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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 7
In The Little CIty
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1. Skin Lab • 2. Harvey’s 3. Creative Cauldron - Madeline Christmas 4. Foxes • 5. Art & Frame
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PAGE 8 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Madeline’s Christmas Review: The Best Christmas Play Ever!
TM M
by Patricia Leslie
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It’s the best Christmas play ever! I don’t know if you are as tired of the “same old, same old” seasonal production which rises on area stages about this time of year as I am, but I say “ring out the old, ring in the new!” and that’s just what Creative Cauldron has done with a revival of its highly successful “Madeleine’s Christmas,” an uplifting and happy story for children and adults alike. The show is a delight with cheery children, lots of action, a talking mouse and even some happy adults. Dancing and singing fill the stage with a backdrop (by Margie Jervis) reminiscent of the cover of Ludwig Bemelmans’s book he wrote in 1956. It’s the story of 12 little girls who attend school in a boarding house in Paris who all get sick at the same time (except for the heroine), just in time for the holidays. and ... gulp! No one can go home for Christmas! Yeeks! Which is just what they scream when a mouse is spotted in their dormitory room. The girls’ teacher and mentor, Miss Clavel (Anna Phillips-Brown) who dresses like a nun and acts like a nun, but she is not a nun but a deuteragonist (word for the day, meaning second in importance) with a voice and acting ability soaring beyond what is expected, tries to make the girls feel better about being cooped up at school, unable to go home on Christmas Eve, but it’s little Madeleine who comes to the rescue! June Tuss sings and dances the title role (intermittently with Diana Alison), expressing herself confidently, as she did last month in Creative’s “Pinocchio,” a spirited and spunky performer whose character, Madeline, is not one to be smitten with anything or body which remotely represents danger like ferocious zoo animals or a magician who turns up to sell rugs? Huh? Enter Harsha (Noah Beye), a weird man who comes calling, promising fantastic things like magic carpets to take the girls home for Christmas. He waves, the stage darkens and a swirl of
tiny lights and sounds of triangles suddenly transform the scene into a magic ride on carpets (which Madeleine buys for her classmates) to carry the girls to their homes for Christmas, their most ardent wish. Oh, no... this means the lovely Miss Clavel will have to spend Christmas alone, but, wait! There’s the talking mouse to keep her company! The adorable students are dressed in Madeleine uniforms (Jervis designs) of red coats and straw hats with black ribbons, white stockings and Mary Janes. Delightful music by Shirley Mier and Jennifer Kirkeby with music direction by Merissa Anne Driscoll make merry to ferry us to a far and distant land where fairy tales come true. (If you’re not in the Christmas mood yet, this will send you there.) The transfer of the mouse from bed to box and back again, carried by Madeleine and Miss Clavel, is a skilfull undertaking, hidden from view, under the direction of Matt Conner who must be congratulated on the youngsters’ enthusiastic speaking roles which they deliver in exaggerated fashion, so important in theatre. The other young actors are Emerson Thiebert, Marianne Meade, Whit Jenkins, Madeline Varho, Aida Gibson, Emma Howell, Sophie Misciagno, Margaret Kruckenberg, Marie Solander, Allison Harman, Harper Burns and Nika Temkin. And Carmen Ortiz, Jo Jo Hockley, Harper Yin, Ja’Nyla Steele, Marco Romero and Chris Espinoza. Lenny Mendez is the fragile Mrs, Murphy, afraid of a little mouse! Lynn Joslin was the lighting designer and Nicholas J Goodman, stage manager. Now through December 17 at 410 South Maple Ave., Retail 116; some shows are already sold out. Free parking behind entrance. Thursday — Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m., and Sunday, 4 p.m. Students, $18; adults start at $20; family four-packs, $75 (use code 4PK). Group rates begin at 10+ persons. Call the box office: 703-436-9948. Duration is about 60 minutes without intermission. Recommended for children ages four and up. Refreshments available for purchase.
