Dinner: One-Pan Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with New Potatoes ans Sweet Peppers

 Rice optional...

Dinner: Pecchia with Bolognese Sauce

 

New District Judge: Colorado

 

Gordon Gallagher is the 4th Biden Judge to be confirmed to the District Court of Colorado.  With another nominee in the wings, Biden will have placed 5 of the 7 judges on the Colorado Court.  A legacy District.  Others include, the Districts of New Jersey, Maryland, Western Washington, Eastern Washington, Puerto Rico, Southern California, Eastern California, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, Eastern New York, Massachusetts, and Northern Ohio.  With over 100 confirmations, other districts have also been well impacted.

The rub is this: Most of these Districts can have new judges because they are in states with two Democratic Senators.  There is no reason Constitutionally that this is a requirement.  It's a part of the Senates traditions.  Once such traditions inhibited the confirmation of all Federal Judges.  The first to fall back upon the actual Constitution was the Supreme Court.  Next, the Republicans pealed back the requirement under former Leader McConnell of Kentucky for Appeals Court Judges.  Then under president Trump, Senator McConnell flooded the courts with ideologues.

The last level are the District Courts.

In the first two years of the Biden, Republican held state Senatorial members found some compromise.  The Iowa Senators approved a judge for the Southern Iowa District.  The one Republican Senator from Ohio and the one Republican Senator from Pennsylvania approved 3 judges in Northern Ohio, 1 judge in Southern Ohio, 1 judge in Northern Mississippi, and 3 judges in Eastern Pennsylvania.  This still left dozens of seats open with no hope of being filled.

In one stunning reversal, the Republican Senator of Wisconsin approved a nominee only to reverse himself and totally block the confirmation of the same candidate.

This lead the Leader of Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Dick Durban of Illinois to threaten to end the charade altogether.  To finally, end the "gentlemen's agreement" about consent that is NOT in the Constitution.  The demand was that Republican Senators step, and be reasonable.

Since then, a nominee has been identified to fill a vacant seat in Idaho.  Another has just been identified for one of the two open seats in Eastern Louisiana.  Drops in a bucket.  Not to allow the Constitution to work as is was intended, perpetuates the present growing and destructive dichotomy of ideology that is dividing our cohesion and a nation.

Effected seats include:

1 in Northern Alabama

1 in Middle Alabama

1 in Alaska

1 in Western Arkansas

3 in Middle Florida

3 in Southern Florida

1 in Southern Indiana

2 in Northern Indiana

1 in Eastern Kentucky

1 in Eastern Louisiana

2 in Western Louisiana

1 in Western Missouri

3 in Eastern Missouri

1 in Montana

1 in Nebraska

1 in Western North Carolina

2 in Northern Oklahoma

1 in South Carolina

2 in South Dakota

1 in Western Tennessee

3 in Southern Texas

4 in Western Texas

1 in Utah

1 in Eastern Wisconsin

I in Wyoming

40 Federal Judicial Seats where moderate to progressive judges could help to counter balance the hard right turn of recent Trump appointees.  I vote, go for it.

Dinner: Chicken Manchuria over Pappardella

 

Spring: Daffodils and Their Cousins

 

Baltimore Center Stage: Tiny Beautiful Things

The very first thing that needs to be said about "Tiny Beautiful Things" is that they are far from small.  Their beauty is likewise enormous.

"Tiny Beautiful Things" is a play that was adapted from the book by Cheryl Strayed, by Nia Vardalos of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fame.  Like the movie, Vardalos used the play as a vehicle for own talents originating the role of Sugar.  Which is perfectly fine when the results are as amazing as this.  In a nutshell, it is the story of the Sugar who complains about the bad advice being offered by someone named Sugar on an advice blog.  Her act of honesty finds her inheriting the mantle and the nom de plume that goes with it.  Without a stitch of experience she begins to read the quires of anxious readers and respond.  As she grows into the role, her advice takes on the form of using experiences in her own life to demonstrate the grace and power, nay resilience, that human beings are capable of growing into.  It is becomes a journey for her, too.  One in which she ultimately realizes her own healing.  This is a brilliant play.  This is the kind of play that I would take others to see in a heartbeat.  And I would hope against hope that the actors would be a gifted as this cast.

The structure places Sugar (Erika Rose) front and center on stage for the entire 90 minutes.  I try hard not to associate actors with other actors, but in this case, it was impossible not to see one of my favorite, one of the most iconic TV actors in my lifetime, S. Epatha Merkerson (her 90's/00's self) in the portrayal of Sugar by Erika.  This isn't to say that she was creating in any way a caricature of Lt. Anita Van Buren, instead, what I'm trying to convey is that she was that stunningly authentic of a performance.  I stood in ovation at the end, but what I wanted to do was hug her.  

