Washington City Paper (January 23, 2015)

CITYPAPER Washington

Free Volume 35, no. 4 WashingtonCityPaPer.Com january 23–29, 2015

HOUsInG: GrIDlOck In cOnGress HeIGHts 7

FOOD: One blOck, twO tOnys 25

2 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

INSIDE 14 the

answers issue You asked! We reported! Everyone wins!

4 chatter District Line

38 Discography: Essner on the Red Fetish’s Temporal Jokes Pts. 1 and 2

7 Housing Complex: A development project in Congress Heights leaves locals in the lurch.

10 City Desk: D.C.’s homeless families face a crisis this winter.

11 Gear Prudence 12 Savage Love 13 Straight Dope 22 Buy D.C.

city List

D.c. FeeD

Diversions

25 Young & Hungry: Is this town big enough for two Tonys?

28 Grazer: Bye, fro-yo.

28 ‘Wiching Hour: Turns out, there IS such a thing as too much meat.

arts

31 Galleries: Capps on Naoko Wowsugi + Whoop Dee Doo at Hamiltonian Gallery 34 Arts Desk: Busboys and best-sellers 34 One Track Mind: Tomás Pagán Motta goes Spaghetti Western 35 Curtain Calls: Klimek on Life Sucks at Theater J 36 Short Subjects: Gittell on Leviathan and Olszewski on Beloved Sisters 37 Speed Reads: Athitakis on The Lonely War

41 City Lights: Ford’s Theatre gives Mary Todd Lincoln another look.

41 Music 51 Theater 51 Film

51 showtimes 54 Dirt Farm 55 Crossword

56 cLassiFieDs on the cover

Typography by Jandos Rothstein with apologies to David Curcurito.

“”

EvErybody at this point is tony.

—pagE 26

washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 3

CHATTER

in which we praise pelecanos and debate delivery

A Brunch with Fame

But JoDa is apparently a fan of the delivery-everything-allthe-time concept: “I’m happy to fork over a few dollars for the delivery, just on a cost/benefit analysis. Not having to put on shoes is just an added bonus.” And upon learning that Bud Light is the most popular beer Klink delivers, @grperk started trend-spotting like a seasoned pro: “Is Bud Light the new PBR?”

Rob Kunzig’s coveR story on GeorGe Pelecanos’ food and flavorful hometown received a warm welcome from readers who hinted at some territorial feelings about D.C.’s food scene (and would probably bristle at our use of the term “scene,” here). “Thanks, @wcp .

Good to acknowledge @pelecanos1’s great #DC crime novels & his proud shunning of #foodie foolishness,” tweeted @McDorchester. @kimberlyrobin37 fangirled for a second: “Had no idea that at CF Folks I was sitting at the lunch counter of a George Pelecanos coffee shop.” “Fun profile of George Pelecanos in @wcp, told via his favorite restaurants,” tweeted @mathitak. But @robwein may have put it best (and we’d expect nothing less from a fellow writer): “The great ones make it look easy--#Pelecanos.”

Voting begins January 21. washingtoncitypaper.com Vote online and be eligible to win airline tickets to anywhere Turkish Airlines flies.

Best of 2015 out April 9

Deliver us from people. Things got a little more heated in response to Jessica Sidman’s column on Washington’s new and dizzying array of delivery options, “New World Order.” Surprisingly, hardly any accusations of laziness were hurled, and it was more a question of whether this city needs such a service. “Can D.C. sustain a coffee delivery service,” wondered our managing editor @wcpsarah?

“No way Josè,” replied the aptly-named @DCoffeeSnob.

“The best part of coffee is the atmosphere in a shop. That’s why people pay $5 for a latte.” But commenter swagv was

reserve Now! Call the advertising department to book your Best of D.C. ad today: 202-332-2100

plainly confused. “Why is Tony Chen practically being cited for inventing coffee delivery services when they have existed with trucks and bicycles throughout the world for several years now? Is this the ‘if it’s new to you, it’s new problem?”

It takes a District. Jayme McLellan, founding director of Civilian Art Projects, wrote us to share some of the credit given to her in Kriston Capps’ review of that gallery’s January exhibition. “Working in the arts in D.C. for 18 years, I can safely say there are many, many other key actors, important figures, and very talented artists also lifting up the scene.

No one can do it alone.” McLellan gives credit to “Transformer, DC Art Center, WPA [Works Progress Administration], Hamiltonian, Artisphere, Katzen Museum, Kreeger Museum, the Hirshhorn, NMWA [National Museum of Women in the Arts], Provisions Library, Arlington Arts Center, Pleasant Plains, Hemphill, G Fine Art, Curators Office, ConnerSmith and the (e)merge art fair, Project Dispatch, the Pink Line Project, Anacostia Arts Center, the many DIY spaces ... and so so so much more.” Did you get all that?

Hot-blooded. And finally, @bcbolin vocalized what we were all thinking, but too shy to say, about the Fifty Shades of Grey-themed cocktail now available at City Perch in North Bethesda: “hot peppers by your stuff??”

Department of Corrections. Our cover story, “Hard Boiled,” misspelled Woodward Table chef Jeffrey Buben’s last name. It also misstated the location of the former Jefferson Coffee Shop. It is located on Jefferson Place NW, not Jefferson Street.

puBLISHer: Amy Austin eDITor: mike mAdden ManagIng eDITorS: emily Q. HAzzArd, sArAH Anne HugHes arTS eDITor: CHristinA CAuteruCCi FooD eDITor: JessiCA sidmAn CITy LIgHTS eDITor: CAroline Jones STaFF wrITerS: Will sommer, AAron Wiener STaFF pHoTograpHer: dArroW montgomery ConTrIBuTorS: JoHn Anderson, mArtin AustermuHle, eriCA BruCe, sopHiA BusHong, kriston CApps, Jeffry Cudlin, mAtt dunn, deAn essner, JonAtHAn l. fisCHer, noAH gittell, sArAH godfrey, trey grAHAm, louis JACoBson, steve kiviAt, CHris klimek, AndreW lApin, ryAn little, CHristine mACdonAld, dAve mCkennA, BoB mondello, mArCus J. moore, Justin moyer, triCiA olszeWski, mike pAArlBerg, tim regAn, reBeCCA J. ritzel, Ally sCHWeitzer, tAmmy tuCk, Joe WArminsky, miCHAel J. West, BrAndon Wu onLIne DeveLoper: zACH rAusnitz DIgITaL SaLeS Manager: sArA diCk BuSIneSS DeveLopMenT aSSoCIaTe: kevin provAnCe SaLeS Manager: niCHolAs diBlAsio SenIor aCCounT exeCuTIveS: melAnie BABB, Joe HiCkling, AliCiA merritt aCCounT exeCuTIveS: lindsAy BoWermAn, CHelseA estes, mArk kulkosky MarKeTIng anD proMoTIonS Manager: stepHen BAll SaLeS evenTS Manager: HeAtHer mCAndreWs SaLeS anD MarKeTIng aSSoCIaTe: CHloe fedynA CreaTIve DIreCTor: JAndos rotHstein CreaTIve ServICeS Manager: BrAndon yAtes grapHIC DeSIgner: lisA deloACH operaTIonS DIreCTor: Jeff BosWell SenIor aD CoorDInaTor: JAne mArtinACHe DIgITaL aD opS SpeCIaLIST: lori Holtz InForMaTIon TeCHnoLogy DIreCTor: Jim gumm SouthComm: CHIeF exeCuTIve oFFICer: CHris ferrell InTerIM CHIeF FInanCIaL oFFICer: glynn riddle ConTroLLer: todd pAtton CHIeF MarKeTIng oFFICer: susAn torregrossA CreaTIve DIreCTor: HeAtHer pierCe DIreCTor oF ConTenT/onLIne DeveLopMenT: pAtriCk rAins CHIeF TeCHnoLogy oFFICer: mAtt loCke CHIeF operaTIng oFFICer/group puBLISHer: eriC norWood DIreCTor oF DIgITaL SaLeS anD MarKeTIng: dAvid WAlker LoCaL aDverTISIng: Washington city paper, (202) 332-2100, Ads@WAsHingtonCitypAper.Com voL. 35, no. 4 January 23-29 2014 Washington city paper is puBlisHed every Week And is loCAted At 1400 eye st. nW, suite 900, WAsHington, d.C. 20005. CAlendAr suBmissions Are WelComed; tHey must Be reCeived 10 dAys Before puBliCAtion. u.s. suBsCriptions Are AvAilABle for $250 per yeAr. issue Will Arrive severAl dAys After puBliCAtion. BACk issues of tHe pAst five Weeks Are AvAilABle At tHe offiCe for $1 ($5 for older issues). BACk issues Are AvAilABle By mAil for $5. mAke CHeCks pAyABle to Washington city paper or CAll for more options. © 2014 All rigHts reserved. no pArt of tHis puBliCAtion mAy Be reproduCed WitHout tHe Written permission of tHe editor.

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6 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

DISTRICTLINE Housing Complex

A promised neighborhood transformation gets messy Two months before he died, Marion Barry sent a letter to the Zoning Commission urging approval of a transformative project at the Congress Heights Metro station.

“This project is vital to the evolution of

where the city was in the process of selecting a development team for the first phase, adjacent to the Congress Heights Metro. Instead, this letter concerned a project by the station’s other entrance, across Alabama Avenue—an endeavor that’s received far less attention despite its ample scale and faster timeline.

while balconies at the residences overlook a revitalized Congress Heights.

In its submission to the Zoning Commission, which will hold a hearing on the proposed zoning change for the project on Thursday, the developer, Sanford Capital, promises “a vibrant transit-oriented devel-

The plans call for more than 200 apartments, 230,000 square feet of office space, and 26,000 square feet of retail in one of D.C.’s poorest neighborhoods. Renderings show gleaming buildings that would fit right into the city’s most thriving corridors, with fashion boutiques, a cafe, and a bookstore surrounding the Metro station. The multitiered offices feature multiple roof decks,

opment” with improved pedestrian safety nearby, higher Metro ridership, and substantial community benefits.

The reality is more complicated. Where the new development is slated to rise, four decrepit apartment buildings now stand. Residents there say that Sanford has allowed the properties to deteriorate and has passively and actively sought to drive the tenants away

Courtesy of City Partners

Alabama Stakes: The fate of this proposed development has big implications for Congress Heights.

Congress Heights and Ward 8 as an attractive, vibrant neighborhood for District residents for years to come,” wrote the D.C. Councilmember and former mayor in September. “I am confident this project can serve as a catalyst for future development in Congress Heights and beyond in Ward 8.”

Barry wasn’t referring to the redevelopment of the former mental hospital at St. Elizabeths,

washingtoncitypaper.com/go/barryhorse

in order to clear the buildings. Sanford’s control of the site is complicated by a fifth, vacant building that’s the subject of a lawsuit. And some residents and neighbors say an agreement between Sanford and local organizations intended to benefit the community instead gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to politically connected Ward 8 groups while doing little for residents of the properties.

In other words, like most beacons of revitalization in D.C.’s low-income neighborhoods, this project is much messier than it might have seemed.

Gridlock in Congress Heights

By Aaron Wiener

On horseback, Christopher Barry dodges questions about alleged outburst:

When Robert Green moved into his apartment at 1331 Alabama Ave. SE three years ago, he was promised a “deluxe apartment.” On first visit, everything looked orderly enough.

“They told me how nice the building is,” he says. “Shoot, next week, it wasn’t the same.”

Green is sitting on his couch with his infant grandson in his lap. The apartment is in reasonable condition, although Green has his complaints. But the rest of the building is less than optimal. Worst is the basement, which is badly flooded. A sign on the ajar laundryroom door states that it’s open each day from 7 a.m., but it’s hard to imagine anyone’s used it in years. Pieces of rusted washing machines and dryers are ripped out and sitting on top of the defunct appliances, some of which are missing their front covers. Piping for the machines lies crumpled in a corner. There’s grime everywhere.

Upstairs, several vacant apartments are boarded up with plywood. Vacancy is worse in neighboring 1309 Alabama, a near-identical building where Ruth Barnwell has lived for 32 years. Barnwell says hers is one of only three households remaining in the 12-unit building.

“I’ll probably be the only one left,” Barnwell says with a laugh.

Barnwell is the president of the coalition of tenant associations that the four buildings formed in early fall 2013 to speak with a single voice before the Zoning Commission. In addition to the complaints they have about the conditions at their homes—the rodents, the doors that don’t lock, the squatters in the vacant units, the South Carolina call center they have to contact with maintenance requests— they say Sanford has worked aggressively to get them to leave.

Partly, Sanford offers enticements to leave in the form of buyouts or other Sanford properties to which tenants can relocate. “We have many apartments, Mr. Green,” Sanford’s Todd Fulmer told Green before Thanks-

washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 7

DISTRICTLINE

For a cautionary tale on Sanford’s track record, some Congress Heights residents point to a location one mile east. Sanford bought the Terrace Manor housing complex in January 2013 for $3.2 million. Patricia Gibbs, the president of Terrace Manor’s tenant association, says things have not gone well since.

“I can sum it up in one word: abandonment,” she says.

Bad Peeling: A vacant building that’s part of the development proposal has seen better days.

Aaron Wiener

giving, according to Green. “Whichever you want, it’s yours.” Then his tone changed: “Guess what: If you don’t take it, in two months you’ll be on the street.” (Fulmer declined to comment for this story, explaining, “I wouldn’t say I’m at liberty to discuss it with you because of all the complication we’re going through with the efforts to develop it.”)

Sanford principal and founder A. Carter Nowell wouldn’t disclose the terms of the buyouts offered to tenants in exchange for moving out, but residents said they were as high as $10,000. Still, they said Sanford sometimes doesn’t follow through on its promises.

This is apparently commonplace enough that Green and Barnwell laugh as they discuss various instances in which Sanford offered residents buyouts or relocation and then simply put them out.

Buyouts play a complicated role when it comes to affordability of housing in D.C. On the one hand, they can offer low-income residents a cash windfall to pay off debt or assemble a down payment for a home. But especially in rent-controlled buildings, when tenants paying low rents are displaced, their apartments often become permanently more expensive and unaffordable to working-class Washingtonians who face a shortage of housing within their budgets. At the Congress Heights property, Nowell says he won’t pursue low-income housing tax credits or other means that would guarantee affordability at the site, instead just providing a yet-tobe-determined number of affordable units in compliance with the city’s inclusionary zoning law. The rest of the new apartments will be market rate. In Congress Heights, that won’t be as expensive as in Dupont Circle, but will almost certainly be much more than the $898 a month that Barnwell pays for her two-bedroom.

And a $10,000 buyout doesn’t get you far in D.C. Eric Rome, a prominent tenant lawyer who’s negotiated many buyouts, calls buyouts of $15,000 to $20,000 “fool’s gold” and usually advises his clients not to take them, given how quickly the payment vanishes between taxes, higher rent, and relocation costs.

Barnwell had the same reaction when she was offered a $10,000 buyout. “I said, do you see F-O-O-L written on my forehead?“

There are the usual maintenance issues, but at the heart of the complaints is a memorandum of understanding that Sanford agreed to as part of its acquisition of the property, which received a half-million-dollar loan from the city. In the memorandum, Sanford promised a slew of repairs to individual units and common spaces. Two years later, in November 2014, the Department of Housing and Community Development issued Sanford a notice of default, stating that Sanford had violated the memoraundum by not completing the repairs or paying tenants the required amount for each month of delay.

“They promised to have a new parking lot, brand-new washing machines and dryers, new cabinets, new windows,” says Gibbs.

“They didn’t fulfill none of that. The only thing that came through was the mailboxes.”

Gibbs calls Sanford “slumlords,” and adds, “They gave us a promise. And they failed us tremendously.”

Nowell declined to comment on the record about Terrace Manor, saying only, “The explanation of what happened there is more lengthy than would be appropriate to include in your article.”

There very well could be mitigating factors in Sanford’s violation of the Terrace Manor memorandum, and there’s no reason to think it would translate into broken promises at the Congress Heights Metro property. But for some of the residents there, it’s enough of a red flag for them to fight Sanford’s plans.

“They’re not worthy of getting permission to tear these buildings down,” says Green.

The residents are mounting a two-pronged attack on Sanford’s plans. First, they’re opposing the zoning change at Thursday’s hearing, hoping they can block the project altogether. But if that fails, they’ll exercise their

8 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

rights under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act and try to buy the property. Will Merrifield, an attorney with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless who’s representing them, says he hopes DHCD will provide a loan to facilitate the purchase.

This strategy frustrates Nowell, who says he’s “actively trying to make sure that the current residents are taken care of.” He’s sought to meet with the tenants to work out a deal but says Merrifield has rebuffed all efforts to schedule a meeting. Merrifield counters that he’s just following the tenants’ “marching orders.” Given their lack of trust in Sanford, the tenants are reluctant to agree to a buyout-and-relocation plan that they fear might not be fulfilled.

“Any relocation plan would involve the tenants giving up their TOPA rights,” says Merrifield. “Right now the tenants feel their TOPA rights are more valuable than a relocation plan.”

Sanford and a collection of neighborhood groups, however, have struck a different type of deal. The parties have settled on a community benefits agreement, a standard arrangement providing for neighborhood enhancements when a developer seeks city permission on a project. But this benefits agreement is notable for its substantial payments to politically connected Ward 8 organizations.

Initially, the groups involved in the negotiations sought $2 million for themselves from Sanford. That got negotiated down, although the final benefits agreement is more generous than an earlier version. The agreement signed in December and submitted to the Zoning Commission earlier this month gives $75,000 over 15 years to the Ward 8 Council Against Domestic Violence, founded by Sandra Seegars, a candidate for the Ward 8 Council seat

vacated when Barry died.

Another $75,000 goes to the Congress Heights Community Training and Development Center, the landlord for a number of dubious city contractors, founded by Phinis Jones, the powerful Ward 8 political operator at the center of the Park Southern scandal that dominated the debate during part of last year’s mayoral race. (In another twist, the vacant building on the site Sanford hopes to develop is the subject of a lawsuit by Jones, who previously reached an agreement to buy it himself. Jones did not respond to a request for comment. Sanford has not yet secured control of the building, which comes with nearly $200,000 in debt to the city for an earlier $920,100 loan that was never repaid.)

And Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8E, chaired by Ward 8 Council candidate Anthony Muhammad, would get office space from Sanford for up to 20 years at a rent of $1 a month. The ANC, Seegars, and Jones were all part of the small team that negotiated the deal.

Karlene Armstead, a dissenter on the ANC, says the money is going to “nonprofits that are not legit.” Her commission, she feels, is engaged in “cloak-and-dagger” behavior. “The only person that seems to know what is transpiring with this community benefits package is the chair, Anthony Muhammad, and the developer,” she says. “We all are sitting there kind of dumbfounded about what’s going on.”

Muhammad did not respond to a request for comment. Seegars says that while the initial $2 million request was “ridiculously high,” she supports the final deal and notes that it would allow the current tenants to return post-construction with limited rent increases. “The developers and we are on the same page,” she says. “It wasn’t easy to get to an end result, but we worked with them, they worked with us.”

Barnwell, for one, is outraged when she learns of the deal’s details. “What are they getting money for?” she asks. “I thought this stuff was supposed to be about the community.”

The residents of the Congress Heights buildings say they’re not just worried about themselves. If the property is converted to fancier market-rate apartments, Green fears the effect it will have on the city’s overall housing equation.

“The District is not building more affordable housing recently, so it’s only increasing the homeless situation,” says Green, his grandson squirming in his lap. “You just put CP 100 more people out in the parks.”

Got a real-estate tip? Send suggestions to housingcomplex@washingtoncitypaper.com. Or call (202) 650-6928.

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DISTRICTLINE City Desk

No VacaNcy

Tomorrow’s history today: This is the week WMATA apologized to riders for the fatal smoke incident with a full-page ad in the Washington Post.

Despite a push by the administration of Mayor Vincent Gray in 2014 to get homeless families out of shelters, the District is once again facing a crisis this winter. As of Jan. 15, the 310 units the D.C. Department of Human Services secured at two motels on New York Avenue NE for families were full. DHS is in the process of obtaining units at an

additional motel that will also be run as a shelter, a necessity born out of the loss of units at community-based shelters. Also full was D.C. General, the old hospital-turned-shelter located in a complex of buildings near RFK Stadium with the D.C. Jail and a methadone clinic. While the number of homeless families sheltered

by D.C. so far this winter is lower than at this point last hypothermia season, advocates stress that placements out of shelter are the numbers to watch, as they are key to ensuring families don’t languish outside of a home. While D.C. aims to help 64 families leave shelter per month, just 84 families moved out between Nov. 1 and Jan. 9. To assist with this endeavor, DHS no longer requires families to finish intake assessments before they attend housing fairs. —Sarah Anne Hughes

Families in motels, 2015 Jan. 1: 172 Jan. 9: 280 Jan. 15: 311 Jan. 20: 329

Families sheltered by d.C. as oF Jan. 1 year

D.c. GeNeral

other locatioNs

Motels

2015

221

37

172

430

2014

274

14

235

523

2013

263

26

7

296

2012

154

140

0

294

2011

132

136

0

268

family byes

So ur ce :O CF O

This map illustrates the percentage of parents who left D.C. within five years of their first child’s birth in 2007. Green represents a below-average loss (11 percent at its lowest), while red represents an above-average loss (85 percent at its highest).