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JUNE TUSS (MADELINE), Anna Phillips-Brown (Miss Clavel), ensemble. (Photo: William T. Gallagher )
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 9
Falls Church’s Trinity School Performs ‘As You Like It’ by Mark Dreisonstok
Falls Church’s Trinity School at Meadow View is devoted to the study and discussion of the great classics of literature and philosophy. Yet the eleventh-grade students, following the lead of Shakespeare’s Duke Senior banished in the Forest of Arden, must—for the time being—settle for “tongues in trees” and “books in the running brooks.” This weekend the eleventh-grade class is performing Shakespeare’s pensive pastoral comedy “As You Like It” at the Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia in Fairfax at two public performances this coming Friday and Saturday. The play concerns a duke in exile with his loyal retainers; they prefer “the icy fang … of the winter’s wind” in the woods over the intrigue of the royal court, for the Duke Senior’s brother, Frederick, has usurped the throne. Duke Senior’s daughter Rosalind and Duke Frederick’s daughter Celia are among those who “resort to the forest,” disguised as brother and sister, Ganymede and Aliena. Soon, however, Rosalind finds herself in love with Orlando, a noble youth who also has family
turmoil and must also seek refuge in the forest. Much of the humor of “As You Like It” revolves around how Rosalind, disguised as a young man, interacts with Orlando. We had an opportunity to attend a dress rehearsal. Anna Bray shows a true earnestness in her role as exileat-court Rosalind, while Anisa Jalloh as Celia conveys a comic flair as she realizes Rosalind is in love. Francesca Bayer, the melancholy Jaques, is effective in presenting the “seven ages of man” in the play’s famous “all the world’s a stage” speech. Seth Luisi is a stern Duke Frederick, while Shane Monroe (Duke Senior) and Alexander Pappas (Orlando) play off each other well in the scenes in which they meet in the forest. Co-director James Clancy notes that students are enjoying the play, even as they approach it with utmost seriousness. Miss Bray (Rosalind) states: “Producing a Shakespeare play provides a beautiful opportunity” both to perform and to ponder the unique views of the world that “the characters in the play depict.” Sophia Hughes, who plays Touchstone the fool, adds: “Being Touchstone has allowed me to see the world from his eyes and perspective. This makes the world seem more dismal in some
ways, but in others it broadens my view on life and allows me to see better in the world.” The show’s costumes are outstanding. Most suggest the Elizabethan era, although some have a nineteenth-century touch. The velvety, regal garments are color-coded for meaning. Duke Frederick and those at court usually wear blue, while the exiles in the Forest of Arden are generally garbed in green. Jaques wears brown, for the character fits into neither the world of court politics nor of life in the woods. Trinity School at Meadow View is unusual in that eleventh- and twelfth-grade dramas are performed as a core part of the curriculum. All students take part, spending more than seventy classroom hours learning acting terms and skills, memorizing lines, and practicing for two public performances. Co-director Patty Whelpley notes that the play was chosen to enhance the school’s “humane letters” curriculum: “Our students are very familiar with reading and discussing Shakespeare in our Socratic Seminar-style classes; by the end of 12th grade, they will have already read and discussed ‘Richard II,’ ‘Hamlet,’ and ‘Macbeth.’ Since our students
are easily able to read Shakespeare, we felt like ‘As You Like It’ was the perfect level of challenge for our 11th grade students to perform. It’s fun and lighthearted, yet it also carries some of Shakespeare’s deeper themes that help the students see how masterfully Shakespeare shines a critical spotlight on certain societal injustices or mores, even during a comedy.” As Mrs. Whelpley suggests in her comments, it is left to the viewer to make an ethical decision: is it bet-
PASTORAL LIFE IN the Forest of Arden: Le Beau (Khoa Nguyen), Lady Merryman (Julia Ortner), and Amiens (Ellie Friddle). (Photo: Annie Ryland)
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ter to be at peace in exile and allow a usurper to reign, to remain in the physically comfortable court of a tyrant, or to choose neither and, like Jaques, withdraw into one’s own private world? “As You Like It” will be performed on Friday, December 15, and Saturday, December 16, at 7 p.m. at the Pozez Jewish Community Center, 8900 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax, Virginia 22031. Admission is free, but adults must show ID to enter.
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PAGE 10 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
‘Encanto’ Experience and Toy Shop Opens In Tysons Corner Center by Nick Gatz
Falls Church News-Press
CAMP Washington D.C. has opened its Disney Encanto x Camp location in Tyson’s Corner Mall. CAMP is a family experience store that combines retail, play and interactive features. Its latest location is on full display in the McLeanbased mall. This new store will make it Camp’s 9th location in the USA. Located next to H&M in Tyson’s lower level. The experience is Inspired by the 2021 animated movie Encanto from Disney.
This 10,730-square-foot store features 5,000 square feet of attractions. From first glance Camp looks like a high-end toy store that is full of toys, games, gifts, slides, and “schmutz”. However, it is once you pass through the secrete passage that the true delight begins. It is there that the world’s first immersive Disney Encanto experience begins. There is a reallife Casita, complete with secret passages, interactive magic, live music, and surprises behind every magic door.
Continued on Page 11
SHO P LO CA L
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 11
Singalongs, Slides, Games, Slime and More on Full Display Continued from Page 10
Once inside you enter a replica of the film’s town square. There you can purchase custom-made Encanto merchandise from vendors around the world that aren’t available anywhere else.
As you make your way through the experience, families can climb up and down Antonio’s rainforest where there is a leopard on display. From there you can spin your way through Isabela’s Flower-filled room or slide down into the Courtyard. While you are on your journey
throughout the Encanto experience you will have a Live singalong that includes fan favorite tunes from the Disney movie such as "We Don’t Talk About Bruno," "Surface Pressure" and more. What differs from other ‘experiences’ that have come to Tysons is CAMP will be a permanent
location that sells toys, clothing and accessories. The store also includes what will sure to be a kid favorite “Schmutz Bar” where they can create slime. The location also includes a CAMPitheater and party rooms for birthday rentals. Disney Encanto x CAMP
will stay in Tysons for a limited time before moving on to another location when then a new experience will arrive. CAMP rotates its experiences around their stores. For more information and tickets, visit CAMP's website at camp.com/locations/ washington-dc.
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