Recent Miscellany (5 cents)

1. "Schlemiel" is a musical written by Robert Brustein, based on one of Isaac Singer's Chelm stories. Chelm of course is the Podunk of the Pale of Settlement, filled with people not quite bright enough to live anywhere else. Schlemiel is sent to spread the word to the rest of the world of the intellectual strength of the Chelmite elders. He gets turned around and finds himself back in Chelm, but believing he has found another town which is a clone of Chelm, complete with a woman who looks just like his wife (but is nicer) and kids who look just like his (but are more polite). It was performed as a modified concert reading, complete with klezmer band at the JCC and was quite a success. Brustein was in attendance.

2. Timothy Naftali, a UVa professor, has recently been appointed to head the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, where he will hae the task of melding the National Archive's Nixon presidential and post-presidential material, with Yorba Linda's pre-presidential material. Before taking on this task, he has written a number of books on the Soviet Union, two with respected Russian historian, Fursenko. The newest book, "Khrushchev's Cold War" is a story of the Khrushchev decade from the point of view of the Russian leader. It was based on recently discovered notes by Khrushchev's note taker (a low-tech equivalent of Nixon's tapes), and provides insight into the Russian's way of thinking. Basically, they knew how inferior Russia's strength was, and decided to bluff us. They knew they could not bluff Eisenhower, but thought Kennedy was weak, and that he was simply a puppet of the wealthy capitalist families.

The premise was fascinating, and Naftali is an excellent speaker. He talked at a free session at the Washington Spy Museum. I bought the book (retail!).

3. The next day, I went to see former Secretary of State James Baker, speak about his new book at the 18th Street Borders. Perhaps I would have bought it, but could not purchase two full price books in as many days. Baker is very engaging and affable. I did not necessarily expect that, and talked about himself as a Houston lawyer, who chanced into politics. I am sure that the book is interesting.

4. Saturday night, we saw the Caps lose their second in a row overtime game, this time to the Atlanta Thrashers. Neither team looked its best. Our Russians clearly had an off night.

5. There were a number of book sales this weekend. My most interesting buy, I think, was a copy of one of Elie Wiesel's books, inscribed to Colin Powell.

6. Sunday, we went to a friend's house and saw her son-in-law, David Edelman, read from his new (and well reviewed) science fiction book, "Infoquake". Just may read it on the plane to Hawaii. Oh, yes, we are to fly to Honolulu on the 2nd of November. If the earth does not quake again.

7. Food: another very good meal at Rosa Mexicana, a decent, but not as nice a meal as usual, at Jaleo's, and a nice broiled rockfish at Crisfield's in Silver Spring. Does anyone go there any more? Pretty empty on a Sunday night.

8. Sukkah is coming down today. We had dinner in it one night, lunch twice, and I had a number of breakfasts. Altogether, not bad. We also had two sukkah meals out, one with our study group, and one freezing with friends in Rockville. Both just fine (if cold).

9. We also saw Al Gore's global warming movie, "An Inconvenient Truth". Well done documentary showing increasing carbon dioxide, melting glaciers, changing oceans and flooding coast lines. Goes well the Tutavu the week before, which is receding into the sea. And think about Venice and the perpetual walkways in St. Mark's Square. And then I saw an article yesterday that said that Hawaii's Big Island would sink beneath the sea in only about 80 million years. And then an even more mysterious one about the central downtown area of Mexico City, which is apparently sinking over 2 1/2 inches a year. Where is it sinking to? No ocean near there.

So, now we have the Big Bang theory confirming creation, and global warming leading to the next Noah.

More Gruber (3 cents)

The second Ruth Gruber book I read was called "Haven", and I recommend it highly, although I think it reads best if you first read her memoirs, "Ahead of Time". She has now finished her education, is back in the United States, and has moved to Washington work for Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes. World War II is raging, and the government has done little to assist the Jews who are trapped and being liquidated. In fact, no country is doing very much, and England has closed Palestine to further refugees.

Bowing from pressure on both sides of the issue, the administration decides to make a concession and admit 1000 refugees. A selection committee is appointed, and Gruber (now in her late 20s) is the Interior Department's representative. She is also asked, particularly because of travel experience and linquistic ability to accompany the refugee on the passage to America.

900+ individuals, mainly but not all Jewish, young, old, with families, alone board the ship in Italy for a harrowing two week passage. Not only is the ship crowded, but they need to (they are part of a convoy) fight of German air and submarine attacks. They land safely in New York.

