DC: I Love You, Ready or Not at the Folger Theater

The ending affects so much of how you feel about a thing, that it can color your perception of the whole thing.

While conceptually related to the Mt. Pleasant version in the use of multiple places, one for each scene, though this time in or near the Folger, there were some differences.

Instead of a new couple and new actors in each setting, we followed three actors. Two of them played the same character throughout, and one played multiple characters. 

I spotted two other scenes for later groups, and there was some gender bended casting. So the gender of the characters was different, depending on which group you ended up in. 

Hunter, our main character was having a day. Hunter was being followed by an audience no one else seemed able to see. One character, suggested Hunter might be in a rom-com. Another, who had a ukulele, suggested it might be a musical. Hunter tried leaning in, but wasn't feeling it, so then tried to escape the audience. It gets a little more meta after that.

We were advised early not to interact with the actors, because one of them could see us, and in fact at one point asked us to stop following them. There were some incredible lines, and in my group, two of the actors had been in the Mt. Pleasant version, so it was great to see them again so soon.

Go with a friend who you can talk about the ending with.

All locations accessible by ramp or elevator.  ETA: Originally I wrote genderblind casting, which I belated realized was a very ableist turn of phrase. I apologize for my usage.

"Monumental Travesties" at Mosaic Theater

Content note: reference to recent parental death, onstage urination, references to COVID, reference to police brutality, imprisonment, gunshots

I talk a lot about conversation plays, plays where the idea is to stimulate conversation, to ask more questions than it answers. "Monumental Travesties" I think falls firmly into this category. 

Chase is a performance artist and in his most recent act, he has severed Lincoln's head from the statue in Lincoln Park. The action takes place entirely in Chase and his wife Angela's living room. Their neighbor Adam appears having discovered a Lincoln head in his rosebushes. The action takes place over a single evening. There are discussions of grief, allyship, treaties, a moment where Chase uses Adam to recreate the poses found in the statue to discuss if the statue is demoralizing or embarrassing. There is talk about code switching, and so, so, many lies that the three have or choose to tell. 

The performances are wonderful.  I had seen Louis E. Davis and Jonathan Feuer previously at Mosaic in "Charm". (Renee Elizabeth Wilson grew up here, and has been in several local performance, so me not having seen her before is a failure on my part.) The set design was amazing. 

There is no intermission which I think suits the bonkers pace of things. 

Also, worth noting, because I love it in all it's forms, there is amnesia. Yup, they make time for amnesia and it's not even the wildest thing that happens. 

Romance and Inventions

Saturday was Bookstore Romance Day, so I watched a number of the panels, and also made a trip to the local bookstore, and maybe bought some cards and things too.  

And then yesterday was the last day of the Da Vinci exhibit at DC Public Library, so, I went. My friend had been warned that it was popular, and they were limiting people in the room, so we'd be wise to get there before opening. 

And I gotta tell you, DC, the town that lines up before the library opens is kind of on brand. 

The exhibit included several of his sketches of various machines, all kept in a darkened and climate controlled room so that these ancient drawings can be preserved as well as possible. There was an actual clock too, which was fun to look at.  

It's kind of amazing to look at these sketches and doodles from a few hundred years ago.  Humans are often such wonderful dreamers, and seeing evidence of that was really an interesting opportunity.  

And yay to local libraries!  

Also, last reminder - the Romance for Maui auction closes today.  My item is still somewhat affordable. If things have exceeded your budgets, there are also stickers you can pick up to participate.  

Tennis Thoughts

I decided to take advantage of the fact that the DC Open (which has a longer name) is well, in DC. Where I am. And so tickets were procured and the weather was on Saturday predictably steamy. I briefly wondered if the display in the corner of the court was the current temperature, but no, that was the serve speed. (They were close though.)

There are many things that are wild about sports events these days, the clear bags, versus the tiny bags. Water bottles if sealed, or if reusable empty. Metal detectors. 

And then you are released into the wilds and there are courts here, there and there. The sounds of people and tennis balls bouncing and rackets. 

