Arts & Entertainment Summer 2024

Pages 12-20

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Legally Blonde:’ Delights at Marshall High School

by Mark Dreisonstok

George C. Marshall High School Statesmen Theatre is currently presenting “Legally Blonde: The Musical!” Based on the popular Reese Witherspoon film of a similar name, the story follows the adventures of Elle Woods. Elle, a blonde sorority queen, is discarded by her ambitious boyfriend on the grounds that she would not be a suitable mate for one such as he, an aspiring law student and future politician. Naïve but determined, Elle passes the LSAT and enters Harvard Law School in order to win back her boyfriend. Yet she begins the process of self-discovery along the way.

The Marshall High School production successfully recreates the humor that made the movie a success, capturing Elle’s iconic quirks: pink outfits, her small dog Bruiser, and her single-minded desire to follow her ex-boyfriend for the sake of love.

Sophia Welch, the lead in last year’s Marshall High School production of “Xanadu,” is especially good, playing Elle with exuberance in both word and song. This is manifested in her songs “Omigod You Guys” as well as “Serious,” the latter in duet with Keegan Rhyu as her soon-to-be former boyfriend, Werner. “The Harvard Variations” is a catchy tune performed well by Aaron (Hong-An Pho), Sundeep (Shahrad Valizadeh), Enid (Zoe Mazur), and the Harvard Ensemble. “Blood in the Water” (comparing lawyers to sharks!) is performed in a more 1940s-style by Omar Falki, who plays Professor Callahan; this reviewer found his statement of “Read your Thomas Hobbes!” to be particularly amusing. “Bend and Snap,” by the Salon Ensemble, is

also a fun musical number.

The color pink almost becomes a character as well. The sets are executed in shades of pink, including staircases, windows, and even a dressing room in Elle’s favorite color. More broadly, the sets are excellent; a dinner scene at a restaurant is very effective in underscoring the romance of the piece. Set painters Han Nguyen, Angelica Capito, Izel Alaydrus, Lily Lin, and Jessica Luo come in for high praise, in addition to the set construction crew composed of the sixth- and eighth-period theater tech classes. Ahmad Matty’s choreography of the student dancers is very enthusiastic, particularly in “Omigod You Guys” which opens the show.

The production also marks a bittersweet moment for the director, Bernie DeLeo. Mr. DeLeo is famous for his innovative and thought-provoking productions at Marshall; “Legally Blonde” will be his swan song at George Marshall. He tells the Falls Church News-Press: “For the past three years, I’ve done shows the kids had never heard of (‘Working,’ ‘A Year with Frog and Toad,’ and ‘Xanadu’), and they really lobbied me hard to do something they had heard of.” Happily, “Legally Bonde” is not only wellknown, but also a sure crowd pleaser with its humor and its story of a person who exceeds the expectations of those who surround her.

This Marshall High School Statesmen Theatre production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical!” runs through May 4, 2024, at George C. Marshall High School, 7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 22043. For more information, please visit: statesmentheatre.org

Sophia Welch in Elle Woods pink, with other aspiring lawyers. (Photo: Bill DeVinney )

by Mark Dreisonstok

The Spotlight Theatre Company at Falls Church High School is currently presenting an impressively loyal production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night Dream” with students reciting what seems to be nearly every line of the play.

By this full airing of the comedy, the four plots of this intricate play are given full justice. There is the love narrative between Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius, which results in a debacle through the inadvertent mischief of the prancing Puck, who casts a floral medicinal spell on the wrong lover’s eye—a demonstration of Shakespeare’s line from the play that “the course of true love never did run smooth.” The second plot takes us to the world of the fairies, involving a conflict between King Oberon and Queen Titania over the possession of the “changeling child.” Then there is Nick Bottom, the overly zealous actor in a group of rustic performers and the only mortal who breeches into the world of the supernatural, unwittingly becoming part of King Oberon’s scheme to distract

Night’s Dream’ Enchants Crowd at FCHS

Titania. There is a final plot which involves a play-within-a-play: a comic performance of the tragedy of “Pyramus and Thisbe” from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses.”

