With over 30 shows opening this month on DC area stages, there is a buffet of choices for local theatre goers and visitors to our nation's capital, from a Tom Kitt musical, to a bloody barber pie-filled Sondheim feast, to children's classics adapted for the stage, to American Idol contestants with slicked back hair, to a psycho woman and her schizo sister, to Commedia dell'Arte. There's something for everyone, so come visit the DC area, and have a monumental time in our theatres!
SPECIAL EVENT:
Friday, February 5th at 8:00 PM, Luck Be a Lady: Music Center at Strathmore's 5th Anniversary Celebration!
It's right up the street from my condo, and I have enjoyed everything I have seen from classical music to concerts to cabarets at the Music Center at Strathmore, and on February 5th, for one night only, this incredible hall - with the perfect acoustics - is welcoming Broadway stars Julia Murney, Emily Skinner, Rachel York, and cabaret singer extraordinaire Jim Caruso, as Strathmore celebrates its 5th anniversary.
The program features songs by Stephen Sondheim, Kander & Ebb, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Schwartz, and Julie Styne among others. Alice Ripley, so busy trying to be "normal" on Broadway, was scheduled to be in the celebration, but instead is busy earning standing ovations for her Tony Award winning performance in Next To Normal at the Booth Theatre.
I'm also looking forward to getting a piece of birthday cake after the show and schmoozing with Julia, Emily, Rachel, and Jim. Having three incredible talents in one place at the same time is truly a celebration not to be missed.
OPENING IN FEBRUARY, 2010 - MUST-SEES:
(1) From February 2nd to Feb. 21st, Grease, at The National Theatre, in Washington, DC.
Fifth season American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and contestant Ace Young (who finished 7th) slick back their hair, and will energize the National Theatre stage, as they bring their own "Greased Lightning" to the Nation's capital. OK, the show is silly, and it's been produced a zillion times, and DC has seen a zillion Grease productions in local community and dinner theatres, and tours, but who cares? You can't beat a night out at the theatre that reminds us of the innocence and growing pains of the 50's.
This tour is receiving raves all over the country, and I want to see why. Plus, I love the National Theatre! Everything looks great there, and in these tough times - couldn't we use a little "Shakin' at the High School Hop"?
Check out the Grease tour website here.
(2) From February 6th to March 21st, Peter & the Wolf, at Imagination Stage, in Bethesda, Maryland.
I remember as a kid going on a field trip to Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY on a very snowy day (that surprises you?), and being thrilled by Serge Prokofiev's Peter & the Wolf. And I remember each character being represented by a single instrument: Peter by the strings, the wolf by the horn section, the duck by the oboe, the cat by the clarinet, the bird by the flute, and the hunters by the tympani. I screamed when the wolf ate that duck, and I cheered, along with hundreds of other school children, when Peter outfoxed that mean wolf.
Now, Imagination Stage is introducing new generations of school children and their young parents to Peter & the Wolf, by bringing a new "interpretation", which premiered at Seattle Children's Theatre, with music by Hummie Mann and lyrics by Mr. Mann and Allison Gregory. The press release described this new production as, "Using Prokofiev's themes as a jumping-off point, Gregory and Mann have created musical numbers including a tango, a waltz, a Charleston and a rousing gospel song".
Will this new theatrical production capture the excitement I felt as a child? We'll have to wait and see, but I can't wait to see two of my favorite local actors - the very funny Matthew McGloin, and the elegant chanteuse Gia Mora perform with other cast members Maggie Marlin, Calvin McCullough, and Landon Nagel. That wolf better behave!
(3) From February 9th to April 4th, Sweeney Todd, at Signature Theatre, in Arlington, Virginia.