There were apparently puppies in the players area, which was probably because puppies need AC but also why were the puppies hidden? Yes, yes, AC. 

It was kids day on day 1, which meant many parents were in the stands narrating tennis facts for their kids like paid commentators. 

My tickets, through sheer luck, get some shade in the morning, which has been a delightful discovery. Shade is not often easy to come by in a tennis stadium. 

I have been slathering myself in sunscreen and hope to remember the bug spray. 

It's also a little amusing going to a local event, because all us locals are like, oh, we have to go that way for the entrance, we can't just go here? I also saw signs for where to await your rideshare, which quite honestly is likely more common these days. 

As local peeps know, we had a wicked thunder storm Saturday night, and yet, Sunday morning everything was ready to go. So kudos to the folks who must have worked hard to make that happen. Tennis stadiums are not always on the edge of a giant park (though it does make wandering about on a hot day a little nicer). So I'm sure there's a lot to be done after storms.

I am going to be a tennis fan for a few more days. 

And then return to my life as an occasional watcher on TV of the tennis. But there is something really amazing about seeing and hearing it all in person. And realizing that if I am hot sitting here, whew. 

Thank You, Kojo Nnamdi

Let me start by saying no one deserves a little bit of a rest more than Kojo Nnamdi.  I've spoken before about how I began listening back in the "Public Interest" days, watched as the show changed to a more local entry,  and saw how that allowed the show to do things they could not before. Kojo is the best example of how people who come here as adults (ish) can embrace the width and breadth of the city, can work to learn it and love it.  

The first time I went to volunteer at WAMU, back when people still manned the phone lines, back when the station was atop the tallest hill in Tenleytown, (oddly very near my orthodontist), one if the producers of the show came to thank the volunteers, and told us how much she loved working on the show and with Kojo. 

Over the years I volunteered more with WAMU, earning myself a t-shirt with the show logo at one live event. The Kojo in Your Community events I loved as a listener and a volunteer. Kojo's interest in the hyperlocal, whether it was people in the arts, people worried about school funding, or people trying to support restaurants showed how hyperlocal often rippled out,  that the things that might be in the part of the paper that people skip over, reflect the larger issues of the day too. 

He also has such a radio voice, that his deciding to continue broadcasting during what turned out to be an earthquake is so very him, and honestly likely what folks listening in the moment needed. 

I have a feeling that much like Diane Rehm or the Hot Jazz show, he won't really disappear from our airways. He's already committed to continuing both the Politics Hour and community events, and I think -after some well deserved rest, we might see a few other things. 

Regardless, the many many hours of things have already been so much and I am ever so grateful. I had transitioned to a listener in podcast form, but today I set an alert to listen live. 

"I Hate It Here" at Studio Theater

Content notes: strong language, toxic workplaces, references to death, sexual harassment, the pandemic, police brutality, and racist assault.

Told in vignettes with the occasional musical interludes as an audio play, this story is, well it's about feeling stuck in the crappy timeline. Economically depressed RVers, folks grappling with moral dilemmas, and folks figuring out how to get by when presented with a series of suboptimal choices. 

Like many vignette style stories, there are thematic links but is also feels like a bit of a trap to try and find too many links. One could say the linkage is in the eye of the beholder.

I confess I think the first few minutes start strong and you will quickly know if this is your kind of thing or not. 

If you are good at voices, you may spot voices as they reappear in later vignettes. Much like with onstage performances, the story moves fast enough that it's easy enough to look that up later.  

I did try to stay near my device and focus hard, but the call of distractions is strong when surrounded by all your things.  Audio plays obviously live or die on the spoken word, but the dialogue here was especially rich even when profane.  The sound mixing was stellar.  

Available for free through March 7th, 2021.  

Incremental Steps

I think often of Yarn Harlot (who I know has a name - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) saying that she had no trouble imagining knitters as great fundraisers, because knitters and other yarn peeps engage in a craft where you intentionally set out to make something piece by piece, stitch by stitch, so the idea of small donations adding up to something huge is not much of a mental adjustment. Similarly activist Miriame Kaba often says, "Hope is a discipline."  

