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Tall Tales on Capitol Hill

If you've ever taken a tour of the Capitol building, chances are the stories told by your guide were not actually tidbits of historical fact... but works of fiction. That might make for some fun fairy tales, but for those who care at all about accuracy, it's enough to make you wonder if the Hill is capable of anything other than spin and misinformation.

The new Capitol Visitors' Center is nearing completion - Congress hopes it will be ready by summer. And the opening may inspire a change in the way visitors experience the building. Some of the Capitol's historians and curators are fed up with the overwhelming number of myths that flow from tour guides to tourists. To stop it, they're trying to ban young staffers and summer interns from leading the tours. Capitol News Connection's Todd Zwillich took to the halls of Congress to try to get to the bottom of some of the more persistent myths - and to find out who's really to blame.

Reuben Jackson - On Being Fifty

Writer Reuben Jackson dined out with an old friend recently. It seemed innocent enough. But little did he know when he sat down to ostensibly enjoy his meal that his half-century on the planet was to dominate the conversation - AND his thoughts for the rest of the day.

A Christmas Carol - DC Style

Two shiny new interpretations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol are playing in DC this December. For the first, we head to Rock Creek Cemetery. Here among the tombstones, sits the Adams Memorial, featuring its famous bronze sculpture - a mysterious hooded figure, sitting in contemplation. In a new Arena Stage version of the Carol, it comes to life in the role of "The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come." "Christmas Carol 1941" is set in Washington and contains characters based on people, places, monuments and statues around the city. To find out more about the sculpture AND the play, Stephanie Kaye met with historian Jane Levey and and Arena Stage Dramaturg Mark Bly in Rock Creek Cemetery.

A (Gay) Christmas Carol

Yes! Another version of A Christmas Carol. This one is part of a larger show by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington DC. It starts Friday, November 30th and runs all weekend at Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University. It's called American Carols and features what is being called a "mini musical" - A Gay Christmas Carol. We're joined by Jeff Buhrman, Artistic Director of the Gay Men's Chorus.

Best Bets with Colleen Fay

For the past 12 years Metro Connection arts editor Peter Fay has been bringing us his "best bets" - giving us a heads up on the best music, theatre, dance and visual art shows coming up in the DC region. None of that is going to change. Our arts editor will still be here every few weeks with a preview of coming arts happenings. But the name has changed. As of the November 30th broadcast, Peter will no longer be known as Peter but as Colleen. Colleen Fay joins us to talk about what she describes as an exciting and terrifying time in her life.

Web Extra
Colleen Fay breaks down transgender terminology. Windows Media or Real Audio