By Mark Edelman It’s May—the month we celebrate our Mamma Mia’s, who, in most cases, introduced us to the joys of live theater. What better way to say thank you for schlepping us to all of those school matinees than by taking Mom – any mom – to some of these nurturing plays and musicals this month: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE DuPont Underground Now thru May 4 Tennessee Williams’ descent into family dysfunction, sexual obsession, death and decay finds itself in the bowels of Connecticut Avenue as the DuPont Underground plays host to this national touring (more like a “pop up”) production guided by director Nick Westrate and an ensemble of four New York-based actors, sans props or set– who set out to create a “Streetcar” like no other. Tickets at http://www.thestreetcarproject.comance of the play 44: THE MUSICAL Now thru May 10 Klein Theatre A wacky send-up of our 44th president’s special place in history. If you miss Barak crooning “How Black Is Too Black” over a Motown groove, Sarah Palin screaming “Drill Me Baby” like Ozzy Osbourne, or Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz rapping “Green Eggs and Ham,” this is the special engagement for you. Not for fans of Alex Jones or Stephen Miller. Tickets at http://www.44theobamamusical.com. 1776 Ford’s Theatre Now thru May 16 Just in time for the country’s 250th, this musical is an insightful, often humorous take on our founding fathers’ determination to do the right thing for their fledgling nation. As members of the Second Continental Congress struggle to reach consensus, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson debate the issues that will define our country. Who knew that the composer of “Johnny Get Angry” would win the Tony® Award for Best Musical with this Broadway hit? Tickets at http://www.fords.org SPRING AWAKENING St….
By Miriam R. Kramer Motherhood is one of the most written-about experiences, yet it never stops feeling fresh because every mother–child relationship is its own universe. Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy, Matriarch: A Memoir by Tina Knowles, and I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy form a powerful trio about identity, inheritance, and the complicated love that shapes who we become. Our mothers create us and we speak back to this experience, spending our lives figuring out how they made us who we are and vice versa. Together these volumes create a spectrum of maternal love, from distant to devoted to enmeshed. Writer Arundhati Roy’s Mother Mary Comes to Me is a luminous work that serves as the most brilliantly written of the three. Here the mother–daughter relationship is defined in great part by emotional distance and abuse. Roy’s mother, Mary, was a fierce activist who challenged discriminatory inheritance laws in India, founded a school, and built a life centered on independence and social change. As a child, Roy experienced her mother as strong, formidable, and verbally violent as Mary fought to make her own place separate from children or any male guardian figure in a very traditional, sexist world. Brilliant and emotionally mercurial, Mary Roy despised mediocrity and was happy to send her children off to boarding school. In this memoir, we experience the feeling of growing up in the presence of a powerful figure whose life exists on a larger stage, as her daughter separates from her to match and even surpass her intellectual and political achievement. She notes in her memoir “Perhaps even more than a daughter mourning the passing of her mother, I mourn her as a writer who has lost her most enthralling subject. In these pages, my mother, my gangster, shall live. She was my shelter and my storm.” Roy creates…
By Ron Powers In 1971, David Bowie channeled creative frustration into one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs in rock history with “Life on Mars?”, a track that would transcend its era to become a cultural monument. Born from Bowie’s bruised pride after Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” eclipsed his own rejected attempt at the same French source melody, the song found its home on the landmark album Hunky Dory and immediately announced itself as something far beyond ordinary. It’s driven by Rick Wakeman’s cascading piano, Mick Ronson’s sweeping string arrangement, and Bowie’s shape-shifting vocal: moving from nasal detachment in the verses to soaring passion in the choruses. The song follows a disillusioned girl escaping into cinema, painting Hollywood as a dream factory gone stale. Things get started with a minimal arrangement composed of Bowie singing a lonely melody accompanied by a somber piano. Bowie pulls the listener in from the very beginning with a dark, dramatic emotion along with obscure and poetic lines like, “But her friend is nowhere to be seen / Now she walks through her sunken dream / To the seat with the clearest view / And she’s hooked to the silver screen”. As the verse progresses, the emotion deepens with a sparse but dramatic string arrangement led by bold and deep cello notes. Finally, we hear a swell of emotion and a brief snare roll as the music swoops into the first chorus. As the chorus gets going, Mick Ronson’s string arrangement comes into full bloom with flurries of violins accentuating the first backbeat of measures one and two while extended notes on cello and viola add weight to the downbeat. Mick Woodmansey’s drum beat is also added for the chorus bringing a glam rock sparkle through slap back delay processing. For the top line, Bowie…
