Laurie Anderson’s Magical History Tour
• March 18, 2016

When it comes to Laurie Anderson, the word “icon” comes to mind. In her program, “Language of the Future: Letters to Jack,” performed with cellist Rubin Kodheli at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater last weekend that word comes to mind, but I find myself resisting.

You want something more simple than her resume in the program or available online, both of which are long and informative, but not necessarily revealing.  Anderson is in her sixties now and has been doing challenging, footloose creations of works of performance art, or art-art,  film, music, instruments, singing-talking, with and without someone, since the 1970s. In 1981, she sort or burst into the world consciousness with a little number called “O Superman,” a hit song — yes, a hit song — which you can see performed online, and which reached number two in the British charts, which may tell you something about what was going on in British pop mentality those days.  It was a chant and a song, part of  a larger project called “United States” as well as “Big Science.”

These titles, incidentally, sound like novels, epic poems, a wandering poet-minstrel in search of a large subject.  Anderson was married to the late iconoclast and soulmate Lou Reed. His jarring, boundary-stretching  music, we recall — dum dad um, take a walk on the wild side. He died in 2013.

There is all of this, too much to take in, all at once, the many, many projects, including the affecting film “The Heart of a Dog”, about the last days of her dog in which we learn that you can teach an old dog new tricks (like learning to play the piano).

None of this is nonsense, but it is just a little too much.  None of it prepares, and none of it is suggestive of what Anderson does.  There is even a category for invention: the tape-bow violin.   She has been doing what she does for a long time now, and one thing I can say is that she is exactly suited for our times, nonetheless.  She has not seen and done everything — it’s as if there’s a lot to  fill in.

Anderson makes you ramble.  In “Language of the Future: Letters to Jack,” she reveals herself to be above all a story teller, a contemporary Scheherazade, who uses words, music, video, film, like a roadside witch, to beguile us into thinking of our own stories.

On a stage, she is a small presence, heard every which way, playing a violin, a version she invented herself, surrounded by tablets and electronics, alongside Kodheli, framed behind her by back projections, of snow falling unbearably wet and slow, of pictures of the Kennedy folk (hello, Pierre Salinger). She begins to talk about herself as a young girl in a Midwestern small down. The voice is seductive, warm as a heated drink, inviting even, self deprecating. She talked about the letters to Jack, which refer to Jack Kennedy — John Kennedy, a presidential candidate at the time.

“I had this confidence, self-awareness, annoying teenager type,  that was me, and I wrote a letter to him, and told him I was also running for office, for student council, and if he couldn’t perhaps write back to me with some advice and pointers.”   And Kennedy apparently did with one simple thing:  “Find out what the people you know want. Then, promise them everything.”

Later, she wrote another letter, she said, to Jack, pointing out that she had won her election.  Nothing happened for a time, and then a package came.  There was a note of congratulation on her victory, and inside the package were a dozen roses.  “Everybody in town knew about it and that was something special, of course, because every female in town was in love with Jack Kennedy at the time.”

Other things happened. When I was 14, she said,  I was at a pool in town and watch people doing somersaults and I thought, that looked easy, and I could do that and I went off the board into the air like a bird and I missed the pool.  She broke her back and nearly died and did not fully recover for a long time and spent considerable time in a hospital where nurses read books about a grey rabbit and she would wake up to their faces.  “But at night, they left, and I was in a ward full of children with burn injuries, and at night, when it was dark I would hear them breathe, moan and scream. And some of them disappeared and died and for a long time I did not allow myself to remember that, about the ward at night and the screams and dying children.”

In between these forays into stories, there is the music — both disjointed and suddenly beautiful in ways hard to talk about.  It is not soothing — the mix of this particular violin and other sounds and the aggressive cello are a bit other worldly, but not necessarily warm or comforting. They are meant to be listened to carefully, because there appears to be no plan, no guided composition.

There are other stories still. One about the grave of Herman Hesse in Switzerland where she left a not entirely respectful note. A longer tale was about going to a convent where she was going to be doing a workshop of some kind, and how the nuns rarely if ever spoke, and how one night, there was a gathering, which resulted in a sentence that you might never expect  to hear in your own and whole life: “After the pizza was delivered, the mother superior began to speak.” It was a striking sentence.

Through it, the presentation, her voice, especially and the stories, inspired you to drift off into other stories and memories — not to stray far off, the stories and the words and the music and images were like jumping off points.

I thought of a lunch where Salinger was present among us. I thought of not reading Hesse, but Rilke, and not Gibran, either. I thought of high school, and how even now, when some of my classmates from the 1960s have found me on the Internet. I still see them with butch haircuts and pony tails. Then, I remembered a girl from a summer I spent working at a Howard Johnson on the Ohio Turnpike, who had thoughts of becoming a nun,  and who wrote me a letter about how in 1960 she was going to work for Nixon — and that though we disagreed, we lived in such terribly exciting times.

Towards the dark side of the sold-out evening, Anderson brought us jarringly to 2016 with another letter, this one to Donald Trump. Her voice was electronically cloaked, sounding like one of those voices you always hear on secret procedurals: $30,000 in cash at the park and no cops, except she was talking about promises and votes.

After all of this, I find myself thinking of Anderson as a great interloper and innovator, someone who hardly sleeps and is always making us think that everything she still does feels like fresh salad, unrepeated, new ingredients all the time, living in the modern world.

Can Anyone Trump Trump?
•

Here we are again.

Tomorrow is Tuesday. And you know what that means.

It’s Super Tuesday.

Wait. Didn’t we just do that? Maybe it’s Saturday and Michigan and Bernie and the Bern.

Nope. Been there and done that.

And it’s not South Carolina, or Iowa or New Hampshire, either.

Tomorrow, in German rally fashion, is Der Tag.

This is another epochal day, the day of the Last Chance Saloon. This is the day that is the last chance to stop Donald Trump, or there will be…

What?

In the age of Donald Trump, the important question to ask is not what can possibly happen tomorrow, but what hasn’t already happened.

