Two chances for Stoppard

Hello again. Well, it's been a while since I've posted. The reason? Oh, something about work and not having enough time. The usual story. But after spending a few months in the 1940s with Josef Stalin (www.pbs.org/ behindcloseddoors) and writing about punks in America (book to be published later this year), I'm happy to write a little about the great things going on in D.C. 

In the past two months, Washington has had two top theater companies produce plays by the great Tom Stoppard. The Folger Theater (201 East Capitol Street, SE) has put on a wonderful version of Stoppard's "Arcadia" while the Studio Theater (501 14th Street, NW ) has been running his more recent "Rock 'n' Roll," the first local production of this play.

I was able to see both shows recently and strongly recommend them to anyone with a sense of humor and a decent dose of intellectual curiosity. No, you don't need to know much about English landscape gardening, Newtonian determinism, Prague Spring, British Communism, or The Plastic People of the Universe, subjects that Stoppard's characters discuss and debate. It's the questions behind these issues that draw us in: What attracts us to study and learn? How do people survive when they can't freely choose their own paths? What happens when people realize they've spent their whole lives believing something that isn't true?  Stoppard looks deeply at these questions while weaving together story lines so tight that even mathematics becomes compelling. Or rather, the study of mathematics becomes compelling. 

His plays generally draw a good crowd in Washington, and both of these plays have been extended. "Arcadia" ends next Sunday, June 21, while "Rock 'n' Roll," which opened in mid-April has been extended until Sunday, June 28.

Great fun at the Lansburgh

The Shakespeare Theater's current offering, "The Dog in the Manger," may be the funniest play you've never seen by a playwright you've never heard of. Written by Spanish playwright Lope de Vega (1562-1635), who claims to have written 1500 plays (hmmm, really?), "Dog" looks at the role honor played in society, particularly when it came to love between people from different social classes. In this story Diana, the Countess of Belflor, finds herself drawn to  her secretary, Teodoro, whenever she discovers Teodoro romancing her lady-in-waiting, Marcela. Compared to the two wealthy aristocratic fools wooing her, Teodoro is indeed a catch. But Diana can't let herself fall for a commoner . . . or can she? The acting is wonderful all around, but I have to mention David Turner as Tristan, Teodoro's servant. Built like Dana Carvey, and with similar gifts of mimickry, Turner shines every time his misguided but clever Tristan is onstage. It was one of the funniest performances I've seen on stage in several years. As directed by Jonathan Munby of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the action clips along, especially in the second act when Tristan's scheming pays off. Enjoy it now. At the Lansburgh Theatre until March 29. (Tip - check Ticketplace for discount tickets - they had them for this week.)