The refugees are not being admitted to the country as immigrants, only to wait out the war and then be returned to their homes (of course, most don't have homes any more), and they are moved by train to Oswego NY, where they will stay on a decommissioned military base for over a year, their fate unknown, their situation better than in Europe, but not good.

Finally, additional litigation is passed allowing them to be permitted to come into the country on immigrant visas.

Throughout all of this, Gruber has collected their individual stories, has asssited them adjust, and has lobbied for them in Washington.

She wrote the book (which has recently come out as a re-issue) in the early 1980's, thirty five years after Oswego was closed, and following a reunion with many of the refugees.

What a difference 35 years makes: lawyers, doctors, professors, business executives. Virtually everyone remained in the country and at least a large number of them did very well indeed.

For the first time, I walked out.... (1 cent)

of the Tuesday concert at Epiphany Church. There were two sopranos and a piano. It sounded like the singers were miked. They were not only loud, but they were muffled and loud, and with the sounds reverberating off the walls of the church, they were creating their own echo. They were not bad; they just were (for me) impossible to listen to.

Busy Day (5 cents)

Saturday was pretty busy. It started slowly as the outdoor book sale at the Georgetown library was rained out, but it quickly picked up.

1. Movies at the National Geographic. NG was having its "all roads" film festival and I selected two hour long films which began at 11. They were both about Pacific Islands, the first about the nation of Tuvalu (formerly the Ellice Islands) and the second about the Big Island, Hawaii.

The first movie was an extraordinary downer. There are eight islands in Tuvalu, and the total population is about 10,000. The islands are atolls, so there is no topography. Just flat land (and not much of it). The islands have been a nation only since the late 1970s, and are very poor. There is also no future as global warming is contributing to rising sea levels and it is estimated that in about 50 years or so, they will have to be completely abandoned.

A good deal of the population has already left, mainly going to New Zealand. Sixty of these emigrees formed a "malaga' (Tuvalan for something or other) and headed by boat back to the islands for a stay of two months. It included the elderly who wanted to go home one more time, young women who wanted their children to see where they came from, and the children. Many had been a way for a decade or two.

Two young American filmmakers followed the malaga. You could see the excitement when the boat left Auckland. You could see the disappointment when they saw what had happened to their home. Poverty, crop failure, boredom, trash. Nothing was good.

The saddest movie I have seen in a long time. It is called "Time and Tide". The filmmakers were there for a talkback.

The second movie was called "Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege", and it was the story of the conflict between native Hawaiians who revere Mauna Kea, whose ancestors are buried on the mountain, and want to see it remain (or return to being) pristine, and the world astronomy community and the University of Hawaii, who have built seven or eight observatories on the mountain and are planning more. I found it hard to decide whose side I was on here, and did not know how honest the movie was about the varying positions. But it was interesting (and depressing) and a good introduction to our first visit to Hawaii next month.

2. Lunch was at the Beacon Hotel, where I expected more than we got. Very limited Saturday menu. We had ordinary omelet, in the too-cold sunroom, with lackluster (at best) service.

3. Then on to the new Katzen arts center at American University. We had not been into the building before, and it is very nice (and very, very expansive). We went to see the first round competition of eight AU student musicians vying for the chance to perform with the AU Symphony at a spring performance. There were three vocalists, two violinists, a cellist, a clarinet, and (believe it or not) a tubist. We did not stay for the judging, but the quality was quite good and although we were probably the only people there who were not students or parents, we were glad we went. The music choices were interesting and we learned that someone named Edward Gregson actually wrote a tuba concerto, and thought I wanted to hear the complete Concerto No. 1 in F minor for clarinet and orchestra by Carl Maria von Weber.

After the concert, we looked at two exhibits at the museum. The first, to commemorate the 50th anniversity of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, consists of a large number of photographs taken in Budapest by photographers and residents. The brutality and the amount of destruction is striking. A very worthwhile exhibit. Then, we saw works in glass (not sculptures, but geometric forms of translucent colors, with other colors wafting through) by Mindy Wiesel, which were also quite nice.

4. A quickish dinner at Jaleo was followed by the Capitals home opener against the Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes. After their poor, poor showing two nights earlier against the Rangers in NY, fans (and there were many) were expecting the worst. But it was a 5-2 victory, with Alexander Semin scoring three times, and Alexander Ovechkin scoring twice. We will see what happens from here.

