LUNGevity Foundation Musical Celebration of Hope Gala
• February 27, 2014

The LUNGevity Foundation Arabian Nights-themed gala at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium on Oct. 26 celebrated the great progress that has been made in lung cancer research. WUSA9’s Andrea Roane emceed the event, where LUNGevity President and Chairman Andrea Ferris presented the Hope Award for Corporate Leadership to The Dow Chemical Company and the Face of Hope Award to Representative John D. Dingell, who urged the over 300 attendees to continue to work to erase lung cancer for all. [gallery ids="101532,150138,150120,150125,150141,150135,150130" nav="thumbs"]

MedStar National Rehabilitation Network Gala Victory Awards
•

The 2013 Gala Victory Awards took place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on Oct. 30. Patton Boggs Partner Martie Kendrick chaired the evening. Awards were presented to Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, who was severely wounded as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in Iraq and became the first disabled woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; Boston Marathon bombing amputee Adrienne Hasslet-Davis, and young Delaney Saslav, a near drowning victim and former MedStar NRH pediatric brain injury patient. All Gala proceeds will support the new National Center for Brain Injury and Stroke Rehabilitation & Research. [gallery ids="101533,150115,150118,150103,150107,150098,150093,150083,150088,150111" nav="thumbs"]

In Honor of Luce Churchill
•

On Oct. 31, Aniko Gaal Schott and Nash Schott held a cocktail reception in honor of their close friend Luce Churchill, married to the late Winston Churchill, the son of Randolph Churchill and Pamela Digby, better known as Pamela Harriman. Family members including Luce’s step-children Randolph and Jennie Churchill were here for the placement of the great statesman’s bust in the Capitol. The Schott’s very international reception included the Ambassadors of Belgium, Brazil and Costa Rica, the former president of Bolivia and his wife Ximena Sanchez de Lozada and a slew of Churchill devotees who shared stories. [gallery ids="101534,150079,150056,150062,150066,150071,150082,150076" nav="thumbs"]

‘If/Then’ and Steve Traxler
•

These are heady days for the venerable
National Theater. The oldest theater in
town is looking better than it has in a long
time, and it’s full of energy. Sporting a physical
makeover done this summer, the National
is the site for something that hasn’t happened
there in years, a pre-Broadway tryout run of
a new musical, “If/Then,” a show with some
giants talents involved, on stage and off.
Not only that, but the National is having its
first season subscription series in many years, a
full slate of shows going well into next year. In
fact, a run (Dec. 25-29) of “Gershwin’s Porgy
and Bess” will follow “If/Then” during the
Christmas season.

All of this makes it an exciting time for
Steve Traxler, co-founder of Jam Theatricals,
based in Chicago, which, along with SMG of
Philadelphia is the National Theater Group’s
new programming team.

“We’re just glad have “If/Then” here. We’re
really excited about it, because there’s so many
really terrific, talented people involved in it,
it’s a brand new show, headed for Broadway,”
said Traxler, a veteran producer of Broadway
shows, both musicals and dramas.
“David Stone—he did such a great job with
guiding ‘Next to Normal’—is the producer and
he was looking to be in Washington, and so
we are honored and lucky to have the show.
Is there risk in doing something new? Sure,
there’s always risk when you get involved in
any show, on Broadway, in music, anything.
But you can’t do anything that’s really excellent
without taking a risk. That’s what I believe.”
In addition to producer David Stone, famous
for guiding the off-beat contemporary musical
“Next to Normal” (“If/Then” also has a contemporary
setting) through a process that led
through Arena Stage and eventual Broadway
success, was also one of the producers of
“Wicked,” a mega-hit which is still running on
Broadway and on the road. Not coincidentally,
there are a lot of people involved in “If/When”
that know each other, including composer
Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey, as well as
director Michael Greif (Signature’s “Angels in
America”) who were the creative masters of
“Next To Normal”.

