DC CityCenter Construction Begins at Former Convention Center Site
• July 26, 2011

On Monday April 4, Hines|Archstone’s CityCenter broke ground at the site of the former DC convention center, with the simultaneous announcement of a full equity investment from Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co. (QatariDiar), reports Real Estate Bisnow and The Washington Post. Mayor Vincent Gray and members of the DC City Council met at the area, currently a parking lot, to celebrate the beginning of the site’s construction.

Gray called CityCenter, “one of the most important projects in the history of the District of Columbia,” in a lavish tent where reporters, developers, neighbors, businesspeople and District officials gathered for the celebration.

CityCenter DC is a 10-acre, mixed-use development, located in the heart of downtown Washington on a 4.5-block parcel bounded by New York Avenue, 9th, H and 11th Streets NW. A total of six buildings are to be put up over the next three years as phase 1 of the project, according to the Washington Post, split between apartments, condos and office space, all connected by a public courtyard. Shops and restaurants will line the street level with four levels of underground parking, and 10th and I Streets will be reopened to reconnect the city’s street grid. A second phase of the project is planned to include an upscale hotel, along with additional square feet of retail.

The project is an enormous undertaking for the city, and promises to transform the east end of Downtown, however its history of development troubled financing and development has kept that area of the town in limbo for years. According to the Washington Business Journal, Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans joked about meeting to discuss the project years ago with Bill Alsup (of Hines, based in Houston), George Washington and Pierre L’Enfant.

But with financing plans now in place, Gray is already touting the achievement of CityCenter as “the last piece of the puzzle for downtown Washington.” If successful, CityCenter would accordingly transform Downtown into a more substantial neighborhood, where citizens don’t only work and go out, but live.

Anchor investor QatariDiar is the real estate investment arm of the Qatari Investment Authority. Barwa Bank’s investment banking subsidiary, The First Investor (TFI), financed the project. TFI will co-invest in and manage the dedicated TFI U.S. Real Estate Fund.

“This effort has been almost a decade in the making, and we look forward to the progress that will be made on the site of the old convention center as this last missing piece of our downtown is redeveloped,” Mayor Gray said. “I am excited about the more than 190 District Certified Business Entities that are involved in the planning, design and construction of this project, and the thousands of construction and permanent jobs that it will create. This is a huge development for the residents of and visitors to our city.”

According to the Washington Post, construction is not scheduled to finish until 2014, and phase 2 will not be done until late 2015 (though it is probably fair to assume unexpected delays and hurdles, as par for the course).

Gray, touting the job opportunities within the project, expects it to create 1,700 construction jobs and almost 4,000 permanent jobs. Nearly 100 local companies have already secured contracts with the development team. [gallery ids="99644,105274" nav="thumbs"]

Passport DC Comes Back to Town
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On any given Sunday, there’s always some foot traffic on Massachusetts Avenue along Embassy Row, especially if the weather is ideal and spring-sunny as it was on May 7.

But hey, what was this: crowds pouring into the British Embassy and coming out with tote bags emblazoned with the flag of England? What were the lines of people snaking around the block, making their way to the Embassy of Greece, the Embassy of Ireland, or the Latvian Embassy? And just what was going on at the Embassy of Finland?

It was the beginning of the fourth annual Passport DC celebration, an ever-increasingly popular city-wide event produced by Cultural Tourism DC, with the participation of over 60 embassies, which fling open their doors to the general public in a wildly successful annual event that celebrates the international presence of world embassies in our city.

Looking at the crowds, you could well agree with Cultural Tourism DC Director Linda Harper, who said: “Passport DC is a chance to honor and explore the many cultures that are represented in Washington, DC. There is no better place to have this grand celebration…a truly global city.”

This all began four years ago when member embassies representing the European Union decided, without out much elaborate planning, to hold open houses for most of their embassies, allowing tourists and residents to come in and visit, meet embassy officials, and share in the cultural offerings and history of the respective countries. Some 70,000 people showed up.

The European Union folks knew they were on to something and joined up with Cultural Tourism DC to produce what is now a month-long celebration of international culture and conviviality. Last year, around 160,000 people participated in the events that make up Passport DC.