Director Beth De Marco, who incorporates a Shakespeare play into her “Theatre 1” curriculum every year, is to be highly praised for guiding student actors into the world of Shakespearean classics. “I think students can digest the language quite easily,” says director De Marco, as the student actors show a solid grasp of the Shakespearean language by bringing out the physical humor of the work to match the spoken lines. She also notes of student performers’ reactions to preparing for the play: “Students really related to ‘Midsummer’s’ themes of what happens when parents (and others) meddle in their relationships.”

Alejandro Espinoza Leiva, who plays the rustic “actor” Snout, feels like “speaking the original language deepens your character.” He also feels like Shakespeare is “easier to understand when it’s read or performed aloud.” Stage manager Ali Lieberman comments that “Shakespeare’s language gets the actors more immersed in the story,

as opposed to our modern-day language that loses something in the translation.”

Though the production is loyal to the original work, the production nonetheless adds its own interpretation to one scene in particular: “We staged a scene at the beginning of the play to show Oberon’s jealousy of Titania’s attention to the changeling child. We also embraced the challenge of the text when Theseus says to Hippolyta ‘I won thee doing thee injuries’ by staging a battle scene where the Amazons take over Theseus’ army and the two fall in love while admiring each other’s skill.” The chaos between the lovers was enacted excellently by Penny Mollen (who plays Hermia), Max Purtill (who plays Lysander), Lam Vu (who plays Demetrius), and Sasha Wendell (who plays Helena). Actress Dara Kearney as Titania, Queen of the Fairies, brings her lines to life nicely, and Ellie Whitfield is lively and entertaining as the mischievous Puck.

The beautiful sets create the idyllic midsummer atmosphere with a rotating set of garden arches embellished with floral green nature, a large mushroom, and the “beams of

the watery moon” displayed in the background. Speaking of water, parent volunteer Carrie Wendell notes an especially fun part of the production: “The students have constructed an actual (filled) pond for the stage for Helena to be pushed into!” Costumes are outstanding period costumes, mostly suggesting Elizabethan fashion. Roller-skating fairies and winged butterflies imbued the production with both modern and classical/romantic elements.

“Perchance you wonder at this show,” to quote Shakespeare, the play is being performed on May 2 at 7:00 p.m., May 4 at 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., and May 5 at 3:00 p.m. — sure entertainment for those looking for a beginning to a “glimmering light” summer atmosphere with the added realm of “elf and fairy sprite.” For further information, please visit: Spotlight Theatre Company (fchsdrama.org)

LEFT TO RIGHT: Lam Vu as Demetrius, Sasha Wendell as Helena, Penny Mollen as Hermia, and Max Purtill as Lysander. (Photo: Christine Child)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

2024 Summer Events Roundup

Flora and Fauna: Thriving or Threatened

4/20- 6/9

Falls Church Arts Gallery

700-B W. Broad St. Falls Church, VA

fallschurcharts.org

Tues-Fri

11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Sat-Sun

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

An all-media exhibit, “Flora and Fauna: Thriving or Threatened” features works that celebrate the beauty and diversity of the natural world, or explore the challenges it faces.

Friday Morning Music Club: Avanti Orchestra

5/4

Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center 7995 Georgia Ave. Silver Spring, MD fmmc.org

7:30 p.m.

Conductor Chi-Yuan Lin and cellist Brannon Cho will perform Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major. In addition, Avanti will play Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and the rhythmic masterpiece Strum by recent Grammy-winning composer Jessie Montgomery.

Around the World Embassy Tour

5/4

Participating Embassies Throughout Washington, DC tinyurl.com/FCNP0524et

10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Over 60 embassies in D.C. open to the public for this annual event, now in its 17th year. Participants can travel the world as they experience the food, art, dance, fashion, and music of different countries. For a list of participating embassies, visit tinyurl.com/FCNP0524et.

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ

Festival 5/11

Prince William County Fairgrounds 10624 Dumfries Rd. Mannassas, VA tinyurl.com/FCNP0524bb

2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

This affair will offer up all those pleasures that true Southerners live by: Beer, Bourbon, Barbecue, Boots, Bacon, Biscuits, Bluegrass, and smoked Beasts! Enjoy a great day of beer sippin’, bourbon tastin’, music listenin’, cigar smokin’ and barbecue eatin’.

