Review: A Stitch in Time
Powerful “Gee’s Bend” debuts at MetroStage.
It’s officially known as Boykin, Ala., with a population of 275. But the former slave plantation on the banks of the Alabama River gained prominence as Gee’s Bend, an isolated African American community known for the role its folk art quilts played in the struggle for Civil Rights.
Review: Mean Girls
"The Children’s Hour” at Port City Playhouse.
In 1809, a girls’ boarding school opened in Edinburgh, Scotland, closing a few months later amid rumors involving two of its teachers. The decades-long lawsuit that followed was the inspiration for playwright Lillian Hellman, who more than a century later penned the critically acclaimed “The Children’s Hour,” now playing at Port City Playhouse.
An Insider's Guide to the Arts in Northern Virginia
A selection of upcoming arts productions, happening right where you live.
There are more artists of every stripe making art in Northern Virginia than you may realize. Populating the bedroom communities, small towns, growing cities and metropolitan areas of Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria are your pick of dance, theatre, choral, symphonic, visual and performance, music and fill-in-the-blank groups. Look beyond Wolf Trap and Jammin' Java to the Torpedo Art Factory, the Workhouse Arts Center, and smaller, quality groups like ArtSpace Herndon and McLean Project for the Arts to cast their creative spell (that's only to name a few). Delve in and, we dare you, let your stereotypes of an artless string of suburbs dissolve. In place you'll get something much better than stereotypes: some culture.
A Year in Fairfax County
A sampling of some of the cherished, annual events of the county.
Upcoming events in the county.
Resurrecting The Post for a New Era
The Post has two upcoming gigs in Vienna and Alexandria.
Don’t let the minor chords fool you: The Post is made up of happy people. The band, originally started by guitarist Kate Jarosik and singer/pianist Chelsea Bryan during their time at the University of Virginia, took a brief hiatus after graduation but has started up again with some new musicians in Northern Virginia. Fresh off a successful stint through a Battle of the Bands at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, The Post is getting ready for a show there next Wednesday, Aug. 28 and another at St. Elmo’s in Alexandria Sept. 20.
Wickedly Witty
Additional shows added for LTA’s ‘Avenue Q.’
They sing, they dance and — OMG — they even have sex. They’re the potty-mouthed puppets (and their human counterparts) of “Avenue Q,” the Tony Award-winning musical now playing at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.
Puppets for Puppies
LTA musical to benefit local animal charities.
With an abundant use of profanity and episodes of "full puppet nudity," the Tony Award-winning musical “Avenue Q” is not the usual fare from The Little Theatre of Alexandria. But when the storied theater company debuts the Sesame Street-style show July 27, each performance will serve as a fundraiser for several local animal charities.
Feeling Pretty Good
T.C. Williams grads hit the road for first tour out of the D.C. area.
A shared appreciation for the blues has morphed into an increasingly successful reggae band with enough popularity to literally take their show on the road. FeelFree, a group of five 20-something men from Alexandria, mostly T.C. Williams graduates, last week kicked off their first East Coast tour, which will take them from this area up to New York City and down to North Carolina, with a stop in Charlottesville along the way.
Piece of Cake
It was a party 264 years in the making as Alexandria celebrated its birthday July 13 with a day of fun and entertainment that culminated with a fireworks display over the Potomac River accompanied by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra's playing of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
Alexandria Calendar
Summer Classes. Art at the Center, 2804 Sherwood Hall Lane. Children ages 6-10 can participate. Register at www.artatthecenter.org or 703-201-1250.
Developer Wants to Lease Public Land for Private Gain
Should Alexandria approve a 40-year lease for Hensley Park?
Should a stretch of public land in the Eisenhower Valley be transformed into a private sports complex?
Alexandria Bulletin
English as a Second Language class. Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library, 5005 Duke Street, 22304. All levels workshop July 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, and 30 from 10 a.m.-noon. Intermediate workshop July 16, 23, and 30 from 3-5 p.m. All classes free. Call the Information Desk, 703-746-1702 ext. 3.
Out & About
Summer Bounty at the Farmer’s Market
Plump tomatoes, sweet corn, beets, cucumbers, spring onions overflow the tables at the Three Way Farm’s produce stall in the Del Ray Farmer’s Market. The market also features fresh cut flowers, herbs and flowers to plant, Amish cheeses, gourmet pickles, eggs, fresh baked good, organic meats, Hattie’s Pralines, Beth MacKenzie’s Fluffed Up Desserts and much more. The market is open weekly on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon in the parking lot at Mount Vernon Avenue & Oxford in Del Ray. Additional Farmers Markets are located at Market Square in Old Town on Saturday and Sunday markets at 4109 Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria and the West End Farmers Market in the Ben Brenman Park.
And All That Jazz
Fostering the Future cruise benefits Fund for Alexandria's Child.
More than 225 people donned their finest Great Gatsby attire aboard the Cherry Blossom riverboat for the 10th anniversary of the Fostering the Future cruise June 27 to benefit the Fund for Alexandria's Child.
Let the Music Play
10th anniversary Garden Party cultivates ASO support.
The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra's 10th annual Garden Party drew more than 175 people to the Belle Haven home of Isin and George E. Ludlow June 20 in an event that capped the 25th anniversary celebration of Maestro Kim Allen Kluge.