Arts & Society

Georgetowner • October 10, 2013

On September 19, Washingtonians turned out for the
Newton’s Noodles VIP Preview Party to celebrate the new
fast-casual concept from award-winning executive chef
Dennis Friedman The restaurant revolves around Friedman’s
signature fuzu, a customizable noodle dish that gained popularity
at Friedman’s acclaimed Bethesda restaurant, Newton’s
Table. [gallery ids="101495,151675,151666,151670,151677" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

On Sept. 30, Saks Fifth Avenue, Park Hyatt Washington and D.C. magazine hosted a reception at the
hotel where acclaimed stylist and author Lauren A. Rothman presented the must-have fall fashion
trends to benefit Knock Out Abuse, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary at a benefit dinner and
dance at the Ritz-Carlton on Nov. 14. Gina Adams of FedEx Corporation will serve as gala chair;
Senator Kristen Gillibrand will be this year’s honoree; CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will the auctioneer and
Andrea Roane of WUSA9 will emcee.soc [gallery ids="101494,151694,151692,151688,151679,151682" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

GALA Hispanic Theatre celebrated the world premiere of Cabaret Barroco, Interludes of Spain’s Golden Age, at Noche de Gala on Sept, 14. Executive Director Rebecca Medrano said the production was the theatre’s fifth collaboration with the Embassy of Spain. Representatives from the Embassy of Spain, the Ambassador of Mexico and Chairman of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Judith Terra were in attendance. GALA Hispanic Theatre preserves and promotes Latino arts and culture and shares this rich Hispanic heritage through its diverse performing arts and education programs, engaging the community in a dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives. [gallery ids="101496,151662,151658,151664" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

The Women’s Auxiliary of Washington DC’s annual event was held on Oct. 4 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Tysons Corner with funds supporting the Turning Point Center, a transitional housing program serving the needs of young homeless mothers and their children. Major Jacqulyn Reckline bestowed the Berniece Edwards Auxiliary Leadership Award posthumously to staunch supporter Pat Skantze, whose husband and daughter PA, who had flown in from London, were in attendance. A tree festooned with ornaments handcrafted by the Ornament Committee fetched $10,000 in the live auction. Bloomingdale’s presented a fashion show featuring London designer L.K. Bennett favored by the Duchess of Cambridge. [gallery ids="101497,151648,151644,151639,151635,151630,151625,151656,151621,151653" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

At one p.m. on Oct. 6, Georgetown’s finest pooches and their proud people gathered on the sunny lawn of St. John’s Church on O Street for the annual blessing that honors St. Francis of Assisi. This year they were joined by the Hood family’s two African pigmy hedgehogs, Daisy and Aphrodite. Being on hallowed ground, the manners of two and four-footers alike were impeccable as Associate Rector Sarah Duggin led the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful. She and Interim Rector W. Bruce McPherson conducted the brief service which ended in individual blessings. [gallery ids="118781,118765,118803,118774,118789,118809,118814,118797" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

Amid scenes of the Paris opera house and Eiffel Tower, the Wolf Trap Ball Sept. 21 — under the patronage of Ambassador of France Francois Delattre and his wife Sophie L’Helias-Delattre — moved elegantly into songs, dining and dancing despite the evening’s downpours. On stage in front of the opera house backdrop, built by the Wolf Trap Opera Company production team, soprano Mireille Asselin sang “Juliette’s Waltz.” Ball co-chairs Karen Schaufeld spoke of the power of music and memory and Sean O’Keefe thanked major sponsor Airbus and saluted the U.S.-France partnership, which Delattre said has “never been stronger than … today.” It was the first ball for the new boss, Wolf Trap’s President and CEO Arvind Manocha. The gala-goers stayed to dance to the likes of “I Got a Feeling” and “Blurred Lines.” The ball raised more than $1 million — a record — for Wolf Trap. [gallery ids="101464,152966,152976,152972,152960,152980" nav="thumbs"]

Gary Tischler • October 7, 2013

Tom Clancy, author of dozens of mega-million best-sellers sharpened by his knowledge of high-tech military gadgetry that often made him seem like a prescient consultant of the future, died at 66 this week, just as his next best-seller (no question about it) that features his hero Jack Ryan was set to be published in December.

By profession, Clancy was an insurance man, although, after his success, he often liked to dress in a style that screamed ex-military, even though illness kept him from serving. What he ended up being was neither insurance man nor intelligence officer nor GI Joe, but the kind of writer of block-buster novels that endeared him to millions of readers, probably most of whom are men.

With his money, he managed at one point to buy a tank all his own, and I supposed he was entitled. He probably would be the first to say he wasn’t writing literature, but he does belong right up there, in contemporary terms, with Stephen King, John Grisham, and later David Baldacci and others, even Joe Patterson, who is not so much an author but a machine and a factory all rolled into one.

Clancy’s first book, about a rogue Soviet submarine on the loose in the dark days of the Cold War during the Reagan Administration was published by the Naval Institute Press, a small publishing house located fittingly in Annapolis, specializing in naval history of all sorts, but never in fiction. Clancy’s price for “The Hunt For the Red October” was $5,000, which wouldn’t cover train fare to a submarine base in California these days.

Lots of folks discovered Clancy, including President Ronald Reagan, who put it on his reading list. Clancy never had to sell another insurance policy after that. “Red October” was made into a major Hollywood movie that starred Alec Baldwin, and Sean Connery as the Russian sub commander. It was the kind of movie Hollywood did really well—not so far removed from humanity like the Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis movies of the time, let alone Chuck Norris. It was filled with action, populated with interesting characters, starring top stars and made with no expenses paid. You didn’t have to be embarrassed watching them.