Pinewood Derby 5/16

Harvey’s 513 W Broad St STE 130, Falls Church, VA 22046 harveysva.com

5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Join Harvey’s for a fun evening of Pinewood Derby races. $10 entry fee to compete. Bring your own car (any modifications allowed as long as it fits on the track), or purchase a car kit from Harvey’s now through May 10. Free to attend. Entry fee and 10 percent of day’s sales benefits the Village Preservation & Improvement Society.

The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin

5/16 - 6/9

Creative Cauldron

410 S. Maple Ave. #116 Falls Church, VA creativecauldron.org

In a humorous and pointed coming-of-age story spanning the sixties through the nineties, Viveca Stantona a black girl from sunny Southern California blithely sails through the confusing worlds of racism, sexism and Broadway showbiz until she’s forced to face the devastating effect self-denial has had on her life.

2024 Summer Events Roundup

Vienna 100 Church St. NW Vienna, VA

vivavienna.org

10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church 3149 Glen Carlyn Rd. Falls Church VA tinyurl.com/FCNP0424sk

11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

ViVa! Vienna! celebrates the unity and strength of the Vienna community and honors Memorial day. With artisan booths, retail vendors, groups and organizations, food vendors, rides, live entertainment, and more. St. Katherine’s Greek Festival 5/31- 6/2

Studios at 307

307 E. Annandale Rd.

studiosat307.com

11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Save the date! Art for sale. Shop local artists including Dave Curtis, Stuart Hindle, Amanda Wood, and Maureen Minard. Open to the public.

The St. Katherine’s Greek Festival is back, with homemade Greek food and pastries, authentic Greek dancing, and live Greek music. Free to attend. Sunday hours 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Open Studio & Summer Market 6/1

Tinner Hill Music Festival

6/8

Cherry Hill Park 312 Park Ave. Falls

tinnerhill.org

11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

The 30th Annual Tinner Hill Music Festival is the premier charity event that celebrates & honors the local African American legacy, with culturally rich live music and arts grouped into interactive villages for eating, learning, playing (children), drinking (adults), relaxing, and exploring the arts.

6/10 - 6/21

Creative Cauldron 410 S. Maple Ave. Falls Church, VA

creativecauldron.org

You’re invited to the fiesta! Come set aglow a lantern in the during the Yi Peng Latern Festival, spray colored water at your friends for Holi and enjoy performances and more at the Acropolis during Greece’s August Moon Festival. The final festival performance will culminate with art inspired by the celebration, drama written pieces by the campers, and custom worldly dances from the party.

6/15 - 7/14 M-Z: 7/20 - 8/18

fallschurcharts.org

Annual event open to FCA member artists with last names beginning with A-L. Participation in the show is a benefit of membership, so no entry fee is required. Submission deadline Sunday, May 19.

2024 Summer Events Roundup

Gay Men’s Chorus of DC: Portraits

6/16

Kennedy Center

2700 F St. NW Washington, DC

5:00 p.m.

tinyurl.com/FCNP0424gc

World premiere! Through visual art, music, and dance, “Portraits” represents the vibrant spectrum of sexual, gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural identities in a nine-movement commission combining the work of nine visual artists, nine composers and nine choreographers, sung by the Chorus and featuring 17th Street Dance, an ensemble of the Chorus.

Camp: Stories of the Little People

6/24 — 7/3

Creative Cauldron

410 S. Maple Ave. #116 Falls Church, VA

creativecauldron.org

Honey, I’ve shrunk the campers! Come explore worldly myths of little people such as the fairly-like Maori, the Makiwisug who reward kindness, the mischievous Irish Leprechaun protecting their gold at all costs. These tiny stories are sure to cause big excitement in the final performance. One week option available 6/29-7/3. Ages 5-14.

2024 Folklife Festival

6/26 — 7/1

National Mall

4th St. & Independence Ave SW Washington, DC

festival.si.edu

Join a special Smithsonian Folklife Festival program, “Indigenous Voices of the Americas,” honoring the twentieth anniversary of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, and celebrates Indigenous creative expression across the Western Hemisphere. Featuring more than 250 participants representing 60 Indigenous nations in ten countries.

Friday Morning Music Club

classical music since 1886— and not just on Fridays! Free and open to the public!

The Avanti Orchestra of the FMMC presents its nal concert of the season.