Tomorrow is the apocalypse, the dance on the edge of the cliff. Tomorrow is Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Missouri and somewhere else.

Tomorrow is Ohio Governor John Kasich and his last stand and chance in his home state, where he is currently favored (but not by much).

Tomorrow is the last stand and chance for Marco Rubio, once the best and last hopes of the establishment, but considerably reduced. Little Marco indeed.

If Kasich and Rubio don’t win in Ohio and Florida, they are, to put it in the parlance of Donald Trump, outta here.

Tomorrow, the pundits, strategists and consultants will tell you, is the last chance of the Republican establishment to stop Donald Trump.

Fat chance.

Throughout this campaign, I’ve often thought of the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s film version of “King Lear,” which ends with a blind jester dancing precariously at the edge of a cliff.

Nothing so elegant is a part of the American political process these days. It is more akin to March Madness — and not the basketball version that is in progress and is about as tame as a bunch of kittens knitting compared to the politics that are currently being practiced.

We’ve come a long way to where we are now — and it’s not even worth talking about working class white anger, or deadlock in Washington or the erosion of jobs and all the causes thereof. We’ve come a long way since Trump opened his campaign with talk of a big wall on the Southwest border paid for by Mexico, and images of Mexican rapists streaming across the border.

These are the verbal bricks — inchoate, inarticulate but big and bombastic — from which Trump has built a presidential campaign that now threatens to be a runaway train. Some people are desperately trying to chase it and jump on like Depression-era drifters, while others are trying to sabotage it with arcane political strategies: robocalls from Mitt Romney, Rubio urging his Ohio supporters to vote for Kasich.

In the last two weeks or so, things have gotten so bad that at one time Rubio and Trump were talking about small hands and other appendages. They dug in like bulls in suits in a sandbox, and things were heard on the campaign trail that no one had ever heard before outside of “The Sopranos.”

Trump — whatever the cause, whoever the supporters — had blotted out the political sun. Could it get much worse, people were asking?

Well, yes.

We have entered the physical combat stage of the campaign, where the government may finally have to send boots on the ground. Over the weekend, a 78-year-old man sucker-punched a black man being led out of a Trump rally. In Chicago, protestors — or disruptors according to Trump, with his gift for coining new words — clashed with Trump supporters in the streets and managed to force Trump to cancel a rally. For Chicago folks with a long memory, it recalled bad memory of the riots around the 1960 Democratic convention.

Lots of other things happened, locally and nationally and around the world. There was the death of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia, which politicized the court, which is already politicized. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan passed away gracefully in her 90s amid praise and sorrow. But it was all Trump in the end.

Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric even more, while every pundit on television tried to get him to apologize or take responsibility for the increasingly violent atmosphere surrounding his rallies.

People say that he speaks out and says the things that everyone else is afraid to say, that he has found the heart of the forgotten man. But his is an oddly insulting kind of language, full of short phrases, big adjectives, violent imagery, repetition, delivered not with inspiration but with a kind of stubborn bravado. Somehow, the not-quite-self-made-billionaire who’s never had to worry a moment in his life if he’d have a job the next day, let alone a meal, has bonded with the working man who worries about this all of the time.

It’s strange times when Saturday Night Live, which usually follows or precedes primaries and debates, can, in its caricatures and outrageous imitations, seem like a documentary.

But here we are. Tomorrow is Tuesday.

Can anybody trump Trump?

It may turn out to be that only Trump can trump Trump.

A Big Snow Storm That Let Us Get Small
• February 18, 2016

Washingtonians will remember the Blizzard of 2016. It was a blizzard for the ages, as trumpeted the Washington Post whose Sunday paper came on Monday but come it did and whose weekend magazine came on Friday, and come it did—came but did not let go. 

Officially, for Washingtonians and others in the area, it ended on Jan. 23 just before midnight. The snow stopped, and we woke up the next day to sunshine and a pile of snow so high. Hardly anyone went out, and we became  stale air breathers for a time.

The storm was awesome in its fury, its tonnage and created tundras and caused us to start worrying in a serious way.  Weather folks and measurers and which doctors exulted—they had been for once right, and couldn’t wipe the smile off their faces.   This was their time—they even dressed for it. Pat Collins came out with his stick and schtick. It seemed, in spite of everything, that all was all right with the world, as best as it could be.

The storm wiped out—if not the sun—other news for the most part.  Lots of people ventured out, even though Mayor Muriel Bowser sternly told them not to.  They went to the nearest pub, whatever remained open, a restaurant, a street corner, just to see, to get bee-stung by wind-swept snow, to look at the sights, holding hands or to roll in the snow.

This past weekend was a time when the most viral sight was of a middle aged black and white bear sucking his toes as he rolled in the snow with all the delight of a cub. 

Another sure sign that while there was tragedy tonight, while cars got stuck, and people crashed into each other, and some died in a multistage catastrophe—41 feet there, 22 right in our back yards, 29 in Baltimore—there was heart-felt feeling of having once again survived.  Not everyone  or everything did—roofs collapsed, lights went out, the homeless suffered casualties as they always do, we all went to sleep not quite sure on Saturday night what we might wake up to.  

We get warped views of these things—narrow-eyed, only outside the steps, the chatter on the streaming computer, the sirens, the snow, the snow.  And so we become our own best friends, shut-ins.  We listen and watch for the round of reporters out in Virginia and Maryland, standing guard with reports at gas stations, neighborhood stores, impassable and impossible intersections, shivering, some, their long hair in tatters, others looking sharp and fashionable, trudging the roads against the odds.

We salute you guys: wouldn’t want to be you.

My son called from Anaheim, sunny Los Angeles for once, on a job setting up convention media, for a convention of rock-and-roll music instrument buyers and sellers, I think, I’m not sure. It sounded cool, you go, son.  He asked if we were okay, thinking about us and all that. We said it hasn’t stopped snowing and that it’s going to get worse. The tone of his voice was frowning—you don’t need Skype for that.