Round one was another edition spearheaded by the European Unions called Shortcut to Europe, and the British effort looked to be the splashiest affair, like a sweet hangover from the recent nuptials of Prince William and his Katherine. You could tour the English gardens, which included an impressive, essence-of-horse-nobility sculpture of a horse reputed to be a famous British racehorse whose kidnapping was never solved.

British soldiers, real ones and dressed up ones were there. There was whiskey tasting, music and a bit of English pudding, and it was all very English—proving once again that we may have rebelled against the king to form a more perfect union, but we still love our cousins across the pond.

The embassies were far flung: Ireland, the Brits, Iceland, Latvia, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal, Finland (all along Mass Ave.), and the Embassy of Austria and Slovakia at International Square, France and Germany on MacArthur Boulevard, and the list goes on. From the looks of it, the celebration will probably exceed last year’s crowds, the weather gods permitting.

This weekend, it’s the All Around the World Embassy Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all over the city, featuring 35 embassies from six continents. Needless to say, the embassies won’t just be from all over the world, but will be located all over the city. They included the Bahamas—a very popular destination last year where the annual festivities of Juckanoo will play a key part; Australia where you can hear the didgeridoo, an Aboriginal musical instrument, among other activities; Bolivia, which is now called the Plurinational State of Bolivia; Ghana, with a splendid display of its unique arts and crafts; and the Republic of Iraq, a free democracy. In fact, you can blaze a trail through the countries most affected by recent upheavals from Egypt to Bahrain. History in this city is alive and moving full steam ahead.

There will be shuttles available and special bus stops to the various embassies and residences which are scattered throughout the city

Other upcoming events in May include the National Asian Heritage Festival and the Fiesta Asia Street Fair, May 21 at Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 6th Streets, which also celebrates Asian Pacific Heritage Month. Live music, dancing, Pan-Asian Cuisine

May 21 will also feature the annual Meridian International Children’s Festival, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There will also be special events on a daily basis at embassies, museums, and international cultural centers like the Goethe Institute and the Mexican Cultural Center, including jazz concerts, Kids World Cinema, Embassy Series concerts, the Eurovision Song Contest, workshop and classical music, film and so on.

For a complete list of all the events, times, schedules and locations for Passport DC, go to the Passport DC section of the Cultural Tourism website at www.culturaltourismdc.org

Washington Humane Society’s $100K Challenge to Save Lives
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Since 1870, Washington Humane Society has been the leading voice for animals in the District, standing as the only animal shelter in the District of Columbia that never says “No” to an animal. They never turn any animal away, and their doors are always open—WHS is the only agency out there open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week rescuing animals off the streets of DC.

Now, WHS is taking part in the ASPCA’s “$100K Challenge to Save Lives,” and if they win the money would help them rescue and save more animals than ever before. In order for them to even get a spot in the competition, they must first be one of 50 groups nationwide that secures the most online votes. This first phase, called the Qualifying Heat, requires voters to cast their votes everyday to secure Washington Humane Society in the final standing.

The competition is stiff—last year over 23,000 people voted for just one agency—and they need you to vote. You can vote online every day until April 15th and encourage your friends to do the same. “Every vote will be critically important!” says the WHS. “We feel confident that once we can secure a spot in the competition that we stand a very good chance at winning the grand prize.”

The Georgetowner strongly supports the WHS as they continue to help the animals within our community, and we encourage our readers to lend a hand. Please vote daily and spread the word about the WHS and the competition.

The Washington Humane Society provides comfort and care to nearly 30,000 animals each year through its broad range of programs and services including: sheltering, adoption, cruelty investigations, wildlife rescue, free and low-cost spay/ neuter services, humane education, human/animal rehabilitation programs, and lost and found services. With your help today, we can save more animals lives and provide for a better tomorrow.

To cast your vote daily go to VoteToSaveLives.org.

McCooey Milestone: Bar None, He’s Golden
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Raise a glass, Washingtonians, to Richard McCooey, who celebrates 50 years in the business world this year, and his 80th birthday on October 14th. You likely have dined at his first classics in Georgetown: 1789 Restaurant or The Tombs, now owned by Clyde’s Restaurant Group.

