By Sheila Wickouski The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art reopened on December 18 with a special exhibition, Fashioning an Empire: Safavid Textiles from the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. While the artistic traditions of the Safavid empire extended through architecture, poetry, and philosophy, this exhibition focuses on how textiles served as powerful intermediaries for […]
Arena Stage Premiere Shines Light on Unseen History
By Sheila Wickouski On January 21, Arena Stage will host the world premiere of Change Agent, a fictional take on the historic events of the 1960’s that still shape our world today. Tony Award-nominated playwright and director Craig Lucas, known for An American in Paris and The Light in the Piazza, imagines how unsung influencers […]
DC Native Choreographs Success at Arena Stage
By Sheila Wickouski Washington, DC native Jay Staten made his name as a dancer, performing in locations from New York City to Italy and appearing on several TV shows. As the new Associate Choreographer at Arena Stage, Staten is currently working on the production Toni Stone. He provided an interview to The Southwester, which has […]
Capital Fringe Visits SW
The Capital Fringe festival kicked off the13th year of its summer theater events at an exuberant preview at The Pearl on July 8. Twenty of the almost 80 shows this year gave four-minute highlights from a variety of dramatic, comic, musical, and mime productions. This year was a first for The Capital Fringe in several […]
Dave premieres at Arena Stage
Is there a better place to bring a political story to the stage than Washington, DC? Dave, a musical inspired by the 1993 political comedy film about a high school teacher who is hired by the Secret Service as a double for the president of the United States, is having its world premiere at Arena Stage. Nell […]
Interview with Craig Wallace of The Great Society
The Great Society, the second half of Robert Schenkkan’s two-part epic about Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, recounts his second term and his relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The play debuts at Arena Stage on Feb. 8 and will run through March 11. Acclaimed actor Craig Wallace is one of the 17 cast members […]
Chocolate City: An Interview with George Derek Musgrove
George Derek Musgrove, along with Chris Myers Asch, is co-author of Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital. Musgrove is also an associate professor of history at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County and the author of Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics: How the Harassment of Black Elected Officials Shaped Post-Civil Rights America. Q: […]