7
CLASSIFIEDS
FEBRUARY 4, 2010
KUSHAN DOSHI n Business Manager 202.885.3593
CLASSIFIED Looking for a caregiver Warm, loving family looking for after-school care for 6 year old girl in exchange for a private, comfortable apartment complete with bedroom, kitchenette, bathroom and private entrance in the family’s home. Prefer a grad student (education major a plus) who could start work around 3 pm and finish by 7 pm or earlier most evenings. Duties would include transportation to and from after school activities (car provided during work hours), preparing basic meals for the child, and providing a stimulating environment for a growing mind. The home is located in the Palisades, near Sibley hospital, on the D6 bus line. Contact: aschers@gunet.georgetown.edu
ROBERT GAUTHIER / MCT CAMPUS
GOLDEN GIRLS — The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards were a night for the ladies with Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift sweeping the show. One of the most heartfelt moments of the night was when Michael Jackson’s children took to the stage to accept their father’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
52nd Grammys remember MJ, set new records By YOHANA DESTA Eagle Staff Writer When you put the biggest names in music under one roof, you’re bound to make history. That’s what this year’s 52nd Grammy Awards set out to do. No expenses were spared and the stars came out in their finest. Never one to disappoint the fashion world, Lady Gaga wore a glitzy purple and silver gown covered with rings to give off a planetary effect. Another show-stopping look was Pink in a gray, mermaid-style gown. As far as fashion flops, Rihanna’s allwhite, feather-laden gown was a far
cry from her usual rebel-chic look and failed to impress. Opening the night was comedian Stephen Colbert (who also won later that night for Best Comedy Album) making typical jokes about religion and politics. In a hilarious move, Colbert started the show announcing the “Song of the Year” award. After a few awkward moments looking for the envelope, Colbert then gave a mysterious look to the audience and reached into his coat pocket. “Oh I know, it’s on my iPad,” Colbert said, holding Apple’s new device. He looked smugly at Jay-Z, joking, “Did you not get one of these in
your gift bag?” But the most anticipated part of the award show was the performances. Lady Gaga took the stage in a glittering turquoise outfit, flanked by dancing fame monsters. After singing “Poker Face,” the singer was thrown into a flaming pit, only to reappear moments later seated at a grand piano. On the other side was none other than the tiny dancer himself, Sir Elton John, donning a glitzy pair of oversized silver sunglasses. “Take my picture, Hollywood. I wanna be a star!” Gaga yelled into the mic as the two launched into a duet of Gaga’s ballad, “Speechless,” eventually flowing into Elton’s classic love song, “Your Song.” In a later performance, Beyoncé stormed the stage in a fierce black mini, flanked by a small army of SWAT soldiers. She belted out “If I Were A Boy,” which turned into a cover of Alanis Morisette’s angsty hit song, “You Oughta Know.” It worked in that so-wrong-it’s-right way and set the bar higher for the night. Another performer who absolutely outperformed was pop rocker, Pink. Although she didn’t win that night, the singer looked stunning in a long white robe, singing her slow love song, “Glitter In The Air.” She then stripped down to a glittering nude bodysuit and proceeded to do a breathtaking trapeze act — while wet. In one of the most anticipated performances of the night, Celine Dion, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood and Smokey Robinson sang Michael Jackson’s nature ballad, “Earth Song.” The 3-D video in the background featured a little girl walking through a lush green forest. Each singer was better than the next, each imitating Michael Jackson’s screams and lifting falsettos. The song was heartfelt, providing another reminder of why Michael Jackson was the King of Pop; even with all the legendary singers onstage, none could out-sing Jackson, whose voice was played during certain parts of the song. Afterwards, his children Prince Michael and Paris took the stage to thank the fans and accept his Lifetime Achievement Award. In perhaps the second most important award of the night, Taylor Swift won Album of the Year, which brought the total to four Grammys for the singer. Beyoncé won six, setting the record for most awards won in a single night by a female artist. Lady Gaga won two — one for her single “Poker Face” and the other for her debut album “The Fame,” both before the ceremony. Breakout stars MGMT and Kings of Leon also scooped up an award each that night. Countless other awards were won by music vets, such as Judas Priest, while longtime musicians Imogen Heap and Jason Mraz won their first ever Grammys. As usual, there were awkward moments and performance fumbles, but the show went on as smoothly as it could have. Here’s hoping next year will be even better. You can reach this staff writer at ydesta@theeagleonline.com.
The Week in Fun: Know Your City THURS 4
FRI 5
SUN 6
The Magnetic Fields 8 p.m. WHERE: George Washington University Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. N.W. METRO: Foggy Bottom-GWU (blue and orange lines) INFO: Stephin Merritt’s music manages to perfectly blend abrasive distortion and synthetic sounds with a particular pop sensibility, all of which is on display when the Magnetic Fields play their shows. COST: $35 CONTACT: For more information, call the Lisner Auditorium at 202994-6800.
Todd Barry 9:45 p.m. WHERE: Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, Va. METRO: Pentagon City (yellow and blue lines) INFO: Todd Barry’s cynical monotone and distinctive delivery has earned him a number of notable guest roles on television and film, but his stand-up is still the proper showcase for his sarcastic stingers. COST: $20 CONTACT: For more information, visit www.arlingtondrafthouse.com.
