been a stalwart on the jam band scene ever since its 1994 platinum-selling breakthrough album When I Woke garnered them gigs with the likes of legends the Grateful Dead and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Now the band is touring in support of Stereo Rodeo, its first studio album in seven years. Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 8 p.m. The State Theatre, 220 North Washington St., Falls Church. Tickets are $25. Call 703-237-0300 or visit www.thestatetheatre.com.

John Singer Sargent, the preeminent American expatriate painter of the late 19th Century, is the focus of The Corcoran Gallery's “Sargent and the Sea,” gathering more than 80 paintings, watercolors and drawings depicting seascapes and coastal scenes from his early career in Europe. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the Corcoran’s own En Route pour la pêche (Setting out to Fish). On display through Jan. 3, 2010. Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202-639-1700 or visit www.corcoran.org.

The League of Washington Theatres launches "Theatre Week," a new promotion trumpeting the city’s new stage season. More than 70 area nonprofit theaters will offer free special events, from play readings to open houses, and ticket discounts to upcoming productions. Among discounts on offer specific to this promotion: Preview tickets at 20% off to The Quality of Life at Arena Stage; 20% off tickets purchased during this week to Ford’s Theatre’s upcoming Black Pearl Sings!; balcony tickets at $10 to $15 apiece for patrons 30 and under for The Picture of Dorian Gray at Round House; and $10-off tickets purchased during this week to Theater J’s Zero Hour. In addition, the League will offer a free night of theater for performances Oct. 6 to Nov. 19. Theatre Week runs Saturday, Sept. 12, through Sunday, Sept. 20. Visit www.lowt.org for more details and a full schedule of activities and promotions.

Over 150 vendors will be out and about for the 31st annual Adams Morgan Day Festival, organized by the Adams Morgan Main Street Group, in this always-buzzing, diverse neighborhood. New this year: a Green Pavilion at the Marie Reed School field, featuring eco-friendly vendors specializing in organic health and wellness products; a DJ Pavilion; and a Pet Zone with vendors for the domesticated animal set. Live music and dance performances are also on tap. Sunday, Sept. 13, from noon to 7 p.m. 18th Street NW, between Columbia Road and Florida Avenue. Visit www.adamsmorgandayfestival.com.

The Washington National Opera kicks off its new season with Rossini’s tuneful and action-packed The Barber of Seville, a delightful farce filled with high-flying vocal fireworks and gorgeous melodies. Opens Saturday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $50 to $600. Call 202-295-2400 or visit www.dc-opera.org.

A free high-definition simulcast of the opening night performance will take place at Nationals Park, along with prizes, giveaways and typical ballpark concessions.

Win tickets to the Tuesday, Sept. 15 performance. Click here to enter.

One of seven adaptations of Mozart’s late masterpieces and part of the In Series 2009-2010 season, this 2003 English adaptation of Cosi Fan Tutte, a tale about women tricked into betraying their fiancés, was re-imagined and set in 1929 Hollywood by Nick Olcott. This is one of three “pocket operas” this season, so called because they’re being staged in such a small space. Opens Saturday, Sept. 12. Running through Sept. 26, in partial repertory with From U Street to the Cotton Club. Source, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets $31 to $38. Call 202-204-7763 or visit www.inseries.org.

The Norwegian singer Sondre Lerche is a sensitive soul, wise beyond his 27 years, who prefers his music and lyrics generally guitar-hazed and love dazed, not angry or angst-ridden. He has a calming voice and a casual vocal delivery that can be both charming and disarming – sometimes at the same time. And he offers lyrics that are often opaque, or a bit of a puzzle. He’s touring in advance of his fifth studio set with the pleasing name Heartbeat Radio. Friday, Sept. 11. Doors at 6 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

Round House Theatre presents a world-premiere adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde’s classic scandalous thriller about a man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Former D.C. resident Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa adds a provocative contemporary spin in his adaptation, directed by Blake Robison with a cast that includes Clinton Brandhagen, Sean Dugan and Joel Reuben Ganz. Now through Oct. 4. A Pay-What-You-Can performance takes place this Saturday, Sept. 12, at 3 p.m., and a post-show talkback follows the matinee Sunday, Sept. 20, at 3 p.m. Round House Theatre Bethesda, 4545 East West Highway, Bethesda. Tickets are $50 to $60. Call 240-644-1100 or visit www.roundhousetheatre.org.