The television never went off—what a wonder, and through it, through our over-provisioning, we made piles of noodles and meatballs and a hot breakfast. The panda appeared on the screen regularly, as did the stuck truckers.  Outside on Sunday on Lanier Place, tourists—we believe—had somehow ventured onto our street and gotten stuck.  Dogs were being walked, and the little statue of Mother Mary at Joseph’s House  had been wrapped in double layers of scarves, red against the white snow.

On television, we  sectioned out on reruns: “Blue Bloods,” “SVU,” “NCIS,” “Friends” and comfort food.  

In times like these, the world almost disappears: I did not hear the word “Syria” or “Obamacare.” We become smaller.

First, the newspapers disappear for two days, an odd thing not to look for the paper in the pile of snow. The world out there disappears with it.  Oh, we can follow the doings of the British Parliament if we want, but who wants to.  The Kardashians seem to have gone off the grid, also, unless you are looking.  The Middle East is too warm, sunshine on their weapon-carrying shoulders. Putin has nothing to say.

The only people who have something to say are the politicians, the office-runners, still with us, Donald Trump with his daily output of outrageous stuff—”I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and it wouldn’t lose votes,” dissing Barbara Bush, trying to rekindle a feud with Megyn Kelly, and, of course, battling with the prince of darkness Ted Cruz.   Cruz, these days, looks a little mangled, which is the look of that old song “I fought with Trump and I think he’s winning, where the hell are my boots.”

It’s hard to let go of them and their importuning ways—the first votes to be cast will be cast just about any February day now and the procrastinators and protesters, and anti-procreators and predictors,  and rotor rooters are spinning their wheels.  What if, and if this happens, and those people go to a caucus  and another one sits on a caucus and can’t vote, why we could be looking at President Trump.  This is what the Sunday morning shows do to you.  You can’t look away, it’s the opposite of viral, some blue addiction.   Bernie and Hillary and Marco and the Donald and all those experts and reporters  following them all like rabbits.

It’s enough to make you watch old movies.   We watched “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and were surprised to remember what a fine old western and movie movie it is, a kind of homage by Clint Eastwood to John Ford, bloody, to be sure, but a kind of tall tale, too, like “True Grit” and “Little Big Man” with the steadying commentary of Chief Dan George. It seemed like every grizzled old face that had ever graced—grizzly and all—a western.  

In this atmosphere, in these times of white fallout and inundation, people running for office seem like intrusions, flies around a bone, buzzing needlessly and uselessly. 

Let the music play, help your neighbor, say hello to your neighbor, sing a song of sixpence, that’s what’s important.  In the silent night, should you wake up in the dark, remember a friend or a song, and say goodbye again. Watch the children and small dogs in the snow. Kiss your wife and the window.

Make an angel in the snow.   Watch your breath in the cold. Pray for the people along the flooding, churning Atlantic.

Drown out for a few days the noise of the chattering classes trying to drown out the sound of your breathing—those who claim they know you and what you want.

A Snowy Morning with a Tennessee Williams Woman
•

“It is so extraordinary out there,” actress Madeleine Potter said Saturday morning after walking her dog, an English springer spaniel, in the downtown area around the Lansburgh. The apartment building is her home-away-from-home while starring as Amanda Wingfield in the Ford’s Theatre production of Tennessee Williams’s “The Glass Menagerie,” running through Feb. 21. “You can’t even see the monuments. What an amazing experience!”

Along with making our city even whiter, the blizzard of 2016 caused the cancellation of last weekend’s preview performances, and perhaps others. “We shall see,” Potter said. “Everything’s in flux.”

Potter’s appearance in “The Glass Menagerie” is her first in Washington in a long time. It’s also her first embrace of a major Tennessee Williams role in a career that has notably included four appearances in films directed by James Ivory, the partner of producer Ismail Merchant in Merchant Ivory Productions, famed for lush and literary period pieces.

“It’s a challenge to be doing this, but it’s also exciting. It’s new to me,” Potter said. “To me, Tennessee Williams is one of the giants among the world’s playwrights. He writes especially haunting and strong women characters — strong in the sense that they survive the assaults of the world. I think Amanda is one of those women.” She continued: “I gather Amanda bears some close resemblance to his [Williams’s] mother, but also to him. She is after all a single mother in a time when this was rare and unusual and took even more courage to do. What’s really fascinating to me is her … insane fortitude.”

Listening to the slightly English-accented Potter — the daughter of an American diplomat and OSS officer named Philip B.K. Potter and his wife, the former Madeleine Mulqueen Daly — talk about theater, literature, her family and her life in the theater, you get the sense of a woman with a strong affinity for WiIliams’s women.

“You have a feeling for these women — Amanda, Blanche DuBois, the actress Alexandra Del Lago in ‘Sweet Bird of Youth,’ Alma from ‘Summer and Smoke,’” she said. “This is my first, but I certainly want to do more.”

Of Potter’s four Ivory films, two were based on Henry James novels: “The Bostonians” with Vanessa Redgrave, in which she played Verena Tarrant, and “The Golden Bowl.” The others were the remarkably electric and contemporary “Slaves of New York” and, in 2005, the opulent “The White Countess.” “Ivory’s work was so detailed, so rich, and working on this last film was a beautiful experience for me, because I had a chance to work with my daughter, who played my niece.”

“You may have noticed,” she paused to note, “all the women in my family are named Madeleine going way back.” This includes her daughter, Madeleine Daly.

On stage, Potter has performed both contemporary and classical roles, especially in plays by Ibsen and Shakespeare. “You approach things this way: all classical plays should be treated as if they were brand-new and all new plays should be treated as if they were classics.”

“I did work here once at the Folger,” she recalled, “a production of ‘Hamlet’ directed by Lindsay Anderson.” Suddenly it came back to me. She was Ophelia, a part often underdone or overdone, but, in her case, very affecting. A tough Post critic of the time (1985) said her Ophelia “was mad, but poignantly so.”

