Prologue Theatre: A Mirror

The Program was for the fake wedding complete
with a guest gift bag!

There is a lot of new theatre out there, and honestly, I tend to give most of it somewhere between a B- and C-.  It's derivative.  It's cliche.  It's formulaic.  It's idiosyncratic to the point that its message is irrelevant.  The characters are flat.  So you sit through a story and when it's over there's not that much left to ponder, except perhaps why did I pay to give up two hours experiencing this.  It's a little bit like fishing.  Sometimes you catch a really great fish, but often you don't and still you can appreciate all the incidentals, right?  There's the river, the fresh air, your friend/s, the warm sun, the cool breeze, etc.  So even if a play's plot is not so great, you can appreciate the sets, costumes, props, light & sound, the actors who bring their A-games even to C- scripts.  So that's why I rarely find myself regretting going to the theatre.

And then there are those other times.  The time you bring in the most magnificent Rainbow Trout the Au Sable River has ever given up, and your dad is so proud of you, and later the old girl as fresh as new mown grass roasts over an open fire and flakes off the bone like manna from Heaven.  "A Mirror" by Sam Holcroft is like that trout.  Premiered in London in 2023, it's a relatively new work that is both sharp in its intentions, but soft enough to allow for some atypical character development.  

Prologue Theatre has been around now for about 10 years.  It is the lovechild of Jason Tamborini, who directed this production.  The intention of Prologue is to create interactive post-production experiences in which ideas can be discussed.  To this end, every show comes with an online forum.  "A Mirror" tells the story of a playwright trapped in a totalitarian society who is forced to stage his plays in clandestine ways.  So you enter the "theatre" which is decked out like a church chapel (and which is literally staged in modestly sized storage space on the backside of a CVS drugstore anchored mini-strip mall of just three business.  Parking is in the rear as is the entrance.  It is the most intimate of theatre spaces, perhaps in all of the DMV.  Previously they have found room in the schedule of the Atlas Performing Arts Center in DC, and the very first production I ever saw with in the recital space of a converted circa 1930's movie theatre on Georgia Avenue, NW!  And that's when I knew it was love at first sight!

While this little company might seem inconsequential in the big sea that is the DMV theatre scene--it always manages to punch above its weight.  And nothing proves this more than the fact the Maboud Ebrahimzadeh held the leading role of Celik.  Maboud is one of the most amazing actors I have ever seen, and I've seen him in over a dozen shows.  To experience his talent in such a small and close-up space is a gift I would have paid for under any circumstances.  And he's so good, that I cannot help but believe his performance raise the other's work around him.  And I don't mean to be undermining the role of Jason Tamborini as director.  There's just something magical that can happen when the chemistry is right.  And to that end the rest of the primary cast: Jordan Brown, Lily Burka and Shaan Sharma were pitch perfect.  Here's the ticker--this was a two and half hour production that never lost my attention, if at times pushed the boundaries of my apprehension as I aloud the ideas to sink in and join an internal dialogue around the issues of censorship, honesty, courage and survival.  

On stage through May 18th.  Honestly, go.  This is the sort of opportunity that doesn't come along very often.

My Favorite LEGO sets: The Postcard Series

 While I think some of them could have been more thoughtfully designed (I'm looking at you, Australia), on the whole they are a clever and fun series of sets, that are also affordable by LEGO standards.

CHINA

AUSTRALIA

GERMANY

UNITED STATES

FRANCE

ITALY

JAPAN

UNITED KINGDOM

Dinner: Tuna Melt and Salad tossed with a French Vinaigrette

 

Hawkweed! Glorious Springtime Guest!

 

1st Stage: Young Americans

"Young Americans" by playwright Lauren Yee was my opportunity to see something other than her most celebrated work, an autobiographical comedic look at her immigrant father and his quirky ways which eventually led to political corruption called "King of the Yees".   It's actually been produced thrice in the DMV in the past decade, so what else has she done?  "Young Americans" is my first answer to this question.