Saturday, May 4, 7:30 p.m.

Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center 7995 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Conductor Chi-Yuan Lin and cellist Brannon Cho will perform Haydn’s  Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major. In addition, Avanti will play Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and the rhythmic masterpiece Strum by recent Grammy-winning composer Jessie Montgomery.

thanks to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative O ce in the United States (TECRO) for their support of

and music

Camp: Laughs and LOL’s

7/8 — 7/19

Creative Cauldron

410 S. Maple Ave. #116

Falls Church, VA

creativecauldron.org

Comedy has been a universal language for decades and in this zany session campers will learn the art of comedy and clowning. Laugh your way through exploring the greats of stand up, clowning, miming, jesters, jokesters and all-around funny people! Whether it’s el Bobo from Spain, Pierrot from France, Contrary from the Plains Native American Tribes, or the comic antics of a Punch and Judy puppet show, these clowns will have you LOL-ing, ROTFL-ing, and HAHA-ing all day long.

7/20 - 8/18

T-F 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sa-Su 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. fallschurcharts.org

Annual event open to FCA member artists with last names beginning with M-Z. Participation in the show is a benefit of membership, so no entry fee is required. Submission deadline Sunday, June 23.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘The 39 Steps’ is Delightful! Hilarious! Ridiculous!

by Patricia Leslie

These are some of the adjectives that pop up when I think about “The 39 Steps,” the newest production of the Vienna Theater Company, onstage at Vienna’s Community Center through Sunday afternoon.

It’s solid entertainment which kept me laughing practically from beginning to end, starring magnificent actors who obviously love their work.

Without a doubt, the lead character and the only one without multiple roles (there are approximately 150 in the original!) is Hannay (Joe Gallagher) who takes charge and even when he’s not speaking but pausing to decide whether or not he should open a door, moving backand-forth and expressing doubt, I laughed non-stop. He reminded me of Peter Sellers, for those who are old enough to remember him.

One of the funniest scenes involves a train ride when the cops and suspected murderer jump off the train and hang on the side for dear life.

And the sheep blockade! The sheep!

And who needs to understand all the Scottish yarn? Kevin Lukacs is a master Scotsman whose delivery gets louder and louder, easy enough to hear, but to translate all the gibberish? Not necessary to enjoy this comedy of crime.

You’ll swear there are more than only five actors, but their characters and getup are all so different, they bring off multiple personalities with seeming ease. Kim Paul and Haydn Dollery are clowns who make merry amusements on this crazy romp through London, Edinburgh, and the Scottish Highlands in the 1930s.

Katie Boone (who also doubles as stage manager) and her son Nicholas have done an outstanding job directing the play whether it’s over a fence or through a window, while the actors dash from place to place to escape the police who are hot on the trail of a suspected murderer.

It was an astonishing feat for the several minutes the “victim” Jessie Duggan (who triples in multiple roles) lay lifeless, sideways and overturned in a chair.

Nicholas Boone’s visual backdrops easily underscore the moment, minimizing the need for many props which, small in number, are more

than adequate for the rapidly changing scenes. (Claire L. Tse was the properties designer and set dresser.)

Other members of the production team are Eric Storck, producer; Charlie Boone, assistant stage manager; Ari McSherry, lighting; Adrienne Gammons, set designer; Adam Parker, sound; and Michelle Harris, costumes.

But what are the “39 Steps”? You must see it to find out! And remember to say “thank yoooouuu” on your way out.

The story is based on Patrick Barlow’s 2005 re-adaptation of a 1996 play by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon who based their play on the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. In 2008 “39 Steps” received four Tony Award nominations and won two for Best Lighting and Best Sound.

This is the last weekend for “39 Steps” which is presented through May 5, 2024, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m., Sunday. $16. Vienna Community Center Auditorium, 120 Cherry St. Vienna, VA 22180. About two hours with one 15-minute intermission. Suitable for ages 5 and up. No adult language. Snacks available for purchase.

VIENNA THEATER Company Puts on ‘The 39 Steps’ (Photos: Claire Tse)

by Patricia Leslie

Members of the audience leaped to their feet to applaud and cheer the performance of “Frankenstein” when it ended Friday night at Meridian High School.