With family-size housing increasingly unaffordable and public schools still wanting, parents continue to migrate out of the District when they have young children. But not all parents: According to a report last week from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, it’s mostly middle-income families making the exodus. That’s because low-income families often can’t afford to move, while wealthy ones have the resources to pay for spacious housing and private school. It’s not surprising, then, that the neighborhoods that experience the biggest out-migration of new parents are mostly the middle-class ones in the central part of town, where housing costs are rising faster than school per—Aaron Wiener formance.

10 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

MALCOLM X PARK, JAN. 21. BY DARROW MONTGOMERY

total

Gear Prudence: Now that I know what shoaling is (thanks!) I’ve since realized I do it fairly frequently...to people driving cars. If I get stuck at a red light, I often make my way to the front of the line and try to be the first one crossing. Is this something cyclists are allowed to do? And if it’s allowed, is it unsafe and/or rude?

—Provided Above, Shoaling Seems Eminently Reasonable Dear PASSER: First, the law. But even before that, the caveat that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. And even before that, the caveat that I’ve never taken the LSAT, though once in a moment of post-baccalaureate career anxiety, I did think about it but declined.

Then I fell into the lucrative bike-advice industry, and I’ve never looked back.

Section 18-1201.3 of D.C. Municipal Regulations lays out the conditions by which a bicyclist may pass another vehicle. Part C reads: “If a lane is partially occupied by vehicles that are stopped, standing, or parked in that lane, a person operating a bicycle may ride in that or in the next adjacent lane used by vehicles proceedings [sic] in the same direction.”

I take this to mean that cyclists are under no obligation to queue behind stopped cars, and if there’s room to pass safely (on either the left or right side, per part B), there’s no legal imposition to prevent you from riding to the front of the line. This leaves the question about whether you should actually do this.

That’s trickier to suss out.

On one hand, you’re not in a car and the etiquette obligations of riding a bicycle are different. A bike demands less space, after all, and you should be allowed to benefit from that. If you’re turning at the intersection, that seems like it might be a justification to ride to the front. Or if there’s a dedicated bike lane starting on the other side of the intersection and riding to the front of the line will allow you to get to that lane faster, then that seems reasonable.

However, if riding to the front only results in your being immediately passed again by the drivers you just passed, then your leapfrogging seems a somewhat dubious decision. And if you don’t make it to the front before the light turns green, you could end up in an awkward spot. If your goal is safety, you could likely achieve this by waiting in line (directly behind a stopped car rather than wedged off to the side by the curb).

When traffic moves again, take your turn and then move back when it’s safer.

In any case, this is all very situational, so —GP use your best judgment.

Gear Prudence is Brian McEntee, who blogs at talesfromthesharrows.blogspot.com and tweets at @ sharrowsdc. Got a question about bicycling? Email gearprudence@washingtoncitypaper.com.

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SAVAGELOVE I’m a straight 18-year-old girl in my first sexual relationship. Things are a little awkward, and I could chalk it up to inexperience, but here’s what I feel conflicted about: I have a vore fetish. It was a fascination for me as a young child and became a sexual thing around the time I hit puberty. I’m wondering now whether this is something I need to get off. It works well when I’m on my own, but I always thought “regular stuff” would work too once I was actually getting some. I’ve told my boyfriend about it, and he’s more than willing to role-play with me. But these fantasies are inmy-head-only, as they rarely feature human beings (think anthropomorphic monsters and dragons, strange as this may seem), so I don’t know if I could actually do this. Maybe we just need to hold out a little until we know what we’re doing and regular stuff will cut it after all? I have a mounting suspicion that it won’t, and I’m having trouble coming to terms with what seems to be a really warped, messed-up fetish. What if this is the only thing I can get off to? Am I doomed to solo sex forever? —Vore Only Really Excites A quick dip into Wikipedia for readers who aren’t familiar with the term “vore”: “Vorarephilia (often shortened to vore) is a paraphilia wherein an individual’s sexual arousal occurs in response to a fantasy of themselves, another person, or an object eating or being eaten… The fantasy sometimes involves the victim being swallowed whole, though on some occasions the victims are chewed up, and may or may not include digestion.”

Makes you wonder how many of the people who were furious with the Discovery Channel after that guy wasn’t “eaten alive” by a snake were secretly vore fetishists.

Anyway, VORE, you’re not the only person on earth whose sexual fantasies revolve around or are completely dominated by something impossible or unrealizable. The lady centaur fetishist is not and never will be a lady centaur, the guy into giant women has not met and will not ever meet a 50-foot-tall woman

on the subway, you are not and never will be a monster capable of swallowing another monster whole. While most people with unrealizable fetishes or fantasies enjoy “regular stuff” all by itself, a great many do not. The latter type—kinksters who can’t get off to regular stuff—allow their impossible/unrealizable fantasies to play out in their heads while they enjoy the intimacy and physical sensations of non–vore/centaur/giantess stuff. Most aren’t “checked out” during sex: They’re enjoying regular stuff and irregular stuff simultaneously—they’re fully present, getting into and getting off on their partners, all while their impossible/unrealizable fantasies play on a loop in their heads, sometimes in the background, sometimes in the foreground.

So while you may be “doomed” to go through life with this fetish, VORE, you are not doomed to solo sex. You can have your fantasies and partnered sex too.

But I don’t think you’ve been at this sex stuff long enough to conclude that you’re incapable of enjoying regular stuff on its own.

Everyone has their go-to fantasies, and years of solo masturbation can carve a deep groove in a person’s erotic imagination. Since vore was where you always went when you were aroused prior to your boyfriend coming along, your brain may have automatically gone there when you got aroused with your boyfriend.

Don’t mistake what may have been force of habit for complete dependence, or what you seem to fear most—complete dependence on your vore fantasies—could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As for your shame about your kink (“a really warped, messed-up fetish”), you gotta shake that shit off. Take it from Tynan Fox, a kinkster and public speaker: “We don’t choose our kinks—our kinks choose us.” You didn’t choose your kink, VORE, your kink chose you. So give yourself a break, okay? Stick with sex- and kink-positive partners (like your current boyfriend), incorporate your kinks care-

Makes you wonder how many of the people who were furious... after that guy wasn’t “eaten alive” by a snake were secretly vore fetishists. fully and consensually, and don’t neglect your partner’s interests and possible kinks. You also might want to explore the furry/scalie community, a space where you can be (or meet) the anthropomorphic monster and/or dragon —Dan of your dreams.

You said you can’t respond to questions that are too long, so I’m going to keep it short: I’m a 44year-old divorced woman. An 18-year-old man who seemed attractive and confident approached me online, and I was intrigued. We hooked up for a one-night stand. We have now been together three times, and we’re talking and texting about doing it again. The sex is amazing, the best I have ever had, and he says the same (I know— he’s only 18). Is this bad? Am I bad? Should I —Acting Young Again stop seeing him?

My answer in brief: If he’s actually 18 (did you card him?), if you’re honoring the campsite rule (you will leave him in better shape than you found him), if he intends to honor the Tea and Sympathy rule after it’s over (when he speaks of this in the future, and he will, he will be kind), then it’s not bad, you’re not bad, and you don’t have to stop fucking him.

I live in a small city in a semirural area. I’m a single woman and am attracted to the idea of an underground swinger scene, or something similar, as a way to get some attachment-free action. But everyone around here knows each oth-

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“It’s a shame none of the ‘swinger identifiers’ that have been proposed—like white rocks in the front yard or a black ring worn on the right hand—panned out, because they would make finding swingers easier,” said Cooper S. Beckett, author of My Life on the Swingset: Adventures in Swinging & Polyamory and host of the Life on the Swingset podcast (lifeontheswingset.com). “But the swinger scene isn’t as underground as it seems, so she shouldn’t have to dig too deep to find it—even in her small town.”

Beckett recommends—and I hope you’re sitting down for this—going online, STG, where you have options other than Craigslist.

“The wonders of the internet make this far easier than it used to be,” said Beckett. “She should sign up for one of the many swinger dating websites, like Kasidie or Lifestyle Lounge or Swing Life Style—but NOT Adult Friend Finder, which is full of fakes and cheaters (and they nickel-and-dime you for everything). She can get a free trial and search for swingers in her area. If there aren’t many people, try the closest bigger city. Whichever site has the most locals, buy a month and go to town. Another great alternative is Meetup.com, which has been a real boon for kinky people—and it’s free! She can sign up under a pseudonym if it helps. Then search for nonmonogamy or swinging meet-ups in her town or the nearest big city.” Follow Beckett —Dan on Twitter @swingsetlife.

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er or knows of each other, and something like this would be buried way underground. I’m convinced a swinging scene exists here, but I have no idea how to find it. Those who strike me as the people who’d know are people I wouldn’t want to ask. So aside from Craigslist, which I do not trust, how does one go about finding the swinging scene in a small town? —Small-Town Girl

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THESTRAIGHTDOPE Simple question here: There are vitamins called A, B, C, D, E, and K. But what happened to vitamins F, G, H, I, and J? —Chris A. Johnson, New York City

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This sounds like the setup for a joke like the kids’ classic “Why was six afraid of seven?” Unfortunately, there’s no humor in the health sciences, so we don’t get a punch line where a nutritionist says, “Eh, eff G, H, I, and J.” But I digress. The answer, like the question, is relatively simple: most of those missing vitamins between E and K exist, but for one reason or another—mostly scientific disorganization—are now more often called by different names. None, as far as we know, disappeared in the great Vitamin Inc. conspiracy of ’99.

Our first five vitamins, A, B, C, D, and E, got their sequential names when they were discovered, one after the other, during the early-20th-century search for cures to thencommon diseases. Many of these arose from limited intake of produce and other fresh food, which in the pre-Whole Foods era used to be much tougher to come by: scurvy was a vitamin-C deficiency that made sailors’ gums bleed; beriberi was caused by lack of vitamin B (later B1—see below), found in whole grains, meat, and legumes. The general gloominess of English weather was responsible for rampant rickets, due to insufficient vitamin D. After these breakthroughs, the great vitamin hunt was on; most of the alphabet was at some point put to use in naming the results.

Originally the assumption was that each new discovery would get the next available letter, but the system went to crap when (1) many of the post-E vitamins were later re-identified as vitamins in the B complex, bearing designations between B2 and B12 (please don’t ask what happened to 4, 8, 10, and 11), and (2) the Germans rebelled and decided to assign letters based on medical relevance rather than order of discovery. Here’s a breakdown: Vitamin F: Known today as the essential fatty acids, of the omega-3 and omega-6 varieties. Should we seek these out? Possibly: they might decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, but (warns the Mayo Clinic) they also might make you bleed and/or smell like fish.

Vitamin G: The American name for what the Brits called B2. Eventually a truce was declared, and now we call it riboflavin.

Vitamins H and I: H is one that got named under the German scheme—it stands for Haut, German for “skin,” because that’s what it was thought to strengthen. It’s now called B7 or biotin. (Something similar happened with vitamin K, named for Koagulation.) Vitamin I was said to have a role in digestion, and has since been identified with various

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members of the B group.

And finally vitamin J: Beneficial to guinea pigs but unneeded by people, it didn’t make the cut.

The second half of the alphabet gets even messier: the bulk of the later would-be vitamins proved not to figure significantly in human growth and consequently were stripped of their status faster than a female priest.

For starters, there was vitamin L, so named for its apparent role in rat lactation. Better known as anthranilic acid, L1 is now closely regulated by the DEA: as one of the primary compounds used in the synthesis of the powerful recreational sedative methaqualone, aka Quaaludes, it falls into that intriguing category of substances that are fun but potentially fatal. A period TV crime drama about its production is undoubtedly forthcoming.

Vitamin M is now called folic acid or B9; vitamin P was a name given to the compounds called flavonoids, which apparently contribute more to plant pigmentation than human well-being; and Q is an antioxidant called coenzyme Q or Q10. Vitamin N may have been thioctic acid, and it may have helped with “burning mouth syndrome.” Now we just wait till the coffee cools.

Vitamin O goes all but unmentioned in the literature (meaning the name is available should Oprah pursue a career as a DJ), and the vitamin R story is nearly as murky. Vitamins S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z either turned out to be inessential to human health (S promotes growth in chicks, T heals wounds in insects) and thus failed to clear the vitamin threshold, or they never existed.

The lesson in all this? Stop worrying about vitamins. Daily multivitamins in particular are a first-world solution to a third-world problem—the average American consumes plenty of the recommended daily amounts naturally without assistance in pill form.

So really, that punch line has it right after all. Quit wasting your money on gummy vitamins and cut straight to Sour Patch Kids. They may burn a hole in your tongue, but a little vitamin N should clear that up.

—Cecil Adams Have something you need to get straight? Take it up with Cecil at straightdope.com.

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Get your Real Deal at realdeal.washingtoncitypaper.com washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 13

Hey Washington City Paper, here’s a question for you: Why does anyone need an “Answers Issue” in the age of Google?

Maybe not every city does. But Washingtonians display an enduring curiosity about the arcana of their city, and sometimes a simple search only yields hearsay and misinformation. Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to believe everything you read on the Internet?

We like to think it takes a small crew of local-minded journalists to really get to the bottom of these mysteries, so for the fourth year in a row, we’re serving up carefully researched answers to your burning questions. We also like to think of each question as a little love letter to our paper: “City Paper,” cries the reader. “I need you!”

Questions ranged from the practical (Where can I find good udon? Can we smoke weed yet?) to the improbable (Can I get a tour of Dupont Underground?) to the quasi-mystical (Which local meteorologist is the best?). Unlike last year, we fielded no animal-themed questions, but we did get a bunch of geography-related stumpers.

We hope these answers tide you over until next year. In the meantime, we’re looking to you, the reader, to gin up some more mysteries. Keep it weird and keep asking. ––Emily Q. Hazzard

Photographs by Darrow Montgomery 14 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

Why, except for a tiny half-block, is there no F Street SE on Capitol Hill?

The answer’s clearer if you look at old maps of the city. Currently, it looks like that little block of F Street between 1st and 2nd streets SE comes out of nowhere, and G could just as easily be renamed F to fill out the grid. But before the freeways got in the way, it made more sense. A map of the early Pierre L’Enfant grid shows F Street SW extending eastward to South Capitol Street, then pausing for a block and picking up where that itty bit exists today. The jog at Marion Park also shoots E Street out farther to the south as it heads east, leaving it about equidistant from D and G streets, with little room for an F Street there. —Aaron Wiener Why are there two Randolph Streets in D.C.?

There aren’t, exactly, although there’s still plenty of room for confusion. There’s a Randolph Street NW (in Petworth) and a Randolph Street NE (in Brookland and Woodridge). And then there’s the Randolph Place in Bloomingdale. This caused no shortage of mix-ups a few years ago, as befuddled 20-somethings attempted to visit their friends in one of the newly gentrifying but still unfamiliar neighborhoods of Petworth and Bloomingdale and ended up in the wrong one.

But Randolph Place isn’t completely illogical or unique: Two blocks south of Randolph Place is Quincy Place, which also has a sibling street in Petworth. On late-19th-century maps of Bloomingdale, Randolph and Quincy places don’t appear. Instead, like other small streets, they were added into the grid, following an alliterative pattern used elsewhere in the historic city. The street north of R Street NW near Logan Circle became Riggs Place; north of S was Swann Street. (And north of Q was Corcoran—close enough.) In Bloomingdale, it was the same, with Quincy, Randolph, and Seaton moving in north of Q, R, and S. Now if you want to get truly confused, Randolph Street actually used to be named Omaha Street, while Taylor was called Quincy. But let’s save that for another time.

—Aaron Wiener Why are there old concrete ponds behind so many houses in Takoma?

This one had just about everyone stumped, from Takoma history buffs to city planning officials. The questioner shared a photo of the pond in her backyard, which looks like an oversized, kidney bean-shaped concrete bathtub, and said she knows of at least five more in the surrounding blocks. Very mysterious.

But not so to Brendan Meyer, a historic preservation specialist for D.C., who posits a theory (and emphasizes it’s just that). His office’s library is full of home improvement books from the 1950s, which taught enterprising homeowners to work with, among other materials, concrete. The books had lessons in mixing concrete, pouring sidewalks and bird baths, and building pools like the one in the photo. “We speculate,” he writes, “that

the pond and the others are 1950s vintage and homeowner DIY projects.”

The 1950s timeline makes sense, Meyer continues, because of two recent innovations in concrete: the development of easyto-mix Portland cement and the invention of moisture-proof bags. After the Great Depression and World War II, he says, homeowners could easily buy bagged concrete that they just had to mix with water.

And why Takoma? Meyer says the ponds could just as easily have appeared in other middle-class, spacious D.C. neighborhoods in the 1950s. “But we come across regularly a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ pattern of unorthodox home improvements. They concentrate simply because one person does it first, the neighbors see it and like it, so they copy it.

Nothing mysterious in that.” —Aaron Wiener

What is up with all the twisted and turned-around walk lights at ev-

ery intersection in the city? Who is turning them? The wind? The vibration from cars whizzing by? Pranksters? Who fixes them, and how do I find them to complain?

Misaligned pedestrian signals have probably been hit by trucks, buses, or other large vehicles, says Michelle Phipps-Evans, a spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Transportation. The equipment is pretty sturdy, she adds, so correctly mounted lights aren’t usually affected by gusts of wind.

If you see an out-of-whack pedestrian light, contact 311 by phone, through its app, or through its website. “Generally people have been tweeting us,” says Phipps-Evans with an air of calm patience, the opposite tone that people with complaints commonly use on Twitter. For twisted-but-not-broken lights, you can expect a repair team to arrive within two hours of your report and within 24 hours if the signal is completely out.

Phipps-Evans adds that she doesn’t know of any accidents caused by downed fixtures, but advises everyone to be cautious and exercise common sense: “Personally, I would look at the [pedestrian light] behind me to see if it’s safe to cross. We want people to be patient, we’re not everywhere so we don’t know where everything is off.” And while readers might feel briefly thrilled by the satisfaction of publicly shaming DDOT on social media for such outages, it won’t speed up the process.

—Emily Q. Hazzard

Why do the Capitol Police stop every 30S bus on Pennsylvania Avenue SE as it nears the Capitol building? The buses have to come to a stop, open their doors, and give a thumbs-up to the officer. Does this actually prevent terrorist attacks?

Haven’t you seen Speed?! The U.S. Capitol Police figure that terrorists have. Capi-

washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 15

Can we smoke weed yet?

Yes. No. It’s complicated.

It’s true that D.C. has liberalized its marijuana laws over the last year, but Colorado we’re not. In July, D.C. decriminalized the possession of less than ounce of marijuana, dropping the penalty from possible jail time to a $25 ticket. And in November, 65 percent of D.C. voters cast ballots in favor of Initiative 71, but even that only really increased the amount you can legally possess to two ounces, as well as permitted the home cultivation of up to six plants and the unpaid transfer of up to an ounce.

So you can grow it, carry it, and pass it off to friends, right? Well, this is where it gets complicated. Initiative 71 isn’t yet law, and it’s unclear whether it will ever become law. Congressional Republicans say they blocked the ballot initiative in a December spending bill, but D.C. officials disagree. They’ve transmitted the measure to Capitol Hill for the usual 30-day review, prompting some Republicans to threaten a lawsuit to keep the city in line. The congressional review ends on Feb. 26, but it remains to be seen how long the legal wrangling over Initiative 71 could continue thereafter.

You could claim a medical necessity and register for the city’s medical marijuana program, of course. Last year, D.C. officials scrapped a restrictive list of qualifying conditions, making it substantially easier for the mildly infirm to gain access to legal pot. But there are even caveats there: You’d have to buy your weed from one of the three dispensaries in town, which means higher prices, and you still wouldn’t be allowed to smoke in public.

So, unless you’re a registered medical marijuana user, smoking weed remains illegal. But that certainly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t partake; pot prohibition hasn’t stopped millions from doing so already, nor should it stop you. Take some basic precautions in how you procure your pot and where you smoke it, and don’t be an idiot and drive after you’ve smoked.