So on Friday I tuned into C-Span to watch the historic passage of HR51 through the House of Representatives.  It would shrink the official federal enclave to basically be some grass and some federal buildings, and make the rest of what is collectively referred to as DC a state.  

Oh, and if you are here to tell me that this is against the Constitution - a - it's not, and b, I don't care. The Constitution doesn't say citizens in DC shouldn't have rights, but it also was written with the assumption that a lot of people, including people who looked and were shaped like me, wouldn't need rights.  

It is possible that this bill will also pass the Senate and for the first time since DC was organized in 1801, the citizens within it would have rights.  (Note: Of course, when they shrunk DC in 1846, so a slave port in Alexandria could remain active while they banned slave trade in DC (but only DC in 1850) those citizens got rights back.  Weird.  No one minded then.  Oh wait, just some citizens.  That's probably why.)  

Or it may not pass the Senate. We shall see.  But this remains a historic step towards where we ought to be.  So I will celebrate it.  

"Next to Normal" at the Kennedy Center

Content warning: use and abuse of both prescription and non prescription drugs, suicidal ideation, depictions of mental illness

So I had never seen "Next to Normal" live but was familiar with both the cast album and the storyline.

This was part of the Kennedy Center's Broadway Stage series. As such the set was minimalist. They made full use of the space, using three levels, such that I felt an activity tracker might rack up a lot of steps for the performers. Also the props included real food, real candles and a real bong. I never know if actors prefer real fire on the stage candles, but I appreciated it.

The cast was amazing, although one of the performers needed to cough during the first song and just sang through it. (It happens, but it was noticeable.)

The show is about a family matriarch struggling with mental illness, and how that affects both her and her family, and the sturggles associated with finding the right treatment balance.

As I said, I was aware of the plot, and given the lack of visible surprise at the reveal late in the first act, it seemed most of the audience was too. But seeing it performed, especially with a fabulous cast was great. 

"A Thousand Splendid Suns" at Arena Stage

Content warning: onstage traumatic miscarriage and pregnancy delivery, interpersonal violence, sounds of shelling, onstage bombing, onstage murder, onstage execution, onstage suicide

While I was aware of the source material I went in cold.

I think the play stands on its own, but it was pretty clear to me that they were moving through a lot of material.

The play takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan. While the program contains a brief history of Afghanistan, the timing of the start of the play is unclear. Kabul is experiencing rocket attacks, and as such, Laila and her parents are packing up to go. Her childhood friend's family left a few days before.

The house is shelled and Laila is the only survivor, rescued by a neighbor who then suggests he become his second wife.

She agrees quickly. Book readers likely had access to her reasoning, playgoers will have to wait some time to find out why. Mariam and Laila are at odds, until Laila intervenes to stop Rasheed from beating Mariam. Then they become close. Laila begins telling others Mariam is her mother. Again, book readers might have more insight on this. As the rules and requirements in Afghanistan shifted and changed, as Laila births a daughter and then a son, it was clear why she worried, why she dreamed of escape, and why of course she wanted Mariam with her.

I don't know if the rules and traditions surrounding first and second wives changed, or if there was strategy, honor, and/or love in her choice to refer to Mariam as her mother. It's a small detail, but emblematic to me of some of the things that can be lost in adaptations. 

Similarly, as the women must wear burkas, they flipped them up on stage, when talking. I confess, burka etiquette is not my wheelhouse, but it seemed a choice designed for the audience. As such, it made it hard to understand, until the characters explicitly said so that Laila later commits a breach of etiquette.

While the content warning list is a lot, I do want to stress, that the violence, while often surprising, is never gory. In fact that implied on stage blood meant you had to intuit the extent of the character's injuries by their post beating movements.