“It was such a pleasure to work with Lindsay, he was a genius,” she said. Anderson, who died in 1994, directed Malcolm McDowell in the highly regarded film “if….” (part of a trilogy), wrote a well-received book on John Ford and appeared in “Chariots of Fire.” His “Hamlet” worked like a house on fire by starting the play at its end, on a stage littered with bodies.

She knows that her performance in “The Glass Menagerie” will receive attention. In the world of Tennessee Williams, there haves been many Amandas, many Maggies, many Blanches. The playwright — whose birthday is March 26 and whose death will be commemorated on Feb. 25 — is enjoying a mini-vogue this spring. In addition to “The Glass Menagerie,” there’s are upcoming productions of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at Round House Theatre in Bethesda (March 30 to April 24) and “A Streetcar Named Desire” at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore (April 6 to June 12).

You can see some of the affinity on a personal level for Potter. The play is about a mother-daughter relationship, to be sure, but it’s also about the love between a brother and a sister. “I had three brothers in my family,” she said. “Phil, Paul and Alan. Paul was an actor and a brilliant designer, and he worked here for a time in the 1970s.” It’s plain from the tone of her voice that she and Paul were close. “He was a remarkably gifted artist and a wonderful brother and friend.” Paul Gerard Daly Potter passed away last year. He worked at New Playwrights and at the late Bart Whiteman’s Source Theatre on a gritty 14th Street in the 1970s.

“The thing about Tennessee Williams,” Potter said, “was he imbued every play, everything he did, with poetry. His writing was lyrical and poetic, and my hope is that we never lose this kind of poetic language, our poetry.”

And so, a snowy morning in a shut-down city becomes filled with talk about the Irish and their qualities, about dogs and occasions, scenes from a long ago “Hamlet,” hey, nanny, nanny, about family and friends and performances done, seen and held in the heart’s eye and memory. A fine morning of theater, you might say.
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Weekend Round Up January 28, 2016
• February 1, 2016

Coup Sauvage & The Snips — Foul Swoops — FRINGE MUSIC

JANUARY 28TH, 2016 AT 09:00 PM | INFO@CAPITALFRINGE.ORG | TEL: 202-737-7230 | EVENT WEBSITE

Coup Sauvage & The Snips and Foul Swoops are two of D.C.’s realest bands. Coup Sauvage brings a witty, politically radical, deeply-DC dance phenomenon while Foul Swoops serves up re-imagined, bombastic gritty rock & roll. Get with it.

Address

Capital Fringe
1358 Florida Ave NE

Beard Papa’s Finally Opens

JANUARY 29TH, 2016 AT 12:30PM | EVENT WEBSITE

Known for delicious cream puffs, Beard Papa’s became an international desserts phenomenon after opening their first location in Osaka, Japan in 1999. The much-anticipated Georgetown store, will be open 12:30-6 p.m. on Friday. Beginning on Saturday, January 30, Beard Papa’s will be fully open, operating Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Address

Beard Papa’s
1332 Wisconsin Ave NW

Spy Fest: Tradecraft Try-Its for the Whole Family

JANUARY 29TH, 2016 AT 06:00 PM | $14 | INFO@SPYMUSEUM.ORG | TEL: 202-393-7798 | EVENT WEBSITE

Could you be a spy? Now’s your chance to find out! Families are invited to find out how they measure up at the Museum s annual Spy Fest. Mini-missions, tradecraft demonstrations by the experts, and the chance to try spy skill challenges will give KidSpy agents and their handlers an insider s peek into the shadow world of spying and who knows, there just may be a spy or two in your midst.

Address

International Spy Museum
800 F Street, NW

Dine on Wine

JANUARY 29TH, 2016 AT 7:30PM | $75 | EVENTS@VIAUMBRIA.COM | TEL: 202-333-3904 | EVENT WEBSITE

Learn how to turn your favorite drinks into your favorite dishes with Chef Jodie. Part demonstration and part dining, this evening is guaranteed to be 100% fun! The event takes place on January 29 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. and includes delicious dishes such as Umbrian crostini with chicken liver pate, radicchio with vincotto and mascarpone, red wine risotto, braised lamb, dessert, and wine.

Address

Via Umbria
1525 Wisconsin Ave NW, Suite 122

Ted Alexandro

JANUARY 29TH, 2016 AT 08:00 PM | $22 | WOLFTRAP@WOLFTRAP.ORG | TEL: 703-255-1900 | EVENT WEBSITE

“Crafty, thoughtful and extremely funny” (The New York Times), don’t miss the stand-up comedian who has appeared on the late night shows of David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, and more.

Address

The Barns at Wolf Trap
1635 Trap Road

The Winter Onesie Party

JANUARY 29TH, 2016 AT 10:30PM | $10 | TEL: 617-340-8791| EVENT WEBSITE

Hit up Malmaison and put that onesie you just got to WORK. This year, The Winter Onesie Party is your chance to step out in that sexy, cozy one-piece. And we all know, everything is better in a onesie. If you do not have a onesie, not to worry. The AJ Team has partnered with a few awesome onesie companies! Below are company links and promo codes.

FUNZEE 20% off with the code “winteronesie20”

JUMPIN’ JAMMERZ 25% off with the code “Party25” (Not valid for certain premium, clearance or on sale items.)

FOREVER LAZY 25% off with the code “OnesieParty” (Applies for items over $30, and free shipping on orders over $100.)

Address

Malmaison
3401 K St NW

Gay Men’s Chorus of DC: Rock Creek Singers/Potomac Fever

JANUARY 30TH, 2016 AT 07:30 PM | $45 | WOLFTRAP@WOLFTRAP.ORG | TEL: 703-255-1900 | EVENT WEBSITE

Two vocal ensembles from “one of the world’s best male choruses” showcase their “usual impeccable musicianship [and] witty choreography” (The Washington Post) in this “fabulously fun” (Broadway World) performance—hear the WAMMIE-winning groups during their 35th anniversary season.