Today, McCooey and his wife Karen run a restaurant design and consulting business that has left its mark from California to Russia.

It began in Georgetown back in 1960 with the plans to build The Tombs and 1789, where McCooey
had been a student. “I always wanted to open a restaurant near Georgetown University since my freshman year there,” recalled McCooey, who had just arrived back in D.C. from Florida, where another restaurant venture was discussed.

He has collected art since college and has worked with Clyde’s John Laytham in art and collectibles for many of Clyde’s restaurants. Laytham liked The Tombs and 1789 so much that he purchased 1789, Inc., in 1985, along with F. Scott’s.

Before McCooey made his archetypes of a student pub and faculty club a reality, he had to convince Georgetown residents that his plan made sense for the community as well. There was opposition to his project. When The Georgetowner’s founder Ami Stewart stood up at a citizen’s meeting to back McCooey, the tide turned. Two restaurants that epitomize Georgetown today were born in 1962. McCooey never forgot Stewart’s support and towards the end of her life would regularly send waiters to her home with meals from his restaurant.

Back in the 1960s, McCooey was the first in D.C. to introduce things we take for granted: pizza and gourmet burgers in a pub, rock ‘n roll music — with students selecting the music — and a consistent story throughout the restaurant’s concept, design and decor. By the way, if anyone asks, why the name “1789”? That was the year the Federal government was established, Georgetown University founded and Georgetown, Md., incorporated. And “The Tombs”? Inspired by T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.” In it, “Bustopher Jones, The Cat About Town” likes to lunch at the tomb. (Add to that McCooey’s nickname in the Air Force: “Bustopher Cat.”) As for the now private club, F. Scott’s, it is named after author F. Scott Fitzgerald, a distant cousin of Francis Scott Key.

“A restaurant is a neutral spot,” the soft-spoken and private McCooey says. “It is where people can forget their troubles. I have a drive to delight people by giving them a magical, tasteful and soul-filled space in which to be.”

Years from running a restaurant, McCooey and his wife Karen now use their design talent and an impressive art collection of posters and other artwork in their restaurant design business, Persona
Studios. “One of our principal contributions to a project is the basic concept and the art and artifacts that support it,” they say. “The concept can be a unique idea or can flow from the style of food, the general history of the area or even the personalities of the owners.”

“So, we celebrate Richard,” says his wife Karen, “ . . . for his loyal 50-year career in Washington,
D.C., for sharing his exquisite gift in designing comfortable, gorgeous restaurants . . . and for dedicating his life to feeding us — body and soul. He serves up an inspiring example.”

Here is a partial list of establishments where McCooey has been involved: Clyde’s 1789 Restaurant, Clyde’s Tombs, Clyde’s F. Scott’s Restaurant as well as the Clyde’s on M Street, in Reston, Chevy Chase, Gallery Place, Columbia and the Old Ebbitt Grill; The Tap Room, Georgetown Club; Union Street Cafe, Alexandria, Va.; Riverbend Restaurant (Philadelphia Airport Marriott); The Polo Club, Marriott Grand Aurora Hotel (Moscow, Russia); Tap Room, The Greenbrier (White Sulphur Springs, W.V.); Marriott Laguna Cliffs Resort (Calif.).

Stewart and Colbert Restore Sanity and/or Fear on the National Mall
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-A warm-up performance by The Roots and John Legend, a collective seismic jump led by Discovery Channel’s “Mythbusters”, and a poetry reading by Law & Order’s Sam Waterston; these were just a few of the spectacles rally-goers were treated to at John Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear”. The comedian-turned-pundit and the media satirist took the National Mall by storm last Saturday, in an event that seemed to counterpoint Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally from two months prior.

“We have over 10 million people!” quipped Stewart following the National Anthem—a clear jab at Beck, who claimed some 500,000 people had attended his rally, even after AirPhotosLive.com released an estimate of 87,000. The same company now approximates 215,000 concerned citizens showed up to restore sanity. That’s one in the win column for Stewart and Colbert.

