From the D.C. market

Kathy and I have been spending a few days in Washington, D.C. It's Easter weekend, so there were not a whole lot of theatrical offerings floating around a normally very busy theater town, but we managed to catch two shows while waiting for tonight's heavily-theatrical event, the annual Helen Hayes Awards. Son Andy is nominated for one of his lighting designs (the Catalyst Theater Company's production of "1984" last year), so we are attending. That should be quite an experience.

Meanwhile, along with Kathy's college roommate and friend Lissa, we took in Arena Stage's production of "Crowns" at the Lincoln Theatre on Saturday night -- a very entertaining evening of music, performance and costume (especially, of course, hats). Michael Cunningham, the photographer who, with a writer, created the book on which the play is based, at that time anyway was Winston-Salem based. I'm sure many of the interviews that provided text for the show were done in our area back in N.C., so a few of the references probably meant more to Kathy and me than to many others in the audience.

Then last night, we saw our first show at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. It was also quite a good production and fine acting, though there were a few moments that I would have picked a bone, critically speaking, with the playwright or the director, depending on who was responsible. "Antebellum," however, was chiefly thought-provoking and intriguing, and it certainly held our attention, which you cannot always say.

We continue to enjoy the heavy playgoing spring!