This week features some interesting one-night only shows, as well as a broad mix of concerts, films and even a scavenger hunt.
|
|
continued...
|
Solas Nua's American premiere offers an insightful musing on a life only half lived
Marina Carr's Woman and Scarecrow is a dark tale, set on the eve of a woman's death as she discusses with herself all that was and all that could have been. While this premise might sound dreary, Ms. Carr fills her work with an abundance of wit and sarcasm that carries the play with laughter right up until the fateful moment.
|
|
continued...
|
|
|
Written by Rich See
|
|
Sunday, 10 May 2009 00:00 |
Synetic will be producing Antony and Cleopatra (from January 28th through February 28th, 2010) as the next show in its “Silent Shakespeare” repertoire. The performances will run at STC's Lansburgh Theatre in sync with STC's "Leadership Repertory" of Richard II and Henry V in February. Synetic artistic director, Paata Tsikurishvili will direct with his wife Irina handling choreography. Ms. Tsikurishvili will also appear in the title role of Cleopatra with Synetic company member Ben Cunis as Antony. Konstantine Lortkipandze, Synetic's resident composer will create an original score for the play.
|
Ford's Theatre song cycle hits the right notes
The Frank Wildhorn, Gregory Boyd, Jack Murphy musical Civil War is a multi-media spectacular that packs an emotional punch. Ford's production offers incredibly strong vocals highlighted by a two-story set, moving stage and backlit by a video montage. The play covers race relations in the U.S. from the outbreak of the War Between The States to the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Songs meld from one to the next in this fast-paced performance, which is best described as a song cycle or theatrical concert.
|
|
continued...
|
Shakespeare Theatre Company has announced it is moving its annual free event from Carter Baron Amphitheatre to its new space at Sidney Harman Hall. STC feels the move will help avoid inclement weather delays and cancellations, as well as facilitate the artistic and technical qualities of the performances due to Harman Hall's state-of-the-art technology.
|
|
continued...
|
No, it wasn't for Madonna tickets or Jonas Brothers t-shirts, it was to see Dame Helen Mirren in next season's National Theatre of London production of Phédre, which is being presented by the Shakespeare Theatre Company. The single tickets went on sale to the general public on Friday, May 1st and were sold out in less than five hours. STC's website was so busy that the theatre's staff were asked to limit their web use. |
|
continued...
|
|
Shakespeare Theatre hosted an amazing night of performances this past Tuesday evening. STC members Floyd King and Avery Brooks joined the cast from Arena Stage's Crowns, members from four Signature Theatre productions, the Washington Ballet, Step Afrika!, Synetic Theater, Washington Bach Consort, and WPAS' Children of the Gospel Choir. Dubbed Welcome to Washington -- it was an opportunity for the Obama Administration to meet the arts here in the Nation's capital.
|
|
continued...
|
Dude, Theater J's musical The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall is just what you need to cheer up your recession blues. Director Shirley Serotsky, her designers and cast have hit a home run with this play about turning a classic film into a Broadway musical.
|
|
continued...
|
Theater Alliance has produced the world premiere of Victor Lodato's The Bread of Winter. The play, which was featured in a New York Times article back in 2004, has been handed a host of awards (including a Guggenheim fellowship) and even won its author a writing residency in the south of France. Heady stuff for a piece that has resided in a limbo of endless workshops and readings, never seeing an actual staged production and which was written over ten years ago.
|
|
continued...
|
For a nostalgic look at another time, Monday Night 1942 is happening at the Writer's Center in Bethesda. Written and directed by Quotidian Theatre's Steve LaRocque, the play is an examination of a father-daughter relationship on the cusp of change as World War II rages in the background and doubts intensify about what the future holds not only for Americans, but for the entire globe itself.
|
|
continued...