Susan Strasberg's "Bittersweet" (3 cents)

I am not sure "Bittersweet" is the right name for Susan Strasberg's 1980 memoir. A better title would be "Sad".

Strasberg, daughter of Actors Studio method acting instructor Lee Strasberg and acting coach Paula Miller Strasberg, died in 1999 at the age of 60 of breast cancer. Her mother died of the same disease at an even earlier age.

Why, sad? Because Strasberg seemed to me (and I am not sure why I read this book, or having started it why I finished it) a very attractive, intelligent woman who was completely lost. She blamed a lot on her parents (and she probably is correct in this) both for babying her and ignoring her at the same time. They also wanted her to avoid an acting career and pushed her into it.

Yet, she remained extremely close, much too close, to them, running back to them from time to time, and reverting to what appeared to be a little girl every time she did.

After starring, as a teenager, as Anne Frank, in the initial Broadway run of "The Diary of Anne Frank", she never hit the top as a stage or screen actress, although she seemed always to have enough to keep her busy. She knew everyone in the theatrical world (and perhaps not many others), and the lives of these actors and playwrights, directors and producers gave her a warped view of normal human relationships from the beginning.

She was very close to Marilyn Monroe, for whom her mother acted as a drama coach and companion, and who left the administration of her estate to her father (his estate, and his widow, apparently still control Monroe affairs).

She became sexually involved with actors, such as Richard Burton, at a very young age. This seemed just fine with her otherwise overprotective parents, but was disastrous for her. It appeared that she never (at least up until she wrote this book; I don't know what happened later) had the maturity either to pick appropriate male companionship, or to deal with the emotions that her bad choices created for her. She was married once to an actor named Christopher Jones; this was probably the lowest point in her relationship with men. He and she vacillated between periods of closeness and estrangement, but he drank and was physically abusive to her over a long period of time (slapping her, blackening her eyes and cheeks), etc., but she always came back for more. Until one day, she did decide she had enough.

I am not sure where the "sweet" comes into play. Her early Broadway success? It is not described as a happy success, just a professional one. The first few months of her love affairs? They don't show sufficient maturity on her part to be considered "sweet". Her relationship with her parents? No. Her daughter by Jones? Perhaps, although you don't get a chance in this book to get a full picture of it, since her daughter was so young when the book was written.

Not "bittersweet", just sad.

Slaughterhouse Five (10 cents)

I watched Slaughterhouse Five tonight, the movie version of Kurt Vonnegut's book that was made over 30 years ago. Never saw it before.

This is one good movie.

Music, Music

Tonight was a night for music.

First, the Federal Music Connection playing dixieland at Colonel Brooks' Tavern (every Tuesday night).

Then, on the way home, Bach's Concerto for Two Pianos in C minor on WGMS. They said that it is Bachtober.

Three Recent Books (12 cents)

I have read three interesting books in a row. Wow!

1. Vantage Press is a vanity press. That is, it is one of those companies you go to when you want to publish your own book (at your own cost), but want it to look like a real book. These books obviously rarely sell, and their quality varies, but fairly often you find books that are surprisingly interesting. Particularly, memoirs. And a lot of these books are memoirs, the stories of the lives of the author, to be preserved for children and, more often, grandchildren.

The book I picked up is called "The Last of the Numbered Men" and was written by Harry Posmantier, and published in 1984. Posmantier's photograph is on the back cover, and he looks like a typical, normal, average person. He is a plumbing contractor in Skokie, Illinois, which furthers that image. But it is deceptive, because he did not come to the United States until 1957. Until 1948 (through the war), he lived in Poland, spending the last several years in various Nazi work camps, escaping extermination. And from 1948-1957, in Israel.

A normal childhood in Bendin, Poland, with a typical Jewish middle class family. Then, the Germans enter Poland, and he, like many Jewish males, was sent to a work camp, and because he remained fairly healthy, he stayed in the camps for 4 1/2 years. Getting by on his strength, his stamina, and his personality. The stories are interesting, to be sure, and Posmantier gives you a good description of the fellow detainees he comes in contact with, as well as some of the German or Polish guards and townspeople, some of which are quite surprising. For example, a number of camp workers, when they left the camp on days off, would go to see Posmantier's parents (before they were deporting) bringing letters back and forth and CARE packages. At some danger to themselves.