This is something Clancy’s work had in common with that of King and Grisham—their books made great thoroughly professional and entertainingly first-class movies. Baldwin played Jack Ryan, and then gave up the part to Harrison Ford in two other excellent Clancy books that become films: “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.” Later, Ben Affleck played a younger version of ryan with Morgan Freeman as his mentor, and Baltimore hit by a nuclear bomb in “The Sum of All Fears.” Chris Pine stars in “Jack Ryan: Shadow One,” opening December. Ryan, in subsequent novels, rose to become President of the United States.

Those books became great movies—as good as Stephen King’s many movie version of his novels (except for Nicholson in “The Shining”) as good as Grisham films of his books like “The Firm” or “The Pelican Brief.”

Clancy—like the best of story tellers if not the best writer like a Faulkner or even a King—invented a kind of history, a whole world that looked and sounded familiar, what with the weaponry, the conspiratorial battle of armies and intelligence services, and he created heroes who behaved like heroes.

That’s not a bad legacy.

There’s a picture in the Washington Post tribute which shows Clancy in a room thick with wall-to-wall books, reading one of them (we know not which). Chances are that the book was written by someone else, and so were the ones in the room. Patterson, on the other hand, could fill the room full of his own books, something that would probably never have occurred to Clancy.

Neshan Naltchayan • October 3, 2013

The opening of Opera Ultra Lounge. [gallery ids="99229,103579,103595,103591,103584,103587" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney • October 2, 2013

The 2013 Georgetown Gala — the annual black tie Citizens Association of Georgetown event that brings together more than 350 guests, neighbors, sponsors and politicos to celebrate Georgetown and CAG’s mission of historic preservation and improving the life of the community — will be held Oct. 18 and will honor Herbert and Patrice Miller. 

As this is the Year of Italian Culture in the U.S., the event will be held for the first time at the stunning Italian Embassy on Whitehaven Street. Ambassador and Mrs. Claudio Bisogniero will be honorary chairs. The Venetian Carnivale masked ball features a refined Italian dinner buffet, fabulous entertainment, unique live auction items, a hip after party and more. 

The honorees, Herbert and Patrice Miller are long-time Georgetown residents and patrons. In 1967, Herb Miller founded Western Development Corporation, a Washington D.C.-based real estate development and management organization with a 44-year history of innovative mixed-use development. Of particular interest to Georgetown, WDC has been involved in the Georgetown Park retail development, as well as the beautification of Washington Harbor. The Millers were Georgetown residents for decades until this past April when they sold their Federal-style row house on N Street.  The gala committee agreed: “We couldn’t let them leave without a proper goodbye.” 

Gala co-chairs Colleen Girouard and Robin Jones are making exciting changes to the evening’s program. For the first time in the history of the gala, the formal event will be followed by an after party with dancing until 1 a.m., to be hosted and attended by the younger set of Georgetown. The evening’s entertainment will include guests serenaded by opera performers upon arrival, the D.C. Love Band playing dance music during cocktails and dinner, followed by DJ Adrian Loving, upping the tempo and getting everyone  dancing . Floral décor will once again be coordinated by Fabio Ripoli of Georgetown’s own Ultra Violet. His take on the Venetian Carnivale theme will be cutting edge.

Live auction items include a week in a luxury apartment in Florence, three nights in Siena and an exceptional view of the world renowned Palio Di Siena horse race, donated by Simone Bemporad at Bemporad and Associates, the popular Scavenger Hunt Dinner Adventure, an opulent Four Seasons package, an Ermenegildo Zegna Made-to-Measure suit, donated by Ermenegildo Zegna, and “Skin Is In” Men’s and Women’s revolutionary treatment packages, donated by Tina Alster, M.D., Washington Institute for Dermatological Laser Surgery. 

The gala’s honorary chairs are Ambassador and Mrs. Claudio Bisogniero, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Selwa “Lucky” Roosevelt, Senator and Mrs. Joseph Lieberman, John J. DeGioia, president of Georgetown University, author Kitty Kelley and entrepreneur and philanthropist Mark Ein.

Sponsors, as of Sept. 17, include Capital Asset Management Group, Manhattan Construction Company, Beasley Real Estate, Long & Foster-Exclusive Affiliate of Christie’s International, Nancy Taylor Bubes of Washington Fine Properties,  Clyde’s Restaurant Group, Georgetown University, the Levy Group, Jamestown Properties, Western Development Corporation, Vornado Realty Trust, Coldwell Banker Georgetown, Georgetown University Hospital, M.C. Dean, Inc., Securitas Security Services USA, Creel Printing – Digital Lizard, EagleBank, the Georgetowner, Bruce & Shelley Ross-Larson, CDI, PNC Mortgage and the Georgetown Current. 

One of the “Community Pillars” to be noted for the gala is Manhattan Construction, a privately held company in its fourth generation of Rooney family ownership. It is ranked in the top 50 largest construction companies in America. Founded in 1896, Manhattan has been building major projects in Washington for over 30 years. The company history includes legacy works like the Capitol Visitors Center and Dallas Cowboys Stadium. The company has a deep commitment to Georgetown and the owner, Ambassador Francis Rooney, is not only a graduate of Georgetown Prep, Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center, but he and his wife Kathleen are also new neighbors in the Georgetown community. Another Georgetown neighbor, James Lee, runs the company’s regional construction operation and is president of Rooney Properties, a real estate investment and development division. 

For more information, visit the CAG website — www.CAGtown.org — or contact the CAG office.