—Martin Austermuhle

tol Police wary of someone turning a bus into a mobile bomb have flagged down buses as they approach the Capitol since January 2004. After checking that the bus hasn’t been stolen or hijacked, police flag the bus on.

As for whether it actually prevents terrorist attacks, it’s hard to know, since no stolen-Metro-bus plots have ever been carried out (or foiled, to my knowledge). But there is something that draws crazies to buses. The Belgian terror cell busted last week reportedly planned to take over a bus. Just last October in Anne Arundel County, Md., a couple stole a school bus from a parking lot. The Capitol Police probably don’t have to worry about this pair, though—police say they just wanted to make a cigarette run.

—Will Sommer

I see signs for them, but are any actual fallout shelters still around?

During the headiest days of Cold War mania, the District had over 1,000 fallout shelters. If you go looking for one when the Big One hits, though, you’ll just die tired.

The real problem with fallout shelters, however, is the same one Washingtonians faced 50 years ago: in the event of a nuclear strike on D.C., everyone in the city limits would fry. Fallout shelters might be useful for Baltimoreans 40 miles away, but they’d be useless in the event of a direct attack here.

For another—and this is hard to know for sure—the shelters are probably all gone by now, consumed by the ravages of time and the District’s rapacious

real estate market. If you do find one and hope to survive on its half-century-old rations, though, the city isn’t vouching for your safety. The District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency doesn’t track any of the remaining fallout shelters.

All that’s left, then, is to enjoy the remaining fallout shelter signs. Fallout shelter enthusiast website District Fallout estimates that the signs you can see today represent just 5 to 10 percent of the District’s original fallout shelter sign population. That number should keep slowly declining as old buildings are torn down.

In the event of a nuclear attack on the city, of course, they (and you) will be gone much faster than that.

—Will Sommer

What exactly happens with those “manifests” the cab drivers so diligently fill out? Hasn’t GPS and meters rendered them obsolete?

While technology may be advancing, the government still runs on paper.

“Taxicab drivers’ manifests must be kept for two years and made available upon request from a government agency, generally for a court-related matter,” says a spokesperson for the D.C. Taxicab Commission.

Manifests include information like place of origin and destination, fare charged, and the number of passengers transported. The paper copies are kept by the drivers, who must make them available upon request. Drivers can be fined $25 for failing to complete and maintain the manifest, $50 for failure to have an approved form in their possession,

16 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

Why are all the trees at the Liberian Embassy at 16th and Colorado all painted white around the base? It’s been like this for as long as I can remember.

I assumed initially that the reason was environmental. In many countries, it’s common to paint the base of trees white in a practice called whitewashing, which protects trees from dehydration or cracking caused by the sun, or from insects. The Liberian Embassy isn’t the only building

with white-painted trees: The Inter-American Defense Board at 16th and Euclid streets NW also features trees in these botanical knee socks, and there are probably others.

But when I called the embassy, the answer I got was a little cryptic and far more intriguing.

“The first reason is solidarity,” said the embassy’s Wede Tamba, relaying a message from the deputy ambassador. “And secondly for purity. Third is because of our [annual independence] celebration on July 26, and most of the time during the celebration we paint it white.”

—Aaron Wiener

and $100 for failing to make the manifest available to a hack inspector, law enforcement official, or DCTC employee.

When asked if the electronic payment systems now required in all D.C. cabs will one day allow for a paperless system, the spokesperson said, “Presumably there may come a time, but currently street hails must be recorded on a paper manifest.”

—Sarah Anne Hughes

When the federal government is closed (like on Dec. 26), is that also considered a holiday for parking meters and from other parking restrictions?

As we’ve learned, the federal government can close for a number of reasons, from a holiday to a congressionally-caused shutdown to some light drizzle. But just because employees of The Man have the day off, that doesn’t mean regular D.C. residents and visitors can skip feeding the meter.

In 2015, the federal government will observe ten holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, while D.C.’s parking meters will not be in service on 11 holidays designated by the D.C. government. The additional city holiday is D.C. Emancipation Day, which marks the passage of an act in 1862 that ended slavery in the District, freeing more than 3,100 people and allowing Councilmember Vincent Orange to organize a $20,000 prayer breakfast.

Should the federal government close for another reason, like snow, D.C. parking meters will be in service, even if a snow emergency is declared. Meters are not in service on Sundays.

If you don’t want to pay for parking on the other 302 days a year, become a D.C. councilmember: They do not have to feed the meters or, in most cases, observe parking regulations.

—Sarah Anne Hughes

What is the most comprehensive source for the sources of the names of D.C. streets? I’m tired of learning about them piecemeal! I want them all!

There isn’t one, because you haven’t written it yet! Sadly, local history experts could not provide us with a single comprehensive source, but we did get a few suggestions.

An employee at the D.C. Public Library’s Washingtoniana collection, based out of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, could not make a definitive suggestion, but said they “generally refer people to” Amy L. Alotta’s George Washington Never Slept Here.

That book—a researched history of D.C.’s major streets—is also what the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. recommends, according to Collections Manager Anne McDonough and Director of Development Adam P. Lewis.

“The streets were largely renamed by the D.C. Commissioners in the early 1900s,” Lewis explains, adding that annual reports from the Commissioners of the District of Columbia from that era may be helpful.

(Those can be accessed through hathitrust. org.) Articles from the Washington Post on the subject—“Streets Named Anew: Commissioners Fix Highway Nomenclature for Suburbs” from August 1901 and “New Street Names: Nomenclature for Section in the Far Northwest” from August 1905—also

Which local meteorologist has the best track record? I’m tired of falsely raised (or lowered) expectations!

To crown the area’s best meteorologist, we could theoretically cobble together forecasts for every day over the past months or years. Comprehensive data on past weather is readily available online, but past weather forecasts are another story. For some forecasters, everything they publish gets timestamped and archived on their organization’s website. For others, this week’s forecasts disappear online like newspapers thrown in the trash.

Regardless, tracking forecasts for every ordinary day isn’t the right way to say who’s best.

This isn’t the English Premier League, so meteorology champions are not made in the regular season. It’s during snow season in D.C. that you find out which meteorologist has the grit to come through when it really counts.

The most accurate meteorology team this winter has been the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang. Sure, they were an inch or two short in their prediction for Jan. 6, the day D.C. had the greatest accumulation so far this year. But the local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC weather teams weren’t any closer.

The Gang really distinguished itself the day before Jan. 12’s freezing rain episode, which caused a two-hour delay for federal agencies. “Major roads that are treated should be mainly just wet,” the team predicted on Jan. 11. That turned out to be correct. It was also an admirable display of restraint for weather-predicting types.

Compare that to a story from the Fox 5 website on the night of Jan. 11. “Seriously, this is a serious situation and you need to be aware of the potential problems BEFORE you try to leave your house on Monday,” the story says. “There’s no nice way to put it: If you live in the D.C. region and you travel on the roads—or sidewalks—to work/school/wherever you need to go, your trip will be impacted.”

Capital Weather Gang’s team had the skill and the steadiness of mind to emerge from the —Zach Rausnitz competition this season when it mattered most. washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 17

Can I get a tour of Dupont Underground?

contain useful information, says Lewis.

For related information, McDonough recommends an 1897 address by federal judge Alexander B. Hagner given before the Columbian Historical Society.

“Street Nomenclature of Washington City,” says McDonough, “includes some great historical suggestions for alternate names to streets.” You can check that out in person at the Historical Society’s Kiplinger Research Library and through JSTOR with a membership.

—Sarah Anne Hughes

Where’s the best place to see brand-new plays?

This one has a clear and unambiguous answer: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is our fair city’s most consistently rewarding home for brand-new and nearly-brand-new works for the stage.

All but a handful of the company’s 35 seasons to date have featured at least one world premiere. In the early ‘90s, Woolly’s was the first stage on which a trio of Nicky Silver plays, er, played: Fat Men in Skirts, Free Will & Wanton Lust, and The Food Chain.

In 2000, the theater hosted the U.S. premiere of Tracy Letts’ Bug. In the 21st century, it’s been the first home for pieces by Sandra Tsing Loh (I Worry), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (The Velvet Sky), Sarah Ruhl (Dead Man’s Cell Phone), and the monologuist Mike Daisey, who “birthed” (his term, sorry) the post-9/11hysteria-themed If You See Something, Say Something and the troubled (that is, partially fabricated) Apple exposé The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs at Woolly.

Woolly’s superb 2010 production of Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park overlapped with its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in New York City by one week; the play went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and a Woolly remount the following year. That triumph seemed to usher in a new golden age for new plays at Woolly: The next three seasons brought the world premieres of Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus El Rey, Anne Washburn’s stunningly perceptive Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, and Aaron Posner’s Chekov remix Stupid Fucking Bird, which also earned a Woolly remount along with productions in at least a dozen other U.S. cities so far. No other D.C. company comes close to Woolly’s record of introducing important new works to the world.

—Chris Klimek Where can I find good udon in D.C. or the surrounding suburbs?

Now? Probably not. (Unless you’re a reporter or have internal connections, in which case, whoop-de-doo for you. Stop clogging our inbox.)

But check back in a couple of weeks. Tours will soon be open to the public, according to Braulio Agnese, a member of the board of directors of the nonprofit Arts Coalition for the Dupont Underground, which clinched a 2010 bid for the site and signed a five-and-a-half year lease with the city last month. ACDU will set up an online ticketing system where locals curious about the history of the abandoned trolley station underneath Dupont Circle can sign up—and pay a $10-$20 fee—for a guided look-see. Tours will be limited, in part to preserve a sense of exclusivity.

“Subterranean spaces are compelling in and of themselves, whether it’s a hole in the ground, or a cave, or a forgotten basement space somewhere,” Agnese says. “[The Dupont Underground] is in such a prominent location and has been sitting here completely lost to the local memory. It was a major bit of infrastructural work that happened in the ‘40s, and that history is all buried and forgotten.”

The 75,000-square-foot space will start hosting one-off programs—concerts, site-specific art installations, special events—later this year and, ACDU hopes, eventually become a community gathering space that advances the city’s homegrown arts and culture.

For now, though, it’s a rough draft. When you do take the tour, you’ll have to sign a waiver to enter, since it’s not yet up to code. The floor’s uneven, the lighting’s a little dim, and it’s far from ADA-compliant. “It’s not like pieces are falling from the ceiling,” Agnese says, but it’s “kind of like a construction site.” Luckily, you have some time to bedazzle your hard-hat.

—Christina Cauterucci Sushi Taro (near Dupont Circle) serves a teuchi kamatama udon that’s not only the best bowl of noodles around, but one of my favorite dishes of any kind in D.C. The Japanese restaurant makes its own slippery white noodles, which have just the right amount of chewy al dente bite. They’re topped with shredded nori, tempura crunchies, grated daikon, green onion, bonito flakes, and best of all, a creamy poached egg. It’s not quite a soup: The noodles ($12.95) come with a small side cup of soy-based broth, which you can pour over the dish. Mix the ingredients together, and don’t be afraid to slurp.

—Jessica Sidman

What bars/clubs stay open the latest in D.C.?

Bars and clubs can’t serve alcohol past 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends (although there are extended hours on certain holidays for registered establishments).

The Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration sent me a spreadsheet with the operating hours of every place in its database as of Aug. 27. While some places list operating hours beyond 3 a.m., it’s tough to find any that actually stay open that late. (There’s typically not much point in staying open if you can’t sell alcohol.) One exception: Flash at 645 Florida Ave. NW. It usually closes between 4 and 5 a.m. on weekends and 2:30 or 3 a.m. on weeknights. For New Year’s Eve, the club hosts a party that runs 16 hours—from 8 p.m. til noon the next day.

For the most part, if you’re looking for somewhere to go after last call, restaurants provide the best refuge. The Diner in Adams Morgan and Tastee Diner, which has three suburban locations, are open 24/7 for your pancake or burger cravings. If you happen to be in Annandale, Honey Pig and Yechon serve Korean barbecue at any hour.

Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe never closes on Friday and Saturday, and the recent-

18 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

Who painted the “Welcome to Old City” mural at the corner of 6th and Florida NE? Did the District put it up? Do people who live there self-identify as Old Citizens?

The District didn’t have anything to do with this work of public art. Rebecca and Yancey Burns own the home at 1208 6th St. NE, one side of which is visible from Florida Avenue, and decided this past March to commission the mural to celebrate and better identify the neighborhood. After consulting a list of artists provided by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, they decided to hire Coby Kennedy, a D.C.-raised graffiti artist and car designer who has painted city-commissioned murals in Eckington and Blagden Alley, though none in this

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exact style. The entire process took about two weeks during last year’s cold snap, and though he couldn’t feel his hands during part of the painting process, Kennedy still describes the work as one of his favorites.

The Burnses first heard the area referred to as “Old City” by their neighbors, who’ve lived in the neighborhood for decades. “We’re not quite NoMa, not quite Union Market, not quite H Street, and definitely not Capitol Hill North,” Rebecca says. “So we asked our neighbors, the Halls (who have been in the neighborhood since the ‘50s) what they call our neighborhood, and they told us they’ve always called it Old City.” (The Burns’ home is located in Old City 1, as defined by the D.C. Tax and Revenue Office.) Since Florida Avenue formed the northern boundary of the L’Enfant city when it was first designed, this neighborhood is one of D.C.’s oldest, though now it’s commonly referred to as Near Northeast.

As for whether or not the residents call themselves “Old Citizens,” they certainly could. However, the preferred term for a resident of the District is not Petworthian or Georgetowner or Hill —Caroline Jones East-er; it’s Washingtonian.

What are the rules about archery in D.C.?

Is there anywhere in the District you can legally go to shoot a bow and arrow?

What you can legally do with archery equipment in the District depends on how you intend to use it. Although one Metropolitan Police Department public information officer wondered aloud whether a bow and arrow would be considered a dangerous weapon, archery enthusiast Dave Burpee, a member of Northern Virginia Archers, quickly set the record straight: “If you can kill a moose and a grizzly and a cape buffalo with a bow, you can do some damage.” If that somehow doesn’t impress you, note that Katniss Everdeen can take out not one but two fighter jets with a bow and arrow.

The D.C. Code says you can’t “possess, with intent to use unlawfully against another…[a] dangerous weapon,” and you can’t kill or trap any wildlife in the District. So while you’re in D.C., don’t aim your weapon at anything living, and we don’t recommend walking around downtown with an arrow notched in your bow. However, Jonathan Clingerman, a D.C. police detective and member of Northern Virginia Archers, says you can transport your bow in the city “with no issues.”

Legal issues aside, there aren’t any archery ranges in the District itself. But if you’re interested in firing a bow, it’s easy to get started. “Find a club and show up. Talk to people,” suggests Burpee. There’s a dazzling array of equipment to choose from, so club members will often let newbies try out their gear. You’re likely to start practicing on a flat, paper target, but 3-D target options are available (and thrillingly diverse): Bury an arrow in anything from your runof-the-mill deer model to the Michelin man, dinosaurs, giant frogs, zombie heads, or basically anything else toward which you feel a deep-seated rage or irrational fear.

There are a number of clubs and learning opportunities in Maryland and Virginia. The Belvoir Bow Hunters Club meets at Fort Belvoir in Northern Virginia, which has an “Olympic-grade” shooting facility, says longtime member David Coleman. The DC Archery Club (a Meetup group with almost 400 members) convenes regularly at Lake Needwood, and Northern Virginia Archers has practice ranges in Fountainhead Regional Park, near Clifton, Va. Prince George’s County Department of Recreation offers archery lessons on Sundays in spring and —Emily Q. Hazzard summer at Adelphi Manor.

20 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

ly opened Surfside at 1800 N St. NW serves tacos at all times.

Other good options in the wee hours that don’t involve a Ben’s Chili Bowl halfsmoke: Fast Gourmet, which is open until 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and Amsterdam Falafelshop, whose 14th Street NW and Adams Morgan locations are open until 4 a.m. on weekends. New Big Wong, a favorite after-hours spot of restaurant industry folks, is also open until 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

—Jessica Sidman

How did So’s Your Mom get its name?

The current owner of the Adams Morgan deli, Mark Kim, has run So’s Your Mom for nearly a decade, and the place has changed hands a couple of times since it opened in 1984. One of the original owners, Alan Balaran, sold the business in 1989 and is now an attorney in D.C. The self-described “misplaced Brooklynite” opened the deli with his landlord, Marty Feldman from the Bronx, because the two felt there was no place in the city to buy real meats. (They used to travel to New York to buy their sandwich stuffings.) Before that, Balaran managed a bar across the street from So’s Your Mom called Columbia Station, different from the one that exists in Adams Morgan now, that had a sign on the door reading, “proper attire discouraged.”

So, about that name: “It was an insult when I was a kid. That was all. It probably had a few more expletives, but that was sort of the gist of it,” Balaran says. “It was really kind of simple.”

Jason Kim, the current owner’s son, says

his father has never considered changing the name. In fact, the deli as a whole hasremained almost exactly the same as it was from the beginning. “It works,” Kim says.

“We just felt no reason to change it.”

—Jessica Sidman

Aside from DC101, are there any good radio stations for the indie/alt-rock crowd?

For the most part, unfortunately, no.

DC101 is really the only station that consistently programs a reliable type of “independent” and alternative music. And even then, most of the artists that the station plays have been on the Top 40 charts at some point.

However, there are a few exceptions that are worth checking out if your commute takes you through Northwest or near University of Maryland. There’s Radio CPR, the volunteer-run Mount Pleasant-based community station. Though its programming varies based on who’s DJing, you can usually expect independent, punk, and experimental music. There’s also WMUC, UMD’s radio station.

While many other local schools (including George Washington University, American, and Georgetown) forced their student-run stations online by selling their frequencies long ago, UMD is hanging on to its radio real estate. It’s a low-watt station, so you won’t be able to hear it more than a few miles from campus, but it’s got the eclectic mix of up-to-the-minute music expected of any reputable college station.

—Maxwell Tani

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Tony! Tony! Tony?

Rival H Street carryout restaurants both claim to be the original.

By Jessica Sidman

Darrow Montgomery

Roommates Anu Joshi and Angela Butcher are perched menus, Choe has resorted to writing, “Visit the One & Only Over the years, Suk Reddick has owned several different in the corner of the carryout deli with ketchup and syrup- Authentic Tony’s Not Affiliated with Tony’s Place.” businesses called Tony’s across D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, smeared plates. They’ve both nearly polished off the Hungry “We are the original owners,” Choe says. “And we have the including grocery stores, diners, and carryouts. The Tony’s Man’s Platter with bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, and rights to say that.” on H Street NE originally opened in the late 1980s or early pancakes or French toast. Joshi is moving to Chicago soon, and Except that Tony’s Place makes the same claims. A sign 1990s—she can’t remember exactly when anymore—at a diffor a farewell meal, Butcher looked to Yelp for help picking a over the doorway reads “The Original TONY’S PLACE.” ferent address a block away on 13th Street NE. Then in 2001, place. She settled on Tony’s on H Street NE. Reddick bought the building at 1401 H St. NE and moved the “It looked good in the pictures,” Butcher says. “And I heard Suk Reddick opened the first Tony’s in Richmond, Va., in business there.

1981. She’d come to America five years earlier with her husgood things in the reviews.”

Tony Reddick, who now works for a medical research comWhen they arrived at the corner of 14th and H, they didn’t band, but they’d divorced, and she worked multiple jobs so pany, says he spent most of his youth working in the famisee Tony’s at the address they were looking for, 1387 H St. NE. she could save money to finally be her own boss. From a very ly business. But after a while, he got sick of it. The restauThen they noticed a sign for Tony’s rant was struggling, and he Place across the street. and his mom had different The women went in, ordered from ideas about how to fix it. the counter overlooking the kitchUltimately, since he didn’t en, and sat down on metal stools in want to run it, she brought the narrow azure blue-walled room in someone else. covered with papers advertising speSo Robert and Kay Choe, Justine Choe’s parcials in Comic Sans type. Then they ents, bought Tony’s on H looked out the window and saw the Street from Suk Reddick bright orange awning with the name around 2003 and went on of another Tony’s—Tony’s Breakfast. The squat white building was to run it under the same slightly tucked out of view from the name at the same location main corridor. for a decade. (Reddick kept They were at the wrong Tony’s. the building and leased it to Still, Joshi and Butcher enjoyed them.) They are also Koretheir breakfast just fine, and they an immigrants and operated found the service very friendly. “I carryouts in Baltimore bewould come back here,” Butcher fore coming to D.C., where says. “Some things are meant to be, they had a liquor store and and this is the place that we came to, other food businesses. And so this is our farewell spot.” She turns Tale of Two Tonys: Tony’s Breakfast (1387 H St. NE) is across the street from Tony’s Place (1401 H St .NE). for most of their 10-year to her friend and points to the Tony’s lease, they had a good relaacross the street: “I guess I’ll have to go to that one without young age, she was forced to work to survive; both of her par- tionship with Reddick. They were friends even. ents died when she was 8 years old. “My mom always knew you.”