The play attempts to cover a huge amount of time, the characters shift in age and the cast did a wonderful job of demonstrating the shifting ages and maturity. Having now read the summary of the book, it appears the play collapses time a bit, using some flashbacks to narrow the focus. Also, theater age is a fleeting thing, but it was hard to tell that Rasheed was supposed to be older than Mariam. Particular kudos to Mirian Katrib as Laila who is pregnant about half the play. Also, Justin Xavier Poydras played Zalmai the night I saw it.

I think the play will be slightly more successful for book fans, but certainly if you enjoy a quick run through about two woman becoming close in very difficult circumstances, and the choices and sacrifices they make for survival, this play does that.

"Dear Jack, Dear Louise" at Arena Stage

Content warnings: offstage war sounds, period appropriate use of the word crazy

The show takes place during World War II, as the titular Jack and Louise begin corresponding and, well, the fact that there are two actors for ninety minutes, coupled with the program note that the playwright was inspired by his parents wartime letters, I suspect it will not surpise you to learn it goes well.

Epistolary stories are a tricky thing to pull off in live theater. The two actors are speaking almost exclusively to each other throughout the show, and yet not looking at each other. They look out at the audience. 

I normally think in most shows, it doesn't much matter which side you sit on. For the entire first act and most of thr second, I was on the Louise side. Louise is the passionate firecracker who wishes to be a Broadway star. Jack is a doctor stationed initially in Medford*, Oregon and then later elsewhere. Jack is shy, although when his family gets wind that their suggested correspondence might be going well, they invite Louise for a visit and he manages to stage manage good family behavior as much as possible from afar.

They are unable to meet due primarily war reasons, so must rely on letters and occaisional relays of info from other folks they have in common.

I mention that I was on the Louise side because it meant I was able to see more subtleties in the actress Amelia Pedlow's performance. Probably folks on the Jack side (Jake Epstein) caught more of his.

I was caught up and cheered and worried for them even though, I had read the program and had suspicions of the outcome.

"Newsies" at Arena Stage

Content warning: Cartoon level on stage violence including police brutality, historically accurate ableist terminology 

I confess I had never seen "Newsies" all the way through before. I know. Not even the Jeremy Jordan version. It was a gap in my pop culture knowledge.

For those with similar gaps, "Newsies" is based on the strike of the newsboys in 1899 a price raise of the cost charged the the newsboys who sold the papers. De facto leader of the newsboys Jack takes new kid Davey and his cute brother under his wing as they take up newselling after their dad is injured at work. When the paper raises the price, the newsboys, who are making pennies as it is, decide to strike. They are encouraged by a reporter one can only describe as plucky who has been writing soft news, and wants real stuff.

This story was originally a Disney movie directed by Kenny Ortega, then turned into a stage production with a book by Harvey Fierstein, and it shows. What I mean is these are deep issues about child labor, the power of million and billionaires over their employees, and it is mostly an excuse for singing and dancing. I am not complaining, a night of Alan Menken songs is not a bad night.

The cast was wonderful, Arena regulars will recognize many of the adult characters. The newsies include female newsies, and there is an actual small child (pleyed by Josiah Smothers the night I saw it) and an actual high school senior which did the work of making those two look younger. 

The choerographer and director made excellent use of the full theater. Action moves into the aisles and even the seats at one point. You know it's a DC crowd when leaflets drop from the ceiling and one audience member in the front row visibly pauses to read it.

There is a tap number and some references to Santa Fe that had me checking who decided Santa Fe first Newsies or "Rent". All in all, a fun night of song and dance.

Books and Theater: Jitney

Interestingly enough, the three books that came to mind for pairings with "Jitney" were kid books and none of them take place in Pennsylvania.  So, sorry Pennsylvania, my recommendations fall short in that arena.  

Renee Watson's This Side of Home looks at changing neighborhoods through the eyes of two twins who feel differently about what this means.  

Jennifer Dugan's Hot Dog Girl - is a let's fake date so I can be closer to my crush without him noticing story.  But it pairs well with "Jitney" in looking at what the loss of a childhood icon and summer job might mean, along with planning surprises for people who may not be prepared to accept such a surprise.  

