Washington City Paper: Contents for Jan. 25

Dame of Chance
Those who pack the District's bingo halls do everything possible to seduce Lady Luck. D.C. bingo queen Vanessa Woodland does everything possible to curse her.

Cover Story

Those who pack the District's bingo halls do everything possible

to seduce Lady Luck. D.C. bingo queen Vanessa Woodland does everything possible to curse her.

Photographs by Darrow Montgomery

The Wednesday-night charity bingo game at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family generally lasts for a pleasant two hours, carried along by friendly banter and good spirits. But on this Wednesday night in July, there's some tension in the hall. Vanessa Woodland, the most dominant and loudest player in the room, hasn't hit yet. And when this bingo champion is having a bad night, it's best to stay out of her way.

One elderly gentleman, a bingo regular, forgets this rule and manages to annoy Woodland.

"Why you keep looking at my titties?" the 40-year-old Woodland asks him, loud enough for everyone in the church's first-floor social hall to ponder the question. "You know you can't touch them."

He laughs, embarrassed, and mutters something under his breath, further increasing her exasperation. "I'm gonna kick the shit out of you. You are one irritating senior citizen," says Woodland.

Most of the people in the church are now looking in Woodland's direction. Knowing she has an audience, she soon sets in on one of the ushers: Vladimir, a young man from Lviv with rock-star ambitions. "You irritating as hell. You driving me crazy," she tells him.

Vladimir responds, "You like me, don't you?" ... Continued

Issue of Jan. 25 - 31, 2002

News and Features

Dame of Chance
Those who pack the District's bingo halls do everything possible to seduce Lady Luck. D.C. bingo queen Vanessa Woodland does everything possible to curse her.
Cover Story By Dan Steinberg
Paradise Lost
So much for my idyllic future in a depopulated D.C.
Feature By Felix Gillette
Stalk of the Town
Ari Fleischer's most persistent fan carries forth a long and rich Washington fixation.
The City By Stephanie Mencimer
The NIMBY Tribunal
The Washington City Paper's verdict on a petty dispute near you
The City By Daphne Retter
Saturday Morning Fever
The D.C. school board sniffs out some shaggy role models for local kids.
The City By Christina Larson
Size Matters
The Mail By Alex Kramer
Pulling the Plug
The Mail By Scott McLarty
Priority Check
The Mail By Charles Victor Bell
Value Village
The Mail By Cathy Lewis

Columns

That Girl Could Play
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Checks and Imbalances
City Desk By Nina Mitchell
Final Course
City Desk By Garance Franke-Ruta
Telling Tales Out Of School
Loose Lips By Elissa Silverman

Eats

Movies

Imitations of Life
Film Review By Joel E. Siegel
Out With the In-Crowd
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Metropolis
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
A Walk to Remember
Film Review By Arion Berger
The Count of Monte Cristo
Film Review By Mark Jenkins

Music

Past Masters
Music Review By Shannon Zimmerman
Lay-Z Days
Music Review By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Theater

Mighty Clouds of Goy
Theater Review By Bob Mondello
The Wedding Planner
Theater Review By Robert Lalasz
Exit the King
Theater Review By Christopher Hawthorne
Faust
Theater Review By Holly Bass

Arts and Events

Statutory Offense
When a sculptural superstar got a major commission for the MLK Library, a group of minority artists got angry.
Arts By Alex P. Kellogg
Divine Intervention
Artifacts By Joel E. Siegel
The Set Effect
Artifacts By Pamela Murray Winters
Bound and Ungagged
Artifacts By Louis Jacobson