Rally participants came bearing an assortment of signs, most of which poked fun at the divisive, partisan nature of politics of late. “I want my country back! Or a pony…One of the two”; “The Death Star was an outside job, and so was 9/11”; “I fought Nazis, and they don’t look like Obama.” Others were aimed directly at the Tea Party, such as “Teatards”; “O’Donnell turned me into a newt!”; “The Mad Hatter called. He wants his Tea Party back.”

With the audience setting the rally’s jocular tone, Stewart and Colbert set to work drawing laughter. As with any show, the duo’s sketches were hit and miss, and sound was an issue in the far reaches of the audience.
The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, introduced by Stewart as Yusuf Islam, began to sing “Peace Train” before being interrupted by Ozzy Osbourne. At Colbert’s behest, the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness started performing “Crazy Train.” A musical deul ensued, culminating with the O’Jays performing their conciliatory hit “Love Train,” much to the crowd’s amusement.

Following the musical routine, Stewart began presenting Medals of Reasonableness to those individuals who exemplified rational thought. Not to be outdone, Colbert countered with his Stephen Colbert Fear Awards, one of which went to ABC, CBS, AP, NYT, and NPR for disallowing employees not covering the rally from attending. A 7-year-old girl accepted the award on their behalf, on the grounds that she exhibited “more courage.”
Regrettably, the final musical act, consisting of Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, and T.I. (audio only), was rather anticlimactic. This was followed by a less than stellar exit by Colbert, who once again interrupted Stewart as he began his “keynote speech.” Though Colbert’s video montage highlighting the fear-mongering tactics of the media was hysterical, melting like the Wicked Witch of the West after Peter Pan (John Oliver) convinced the audience to cheer for Stewart, was odd even for them.

Fortunately, the rally took a turn for the serious immediately after, with Stewart delivering a heartfelt address. In it, he expressed optimism for the future: “We live now in hard times, but these are not end times.”
Still, Stewart condemned the fractured media environment. He knocked, “The country’s 24-hour political pundit perpetual panic conflictinator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder.” He continued, “If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.”

Though he did not name names, Stewart’s distaste for media figures like Beck was evident. While his message was not explicitly tilted, this has not stopped the mainstream media from speculating as to his political agenda.

In a post-rally press conference, Stewart and Colbert stressed that the purpose of the rally, first and foremost, was to entertain. Said Stewart, “We’re proud of the show we did. You can’t control people’s reaction to it.”
Downplaying the rally’s political undertones, Colbert commented on the audience, “They were there to have fun. They were there to play a game along with us.” Nevertheless, the debate over the rally’s political influence will surely continue, particularly as it pertains to the events surrounding Election Day.

Tina Fey Live at Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Award
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The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts became a “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” annex, Tuesday, Nov. 9, as Tina Fey was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Many of Fey’s comedic friends were there to celebrate her award—the 13th Mark Twain Prize and the third for a woman—and, of course, her friendship and career, from Second City Comedy to SNL, and other comedy connections.

The wisecracking love fest included lots of TV clips and featured a dozen of Fey’s favorites on stage: Fred Armisen, Steve Carell, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Hudson, Jane Krakowski, Steve Martin, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Tracy Morgan, Amy Poehler and Betty White.

Steve Martin, a Mark Twain awardee, opened the show: “Every year, Washington, D.C., becomes a comedy Mecca. And we know how funny Mecca is.” Via video, Fey’s “30 Rock”co-star Alec Baldwin appeared as Mark Twain himself, talking to the future, and befuddled that a women will receive a humor award. Amy Poehler, looking up to the balcony level, where Fey sat with husband Jeff Richmond and her parents, said, “You got that ‘Evita theme working.”

Lorne Michaels, another Twain awardee, praised the group of “talented performers with low ratings.” Betty White confessed: “I’m the only one here who actually dated Mark Twain. And I can tell you they didn’t call him Samuel Longhorne Clemens for nothing.”