Rita Williams Garcia's P.S. Be Eleven is the second in the Gaither Sisters trilogy, is set in the 1960's, so a decade earlier but includes a war veteran adjusting to life back home, substance abuse, and adjusting to a life that changed while you were away.  

"Jitney" at Arena Stage

Content warning: Alcoholism, gun pointed at a character threateningly, discussion of false rape accusation and murder , use of the n word (in period appropriate manner, all done by Black characters)

"Jitney' is at its heart about what we will and won't forgive. The play takes place in a shop in the 1970's used as a hub for a team of jitney drivers in Pittsburgh. It is part of August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle.

The program was careful to note the parallels between jitney drivers and rideshares today. The shop is going to be condemned, there are personality differences between some of the drivers. The shop leader is also facing his son being released from jail, and one character is trying to plan a surprise for his girl and their kid.

But at its heart it is about forgiveness. Can you forgive yourself for your failures? Can you forgive others for not conducting themselves they way you would have? For not taking advantage of opportunities you yourself wished you'd had? And what do you do when the ways the city around you claims its improving mean it wants to tear down your place of business. At one point one character says essentially, I have changed but you keep thinking of me like I was.

The cast is stellar. The set was amazing. And while there is still only one woman character in this one, the treatment of her by both the play and the characters was much improved compared to "Two Trains Running". 

I realize I've made this play sound tough. It is. But there are moments of laughter. You get to know these characters so well that as the one keeps saying he doesn't butt into anyone's business, you laugh because we all know that person. One actor also cried on stage and I had already been feeling it, but those tears sent me over the edge. It was an excellent production that after it's DC run, will be moving to several other cities.

"Ann" at Arena Stage

Content warnings: Now dated language regarding certain ethnicities, erratic workplace depictions, discussions of sexual assault and child abuse, and a joke about Arkansas that I imagine Arkansans are quite tired of. 

I saw a preview night of "Ann". It is a one woman show about Ann Richards, one time governor of Texas that covers her ride to governor and some of the work she did after. 

It includes some of her relationship with her family, her coworkers, and Bill Clinton. There is some discussion of her stance on reproductive rights, sensible gun control, welfare reform, and even coverage of a stay of execution. 

I think whether you learn anything new about Ann Richards is a function of what you knew going in. I confess I don't know that I specifically knew she was what we often call a difficult boss, but to wasn't surprising. The show attempts to look at her nonstop pace as something that infiltrated all areas, and tries to also show that she was a great grandmother, and a caring but tough parent. Some of the issues get more time, her welfare reform is barely mentioned and she states going to school in California as a kid just made her racism float clean away. In fairness, I am pretty sure that's what Ann thought and so it is entirely true to the character. 

Overall, it was interesting and kudos to Jayne Atkinson, while there is an intermission, it's a long time on stage. 

"Jubilee" at Arena Stage

Content warnings: recountings of slavery, onstage racial microagressions, and a racist mob attack. 

While the program says nineteenth century and the present, the show focuses primarily on the original members of the Fisk Jubilee singers. In an attempt to raise money for the aging building they had been given to form Fisk, and possibly some ego in the part of their choir master, they ended up travelling the country and parts of Europe as well, performing. 

Technically, "Jubilee" is a jukebox musical, the over 35 (per the program insert) songs performed are all songs that anyone familiar with hymns and spirituals has heard before and possibly even sung in church or school. The glimpses intro the lives of the singers are small. The singers are all fabulous. Most of the songs are performed a cappella with simple choreography that allows you to revel in the harmonies being created. A few of the cast members listed operatic training, which becomes clear when they reach a song where they are featured, yet when necessary, they blended their voices into the whole. 

It was a delight that left me humming. 

It was wonderful to see two cast members from DC, as well as Greg Watkins (who was in "Aida") and Jaysen Wright (who was in "Smart People").

"The Who's Tommy" at the Kennedy Center

I saw the final performance of "The Who's Tommy" as part of the Kennedy Center's Broadway Center Stage program, minimally staged short run productions. 