Choe says that was when they built up a reputation for “Yes,” Joshi says, “because when I come back, we’re defi- she had to take care of herself, so she always wanted to have Tony’s. “Our family, we put love into the business. That’s why business for herself,” says her son Tony Reddick, the restau- when people come in, they know our names,” she says. “We nitely coming to this one.” rant’s namesake.

“I know, this is, like, our spot now.” know the community, and it’s gotten to the point where peoIn Korean culture, a mother is often referred to as the moth- ple have become like our family around here.”

Across the street at Tony’s Breakfast, co-owner Justine Choe is disappointed to hear this. Her family’s restaurant, er of her eldest son, or in Suk Reddick’s case, “Tony’s mothAs the lease came to an end in 2013, the Choes started to talk after all, earned the 4.5 stars on Yelp that drew Joshi and er.” “So in English, people would pick up on that and just call to Reddick about renewing or buying her building. But when Butcher to the neighborhood in the first place. But mix- her ‘Tony’ instead. They would think her name was Tony,” they failed to reach an agreement, the relationship soured. ups like this happen every day. On the back of its takeout Reddick says.

The Choe family ultimately had to relocate. “I’m so washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 25

DCFEED(cont.) stressed,” Kay Choe recalls. “One month, I can’t eat. I can’t sleep.” They didn’t want to stray far, because their customer base was on H Street. And so they thought themselves lucky to find a previously abandoned space at 1387 H St. NE, facing their old locale. Within two months, they were back in business as Tony’s. Choe added “Breakfast” to the end of the name to emphasize the morning offerings they were known for.

Because they’d bought the H Street business years earlier, they say they have every right to the name. They are “Tony” now, as Choe sees it. “They call me Tony. I’ve been helping my parents out since I was 13,” says the now 27-year-old. “Everybody at this point is Tony.

I would consider my father more the real Tony than the actual Tony, because my mom and my dad built up this business for years, and they made it what it is.”

But the name came as a surprise to the Reddicks, who had stopped talking to the Choes. They figured with the move, the Choes would change the name. Tony Reddick says they were in the process of renovating the building when a contractor called to ask if they’d set up a temporary location across the street during construction. Reddick had no idea what he was talking about—until he came and saw the sign for Tony’s Breakfast. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ That’s my name, OK?’” he says. “There’s no one in the family named Tony. That’s my name. That’s my mother’s business name. And you open right across the street. Seriously?… The only reason they kept that name is they’re using the reputation of my mother, which I think is sad.”

At this point, Suk Reddick had leased out 1401 H St. NE to a new tenant, Etelvina Quintanilla, who had worked for her for 21 years. Quintanilla had also worked for the Choe family but was fired. She asked Reddick if she could use the name Tony’s. “I said, ‘Go ahead... Why not?’” Suk Reddick says. “How are they going to own the name? I don’t own the name. Nobody owns the name.” (Neither party has trademarked the name.)

Plus, Quintanilla was already operating another Tony’s: She had bought a different location of Tony’s Place at 622 Kennedy St. NW, which has been around for more than a decade, from the Reddicks long before any drama over the name. There’s yet another Tony’s Place that Reddick opened in 2008 and continues to operate at 1400 Good Hope Road SE. (That’s the last of the Tony’s she has left.)

Those locations didn’t trouble Choe too much: “That was far away, so that’s fine,” she says. But her family was shocked to see Quintanilla adopt the name for the H Street shop.

Several months after Tony’s Breakfast reopened at its new location, Choe saw a sign on her old building reading “Tony’s Place coming soon.”

26 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

“I was like, ‘Wow, OK’… We were just thinking it’s kind of low of her,” Choe says of the landlord telling the new tenant to use the name. Just because the new owner knows Tony’s original owner, it doesn’t make the business the original Tony’s, she says.

Quintanilla, however, isn’t too bothered by the fact that there are two Tony’s across the street from each other. “That’s America,” she says. She calls Tony’s Place the “original” because she was involved in the original H Street business for so long. It was her first job.

Choe contacted a lawyer about the situation, but ultimately, she felt it wasn’t worth the time and money to file a lawsuit. Instead, Choe took to social media to tell people that Tony’s Breakfast was the “real Tony’s.”

And for the most part, people listened. “I started coming here because I read the Yelp reviews that this place used to be over there, and that place is now imitating them and not as good,” says neighbor Joey Lee while picking up her order inside Tony’s Breakfast last Friday.

“I’ve been there one time,” says Tony’s Breakfast regular Michael Mercer about Tony’s Place. The electrician ventures from Southern Avenue SE three times a week for the breakfast or fish at Tony’s Breakfast. “I always come here. The food’s better… If you look at the business that these people get compared to over there, I don’t see anybody going over there.”

Still, Justine estimates her family has lost 10 to 15 percent of its business because of confusion with Tony’s Place, “which is a lot, if you think about it, in six months.”

One such unknowing convert: Sherri Jordan, who was grabbing lunch at Tony’s Place with her kids last Friday. She lives in Virginia, but she’s been coming here for years whenever she’s in the area. “Actually, I haven’t been in a while because they were remodeling,” she says. “Once I saw they were reopened I was like, ‘Yes!’ So I started coming back here.”

Jordan was unaware of the location and ownership shuffles, but when she found out, she didn’t care. She still prefers Tony’s Place.

Once, she accidentally called Tony’s Breakfast to place an order thinking it was Tony’s Place.

She realized her mistake when she arrived and the food wasn’t there. “I ordered my food here.

I just didn’t even go over there,” she says.

Choe and her parents have not been in Tony’s Place since it opened. “I would never go in there,” she says. Likewise, the Reddicks and Quintanilla have not set foot in Tony’s Breakfast.

“The customer has to try the food. That’s all,” Quintanilla says. “The customer goes CP wherever he feels.”

Eatery tips? Food pursuits? Send suggestions to hungry@washingtoncitypaper.com.

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DCFEED

what we ate last week:

Crispy fried fish with sweet chili sauce, $29, Mango Tree, Satisfaction level: 3 out of 5 what we’ll eat next week:

Bone broth with seasonal greens, $5, Hälsa, Excitement level: 4 out of 5

Grazer

Uhoh,Fro-Yo RIP, fro-yo? The trend rose to cupcake proportions, but now it’s essentially lost its pulse. While some holdouts remain—like Mr. Yogato and FroZenYo—far more have fallen. Take a look back at the fast-burning flame of ice cream’s fleetingly famous cousin. —Jessica Sidman

The Sandwich: The Wicked ’Wich Where: Which ’Wich, 1025 Vermont Ave. NW Price: $8.25 for a 7-inch, $10.50 for a 10.5inch, $11 for a 14-inch Bread: Choice of white or wheat sub roll

In 2008, Canadian chain Yogen Früz announced its lofty ambition to bring 16 stores to Virginia and D.C. Seven years later, it’s nowhere close to that goal. A shop near Franklin Square closed in 2013, but you can still find Yogen Früz in non-storefront locations like the concession stand at AMC Georgetown or inside Cafe Grande on K Street NW. It’s also still standing in Woodbridge, Va., but a Pentagon City locale is long gone.

A transplant from Hollywood where fans called it “Crackberry,” Pinkberry made its debut to the D.C. area in October 2010 with a location in Fairfax Corner. Another outpost in Georgetown opened in December 2011. But as the national chain turns 10, the local franchise filed for bankruptcy last month.

All but one of the area locations—in Reagan National Airport—have closed.

Frozen yogurt (aka “Sweetflow”) was a central part of Sweetgreen’s business model at its inception. The salad biz even had a Sweetflow Mobile that began roaming the streets in the summer of 2009. Not only has the food truck permanently parked, but the rest of the frozen yogurt operation screeched to a halt at all new locations last year. “The yogurt was the only thing that was a lot harder to innovate on,” says co-owner Nic Jammet. “So we decided, ‘let’s simplify.’”

28 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

Tasti D-Lite describes itself as a “New York phenomenon.” And when it first opened in the area, franchise owner Greg Karanzalis promised 25 locations in Maryland, D.C., and Delaware over 10 years. So much for that. Tasti D-Lite’s Columbia Heights and Dupont Circle locations both closed in August 2012 after less than a year in business.

Stuffings: Ham, turkey, roast beef, bacon, pepperoni, three cheeses (choose between American, Swiss, cheddar, provolone, pepper jack, mozzarella, blue, parmesan, feta, or Cheez Whiz), lettuce, tomato, onions, mustard, and mayonnaise Thickness: 3 inches Pros: The first D.C. location of this Texasbased chain brags of offering 56 trillion possible sandwich combinations. So needless to say, things are easily customizable: If you want honey mustard instead of yellow, or fried onions instead of raw, you can make those changes by marking your order on a paper bag. When toasted, the roll is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, giving the sandwich a nice texture.

Cons: Too much meat! The combination of three cured meats, along with beef and turkey, yields a sandwich so salty that it gives you instant heartburn. According to Which ‘Wich’s online nutritional information, a small Wicked ‘Wich contains a whopping 2,279 milligrams of sodium, which can rise depending on your cheese choices. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends around 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.) Vegetables, which might add some contrasting flavor to this salt bomb, lack both color and taste.

Restaurateur Aaron Gordon purports to be the first to bring the frozen yogurt craze to D.C. with the 2008 opening of Tangysweet in Penn Quarter. (Mr. Yogato opened just a few weeks later.) It was followed by a Dupont location, which closed in 2011. Meanwhile, Gordon has replaced the original with a Viennese-inspired cafe called Bakers & Baristas that opens this week. “The initial shine has worn off frozen yogurt,” Gordon says.

Messiness level (1 to 5): 3. Of course a sandwich this packed will leak ingredients.

Best to keep it wrapped up and peel back the paper slowly to avoid covering your table in shredded lettuce and crumbs.

Overall score (1 to 5): 1. Downtown is full of sandwich shops offering similar, less salty sandwiches, for the same price. Go to any of those instead. Which ‘Wich’s cutesy paper bag ordering system doesn’t make up for a sandwich this terrible. —Caroline Jones

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washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 29

VISIT US AT CFA.GMU.EDU

Aquila Theatre The Tempest FRIDAY, JANUARY 23 AT 8 P.M. A tale of shipwrecks, magic, vengeance, and forgiveness, The Tempest is widely considered to be one of Shakespeare’s finest: his ultimate commentary on life and art. Some scholars think it contains his “retirement” speech in Prospero’s memorable soliloquy and epilogue. “If energy be the food of Shakespeare, then Aquila Theatre serves up a smorgasbord.” (Boston Globe) $44, $37, $26

Jasmine Guy and the Avery Sharpe Trio

Raisin’ Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey SATURDAY, JANUARY 24 AT 8 P.M. 1920s Harlem: the heart of the African-American community in New York and a place of intense and buoyant creativity – and entertainment glamour! Honoring artists who struggled against racial prejudice amidst this outpouring of artistic expression, Jasmine Guy and Avery Sharpe bring that time to life with texts, imagery, and its fabulous music.

Open captioning will be provided for this performance. $48, $41, $29

TICKETS 888-945-2468 OR CFA.GMU.EDU

Walnut Street Theatre A Life in the Theatre FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6 AT 8 P.M. This hilarious work about two actors competing for the spotlight – and the dressing room! – provides a backstage glimpse into “Theater,” and the challenges of the relationship between a mentor and his apprentice. “Mr. Mamet has written – in gentle ridicule; in jokes, broad and tiny; and in comedy, high and low – a love letter to the theater. It is quite a feat, and he has pulled it off.” (New Yorker) Please note: This performance includes mature language. $44, $37, $26

Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway exit 54 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123.

A World Premiere Written and Directed

by Aaron Posner

Through February 15 30 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

theaterj.org | 800.494.8497 | @theaterj

Photo by C. Stanley Photography

From the Helen Hayes award-winning author of Stupid F**king Bird An Irreverent Variation on Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya

CPARTS

D.C. premiered a new play that wants to be the Vagina Monologues of abortion stories. washingtoncitypaper.com/go/outofsilence

Galleries

Birthday Sects Make your professor a gift for her big day.

No pressure.

Naoko Wowsugi + Whoop Dee Doo At Hamiltonian Gallery to Feb. 14

By Kriston Capps

Naoko Wowsugi’s Philosophy of Teaching in the Style of John Baldessari Sings Sol LeWitt” (2014) is exactly what it sounds like. (Or worse, since the students can’t carry a tune.) Students are forever learning the wrong lessons from the wildly inventive performance artist Baldessari: Do as he does, not what he

Some people can be so difficult about their birthdays. Expensive dinners, cabin weekends, a birthday penumbra that expands until you find yourself celebrating someone’s birthday week or birthday month—birthday-zillas are always wrecking the calendar. But nobody goes as big on her birthday as Naoko Wowsugi.

For the last few years, Wowsugi, an art professor at American University, has asked her students to make her a birthday present as a class project. In addition to video art, Wowsugi teaches a class called “Time-Based Media,” which you’ll find over in the performance wing (so to speak). “I don’t need more material possessions,” her class prompt reads. “You don’t need to butter me up. I want experiences as my birthday gifts.”

“Assignment: Happy Birthday”— a show by Wowsugi at Hamiltonian Gallery—is as clever as exhibits come.

Wowsugi’s work here isn’t her own, but rather the work of her students, meaning the artist’s titular role in the show’s production is somewhere between curator and conductor. The work on view may be the students’, but it deserves an asterisk, too: This isn’t an American University group art show so much as a collection of exercises urged by a professor’s prompt.

“Assignment” is challenging along an author-artwork spectrum of analysis, but it’s also a big birthday jumble of fun and frivolity (and failure).

There are some Fs to be handed out after “Assignment,” for sure. Angel Samudre’s “Time-Based Studio Sings “Here, Throw This Off A Building” by Randall Lear (2013)

does. Rebekah Pike’s “3 Red and 2 Green” (2012) comprises found products made with apple coloring or flavoring—give the teach an apple, get it?—but that doesn’t seem to meet the parameters of the assignment.

Another student went far beyond the classroom’s walls (and U.S. borders) to fulfill the project. HwaJin Shin notes in her video, “The Route to Home” (2012), that Wowsugi’s birth certificate features an address that places her permanent home in the middle of a field in South Korea. (Wowsugi, an artist of Japanese and Korean descent, has studied art at Osaka University of Arts in Japan and the Kansas City Art Institute, and received her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.) So Shin—from her classroom at VCU, where Wowsugi was teaching at the time—asked family and friends back home in South Korea to drive some four hours to plant a tree at the GPS coordinates indicated as Wowsugi’s address. The video is searching and sincere—too earnest, really, but also an interesting redirect, with Shin essentially assigning out an endurance performance to people who’d be willing to do it for her, if not for Wowsugi.

Then there’s Tim Hoyt’s “Magnified Reciprocity” (2014). I don’t know whether to give it the lowest or highest marks, which makes it a compelling piece, albeit maybe the least likable one in the show. For Wowsugi’s birthday, Hoyt composed a new piece of music for her. I’m no music critic, but to my ear, the song’s swells of synthesized-sounding harmonies sound indistinguishable from those of Brooklyn electronic-rock duo Ratatat. (I wonder, in fact, whether it might be a remix.)

To make this a piece of time-based art, not just a piece of music, Hoyt video-recorded Wowsugi (and himself) as she listens to the song for the first time. “Magnified Reciprocity” is an indulgent video: The two sit face to face against a stark backdrop, costars in this birthday production, Hoyt beaming as Wowsugi concentrates on the sounds streaming through her headphones. It’s a total jerk move.

(Imagine your boyfriend making a video about your reaction to his very special gift for you.) With “Magnified Reciprocity,” Hoyt has made Wowsugi’s birthday about Hoyt.

Then again, why shouldn’t he?

There’s nothing organic about “Assignment,” after all. Maybe Hoyt felt pressed into service, celebrating his professor’s birthday. Or maybe he simply perceived that he’s the artist creating work here, not her. Hoyt’s poncy washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 31

CPARTS Continued

video makes us face the facts: There’s a touch of selfishness to even the most generous gestures. Sometimes favors have to be earned.

Another twist in the show, Erin Nanney’s “Eulogy” (2014), took the prompt in the opposite direction. Instead of celebrating her professor’s birthday, Nanney ends her life. Video of the undertaking shows Wowsugi standing in the wings like a ghost attending her own funeral, one who can’t keep a straight face throughout the somber ceremony. Several students say words, not all of them especially reverent, in the video, which is embedded in a shrine. Here’s where some of the cynicism I see in Hoyt’s work might’ve done Nanney some good: What does a literal 180-degree pivot on the prompt get for Nanney?

Maybe an A, but not an artwork.

For “Here, Throw This Off a Building” (2013), Randall Lear handed Wowsugi a package with those instructions. Although she didn’t know it, inside were several paintings and projects that Lear had made earlier in his young career. This made the professor the unknowing participant in an act of creative destruction. By dint of Wowsugi’s assignment, Lear made new work from old; thanks to Lear, Wowsugi got to throw stuff off a building for her birthday. That’s an experience worth remembering—and so is Wowsugi’s art exhibit.

B o n ke r s i s t h e o n l y wo rd t o d e s c r i b e t h e opening-night performance by Whoop Dee Doo (if a video of the event is any indication). The work of artists Matthew Roche and Jaimie Warren since 2006, Whoop Dee Doo is a traveling performance troupe that incorporates whoever’s near and whatever’s at hand for anything-goes installations.

For “Baphy Hirpday 2012,” Whoop Dee Doo turned Hamiltonian’s birthday-themed exhibit into a full-on U Street party.

The centerpiece of “Baphy Hirpday” is a cake, surrounded by walls lined with presents. What makes the piece sing, though, are students from the Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute, a martial-arts studio located just next door, as well as performers from the Girlz With Glam after-school program.

While artists always pay lip service to incorporating the community, it’s a rare delight to see it done so fabulously.

What a baphy hirpday it was. A dancing Chinese dragon!

A gift-box hiding a drummer! Girls camouflaged as birthday cake! Choreographed martial artists! Dark eclectic synths! By the looks on the kids’ faces, “Baphy Hirpday” was as much a present for them as for Wowsugi or anybody else. Whoop Dee Doo delivered a special gift for viewers: a reminder that art is CP the icing on the cake.

Angela Goerner, courtesy of Hamiltonian Gallery

1353 U St. NW. Free. (202) 332-1116. hamiltoniangallery.com

The theatre was created to tell people the truth about life and the social situation. — Stella Adler

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CPARTS Arts Desk

One trAck MinD

Tomás Pagán Motta “I Don’t Care”

Tiny toilets, no wireless hookup, European outlets— how did Capital Fringe get its new home ready to open? washingtoncitypaper.com/go/newfringe

ReadeR of the Pack

Busboys and Poets opened its fifth restaurant, located in the Monroe Street Market development near the Brookland-Edgewood border, at the start of the new year. The spot aims to up the franchise’s literary cred: It’ll host a slew of writing workshops and serve as home base for both the Beltway Poetry Slam, which won the National Poetry Slam for the first time in its history last year, and the inaugural outpost of Busboys’ forthcoming Politics & Prose-run bookshops. But every Busboys location peddles its fair share of radical reads, vegan cookbooks, and activist manuals. Here’s the most popular book sold at each of the anti-empire’s bookstores. —Christina Cauterucci

Standout Track: “I Don’t Care,” a warm, folksy fusion of twangy acoustic guitar and slick pedal steel, laced with pulse-setting shakers, comes from Tomás Pagán Motta’s upcoming self-titled LP, set to drop March 3. Before stepping out under his given name, the Mount Vernon Square-based singer-songwriter performed as the Petticoat Tearoom, backed by a rotating roster of other musicians. But after releasing two albums under the pseudonym, Motta opted to fully own his creations: “The songs were clear to me from the beginning—the instrumentation, feel, tone. I wanted to deconstruct and create a lot of space, and I wanted to do it under my own name.”

Musical Motivation: After spending a chunk of his childhood in Puerto Rico, Motta developed a knack for crafting cool, fluid compositions. “Growing up hearing salsa music and the typical folk from Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean, reggae, it all grooves,” he says. But while “I Don’t Care” features a balanced blend of emotional lyrics and upbeat instrumentation, its inspiration lies in feeling out of sync. “I’ve been traveling and hustling and taking risks, and the information I’m coming up with doesn’t square with the old schools of thought I carried so tightly,” Motta says.