Pictured above- Lusmerlin (Dominican Republic) – Consecration of Stardust. 48×36. Pastel & Acrylic on Wood. 2025 By F. Lennox Campello Last year, when I curated the sprawling “Women Artists of the DMV” survey show, which eventually ended being showcased across the region in 19 different venues, I said to myself something along the lines of “never again am I going to curate such a sprawling show…” Cough… cough… When my family arrived from Cuba to the United States in the 1960s, I was a child. I now realize how that momentous event left a deep footprint on the rest of my life – especially upon my own artistic development. We were part of the historical beginning of the Cuban Diaspora, when eventually nearly a quarter of the island’s population left the island to escape the brutality of a murderous Communist dictatorship, and resettled all over the world, with the largest number in the United States. My family and I settled in Brooklyn, New York, in a neighborhood mostly populated at the time by Italian immigrants. We were immigrants living among other immigrants. Years later when I attended art school at the University of Washington in Seattle, the impact of that forced migration resurfaced in my own artwork, into what eventually developed into what is now called the “Cuba Series” – a nearly 50-year-old series with the island of Cuba as the focus of the work. In Washington, most Spanish-speaking people were of Mexican ancestry, and I often joke that I felt that I was the only person of Cuban ancestry in the entire state. “What are you?” would ask wide-eyed Mexican waitresses when I discovered Mexican food and would talk to them in Spanish at any of the many Mexican restaurants in the city – my machine gun rapid-fire Cuban…
Photo above courtesy of Lee Moody Daily Through December Patriots Path: A Revolutionary War Encampment 9 AM – 4 PM George Washington’s Mount Vernon 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Immerse yourself in the daily life of soldiers, military officers, and the camp followers who traveled with the army as you explore a Revolutionary War encampment. At this hands-on attraction, you can touch the items inside the soldiers’ tents and officer’s tent, wash clothes in the laundry yard, and examine cooking utensils used by camp followers. See two daily programs about enlisting in General Washington’s army and how soldiers prepared their meals while traveling. This attraction is made possible thanks to Americana Corner. 2nd & 3rd Revolutionary War Weekend 9 AM – 5 PM George Washington’s Mount Vernon 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Step back in time to meet Revolutionary War soldiers and experience what it was like during the American Revolution 250 years ago. See the serene 12-acre field transforms into a battleground as Continentals and Redcoats conduct military drills, demonstrations, and engage in 18th-century tacticals. Visit with camp followers and walk through a recreation of George Washington’s War Tent. Plus, shop goods such as pottery, soap, artwork, textiles, fresh-baked bread, and more from colonial artisans and craftspeople. 2nd through 23rd Lost Buildings of Alexandria-Urban Renewal 10 AM – 11 AM Carlyle House 121 N. Fairfax Street In honor of National Preservation Month, join Carlyle House on a tour of “Lost Alexandria.” Urban renewal projects across the country took place starting in the 1950s were government and private initiatives aimed at addressing urban decay, upgrading infrastructure and revitalizing city neighborhoods. In the 1960s, the Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal Project changed and demolished portions of multiple blocks including the 300-500 block of King Street. During May’s Preservation Tours, tour guides…
The Cherry Blossoms have reached their peak but they will be on display for several more days if Mother Nature cooperates. In the meantime, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the fluffy pink and white wonders in Alexandria. Take a walk outdoors, discover local restaurants or get active on a guided bike tour or take a boat tour from Old Town Alexandria down around the Tidal Basin to explore endless flowering trees. Full list of events and contacts and http://www.visitalexandria.com. 4th Easter Egg Hunt *11 am – 4 pm Lee Fendall House Museum & Garden 614 Oronoco Street Celebrate Easter in the Lee-Fendall garden with our popular annual egg hunt! In this family-friendly event, collect Easter eggs all around the Lee-Fendall garden during our popular annual egg hunt! Sessions also include crafts, games, a cupcake walk, special gift shop deals, and a visit from the Easter Bunny. *Sessions are offered on Saturday, April 4th at 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and 3:00 PM. Attendance is limited and reservations MUST be made in advance. Tickets are $15 per participating child. Accompanying adults are $5 each and infants under 2 are free. Be sure to bring your own basket. Details at www. leefendallhouse.org/ 10th & May 8th Grown-Up Field Trip: Black History Museum 6:30 – 8:00 pm Alexandria Black History Museum 902 Wythe Street For the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, venture out on a four-part field trip series for adults highlighting African American history around Alexandria. Explore objects and primary sources, dive into conversations, and be ready to be hands-on as you learn more about Alexandria and American history. All field trips are based on ones offered to school-age children, but with extra time, so we can go even deeper! April 10: Hayti: Uncovering an African American Neighborhood at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. May 8: African American Stories at Alexandria’s Archives and Records…
By F. Lennox Campello This month I’m going to discuss both the March exhibition at the Art League in Alexandria (on the ground floor of the Torpedo Factory) as well as their upcoming April exhibition. Over 20 years ago, in 2005, I had the honor to jury one of the monthly shows at the Art League – which as I’ve noted before, is one of the crown jewels of the DMV A art scene – Back then about 600 works in all genres and medias were submitted for my review and I selected 120 of them for exhibition in the Art League Gallery on the first floor of the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria. Jurying an art show is a very time consuming, and arduous task. In this case, there were some absolutely brilliant works, a lot of OK work, and a few head scratchers. But the sublime pleasure of being surrounded by artwork from artists of all ranges, ages and skills, is unequaled. This is what the love of visual arts is all about! As I’ve noted, seldom is the task of jurying an art show an easy task, and even though I have juried many shows over the last forty plus years, I always approach the task with the realization that a lot of effort and work must be delivered in order to do a proper job. Back to the present: The March Open Exhibit was juried by Fanna Gebreyesus and was on display through April 6, 2026. As you constant readers know, I like to re-jury shows, and offer my own picks for prizes – never knowing who the juror picked for a prize. My top prize goes to a gorgeous work title Light Air by Ellyse Stauffer, who tackles a very popular subject (flowers) and…
