Latest News

Georgetowner • April 2, 2012

DC Swan Event in Georgetown: “Singles Faire” Opening Reception

March 30th, 2012 at 8:00 PM | FREE | Event Website

The Georgetown Theatre Company and Women in Film & Video will host the 5th Annual DC SWAN Day, an all-day event featuring FREE Music, Theatre and Storytelling Performances, Poetry Readings, Visual Arts and Film Screenings. In honor of DC SWAN (Support Women Artists) Day, there will be an opening reception for the Singles Faire exhibition on Friday, March 30, at 8 p.m. at Baked & Wired. Jenny Walton’s art will be exhibited.The indie band Not My Sister will be performing at 7:30PM.

Address

Baked & Wired

1052 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW

Friends of Palisades Library Book Sale

March 30th, 2012 at 10:00 AM | 25 cents to $10/bag | friendsofpalisadeslibrary@gmail.com

Book Sale, The Friends of Palisades Library holds its Spring Sale, Friday, March 30, and Saturday, March 31, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Palisades DC Library, 4901 V Street NW. Most books priced at $1; “bargain” books go for 25 cents each or $5 per bag. Buy $10 bags of regular books on Saturday. Proceeds benefit the Palisades branch library to support special programs for children and adults. Email FriendsOfPalisadesLibrary@gmail.com.
Address

Palisades DC Library

4901 “V” Street NW

Blossom Kite Festival

March 31st, 2012 at 10:30 AM | Free and open to the public | ncbf@downtowndc.org | Tel: 877.442.5666 | Event Website

Have fun with kite flying at the Blossom Kite Festival that presents demonstrations of Japanese woodblock printing and painting, kite-making competitions and shows.

Address

Washington Monument grounds

Constitution Avenue & 17th Street, NW

The 2012 Capital Art Fair

March 31st, 2012 at 10:00 AM | $10.00 | Tel: (202) 965-1818 | Event Website

The Capital Art Fair will host its third annual art fair on Saturday, March 31, and Sunday April 1. Held at the Rosslyn Westpark Hotel in Alexandria, the Capital Art Fair will bring 22 established art dealers to Washington, D.C. Visitors to the fair will find thousands of works on paper- great master prints to cutting edge, contemporary pieces. The original prints, paintings, and photographs span over 500 years of creative expression, offering an impressive assortment to DC art collectors.

Address

Holiday Inn- Rosslyn Westpark Hotel

1900 North Fort Meyer Drive

Alexandria, VA 22209

Walking Tour “Mr. Nourse’s Neighborhood: Georgetown c. 1800”

April 1st, 2012 at 01:00 PM | $10.00 | info@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 202-337-2288 | Event Website

Join Dwane Starlin, member of the Guild of Professional Tour Guides, for this meander through Georgetown’s “East Village” streets, circa 1800, the way Joseph Nourse– first resident of Dumbarton House and first register of the U.S. Treasury- would have viewed his neighborhood on the heights of Georgetown from his “Belle Vue” home (aka Dumbarton House) atop Cedar hill. 60 minutes. Comfy walking shoes a must! $10 per walker (age 3 and under free). No pets, please. Register online or call us.

Address

2715 Q Street, NW

Washington, DC 20007

Taste of the Nation

April 2nd, 2012 at 06:00 PM | $95 | dctaste@gmail.com | Event Website

Hottest food and wine event of 2012 featuring tastings from the best restaurants and bars and a silent auction to help fight childhood hunger. This year’s event benefits Capital Area Food Bank, DC Hunger Solutions and Mary’s Center.

Address

National Building Museum

401 F Street NW

Washington DC 20001

Cherry Blossom Tea

April 4th, 2012 at 01:00 PM | $20

Enjoy the return of the cherry blossoms at Tudor Place with teas, sandwiches, scones, desserts and a stroll through the gardens.

Address

1644 31st Street, NW

Washington, 20007

Michelle Kingston • March 29, 2012

Teri Galvez is running for Republican National Committeewoman for Washington, D.C., in a very important, very historical race where she believes conservatives, including herself, have the opportunity to make this city a focal point for the Republican Party.

