Saturday, April 14, 2007

Tomorrow, New York's Moth Story Tour stops in Washington to gnaw a little hole in our digital dystopia with some old-fashioned storytelling.

And with it comes some made-for-Washington storytellers you might have always harbored dreams of swatting: the original Wonkette, Ana Marie Cox, Borowitz Report funnyman Andy Borowitz and former Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart, as well as Run-D.M.C. MC Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, actor Anthony Griffith and author Jonathan Ames.

The Moth -- hatched in 1997, when novelist George Green invited some of the smart set to his home to set for a spell and tell a tale, like a modern-day salon -- gets bloggers and authors, musicians and even hot-dog-eating champions to tell stories on a theme. For this tour, it's "Out on a Limb." The first-person accounts, crafted in advance, are told with one rule: No notes, no quips written on the palm, no BlackBerrys, please.

This is the first tour for the shows, popular in New York in part because of the boldface names they attract (Moby! Former Mr. Uma Ethan Hawke! Rosie O'Donnell!). And the stories get wacky: In Seattle, syndicated sex columnist Dan Savage described the day his not-so-beloved dog, Stinker, fell out the window of a moving car; Ames has a little tale about crack cocaine and Christmas. For D.C., we hear Lockhart's reviving a story he calls "Impeachment Day."

The yarns are spun tomorrow at 7 p.m. (get there at 6 for a cocktail reception -- but it's a cash bar, people). $15. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. 202-397-7328 or get tickets at the door.

-- Lavanya Ramanathan