I’m going to skip straight to the point: go see D.C. Trash! Just go.

OK, now the background. Ron Litman is a Native Washingtonian—of the white Jewish variety—who returns to the city after 35 years away. In need of a job, he becomes a trash hauler. For Litman, though, trash isn’t just trash—it’s a means to better understand the city’s residents, its past and its future. “From out of the trash comes my past,” proclaims Litman, who uses his daily routes to dredge up memories of what D.C. once was and his family’s place in it.

A bulk trash pickup at a CVS on Wisconsin Avenue brings him back to the family deli that once occupied the space. Another one on Capitol Hill reminds him of his aunt’s candy store, and yet another speaks to two general stores in Chinatown that were burned down during the 1968 riots. As he fondly remembers the past, he muses on how D.C. is changing—there’s less space for the middle class, he says, and Chocolate City is becoming a shining city on the hill.

But Litman doesn’t just talk about the transformation—he becomes it. Starting as the Mayor of Massachusetts Avenue, a homeless man, Litman morphs into his trash-collecting self before taking on the persona—and attire; he wears a wig and a pink dress—of D.C. “real” houswife Michaele Salahi. And this isn’t merely an hour-long monologue—Litman takes infuses his performance with Weird Al Yankovic-like takes on popular songs, with the accompaniment of instrumentalist Tom Pile. (“It’s Raining Bums” and “Trash (What is it good for?)” are but two songs that they perform.)

For as difficult and divisive as discussing change, gentrification and the past can be, Litman wonderfully puts it all in perspective. That his perspective is trash—literally—adds needed levity to the topic, but he doesn’t shy away from being sharply honest when it’s most appropriate.

Remaining Performances: July 28, 11 p.m.

Fort Fringe Bedroom, 612 L Street NW

July 29, 3:30 p.m.

Fort Fringe – Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar, 607 New York Avenue NW