Georgia O’Keefe: Abstraction 10 a.m. WHERE: The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. N.W. METRO: Dupont Circle (red line) INFO: This new exhibit features over 100 paintings from O’Keefe, as well as early watercolors, charcoals and photographs of the artist by Alfred Stieglitz. COST: $12 CONTACT: For more information, visit The Phillips Collection’s Web site at www.phillipscollection.org.
MON 7
TUES 8
WED 9
A Perfect Balance 11:30 a.m. WHERE: National Gallery of Art, 401 Constitution Ave. N.W. METRO: Smithsonian (blue and orange lines) INFO: Actor and artist Kevin Reese put together this one-man show based on the mobiles of Alexander Calder. The show promised to be a fun time for both children and adults. COST: Free CONTACT: For more information, visit the National Gallery of Art’s Web site at www.nga.gov.
The Big Lebowski 7:30 p.m. WHERE: The State Theater, 220 North Washington St., Falls Church, Va. INFO: Joel and Ethan Coen’s comedic masterpiece about bowling, aging hippies and nihilism is a perfect showcase of their dark humor and deep pathos for leading men who are more schlubs than stars. COST: $3 CONTACT: For more information, visit the State Theater’s Web site at www.thestatetheater.com.
Shear Madness 8 p.m. WHERE: The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. N.W. METRO: Foggy Bottom-GWU (blue and orange lines) INFO: In this staged murder-mystery, the comic tone of the piece enters the audience as visitors are asked to help catch the killer from the comfort of their own seats. COST: $42 CONTACT: For more information, visit The Kennedy Center’s Web site at www.kennedy-center.org.
Courtesy of UCB TOUR CO.
FUNNY PEOPLE — Famed theater comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade brought their off-kilter and absurdist sense of humor from New York and Los Angeles to the D.C. area despite the weekend flurries.
Troupe storms D.C. By MICHAEL W. RICHARDSON Eagle Staff Writer Chances are, when you flip on your favorite sitcom or sketch comedy show, the people you’re watching and the people behind the scenes have some kind of formal comedy training. That doesn’t necessarily mean sitting in college lecture halls deconstructing what makes a joke funny. Often, it means an education from any number of comedy troupes around the country. One of the most famous theaters in this respect is the Upright Citizens Brigade, whose traveling improv artists performed four shows at the Harman Center for the Arts on Friday and Saturday. UCB gained their fame in the ‘90s when they produced some of their most famous names — Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Horatio Sanz, Rob Corddry and Ed Helms are just a few. Since then, they’ve taught a countless amount of people the skills it takes to write and perform comedy. Their theaters put on popular shows that continue to push the limits of comedy, making it both an established name and the definition of cutting edge. Improv is unpredictable and erratic by definition. A show can be good or bad simply because of an inconvenient audience suggestion. This is what makes the performers such a wonder. The four performers on Saturday were from both UCB theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, but they interacted as if they had been riffing on these topics for years. The four-person squad was made up of Neil Casey, Jonathan Gabrus, Brandon Garner and
Fran Gillepsie, but despite the small group, a huge amount of imagination was packed into the short 80minute show. The show started with a volunteer from the audience offering up his wallet to the crew in order to search through it for clues to his life. While Casey interviewed the subject, the three others went through the wallet piece by piece. In just a few minutes they were able to put together a few mildly interesting facts about the target (he brews his own beer, has a fiancé who just graduated from law school, loves Xbox, etc.). After a bit of teasing about his various hobbies, they let the volunteer go back to his seat and began the first half of their set. Using the bits of information they were able to collect, the team presented a rapid-fire showcase of outrageous and absurd situations, some only tangentially related to their subject while others mirrored his answers very closely. We were presented with an ignored husband, bitter about his wife’s disinterest in his brewing blog. There was a restaurant waiter who uses far too many references to “Anna Karenina” in his day-to-day life. And in a nice nod to the D.C. Metrorail, an extended riff on how dangerous it is to get home no matter what transportation you’re taking (“Didn’t you hear the news? Four trains collided this afternoon! I didn’t even know that was possible!”). After a half-hour taking off from this subject, the troupe broke off into their second half. Asking the audience for a single word to play off of, “penguin” finally won out as the topic for the rest of the show. This was an especially excellent
showcase for the group’s talents. Most people would consider an arctic bird a restriction. Instead, the scenes snowballed into more and more outrageous territory. A man whose cultural references are stuck in the ‘90s, according to his many T-shirts, is later brought back in a long-form joke about Eric Clapton’s baby. (Groans from the audience brought out one of the few fourth-wall breaks — Garner incredulously asked, “Too soon?”). Racism against super villains and pranking polar bears became the new norm, causing a relaxed audience to become completely sucked into the free-flowing ideas. Both parts of the show highlighted all of the small things it takes to make a successful performance. The actors seemed to know exactly when to end each scene, with only a few awkward drops or prolonged silences. The audience lapped it up. The crowd was mostly in their late 20s to late 30s, and even on a snowy night the room was packed. The easy-going nature of the performers put everyone at ease, creating a small space that reflected a lot of warmth for the performers and the fans. For any comedy fan, these few shows were not your only chance to see the group in action. Plans for monthly shows at the Harman have been established, giving anyone who might be interested in dipping their toes into the daunting world of improv a perfect opportunity to do so. You can reach this staff writer at mrichardson@theeagleonline.com.