And some other surprising things. He was at a camp at one time which had both Jewish and Russian prisoners. He says that the Russians, when one of their own died, engaged in cannibalism. Is that possible?? And he also gives credibility to the reports of soap made from Jews' body fat, and lampshade, made from human skin. Is that true, or not?

That raises the question, in any memoir of this type, as to how much is accurate and how much hyperbole. Reading through this, you believe everything you read, even the fantastic parts. I have to assume that these books are truthful. And when you read this book having read earlier this year Imre Kertesz' "Fatelessness", you see the similarity of their work camp experience.

2. Ruth Gruber is a well known Jewish reporter, who has written a lot about Israel since before the earliest days of the state. She has written many books, and I believe is still alive in her 90s. I picked up "Ahead of Time", a recent book described as "my early years as a foreign correspondent". The memoir is extraordinary.

Born in Brooklyn to eastern European refugees, her parents thought she was going a long way from home to go to college (at age 15) in Manhattan. But she pursued, studying German language and literature, and winning a fellowship first to the University of Wisconsin (she hitchhiked there by herself) and then to the University of Cologne Germany, where she came into contact with the burgeoning Nazi movement. Obtaining a Ph.D. in English literature in Cologne in one year (a record, particularly since one of her oral examiners was a professor, who was known to hate Jews, women and American), she returned to the U.S., got a job as a journalist, and before she was twenty five, went back to Germany in 1935 (!), to Poland to visit her mother's family (read the book and see what happened in her ancestral shtetl), and to Russia, when she went to the artic regions as the first foreign correspondent in Soviet times. And a second trip to the USSR, this time to Yakutsk in far northeast Siberia.

An unbelievable story that makes you want to look at everything else she wrote and follow her career.

3. The third book was a biography of Caresse Crosby by Washington writer Anne Conover. Another fascinating story, Crosby left her husband to marry Harry Crosby, seven years her junior, and they set Paris aflame in the 1920s, meeting all the creative types in that city at that very creative time, founding the Black Sun publishing house, giving X-rated parties, and (more or less) having a terrific time, until Harry committed suicide. After a while, Caresse comes back to the U.S., and after a short time in rural Virginia, comes to Washington, where she opens a prominent gallery which operated throughout the war years, and continues her publications, fostering new artists and writers from Europe in the immediate post-war years. Then she leaves that part of her life behind, and spends the rest of it trying to foster world peace and world government, coming in contact with another group of prominent world citizens.

All three books are worth reading.

What comes next? Well, I must be on a female biography binge. I am reading a biography of Coco Chanel (she interested me because of questions about her politics during World War II when she was in France), and the autobiography of Susan Strasberg, the original portrayer of Anne Frank, and the daughter of method acting coach Lee Strasberg. So far, both are very engaging.

Music (2 cents)

MUSIC:

I recently attended two musical performances.

The Washington National Opera is performing "Sophie's Choice", Nicholas Maw's controversial opera, based on William Styron's book. The 3 (formerly 4) hour opera has received reviews which I would characterize as good if you like this kind of thing. At the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage, the opera company puts on, with respect to each opera, a talk back with musical selections. I went last Monday evening to learn a little more about Sophie's Choice.

I have not read the book. I saw the movie, and did not like it. It is not that I didn't like the cinematography or the acting; I did. I didn't like the story. I found it extraordinarily manipulative. Any story which has the heroine having to decide which of her children to save and which to let go to the gas chambers is, by its very nature, manipulative. And, I think that there are enough real Holocaust stories, that you don't need to sweeten the pot with made up ones.

But I was intrigued by the opera, and wanted to learn more. The talk back featured three of the leading performers, including Angelika Kirschlager, who sings the role of Sophie, Dale Duesing (the narrator) and I believe Rod Gilfrey, who sings Nathan. They were all in the British production, which was the world premier. The fourth participant was Marin Alsop, newly appointed director of the Baltimore Symphony.

The conversation was fascinating. What it is like to play in a show this emotional. What it was like taking a four hour opera and condensing it to three. What were the differences in the London production, with a complicated set and 17 costume changes for Sophie, compared to the Kennedy Center production with a minimalized set. The difficulties of singing such a complicated musical score. And the orchestra: how to keep everyone together and on cue with a score that the musicians are not familiar with, and which has no regular rhythmic structure. How to keep the orchestra from overwhelming the voices.

