By Rachel Beckman
Friday, May 30, 2008
Sometimes, Regina Spektor's body rejects the way she makes her living.
The Russian American musician is prone to pre-concert stomachaches that can strike when she's about to play for 50 people or 5,000. Fortunately, the intensity of the jitters does not correspond to the size of the venue, or she'd be in trouble on Sunday when she performs on the Mall at " Israel @ 60: A Capital Celebration. "
"My body is acting as if I'm about to go to the chair," she says. "I have to convince myself, 'No, I've done this a billion times.' "
The 28-year-old singer-songwriter will headline Sunday's event, which also includes Israeli rock band Mashina, Sesame Street characters and the Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin (he played Inigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride"). Patinkin, who sings in English and Yiddish, will emcee and perform at the event. Event-goers can also expect folk-dance workshops, cooking demonstrations, crafts for children and kosher food for sale.
Spektor, who had her first hit in 2006 with the single "Fidelity," is famous for her playful vocal delivery. She can yelp, whisper, warble and chirp -- sometimes within the same song.
Event chair Dede Feinberg, of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, says the organization chose Spektor to headline the event because "her history is the history of all of us." Spektor's family left Moscow because of anti-Semitism in 1989, when she was 9, and she finished her schooling in the Bronx, New York.
Though ongoing violence and a political scandal involving Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert cast a pall over the country's celebrations May 8, Feinberg emphasized that the event on the Mall is "apolitical. Period."
After tomorrow's concert and a few performances with the "True Colors" tour, Spektor plans to skip the festival circuit and make a new record in New York this summer. Easier on the nerves.
"Israel @ 60" is free. Noon-5 p.m. (rain or shine). Spektor performs at 3:30 p.m. Mall from Fourth to Seventh streets NW. For details, visit http://www.shalomdc.org.
Today
CLOSING: "A Thousand Kisses: Love Letters From the Archives of American Art" This small show features 40 alternately loving, lovelorn and amusing letters and tokens, as well as photos from artists including Frida Kahlo and Rockwell Kent. (Kahlo, you'll want to know, signed hers -- not to Diego! -- with a smudgy fuchsia kiss. Others adorned theirs with cutesy doodles.) The show, which opened around Valentine's Day, closes on Monday, so this is your last chance to see it. Free. 11:30-7 p.m. daily. Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery, Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, Eighth and F streets NW. 202-633-1000.
TomorrowFILM: "The Fall" and a Talk With Tarsem This epic film literally was an epic journey for the filmmaker, Indian-born Tarsem (who was heralded for his direction of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" video). He spent four years making "The Fall" in the most remote and scenic places in more than 20 countries. The movie (which is rated R -- just an FYI, parents) finally comes out today (see Ann Hornaday's review, C1). Tomorrow, Tarsem will even be in town attending screenings and taking part in a Q&A with the audiences at two theaters. He's at Landmark's Bethesda Row, 7235 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, at 7 p.m. (Tickets are $7-$9.75) 301-652-7273. And he'll be at Landmark's E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW, at 10 p.m. (Also $7-$9.75.) 202-452-7672.
TuesdayLITERATURE: Chuck Palahniuk, Up to "Snuff" Olsson's bookstore brings in "Fight Club" author Palahniuk for a reading, interview and Q&A about his latest book, "Snuff," which is about a porn queen vying to break a record by bedding 600 men on film in one go. The event is at the Avalon Theatre. $30 (includes a pre-signed copy of "Snuff." Tickets aren't available without purchase of the book). 8 p.m. 5612 Connecticut Ave. NW. Get tickets online at http://www.olssons.com through Monday, at the door or at Olsson's stores.
WednesdayON STAGE: Pay What You Can. For Comedy? The DC Improv has recently started this once-a-month night at the club aimed at those of us who like going out but have no money to actually do it. On Wednesday, pay what you can at the door and ignore the usual two-item policy to see comic Jeff Caldwell. 18 and older only. Doors open at 7 p.m.; show is at 8:30. 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202 296-7008.
TodayFILM: "Pulp Fiction" Quentin Tarantino's slick and stylish movie was brilliant the first time -- a revelation, even. And it was good the second time, too. Then, the onslaught: It was played and replayed and copied so frequently by other filmmakers that its very presence on late-night cable television (with the good parts edited out, even!) could only inspire groans. And don't even get us started on the ubiquitous movie posters and Halloween costumes. But it has been 14 years. Surely that's enough time to make you consider seeing "Pulp Fiction" again on the big screen. It's at the AFI Silver for one week beginning tonight. $9.75, seniors and students $8.50, age 12 and younger $6.75. Today at 1:05 and 8:30 p.m. Various times through June 5. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. 301-495-6720.
TomorrowFESTIVALS: Washington Folk Festival All weekend, music will ring out from Glen Echo Park, where the Folklore Society of Greater Washington's annual free folk blowout returns (it's one of the biggest events of the year at the park). Catch a diverse array of acts, from a cappella act the Tone Rangers to local rock mainstays Joe Uehlein and the U-Liners. The diversity continues in the Spanish ballroom, where dance lessons include the hula and polka. Parking will be hard, so organizers are encouraging patrons to park at 5260 Western Ave. (the Geico parking lot) or take Metro to Friendship Heights and catch the shuttle from that lot. Tomorrow and Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. For details, http://www.fsgw.org. 202-546-2228.
Today
FILM: "The Graduates" No, Mrs. Robinson doesn't make a cameo in this film, a frathouse comedy created by two brothers from Columbia. This is a coming-of-age film, too, but it's about a band of crass high school seniors (and one pathetic 20-something chaperone) spending Senior Week in -- wait for it -- Ocean City. The feature film, made over five weeks last fall, is screened free tonight at the Arlington Cinema 'N' Drafthouse. So is it worth the money you won't be spending? Honestly, it looks kind of promising; it's in the vein of "American Pie" or "Superbad." Watch the trailer at http://www.graduatesmovie.com. The filmmakers and cast will be on hand for a Q&A afterward. Free. Doors at 9 p.m. Arlington Cinema 'N' Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. 703-486-2345.
SundayLITERATURE: "The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches" In this economy, many of us would probably settle for "True Solvency," but there's nothing wrong with aiming high. Jeff Yeager, an author and "the ultimate cheapskate" (Dad, you have competition!) is doing a book tour by bicycle. And yup, he will be biking to the Arlington Central Library when he gives a talk there on Sunday about the joys of a life not rooted in consumerism. If you're trying to cut back on spending, there's something to be learned, too, but Yeager's argument seems to be: People buy too much and don't get much satisfaction from what is bought. Free. 2 p.m. 1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington. 703-228-6321.
TuesdayCONCERT: Tween Idols. How Quickly They Fade . . . So, remember Ryan Cabrera? Seems like only a couple of years ago he was Ashlee Simpson's boo. Now she's married, and he doesn't get to be on TV anymore. He does, however, have a record on a major label, his first. He also lost the six-inch-high hair for a Johnny Depp look, complete with shoulder-licking locks and a soul patch. And gone, too, are the acoustic ballads for a sound that's mildly electronic and a little Killers-esque arena rock. A comeback at 25? We'll see. He visits the Birchmere on Tuesday. $25. 7:30 p.m. 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. 202-397-7328.
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