By Kim Davis Spring signals the transition to one of our area’s loveliest times of the year. Even now, early blooming daffodils, crocus, and snowdrops thrust their stems above the soil. It also heralds the return of Old Town Alexandria’s annual Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week Tour. The leisurely walking tour is one of Virginia’s most beloved traditions, featuring historic homes and secluded gardens located along the tree-lined streets of the historic district. Organized by two local garden clubs, Hunting Creek Garden Club and The Garden Club of Alexandria, this year’s tour highlights five historic homes and two Garden Club of Virginia restoration projects: George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens and Green Spring Gardens. Among the featured properties on tour, 317 South Saint Asaph Street stands out as a textbook example of the evolution of early Alexandria homes. According to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), the ‘year of erection’ is ‘probably late 18th C,’ so the house likely dates from the later 1700s. The property today comprises a gracious late‑18th‑century flounder‑style dwelling and a humble one‑room structure tucked at the rear of the lot, reflecting layers of early residential use on the site. Like much of Old Town, the site’s history predates the present house, dating back to earlier colonial‑era landholdings that were later subdivided as Alexandria developed after 1749. The property’s history dates to 1669, when King Charles II granted the land to Sir Richard Berkeley, then Governor of Virginia. It would be another century before a home was constructed. Sometime between about 1750 and 1770, a simple “flounder” house was built at the back of the property, with one room and a fireplace on the ground floor and a bedroom above, reached by a wooden ladder. Flounder houses with narrow lots were common at…
By Ron Powers In 1997, Radiohead delivered one of the most haunting and enduring tracks of the alternative rock era with “Karma Police”, a slow-burning anthem that became a defining highlight of their landmark album OK Computer. Built around a somber piano progression, subtle guitar textures, and Thom Yorke’s fragile, emotionally charged vocals, the song captured the band’s growing fascination with alienation, frustration, and quiet rebellion. Originally inspired by an inside joke among the band about “calling the karma police” on misbehaving people, the track evolved into something far more powerful: an eerie meditation on judgment and consequence that continues to resonate with listeners decades after its release. Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood begin “Karma Police” with an acoustic guitar and piano arrangement that charges ahead with solemnity and a touch of midtempo sadness. After eight bars of intro music, the first verse kicks in with the addition of Colin Greenwood’s rumbling bass and Philip Selway’s steady drum beat. Thom Yorke’s authoritative and spooky vocals mix with these musical elements with the lines, “Karma police, arrest this man / He talks in maths / he buzzes like a fridge”. With its distinct melody, instrumentation, and artistry, the elements of “Karma Police” mix together to imprint the listener with the unique and unmistakable feeling that only Radiohead can produce. For the chorus the band pulls back leaving piano and backing vocals that move through the mix like a winter breeze. We then hear Yorke, with a dry and cold tone, deliver the memorable lines “This is what you get / this is what you get / this is what you get / when you mess with us”. The final line of the chorus is punctuated with the full band charging back creating an emotional boost before transitioning into the second verse….
by Miriam R. Kramer Dame Agatha Christie’s books consistently rank among the bestselling works of all time, alongside William Shakespeare and the Bible. How did a self-described “lowbrow” writer create a lasting template for the twentieth-century mystery novel and achieve global fame? And why does her work endure decades after her death? Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson offers compelling answers. Rather than presenting a chronological biography, Thompson focuses on Christie’s psychological development. She offers a close reading of Christie’s fiction while advancing her own interpretation of the author’s famous eleven-day disappearance in 1926. Central to Thompson’s analysis is Christie’s childhood at Ashfield, her beloved home in Torquay, which nurtured her imagination. Born in 1890, Agatha Miller grew up with little formal schooling but a rich inner life. Much younger than her siblings, she was raised almost as an only child in a comfortable, structured household. Surrounded by attentive parents and capable servants—the very types who populate her fiction—she developed a keen sense of observation and imagination. This early stability helped sustain her after the death of her father, Frederick, which plunged the family into financial uncertainty. Her mother, Clara, sent her to a finishing school in Paris, where Agatha briefly considered a career in singing. A debutante season in Cairo followed, offering a more economical alternative to London society. Agatha’s life took a decisive turn when she met Archibald Christie in 1912. A charismatic but emotionally elusive pilot, Archie fascinated her. As Thompson suggests, Agatha was drawn to mysteries not only in fiction but in life. During World War I, while Archie served abroad, she worked as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse, gaining practical knowledge of poisons that later became central to her plots. After their marriage, the couple traveled extensively through the British Empire, including South…
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