Best Wishes

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Ariana Hodes, daughter of Congressman Paul Hodes:

Singing Through a Bloody Mishap

An onstage mishap turned a musical into a bloodfest that sent a congressman's daughter to the hospital -- but Ariana Hodes never stopped singing!

The daughter of Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.) was the star of American University's production of "Do I Hear a Waltz?" In the final act of Friday's performance, the junior theater major slipped in liquid that had spilled on the stage -- and gashed her leg on scenery as she fell. "The audience didn't know if it was supposed to be real, because the character was drunk at that point," said professor and director Carl Menninger. But then, "the blood started gushing. . . . God bless her, she just kept on going."

Hodes -- whom her director called "very mature, very poised" -- comes by her showbiz instincts naturally: Dad and mom shared a pre-politics career in a children's folk-music duo, Peggosus. The director also praised co-stars who improvised while Hodes was getting bandaged backstage, delaying her re-entrance. After curtain call, she went to the hospital for stitches.

"The stage was covered in blood," Menninger said. "You would have thought we were doing 'Macbeth.' "