The star is Idina Menzel, the woman with
the incredible beautiful and rangy voice who
starred as Elphaba, the green witch of “Wicked,”
a role which got her a Tony. Menzel plays a
woman making choices in her life, looking for
a second chance. She’s reunited with Anthony
Rapp, with whom she appeared in “Rent.” “If/
Then” also features LaChanze, who won a Tony
Award for Celie in “The Color Purple.”

Pre-Broadway runs were once a staple
at the National Theatre. “The National just
has this amazing history, which is so appealing
to me, personally,” Traxler said. “It’s
Washington’s oldest theater, and, programming
wise, certainly, we aim to restore it to its old
standing as a place for new works, great shows
and plays and performances, as well as special
events.”

The first subscription season includes
Green Day’s “American Idiot” in February,
a return of “West Side Story”, as well as
“Stomp”, “Mamma Mia”, Hal Holbrook still
doing “Mark Twain Tonight”, and “Blue Man
Group.”

Talking with Traxler, you realize he loves
theater, shows, the stuff on stage, the people
that do it, write it, sing it, act it. He’s what
you might call a careful enthusiast, somewhat
like his mother, a movie buff. He and his Jam
Theatricals got into theater in the 1990s, and in
2002, he turned to producing.. Before that he
had worked with an aging Frank Sinatra to put
on his last performance in Chicago. “That was
an experience I’ll never forget,” he said. “The
man was a true professional.”

Jam Theatricals and its principals have won
six Tonys: for “Spamalot,” “Glengarry Glen
Ross,” “The History Boys,” “August: Osage
County,” “Hair” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf.”

Traxler was also one of four producers
on “August: Osage County,” the harrowing,
hit family play. The film version—for which
he’s also listed as a producer with Harvey
Weinstein—opens this Christmas. “Weird, I
mean it’s not exactly holiday stuff, but it’s
Oscar time, you know,” he said. It just might
do pretty well, given a cast that includes Meryl
Streep and Julia Roberts.

And now: “I just got into town,” he said.
“We’re really excited about this being here at
the National.”

(“If/Then” will run at the Naitonal Theatre
through Dec. 8 and is scheduled to have its
Broadway opening at the Richard Rodgers
Theatre in the spring of 2014 on March 27.)

Pinstripes: Strikes Open
• February 18, 2014

Pinstripes, the Italian-American restaurant and bowling alley-bocce court at the Georgetown Park
shopping complex, opened Feb. 8. Next to the C&O Canal at Wisconsin Avenue, Pinstripes takes
up 34,000 square feet on a first and second floor. It has 14 bowling lanes, six bocce courts, a bistro
and wine cellar, outdoor patios and event space. It can accommodate up to 600 people. There is
even an outdoor fireplace with blankets available. [gallery ids="101627,146180,146176,146183" nav="thumbs"]

Fashion Group International of Greater Washington DC New Year Party & Spring/Summer 2014 Trend Presentation
• February 13, 2014

On Jan. 14, Christopher Reiter opened the doors of his 14 Street boutique, Muléh, to FGI of Greater Washington DC to host their annual spring/summer trend preview.  The video presentation featured a compilation of apparel, accessories, beauty, color and fabric trends. Notable trendsetters for the upcoming season include paper thin warm weather leather, Bermuda shorts, bare mid-drifts and backpacks ranging in shapes and sizes. Fashion insiders included Aba Kwawu of The Aba Agency, Lynda Erkiletian of THE Agency, stylist/author Lauren Rothman and Marissa Schneider from Gilt City. [gallery ids="101641,145954" nav="thumbs"]

Frye Opening
•

The Frye Company’s Pop-Up Gallery opened Thursday, Jan. 30. Frye Georgetown welcomed D.C. photographers, artists, influencers and media to preview the collection curated by Worn Creative. Guests circulated through the space, admiring the work of featured artists Martin Swift, Amber Mahoney, Jim Darling, and Jessica Lancaster on the second floor, and browsing the Frye collection on the first floor. Attendees sampled specialty cocktails provided by Catoctin Creek Distilling Company. John Thornley, lead singer of the indie-rock band U.S. Royalty, provided the soundtrack for the evening. [gallery ids="101628,146133,146140,146138" nav="thumbs"]

LuPone, Patinkin, Cole Porter and ‘Moby Dick’
•

When you have a large performing arts
community, as we are fortunate to have
in Washington, diversity—and connections—
make themselves felt during the course of
a season.

