Author Archives: JJD
Two Gents
A few weeks ago I saw the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s “rock opera” version of Two Gentlemen of Verona (and I didn’t like it). Tonight, I saw them do the actual Shakespeare play — and I liked it much better. Given the current hour (it’s past 1:00am already!), I won’t take the time to write out a synopsis […]
Alvin Ailey
Last night after the opera, I headed down to the Kennedy Center to see a performance by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. They’re a remarkable modern dance company — predominantly African American, with a tremendously positive vibe at their performances and exquisitely talented dancers (which makes up for sometimes less than stellar choreography). This is the third […]
Wagner and the anatomy of the heart
Grandpa Davis — who found his calling in life as a radiologist — likes to joke about peering into the black-and-white world of x-rays in search of the colloquial “cockles of the heart.” As far as I know, he never found them. I’m starting to think that x-rays may not be the right place for the secrets of […]
Poetry, Painting and Photography
On Thursday, I attended a poetry reading about the photography of painters. The Phillips Collection, one of Washington’s leading art museums, is currently showing an exhibit focusing on 19th Century post-impressionist artists’ use of the then-newly-invented Kodak camera. (The Post reviewed it here.) I found it fascinating. The photographs gave almost magical glimpses into a long-lost world […]
Gastronomical Happiness
I got home from work today and — lo and behold — waiting in my mailbox was The Michelin Guide to New York City restaurants! I was surprised and delighted but also a tad baffled — I hadn’t ordered the book, and the birthday/holiday season is well past. Then I saw the note: “Wishing you […]
Mark Morris Dance Group
I love dance. In the eight years since I moved to the East Coast, I’ve seen a lot of it. As with anything, the more you see and know, the better you can judge the quality. If you’d asked me this morning what I thought were the best dance performances I’d seen, I would have […]
Have a heart!
I did. Literally. It was on the menu. Beef heart with onions and potato A Peruvian delicacy called anticucho, skewered beef hearts were common on the street vendors’ grills that I passed in Peru. I’d never been brave enough to eat them, though, preferring to chicken out and (ar, ar, this pun wasn’t planned) eat the chicken instead. Tonight, however, […]
Two Gentlemen of Verona: A Rock Opera
Can you think something is fun but still not like it? Lady says no, but I think yes. Think of roller coasters: they’re fun, but I don’t like them. Ditto for cotton candy. Well, that’s my review of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona: A Rock Opera. I’m probably supposed to like […]
Boise – Raclette Party
I gave Heather and Jordan a raclette grill for Christmas last month. It was a gift motivated, in part, by the fact that I genuinely thought they would enjoy eating raclette and having people over to share it with them. It was also motivated by my own interest in eating raclette — I knew that […]
Boise – Dancing Queen
Both Brynn and Shae are in ballet, and this week I had the great luck of attending one of their recitals! It was great fun to see them get dressed up in their costumes, makeup and hairdos. They were clearly in little girl heaven as they became the beautiful princesses of the day. Shae, loving […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 