With a mission to grow the conservative population in Washington by bringing young voters and minorities in, Galvez wants to erase the mindset that so many people carry that Republicans are bad and support candidates because they are the best candidate for the job, despite their political preference.

“We are about addition, not subtraction,” she said. “We want folks even if they don’t line up completely with our philosophy.”

Galvez was born and raised in California of Mexican parents, and said she can speak personally from her own experience growing up as a first-generation American as what persuaded her to become a Republican.

“For me, it was really just, you know, you really need to take charge of yourself and be responsible for yourself,” she said. “It was all about personal responsibility.”

While 51 percent of D.C is African-American and nine percent are Hispanic, just six and a half percent of D.C. voters are registered Republicans, Galvez said. “We can’t be complacent. We need to be reaching out to our constituents of color in the District. We are never going to get elected if we don’t.”

She believes her message will resonate with minorities because she knows what it is like to struggle. “My father was a mechanic. His company went on strike twice. We almost lost our house. We went on vacation once and came back, and our house had burned down.”

Despite it all, her parents came here because it is such a great country. “I’m so blessed that I can do anything I want here,” Galvez said. “If I lived in Mexico and my mother was a housekeeper, I’d probably be a housekeeper. In America, the occupation of your parents is not your occupation.”

Galvez also wants to address the importance of education among minorities. Her family was not able to pay for her schooling fully and was thankful for her involvement with the Miss America pageants which granted her scholarships to pay for college. “I would not be here today if it weren’t for the preparation I received from the program,” she said.

The Miss America pageants not only sent her to school but also taught her how to interview, how to speak into a microphone and not to be nervous in front of an audience. “People really misunderstand this aspect of my life,” Galvez said. “It’s a lot more than just the swimsuits and evening gowns seen on TV. It’s more like Candidate 101. I wasn’t really going to learn speaking skills and interview skills at home. You don’t really learn these in college, either. Miss America Program taught me speaking, advocacy and philanthropy.”

With all she learned in the program helping her throughout her campaign, she also credits several other aspects of her life to her qualifications for becoming the next Republican National Committeewoman of D.C. She’s bilingual, has been committed to conservatives for 30 years, has lived in D.C since 1985 and owns her own small business. She attends 4-5 events a day to meet voters and volunteers in several organizations including Miss D.C. Scholarship Organization, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

“Everything you learn along the way is a benefit,” Galvez said. “You will use it all in some way.”

Click Here to read Michelle Kingston’s interview of Jill Homan

Michelle Kingston • March 27, 2012

Spring has sprung early, and Jovee Co. is coming to town to bring you the latest in make-up and skincare.

The company was launched by Jhavon Smith to bring people together in support of local businesses and bridge the gap between beauty and art. “Spa In The City” travels to 10 cities, showcasing “spa-like” businesses in art gallery’s or the sort.

The event caters to both men and women and gives people services to indulge in, providing the outlet to do so with friends all in a relaxing, eclectic art atmosphere.

The Georgetown event is the first event by Jovee Co. for 2012. New vendors, multiple treatment areas, interactive presentations, a glam photo stage, sample spa treatments, skin/beauty products and medical/wellness consultations will be on display on April 7, 6 to 10 p.m. at Georgetown’s MOCA DC located at 1054 31st St., N.W.

Georgetowner • March 22, 2012

**Martin’s Tavern to Be Closed. . . Temporarily** Don’t freak out; it’s just temporary. One of Georgetown’s most famous restaurants and its oldest tavern plans to close Sunday, March 25, at 5 p.m. for five days. Billy Martin’s Tavern, serving D.C. since 1933 at Wisconsin Avenue and N Street, will be closed for kitchen renovations until 5 p.m., Thursday, March 29.