Content warnings for the show include onstage gunshots, murder, references to child sexual situations, bullying, and a sex worker named G*psy.*

I had seen the movie at some point in my childhood so went in with a vague recollection that that Tommy didn't speak but played pinball. 

The Broadway version dates from the 1990's, but the concept album, and the movie predate that. It is of a piece with something like "Jesus Christ Superstar" in that the songs move forward, expecting the audience to fill in gaps. 

The Broadway Show begins just before World War II when Tommy's parents meet and fall in love. Informed her husband had died in the war, Tommy's mom starts a new relationship. When Tommy's dad discovers this on his arrival home he fights with and then kills Tommy's almost stepdad. Deciding to tell the police it was the almost stepdad with the gun, the parents realize Tommy witnessed everything and tell him to say nothing, that he heard and saw nothing. As a result Tommy stops speaking or responding. Tests are able to determine no cause, and Tommy's essentially non-responsive state leaves him open to much abuse. And then they discover he does respond to pinball. 

The cast of this show was wonderful. This show asks an incredible amount of its ensemble and they were up to it. The choreography was fabulous and energetic. Tommy is played by three actors, and in the first act the younger two's inner dreams and monologue are expressed by the adult Tommy, and then they appear as echoes once adult Tommy is in place. 

The show moves quickly and as such the ideas of justice, or why Tommy chooses and then rejects a public life get short shrift. But Tommy does seem happier at the end and the music is rocking. 

It is always interesting to revisit things one saw as a child, although certainly this is a different form in many ways. As an adult I found this much harder to watch, and yet it's still a good time. 

I always read all the cast bios, and so it was fun to see two locals in the cast, including one who had been in Signature's "Billy Elliot".

*It is my understanding that this character was originally called the Acid Queen. Wow, that change is an interesting choice. 

"Junk" at Arena Stage

I'm going to dive right into the content warnings first, and then get to discussion of the play. "Junk" has an onstage suicide (no gore).  It contains a Chinese American character, a Cuban American character, and a few Jewish characters. Each of them is subjected to microaggressions. As far as I recall, only the white non-Jewish male and Black characters escape. There is also a lot of what we might call period appropriate misogyny. And if journalists who sleep with one of their sources is a thing for you, this has that too. At one point the music resembles a high pitched hum. 

All listed up like that it makes the play seem a little harsher than it is. However it is a play about capitalism, specifically capitalism and Wall Street type stuff throughout the 1980's, the after effects we are still dealing with today. If you like plays where there is someone to root for, this play doesn't really give you that. If you like watching people fall deeper into traps, greed traps of their own making, then this is ninety minutes of fun. 

The focus is on a money maker who revolutionized the use of junk bonds to finance takeovers, the other money maker who scoffed at the newfangled way and the company caught in the middle of their fight. 

This is staged in the round. Some of the directorial transitions were wonderful, one causing a full audience chuckle. I did feel, from my vantage point at least, the action angled diagonally just enough that I noticed, but this was a small quibble. 

The cast was wonderful.  The lack of intermission worked well to keep you immersed in the action.  It creates an interesting parallel to "Sweat" which I also saw at Arena, which looked at the death of a steel factory from the point of view of various factory workers, since the company that is the center of this is also in part a Pennsylvania steel company.  It is the kind of play that leaves you thinking about how embedded money is, even as you pass by all the corporate sponsorship logos.  

"JQA" at Arena Stage

The writer/director's note in the program warns you that while the writer Aaron Posner did extensive research into the life of John Quincy Adams, the play is not historically accurate. It is reinforced by the characters wearing modernish clothes, with more period like jackets or dresses overtop. When the ensemble members wear aviators when they are in a Secret Service stance, and at one point two characters drink coffee from cardboard to go cups, with heat sleeves. 

Any modern play is speaking to a modern audience regardless of the time period it is set in. This play goes a step further, making no attempt to be a bio-pic or a highlight reel, but instead using characters and settings from John Quincy Adams life - his parents, George Washington, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, his wife Louisa, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln, to talk about topics ranging from honestly, legacy, sacrifice, work/life balance, parental styles, slavery, and in the end commitment to doing good. There are four main cast members, and each of them takes a turn being the titular character. The transitions are done through the handing on of one of the jackets displayed at the start of the play. 