To begin with, there’s “Moby-Dick,” Captain
Ahab’s hunt for the great white whale, Herman
Melville’s great American novel that has often
seemed almost operatic in its themes and symbolism.
And so it is as the Washington National Opera
brings us Jake Heggie’s opera “Moby-Dick.” With
Carl Tanner as Captain Ahab, evocative, powerful
sets by Robert Brill and directed by Leonard Foglia,
it’s the East Coast premiere of a production commissioned
by the Dallas Opera Company. Evan
Rogister conducts. At the Kennedy Center’s Opera
House, February 22, 25, 28, and March 2, 5 and 8.
American theater and music legends Mandy
Patinkin and Patti LuPone—aka Che Guevera
and Evita Peron—reunite since their spectacular
co-starring stint in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s 1980
rock opera, Evita. Both Patinkin and LuPone have
had spectacular Broadway careers buttressed by
appearances in television and films. Patinkin has
had three hit television series, including “Chicago
Hope” (doctor), “Criminal Minds” (FBI profiler)
and “Homeland” (CIA spy). “An Evening with Patti
Lapone and Mandy Patinkin” is at the Kennedy
Center’s Eisenhower Theater, February 18-23.
The theatrical and musical programing company,
In Series, presents “The Cole Porter Project: It’s All
Right With Me,” at the Source Theatre. The revue
celebrates the words and music of the American
master, February 22-March 9.

And there’s rock and roll on the horizon. The
national tour of “American Idiot,” featuring the
music of Green Day, with music and lyrics by lead
singer Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer,
comes to town next week. The show—a musical
about the search for meaning in a post 9/11 world by
three boyhood friends—runs at the National Theatre,
February 18-23.

And, as they say, now for something entirely
different….but then we’re talking about Woolly
Mammoth Theatre, where different is a matter
of course. This time it’s a play called, “We are
Proud to Present…” (Full title: “We are Pround to
Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia,
Formerly Known as South West Africa, From the
GermanSudwestAfrika, Between the Years 1884-
1915).

The play by Jackie Sibblies Drury is about a
company of idealistic actors, three black and three
white—who try to tell the story of a centuries-old
conflict in South West Africa, the extinction of the
small Herero tribe at the hands of German colonizers.
The story follows the actors and how their
own feelings about race in contemporary times
affects their work and the play they’re producing.
Directed by Michael John Garcés (who helmed
“The Convert” at the Woolly Mammoth last year).
“We are Proud….” runs through March 9

Washington Women & Wine at Primi Piatti
•

As Washington Women & Wine prepares to embark on a March wine tour of Northern Italy, co-founder Karen McMullen invited members to “come join the fun” at Savino Recine’s Primi Piatti restaurant on Feb. 3. Savino welcomed guests and regaled them with several card tricks from his other forte, magic. The evening began a reception followed by a multi-course seated dinner accompanied by wines from Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia, Umbria and Tuscany regions. After two successful forays to France, on the upcoming trip wine lovers will visit Milan, the Lake District and Venice in the company of Best of Europe’s tour leader Robin McKenzie Smith.
[gallery ids="101636,146050,146040,146045,146047" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetown Arts 2014
•

The Citizens Association of Georgetown held an opening reception at the House of Sweden on Feb.
6 to showcase the talents of Georgetown residents and artists who have studios in Georgetown. The
attendees deemed the fifth annual event, which ran through Feb. 9, the best to date. Sale proceeds
support CAG to preserve the historic character, quality of life and aesthetic values of Georgetown.
In the same spirit, Georgetown Village, a non-profit membership organization established to help
seniors age safely in their homes, will hold volunteer training at 3 p.m. on Feb. 24 in the lobby at
3000 K St., NW. [gallery ids="101626,146207,146185,146209,146203,146190,146193,146199" nav="thumbs"]