Address

The Barns at Wolf Trap
1635 Trap Road

Trevor Young: VOLTAGE

JANUARY 30TH, 2016 AT 11AM – 5:30PM | TEL: 202-338-5180 | [EVENT WEBSITE](http://www.addisonripleyfineart.com/exhibitions)

Come to Addison/Ripley Fine Art for VOLTAGE, Trevor Young’s first exhibition at the Georgetown gallery. And, while some of the images are, indeed, electrifying, with structures illuminated by concealed light sources, it is the stillness the artist captures best, the potential of places: an airline conveyor belt, empty of luggage, a building under construction or an aerial view of streets emptied of traffic.

Address

Addison/Ripley Fine Art
1670 Wisconsin Ave NW [gallery ids="102380,123736,123743" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetown University Renames Buildings Tied to Slavery Past
• November 30, 2015

After a Nov. 12 student demonstration on campus and a sit-in in the front of his office on Nov. 13 and 14, Georgetown University John DeGioia approved the striking of names off two main campus buildings, which held the names of Georgetown University presidents who worked on a deal in 1838 that sold 272 slaves, owned by the university.

“As a university, we are a place where conversations are convened and dialogue is encouraged, even on topics that may be difficult,” DeGioia wrote in a Nov. 14 letter to the university. “This is what we will continue to do at Georgetown. We are supportive of our students and proud of the depth of their engagement in these urgent conversations.”

Students are also demanding that the university offer more information about black history on the campus, including programs, plaques and marking where slaves were buried, set up required diversity training for professors and fund an endowment for black professors. Protestors want the professors’ fund to be equivalent in 2015 dollars to the 1838 sale of 272 slaves — roughly estimated, conservatively, at $3.25 million with the average price for a human being at $500 in 1838.

Mulledy Hall was part of the repurposed buildings for new student dormitory housing, right at the school’s Quadangle. It was named for Rev. Thomas F. Mulledy, S.J., the 17th and 22th president of Georgetown University. He was also the first president of the College of Holy Cross, which also has a building named for him. A small building built in 1792, south of the Ryan and Gervase dormitories, was named for the university’s 18th president, Rev. William McSherry, S.J., who closed the deal on the slaves, sending them from Maryland to Louisiana as abolitionist protests began to cause devaluation of the Jesuits’ plantations in Maryland.

When the closed buildings were renovated, the name of Mulledy came to light, and a student column in the Hoya decried that the building would still be named for a slave-holder. The issue grew, along with other demands by students, such as reparations by Georgetown University for the slave sale. Students and supporters used hashtags #BuiltOn272 and #GU272 to spread the news.

The name change was proposed the university’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation — a group charged by DeGioia to discuss the problem. It offered it take over the weekend: “Until a broader conversation within the community enables us to recommend a permanent renaming of these buildings, we propose to the entire community that for the remainder of the academic year we refer to the Mulledy Building as ‘Freedom Hall’ and to the McSherry Building as ‘Remembrance Hall.’

“We propose the provisional name ‘Freedom Hall’ for two reasons: first, ‘freedom’ is, quite simply, exactly what the Society of Jesus and Georgetown College chose not to offer the enslaved in the early nineteenth century. And second, the name would give recognition to the historical, global, and pervasive fight for freedom that people around the world are still engaged in and dream to realize.

“We propose the provisional name ‘Remembrance Hall’ for three reasons: first, remembering the specific persons whose involuntary servitude has unjustly enriched our university is exactly what we have failed to do. Second, remembering this history and these people is at the heart of our current undertaking. And third, remembering this history and these people is what we want to ensure for the future. In addition, we are mindful of the current purpose of ‘Remembrance Hall’ as a center for meditation and the part that meditation can play in bringing peoples together in peace.”

The group plans to hold a discussion about the issues involved on Nov. 18 and 19 and a teach-in on Dec. 1.

Tour Philadelphia Like a Local
• October 28, 2015

Yo, the next time youse come to Philly, you’ve gotta do more than see the Liberty Bell and buy a cheese steak.

Excuse the stank Philly addytude as well as the vernacular but the City of Brotherly Love has a whole lot more going on than what you see in a Rocky movie. So, while it may be fun to make like Rocky Balboa and run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, that’s only the beginning of what all there is to do here.

Begin a leisurely fall weekend with a trip to one of Philly’s newest and best attractions, the Barnes Foundation. Originally located in a Philadelphia suburb, the impressive art collection opened in downtown Philadelphia in 2012 – which was an exciting thing for fans of the eclectic collection of paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse and Picasso that once belonged to the late Dr. Albert C. Barnes. Tickets are required. You could easily spend a whole day taking it all in. But why? A whole city awaits.
Grab a late lunch on the run at the Reading Terminal Market, Philly’s famed historic farmers’ market. You’ll be dazzled by the sights and smells and have so many food choices you won’t know whether to get a freshly baked pretzel or one of the city’s famed hoagies. (The turkey hoagies with provolone cheese at Salumeria are a personal favorite.) For some Pennsylvania Dutch flavor, slide onto a counter stool at the Dutch Eating Place. Their open-faced turkey sandwich is a classic choice. You can’t go wrong with that. Same thing with the apple dumplings.

When it is time to walk off all that food, head east on Market Street in the direction of Independence Park. Skip the line for the Liberty Bell and head over to Independence Hall, the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution. You’ll need a free ticket to tour it. Afterwards, the President’s House is a short walk away and well worth it. This open-air exhibit plays tribute to Presidents George Washington and John Adams and the nine slaves who served at that house under Washington. You don’t need a ticket to walk around and imagine what it would have been like to have been owned by a man who fought the British to ensure freedom for Americans.

Since you’re already steeped in history, walk past the Betsy Ross House at Second and Arch streets. The house is open March through Nov. 30 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Cost: $5 per adult.

For dinner, the historic City Tavern, 138 S 2nd St., is a classic pick. It’s a replica of a former spot where many of the founding fathers once dined. In keeping with that historical heritage, the servers wear period clothing and you can order 18th century-esque dishes such as mallard duck sausage and colonial turkey pot pie. But this is Philly and good food is everywhere. Whether you’re talking an authentic Philly cheese steak from Jim’s Steaks on South Street (this is where I would go if I still ate cheese steaks) or one of Stephen Starr’s popular restaurants. My favorite? Continental because of the lobster mashed potatoes with red wine reduction sauce and fried calamari salad. There’s a Continental in Old City as well as Center City.