Wild, Wild West: For Motta, the writing process is all about sitting back and letting things develop organically. “I sort of zone out,” he says. That approach went into overdrive on “I Don’t Care.” “Big chunks of it came out in one sort of manic evening with the guitar,” Motta says. “I decided to give it a go live and got another big piece there. Then, in the studio, right before we cut it, I got the last piece.

I was listening to a lot of Spaghetti Western soundtracks at the time.” —Carey Hodges Listen to “I Don’t Care” at washingtoncitypaper.com/go/idontcare.

34 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

PoPulaR oveRall

A People’s History of the United States

by Howard Zinn

ShiRlington Isa Does It

by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

14th & v and hyattSville

Hip Hop Speaks to Children edited by Nikki Giovanni

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Black Prophetic Fire

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TheaTerCurtain Calls We Unhappy FeW

Photo by C. Stanley Photography

SFB’s strong cast, mostly composed of actors who work a lot in D.C., included one equally remarkable but unfamiliar playLife Sucks (Or the Present Rier from out of town: Brad Koed. Life Sucks, diculous) too, marks the D.C. debut of a major talent.

Written and directed by Aaron Posner That’s Monica West as Ella (originally YelAt Theater J to Feb. 15 ena), described by her much-older professor husband (John Lescault) as a “near-Cate Strings of bare lightbulbs hang over the Blanchett-like siren” who underestimates her audience’s heads. The actors, wearing (most- own allure, imaging herself as “a sweaty, dily) casual, modern clothing and speaking in sheveled Lena Dunham after a 10K charity plain, contemporary language, don’t so much run for Africa.” Obviously, the line indicts the break the fourth wall as never build it, re- professor more than it does the Girls creator— minding us we can leave right now if we don’t Ella would love to be as self-actualized and like their play and pausing, now and again, to accomplished as Dunham—but it’s also one ask us questions. Kimberly Gilbert plucks out of the few dozen locally sourced meta jokes Beatles songs on a ukelele. here, since Blanchett actually played Yelena in You saw Stupid Fucking Bird, didn’t you? Vanya at the Kennedy Center in 2011.

Aaron Posner’s flippant, lyrical, hilarious, True to the original story, everyone is heartbreaking remix of Anton Chekhov’s crushing on Ella here, a condition that only The Seagull at exacerbates Woolly Mamher despair. moth? The (In one of best thing in those audiany D.C. playence survey house in 2013 moments, and just maybe she asks us, 2014, too, since by show its success beof hands, gat a full-cast “How many remount last of you summer? would like If you to sleep with did—and you me, if you s h o u l d ’ve — could?”) this will all One of the seem familiar. most movBe As a Bird: It’s Posner’s latest Chekhov remix!

Despite being relaing appendtionships ed with a pomposity alert–triggering subti- that emerges is her late-night meeting of the tle that sounds like it was coined by windbag minds over rum and Cokes with Sonia, the Prof. Serebryakov himself (he’s just “The professor’s grown daughter by his first marProfessor” here), Life Sucks, Posner’s second riage. She’s in love with the doctor, but concover version of a Chekhov warhorse—Uncle vinced that her plain appearance will always Vanya is the tune he’s riffing on this time— prevent men from noticing her. Judith Ingber feels like Stupid Fucking Bird, Too, or Stupid- has an appealing guilelessness in the role, never Fucking Bird, or 2 Stupid 2 Fucking (Bird). er mind that if she’s “ugly” (per Chekhov), Is this a problem? Not really. Its proficiency in there’s little hope for the rest of us. writing, performance, and design is 100 perThat goes double for Gilbert, who plays cent as strong as its precursor. Which means Pickles (the original character, Waffles, was it’s exactly 87 percent as good. so-named for his facial scarring; Pickles is To compare the two plays is unfair, maybe, just a funny name), a dim, sweet, 40ish-yearbut also unavoidable. Life Sucks echoes SFB old lesbian who’s never recovered from beto the extent that Vanya echoes the earlier ing dumped 13 years before. She’s so self-efSeagull: They both track various lines of un- facing that the others tend to forget she’s in requited love in a placid, rural setting where the room. Costume designer Kelsey Hunt has no one feels at peace. (Set designer Meghan has gone out of her way to bury Gilbert in Raham makes this big country house look unflattering baggy orange pants and a ratty both airy and cozy, somehow, with handsome sweater, as though dressing like romance is no wood paneling and a view of the mountains.) longer something that even occurs to her will Both feature a lonely, middle-aged doctor make the heartache go away. You can’t shut (the reliable Eric Hissom, a lifetime member down the longing, though. Life sucks that —Chris Klimek of the Aaron Posner Players) and a self-loath- way, sometimes. ing, suicidal dyspeptic (Sasha Olnick, here, as Vanya) in self-immolating love with a woman 1529 16th St. NW. $10-$65. (202) 518-9400. theaterj.org who doesn’t love him back.

SHOCKED & AMAZED:

STRANGE FOR HIRE

Join us for the last and largest of the wildly successful Shocked and Amazed series at Artisphere, which kicks off with a pop-up art show at 7PM. Then enter the bizarre world circus, sideshow, vaudeville and burlesque for an evening of the delighfully odd and unusual.

SAT JAN 31 AT 9PM / BLACKBOX THEATRE

MANUAL CINEMA: LULA DEL RAY

Using overhead projectors, paper puppets, actors in silhouette and a live band, acclaimed Chicago-based performance troupe Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema. “Visually stunning... and surprisingly moving.” —The New York Times

FEB 6 + 7 AT 8PM / DOME THEATRE

www.artisphere.com

1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 Free parking weekdays after 5pm + all day on weekends Two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro Follow us: @Artisphere Like us: ArtisphereVA washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 35

FilmShort SubjectS

By Hook or By Crooked Leviathan Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev In Leviathan, a sharp and thoughtful new Russian drama, everyone is drunk almost all of the time. Of course, the drink of choice is vodka, and the characters imbibe at any time of day and for any reason—to celebrate, to mourn, or just to pass

and out of his wife’s good graces, Dmitriy embarks on an affair with Lilya that threatens to tear apart the family he came there to save. It can’t end well. Leviathan threatens us with bloodshed—when alcohol and guns are involved, death usually follows— but it is more interested in the slow, gradual violence of personal and political oppression, embodied in the cold, black waves that crash into the rocky shore in the film’s opening and closing shots.

Still, there are clues that Leviathan has bigger fish to fry. A photo of Vladimir Putin hangs ominously off-center in the may-

Censor of Attention: Is this Russian propaganda or a triumph of free speech? the time. If Leviathan were an American film about Russia, we would say it relies too heavily on the stereotype of Russians as blustery, macho alcoholics. But since it was made by Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev with support from the country’s own Ministry of Culture, it seems instead a shockingly incisive piece of social satire, the most significant piece of selfcriticism to emerge from Russia in some time.

The biblically-tinged story is set in a small coastal town, where a corrupt mayor tries to bully a family off its land. Nikolay (Aleksey Serebryakov), the patriarch, is already bitter and defeated when we first meet him, but he has one last ace up his sleeve: an old army friend, Dmitriy (Vladimir Vdovichenkov), who’s now an influential Moscow lawyer. Dmitriy comes to stay with Nikolay, his wife Lilya (Elena Lyadova), and their teenage son, while attempting to use his influence to keep the mayor and his bulldozers at bay.

It’s a gripping and unsentimental work that benefits from a terrific lead performance. Serebryakov plays Nikolay as a hothead whose anger gradually turns inward under the burden of his Job-like trials. As Nikolay sinks deeper into despair

or’s office. A TV in the background displays news coverage of the Pussy Riot controversy. Eventually, the film’s politics bubble to the surface when a group of friends fire automatic weapons at framed photos of past Russian leaders at a drunken birthday party. It’s hard to imagine how Russian officials not only agreed to partially fund Leviathan but even nominated it as the country’s entry for Best Foreign Film at this year’s Oscars (it’s currently the frontrunner and won a Golden Globe already).

Then again, real-life Russian officials have made rooting out corruption a stated goal, so perhaps Leviathan simply seemed like a good messaging. If so, its political impact is harder to parse: Is this a shining example of great art flourishing under an oppressive state or an accidental case of propaganda? Only time will tell, but its cinematic achievements are undeniable. Capturing with bold precision this moment when free speech in Russia seems both possible and hopelessly out of reach, Leviathan is a whale of a film, just as powerful and dangerous as its namesake.

—Noah Gittell Leviathan opens Friday, Jan. 23 at the Avalon Theatre.

36 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

MÉNAGe À BLAH Beloved Sisters Directed by Dominik Graf Youthful sisters swearing to each other that they will always share everything is sweet. Reminding themselves of that oath with zero regrets when they grow into inseparable young women is lovely. Giddily agreeing that it’s fair game to go halfies on a man—well, that’s an extremely bad idea.

Dominik Graf ’s Beloved Sisters, Germany’s unsuccessful submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, takes place in the time of corsets, powdered wigs, and manners, when a guy with empty pockets had no prospects of landing a wife. In the late 18th century, ladies were pressured to dig for that gold, and those who sought to marry for love instead of money were deemed fools.

So Friedrich Schiller (Florian Stetter) was one lucky dude. The film is a semispeculative biopic of the poet, historian, and playwright whose esteem for beauty and deep thinking attracted the attention of those sharing-is-caring sisters, Charlotte (Henriette Confurius) and Caroline (Hannah Herzsprung). Single Charlotte falls for him first, and eventually becomes his wife. Caroline is married, but it’s a rather miserable marriage of convenience to save her family from the poverty they were heading toward after the death of her father, so she’s game for anything. Soon, a not-so-secret ménage à trois forms, with the three passing each other coded notes like schoolchildren.

Beloved Sisters is as beautiful to take in as any period piece, and Graf employs styl-

ish touches—perhaps too few of them—to make it stand out, like colorful setting titles that float across the screen and having the actors dictate letters they’re writing while staring directly into the camera, which boosts the power of their words.

The script itself is often witty, at least until the women’s mother (Claudia Messner) is persuaded to give her blessing for Charlotte to marry Schiller, whom she thinks “looks like a beggar”: “My daughters deserve a life without worries,” she tells Schiller. (There’s a mention of Charlotte’s “market value,” but let’s not twist that into something salacious.)

When it eventually becomes clear that Caroline (who in reality became Schiller’s biographer) has the deeper attraction to and connection with Schiller, things get soapy—but at least the story becomes more streamlined at that point, whereas the bulk of the film’s nearly three-hour runtime involves so much talk with so many names that you’ll only pick up the principals.

The story’s central triangle doesn’t bring a whole lot of heat, and the air between Charlotte and her husband beyond the courting stage is particularly cold. Initially, she’s so grateful to Caroline for saving their family with her loveless marriage that Charlotte’s willing to be Schilling’s wife only by name. (Let’s just say that graciousness doesn’t last long.) But even when CarSchill are in the throes of passion, the cries of the lovers are muted to dinnerconversation politeness: “It’s all very enjoyable!” Caroline says. That laugh-outloud moment could serve as a critique of the film, but you’d have to replace “all” —Tricia Olszewski with “mostly.”

Beloved Sisters opens Friday, Jan. 23 at E Street Cinema.

Sibling Bribery: Sisters sacrifice, share for the love of a penniless playwright.

BooksSpeed ReadS Regime Range The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran

By Nazila Fathi Basic Books, 320 pp., $27.99 In 1992, not long after Nazila Fathi began working as a reporter in her native Iran, she discovered a key figure in the resistance to the country’s Islamic regime. Satellite dishes had begun springing up on the roofs of middle- and upper-class homes, and she learned that many households were selling tickets to poorer men who wanted to take in Baywatch.

No dubbing? No subtitles? No problem. “You can follow the story,” a laborer told her. “It’s not too complicated.”

Fathi doesn’t claim that Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff kindled the secular unrest that culminated in the Green Revolution in 2009. Before leaving the country for fear of her life that year—she now lives in Bethesda—she covered Iran for the New York Times, and her sharp new memoir, The Lonely War, reveals an expert understanding of the motivations of Iran’s tangled, self-contradictory religious and political leadership. But she’s not dismissing the power of those red one-pieces out of hand. Information is power, and any information about the West could help build a bulwark against the brutality of the country’s rulers after the 1979 revolution.

Fathi was 9 when the Ayatollah Khomeini took control of Iran, and the early chapters of her book are impressionistic, kid’s-eye-view set pieces about the anxious aftermath. Conversations in the living room of her family’s upper-crust Tehran home (her father worked for the country’s energy ministry until he fell afoul of the regime, in part for favoring Western business clothes) turned on the regime’s support for education and expanded roles for women, if not expanded autonomy. “Khomeini had successfully drawn poor and dispossessed Iranians, including women, from the margins of society into the center of the country’s politics,” Fathi writes. Whether that meant an improvement over the shah or just another control mechanism was an open question.

Either way, Fathi argues, the regime planted the seeds of the resistance it would face. As Fathi grew up increasingly aware of the West, from listening to samizdat Bon Jovi tapes as

a teen to working as a stringer for the Times as an adult, she witnessed an increasing push and pull between the regime and its people.

The literacy rate spiked, as did wages, stoking a stable class of protesters. But as the presidency swerved from weak reformers (Mohammad Khatami) to hard-liners (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad), the regime remained thuggish and shameless. Close to Fathi’s home, her nanny was a poorly disguised informant for the country’s intelligence agency. “My relationship with her had become like Iranians’ relationship with the Islamic regime,” Fathi writes. “I was stuck with her whether I liked it or not.”

Fathi describes the Green Revolution as the product of a populace that’d had enough of brutality and enough information via satellite, the Internet, and cell phones to recognize that it had other options. “Technology was evolving faster than repression could, and

it was clear that government was increasingly at a loss for how to respond,” she writes, optimistically. The collective pushback was indisputably heartening, but recent years have proven that pushback only goes so far. The fruits of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, and Iran are mixed at best; whatever power a smartphone has to affect change, it’s clear that military regimes are stubbornly eager to stifle it. Fathi’s book is a well-told story about Iran’s ongoing resistance to faith-based oppression. But as a tale of a burgeoning secular democracy, it’s a story whose real ending still seems a long way off. —Mark Athitakis washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 37

MusicDiscography Chosen Solid: Is Temporal Joke impenetrable on purpose?

Way Hard to Get Temporal Joke Pts. 1 and 2 The Red Fetish Self-released At what point does experimental music cross the line into listener-unfriendly selfindulgence? The Red Fetish’s new double album, a project from Alejandro Castano that oscillates wildly between glitchy electro-pop, black metal, and classical music, begs the question.

The record is separated into two parts—the rock-leaning Temporal Joke Pt. 1 and the ambient Temporal Joke Pt. 2—which helps create a sense of concision, but that doesn’t mitigate the fact that the album is, in total, about two hours long. Castano’s complex, multilayered message appears to touch on the paradoxical inclinations of virtue and sin, but the mixed quality of the record prevents it from achieving its intended impact.

Nearly all of the release’s essential moments occur during Temporal Joke Pt. 2, which, with its hushed passages of piano and marimbas, feels like a lost film score. Many of these sequences, like the anxious, staccato “Kindness/Avarice” and the dissonant, Bartókian “Patience/Wrath” manage to be both intricate and cinematic, despite only featuring these two instruments. Temporal Joke Pt. 2’s main weak spot lies in its lack of variety; it becomes hard to tell, after a while, where one song ends and the next one begins. But on the whole, it’s solid classical music, some38 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

thing engrossing enough to listen to intently but not busy enough to pose a distraction if it were on in the background.

Temporal Joke Pt. 1, on the other hand, is a noise-rock mess. Many of the tracks here, like opener “Limbo,” suffer from an atonal shapelessness. It’s as if Castano wanted every instrument in the spotlight, rather than just one or two, amounting to an undynamic blob of cacophonous sound that’s difficult to listen to at times. If there’s anything that saves this side, it’s Kris Kagei’s warm, soulful vocals, which, on the fiery “Greed,” evoke an early Annie Clark. But the effect of Kagei’s pipes are diluted by Castano’s rambling, incoherent lyrics, which are by turns puzzlingly archaic—“There were rats from the sewers, and birds from the night/ Stirring up from their shadows, rising from the ground/To beckon the innocent, or wallow in spite”—and jarringly modern—“You will burn stars through the aspera/Hear his voice through SMS.” In many ways, Castano’s decision to split his newest Red Fetish album into two separate records does the listener a favor, considering that one side is significantly better than the other. Taken on the whole, though, Temporal Joke is a slog of a journey, a piece of art that probably means something to its creator.

But to others, it’ll probably be impenetrable.

—Dean Essner Listen to Temporal Joke Pts. 1 and 2 at washingtoncitypaper.com/go/temporaljoke. The Red Fetish plays Green Island on Jan. 23 and 31.

washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 39

40 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

CITYLIST Music

Friday Rock

Music .........................41 Theater ...................... 51 Film ...........................51

SearCh LISTIngS aT waShIngTonCITYpaper.Com

CITY LIGHTS: FRIDAY

THE WIDOW LINCOLN

UPCOMING EVENTS Saturday, 1/24 National Readathon Day! Mon, 1/26 at 6:30pm Our Secret Life in the Movies J.M. Tyree

9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Dr. Dog, Spirit Family Reunion. 8 p.m. (Sold out) 930.com. blaCk Cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490.

Wings Denied, Tone, Technicians, Cryptodira. 9 p.m. $12. blackcatdc.com. the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Bobby Thompson. 10:30 p.m. Free. thehamiltondc.com.

In conversation with Maud Casey

Tues, 1/27 at 6:30pm Right of Boom Benjamin Schwartz

iota Club & Café 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington.

(703) 522-8340. Justin Trawick and the Common Good, By and By, Party Like It’s. 8:30 p.m. $12. iotaclubandcafe.com.

RoCk & Roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-ROCK. Black Clouds, The Effects, Wanted Man. 9 p.m. $12. rockandrollhoteldc.com.

Wed, 1/28 at 6:30pm You’re Not Lost if You Can Still See the Truck Bill Heavey

State theatRe 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church.

(703) 237-0300. The Smithereens. 7 p.m. $21. thestatetheatre.com.

Tues, 2/3 at 6:30pm Mort(e) Robert Repino

u StReet muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Hamilton Leithauser, Bully. 7 p.m. $18. ustreetmusichall.com.

VelVet lounge 915 U St. NW. (202) 462-3213.

Payback Club, Throwdown Syndicate. 9 p.m. $8. velvetloungedc.com.

Funk & R&B betheSda blueS and Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Be’la Dona. 8 p.m. $20. bethesdabluesjazz.com. howaRd theatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Bootsy Collins’ Rubber Band. 7:30 p.m. $39.50–$75. thehowardtheatre.com. madam’S oRgan 2461 18th St. NW. (202) 6675370. The Johnny Artis Band and DJ India. 10 p.m. $3–$7. madamsorgan.com.

ElEctRonic flaSh 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Audiofly, Sarah Myers, Seba Yuri, Coby Jones, PK. 8 p.m. $10. flashdc.com. tRopiCalia 2001 14th St. NW. (202) 629-4535. Los Master Plus, G-Flux. 8 p.m. $10–$12. tropicaliadc.com. u StReet muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Dennis Ferrer, Chris Burns, Sami Y. 10 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.

Jazz blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Gerald Albright. 8 & 10 p.m. $50. bluesalley.com. bohemian CaVeRnS 2001 11th St. NW. (202) 299-0800. Alan Jay Palmer Group. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $18–$23. bohemiancaverns.com. twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Mike Thorn ton Jazz Collective. 9 p.m. & 11 p.m. $15. twinsjazz.com.

2015 marks the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, and naturally, Ford’s Theatre has planned a season full of tributes to its most notorious claim to history. Instead of mounting a revival of Our American Cousin, the play Lincoln was watching when John Wilkes Booth shot him, the theater commissioned The Widow Lincoln, a speculative look at Mary Todd Lincoln’s life in the 40 days after her husband’s murder. Mrs. Lincoln, one of America’s most controversial first ladies, is sometimes described as insane or remembered as a greedy and manipulative figure, but this world premiere presents her as simply human, struggling to cope in the midst of a national crisis. Prolific playwright James Still returns to Ford’s for the first time since presenting 2009’s The Heavens Are Hung in Black, which celebrated the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln’s birth. Together with director Stephen Rayne, Still provides a nuanced and well-researched glimpse into the famous widow’s psyche post-tragedy. The play runs Jan. 23 to Feb. 22 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 —Diana Metzger 10th St. NW. $25–$62. (202) 347-4833. fords.org.

1517 CONNECTICUT AVE. NW 202.387.1400 // KRAMERS.COM

washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 41

BluEs zoo baR 3000 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 232-4225.

Swamp Keepers Band. 10 p.m. Free. zoobardc.com.