The rest of the for person cast dipped in and out alone, in duos and at times all together to play the rolls of the "letter writers."  Two men and a transsexual person, the roles they inhabited were all across the gender spectrum without regard to there own.  It was a tour de force tapestry woven by three master actors.  Two of whom I have seen a few times before, and one who was a revelation to me.  Of the three I want to elevate Caro Dubberly.  They are one of the most fearless, committed, talented actors I have seen perform in the DMV.  In one soliloquy, they took on the persona of a transgender man who told the story of being rejected by his parents, having created a life apart full of joy and contentment, and then being contacted 20 years later by his parents asking for forgiveness.  What should he do?  Sugar's advice was so profound and gracious...  omg, I'm crying again just thinking about it.  

And this is the nature of this play.  It pries open doors to secret rooms and floods them with light.  Exposing all the shit while somehow offering a way to plant a garden.  What actor in the right mind wouldn't jump at the chance to swim in this ocean.

While the stage setting seemed simple (just as the lights dimmed and the buzz in the audience hushed, a patron sitting across the aisle to my right said, "It's not much a set, is it?") at first glance, from the first moment it proved to be an amazing mixture of design concept and lighting that engaged everyone in an instant (even the old bird on my right!)  Kudos to Scenic Designer Sim Carpenter, and Lighting Designer Sherrice Mojgani--and ALL of the carpenters and electricians and artists who brought those designs to life.

Earlier this year, NPR featured BCS in one of its regional theatre state of the art post pandemic series.  The point of the BCS' segment was to 1) highlight its commitment to paying actors, designers, crews not just a fair wage, but a competitive one, 2) the sacrifice that this has created (they've cut back their season to just 3 productions, and 3) the slow return of audiences.  The segment was produced back in the October.  On this Saturday afternoon in March, the theatre was 85-90% sold out.  From my limited experience with the BCS, that's as good as any pre-covid production I attended, and, in fact, better than most.

As fate would have it, I sat next to a gentleman who had come from Annapolis to see the show--a similar trek to mine.  When I ask, he answered that he was a season ticket holder, and had been for over a decade.  He told me that he annually attends about 30 shows a year (60-70% of my current pace...he he he).  When I asked him why BCS, he replied, "Because I can see new works here, that aren't staged anywhere else.  I really enjoy seeing new plays."  

I do too--especially, when they are this well done!

Sugar (Erika Rose) offering advice

Sugar with the letter writers, L-R: KenYatta Rogers, Caro Dubberly, and Evan Andrew Horowitz

Rogers, Rose, Dubberly and Horowitz

Cymbeline Blooms Again!

I've owned Cymbeline now for nearly 30 years.  This is the third year in a row she's bloomed.  The smallest offering.  There have long stretches when she hasn't bloomed--up to 10 years!  
 

My Little Zoo: American Black Bear

 

Dinner: Yukon Gold Potato and Kale Casserole

 

Dinner: Greek Lemony Chicken, Potato and Spinach Soup

 

1st Stage: How The Light Gets In

What do you get when you toss together, 1) A divorced travel writer who never travels and is about to discover that she has breast cancer, 2) A young tattoo artists who uses his art to save others, and in the end loses his brother to a drug overdose (the person he most wanted to save), 3) A teenage girl who lives beneath an oak tree in a Japanese garden having fled a home where she was sexually abused, and 4) a renowned Japanese architect who's creative muse died ten years ago along with his young bride?  

You might think a helluva depressing play.  But you'd be completely wrong.  "How the Light Gets In" is smart and sad, and written with a lot of tender care.  It's also funny, it finds the humor in the darkness.  It's redemptive, it demands of its characters more than they realized they were able to give.  And it ends on note of hope.  Not a grand display of fireworks and an epic poem, but a soft landing, a paper crane floating on a pond, a haiku.  

Three of the cast members were familiar to me.  Two from shows earlier in the season, Jacob Yeh played the sheriff's deputy in "The Rainmaker," and he is in the role of Haruki Sakamoto, the architect from Tokyo who has been commissioned to design a tea house for the Japanese Garden, and is haunted by the sorrow of wife's death from breast cancer 10 years before.  Joel Ashur just weeks ago was featured in Mosaic Theatre's "Bars and Measures".  Now he is Tommy Z tattoo artist with a heart big enough for all of the wounded people he seeks to help, but not big enough to comprehend the death of his brother. Both actors were wonderful in their roles, however, the greater accolades go the women.

The program stated that Madeleine Regina was making her professional acting debut with this role, and you could have fooled me.  She was a joy to watch inhabit the world of this broken teen as slowly she found her way into the lives of people she could trust.  She brought everything to the role and it was as much the way she told Kat's story with her body as it was the way she owned the playwright's dialogue.  Finally, Tonya Beckman as Grace Wheeler was simply perfect.  From the moment she entered the stage, I didn't see an actor, I saw Grace Wheeler.  I was compelled to laugh with Grace Wheeler, to stress with Grace Wheeler, and to weep with Grace Wheeler.  Thinking back on everything I've seen this season, I honestly believe this performance is worth a Helen Hayes nomination (the local version of the Tony's).  