What a show it was! A horror story within a horror story, infused with murders and mayhem as told in the semi-fictional tale about Mary Shelley who, at age 18 in 1816, began writing her frightening tale of Victor Frankenstein’s creation of a monster.

Abby Berg amazingly plays the dual roles of Shelley who magically transitions into the monster in the play, crawling on all fours and screaming often in anguish when she’s an actor within her own story. Her intensity and drama were powerful.

Mary Shelley’s mother, Mary Wollstonecraft (Samantha Grooms) was a philosopher and women’s rights advocate in real life, who opened the play with a visit to her daughter’s home where there was a party underway downstairs, hosted by Mary Shelley’s husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley (Dante De Sio).

While his wife mourned the

death of their infant daughter upstairs, Perry enjoyed himself, surrounded by many women (the “partiers”) who made snide remarks about his absent wife.

Mary is beside herself, screaming her agony and resistance to her mother and husband.

It turns out that her mother is actually a ghost who inhabits her daughter’s mind, encouraging her to keep writing her masterpiece. Later, it’s revealed the party is another fiction in Mary Shelley’s mind.

In truth, “Frankenstein” was first published anonymously in 1818 without an author’s name since women writers then were scorned. The second edition came out in 1821 in Paris with the addition of Mary Shelley’s name.

As director/producer (and all things theatrical at Meridian), Shawn Northrip writes in program notes that he spent years searching for works to utilize the many talents of the females in Meridian’s theater program, something for female actors besides “just love” roles.

He found it in Danielle Mohlman’s version of

“Frankenstein” which Meridian presented. It met the goals!

The stars portrayed their characters with intensity and deep feelings, rooted in the story.

On a skeleton scaffolding which stretched almost to the ceiling the monster climbed and crawled her way to unbeknownst victims, all the while stealthily making moves to spread grief and unhappiness. “I exist only to cause pain,” it says. A special filter which created haunting depth amplified the monster’s voice two or threefold.

Northrip’s directing led to phenomenal performances. There was not one disappointment by any of the many actors.

Spectacular showmanship by Hugo Ratheau who appears as Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, must be singled out for his passion, appearing to become a monster himself, bending and swaying from one side of the stage to the other, forcefully spewing his words.

His sidekick, Henry Clerval (Alex Fulgham) handled his role with confidence.

In a beige tutu, Olivia Pierre added needed grace to the pro-

duction with periodic brief ballets. A different dance had Ms. Berg as the monster and Madame DeLacey (Izzy Baskins) performing in a threesome with a door, which the humans weave up and down, unseen by each other. (Daria Butler was choreographer.)

Everyone was dressed in black, greys and slivers of white (costuming by Meridian student Sophie O’Hara) whose silhouettes against mostly pale backdrops heightened the eerie environment which (with Meridian student Naomi Lewis’s lighting) contributed to the overall mood of danger and anxiety. (This show was recommended for mature teens on up.)

Sometimes pastel colors lightened the visuals with large floor to ceiling impressionistic paintings, backdrops of scenes ranging from a cemetery to an elegant mansion and Swiss mountain range (Mary Shelley began conceiving her tale in Geneva) and more. These opposites contrasted beautifully with the somber dark shades and actors’ silhouettes.

Other actors were Alexis West, Ben Kline, Abigail Fred, Jack Disantis, Julia Wolf, Carmen Ortiz

and Augie Reitmeyer.

Adding much enjoyment and visuals in typical “crowd behavior” were “partiers,” Aggie Linforth, Aila Balsano, Annika Wolf, Devin Cook and Eliana Pizzirusso.

Also Eudora Neal, Jack Kreul, JP Tysse, Katarina Villasmil, Lauren Lewin, Luis Gabriel de Carvalho Bastos and Mia Schatz with more partiers, Rayne Hammerschmidt, Sebastian Robertson, Stephanie Hastings and Will Albaugh.

Sound operators Ashe Stoner, Tyler Jones and Jocelynn Johnson were busy all night with the wind and bats, the throbbing of a heartbeat, thunder, and more designed by (applause!) Carlos Ortiz who also composed the music, all students.

Other production team members included Meridian students Bella Villano, Emily Marrow and Millie Beaudry, stage managers; Sean Cunniffe, projections designer; Colleen Carpenter, props designer; Ben Barwig and Carson Ramey, video and film; Paxton Hebblethwaite and Tabby Hermann, makeup.