R.J. Cutler's The September Issue (FIVE STARS) slips behind the velvet curtain of Vogue magazine to get a revealing behind-the-scenes glimpse, first and foremost, at Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, arguably most powerful woman in the fashion industry. The documentary's focal point is the production cycle of the magazine's 2007 September issue, an 850-page behemoth, and what he comes away with is an illuminating human-interest piece drenched in drama and a sense of purpose. Sure, it's a kick -- not to mention gasp-producing -- to watch the perpetually-sunglassed Wintour coolly, almost routinely, dismiss this designer outfit or that $50,000 photo spread, but one is forced to admire her decisiveness, her unwavering faith in her own instincts, as well as her ability to keep a multitude of creatives, including high-maintenance celebrity photographers, stylists, and powerful (but nauseatingly kowtowing) fashion designers in check. Cutler finds emotional heft, however, in the figure of Grace Coddington, Vogue's dazzling creative director, and her constant, largely unspoken struggle with the woman who holds sway over her. As Wintour dispenses with another elaborate photo spread from a feature dear to Coddington's heart, Coddington looks squarely into the camera and says, wistfully, "It gets harder and harder to see it all thrown out. And it's very hard to go on to the next thing." Coddington's warmth, humor and soul balances out Wintour's no-nonsense arctic chill. Bonus funny moment: Flamboyant editor-at-large Andre Talley's zero-effort attempt to get exercise on the tennis courts. Bravo should give this man his own reality show. Opens Friday, Sept. 11, at area theaters, including the Landmark E Street Cinemas and the AMC Loews Georgetown 14. --Randy Shulman

DC Noodles is focused on churning out delectable dishes of fresh ingredients in unexpected combinations. Asian pumpkin factors into at least two standouts on the menu: Crispy, dense pumpkin empanadas and the Red Curry Chicken with pumpkin and spinach linguini. There are several enticing noodle salads, featuring bean sprouts and string beans. Go with the fish and crab meatballs salad -- the chewy, mild-flavored meat is nicely set off by the crisp, flavorful vegetables. Wash it all down with an earthy saketini or a heavenly Kaffir Lime Martini. Whatever you do, don’t skip the dessert course of cold, coconut ice cream and warm, sticky rice. It’s an match made in carb heaven.

D.C. Noodles - 1410 U St. NW - Washington, D.C. - 202-232-8424

Cost: $$

Pictured: Noodle salad with vietnamese pork sausages. Photographed by Todd Franson/Metro Weekly

The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra opens its new season – grandly called “Great Expectations” – with its first new music director in 37 years, Christopher Zimmerman, the man who was deemed the best among the six finalists who vied for the position last year. The British-born Zimmerman made his way to Virginia from Connecticut. He’ll conduct Bernstein’s West Side Story Symphonic Dances and Stravinsky’s expansive Rite of Spring, among other pieces. Saturday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. Pre-concert lecture free to ticketed patrons at 7 p.m. George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax. Tickets are $25 to $55. Call 703-563-1990 or visit www.fairfaxsymphony.org.

For a chance to win a pair of tickets to this Saturday's opening night concert, please click here and follow the instructions on how to enter.

Imagine aliens have come to Earth and we segregate them in slummy camps. Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants? For South Africans, maybe District 9 is. No one on earth will be able to process this movie in the same way as residents of that country, which for decades enforced the most brutal racial-segregationist policies on the planet. For those of us on the outside, District 9 can at times be a little uncomfortable. After all, apartheid as sci-fi entertainment can seem flippant. What really stands out is Sharlto Copley's acting. Copley absolutely nails his character. District 9 is supposed to be a bang-up summertime thrill ride, and on that score, audiences get their money's worth. Go for the guns and for Copley's performance. Don't try to iron out the plot or worry about a meaningful message on apartheid. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com. --Will O’Bryan

Read Will O'Bryan's full review here.

You can celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing anytime at this museum, which holds more than 3,500 space artifacts (out of a total of 17,000) stemming from the mission. Right now, however, it’s also featuring a painting exhibit from one of the astronauts aboard Apollo 11: Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the moon. Bean has been a full time artist since resigning from NASA in 1981, dedicating his life to the art of painting, in an impressionistic style, his Apollo memories. And he’s certainly the first artist in history able to paint the moon from firsthand experience. “Alan Bean: Painting Apollo, First Artist on Another World” is on display now through Jan. 13. Gallery 211, National Air and Space Museum, Independence Avenue and Sixth Street SW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit www.nasm.si.edu.

Pictured: Kissing the Earth (1994) by Alan Bean

The National Harbor in Prince George’s County has started another outdoor film screening, with films screening after sunset on a big screen in the Harbor’s “The Awakening” Plaza. Today, Sunday, Sept. 6, brings Curious George, the 2006 film in which Will Ferrell voices the part of the “Man With The Yellow Hat.” Meanwhile, every other Tuesday through September the Harbor presents “Classic Tuesdays.” Next up, on Tuesday, Sept. 8: Duck Soup, the 1933 Marx Brothers masterpiece. National Harbor Plaza, National Harbor, Maryland. Free and open to the public. Call 877-NATLHBR or visit www.NationalHarbor.com.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, focused on promoting the work of under-served artists and art genres, presents “Women Can Look, Too: Perspectives of Women,” a show about artist interpretations of the way women are viewed, and how they in turn view their observers: men, society, other women. It means many different things to be a woman, depending on where and how one lives. Throughout September. MOCA-DC, 1054 31st St. NW, Georgetown’s Canal Square. Call 202-342-6230 or visit www.MOCADC.org.