The other stand-out aspect of this production was the amazing set designed by Kathryn Kawecki.  She brings to life a Japanese Garden with elements that easily become a tattoo parlor, a hospital waiting room, Grace's apartment, a freeway overpass, without moving a single pebble or blade of grass.  The meandering pond is filled with water.  Water to float a paper boat on.  Water to wade in on your way to a brighter future.

This is a play that I honestly am tempted to go back and see again.  It is extended through March 26.  If you live in the DMV, seriously consider going.  I promise you won't regret it.

Kat Lane (Madeleine Regina) watching the world from a safe distance.

Grace Wheeler (Tonya Beckman) and Haruki Sakamoto (Jacob Yeh) meeting in the Japanese Garden, where Grace volunteers as a docent.

Tommy Z (Joel Ashur)

Shakespeare Theatre Company: King Lear

First up a confession: I've never seen nor read King Lear.  It's so ubiquitous within the cannon of Shakespeare's works that it's easy to feel like you know the story anyways.  While I sort of did, I also sort of didn't.

Can I say that of all of the Shakespearean tragedies that I've seen, setting aside Romeo & Juliet because it's just in a league of its own.  I like King Lear best (or second best) of all!  (I've scene all of the major ones now with the exception of Othello.)  I came expecting a play about the betrayal of scheming daughters and the unraveling of a foolish old king--and I got that; but what I also got which was just as powerful is the betrayal of one brother over another!  The story line of the relationship between Edgar and Edmund and their father, Gloucester was just as compelling.  In fact, I was surprised by the lack of stage time given to the daughters.  None of them really have roles that are anything but predictable and, well, flat.  The juicy stuff goes to King Lear, Edgar and Gloucester, and to a lesser extent Edmund.  

The cast was made up of many fine actors and a few mediocre ones.  I wasn't overly impressed with any of the actors playing the daughters, but all where fine, none detracted from the production.  Of the women in the cast, one did stand out, Shirine Babb in the role of Kent.  Banish in the first moments, only to return in disguise and do her best to protect her beloved king.  She was quick and embodied the character invisibly.  Craig Wallace, a member of the regional theatre community royalty, played a wonderful Gloucester, and Matthew J. Harris' take on his estranged son, Edgar, was nothing short of compelling.  The final scene of the first half has Edgar in the guise of Tom leading his blinded father off toward the cliff's of Dover to commit suicide having had his eyes gouged out by Cornwall and Regan, and realizing that he had placed his faith in the wrong son.  It was such an overwhelmingly tender moment that I cried--and I was NOT alone.  

All of this aside, the show ultimately belonged to Patrick Page.  Most recently having played Hades in the musical Hadestown to universal acclaim, he brought his A-game to the role of Lear.  There was never a moment when he wasn't the epitome of the tragic king.  I don't know what words I can use to extol his portrayal of this iconic role.  He was funny and fierce, flamboyant in his esprit de corps, and fragile in his growing feeble-mindedness.  I'm still feeling something electric inside my chest just thinking about it.  As my first Lear, it's hard to imagine that I'll ever discover a better Lear.

The stage started out in the hanger of an airport.  A versatile set of flats that move in and out and back and forth to transform along with quickly switched in and out furniture pieces into a hand full of other settings.  At one point a downed wingless four passenger plane slid onto stage to form the place of shelter King Lear and his comrades sought shelter in from the stormy night of betrayal by Goneril, Regan and Cornwall. Lighting and projections were used to great effect throughout.  The costumes were fine.  I don't know who to give credit to for Gloucester's "eyes," but whoever made them and whatever they were made of--bravo!  Torn from Gloucester's face in a blood bath and then thrown upon the ground only to be stomp upon by Cornwall obliterating them into gooey-looking drop-sized projectiles flung all across the stage--Shakespeare would have been delighted by the realism and gore.

King Lear continues through April 8th, plenty of time to see it before it's gone.  It's being performed at STC's smaller venue, the Klein Theater (formerly the Landsburg); and today's matinee performance was sold out--SRO.

Patrick Page as King Lear

King Lear with his Fool (Michael Milligan)

His daughters [L-R]: Cordelia (Lily Santiago), Regan (Stephanie Jean Lane), and Goneril (Rosa Gilmore)

Lear on the lamb with [L-R]: Edgar (Matthew J. Harris), his Fool, Lear, and Kent (Shirirne Babb)

The fugitives rousted from their slumber: Kent, the Fool, Lear and Edgar

Gloucester (Craig Wallace) and the doctor (Bekah Zornosa) attending to a wounded Edmund (Julian Elijah Martinez)

Sweet & Sour Thick-cut Boneless Pork Chop with Rice

 

Two Ingredient Cookies + Currants!