A byline trifecta
In the span of eight days in late November, three stories that I'd been sweating over for months all went online. I'm deeply proud of all three, which collectively represent much of my work since June. Ideally, I'd have gotten this newsletter out promptly. I did not. I'm so sorry. I was overwhelmed with Facebooking and Threading and all the other things I now have to do to scream "Read me!" to the masses. And then life in the present overruled my attempts to share the recent past.
To recap, those three stories were:
A profile of Baltimore Symphony oboist Katherine Needleman, a deep dive on Logos Theatre, an evangelical Christian troupe that performs at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, and a preview of "Hanukkah Carol" at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland.
There's a significant denouement for all three stories, but let's start by going behind the scenes as I wrote about Baltimore's finest oboe.
What I'm Writing: A profile of Katherine Needleman
In mid-June, I pitched The Baltmore Banner a profile of oboist Katherine Needleman. As I suspected, Katherine's activism for women in classical music was on the radar nationally and internationally, but not so much locally, even though she's been principal oboe of my hometown orchestra for two decades.
On June 12, I took a train to Baltimore and went out for Indian food with Katherine on a rehearsal break. (Total expenses about $50) At the time, both of us thought the story would be online within weeks. Instead, it took five months.
Rebecca Ritzel
I was paid just $750.
Reasons for the delays are best discussed over coffee, tea or whiskey the next time any of you see me. If you know anyone who found this story meaningful, consider asking them to subscribe to What/If Arts, and/or make a donation.
But the bottom line is that stories related to alleged wrongdoing the arts in the run up against the laws of physics. Five editors and one lawyer had to sign-off on my final copy. (I told The Banner upfront that I only wanted to do the story if it would be reviewed by a lawyer before publication, and I'm so grateful they agreed.)
Regrettably, as Katherine has shared herself, she has received intense harassment after the story ran and successfully sought a peace order against a South Carolina-based clarinetist who resumed making online threats against her once the profile ran. I'm so sorry for the additional (frightening) trouble she's gone through, all because I wanted more people in Baltimore to know about her efforts.
For those interested in doing a deeper dive into the accusations against Baltimore Symphony concertmaster Jonathan Carney, Katherine has also posted affidavits that I referenced in my story. One is from a Towson University graduate who says Carney referred to her as "the girls with the tits" at a 2014 masterclass, and another is by a Towson University graduate who received a temporary peace order against Carney after he physically threatened her during a 2018 rehearsal for the Mid-Atlantic Symphony.
Via his attorney, Baltimore Symphony donor Neil Ruther, Carney denied both women's accounts of those incidents.
There's a follow-up story here, but as I said, the laws of freelance journalism physics apply. I may be able to sing "Defying Gravity" decently in a stairwell, but in reality I'm no Cynthia Erivo.
What I'm Writing, Bonus Byline
Ryan Teague Beckwith
Thanks to NBC journalist Ryan Teague Beckwith invited me pen an edition of "My First Byline," a very cool newsletter for journalists, by journalists. Click if you'd like to learn more about how an exclusive with my elementary school nurse kickstarted my career! (Special thanks to Julia Valentine for snapping the photo.)
What I'm listening to
The CBC welcomed playwright Michael Healey to its Toronto studios this week to talk about his career and his unexpectedly popular play about Google's failed attempt to develop a mini-smart city on Lake Ontario. Healey has the distinction of being the first playwright I ever interviewed, when his two-man drama "The Drawer Boy" was onstage in Lancaster, Pa. I was over the moon, and ran to a friend's office at Franklin & Marshall with my tape recorder. "It's the playwright!" I exclaimed. "I got to talk to the playwright!"
Healey's interview with "Q" host Tom Power is worthwhile for all theater fans. "My goal is to entertain 200 people a night," he said, among other interesting things. But remember, Healey's not writing silly comedies. We need more playwrights who pursue serious topics with entertaining audiences as the end goal.
What I'm Seeing (With two more bonus bylines)
As per usual December, D.C. theater has delivered during the holiday season. Here's how I'd rank what I've seen so far. (Yes, there are more to come – "& Juliet" opens at the Kennedy Center on Thursday.)
"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," starring Erin Weaver in the "Comedy Tonight" role typically played by a dude. At Signature Theatre in Arlington.
"Leopoldstadt" by Tom Stoppard, at Shakespeare Theatre. Not my new favourite Tom Stoppard, but still so searing.
"Hanukkah Carol" at Round House Theatre. Very, very silly, but making a case for more Jewish-focused theater that veers away from the Holocaust, to balance the weighty necessity of shows like "Leopoldstadt." Here's my preview for The Washington Post.
"Death on the Nile" at Arena Stage. Uneven in its grasp of is-this-a-farce-or-not? but with a sensational set and costumes.
"Frozen" at Olney Theatre Center in Montgomery County. Olney bowled me over with its "Beauty and the Beast" a few years ago. Not this time. Here's my review for Washington City Paper.
Rebecca Ritzel