Will young love triumph over high school clichés? Oops, it’s cliques that this staged production of High School Musical, directly derived from the hit Disney franchise, is trying to triumph over. Clichés will be ever-present. Now through Sunday, Sept. 6. Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25 to $80. Call 703-255-1900 or visit www.wolf-trap.org.

The latest ZOOM Urban Lesbian Excursions event is this three-hour tour on the Potomac, offering views of the monuments from every angle aboard the American Spirit, an amazing replica of a historic 1800s schooner. Vocalist Angie Head will offer “Sunset Serenade,” Phillip’s Seafood will provide hors d’oeuvres and Marvin’s DC will furnish white wine and light ale. Saturday, Sept. 5, at 8 p.m. Gangplank Marina, 600 Water St. SW. Cover is $50. Visit www.zoomexcursions.com.

This eighth annual Page-to-Stage Festival, a three-day event starting today, offers free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals being developed by more than 40 area theater companies, including Signature, Washington Shakespeare and Rorschach. Among the offerings of particular appeal to gay audiences is Theater J’s Andy Warhol: Good for the Jews?, a one-man show from Josh Kornbluth. Saturday, Sept. 5, through Monday, Sept. 7, from 2 to 10 p.m. at the Kennedy Center. Free and open to the public. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org for more details and specific performance times.

Serving harried theatergoers and local barflies with the same aplomb, the 10-year-old Logan Circle stalwart 1409 Playbill Cafe is the perfect answer, whether hearty bar fare or a multi-course dinner are on your personal menu. Sumptuous artichoke dip, generous nachos and Playbill's signature "Naomi's Fries" star on the appetizer menu, while nearly every entrée offering will have you yelling "encore!" -- and loosening your belt a notch. Vegetarian options on this mostly traditional American-fare menu abound, while regular dinner specials expand the offerings with flavors from more exotic locales.

1409 Playbill Cafe 1409 14th St. NW - Washington, D.C. - 202-265-3055

Cost: $$

Pictured: Naomi Fries | Photography by Todd Franson, Metro Weekly

For generations, artists have used a wide range of painterly effects to suggest the physical properties and metaphorical significance of human flesh. In Paint Made Flesh, the Phillips Collection surveys figurative paintings since the 1950s, including works from Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, Willem de Kooning, Alice Neel, Lucian Freud, Eric Fischl and Julian Schnabel. On display through Sept. 13. The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are $12, or free for Phillips members. Call 202-387-2151 or click here.

Any lover of musical theater needs to see the parody tribute The Musical of Musicals (the Musical!), especially if you missed it at MetroStage two years ago. This hilarious show features music by Eric Rockwell, lyrics by Joanne Bogart and book by Rockwell and Bogart, and all of it inspired by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, Jerry Herman and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Donna Migliaccio, Bobby Smith and Janine Gulisano-Sunday all return to star in this reprise, along with Matthew Anderson and Heather Mayes. Opens Thursday, Aug. 27, at 8 p.m. Through Oct. 18. MetroStage, 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria. Tickets are $45 to $50. Call 800-494-8497 or click here.

A virtual who’s who of DJs, including many with gay appeal, will turn New York’s Randall’s Island into something akin to a two-day rave over Labor Day Weekend. Saturday’s Main Stage is headlined by Armin van Buuren, but Kaskade and Everything But The Girl’s Ben Watt will also spin, and then there’s Chus & Ceballos, Roger Sanchez, Benny Benassi, Danny Tenaglia, Tiga and Steve Aoki in several smaller tents on the 24-acre space. Sunday brings dance music’s hottest producer of the moment, David Guetta – will Kelly Rowland perform with him this time? – plus Victor Calderone, Frankie Knuckles, Axwell & Steve Angello, ATB, Josh Gabriel, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, and Andy Bulter of Hercules & Love Affair – among many others. Now that’s what you call a party. Zoo New York happens this Saturday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6, from noon to 11 p.m. Randall’s Island Park, between Manhattan and Queens. Tickets are $65 for single-day ticket, or $120 for Double-Pak. Visit www.electriczoofestival.com.

Vienna, Virginia's Luke Mitchem is a sensitive folk singer-songwriter in the traditional troubadour tradition – like a softer Bob Dylan you might say, or a more melancholic Pete Seeger. He performs with a four-piece band featuring mandolins, acoustic guitars and harmonica, plus supporting vocals from Stacie Fredrich. He’ll open for critically acclaimed fellow troubadour David Dondero. Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 8 p.m. Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple Ave. E. Vienna. Tickets are $10. Call 703-255-3747 or click here.