**Crepe Amour Is Closing for Good** Co-owner Sri Suku confirms that the popular eatery at 3291 M Street will close Saturday, March 31. The rent on the property has “more than doubled,” Suku told his customers in a farewell letter, “making it difficult for us to survive as a business at a location where we have been tenants for the past 15 years.”

Suku comes from a family which has owned and operated businesses in Georgetown over the last 25 years.

“As difficult as the current circumstances are,” Suku continued, “our story is far from over. We are scouting new locations in Georgetown along with a possible downtown sister location.” Crepe Amour will also relocate to the Vienna/Tysons Corner area as well as launch a food truck, Crepe Love, in April (Find the truck’s position on Twitter @crepelovetruck).

**Jonathan Adler Furniture is slated to open March 22** at 1267 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., where GapKids used to be.

**Hairstylist Milko has returned to Georgetown**. In California for years, Milko (Todorovic) is now at Roche Salon at Washington Harbour on K Street.

**Crave is a new sandwich and salad eatery on Potomac Street**, where GoFresh used to be. It is run by Garrett Bauman, also of Annie Creamcheese vintage clothing. (It sells cane sugar Coca-Cola.)

**It’s like ZipCar for parking spaces:** Private parking spaces available and shown online. Parking Panda matches driveways and other private spaces with drivers who really need to park it. Register at www.ParkingPanda.com.

**Dandelion Patch has moved to Book Hill** at 1663 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., (former spot of the Magic Wardrobe), but the Magic Wardrobe is still there, just next door at 1661 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.

**Carr Workplaces**, a provider of alternative workplace solutions, has opened its latest business center in the heart of Georgetown at 1050 30th St., N.W. It is the first to offer shared common workspaces alongside conventional private office space. The Georgetown center was designed for collaboration, with a large open co-working room filled with co-joined desks complete with phones and wireless internet access ? useful for independent professionals who need ultimate flexibility. This is the ninth new executive offices facility Carr Workplaces opened in the past year. For additional information, visit www.CarrWorkplaces.com.

Michelle Kingston •

We’ve already waved good-bye to video cassettes and pay phones. Now, after 244 years, Encyclopaedia Britannica announced March 13 that it will no longer be printing its reference publications. The 32-volume print sets will be discontinued; the 2010 Encyclopaedia Britannica set is its final printed version.

Founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768, the encyclopaedia was a creation of the European Enlightenment which challenged the status quo of the day. Moved to Chicago by a new owner, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., has been on bookshelves across the world year after year, day after day.

With the new digital age and demand for constant news updates, the company can no longer keep up with the times through its printed version.

“We just decided that it was better for the brand to focus on what really the future is all about,” said Encyclopaedia Britanica president Jorge Cauz.

Turning to the web is not new for them. Communications director Tom Panelas, said the company produced the first digital encyclopaedia in 1981 (distributed through LexisNexis) and its multimedia encyclopaedias were invented in 1989. The company put its first encyclopaedia on the internet in 1994.

“It’s a rite of passage in this new era,” Cauz said. “Some people will feel nostalgic about it. But we have a better tool now. The website is continuously updated, it’s much more expansive, and it has multimedia.”

To show a true sign of the times, Parade magazine claims that Americans purchased 120,000 printed sets in 1990, and Encyclopaedia Britannica made $650 million in revenue. This final printed version, produced in 2010, contains 32 volumes and weighs129 pounds. The company printed just 12,000 sets and still has an estimated 4,000 left, currently selling for $1,395.

For now, the company will direct their focus to online and educational curriculum for schools. “We have very different value propositions,” Cauz said. “Britannica is going to be smaller. We cannot deal with every single cartoon character, we cannot deal with every love life of every celebrity. But we need to have an alternative where facts really matter. Britannica won’t be able to be as large, but it will always be factually correct.”

Starting March 14, Britannica Online — www.Britannica.com — is offering a free week to customers.

