GREEN & GLOVER: Playing the name game with Ludacris

We couldn’t help but poke a little fun at the name of the host organization at the Ludacris Foundation dinner Saturday so we asked rap artist Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, why the Ludacris Foundation? Why not the Ridiculous Foundation, or the Absurd Foundation?

“That’s not my name!” he laughed. “What do you mean? What are you talking about? It’s the Ludacris Foundation!”

So it was a very conscious decision to leverage the Ludacris brand? “Absolutely,” said Mr. Bridges. “With my power, influence and celebrity, as it grows so will the amount of people we can help and reach back to.” The Ludacris Foundation conducts a myriad of high-profile philanthropic efforts such as giving away 20 cars to needy individuals in Atlanta to provide transportation to and from their jobs.

During his remarks at the National Press Club Friday, Mr. Bridges joked that he planned to run for president one day. He assured us that he was, in fact, joking, when he made that comment.

But he does have something in common with the White House — a history of spats with Fox News. Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly has criticized Mr. Bridges for his controversial rap lyrics. So we wondered what the rapper thought of the White House recent ban on Fox.

“I feel like I’m here for my foundation event today and it’s about a positive event and I feel like I don’t have to talk about spatting with anybody right now because I’m talking about trying to bring people together to do some positive things.”

Enough said, Mr. Bridges. Perhaps you should reconsider that run for office. You’ve already demonstrated that you can stay on message.

Justices for opera

For the first time since 1994, the Washington National Opera has brought Richard Strauss’ quirky “Ariadne auf Naxos” back to the Kennedy Center Opera House. This early 20th century opera pokes fun at rich artists’ patrons as well as the artists themselves. It unfolds in a wealthy backer’s salon where opera singers and comic thespians are forced to blend acts to provide after dinner entertainment for their backer’s guests. In WNO’s current production, these guests — non-singing extras known as supernumeraries in operaspeak — are seated on both sides of the stage.

According to our colleague, Terry Ponick, opening-night supernumeraries included Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg — both die-hard opera fans — as well as Justice Ginsburg’s husband, professor Martin Ginsburg; D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton; and Adrienne Arsht, a member of WNO’s Global Advisory Board. All briefly assisted the comics in “Ariadne” with their humorous shtick. And chief comedienne Zerbinetta (soprano Lyubov Petrova) charmed everyone by plopping, ad lib and mid-aria, into the lap of Justice Scalia who happily played along with the gag.

Big stars, big jumps

Verizon Center was one of the best places to spot big celebrities over the weekend at the Washington International Horse Show. Megawatt movie mogul Steven Spielberg and all-American rocker Bruce Springsteen were in the stands cheering on their daughters, who were competing in the show which annually attracts the world’s best riders.

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