Day two in Philadelphia could start with a brisk walk around picturesque Rittenhouse Square, Philly’s most fashionable address. Think high-end stores, stately homes and condos and a peaceful, in-city park setting. Afterwards, rewards yourself with a hot cup of coffee. But skip Starbucks in favor of Philly’s own La Colombe at 130 S. 19th St. You won’t find a lot of extras there like soy milk and sandwiches, but the coffee is soul satisfying. Enjoy it there or take it with you as you stroll along Walnut Street, Philly’s ritziest retail strip. Shopping in Philadelphia is changing as big-name, major retailers such as H&M, Zara, Theory and Apple have replaced home-town stores which had been long-time staples on Walnut Street.

Since Philadelphia is known as the city of neighborhoods, make sure you take time to explore at least one.

Northern Liberties is the buzziest thanks to new development that includes a European-style piazza surrounded by cool restaurants and funky boutiques. It’s a popular space for concerts, festivals, and screenings. This past summer, Brooklyn’s famed flea market began opening at the Piazza on Saturdays. You can’t go wrong with going where the locals dine. We hang out at P.Y.T. for burgers or Darling’s Diner for an old-fashioned diner feel that’s open 24 hours.

The doors to Philadelphia’s first casino opened in 2010 and since then, SugarHouse Casino, 1001 N. Delaware Avenue, has become a fun hangout for gaming fans.
But if you’re looking for something more seasonal, catch a night-time Terror Behind the Walls Tour of the Eastern State Penitentiary. Formerly the most famous prison in the country, this time of year, it’s the top Halloween attraction in Philly. The final date for the haunted house is Nov. 9. Purchase tickets online at easternstate.org for the best deal.

End your getaway with a Sunday brunch at Green Eggs Café (there are three locations) with an order of red velvet pancakes and layered with strawberry mascarpone cheese. Yes, that’s a calorie-laden dish, but with all the walking you’ve done around Philly, you’ll have more than earned the treat [gallery ids="101515,150878" nav="thumbs"]

Weekend Round Up October 1, 2015
• October 26, 2015

Friendship Betrayed

October 1st, 2015 at 07:30 PM | Pay What You Will | wsc.tix@gmail.com | Tel: 703.418.4808 | Event Website

WCS Avant Bard presents this 17th-century play by María de Zayas y Sotomayor, which, like Sex and the City, explores what happens to female friendships while women look for and find love. Kari Ginsburg sets her production in the 1920s, a time when women were beginning to explore their sexual curiosities and passions.

Address

Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two; 2700 South Lang St., Arlington, VA

Smithsonian Craft2Wear: Show and Sale of Wearable Art

October 2nd, 2015 at 10:00 AM | $8 | austrpr@si.edu | Tel: 888.832.9554 | Event Website

Explore the top tier of American craft artistry at the Smithsonian show of wearable art.One-of-a-kind articles of clothing, jewelry and accessories will be on exhibit and for sale. Update your look, purchase unique gifts for everyone on your list, and support the Smithsonian and the National Zoo.

Address

National Building Museum; 401 F Street, NW

Eric Lotke & Kelly Ann Jacobson at the Fall For the Book Festival

October 2nd, 2015 at 10:30 AM | Free | festivalmanager@fallforthebook.org | Tel: 703-993-3986 | Event Website

Eric Lotke is an author and activist, and has followed his novel 2044: The Problem isn’t Big Brother, it’s Big Brother, Inc. with Making Manna, a modern Horatio Alger story. Kelly Ann Jacobson has written several novels, including Cairo in White. Her newest novel, The Troublemakers, has been called “a feisty, funny celebration of friendship and grown-up girl power” by author Carrie Russell. Books will be available for purchase and signing at this free event, open to the public.

Address

Sandy Spring Bank Tent, Johnson Center Plaza; George Mason University; 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030

SerbFest DC

October 2nd, 2015 at 05:00 PM | Free | Event Website

The First Annual SerbFest DC is presented by Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church and takes place on Friday, October 2 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

In its inaugural year, SerbFest DC aims to fill the void in the greater Baltimore/DC area for authentic Serbian food and culture. Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church is the epicenter for Serbian culture in DC and is proud to share ethnic cuisine, customs, and culture with the Capital!

Address

St. Luke Serbian Orthodox Church, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD 20854

New Orchestra of Washington opens 2015-16 season with Fusion

October 2nd, 2015 at 07:30 PM | $30 in advance, $35 at the door; students 13-18 $15; 12 and under free | info@neworchestraofwashington.org | Tel: 240-235-5088 | Event Website

Concert features 5 works inspired by a different contemporary style – Rock, Pop, Grunge, and Soul:

Elastic Band by Joel Friedman (World premiere reduced orch)

Rush Hour by John Mackey

Imagine:Reimagined by Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez

Soul Garden by Derek Bermel

X Concerto by Scott McAllister

Address

Georgetown University, McNeir Auditorium; 37th and O St., N.W.

Paint the Town Red

October 2nd, 2015 at 08:00 PM | $85.00 | Jesse.garchik@heart.org | Tel: 703-248-1735 | Event Website

Paint the Town Red is a special evening that will feature cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, music, dancing, and a silent auction. The event supports the mission of the American Heart Association to build healthier lives free from cardiovascular diseases and stroke — the number one killers of women and men in this country, and its work to fight the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in this country.

Address

The Whittemore House, 1526 New Hampshire Ave NW

Potomac Country House Tour

October 3rd, 2015 at 01:00 PM | $30 advance ticket sold online, $40 day-of | PCHTinfo@gmail.com | Tel: 301-365-2055 | Event Website

Four exceptional homes are featured on the House Tour, which runs from 1-4 on Oct. 3-4. The homes include Hye Land House, Villa dei Leoni, English Country Manor House, and Holiday Carriage House. Boutiques offering the latest in gifts, accessories, home décor, jewelry and art and a silent auction at St. Francis are open to the public Oct.3-4 from 11AM-5PM. All proceeds are distributed to help fund programs addressing homelessness, hunger, children and women’s issues, and elderly care.