Robert Devaney •

Harlem Globetrotter star Herbert “Flight Time” Lang traveled on Key Bridge into Georgetown March 19 to start the tip-off for Globetrotter Week. During his dribbling, walking and basketball spinning from Lee Highway in Arlington to the basketball courts at Volta Park, Flight Time paused at Francis Scott Key Park on M Street and saluted the Georgetown author of the national anthem and the Star-Spangled Banner which waves above the park.

Flight Time’s one-mile walk was part of the Globetrotters’ school visits and goodwill appearances which lead up to the team’s three games demonstrating the Globetrotter’s unique skills and techniques on March 24 and 25 at the Verizon Center and the Patriot Center. (They will take the court at the Verizon Center, March 24 at 1 p.m., and then the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., March 24, 7:30 p.m., and March 25, 2 p.m.).

One of the Globetrotters’ most dynamic ball handlers, Flight Time appeared with teammate Nathaniel “Big Easy” Lofton on “The Amazing Race” in two separate seasons. In their second effort for the finish line in the TV show, they came in second. Having appeared on other TV game or “reality” shows, Flight Time’s record was perfect on “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?” during which he answered each question posed to him correctly.

For more information, visit www.HarlemGlobetrotters.com. [gallery ids="100585,100586" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner • March 19, 2012

BLOSSOM DC

March 16th, 2012 at 10:00 AM | Free | info@oldprintgallery.com | Tel: (202) 965-1818 | Event Website

BLOSSOM DC, opens on March 16th with a nighttime reception and runs until May 11th. Inspired by the 100 year anniversary of the gift of cherry trees from Japan to DC, this show celebrates the youthful energy of spring’s blossoms. A large number of prints by local DC artists are included in the show, coupled with a selection of works by NY contemporary artists and several early 20th century printmakers. Highlights include prints by local artists Marti Patchell, Susan Goldman, and Erwin Thamm.

Address

The Old Print Gallery

1220 31st Street, NW

Looking for more Cherry Blossom Themed event? Click Here for more!

Not Alone’s St. Patrick’s Day Fundraiser

March 17th, 2012 at 06:00 PM | One (1) Ticket: $70; Two (2) Tickets: $125; Four (4) Tickets: $240 | danielle@notalone.com | Tel: 615-243-7400 | Event Website

Come learn about and support Not Alone, an organization that provides programs, resources and services to warriors and families impacted by combat stress and PTSD through a confidential and anonymous community. Enjoy unlimited beer and wine, kick up your heels to great music, and taste the exquisite food of Todd and Ellen Gray.
Washington, D.C. 20007

Address

Watershed Restaurant

1225 1st Street Northeast

Washington D.C., DC 20002

Champagne Dinner

March 19th, 2012 at 07:00 PM | Event Website

Join Washington Women and Wine at The Curious Grape Wine Bar for a Champagne Dinner

Address

The Curious Grape Wine Bar

2900 South Quincy Street

Shirlington Village – Arlington, VA

2012 Pink Tie Party

March 15th, 2012 at 07:00 PM | $200 | Tel: 877.442.5666 | Event Website

Washington’s petal partiers will gather for the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s signature Pink Tie Party on Tuesday, March 20 at 7 PM. Chefs José Andrés and Roy Yamaguchi, innovators in the culinary community, will host the evening, exemplifying the international collaboration and creativity at the heart of the Festival. The sixth annual fundraiser and kick-off to the Centennial Celebration will be held at The Mayflower® Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel.

Address

Mayflower® Renaissance Hotel

1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20036

Preparing for the Ball: Dancing

March 20th, 2012 at 07:00 PM | 10-12 | Tel: 202-337-2288 | Event Website

Fourth in a series of four 19th-century skills & etiquette workshops, with the “American Ladies,” Pat Sowers and Jackie Geschickter. Become immersed in Jane Austen’s world at Dumbarton House’s annual Spring Ball on March 24. To prepare for the festivities, attend one or all four classes on period games and dances. Series includes: Feb. 28, Gaming; March 6, Dancing; March 13, Gaming; and March 20, Dancing. Classes are held in the Belle Vue Room. Each class $12; Members $10.