The two pieces which were part of this talk-back were sung by understudies, and young artists, and they were terrific. And the talk back conversation was, I thought, extraordinary. These were four very able speakers, who seemed to be willing to share very much about their own feelings towards the script and towards each other with the audience. It is too bad that it won't be repeated, and was not (I don't think) recorded.

On Tuesday, I went back to Epiphany Church for what I hoped would be an enjoyable cello and piano concert, the cellist being John Kaboff and the pianist David Kosutic, both locally based teacher/performers. Disappointment. In part it was the selection, I think. An Adagio and Allegro by Schumann and the Sonata in G minor by Chopin, neither of which I am familiar with (is that the problem?), and neither of which seemed particularly memorable. But more than that it was the cello tone, and what I perceived as a lack of true sympatico between the musicians. The last piece was an excerpt from Ernst Bloch's Baal Shem Suite, again something I am not familiar with, but it did nothing for me.

You regular readers may recall a concert by Kaboff last year at the Andersen House. What did I say there? I said that the pieces were unfamiliar to me and that the musicianship, while competent, was not star quality. I guess I skip the next Kaboff concert. How will I ever remember?

This Morning, I heard..... (4 cents)

First, something to give me concern about the Redskins. One of their receivers was being interviewed on TV and was asked how he thought the team would do on Sunday. His answer was "we'll step up to the plate". I don't think they are ready for prime time. (By the way, with a 4:00 p.m. Sunday game, they are running smack into EDT and CDT Kol Nidre - bad planning)

Second, the Orioles beat the Yankees on a one-hitter. Pitcher Daniel Cabrera said: "I thank God for looking out for me and bringing me this close to a no-hitter". That's looking at the glass half full.

Third, the C-Span call in guest this morning was roundly criticized by a caller for referring to Bill Clinton as "President" Clinton. Only GB is president, she was told. So, she corrected herself and later referred to John F. Kennedy simply as "Kennedy". The C-Span call in guest this morning was roundly criticized by a caller for referring to "President" Kennedy, simply as Kennedy.

Finally, a White House spokesperson, talking about recent reports from Jack Abramoff about his administration contacts, said that she was surprised that the media paid attention to any of this. She said (and I paraphrase): how can the media pay attention to something that a liar says about what goes on within the White House? Now, there's a question.

Why are the fruit trees blossoming (21 cents)

The fruit trees on Connecticut Avenue just south of Yuma Street are in blossom. It is September 27. Global warming?

Only the Good Die Young (2 cents)

I go to a new doctor for a physical. I am led into a room, and told to wait for my blood test and EKG. It is a typical doctor's office room. There is music coming through a wall speaker. The song is "Only the Good Die Young". I think I may be in the wrong place.

My Two Commentors

I like getting comments, and usually don't think that they need a response, but the two comments I received on my posting about Hugo Chavez and Noam Chonsky must be answered.

First, to Francmasse: My short blog was not meant to be a detailed socio-political analysis, but rather a little satire or comedy. Francmasse appears not to be able to recognize either. It is a little odd, isn't it Francmasse, that someone who is so anti-American and anti-Jewish proves his position by citing an American Jew? No irony there? It happens all the time, largely because Jews are not monolithic and have opinions of all varieties, and because they often tend not to be shy about expressing them.

As to the contents of what Chomsky says, this was not the subject of the posting. I don't think you can read my post and learn whether or not I am a Chomsky expert, or someone who never heard of him, or what I think of his opinions. As a matter of fact, I agree with a large amount of what Chomsky says. Unfortunately, he is a pedant and like most pedants (even brilliant ones), he often appears only to see one side of many sided issues.

As to Shahidon, who seems to believe that I am hopelessly immature for not realizing that people don't have to be anti-Jewish to be anti-Israel, in fact I usually argue that side of the position; I believe there are many people who detest Israeli policies (as they understand them), and who have nothing against Jews or Judaism, and may not even know anything about Judaism.

But, Shahidon, your views are misplaced when it comes to Chavez. Far from limiting his comments to Israeli policy, Chavez in building his populist image in Venezuela has lashed out against those elements of the Venezuelan population which he views to be too liberal, too internationalist, too wealthy and too intellectual and, as a part of this, he has singled out Jews and Jewish organizations for unbelievably harsh treatment. He is playing the old political game of trying to build anti-Jewish feelings amongst the people as a way of identifying an evil to be drive out of the country. Before you throw around your criticism, Shahidon, do a little research. Any of the major publications which cover Venezuela will support what I say.