Accepting her award, the night’s honored guest took to stage of the Kennedy Center, saying that it would soon be known as “The Tea Party Bowling Alley and Rifle Range.” Fey joked that she thought the award was for “Austrian humor” and that, in the future, people will say of her jokes: “Wow, that is racist.” She thanked Lorne Michaels, who hired her on SNL. Acknowledging her famed Sarah Palin impressions, Fey recalled the 2004 Life magazine cover of her and Sen. John McCain, foretelling the look of the 2008 McCain-Palin campaign. Later, Fey and her cohorts were seen hanging out at the Four Seasons.

“Tina Fey: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Award” will air on PBS nationwide, Nov. 14 (WETA locally). [gallery ids="99548,104495,104484,104491,104488" nav="thumbs"]

the Kennedy Legacy: JFK’s Inauguration Anniversary & remembering Sargent Shriver
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-For a while this month, you were forgiven if you saw the banners and towers of Camelot appear out of a frigid mist again, or perhaps Excalibur rising out of the icy waters of the Potomac, accompanied by the music of Yo-Yo Ma or Bono.

On Thursday of last week, the John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts began a month-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th President of the United States. On this particularly dry and wintry day, you could see the living breaths of great men in Washington.

Grand stories and occasions were once again fondly recalled the brash, idealistic beginnings of the Kennedy era, Washington’s own Camelot. However, it collided—and then folded into—the loss of one of the last of this era’s remaining giants, Sargent Shriver.

The Kennedy Center kicked off its series of special events with a gala concert that, if reports are correct, had the feel of an actual inauguration, with the presence of the sitting president, world-class singers, musicians, conductors, movie stars and performers in attendance alongside a flock of city mayors and politicians.

Only a day later, at the nearby Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, a wake was held for Sargent Shriver, a Kennedy by marriage to the late Eunice Shriver, JFK’s sister. Shriver embodied the knightly quality of the Kennedy clan, if not in name than in the best of spirits: its call to service, and to use power for the betterment of others.

His long and useful life of legacy was recalled by his children, presidents, governors, and by the remnants of the family that bears the Kennedy name.

Shriver’s many grandchildren are generations removed from the occasion 50 years ago when the youthful president laid down a mission for the country to: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Everything seemed possible with this president.

In the course of the passing years, Shriver and his wife answered that call. Sarge was called to take up the leadership of the Peace Corps. Then, unable to withstand the importuning of Lyndon Baynes Johnson, he led the War On Poverty. Eunice Shriver would create the Special Olympics.

A refined cultural heritage, full of virtuoso artists playing at the White House (itself redecorated with whispery flair by Jackie Kennedy) was one of the hallmarks of the Camelot years. Its members were remembered and marketed as highly intelligent, able, worldly, literate, and full of confidence and talent: an army of book-schooled and war-formed soldiers and their companions. Introducing his cabinet in the White House, JFK said that there had never been such an assemblage of talent there since Thomas Jefferson dined there alone.

This was a week when folks remembered all the brothers, but especially JFK and the army of celebrities that rushed to Washington in the middle of a snowstorm, Frank Sinatra among them. They remembered Jackie and John, who only months before lived in Georgetown.

Their daughter Caroline, thin as her late mother, was in recently in town to speak at the National Archives’ unveiling of the Online Archive of the Collection of the JFK Library. Writers got a chance to see some of the trove of material now available with a push of a button. It was strange seeing her with her husband, watching clips of her small, young self, playing with her father. “All my life,” she said, “people have told me that my father changed their lives. They decided to give back to their community or serve our country because, for the first time, someone asked them to. President Kennedy inspired a generation, and that is why, 50 years later, his legacy still resonates.”

Sargent Shriver certainly lived out that call to service in the flesh and in the deed.

But politics and power often tend to make men falter and fall to temptation, and the Kennedy histories suffered twin blows of tragedy and scandal. Shriver too took some glancing blows: the ignominious defeat as George McGovern’s second-choice running mate, and a half-hearted attempt at a presidential run.

But these were small setbacks when compared to the tragic deaths of the JFK, Robert, and John Jr, and revelations and scandals that seemed to plague the family as chronicled by historians.