Address

Dumbarton House,

2715 Q Street, NW,

Washington, DC, 20007

Gary Tischler •

“I am of Ireland

And the Holy Land of Ireland

And time runs on, cried she,

‘Come out of charity

Come Dance With Me in Ireland.’ ”

— W.B. Yeats

I am not Irish and not of Ireland.

But, aye, often I have wished to be. Now, on St. Patrick’s Day, thousands, maybe millions embrace the same wish as if they had kissed the Blarney Stone on a damp day some time ago. They wear green, drink green beer, quaff the quaffables, sing and dance, wear green hats, try to speak Gaelic, listen to the grand Irish music and perhaps stand on a floor in two inches of Guinness and tears. Perhaps not. Most parades have already gone by. The music will linger if you’ve heard it.

Yes, the Irish in America have left their imprint. They brought their famine tales, destitution and memories. They came in droves in the wake of the Great Famine of the early mid-19th Century. They came to where stores were littered with signs that read, “Irish need not apply.” They were drawn in political cartoons as pipe-smoking monkeys.

They brought their music, their smitten-with-words poetry, their poets and playwrights, their fiddle players and their red-headed sages and lasses. They left their troubles behind in Ireland where they still persist here and there, as mysterious a tragedy as ever existed. They became cops, firemen, nannies — and, soon enough, politicians — and bartenders, priests and nuns, except for the Ulster folks.

They gave us Shaw, Yeats, Wilde, Behan, Synge and the great Irish place names. Eugene O’Neill who is enjoying a festival of his works at Arena Stage and throughout was as wildly Irish as you can be. Just check out that crazy family saga, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” or “A Touch of The Poet.” O’Neill knew that the Irish also quadrupled the number of bars in America, and he wrote the ultimate bar play, “The Iceman Cometh,” which I trust alcoholics living day to day would avoid. The second best bar play was written by an Armenian, and it was called “The Time of Your Life.” If Eastern Europeans were Irish, they would be called Armenians.

Myself, I emigrated from Germany knee high to nothing at ten years old from the most Irish place in Germany, which would be Bavaria. Bavaria is as Catholic as Ireland, as beer-soaked as Ireland and as Bohemian as Ireland, and it has its grand stock of peasant tales and superstitions and music And the food is better. Maybe that explains the affinity.

John Ford was Irish —the great director of westerns and Americana movies — and also directed “The Quiet Man,” which is Ireland as a dream of Ireland, a technicolor film where the greens and reds were so green and so red that they looked like paint. It had a matchmaker played by Barry Fitzgerald, who drank too much, a village where the local Catholic protected its Anglican priest by pretending to be Protestant. It had John Wayne as a retired pugilist. It had Maureen O’Hara, whose hair defined the term “redhead.”

O’Hara came from the Abbey Theatre still alive and strong in Dublin. Irish writers will always be among us. Witness Seamus Heaney, the great Irish poet, and the new breed of Irish playwrights, whose work is both surreal, crazy and modern. There’s a lad named McDonough who is particularly good. Look out for a production of his “The Seafarer” soon, produced by Robert McNamara, the artistic director of Scena Theatre who is as solemnly Irish as they come. The play is about three men who play poker with the devil, and you know what the stakes are. The devil does all right until he starts taking tastes of the homegrown brew in the house. Plays are about words, and, boy, do the Irish love to talk and sing.

I believe in my heart that the Irish invented poetry and the job title of bartender. How else would so many who found work found it as a bartender? I knew a few in Washington in my time in places like the Dubliner, Nanny O’Briens, Kelly’s Irish Times, the Four Provinces, Matt Kane’s, Ellen’s and from what I hear tell, there’s a whole new generation of publicans and pubs. In those places and among those gentlemen — along with the ladies — I found such surely old-fashioned qualities as trust and loyalty, fierce kindness and grand thoughts and talk. There is something to be said for the drink, were it not for the fact that you can’t remember what it was that was said. A toast to the Kelly’s Michael and Hugh, Mr. Coleman at the Dubliner and Obie O’Brien. Some have gone, none forgotten.