|
|
In honor of Shakespeare's birthday, there is yet another mystery brewing in the "did he really write it all" debate. A British psychotherapist and researcher, Dr John Casson, says he has discovered some of Shakespeare's first works, including the Bard's first published poem, his first comedy, as well as his first two tragedies. To write his recent book, Enter Pursued by a Bear, Dr. Casson spent three years studying the writings, along with letters and other documents connected with Shakespeare and those around him. While, Dr. Casson says he has linked Shakespeare and Sir Henry Neville, an aristocrat some say is the actual author of the Bard's cannon -- he believes Shakespeare actually authored his own work. The UK's Telegraph newspaper has more on the story.
|
|
On Friday, May 15th Washington Area Bicyclist Association and Commuter Connections are hosting Bike To Work Day 2009. The annual event challenges area commuters to try bicycling as an alternative to solo driving. The annual celebration features 26 pit stops throughout the region which will feature raffle prizes, food, drink and more. Commuter convoy's will be offered to help those who are unfamiliar with navigating the area's routes. And everything comes together at downtown's Freedom Plaza with a rally to kick off the work day.
|
CENTERSTAGE makes sweet music with a charming comedy
Do you know someone who truly believes they have a great talent when in reality they are woefully deficient? Have you told them the truth or simply maintained the lie to spare their feelings?
Maybe it's cooking. Maybe it's writing. Maybe it's telling jokes. Maybe they insist they have a green thumb, while you glance around and see all the dead plants in their yard. In the case of society matron Florence Foster Jenkins it was singing.
|
|
continued...
|
|
This week we're highlighting things to do with Mom! Here's a selection of theatre and other cultural events that might make a nice outing for the maternal presence in your life.
|
|
continued...
|
Signature Theatre received the 2009 Regional Theater Tony Award by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. Given to the Arlington company for it's 20 years of "bold productions of challenging new and established works" the award comes with a $25,000 prize from VISA, USA. The award will go on the shelf with the theatre's 69 Helen Hayes honors. |
|
continued...
|
There are many moments in French playwright Gerald Sibleyras' touching show about old age veterans where we see aspects of our own everyday existences. Originally titled Le Vent des peupliers, Heroes is a theatrical gem whose main characters, honored veterans of World War I, have difficulty living life without fear or self-sabotage. Yes, even battle heroes have doubts -- just like the rest of us.
|
|
continued...
|
|
 Richard Wright, a former postal employee and author of such acclaimed works as Native Son and Black Boy was honored with a 61-cent postage stamp. The first-class stamp was designed by Carl T. Herrman and uses art work supplied by Kadir Nelson, who based the image on a 1945 photo of Wright. The stamp was released in Chicago, which was Wright's home. Author and poet, Richard Wright was also letter carrier from 1927-1930 and became a French citizen before his death in 1960. His forward thinking writing was ahead of his time and influenced figures in the Black revolution movement. While he sought to destroy one-dimensional, white attitudes about blacks, he also addressed politics, emerging third world nations and violence. His stamp is part of the Postal Service's Literary Arts stamp series. For more on his stamp see Black Voices. The American Century Theatre is currently staging Wright's play Native Son at Gunston Arts Center.
|
 |
|
The District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC) is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a gala benefit on May 29th. Happening at the Halcyon House in Georgetown, the evening will focus on past, present and future with art work, performances, live band, cocktails and food. The setting at the Halcyon House, offers garden views of the Potomac River and is home to the underground studio of sculpture John Dreyfuss.
The evening will begin with cocktails and snacks in the gardens and ballroom of the mansion and then will move into the studio for dancing and desserts. Throughout the evening a variety of artists will be presenting their works through performances, art exhibits, video projections and a sound installation. Tickets can be purchased in advance (discount offered) or at the door ( door tickets are $125). |
|
Washington Shakespeare Company's newest production is a quick moving kaleidoscope of energy! Humor, pathos and rage fuel the lives of a group of dead enders whose souls are encased in as much fog as the Pacific coast bar where they sit and anesthetize themselves. |
|
continued...
|
|
|
|
|