Address

10033 River Road, Potomac, MD 20854

Sunday Serenity: Fall Yoga in the Park

October 4th, 2015 at 09:30 AM | $5 | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | Event Website

Sunday Serenity continues through the fall! Join local yoga instructor Lauren Jacobs in the East Park at Dumbarton House, which provides a serene, tree covered outdoor space, for this 60 minute all-levels vinyasa flow class that should be fun and challenging for both experienced yogis and yoga skeptics alike! Bring your own mat.

Address

2715 Q Street, NW

The Blessing of the Animals at St. John’s Georgetown, 2 p.m., Sunday

Bring your pet to the traditional Blessing of the Animals Service at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4, on the front lawn of St. John’s Church on the corner of O and Potomac Streets. (If it rains, we’ll have it inside our large parish hall.) Bring your friends, and their pets, too. We’ll also be sure to say a special prayer for those pets that we have loved, but that are no longer with us—so, bring a picture if you’d like. There will also be treats for ALL of God’s creatures—provided by Cheeky Puppy (pets) and G’Town Bites (humans and pets).

Save Sight with a Say Hello to Fall Picnic

October 4th, 2015 at 02:00 PM | 75 per person, 150 for family (2 adults and 1 child) | cbaerveldt@iefusa.org | Tel: 1-240-290-0263 ext 118 | Event Website

Help the International Eye Foundation save sight with a fall picnic at the scenic farm of Dr. & Mrs. A. Raymond Pilkerton in Potomac. Embark on a culinary adventure with Argentinean grilled specialties by The Gauchito Grill while enjoying the toe-tapping sounds of King Street Bluegrass. Make your reservation now.

Address

Dr. & Mrs. A. Raymond Pilkerton; 15111 River Road; Potomac, MD 20854

Georgetown Concert Series: “The Phantom of the Opera”

October 4th, 2015 at 06:00 PM | $30.00 each Students @ $25.00 each | Tel: 202-338-1796

Start your Halloween early with a viewing of the original 1925 silent-movie, “The Phantom of the Opera.” Internationally acclaimed organist Todd Wilson will provide a hair-raising, improvised accompaniment on the magnificent Casavant pipe organ. See Lon Chaney as the Phantom in one of the greatest thrillers of the silent era and share the excitement as we watch it on the big screen. Popcorn for kids of all ages!

Address

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Georgetown Parish; 3240 O St. NW

Special Breast Cancer Research Benefits in October

Attend this year’s Girls and Pearls, a Shuck It! Soiree, “celebrating all the Girls behind breast cancer awareness and all the Pearls behind oyster recovery”—6 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 14, Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place, 3000 K St. NW, at Washington Harbour. Mix and mingle with Mother of Pearl, Nycci Nellis of The List Are You On It and WTOP’s Foodie and the Beast, while enjoying a raw bar with fresh shucked oysters and other signature hors d’oeuvres paired with local wines, local beers, and cocktails. Twenty percent of ticket sales to benefit the Nina Hyde Center at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Cancer Center; $55 per person—www.GirlsandPearlsDC.com.

Come to Norbeck Country Club for a night of Boots & Bling on Saturday, 7 p.m., Oct. 17, in support of the Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer. 17200 Cashell Road, Rockville, Maryland; www.bremfoundation.com.

Honor the memory of Michele Conley at the 11th Annual Living in Pink Lunch—11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 23, Columbia Country Club, 7900 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase, Maryland; www.LivinginPink.com.

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Weekend Roundup October 8, 2015
• October 18, 2015

La Rosa del Azafran (Spanish light opera)

OCTOBER 9TH, 2015 AT 07:00 PM | $20 – $60 | TEATROLIRICODC@AOL.COM | TEL: (202) 360-3514 | EVENT WEBSITE
One of Spain’s lyric masterpieces, La Rosa del Azafran (The Saffron Flower) is a Spanish light opera that has all the elements to keep you on the edge of your seat: Passion, drama, gender inequalities, and two lovers trapped in a society that does not condone cross-class marriages. The music is joyful and, it also includes showstoppers, such as the aria: “No me importa que se vaya”. Performed with soloists, orchestra, chorus, and dancers.

Address

GALA Hispanic Theater; 3333 14th St NW

Ghost Tours at the National Building Museum

OCTOBER 9TH, 2015 AT 08:00 PM | $25

$22 Member | $25 Non-member. Registration required. Tours recommended for ages 10 and up.
Wander the darkened halls of the Museum’s historic home and learn its spooky stories. Join us, if you dare.

Address

401 F ST NW

Saturday Showing: “The Black Stallion”

OCTOBER 10TH, 2015 AT 01:00 PM | TEL: (540) 687-6542 | EVENT WEBSITE

We invite you to come to the library and join us in the Founder’s Room for a showing of “The Black Stallion.” After a shipwreck, young Alec befriends an Arabian stallion stranded with him on a desert island. After rescue, Alec and once-successful trainer Henry Dailey begin training the stallion to race against the fastest horses in the world. The Popcorn Monkey will be on hand selling popcorn to accompany the film. Rated G. Admission is free.

Address

National Sporting Library & Museum; 102 The Plains Road; Middleburg, VA 20117

Sunday Serenity: Fall Yoga in the Park

OCTOBER 11TH, 2015 AT 09:30 AM | $5 | EDUCATION@DUMBARTONHOUSE.ORG | TEL: 2023372288 | EVENT WEBSITE

Sunday Serenity continues through the fall! Join local yoga instructor Lauren Jacobs in the East Park at Dumbarton House, which provides a serene, tree covered outdoor space, for this 60 minute all-levels vinyasa flow class that should be fun and challenging for both experienced yogis and yoga skeptics alike! Bring your own mat.