And always, the sound of the fiddle, the Celtic drums, the rebel songs, and sad songs about the troubles and old Irish moms mourning their sons. There is dancing and, of course, as luck would have it “Danny Boy,” a song impossible to sing properly and which almost everyone thinks they can sing. I remember a member of the Irish embassy, an older gentleman in a bow tie and sports jacket, singing it loud and clear in the kitchen at 3 a.m. at Kelly’s Irish Times a long time ago.

They held “Reel Around the Shamrock” with Eileen Evers and Immigrant Soul at the Music Center at Strathmore this Thursday along with the Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance with Brendan Mulvihill and Billy McComiskey. Mulvihill, a national fiddle champion in Ireland, and McComiskey were part of the Irish Tradition, one of the most popular Irish bands on the East Coast. Brendan could break your heart when he played the fiddle. And I can recall that he had an Afro load of Irish hair and how the Tradition’s music rousted the Wild Rover in all of us.

More than that, Paddy Maloney and the Chieftains are celebrating a 50th anniversary at the Kennedy Center this Friday night, March 16. Things don’t get more Irish than that.
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Ari Post • March 15, 2012

Mike Isabella, “Top Chef All-Stars” runner-up and local restaurateur, has his hungry eyes set on the District.

After a successful tenure commanding the kitchen at Zaytinia, José Andrés’s Mediterranean-inspired eatery, Isabella opened his flagship restaurant Graffiato in June of last year to rave reviews. The neo-Italian cuisine has been almost universally adored by critics and guests for its fresh take on old-world culinary traditions, with its salt-and-pepper tributes to the chef’s Jersey roots (The Jersey Shore pizza, from their wood-fired oven, is heaped with fried calamari, provolone and cherry pepper aioli).

Isabella is also on the cusp of opening his latest venture, Bandolero, a Mexican-themed restaurant in Georgetown in the space once occupied by Hook at 3241 M St., N.W.

Now, Isabella is upping the ante — and doubling the wager. He announced last week plans to open two new restaurants for 14th Street, N.W., next door to each other. This announcement comes at a time that would already be a full plate for any restaurateur.

If all goes to plan, the 7,000-square foot space at 1326 W St., N.W., will be up and running at double capacity in early 2013. The first restaurant, Kapnos (Greek for “smoke”), will be a Greek restaurant that Isabella has been conceptualizing for years — presumably inspired from his days at Zaytinya. Its sister restaurant, simply named G, will serve up sandwiches by day and four-course tasting menus in the evening. Not such simple ambitions.

Perhaps, the most mouthwatering bit of news released is Isabella’s intent to employ a spit roaster to use in the restaurants. Spit roasting is an ancient culinary practice, but one that has been largely phased out, mostly due to its sheer impracticality and inconvenience. But if you’ve ever had a bite of pork shoulder or grilled vegetables pulled right out of a crackling, wood-fired flame, it is nothing you ever forget. The Greeks are famous for their roasting of whole animals, particularly lamb (Does “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” ring any bells?), and Isabella plans to bring this communal tradition to Washington for the first time. While it sounds old fashioned — prehistoric, even — there’s no telling how Isabella plans to spin this technique for the modern epicure.

“I’ve been cooking Greek food for a large part of my career,” said Isabella in a statement. “So, opening my own place was only a matter of time. With Kapnos, I want to bring something totally unique to D.C.; daily whole animal spit-roasting is a side of Greek cuisine that no one else is doing in this city. G is a sister to Graffiato, but the menu will be more traditional Italian — a place to get a meatball hero for lunch and a four-course dinner.”

Once Kapnos and G open their doors, Isabella will have himself a culinary empire in the District. It looks like Andrés, Washington’s current epicurean kingpin, might have to start watching his back.

Gary Tischler •

“Game Change,” the HBO movie about the selection of then virtually unknown Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s vice-presidential running mate, has come if not gone, leaving behind a certain amount of controversy and some unsettling thoughts.

