NPR

Musical 'East Of The River' Examines A Gentrifying Anacostia

Set amid a theoretical debate about a potential Whole Foods arriving in the historically underserved Washington, D.C. neighborhood, the musical looks at the good and the bad of gentrification.
Alvin, played by LJ Moses, performs "We Can't Stop," during the musical <em>East of the River</em> at the Anacostia Arts Center Friday night.

Nothing says "gentrification" quite like the opening of a Whole Foods.

That's the message, at least, of a new musical about the idea that a location of the largely organic, high-priced grocery chain could one day open in Washington, D.C.'s Anacostia neighborhood.

Anacostia lies east of the Anacostia River in Southeast D.C., in a part of the city that's historically been more impoverished and

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