The play is in some ways fan fic, a thought exercise about what a man who heavily journaled throughout his life might have handled some conversations we do not have access to. 

Doing such is interesting, I do think the passing reference to "the Jews" and "the rust colored" native Americans are particularly interesting because - while expressed by Clay and likely well in line with his thoughts on such people, its an interesting choice to include in a play that claims to not be historically accurate. Certainly not all characters are good, but that's the only reference to either Jews or native Americans. Their concerns are never revisited. 

I saw Jacqueline Correa in "Native Gardens". It was a delight to see her again. I think this play is an interesting look at a man who served our country far longer in other roles than he ever did as President. 

"Dave" at Arena Stage

I have a confession. Despite being a Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver fan, I have never seen the movie "Dave". It seems vaguely possible that I dismissed it on premise, like ugh, a fake president? How ridiculous. 

Anyway, I was intrigued when I saw it on Arena's new season. As we know, I love a good musical. Several people suggested I should see the movie first, and I decided at this point there was value in going on cold, in not comparing casts. So that's what I did. 

For those with similar pop culture blindspots, Dave is an American history teacher who gets fired due to budget cuts and struggles to pay his ailing dad's health bills, starts taking impersonation gigs, since he looks a bit like the newly elected president. 

He is called on by the actual president to do some crowd waving while the real president, ahem, has sex with his secretary. When the president has a stroke, the staff decide maybe they can have the stand in act as figurehead so they can finish out their plans, which is all fine and good until the American History teacher starts having his own ideas. 

The cast is wonderful. I always scan the bios to see if I should recognize the actor under the wig and there are quite a few familiar faces and voices here. 

The set made much use of circular walls, no surprise really, given circular offices, but it got a little busy at times. 

The show as a whole provided the heart and idealism in the possibilities of government you may be looking for. The songs ranged from heartfelt to hilarious. I don't think there was a crazy memorable one, but that isn't said as a knock. I still left humming. 

Seeing this in a DC crowd, meant there was some chuckling over how easy they make budget changes look. It's also a show that asks an incredible amount of it's leading man. He's hardly off the stage, performs several switcheroos, one involving a trick bed, for the two scenes where Dave and the president swap out. 

I was glad to have the chance to see it. 

"How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying" at the Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center's Center Stage series, allows for minimally staged short runs of productions.  This run included a cast of well known folks - Skylar Astin, Betsy Wolfe, Michael Urie, Becky Newton, and John Michael Higgins to name a few.  I had seen "How to Succeed", ahem, quite a few years ago when they did the pre-Broadway revival run with Matthew Broderick.  So it was nice to come back to the same place for this version.  Folks who have seen or heard "Pitch Perfect", "Betty Ugly" or "Waitress" won't be surprised that this was a cast that sang well, and was able to be comedic when necessary.  "How to Succeed" is the story of Finch who finds the titular book and uses it's advice to finesse his way into the fast track in a large corporation.  Along the way he encounters Rosemary, who has goals of her own, aka a husband, and the boss's nephew who lacks Finch's finesse and charm but still wants to get ahead also.  The gender conformity is inherent in script.  That's not to excuse it, it's simply to note that it's not something that can be fixed with clever line updates. 

However, I think the show takes both of their goals seriously.  Certainly Finch gets more time, and Finch is the one who gets to wink at the crowd a lot.  Having Michael Urie play a conniving nephew is practically typecasting, but he was wonderful to watch and it was fun to watch Finch keep one upping him.  There was one moment where a particularly amusing pause in a line from Finch caused Biggley (Higgins) to break for a few seconds before he could recover his lines.  

This production did manage to have multiple people of color.  Usually Miss Jones is cast as African American, in part because she gets the more bluesy bits in "Brotherhood of Man".  But this production also had the wonderful Joaquina Kalukango as Smitty, as well as several ensemble members.  

I really enjoyed the production.