Folk gypSy Sally’S 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700.

Miss Tess & The Talkbacks, Bumper Jacksons. 9 p.m. $12–$15. gypsysallys.com.

WoRld kennedy CenteR millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Gato’s Sin Frontera. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.

Hip-Hop fillmoRe SilVeR SpRing 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Visto. 7:30 p.m. $10. fillmoresilverspring.com.

kennedy CenteR ConCeRt hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. National Symphony Orchestra with Nurit Bar-Josef. 8 p.m. $10–$85. kennedy-center.org. muSiC CenteR at StRathmoRe 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Budapest Festival Orchestra. 8 p.m. $35–$80. strathmore.org.

dJ nigHts blaCk Cat baCkStage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Kicks! with DJs Kim and Sara. 10 p.m. Free. blackcatdc.com. dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Discnothèque with DJs Sean Morris and Bill Spieler. 10 p.m. $5. dcnine.com. the paRk at fouRteenth 920 14th St. NW. (202) 262-3939. DJ Quiksilva, Soundtrax. 5 p.m. park14.com.

saturday Rock

howaRd theatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Juvenile, Backyard Band. 11 p.m. $25–$50. thehowardtheatre.com.

aCRe 121 1400 Irving St. NW. (202) 328-0121. The Vico Cycle. 10 p.m. Free. acre121.com.

opERa

fillmoRe SilVeR SpRing 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Several Species. 8 p.m. $20. fillmoresilverspring.com.

kennedy CenteR teRRaCe theateR 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Penny. 7:30 p.m. $32. kennedy-center.org.

gypSy Sally’S 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Better Off Dead, Djesben. 9 p.m. $10–$14. gypsysallys.com.

classical

the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Alex Vans. 11:30 p.m. Free. thehamiltondc.com.

atlaS peRfoRming aRtS CenteR 1333 H St. NE. (202) 399-7993. Great Noise Ensemble. 8 p.m. $28–$32. atlasarts.org.

howaRd theatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899.

Akoko, Tamar-kali, Kokayi, Dragons of Zynth, DJ Greg Caz. 7 p.m. $15–$35. thehowardtheatre.com.

baRnS at wolf tRap 1645 Trap Road, Vienna.

(703) 255-1900. Canellakis-Brown Duo. 8 p.m. $35. wolftrap.org.

iota Club & Café 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington.

(703) 522-8340. Lighting Fires, Clones of Clones. 8:30 p.m. $2. iotaclubandcafe.com.

CITY LIGHTS: SATURDAY

“HOT TO COLD” Last summer, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels turned the National Building Museum’s Great Hall into an enormous maze that entertained the young and young-at-heart for hours. In November, he revealed an ambitious plan to overhaul the Smithsonian’s south campus by renovating the Castle and creating new, light-filled entrances to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and National Museum of African Art. Ingels’ inventive, whimsical design aesthetic has made him one of the world’s most in-demand architects; now, the Building Museum offers visitors a glimpse at how climate change concerns factor into his buildings around the world. In the exhibition, viewers can check out photos of the Lego House (pictured), an in-construction building near the toy company’s Billund, Denmark headquarters, as well a new high-rise apartment building on New York’s West 57th Street. The designs are so imaginative that you might be inspired to create something of your own in the museum’s Building Zone. The exhibition is on view Mondays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the National Building —Caroline Jones Museum, 401 F St. NW. $3–$8. (202) 272-2448. nbm.org.

42 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

I.M.P. PRESENTS Merriweather Post Pavilion • Columbia, MD

JUST ANNOUNCED!

THIS WEEK’S SHOWS

JANUARY

Wild Child w/ Pearl and the Beard & James Tillman ......................................Th 15 SATURDAY! THISCowboy Mouth w/ All Mighty Senators Early Show! 6:30pm Doors................ F 16 Hot Herre : 2000s Dance Party DJs Will Eastman and Brian Billion .. Sa 24 STEEZin PROMO PRESENTS TEAMSUPREME TOURwith FEATURING STEEZ PROMO PRESENTS BUYGORE SHOW FEATURING Mr. Carmack •THE Djemba Djemba • Great Dane • Borgore w/ Ookay • Jauz • DOTCOM ........................................................................

29 Penthouse Penthouse and more!

Late Show! 11:30pm Doors ....................Th F 16 ALL GOOD PRESENTS Super Diamond ..................................................................................................... Sa 17 Greensky Bluegrass (F 30 - w/ The Last Bison • Sa 31 - w/ Cris Jacobs) F 30 & Sa 31 FEBRUARY

G-Eazy w/ Kehlani • Kool John • Jay Ant ............................................................TuSu 201 Asaf Avidan ......................................................................................................................

Laura Tsaggaris vs. Justin Jones and the B-Sides CD Release Party!............................................................................................................ W 4

U STREET MUSIC HALL PRESENTS

Viceroy w/ Phantoms ..................................................................................................... Th 5

FALL OUT BOY|WIZ KHALIFA

BOYS OF ZUMMER TOUR w/ Hoodie Allen ............................................................................... JUNE 27

On Sale Friday, January 23 at 10am

Kix • Europe • Queensrÿche F lorida G eorGia l ine feat.

w/ Thomas Rhett & Frankie Ballard .........................................................MAY 9

KENNY CHESNEY The Big Revival Tour 2015

w/ Jake Owen & Chase Rice .................................................................. MAY 27 • merriweathermusic.com • 930.com

DOCTOR DREAD PRESENTS

Bob Marley’s 70th Birthday Celebration featuring

Third World • Jesse Royal • Roger Steffens • DJ Dub Architect ..................F 6 DC MUSIC DOWNLOAD’S THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY SHOW FEATURING

Paperhaus (Album release show) • Loud Boyz • Baby Bry Bry and The Apologists • DJ AYESCOLD Early Show! 7pm Doors ................... Sa 7

STEEZ PROMO PRESENTS

Echostage • Washington, D.C.

JUST ANNOUNCED!

I NT ERPO L

Chris Robinson Brotherhood.............................................................................. W11 Phox w/ Field Report ..................................................................................................... Th 12 SpeakeasyDC’s Sucker for Love This is a seated show ............................ Sa 14

......................................................................................JULY 28

On Sale Friday, January 23 at 10am

Borgeous w/ LooKas • LJ MTX • BORTZ Late Show! 11pm Doors ...................... Sa 7

AN EVENING WITH

and more! ........ MAY 1 & 2

Two-day tickets on sale now. For a full lineup, visit m3rockfest.com

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN

.......................................................................... JUNE 11

2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE • Ticketmaster

ALL GOOD PRESENTS

JJ Grey and MOFRO w/ The London Souls ........................................................ W 18

AN EVENING WITH

Big Head Todd and the Monsters .................................................................. Th 19

NIGHT ADDED! TWO NIGHTS SOLD OUT! THIRD

Punch Brothers w/ Gaby Moreno ........................................................................ Su 22 Ariel Pink w/ Jack Name ...........................................................................................M 23 Echosmith w/ The Colourist ................................................................................... Th 26 Railroad Earth ............................................................................................. F 27 & Sa 28

Meyerhoff Symphony Hall • Baltimore, MD

Sarah McLachLan

AN EVENING WITH

RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.

MARCH

Aesop Rock with Rob Sonic w/ DJ Abilities .................................................... Su 1 Gang of Four w/ Public Access T.V......................................................................... Tu 3 Josh Abbott Band .................................................................................................... W 4 Pat Green...................................................................................................................... Th 5

...................................MARCH 15

Ticketmaster

20th Anniversary Blowout!

Buddy Guy • Gary Clark Jr. • Heart • and more! ...................................... JULY 4, 2015 For full lineup, visit 930.com Ticketmaster

ALL GOOD PRESENTS THE ROAD TO DELFEST WITH

The Travelin’ McCourys

featuring Billy Nershi and The Jeff Austin Band ..............................................F 6

of Montreal w/ Yonatan Gat.......................................................................................Sa 7 RuPaul’s Drag Race: Battle of the Seasons hosted by Michelle Visage featuring Alaska 5000 • BenDeLaCreme • Darienne Lake and more! ....................................................................................... Su 8

The Church .................................................................................................................... M 9 Jukebox the Ghost w/ Little Daylight & Secret Someones ........................... Tu 10 G. Love and Special Sauce w/ Matt Costa....................................................... W 11

MANY MORE SHOWS ON SALE!

9:30 CUPCAKES

930.com

The best thing you could possibly put in your mouth Cupcakes by BUZZ... your neighborhood bakery in Alexandria, VA. | www.buzzonslaters.com

1215 U Street NW, Washington, D.C.

JUST ANNOUNCED!

WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE

....................................................................MARCH 27

On Sale Friday, January 23 at Noon

NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS ........................ JUNE 4 On Sale Friday, January 23 at 10am

JAMIE CULLUM ...........................................................................FEBRUARY 6

ADAM DEVINE w/ Adam Ray ............................................................FEBRUARY 21 AL!

TAPING HIS NEW COMEDY SPECI

9:30 CLUB PRESENTS AT U STREET MUSIC HALL Hamilton Leithauser w/ Bully......F JAN 23 Theophilus London Nick Hakim w/ Adrianne Lenker ........ Sa 24 w/ FATHER & Doja Cat .......................... Su 15 Baby Bry Bry and The Apologists w/ BRNDA Francisco The Man .............................. W 18 • What Moon Things • The Sea Life ...... Su 25 Young Summer ..................................... F 20 The Project w/ His Dream of Lions & Kyle Kinane This is a seated show .......... Tu 24 Sub Radio Standard .........................Sa FEB 7 OCD: Moosh and Twist w/ Ground Up . W 25 JMSN w/ Rochelle Jordan & Abhi//Dijon..F 13 Wolf Alice............................................... F 27 Doomtree w/ Open Mike Eagle............ Sa 14 Hundred Waters w/ Mitski .............F MAR 6

DEMETRI MARTIN :

The Persistence of Jokes

Two Shows! 6pm & 9pm Doors ................................................................................ MARCH 7

AN INTIMATE SOLO/ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE BY

Citizen Cope .................................................................................. APRIL 9

LISA LAMPANELLI ............................................................................................ MAY 29 • thelincolndc.com •

U Street (Green/Yellow) stop across the street!

• Buy advance tickets at the 9:30 Club box office

Tickets for 9:30 Club shows are available through TicketFly.com, by phone at 1-877-4FLY-TIX, and at the 9:30 Club box office.

9:30 CLUB BOX OFFICE HOURS are 12-7PM Weekdays & Until 11PM on show nights. 6-11PM on Sat & 6-10:30PM on Sun on show nights.

9:30 CUPCAKES The best thing you could possibly put in your mouth.

Cupcakes by BUZZ... your neighborhood bakery in Alexandria, VA. www.buzzbakery.com

PARKING: THE OFFICIAL 9:30 parking lot entrance is on 9th Street, directly behind the 9:30 club. Buy your advance parking tickets at the same time as your concert tickets!

HAPPY HOUR DRINK PRICES

AFTER THE SHOW AT THE BACK BAR!

930.com

washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 43

---------3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, VA • 703-549-7500

For entire schedule go to Birchmere.com Find us on Facebook/Twitter!

Tix @ Ticketmaster.com 800-745-3000 robert Jan Bobby 23

1811 14TH ST NW

Junior Brown 24 Four Bitchin’ BaBes ‘Best of The Babes 25th Anniversary Show’

www.blackcatdc.com @blackcatdc JAN/FEB SHOWS

Debi smith, sally Fingerett, Deidre Flint, Megon McDonough

30

marshall crenshaw and The Bottle rockets

WINGS DENIED TONE

FRI 23

31

Charles Ross’

SAT 24

CRYFEST DANCE PARTY THE CURE V. THE SMITHS

SAT 24

GAY//BASH!!

SUN 25

THE SHONDES

MON 26

MIDDLE EARTH MONDAYS

Feb 4

place of purchase.

Minnies atDriver 5 the robert Cray band CANCELLED. Refund

6

Reunion Show!

Pat McGee Band 9&10 CHRISETTE MICHELE 11 travis tritt 14 burlesque-a-pades in loveland! feat. The World Famous pontani sisters, angie pontani, Miss Tickle, Calamity Chang, Helen pontani, The Main attraction, Cherie Nuit and albert Cadabra!

15

RideRs in the sky “Salute to Roy Rogers!”

Robert Earl Keen

17

THU 29 FRI 30

leighton meester tab benoit

19

keller williams

20 21

An Evening with

Don McLean 22 Stanley ClaRke 23 NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS & ANDERS OSBORNE PRESENT N.M.O. 24 Uriah heep MIKE+THE MECHANICS Steve Poltz 28 NAJEE Mar 1 British invasion tour 2015 feat. Peter asher, Denny Laine, Chad & Jeremy. Billy J. Kramer, Mike Pender’s searchers, terry sylvester

BETH HART 4&5 GAELIC STORM 6&7 Rachelle FeRRell 2&3

8

SALAD DAYS

FRI 30

PUNK ROCK KARAOKE

SAT 31

HARMONIC BLUE

SAT 31

BURLESQUE (21+)

SUN 1

EVAN DANDO

WED 4

GRIZFOLK

FRIDAY

Cindy Alexander

SATURDAY

TEN FORWARD SICK SAD WORLD A HAPPY HOUR "HAPPY" HOUR 1 STAR TREK:TNG TWO DARIA EP. PER WEEK

ROMULAN ALE SPECIALS

EPISODES PER WEEK MYSTIK SPIRAL DRINK SPECIALS

NOW OPEN!

Watch aWards 2015 Washington area community theater honors

jesse cook the Quebe 10 Asleep At the wheel sisters 11 An Evening with seth Avett & jessicA leA mAyfield 12 leo kottke The Far 13 DaVe alVIn & PhIl alVIn & The GuIlTy Ones west mid atlantic 14 Harmony sweepstakes regionals

CITY LIGHTS: SUNDAY

HOUSEMAIDS Depending on his or her working environment, a domestic worker might cook, clean, or care for children and the elderly. While some hardly interact with their employers, other domestic workers become as close as any other family member. According to the United Nations’ International Labour Organization, Brazil employs more domestic workers than any other nation in the world, and millions of them are campaigning for greater employment benefits. To examine how these workers fit into Brazilian society, filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro asked seven young people from different socioeconomic classes to film their maids over the course of a week. He turned that footage into Housemaids, a documentary that generated plenty of conversation when it was released commercially in Brazil last year. The film comes to D.C. as part of a National Gallery of Art–sponsored series on contemporary Brazilian documentarians. Twenty-three percent of domestic workers in the U.S. make less than the minimum wage, and only four states have enacted laws that protect the rights of domestic workers. Mascaro’s film explains why they need our support in any hemisphere.

The film shows at 4:30 p.m. at the Malsi Doyle and Michael Forman Theater at American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Free. (202) 737-4215. nga.gov. —Caroline Jones

Funk & R&B

EVERY WEEKEND AT 7PM

(Rescheduled from 10/1/14. All 10/1 tickets honored on this new date.)

26 &27

ZOLA JESUS FILM SCREENING:

‘Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Tour’

18

DANCE NIGHT / DRAG SHOW

the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Flow Tribe, Dead 27s. 7 p.m. $15–$25. thehamiltondc.com. madam’S oRgan 2461 18th St. NW. (202) 6675370. Jr. Cline and The Recliners. 10 p.m. $3–$7. madamsorgan.com.

ElEctRonic eChoStage 2135 Queens Chapel Road NE. (202) 5032330. Armin Van Buuren. 9 p.m. $71.60. echostage.com. flaSh 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Anthea, Oshana. 8 p.m. $8. flashdc.com.

LUCKY CAT PINBALL

TAKE METRO!

WE ARE LOCATED 3 BLOCKS FROM THE U STREET/CARDOZO STATION

TO BUY TICKETS VISIT TICKETFLY.COM

44 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Mike Thornton Jazz Collective. 9 p.m. & 11 p.m. $15. twinsjazz.com.

VelVet lounge 915 U St. NW. (202) 462-3213.

Anthony Pirog, Jonathan Badger, Luke Stewart. 7:30 p.m. $8. velvetloungedc.com.

BluEs madam’S oRgan 2461 18th St. NW. (202) 6675370. Rico Amero. 7 p.m. $3–$7. madamsorgan.com.

u StReet muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Nick Hakim, Adrianne Lenker. 7 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.

RoCk & Roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-ROCK. Rock and Roll Burlesque with Jonny Grave and the Tombstones. 10 p.m. $12. rockandrollhoteldc.com.

Jazz

zoo baR 3000 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 2324225. Bruce Ewan. 10 p.m. Free. zoobardc.com.

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Gerald Albright. 8 p.m. (Sold out) & 10 p.m. $50. bluesalley.com.

9

Praxis Cat, Lost Civilizations Experimental Music Project. 7:30 p.m. $10. pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.

bohemian CaVeRnS 2001 11th St. NW. (202) 299-0800. Alan Jay Palmer Group. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $18–$23. bohemiancaverns.com.

Folk baRnS at wolf tRap 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Ari Hest. 7:30 p.m. $25. wolftrap.org.

kennedy CenteR teRRaCe galleRy 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Sullivan Fortner Quartet. 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. $22. kennedy-center.org.

biRChmeRe 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. Four Bitchin’ Babes. 7:30 p.m. $35. birchmere.com.

pyRamid atlantiC aRt CenteR 8230 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. (301) 608-9101. Battle Trance,

hill CountRy liVe 410 7th St. NW. (202) 556-2050.

The Woodshedders. 9:30 p.m. Free. hillcountrywdc.com.

washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 45

Hip-Hop atlaS peRfoRming aRtS CenteR 1333 H St. NE. (202) 399-7993. Christylez Bacon and Nistha Raj. 8 p.m. $25. atlasarts.org.

opERa

THE BAD PLUS

kennedy CenteR teRRaCe theateR 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Penny. 7:30 p.m. $32. kennedy-center.org.

classical kennedy CenteR ConCeRt hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. National Symphony Orchestra with Nurit Bar-Josef. 8 p.m. $10–$85. kennedy-center.org.

JAN 16

JAN 23

CANELLAKIS–BROWN DUO CHAMBER MUSIC AT THE BARNS

kennedy CenteR millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. NSO Prelude. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org. muSiC CenteR at StRathmoRe 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. National Philharmonic: Bach’s Brandenburgs. 8 p.m. $37–$84. strathmore.org.

caBaREt SouRCe theatRe 1835 14th St. NW. (202) 2047800. Fleta Hylton. 8 p.m. $16–$35. sourcedc.org.

LAURA BENANTI ARI HEST

JAN 24

JAN 29

JONATHAN EDWARDS

SAN FERMIN

WITH INVOKE STRING QUARTET

WHITE HINTERLAND GENERAL ADMISSION

FEB 4 & 5

INTERNATIONAL GUITAR NIGHT

FEB 6

THE MONTROSE TRIO Jon Kimura Parker, Martin Beaver, and Clive Greensmith CHAMBER MUSIC AT THE BARNS

SEE FULL SCHEDULE AT

WOLFTRAP.ORG 46 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

u StReet muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. BLISS with Will Eastman, Jackson Ryland, Cosby.

10 p.m. $10. ustreetmusichall.com.

sunday Rock

blaCk Cat baCkStage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. The Shondes, Trophy Wife, Wojcik. 8 p.m. $10. blackcatdc.com. dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Adia Victoria, Ezra Mae and The Gypsy Moon. 8:30 p.m. $10. dcnine.com. fillmoRe SilVeR SpRing 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. School of Rock. 1 p.m. $15. fillmoresilverspring.com. linColn theatRe 1215 U St. NW. (202) 328-6000.

Billy Idol, Broncho. 6:30 p.m. $55–$75. thelincolndc.com. u StReet muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881880. Baby Bry Bry & The Apologists, BRNDA, What Moon Things, The Sea Life. 7 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.

dJ nigHts

VelVet lounge 915 U St. NW. (202) 462-3213.

Author, Harris Face, Andrew Grossman. 7:30 p.m. $8. velvetloungedc.com.

9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Hot In Herre with DJs Will Eastman and Brian Billion. 9 p.m. $15. 930.com.

Funk & R&B

blaCk Cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490.

Cryfest with DJs Steve EP, DJ Missguided, Killa K, and Krasty McNasty. 8 p.m. $10. blackcatdc.com.

biRChmeRe 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria.

(703) 549-7500. Jeffrey Osborne. 7:30 p.m. (Sold out) $69.50. birchmere.com.

blaCk Cat baCkStage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Gay/Bash! with DJs Dean Sullivan and Donna Slash, with Biblegirl666, Heidi Glüm, Summer Camp, Alotta McGriddles, Rumor Millz. 10 p.m. $7. blackcatdc.com.

