Sep 07, 2007   | COMMENTS     

Cracked out

Local queer entertainment specialist Karl Jones is well on his way to forming his own brand of John Waters-style entertainment.

Jones, who runs indie-queer night Taint at local bar DC9, branched off to create a variety show called Crack with gay friends Chris Farris and Shea Van Horn last year. The trio has now expanded Crack to include their own version of television programming.

Crack TV, which runs 10 minutes, debuted at Taint on Monday but will be showing at gay locations, including JR.’s, Nellie’s and Be Bar, all over town Sept. 10-16.

The three men dress in drag for most of the program, which includes snippets of various spoofs, skits and satires. Tele-novelas, douche commercials and 1950s portraits of American family life are all subject to Crack TV’s amusing, if questionable, taste.

Showing at various locations Sept. 10-16. www.crackdc.com

Taking on a toughie

Will Gartshore stars as composer Franklin Shepard in Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Merrily We Roll Along,’ which just opened at Signature Theatre. (Photo by Scott Suchman)

“Merrily We Roll Along” was largely seen as a financial failure when it flopped on Broadway. The Stephen Sondheim show opened and closed in 1981 after only 16 performances.

Nonetheless, Signature Theatre’s artistic director Eric Schaeffer, who has directed plenty of Sondheim, is taking on the story of the rise and fall of composer Franklin Shepard. This is the first time the musical, which runs backward chronologically to show Shepard’s lows and highs, has been performed on the Signature Theatre’s stage. Local gay actor Will Gartshore plays the role of Shepard.

The show, which opened Tuesday, runs through Oct. 14 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, Va. $29.50-$69. www.sig-online.org or 703-820-9771

Private to public

‘Memories of High Cotton’ by Romare Bearden was the first purchase made by Stuart and Julia Chang Bloch of African-American art. (Photo courtesy of Zenith Gallery)

A private collection of African-American art will be on display for the first time ever at Zenith Gallery, 413 7th St., NW, through Sept. 20.

Freedom Place is the name of the collection, which includes works by African-American artists Romare Bearden, Benny Andrews, Robert Freeman, Alma Thomas and Richard Yarde. Local residents Stuart Bloch and Julia Chang Bloch started the collection 35 years ago when they purchased their first piece, “Memories of High Cotton,” a collage by Bearden. The collection now includes 53 pieces.

If you miss the works this go-round, they’re slated to be displayed at the Meridian House, 1630 Crescent Place, NW in February 2008 for Black History Month.

Zenith Gallery, 413 7th St., NW, www.zenithgallery.com, 202-783-2963

Aerial view

The deep sinkhole of Blue Hole Natural Monument Lighthouse Reef along the coast of Belize’s barrier reef. (Photo by Robert B. Haas, courtesy of National Geographic)

The sinuous beauty of Latin America is captured by photographer Robert B. Haas in a new exhibit at the National Geographic Museum’s Explorer’s Hall starting Monday.

Haas took the images leaning from the open doors of helicopters and small planes while traveling through 14 countries: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.

He ended up covering about 80 percent of Latin America’s land mass, viewing everything from glaciers to deserts as he captured images from flamingoes to parking lots.

The images shown at the Explorer’s Hall are lifted from Haas’ new book, “Through the Eyes of the Condor: An Aerial Vision of Latin America.” Condors are large flying land birds, one species of which is found in the Andes region.
National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St., NW. Free. 202-857-7588 or www.nationalgeographic.com/museum.