Life in a Northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. B.M.A.T.C., and Etruscan typewriter erasers. Blogged by David Gorsline.
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M. Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang, directed by Tazewell Thompson, Arena Stage Fichandler Theater, Washington
David Henry Hwang's remix of the story of Pinkerton and Butterfly as a naughty tale of the French diplomat Gallimard and the performer Song Liling whom he takes for a woman and his mistress is auspiciously staged in Washington 100 years after the premiere of Puccini's opera. J. Hiroyuki Liao impresses as Song, especially in the sections that recreate dances from the Kabuki and Peking opera tradition. It's a treat for us to watch, between the second and third acts, his transformation onstage to the jazz-inflected accuser of Gallimard, who is on trial for passing state secrets to his lover. If Liao does not entirely convince as a woman, the greater fault is Hwang's and director Thompson's, who never quite give us a reason to understand why the diplomat has betrayed his country. The 1988 script gets added resonance from current events when the French, failures in Indo-China, express dismay at American arrogance. Arena Stage production values are maintained by Donald Eastman's set, which rains white, then blood red, flower petals at key junctures. If you're sitting the front two rows, expect to take some tissue paper souvenirs home with you. posted: 7:42:58 PM |
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Leta and I took the duck boat tour of D.C. earlier this summer. The operation is kinda corny: the driver/captain plays a snippet of the "Gilligan's Island" theme, things like that. And it's expensive for what you get: a drive down Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, a noisy roar down the G. W. Parkway, a 10-minute splash in the Potomac, and a return trip along the Independence Avenue side of the Mall. But it's designed for Visitors to Our Nation's Capital, and everyone seems to have a good time. It looks like these things are all over the country. I'm seeing hits for tours in Boston; Plymouth, Mass.; Seattle; and Wisconsin Dells. (Don't show Leta this story.) It looks like an operator is set to bring the amphibious craft to New York streets. And Dale Keiger's seen them in Baltimore.
The guide had handed out duck calls to everyone on board—the tour company has ducks in its logo—and asked everyone to first make duck calls out the left side of the vehicle, then out the right. "And they all did it," my wife said. "Every one of them, just because this guy told them to." "Explains why so many people vote Republican," I replied.
posted: 6:08:17 PM |
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The autumn leaves are beginning to color up here on the coastal plain. The Foliage Network reports that color is more advanced along the Blue Ridge. Hmm... day trip to Shenandoah National Park, in maybe two weeks, when Leta is out of town? posted: 10:17:29 AM |
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