Voted Pick of the Fringe by audiences in 2007,
WEERD SISTERS Productions now presents Annie Johnstone and Diana Tokaji in
the dynamic show, CRASHING HOME . The show is an explosive blend of of song, spoken
word, dance, live music, and film.
Singer/songwriter Johnstone takes center stage as an exquisite but humble
performer in the eponymous title song CRASHING HOME, and as singer/dancer in "The
Letting." Her distinctive crystalline voice is addictive - audiences crave
more for the absolute gut-beauty of it.
Diana Tokaji presents first as a spoken word artist, her dramatic
deliveries laced, as ever, with the ridiculous. As dancer/choreographer, her jazz-accented style
twists into moments of legato and grace,
interweaving "artful poetry" (Washington Post) dance , and music. Her stories
are riffs on the everyday, blown up wide - exciting, beautiful, and a
little crazy.
"The Letting," which closes the show, is a creative collaboration of
artistic minds, hearts, and forms. David Jernigan, widely know in the
DC jazz scene launches the piece with a no-holds barred solo.
Mattias Rucht (drummer extraordinaire), uses drum set, unusual hand
instruments, and percussion to mix a sound ranging from wild to calm.
A Johnstone song - "And Cry Too" - is the musical foundation
for "The Letting;" and Tokaji's poem, spoken and twisted into dance, is the
backbone narration. Christopher Anderson, local film maker, "speaks" through
projected images - hands, throats, sticks, and strings.
Guest artists grace every WEERD SISTERS production. This summer, Chinwe Enu
returns - an operatic soprano whose classically-trained
voice is huge and sensitive as she "solos" with, literally, a back-up choir
of crickets.
Margaret Riddle, guest dancer, will be remembered atop a "camel" in last
summer's Fringe production. She returns now for the cricket-inspired
theme, capitalizing on her wide dance
repertoire, from jazz to Japanese fan dance.
Guitarist Ariel Francis provides energetic accompaniment in the opening
song CRASHING HOME, Johnstone's newest creation and the title of her future
CD.