The Kennedy family, and the trinity of brothers, seemed to have incandescence, a magnet-like charisma and lore that enabled the legend to survive and overcome raffish and rough detail. A spotlight occasion like the 50th anniversary of the JFK Inauguration revives the legend from a time when we had no hint of what the future held, and a little less of the savory details from the past. Poetry, music, hope and challenge were in the air that day, and romance and glitter were on display that night at the gala balls; a restless president walked the streets of Georgetown.

Shriver burned with his own light in the service of his family, but foremost of his countrymen. “My God, Sarge was such a good man,” Bill Clinton said at his funeral, almost unable to contain himself. “Can you believe how good he was? My God, nobody’s that good. You listen to the story of his life and you feel eight inches tall.” Everybody laughed, as they should at some point in an Irish funeral.

At the Kennedy Center, Yo-Yo Ma played, and the NSO played a work of newly minted music, and Caroline Kennedy’s children recited the poem that Robert Frost had written for JFK’s inaugural, titled “The Gift Outright.”

At the Shriver funeral in Potomac, his sons and daughter carried the coffin alongside son-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger, who probably could have carried it himself. There were clips of a frail Shriver, who had suffered from Alzheimer’s, waving goodbye to the car carrying the coffin of his wife who died last year.
People made music here too—people like Bono and Vanessa Williams.

The times of January were a wisp. A wind of Camelot days and Camelot lives. We remembered everything of our youth in a flash, when they were right here among us, demanding us to think and dream and do great things for mankind. We thought we could, and sometimes we did.

For sure, Sargent Shriver did.

For details and information about the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Center’s “The Presidency of John F. Kennedy: a 50th Anniversary Celebration,” visit the Kennedy Center online

Metro Holiday Schedule, 2010
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The ANC 2E has released the announcement of Metro’s holiday schedules.

Metrorail will stay open from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Christmas Eve (Friday, Dec. 24), Christmas Day (Saturday, Dec. 25), New Year’s Eve (Friday, Dec. 31), and New Year’s Day (Saturday, Jan. 1) with a Sunday schedule slated each day.

Metrobus will operate on a Sunday schedule from Dec. 24 to 26, and Dec. 31 to Jan. 2, 2011, and a modified weekday schedule from Dec. 27 to 30.

MetroAccess will cancel all subscription trips on Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1. All trips during that timeframe must be reserved separately.

Christmas Day ridership in the rail system historically has been extremely light. Last year about 64,000 people rode the Metrorail system, compared to an average Saturday weekday ridership of 350,000. New Year’s Day ridership is likewise traditionally light. Last year only about 167,000 people rode the Metrorail system on Jan. 1.

Speaking with Jaylee Mead
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We last spoke to Jaylee Mead in June 2006. Players Jaylee and husband Gil Mead were then thrilled their $35 million gift to the Arena Stage – the largest donation ever to a regional theater – would be announced in less than a week. The retired NASA scientists inspired us with their deep commitment to the arts, and to each other.

Jaylee Mead was widowed in May 2007 when Gil Mead died. But she has plunged forward with her trademark enthusiasm and smarts. She expanded her contribution to a theater scene second only to New York.

The 2.5-year renovation of the Arena Stage has finished. Possibly the Meads greatest legacy, it has added a beautiful glass wave to the waterfront as three spaces (including the new Mead Center for American Theater) have been integrated in architect Bing Thom’s acclaimed design. A three-year, live-in writer program and an expanded schedule promise an even deeper artistic impact.

The Arena opened with Oklahoma! This highest grossing play, which has drawn rave reviews, is another Mead contribution—the two inspired Arena Artistic Director Molly Smith to embrace the musical genre.

But Oklahoma! is just one offering in a season that takes on contemporary social and cultural issues through riveting drama: plays about war-torn Congo (Ruined) domestic dysfunction (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), and homophobia (The Laramie Project) all play in 2010-2011.

Jaylee believes this range is important. “You expand your own outreach or horizons, and being exposed to different kinds of theater helps you do that,” she says. The Meads have supported numerous spaces, establishing themselves as a top contributor to DC’s artistic transformation.