Address

2715 Q Street, NW

Lunch & Learn with Phil Brown

OCTOBER 13TH, 2015 AT 12:30 PM | FREE | PDUBROOF@IONA.ORG | TEL: 2028959407 | EVENT WEBSITE

Our Lunch & Learn program offers guests the chance to learn from our featured artists in the Gallery at Iona. Join us at Iona for a free boxed-lunch and hear about Phil Brown’s artistic process, tour our gallery, and much more.

To learn more about Phil Brown, visit his website: http://fineturnedwood.com/

Address

4125 Albemarle Street NW

The Ann Wilson Thing

OCTOBER 13TH, 2015 AT 08:00 PM | $80 – $85 | WOLFTRAP@WOLFTRAP.ORG | TEL: 703-255-1900 | EVENT WEBSITE

In her first run of solo shows, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and lead singer of Heart presents an evening of blues, soul, and rock, plus covers from her favorite artists.

Address

The Barns at Wolf Trap; 1635 Trap Road, Vienna, VA 22182

Weekend Round Up September 24, 2015
• September 28, 2015

Side-by-Side with Gun and Dog

September 25th, 2015 at 10:00 AM | Tel: (540) 687-6542 | Event Website

Side-by-Side with Gun and Dog and the accompanying in-depth exhibition catalogue explore the quintessential relationship between man and sporting canines in eighteenth- through twentieth-century British, European, and American portraits and landscapes. This ambitious loan exhibition organized by the NSLM brings together forty-five paintings and sculpture from public and private collections.

Address

National Sporting Library & Museum; 102 The Plains Road; Middleburg, VA 20117

Friendship Betrayed

September 25th, 2015 at 07:30 PM | $35 | wsc.tix@gmail.com | Tel: 703.418.4808 | Event Website

WCS Avant Bard presents this 17th-century play by María de Zayas y Sotomayor, which, like Sex and the City, explores what happens to female friendships while women look for and find love. Kari Ginsburg sets her production in the 1920s, a time when women were beginning to explore their sexual curiosities and passions.

Address

Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two; 2700 South Lang St., Arlington, VA

DC Walk for the Animals

September 26th, 2015 at 10:00 AM | Free | events@washhumane.org | Tel: 202-735-0323 | Event Website

The event will include games for all guests with activities such as toy making, face painting, musical sit and dog pools. There will be exciting prizes as well as food trucks & a bake sale! You don’t want to miss this!

Address

The Kingsbury Center; 5000 14th St. NW

Fall Arts Festival

September 26th, 2015 at 10:00 AM | FREE | info@workhousearts.org | Tel: 703-584-2900 | Event Website

The Workhouse Arts Center, presents its inaugural national arts festival featuring 100+ artists exhibiting contemporary fine art and fine craft, jewelry and hand-crafted furniture.

The two-day outdoor festival will include work by artists from across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Enjoy free admission and parking, local gourmet food vendors, indoor and outdoor exhibition venues, local beer and wine for purchase, live music, children’s craft tent and activities.

Address

Workhouse Arts Center; 9518 Workhouse Way; Lorton, VA 22079

St. Nicholas Cathedral Bazaar

September 26th, 2015 at 11:19 AM | free | gkokhno@gmail.com | Tel: 7038019911 | Event Website

Please join us to enjoy Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, and Serbian food and a variety of Slavic folk music and dance performances. Admission is free!

After trying some blini, pirozhki, or golubsty, we invite you to try a poppy seed pastry, enjoy a folk music performance, start your Christmas shopping in our gift shop, take a Cathedral tour, and listen to Orthodox-related lectures. For families with children we also have activities for kids including face painting and crafts.

Address

3500 Massachusetts Ave. NW

Capital Streetcars: Early Mass Transit in Washington, D.C. By John DeFerrari

September 26th, 2015 at 01:00 PM | This event is free and open to the public | jerry.mccoy@dc.gov | Tel: 202) 727-0233

Washington’s first streetcars trundled down Pennsylvania Avenue during the Civil War. By the end of the century, streetcar lines crisscrossed the city, expanding it into the suburbs and defining where Washingtonians lived, worked and played. Join author John DeFerrari on a joyride through the fascinating history of streetcars in the nations capital.

Address

Peabody Room (3rd floor); Georgetown Neighborhood Library; 3260 R Street NW

Sunday Serenity: Fall Yoga in the Park

September 27th, 2015 at 09:30 AM | $5 | education@dumbartonhouse.org | Tel: 2023372288 | Event Website

Sunday Serenity continues through the fall! Join local yoga instructor Lauren Jacobs in the East Park at Dumbarton House, which provides a serene, tree covered outdoor space, for this 60 minute all-levels vinyasa flow class that should be fun and challenging for both experienced yogis and yoga skeptics alike! Bring your own mat.

Address

2715 Q Street, NW

The Wedding Ring

September 27th, 2015 at 12:00 PM | free | info@exclusivelyentertainment.com | Event Website

The Wedding Ring is a complimentary seminar designed to help engaged couples understand how to approach the entire wedding “shopping” process. Now in its second iteration, the educational seminar will be followed by a meet-and-greet with the full “ring” of speakers and vendors. Engaged couples are also invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and refreshments!

Address

The Westin Tysons Corner; 7801 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22043

Dinner with a Spy: An Evening with Jon Monett

September 29th, 2015 at 07:00 PM | $300 includes hors d’oeuvres and three-course dinner with wines. | lhicken@spymuseum.org | Tel: (202) 654-0932 | Event Website

Jon Monett served more than 26 years at the CIA in the Office of Technical Services as a technical operations specialist and ultimately becoming responsible for managing the CIA’s technical activity worldwide. At this gathering, International Spy Museum Executive Director Peter Earnest will lead a conversation with Monett about the technological advances in intelligence operations and more. You will be one of only twelve guests at nopa Kitchen+Bar for this three-course dinner.

Address

noPa Kitchen+Bar/International Spy Museum; 800 F Street, NW