The movie, based on a much larger account of the 2008 presidential campaign by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin in which the McCain-Palin story was a smallish part. “Game Change” premiered in New York and at Washington’s Newseum, with red-carpet stars like Julianne Moore in attendance (actually, the carpet was blue at the Newseum’s March 8 reception), amid local rehashing of old Palin and McCain campaign tales.

Palin dismissed and trashed the movie without having seen it. That’s too bad, because in reality — if there is such a thing in politics — she comes off as much more of a whole person than one might expect from such efforts. McCain also attacked the filmmakers for their treatment of Palin, being ever the gentleman about his expressions of feeling toward Palin and his choice of Palin as running mate. This way, he also doesn’t have to take responsibility for unleashing Palin’s particular gift for creating disharmony in the body politic.

When all is said and done, however, you’re left with a film that has its own sort of power and manages to be a work that feels like a more-or-less truthful, if slightly fictional account of the Palin’s selection and her subsequent impact on the 2008 election campaign.

Movies about politics and government often don’t fare well. There are few that resonate through the years, although Robert Redford’s “The Candidate” Otto Preminger’s “Advice and Consent,” about a nominee for secretary of state, and Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man,” which is getting a Broadway revival, are terrific examples of the genre.

“Game Change” reminds us more than anything of Mike Nichols’s film version of “Primary Colors,” the thinly disguised, hugely entertaining tale of what it was like on Bill Clinton’s campaign trail in 1992, with John Travolta playing an exuberantly hungry Clintonian-like character with Emma Thompson in the Hillary role.

“Game Change” is about real folks — as real as politicians can be — and it sinks or swims with Moore’s portrait of Palin which is so eerily dead on the mark that she pushes Palin right through the clichés and ticks of her own caricature — some of it self created, some by a both fawning and aggressive press.

Woody Harrelson plays Steve Schmidt, a senior political strategist and adviser to McCain, who had been brought on board after the campaign appeared to be in absolute shambles. With McCain surviving early setbacks, he rolled to front-runner status and eventual winner. The selection of Palin, as indicated in the film and in other accounts, was something of an illusory, smoke-and-mirror process with hopes of finding “a game changer” to electrify McCain’s campaign. McCain himself appears to have wanted Joe Lieberman, the Democrat who supported his candidacy.

What’s scary in this film is how little Palin, a popular, dramatic, charismatic, conservative and political novice — not to mention policy-know-nothing — was vetted by McCain’s staff. Harrelson’s Schmidt, confronted about not asking her policy questions or testing her knowledge of foreign affairs, frustratingly says he didn’t ask her and instead wanted to make sure that she knew all that was about to drop on her media-wise.

Palin dove in with relish, and with very few doubt, despite of the fact she had a teenaged daughter that was about to become an unwed mother, that there was a scandal brewing that became her own state trooper problem and that she knew next to nothing about foreign affairs—including who was the political leader of Great Britain.

Moore manages to make you her feel for her, by showing the determination as well as the anguish and frustration she was going through as the campaign exposed her ignorance. The movie would have it that she came close to a breakdown, surrounded by McCain’s mostly male and not very friendly operatives. Watching her watch herself being ridiculed by Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live is a gem of acting.

What we see here are things we already knew in some ways — to dwell on Katie Couric’s interview on CBS News is to resurrect a nightmare. An even bigger nightmare is what happens when Palin came into her own and displayed her natural political gifts. Such were Palin’s ability to connect to the folks which would later become the core members of the Tea Party, her ability to rabble rouse, her considerable charm and charisma and her very naked ambition.

If “Game Change” isn’t entirely objective — the overall portrait of Palin is hardly flattering but also seems accurate — it provides a solid, fascinating portrait of the campaign mentality and political process in action. What we’re watching now with the Republican primary is an echo of that campaign, its by-products coming home like chickens roosting.

To see more images from the premiere of “Game Change” click here [gallery ids="100532,119974,119947,119967,119956,119964" nav="thumbs"]