N for Neatness (4 cents)

Yesterday, we had ten for dinner. Today, we are having 8. After clearing the table yesterday, I saw that the tablecloth was perfectly clean; we can use it again today. This is a first. Our guests get a "N" for neatness.

He Take Me Money and Run Venezuela (one cent)

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez apparently does not like the United States and does not like Jews. He thinks that they are evil and, to prove his point, he says that everybody should read "Hegemony or Survival" by Noam Chomsky. Who is Noam Chomsky? An American Jew.

Go figure.

Burma/Myanmar

It appears that the protestors who are railing against the lack of democracy and respect for human rights in the country that calls itself Myanmar, are in fact referring to the nation by its old name of Burma. An interesting observation, to be sure, and I should learn more about the underlying nuances involved.

But, before I expand my knowledge on the subject, I have some thoughts for the protestors. The signs and placards that I have seen have been too commonplace. How about something like:

Tie the tyrants

By their feet

Drag the tyrants

Through the street.

Burma. Save.

Efficiency

I am currently writing with my Ukrainian pen, which is a ball point pen encased in handpainted wood, with a whistle at the back end.

What efficiency. Normally, I need to carry my pen, my work of art, and my whistle separately. They take up so much room, I don't normally have space for keys or wallet. Now, my mobile storage problem has been solved, thanks to Ukrainian ingenuity.

Our Next Seder (20 cents)

Although it is not yet Rosh Hashanah, I am already planning our next seder. We are going to invite the John Kerrys, the Wesley Clarks, the Madeleine Albrights, and now the George Allens. We are going to put an extra cup on the table for Katherine Graham.

By the way, what are the 3 stages of adulthood?

First, when you hope that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will fall on weekdays, so you can miss work.

Second, when you hope that they fall on weekends, so you don't have to miss work.

Third, when you don't care where they fall, because you really don't pay enough attention to work to care if you miss it or not.

Can't Sleep? (one cent)

Heard on the radio this morning:

Do you have trouble falling asleep? Wake up in the middle of the night? Wake up too early in the morning?

If so, there is a chance that you might be suffering from.........

insomnia.

(I'd say 100%)

I Gotta Get More Regular (11 cents)

I need to post every day, even if only a little.

Well, I am watching Cable Channel 147, country music videos, and just heard an advertisement to enlist in the Army Reserve (Reserve enlistment ads run pretty regularly on this station). If you join, you will get first class training, be able to continue your education, serve close to home (except when called up to serve your country). And, if you enlist now, you get a free sports watch. Scouts honor.

Today was a beautiful late summer Sunday, perfect for all sorts of activities. So, what did about 175 people do at 3 p.m. this afternoon? They packed the community room at the DC Jewish Community Center to hear Rebecca Goldstein give a lecture on Spinoza. Goldstein's new book, Uncovering Spinoza, has just been issued, and she spoke for about 45 minutes. What a good talk. And, you will be able to see it soon on C-Span's Book TV.

Spinoza as the ultimate rationalist and logician. Basing his theory on Euclidian mathematics, he believed that everything could be demonstrated a priori, by the use of reason, and that religious ritual and superstition was harmful, not helpful. He was excommunicated for life by the Amsterdam Jewish community when he was 23 years old. He was a universalist, very conflict adverse, yet the cause of extraordinary conflicts. He was the descendant of Portuguese Marranoes and lived at the time that the newly established Jewish community in Amsterdam was trying to define itself, and its members trying to determine what it meant to be Jewish, and how they should behave.

The night before, even more people were at the Studio Theater to see a production of Red Light Winter, a three actor play. Two men, one woman, Man #1 loves woman, Woman loves Man #2, Man #2 and Man #1 are friends, but Man #2 is macho, and Man #1 nerdy. It starts in Amsterdam, when the girl is a prostitute, that #2 engages (after having his own fling with her) to bed Man #2. It ends in New York, months later, when the girl is no longer a prostitute, but a simple girl suffering from AIDS going home to her parents in Baltimore, where Man #1 still loves her, but the girls does not remember him, but she does remember Man #2 who, of course, does not remember her. The acting wa good, some of the dialogue was clever, the play moved along, but I can't say that it was profound theater.

Before the play, dinner was at Rice and, with the exception of the appetizer tempura (which was mainly fried breading), it was very good. Warm eggplant salad, rockfish steamed with ginger, and duck in a plum and ginger sauce. And good coffee.