Helen Hayes award founder Victor Shargai has known her for decades. He accompanied her to the interview and now the two go to many shows together.

“She can be seen at almost every theater in city,” said Shargai. “Whatever she’s doing, she wants to be involved. She doesn’t want to just give money.”

Mead serves on the boards of the Arena Stage, the Studio Theatre, and the Helen Hayes committee. She helped pick David Muse to replace Joy Zinoman and is very active in selecting the top players in DC theater.

But her artistic involvement has sprung from humbler origins.

Mead became the first woman to join NASA Goddard after she earned a mathematics degree from the University of North Carolina. “I had a lot to learn because most of the men had been to places like Harvard or MIT so they had very strong training,” she remembers. “My background was less strong, I’d say, but you make up for it by doing more reading and more talking to people.”

She also went back to school, earning a PhD in astronomy from Georgetown University. She established the Goddard Astronomical Data Center to study stars and galaxies, ultimately earning the Women in Aerospace Lifetime Achievement Award and the 1986 NASA Medal for Scientific Leadership.

NASA was also important personally. There she discovered deep, abiding loves of theater and of Gil Mead. She joined the theater group Music and Drama productions, often being directed by him. Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Vera Charles in Mame are two of her favorite roles.

The couple wanted to see how professionals handled every aspect of shows, so they went to the Signature Theatre, a space that showed several musicals each year. Sometimes they organized their cast of 50 to attend.

The two soon became deeply enmeshed in the Signature. They sponsored shows and underwrote a scholarship for three high school students to attend an intense two-week musical theater camp with Broadway actors.

Their Signature involvement led to the pioneering Arena Stage. One of the first regional theaters and theaters in the round, it was also the first locally to integrate. And Gil Mead soon achieved his dream to sit on the board.

Beyond their artistic contribution, theaters have helped transform neighborhoods. The Signature in Shirlington is a cultural anchor that draws in restaurants and retail for show audiences. And the Shakespeare Theater has been cited as a reason for the Verizon Center’s development in Penn Quarter.

“I’m very pleased whenever I see a theater help develop the neighborhood. For example the Studio Theater on 14th has made a big difference up there with the kind of businesses that have moved in, the people it brings to the neighborhood,” says Mead. “That’s what I hope will happen down at the waterfront.”

The Meads invited casts of different productions to their Watergate apartment, hosting dinner parties that turned into impromptu sing-a-longs. The cast of Oklahoma! has been invited over later this month.

“Nothing makes her happier than sitting around the piano just singing show tunes,” says Shargai.

She is equally comfortable in front of audiences and is one of the few people without notes at the local awards ceremony.

“When she gets on stage and presents the tribute award for the Helen Hayes, she absolutely sparkles,” says Shargai.

Her participation is appreciated by theaters that experiment with new mediums and formats.

“She always finds good in anything,” says Signature Theatre Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer, who has known her for 15 years. “It is great for us artists because someone is supporting our efforts.”

Mead often sits in the front row, immersed in and encouraging the production. Seeing her close by is an incomparable experience for actors, says Schaeffer, one of her many great creative fans. “She’s always giving back. She does it from the audience and she does it through her philanthropy,” he says. “She has this great spirit which is so enthusiastic.” [gallery ids="99583,104905,104903" nav="thumbs"]

The District’s Civil Disobedience
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DC shadow Senator Michael Brown was one of three arrested in an act of civil disobedience, blocking traffic during a protest outside the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on April 15. Brown joined a youth day Tax Protest targeting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) who has an office in the Hart Building. Reid and other top Democrats approved a spending deal with Republicans that put restrictions on the District’s ability to fund abortions providers with its own money to low-income women, and would institute a private school voucher program that several local leaders oppose. These were among the latest indignities foisted on DC residents already disgruntled about not having a vote in Congress. Many protestors were wearing t-shirts displaying the words “taxation without representation.” Participating in the protest were DC Vote, the educational and advocacy organization dedicated to securing full voting representation in Congress and full democracy for the residents of the District of Columbia. DC Mayor Vincent Gray, who had been arrested at a similar protest earlier in the week, spoke to the group.