It is a story told in split-screen (er, split-stage?) about a Haitian immigrant, Joe who 20 years after meeting his future wife at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC and driving her cross country to his home in Portland, Oregon attempts to recreate the experience with adult daughter after her return from a year spent studying overseas in India.  Some key notes.  1) Joe's marriage to Jenny was arranged through friends in Haiti and the road trip was the first time either had said much more than hello to one another.  2) Joe wants children; however, Jenny is barren.  3) Lucy, their daughter is adopted through a foreign adoption agency from an orphanage in India.  4) Jenny has left Joe some years prior to his staging of the re-enactment of the road trip with his daughter; although, they remain married.  That pitch alone sounds both rich with possibility and challenge.  

Structurally, I LOVE a play like this.  Intriguing characters, but not too crazy, with a structure that bubbles over with potential.  In execution, Yee created a compelling and delightful story with awkwardness, genuine humor, vulnerability, resilience, poignancy, and love.  The actors grabbed the script by the horns and ran with it, each embodying a character whose moments seem to endlessly rise with each scene.  

The set was conceptually interesting and functional for the needs of the production.  It was also enhanced greatly by the accompaniment of lighting and technical effects.  However, it was not up to the standards of the company.  It's construction felt haphazard and cheap.  This was especially noticeable in the wake of the set for the previous production which must have just broke the bank wide open.

Staged in 90 minutes with no intermission, I kind of planned my day around this.  It's a sign of my approaching "curmudgeon-ly-ness" that when such an expectation is upended, it bothers me.  The show was supposed to start at 2:00.  At 2:05, the stage manager came before the audience and said, "Due to a minor technical problem, the start of today's production is going to be delayed.  But I promise it will start by 2:20.  If you have any problems with this, please see me at the counter in the lobby so we can make amends."  Okay, kicks back my afternoon a little, but its "technical," so what can you do?  Then 2:20 came and passed.  Around 2:30 two young women entered the theater and took seats in the middle of the room.  It's a small room--you can't sneak in.  No sooner were they seated than the stage manager reappeared and ran her spiel about cell phones, bathrooms, etc and the show began.  

There is a standard procedure around seating and the start of shows.  You can hold the curtain for up to 5 minutes, but after that, late comers stand in the back and are seated between scenes.  Now, if these young women were relatives of the Author, or associated with a local embassy, then just tell us.  But don't call their inconvenient arrival a "technical problem".  Everyone saw exactly what happened.  There was a time when I was stuck on the beltway because of an accident and realized that I would be at best 20 minutes late, so I called from my car to let them know my situation and that would be unable to attend.  The person on the phone didn't say, "Oh, no!  We'll make up a story about technical problems and hold the curtain for you.  Please, come."   

I'm sure if they would have said, "We apologize.  We have some special guests attending this performance and they have been delayed so we are going to hold the curtain for 15-20 minutes until they arrive.  People would have been understanding--Hell, we'd probably applauded to welcome their arrival.  

The moment Jenny (Jasmine Joy Brooks) realized that Portland is in Oregon and NOT Maine while Joe (Shawn Sebastian Naar) Blissfully drives them west!

Joe and his daughter, Lucy (Surasree Das) setting out from DC on the same trip 20 years later.

Jenny & Joes first night "together".

Father and Daughter discovering a new understanding in their parent/child relationship.

Breakfast: French Toast & Fried Apple wedges with Maple Syrup

 

My favorite Lego Sets: The Kingfisher

COMMON KINGFISHER, Alcedo atthis

 I love this little set.  I love birds.  A few years ago Lego did a series of the three birds that were lovely (I have them) and then published a book on how to construct life-like birds from Lego.  I also have it.  

When this set came out I was thrilled by its design.  Placed in a naturalistic setting on a simple, but elegant base.  I hoped it was the first in what would become a series.  Alas, it appears to be a one off.  But what a lovely one, eh?

You can also adjust the head (and to a lesser extent, the wings)