Jazz

dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Synchronicity with DJs Mickey McCarter and Swank. 10 p.m. Free. dcnine.com. the paRk at fouRteenth 920 14th St. NW. (202) 262-3939. DJ Crooked. 10 p.m. park14.com.

JAN 30

tRopiCalia 2001 14th St. NW. (202) 629-4535. Sao Funky Saturdays with Fort Knox Five DJs. 10 p.m. Free. tropicaliadc.com.

kennedy CenteR millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Daisy Castro. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org. twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Brent Kimbrough. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com. zoo baR 3000 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 2324225. Mike Flaherty’s Dixieland Direct Jazz Band. 7:30 p.m. Free. zoobardc.com.

CITY LIGHTS: MONDAY

“HEAR MY VOICE” Most students of American history will remember that without telecommunications pioneer Alexander Graham Bell, the iPhone would never have been invented. But Bell’s trailblazing work in the field of sound recording is frequently overlooked. In the late 19th century, his D.C.-based Volta Laboratory invented the first method of capturing and playing back sounds. One of the first sounds the researchers recorded was Bell’s own voice, but those recordings were thought to be lost—until recently, when researchers from Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Library of Congress discovered a wax-on-binder-board disc inscribed with Graham’s initials (pictured). Using a special sound recovery process developed at California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the historians made the disc audible to human ears. Now listeners can access those recordings in the museum’s new exhibition, “Hear My Voice.” Attendees can examine documents, recordings, laboratory notes, and equipment from the Volta Laboratory, plus listen to Bell’s until-recently unknown voice with their own ears. Though Bell spends most of his time on the disc reciting numbers and simple phrases, his work marked the first step toward our MP3-ruled world. The exhibition is on view daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Av—Tim Regan enue NW. Free. (202) 633-1000. americanhistory.si.edu.

Comedy Club & Restaurant ALL SHOWS 18 & OVER

202.296.7008 dcimprov.com

1140 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC BIG JAY OAKERSON

TOM PAPA

UPCOMING

TOM RHODES

JOHN HEFFRON

Special Event

EVENTS SPECIAL EVENT

Lil DUVAL March 20-22

JAN 22-25

JAN 29-31

FEB 5-8

“Underground Comedy “The Marriage Ref,” HBO , w/ Dave Attell,”“Louie,” “The Informant,” “Bee “Inside Amy Schumer” Movie,” “Analyze That”

PETE HOLMES

Special Event

FEB 20-22

“The Pete Holmes Show,” Conan,“You Made It Weird”podcast

BILL BELLAMY

FEB 12-15

“The Tonight Show,” Winner of “Last Comic Standing”

“Underground Comedy w/ Dave Attell,” Huffington Post

CHRISTINA PAZSITZKY

FLIP ORLEY

MAR 5-8

MAR 12-15

PABLO FRANCISCO March 26-29

TODD GLASS April 2-4

Give the gift of laughter!

Gift certificates & CDs

Special Event

FEB 26-MAR 1

“Def Comedy Jam,” MTV, “Last Comic Standing”

“Chelsea Lately,” “Funniest Wins,”the “Your Mom’s House”podcast

Private event?

America’s Premier Comic Hypnotist

Hire a comic or host it here!

THE WORLD FAMOUS HARLEM GOSPEL CHOIR

EVERY SUNDAY !

ALL YOU CAN EAT SOUTHERN BUFFET

VALET PARKING AVAILABLE

PURCHASE TICKETS AT WWW.TICKETMASTER.COM or Call 800.745.3000

RUBBER BAND

1/23 HIP HOP LIVS PRESENTS

JUVENILE & BACKYARD BAND

1/30- BLACK MOON & PHAROAHE MONCH

1/31 A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF MOTOWN

2/1- DWELE

1/5-MIDNITE

1/23-BOOTSY COLLINS’

CITY LIGHTS: TUESDAY

JOHN REILLY AND FRIENDS John C. Reilly’s acting chops have landed him a diverse range of roles. He gave an Oscar-nominated performance as Amos Hart in Chicago, registered memorable quotes opposite Will Ferrell in Step Brothers, and performed as the unsettling title character on Adult Swim’s Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule. In the biopic spoof Walk Hard, Reilly proved he’s an equally versatile musician, nailing the role of Dewey Cox, a foolish pastiche of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. Reilly’s love of traditional country and folk tunes extends beyond that film, though, and he’s spent the past few years taking a band on the road to perform rootsy standards as John Reilly and Friends.

In 2011, Reilly recorded duets with singer-songwriter Tom Brosseau and Lavender Diamond frontwoman Becky Stark, who will both join him at Sixth & I along with bassist Sebastian Steinberg. Reilly is right at home covering classics like Ray Price’s “I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me),” his duet with Stark, and in Walk Hard, his warm vocal twang complements his reverence for the source material. With guitar in hand, Reilly leaves his manchild escapades behind and assumes the role of a vibrant old soul. John Reilly and Friends perform at 8 p.m. at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW. $25–$30. (202) 408-3100. sixthandi.org. —Dan Singer

Folk

classical

the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. The Steel Wheels. 6:30 p.m. $15–$22. thehamiltondc.com.

muSiC CenteR at StRathmoRe 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. National Philhar-

WoRld

monic: Bach’s Brandenburgs. 3 p.m. $37–$84. strath-

betheSda blueS and Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Bio Ritmo. 7:30 p.m. $15. bethesdabluesjazz.com.

phillipS ColleCtion 1600 21st St. NW. (202) 387-

Hip-Hop atlaS peRfoRming aRtS CenteR 1333 H St. NE. (202) 399-7993. Christylez Bacon and Nistha Raj. 3 p.m. $25. atlasarts.org.

more.org.

2151. Alexandre Tharaud. 4 p.m. $30. phillipscollection.org.

Vocal baRnS at wolf tRap 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Laura Benanti. 7:30 p.m. $40. wolftrap.org.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6TH

SATURDAY JANUARY 24TH

WHITE FORD BRONCO

BLACK ROCK COALITION’S MILLION MAN MOSH 3

DRAGONS OF ZYNTH, TAMAR-KALI

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7TH

FRIDAY JANUARY 30TH LATE SHOW

SPACE JESUS & FREDDY TODD DELTANINE, SOOHAN

SATURDAY JANUARY 31ST LATE SHOW

TEAM FAMILIAR, EU SUGARBEAR & DJ AMP C 2/18 GEORGE CLINTON AND PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC 2/19 PRHYME (DJ PREMIER & ROYCE DA 5’9”)

2/20 MARTHA REEVES & THE VANDELLAS 2/21 AMEL LARRIEUX

PRODUCED BY JILL NEWMAN PRODUCTIONS & BLISSLIFE

2/22 THE LUTHER VANDROSS RE-LIVES TOUR FEAT. WILLIAM “SMOOTH” WARDLAW

VALENTINE’S WEEKEND WITH

MS. LAURYN HILL

SLIK RICK & RAKIM

STEPHANIE MILLS

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8TH

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17TH

A DRAG VALENTINE’S SALUTE TO THE DIVAS

FEATURING

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13TH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14TH

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15TH

DAWN RICHARD

WHAT SHI-QUEETA-LEE HAS DONE WITH IT

2/24 PARKS & REC FINALE PARTY 2/26 ERIC KRASNO, LEE FIELDS, IRMA THOMAS, ALECIA CHAKOUR & THE DYNAMITES: BLUES AT THE CROSSROADS 2/27 BRAND NUBIAN 2/28 THE PRINCE & MICHAEL JACKSON EXPERIENCE 3/3 CURREN$Y 3/4 RAW DC

3/5 3/20 3/21 3/21 3/25 3/26

RED BARAAT’S FESTIVAL OF COLORS RAUL ROMERO DE LOS NOSEQUIEN Y LOS NOSECUANTOS MAYSA LATE FAMILIAR FACES TITLE FIGHT & LA DISPUTE KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS

620 T ST. NW WASHINGTON DC - THEHOWARDTHEATRE.COM - 202.803.2899 washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 47

Monday Rock

dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Downfall of Gaia, Foehammer, MYOPIC. 8 p.m. $10. dcnine.com. fillmoRe SilVeR SpRing 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Motion City Soundtrack, Vinnie Caruana, Team Spirit. 7:30 p.m. $25. fillmoresilverspring.com. iota Club & Café 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 522-8340. Feel Free. 8 p.m. $10. iotaclubandcafe.com.

Funk & R&B madam’S oRgan 2461 18th St. NW. (202) 667-5370.

One Nite Stand. 9 p.m. $3–$7. madamsorgan.com.

Jazz blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Aaron Hill & The Fruition Experience. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $20. bluesalley.com.

Hip-Hop VelVet lounge 915 U St. NW. (202) 462-3213.

Ardamus, Ceschi Ramos, Crunk Witch, Shane Hall, Navi. 7:30 p.m. $8. velvetloungedc.com.

classical kennedy CenteR millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. The Duke Ellington School of the Arts Music Department. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.

tuesday Rock Bohemian Caverns Tuesdays Artist in Residency

Heidi N JA Martin

DC’s Legendary Jazz Club

Established in 1926 2001 11th ST NW - (202)299-0800

American Crooner Tour

Vinx

Quartet

Mad Curious B FE

a Special Bohemian Caverns presentation

Buster Williams &

Larry Willis

Thur Jan 8th

The

Young Lions

Fri & Sat

Fri & Sat th

Lenny Robinson

Jan 9 & 10

th

Quamon Fowler Mat Mitchell & Ches Smith presented in conjunction w/ Transparent Productions

Sun Jan 11th

Jason Hwang’s SING HOUSE presented in conjunction w/ Transparent Productions

Sun Jan 18th

Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra

Jan 16th & 17th

Valentine’s DayWeekend Aaron “Ab” Abernathy w/ Nat Turner Fri Feb 13th

Loide Sat Feb 14th

Mondays @ 8pm

"This group is something special." ~ Mike West (CityPaper)

www.BohemianCaverns.com

48 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

Jazz blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 337-4141.

Myrna Clayton & Jazz City. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $20. bluesalley.com. bohemian CaVeRnS 2001 11th St. NW. (202) 2990800. Heidi Martin. 7:30 p.m. & 9 p.m. $10–$15. bohemiancaverns.com.

BluEs hill CountRy liVe 410 7th St. NW. (202) 556-2050.

Daddy Mack. 9 p.m. Free. hillcountrywdc.com.

Folk Sixth & i hiStoRiC Synagogue 600 I St. NW. (202) 408-3100. John Reilly and Friends with Becky Stark and Tom Brosseau. 7 p.m. $25–$30. sixthandi.org.

classical kennedy CenteR millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. George Washington Department of Music Camerata. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.

Wednesday Rock

dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. The Rocketboys, The Cowards Choir, Cannonball Cole. 8 p.m. $10. dcnine.com. fillmoRe SilVeR SpRing 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Authority Zero. 7:30 p.m. $22. fillmoresilverspring.com.

ElEctRonic u StReet muSiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1880.

Giraffage, SPAZZKID. 10 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.

gypSy Sally’S 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Julie Slick and Marco Machera with Pat Mastelotto and Tim Motzer, Out of the Beardspace. 8:30 p.m. $12–$15. gypsysallys.com.

Jazz

madam’S oRgan 2461 18th St. NW. (202) 667-5370.

The Johnny Artis Band. 9 p.m. $3–$7. madamsorgan.com.

twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Joe Vetter Trio. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com.

blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 337-4141.

Todd Marcus Quartet. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $25. bluesalley.com.

CITY LIGHTS: WEDNESDAY

TARUS MATEEN AND WESTAFROEAST D.C.-based bassist Tarus Mateen has gained critical acclaim for his involvement with jazz groups led by Betty Carter, Art Blakey, and Jason Moran. But Mateen does more than pluck out improvisational solos as a sideman. With his own group, WestAfroEast, Mateen will add low notes to some reggae, funk, African, and Latin-inspired grooves. Mateen grew up working his fingers on dance-party rhythms, later adding Caribbean influences after taking family vacations to Jamaica and playing there on tour with his older brothers, drummer Umar and saxophonist Radji. The younger Mateen worked with the hip-hop groups Outkast and Goodie Mob while attending Morehouse College in Atlanta. After moving to New York, he injected hypnotic bass lines into jazzy house music releases and some Malian-influenced live sessions. While some of Mateen’s music has a smooth-jazz sheen, this eclectic professional and his band should get the notoriously sedate Kennedy Center audience moving to global compositions. Tarus Mateen and WestAfroEast perform at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, 2700 F St. NW. Free. (202) 467-4600.

—Steve Kiviat kennedy-center.org.

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washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 49

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE ®

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR!”

-Todd McCarthy, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

LEVIATHAN EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT STARTS FRIDAY, JANUARY 23

WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM

Washington, DC THE AVALON (202) 966-6000

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.LEVIATHANMOVIE.COM

T H E S TA K E S A R E H I G H ” .

4

betheSda blueS and Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Essence. 7:30 p.m. $1–$15. bethesdabluesjazz.com.

WoRld kennedy CenteR millennium Stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Tarus Mateen and WestAfroEast.

6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.

classical manSion at StRathmoRe 10701 Rockville Pike, Rockville. (301) 581-5100. invoke. 7:30 p.m. $17. strathmore.org.

thursday blaCk Cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Zola Jesus, Deradoorian. 8 p.m. $15–$17. blackcatdc.com. dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Ki:Theory, Social Station. 8:30 p.m. $10. dcnine.com.

RobeRt e. paRilla peRfoRming aRtS CenteR 51 Mannakee St., Rockville. (240) 567-5301. The B-52s, Dot Dash. 8 p.m. $60. montgomerycollege.edu/pac.

A. O. SCOTT,

ARLINGTON AMC Loews Shirlington 7 (888) AMC-4FUN

madam’S oRgan 2461 18th St. NW. (202) 6675370. The Human Country Jukebox Band. 9 p.m. $3–$7. madamsorgan.com.

iota Club & Café 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington.

(703) 522-8340. The Bros. Landreth. 8:30 p.m. $10. iotaclubandcafe.com.

TERRIFIC

WASHINGTON, DC Landmark’s E Street Cinema (202) 783-9494

Funk & R&B

Rock

NEW YORK CITY, 1981

“PULPY, MEATY, ALTOGETHER

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BETHESDA ArcLight Bethesda (301) 365-0213

ElEctRonic 9:30 Club 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. London Grammar, Until The Ribbon Breaks. 6 p.m. (Sold out) 930.com.

Borgore, Ookay, Jauz, DOTCOM. 10:30 p.m. $30. 930.com.

Jazz manSion at StRathmoRe 10701 Rockville Pike, Rockville. (301) 581-5100. Vadim Neselovskyi. 7:30 p.m. $25. strathmore.org. twinS Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Marty Nau. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com.

BluEs blueS alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Corey Harris. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. $25. bluesalley.com.

Folk baRnS at wolf tRap 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Jonathan Edwards. 8 p.m. $25. wolftrap.org. gypSy Sally’S 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. The Walkaways, The Mercy Alliance. 8 p.m. $10. gypsysallys.com.

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ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS ®

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BEST ACTRESS JULIANNE MOORE

“A R E M A R K A B L E F E AT O F A C T I N G.” -A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES

JULIANNE MOORE ALEC BALDWIN KRISTEN STEWART

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FREDERICKSBURG Regal Fredericksburg 15 (800) FANDANGO

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.STILLALICEFILM.COM

50 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

CITY LIGHTS: THURSDAY

ZOLA JESUS Check the rise in black lipstick sales: Goth is back, and Zola Jesus is ready to reap the benefits. Nika Roza Danilova grew up quiet and adventurous on a 100-acre forest in rural Wisconsin; now, she channels that isolation into her performance persona Zola Jesus, an experimental pop and electronic singer-songwriter eking her way into the mainstream. Her slight frame and all-black wardrobe could make anyone mistake her for a coven’s Supreme, and her dark but accessible music never lets you forget it. On Zola Jesus’ 2009 EP New Amsterdam, war drums pound as she wails in the foggy distance over staticky guitars, and that ethereal chill remains on her latest album, 2014’s Taiga. Zola Jesus blends poppy, dance-worthy beats and catchy choruses with a supernatural spookiness that, in the right circumstances, cast a bewitching spell. Zola Jesus performs with Deradoorian at 8 p.m. at the Black Cat, 1811 —Jordan-Marie Smith 14th St. NW. $15–$17. (202) 667-4490. blackcatdc.com.

the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000.

Barnstar!, Jimmy and Moondi. 6:30 p.m. $15–$20. thehamiltondc.com.

WoRld madam’S oRgan 2461 18th St. NW. (202) 6675370. Patrick Alban and Noche Latina. 9 p.m. $3–$7. madamsorgan.com.

classical kennedy CenteR ConCeRt hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. National Symphony Orchestra with Arabella Steinbacher. 7 p.m. $10–$85. kennedycenter.org.

theater

baSkeRVille Tony-winning playwright Ken Ludwig takes advantage of the Sherlock Holmes craze and presents this comedic new take on The Hound of the Baskervilles, with five actors playing more than 40 roles. Arena Stage. 1101 6th St. SW. To Feb. 22. $55$110. (202) 488-3300. arenastage.org. beSSie’S blueS MetroStage revives this musical look at the 20th century, which won six Helen Hayes Awards when it debuted at Studio Theatre 20 years ago. Playwright Thomas W. Jones II directs and choreographs the production that tells the story of the blues from the perspective of singer Bessie Smith. MetroStage. 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria. To March 15. $55-$60. (703) 548-9044. metrostage.org.

ChoiR boy When a prestigious boarding school for young African-American men falls on hard financial times, its acclaimed gospel choir feels the pressure.

The young man chosen to lead the group must decide whether that responsibility is worth ignoring his sexual orientation in this new musical story by playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. Studio Theatre. 1501 14th St. NW. To Feb. 22. $20-$78. (202) 332-3300. studiotheatre.org.

CRime and puniShment in ameRiCa The company considers the current state of crime and punishment in this country by presenting two one-act plays they previously performed to great acclaim. Terry Curtis Fox’s Cops tells the story of police officers involved in a shootout with a young black male, and William Saroyan’s Hello Out There chronicles the life of a wrongfully imprisoned black man who tries to make amends with the world. American Century Theater at Gunston Theatre Two. 2700 S. Lang St., Arlington. To Jan. 31. $32$40. (703) 998-4555. americancentury.org. dineR Signature presents the world premiere of this new music based on Barry Levinson’s coming of age tale set in a Baltimore restaurant. Levinson adapted his screenplay into the show’s book and Sheryl Crow crafted the music and lyrics; Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall choreographs and directs. Signature Theatre.

4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. To Jan. 25. $29-$70.

(703) 820-9771. signature-theatre.org. gigi Signature Theatre’s Eric Schaeffer directs this rewritten adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe musical about a young courtesan-in-training who’s pursued by a suave, wealthy playboy. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theatre. 2700 F St. NW. To Feb. 12. $45-$150. 202467-4600. kennedy-center.org. gutenbeRg! the muSiCal This musical, developed at New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade, chronicles the development of the printing press and provides a fictional take on the life of Johann Gutenberg. Next Stop Theatre. 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon. To Feb. 1. $28. (703) 481-5930. nextstoptheatre.org. half-life In this zombie-inspired work of physical theater, a car accident survivor wanders through life resembling an undead person and must handle the perceptions of others while she recovers. Flashpoint Mead Theatre Lab. 916 G St. NW. To Feb. 22. $10-$20.

(202) 315-1306. culturaldc.org. life SuCkS (oR the pReSent RidiCulouS) Aaron Posner, the writer of Woolly Mammoth’s acclaimed Stupid Fucking Bird, presents this loose adaptation of Chekov’s Uncle Vanya, which follows three individuals as they struggle with love and longing. Theater J. 1529 16th St. NW. To Feb. 15. $10-$65. (202) 518-9400. theaterj.org.

maRy StuaRt Holly Twyford and Kate Eastwood Norris star in this new production of Frederick Schiller’s play that chronicles the final days and death of Mary, Queen of Scots. Folger Elizabethan Theatre. 201 E. Capitol St. SE. To March 8. $40-$75. (202) 544-7077. folger.edu. the whale A morbidly obese man lives in isolation on the outskirts of a majority mormon community. After the death of his longtime partner, he reaches out to form a relationship with his estranged daughter in this play about final chances at redemption and unexpected beauty. Rep Stage at Howard Community College.

10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. To Feb. 1. $15-$40. (443) 518-1500. repstage.org. the widow linColn James Still’s world premiere play chronicles Mary Lincoln’s life in the weeks following her husband’s assassination. Ford’s Theatre. 511 10th St. NW. To Feb. 22. $35-$62. (202) 347-4833. fordstheatre.org.