Jamie Sample directed technicals on this night to remember.

Stalking Wolf Crowned Cranes Lotus Progression by Al Kratchman by Sandra Lewin by Gini Moore

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Flora and Fauna’ Latest Show at Falls Church Arts Gallery

by Mark Dreisonstok

Spring is here, and the great outdoors and exuberant moods of springtime are celebrated at Falls Church Arts Gallery’s latest exhibit of artworks in many media. This new show, “Flora and Fauna: Thriving or Threatened,” takes us through many landscapes, various lands and diverse artistic styles.

In her acrylic painting “The Moon and the Moon Flower,” artist Maria Brito captures the grace and innocence of both the beautiful plant depicted and a memory of her childhood in her stellar work. When she was a child, the artist’s mother would invite her and her siblings to see these flowers magically open at night outside their home. Just as the artist describes, these vines (depicted in exquisite detail) are a fascinating version of the more common morning glory vine, which opens at night. A long and narrow vertical canvas helps to further the mystical “glory” the artist hopes to convey, with a full moon high above.

In the photograph “A Wetland Autumn” by Renée Ruggles, we see a perfectly lateral mirroring of trees

and their reflection below in the water. This reflection is so idyllically crafted that, at first glance, it is difficult for the viewer to distinguish whether the top or bottom is the reflection. This vision of autumn colors consists of northern hardwood swamp trees seen in the background and is contrasted by spike-like stumps viewed in the foreground, where perhaps beavers have felled some of the trees. The beautiful vibrant oranges, yellows, and greens play upon the water below in soft and fluttering ripples. Moving from autumn to spring: The cherry blossoms of Washington, D.C., are now no more, but we may return briefly to their ephemeral beauty via Claudine Edelblute’s acrylic “Elation.” As for many a viewer, these blossoms bring the artist a great sense of calm and peace, for in this beautiful work, every detail is carefully and yet ever so gently noted by a delicate acrylic brushstroke reminiscent of the blossoms themselves. At the center left of the work, our eyes are drawn to a cup-like blossom which is truly a well-chosen centerpiece for this work with its beautiful juxtaposition of light and shadow, texture

and translucence. Just above and below we note that the artist has even captured the sun, with its dainty highlights on the tops of the branches from which the blossoms hang like ornaments strung by an ineffable presence. The true magic of this work is that it includes both the realistic experience and romantic majesty that walking amongst flowering cherry trees evokes.

In the fascinating “Polyphemus Moth” by Suzanne Updike, the artist uses the very unique process of making a reduction linocut to make a beautiful and intricate visualization of a most beautiful insect. This process takes a single linoleum block and creates every color of the print from it by starting with the first color etched into the block and then proceeding to several more, ever further reducing the block with each color of the work printed—thus the term “reduction.” Although the beautiful block printing at hand may seem like something out of an Audubon Society “field guide,” the artist is careful to remind us in her description of the work that there is a connection here to the literature of classical antiquity: “The Polyphemus moth is named after the cyclops

in Greek mythology,” nemesis of Odysseus as the famous Greek hero of the Trojan War attempted to return to his kingdom of Ithaca.

The Japanese classic “The Tale of Geni” speaks of the “noble crane that soars on high,” yet Sandra Lewin’s acrylic painting “Crowned Cranes” of that title, while acknowledging an Asian influence, indeed “incorporating muted bamboo shoots and a red sun,” shows two cranes very much “grounded” and connected to the earth. Gerda Lane’s oil painting “Lavender in Provence” also takes us to far-away climes to “the countryside in the south of France [which] inspired the painting.” Finally, be sure also to enjoy “Dahlia,” the yellow oil on panel with blue highlights by Dane Hamlin.

The current exhibit runs through June 9 at Falls Church Arts Gallery, 700-B West Broad St. (Rte. 7), Falls Church, Virginia 22046. We recommend a visit to the gallery in the near future to see these and other “Flora and Fauna” and extol in these beautiful “thriving” natural images as well as reflect on how nature is also, at the same time, delicate and threatened.

The Moon and the Moon Flower by Maria, Brito. (Photo: Falls Church Arts)