FilM

ameRiCan SnipeR Bradley Cooper portrays Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle as he fights in battle and struggles with war once he returns home. Directed by Clint Eastwood. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) beloVed SiSteRS Two aristocratic sisters fall in the love with the same poet, Friedrich Schiller.

This brings them some joy, but plenty of pain. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)

n

blaCkhat A convict helps assists authorities in tracking an international cyber-terrorism ring. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Viola Davis, and Wei Tang. Directed by Michael Mann (Heat). (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) the boy next dooR A single mother’s affair n with a young neighbor develops into a disturbing, obsessive relationship. Starring Jennifer Lopez and Ryan Guzman. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) leViathan Nikolai’s home is threatened with n destruction by his town’s corrupt mayor. Nikolai tries to fight, but the odds seem against him. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) Charlie Mortdecai is a bumbling n moRtdeCai fool with a mustache that makes people sour. He is also a spy. Starring Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ewan McGregor. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) a moSt Violent yeaR In 1981 New York City, violence and criminal activity find a way to follow an ambitious business owner being hassled by his competition and the law. Starring Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, and David Oyelowo. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) paddington A cute talking bear from Peru winds up in London and is taken in by the Brown family. Mr. Brown has his objections and soon a taxidermist comes looking for the bear. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) SpaRe paRtS A high school robotics club with little funding aims to compete against collegiate stars in a robotics tournament. Starring George Lopez, Marisa Tomei, and Carlos PenaVega. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) Still aliCe A celebrated linguistics professor is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Julianne Moore won a Golden Globe award for her starring role. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) StRange magiC A forest full of mystical crean tures is disturbed when a villain kidnaps a fairy and tries to steal a potion that could wreck havoc on the land. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) two dayS, one night In order for workers to get a pay bonus, their co-worker, Sandra (Marion Cotillard), must be laid off. Sandra tries to rally her workplace’s support to keep her job. (See washingtoncitypaper. com for venue information)

Film clips are written by Reese Higgins.

SHOWTIMES jan. 23–29, 2015 Times currenT as of 4 p.m. Wednesday

REPERTORY AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring

AMC Loews Theatres Georgetown 3111 K St. NW (202) 342-6441

American Sniper (R) 134 mins.

Fri. 1:30, 4:45, 8:00, 11:00; Sat.-Sun. 10:30, 1:30, 4:45, 8:00, 11:00; Mon.-Wed. 1:30, 4:45, 8:00, 11:00; Thu. 3:00, 6:00, 9:00

(301) 495-6700

Birdman (R) 119 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 11:45, 4:40, 7:05, 9:30

American Sniper: The IMAX Experience (R) 134 mins.

The Imitation Game (PG-13) 114 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 6:55, 9:20; Sun. 12:20, 2:45, 5:10, 7:30, 9:50; Mon.-Thu. 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 6:55, 9:20

Inherent Vice (R) 148 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 1:30, 4:20, 7:15, 10:10; Sun. 1:30, 4:20, 7:15; Mon.-Thu. 11:40, 2:30, 5:20, 8:15

The Theory of Everything (PG-13) 123 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 11:00, 2:10; Mon.-Thu. 2:10

Fri.-Sun. 12:30, 3:45, 7:00, 10:15; Mon.-Thu. 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:15

Birdman (R) 119 mins.

Fri. 1:30, 4:20, 7:10; Sat.-Wed. 1:30, 4:25, 7:10; Thu. 1:20, 4:10

Blackhat (R) 133 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 3:40, 9:40; Mon. 2:20, 9:40; Tue.-Wed. 3:40, 9:40; Thu. 3:40, 10:30

The Boy Next Door (R) 91 mins.

Fri. noon, 2:25, 4:45, 7:30, 10:00; Sat.-Sun. 11:10, noon, 2:25, 4:45, 7:30, 10:00; Mon.-Thu. noon, 2:25, 4:45, 7:30, 10:00

DISTRICT

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in 3D (PG-13) 144 mins.

Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market Between 550 Penn St. NE

Fri. 3:15; Sat.-Wed. 4:15; Thu. 3:15

(571)512-3313

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (PG-13) 144 mins.

Big Eyes (PG-13) 106 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 11:45, 4:45, 9:20; Sun. 4:45, 9:20; Mon. 11:45, 4:45; Tue. 4:45, 11:45; Wed.-Thu. 11:45, 4:45

Boyhood (R) 160 mins.

Fri.-Mon. 11:30, 3:00, 6:30; Tue. 11:30, 3:00, 6:30; Wed. 3:00, 6:30, 11:30; Thu. 11:30, 3:00, 6:30

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (NR) 104 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 2:15, 7:00, 9:45; Sun. 7:00, 9:45; Mon. 2:15, 7:00; Tue. 2:15, 7:00; Wed.-Thu. 2:15, 7:00

Whiplash (R) 105 mins.

Fri.-Sat. noon, 2:30, 5:00, 7:15, 9:30; Sun.-Mon. noon, 2:30, 5:00, 7:15; Tue. noon, 2:30, 5:00, 7:15; Wed.-Thu. noon, 2:30, 5:00, 7:15

West End Cinema

Fri. noon; Sat.-Wed. 1:00; Thu. noon

The Imitation Game (PG-13) 114 mins.

Fri.-Sat. noon, 2:45, 5:30, 8:15, 10:55; Sun. 12:50, 3:45, 6:20, 9:10; Mon.-Thu. noon, 2:45, 5:30, 8:15

Inherent Vice (R) 148 mins.

Fri. 6:30, 9:50; Sat.-Wed. 7:25, 10:40; Thu. 9:10

Into the Woods (PG) 124 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 12:10, 3:05, 6:00, 9:00

The Loft (R) 103 mins.

Thu. 8:00, 10:40

Mortdecai (R) 107 mins.

Fri. noon, 2:35, 5:10, 7:45, 10:25; Sat.-Sun. 10:00, noon, 2:35, 5:10, 7:45, 10:25; Mon.Wed. noon, 2:35, 5:10, 7:45, 10:25; Thu. 1:25, 4:00, 6:30, 9:30

Paddington (PG) 95 mins.

Fri. 12:05, 2:30, 4:55, 7:20, 9:50; Sat. 10:00, 11:30, 2:00, 4:25, 6:50, 9:20; Sun. 11:30, 2:00, 4:25, 6:50, 9:20; Mon.-Thu. 12:20, 2:00, 4:25, 6:50, 9:20

2301 M St. NW (202)419-3456

Appropriate Behavior (NR) 90 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 10:00

Project Almanac (PG-13) 120 mins.

Thu. 7:00, 9:40

Boyhood (R) 160 mins.

Fri. 3:40, 7:00; Sat.-Sun. 12:20, 3:40, 7:00; Mon.-Thu. 3:40, 7:00

Selma (PG-13) 127 mins.

Fri. 1:20, 4:25, 7:15, 10:20; Sat. 10:00, 1:20, 4:25, 7:15, 10:20; Sun.-Thu. 1:20, 4:25, 7:15, 10:20

Citizenfour (R) 114 mins.

Fri. 5:20; Sat.-Sun. 12:40, 5:20; Mon.-Thu. 5:20

Strange Magic (PG) 99 mins.

Fri. 1:35, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00; Sat.-Sun. 11:00, 1:35, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00; Mon.-Thu. 1:35, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00

The Grand Budapest Hotel (R) 100 mins.

Fri. 4:40, 9:30; Sat.-Sun. noon, 4:40, 9:30; Mon.-Thu. 4:40, 9:30

Taken 3 (PG-13) 103 mins.

Song One (PG-13) 88 mins.

Fri. 3:20, 7:40, 9:40; Sat.-Sun. 3:20, 7:40, 9:40; Mon.-Thu. 3:20, 7:40, 9:40

Whiplash (R) 105 mins.

Fri. 2:20, 7:20; Sat.-Sun. 2:20, 7:20; Mon.-Thu. 2:20, 7:20

Fri.-Sun. 12:05, 2:45, 5:25, 8:10, 10:50; Mon.Wed. 2:45, 5:25, 8:10, 10:50; Thu. 2:45, 5:25

The Theory of Everything (PG-13) 123 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 12:50, 6:45; Mon. 6:45; Tue.-Wed. 12:50, 6:45; Thu. 12:50

washingtoncitypaper.com JANUARY 23, 2015 51

SHOWTIMES jan. 23–29, 2015 Times currenT as of 4 p.m. Wednesday The Wedding Ringer (R) 101 mins.

Fri. 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30, 10:00, 11:00; Sat.Sun. 10:25, 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30, 10:00, 11:00; Mon.-Wed. 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30, 10:00; Thu. 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30

AMC Mazza Gallerie 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW (202) 537-9553

Blackhat (R) 133 mins.

Fri. 4:00, 9:50; Sat. 10:10, 4:00, 9:50; Sun. 9:50; Mon.-Thu. 4:00

Bolshoi Ballet: Swan Lake (NR) 160 mins.

Sun. 12:55

The Imitation Game (PG-13) 114 mins.

Fri. 2:00, 4:40, 7:20, 10:00; Sat.-Sun. 11:20, 2:00, 4:40, 7:20, 10:00; Mon.-Thu. 2:00, 4:40, 7:20

Into the Woods (PG) 124 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 1:10, 7:00; Sun. 7:00; Mon.-Thu. 1:10, 7:00

Mortdecai (R) 107 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 12:05, 2:40, 5:15, 7:50, 10:30; Mon.Thu. 12:05, 2:40, 5:15, 7:50

Paddington (PG) 95 mins.

Fri. 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:25; Sat.-Sun. 10:05, 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:25; Mon.-Thu. 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00

Selma (PG-13) 127 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:05; Mon.-Thu. 1:10, 4:10, 7:10

Strange Magic (PG) 99 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 12:10, 2:40, 5:10, 7:40, 10:10; Mon.Thu. 12:10, 2:40, 5:10, 7:40

The Wedding Ringer (R) 101 mins.

Fri.-Sun. noon, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 10:00; Mon.Thu. noon, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30

E Street Cinema 555 11th St. NW. (202) 452-7672

Beloved Sisters (Die geliebten Schwestern) (NR) 170 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 12:30, 6:30

Birdman (R) 119 mins.

Fri. 12:50, 3:30, 6:45, 9:30; Sat.-Sun. 10:15, 12:50, 3:30, 6:45, 9:30; Mon. 12:50, 3:30, 9:30; Tue.-Thu. 12:50, 3:30, 6:45, 9:30

Docunight #1 Infidels / Pilgrimage Wed. 7:00

Drive (R) 100 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 11:59

Foxcatcher (R) 134 mins.

Fri. 3:50, 9:50; Sat.-Sun. 9:50, 3:50, 9:50; Mon.Thu. 3:50, 9:50

The Imitation Game (PG-13) 114 mins.

Fri. 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 9:55; Sat. 10:10, 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 9:55; Sun. 10:10, 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 9:40; Mon.-Thu. 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 9:40

Inherent Vice (R) 148 mins.

Fri. 12:45, 4:15, 7:45, 11:00; Sat. 9:45, 12:45, 4:15, 7:45, 11:00; Sun. 9:45, 12:45, 4:15, 7:45; Mon.-Thu. 12:45, 4:15, 7:45

A Most Violent Year (R) 125 mins.

Fri. 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:15; Sat. 10:30, 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:15; Sun. 10:30, 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 9:55; Mon.-Tue. 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 9:55; Wed.-Thu. 1:30, 4:30, 9:55

Mr. Turner (R) 149 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 12:35, 6:35

Still Alice (PG-13) 99 mins.

Fri. 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30; Sat. 10:00, 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30; Sun. 10:00, 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:40, 9:50; Mon.-Wed. 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:40, 9:50; Thu. 12:30, 2:50, 9:50

The Theory of Everything (PG-13) 123 mins.

Fri. 3:45, 9:45; Sat.-Sun. 9:55, 3:45, 9:45; Mon.Thu. 3:45, 9:45

Wild (R) 115 mins.

Fri. 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10:00; Sat.-Sun. 10:05, 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10:00; Mon.-Thu. 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10:00

Whiplash (R) 105 mins.

Fri. 1:15, 3:55, 6:45, 9:30; Sat.-Sun. 10:30, 1:15, 3:55, 6:45, 9:30; Mon.-Thu. 1:15, 3:55, 6:45, 9:30

Majestic 20 & IMAX 900 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring (301) 565-8884

American Sniper (R) 134 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 11:05, 11:35, 12:30, 2:05, 2:40, 3:35, 5:25, 6:00, 7:00, 8:30, 9:10, 11:40; Sun. 11:05, 11:35, 12:30, 2:05, 2:40, 3:35, 5:25, 6:00, 7:00, 8:30, 9:10; Mon.-Thu. 12:30, 2:05, 2:40, 3:35, 5:25, 6:00, 7:00, 8:30, 9:10

AMC Courthouse 2150 Claredon Blvd., Arlington (703) 998-4262

American Sniper (R) 134 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 10:30, 12:45, 1:45, 4:00, 5:00, 7:10, 8:10, 10:15, 11:15; Mon.-Thu. noon, 1:00, 3:00, 4:10, 6:45, 7:15, 10:00, 10:30

Blackhat (R) 133 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 10:10, 1:15, 4:20, 7:30, 10:35; Mon.Thu. 12:30, 3:45, 7:20, 10:30

American Sniper: The IMAX Experience (R) 134 mins.

Paddington (PG) 95 mins.

Annie (PG) 118 mins.

Strange Magic (PG) 99 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 1:10, 4:15, 7:30, 10:50 Fri.-Thu. 1:15, 4:05, 7:15

Big Hero 6 (PG) 105 mins.

Regal Gallery Place

VIRGINIA

Fri.-Thu. 5:15

Fri.-Sun. 11:00, 1:30, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15; Mon.-Thu. 1:30, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 Fri.-Sun. 10:15, 1:00, 3:45, 6:30, 9:00; Mon.Thu. 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30

Taken 3 (PG-13) 103 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 11:15, 2:00, 4:45, 7:45, 10:30; Mon.Thu. 2:15, 5:00, 7:45, 10:35

707 7th St. NW (202) 393-2121

Blackhat (R) 133 mins.

The Boy Next Door (R) 91 mins.

The Boy Next Door (R) 91 mins.

Unbroken (PG-13) 137 mins.

Mortdecai (R) 107 mins.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (PG-13) 144 mins.

Wild (R) 115 mins.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (PG-13) 123 mins.

AMC Loews Cineplex Shirlington

Into the Woods (PG) 124 mins.

(703) 333-FILM #756

Fri.-Thu. 11:50, 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 9:40 Fri.-Thu. 11:30, 2:25, 5:05, 7:50, 10:40

Strange Magic (PG) 99 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 11:40, 2:20, 4:55, 7:30, 10:10

MARYLAND

Mon.-Thu. 10:15

Fri.-Thu. 12:45, 3:15, 5:45, 8:15, 10:45

Fri.-Sat. 3:55, 7:55, 11:15; Sun.-Thu. 3:55, 7:35, 10:50

Fri.-Thu. 12:35

Fri.-Thu. 1:05, 4:00, 7:05, 10:25

Bethesda Row Cinema 7235 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda (301) 652-7273

Birdman (R) 119 mins.

Fri. 2:00, 4:50, 7:30, 10:00; Sat.-Sun. 10:45, 2:00, 4:50, 7:30, 10:00; Mon.-Thu. 2:00, 4:50, 7:30, 10:00

The Imitation Game (PG-13) 114 mins.

Fri. 1:10, 1:30, 4:00, 4:20, 6:40, 7:10, 9:20, 10:00; Sat. 10:25, 1:10, 1:30, 4:00, 4:20, 6:40, 7:10, 9:20, 10:00; Sun. 10:25, 11:00, 1:10, 1:30, 4:00, 4:20, 6:40, 7:10, 9:20, 10:00; Mon.-Thu. 1:10, 1:30, 4:00, 4:20, 6:40, 7:10, 9:20, 10:00

Mr. Turner (R) 149 mins.

Fri. 1:00, 3:50, 7:00, 9:10; Sat.-Sun. 10:20, 1:00, 3:50, 7:00, 9:10; Mon.-Thu. 1:00, 3:50, 7:00, 9:10

Still Alice (PG-13) 99 mins.

Fri. 1:50, 4:10, 7:40, 10:05; Sat.-Sun. 10:40, 1:50, 4:10, 7:40, 10:05; Mon.-Thu. 1:50, 4:10, 7:40, 10:05

The Theory of Everything (PG-13) 123 mins.

Fri. 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 9:40; Sat.-Sun. 10:35, 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 9:40; Mon.-Thu. 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 9:40

Two Days, One Night (Deux jours, une nuit) (PG-13) 95 mins.

Fri. 1:20, 4:40, 6:50, 10:10; Sat.-Sun. 10:50, 1:20, 4:40, 6:50, 10:10; Mon.-Thu. 1:20, 4:40, 6:50, 10:10

52 JANUARY 23, 2015 washingtoncitypaper.com

Mortdecai (R) 107 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 11:40, 2:20, 5:00, 7:40, 10:20; Mon.Thu. 2:20, 5:00, 7:40, 10:20

Paddington (PG) 95 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 11:25, 12:15, 2:25, 3:00, 4:45, 5:30, 7:10, 9:30, 11:50; Sun. 11:25, 12:15, 2:25, 3:00, 4:45, 5:30, 7:10, 9:30; Mon.-Thu. 2:25, 4:45, 7:10, 9:30

Selma (PG-13) 127 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 12:25, 1:20, 3:30, 4:30, 6:35, 7:35, 9:35, 10:30

Spare Parts (PG-13) 113 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 12:20, 3:40, 6:25, 9:15

Strange Magic (PG) 99 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 11:30, 2:10, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50; Mon. noon, 2:25, 4:55, 7:20, 9:50; Tue.-Thu. 2:10, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50

Taken 3 (PG-13) 103 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 12:05, 2:50, 5:35, 8:25, 11:00

The Wedding Ringer (R) 101 mins.

Fri.-Sat. 11:00, 1:00, 1:40, 3:45, 4:20, 6:20, 6:55, 9:00, 9:40, 11:45; Sun. 11:00, 1:00, 1:40, 3:45, 4:20, 6:20, 6:55, 9:00, 9:40; Mon.-Thu. 1:00, 1:40, 3:45, 4:20, 6:20, 6:55, 9:00, 9:40

Wild (R) 115 mins.

Fri.-Sun. 11:25, 2:30, 8:05, 10:55; Mon.-Thu. 2:30, 8:05, 10:55

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (PG-13) 90 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 10:35

Fri.-Sun. 12:15, 3:30, 7:00, 10:20; Mon.-Thu. 12:45, 4:15, 7:30, 10:40 Fri.-Sun. 11:15, 2:00, 4:45, 7:45, 10:45; Mon.Thu. 1:45, 4:45, 7:45, 10:40

2772 S. Randolph Road, Arlington

Birdman (R) 119 mins.

Fri. 1:15, 4:00, 6:45, 9:30; Sat. 10:30, 1:15, 4:00, 6:45, 9:30; Sun. 10:30, 1:15, 4:00, 6:45; Mon.Thu. 1:15, 4:00, 6:45

Cake (R) 91 mins.

Fri. 1:45, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45; Sat. 11:00, 1:45, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45; Sun. 11:00, 1:45, 4:15, 7:00; Mon.Thu. 1:45, 4:15, 7:00

Foxcatcher (R) 134 mins.

Fri. 3:30, 9:15; Sat. 10:00, 3:30, 9:15; Sun. 10:00, 3:30; Mon.-Thu. 3:30

The Imitation Game (PG-13) 114 mins.

Fri. 12:40, 3:30, 6:15, 9:00; Sat. 10:00, 12:40, 3:30, 6:15, 9:00; Sun. 10:00, 12:40, 3:30, 6:15; Mon.-Thu. 12:40, 3:30, 6:15

A Most Violent Year (R) 125 mins.

Fri. 2:15, 5:00, 7:45, 10:30; Sat. 11:40, 2:15, 5:00, 7:45, 10:30; Sun. 11:40, 2:15, 5:00, 7:45; Mon.Thu. 2:15, 5:00, 7:45

Still Alice (PG-13) 99 mins.

Fri. 2:00, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00; Sat. 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00; Sun. 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:15; Mon.-Thu. 2:00, 4:30, 7:15

The Theory of Everything (PG-13) 123 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 2:00, 7:30

Whiplash (R) 105 mins.

Fri. 4:45, 10:15; Sat. 11:15, 4:45, 10:15; Sun. 11:15, 4:45; Mon.-Thu. 4:45

Wild (R) 115 mins.

Fri.-Thu. 12:50, 6:30