Strathmore and Beth Morrison Projects will present the world premiere of Iron & Coal, a theatrical concert by composer/lyricist Jeremy Schonfeld and director Kevin Newbury, in the Music Center at Strathmore on Thursday and Friday, May 3 and 4, 2018 at 8 p.m.
As a fan of dance, my expectations were high when I found out that I would be attending “Step Afrika’s Step Xplosion at Strathmore. The event which wasn’t an all-out competition, but more or a less a celebration of stepping and, how it helps children on their journey into adulthood.
Thursday, December 28th was opening Night of THE ILLUSIONISTS – LIVE FROM BROADWAY at the world-renowned John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington D.C. Optical illusions and the wonderful world of magic tricks were front & center in a night filled with comedy, breakdancing and of course magic.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is pleased to announce that the Washington, D.C. engagement of the hit Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET!—based on the life story of seven-time Grammy®–winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time Grammy®–winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan—will star Cuban American Broadway actress Christie Prades as Gloria Estefan, and acclaimed stage and television actor Mauricio Martínez, playing Emilio Estefan.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater will host a special post-show conversation with Gloria Steinem on Sunday, January 28 following the 7:30 p.m. performance during the run of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s world premiere Power Play Sovereignty. This gripping political exploration travels the intersections of personal and political truths, and historic and present struggles, in the fight to save the sovereignty of Cherokee Nation both past and present. Under the direction of Artistic Director Molly Smith, Sovereignty runs January 12-February 18, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.
The third show of Mosaic Theater Company’s ambitious third season will be The Real Americans, a one-man show written and starring Bay Area sensation and now NYC-based performing artist Dan Hoyle. In an effort to escape the liberal urban bubble, Hoyle spent 100 days traveling through small-town America. The cast of characters he met and interviewed are vividly brought to life in this hilarious, poignant performance.
“We are so pleased to have Dan bring this play to Mosaic,” said Founding Artistic Director Ari Roth. “Dan is a razor-sharp writer and an extraordinary chameleon of a performance artist, in the best tradition of artists like Anna Deavere Smith, performing transcribed interview material with absolute fidelity. This play exemplifies the importance of seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. We are confident this show will make audiences laugh but also spur conversations about our country’s political and economic climate. To that end, we are pairing this show with a robust series of post-show discussions, including with Washington Post senior editor Marc Fisher, co-author of Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition.”
My next guest on INTERVUE is an accomplished actress whose work includes “The Jesse Owens Story”, “Eve’s Bayou” and “Power” and one of my favorite soaps, “All My Children”. In fact, in 1989, she was the first African American woman to win the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She has taken her memoir and created a one woman show that will be presented at the Bowie State Fine and Performing Arts Center October 21-22. We have the wonderful and talented, Debbi Morgan.
Celebrating the life and music of Nina Simone, one of America’s most iconic singers and civil rights activists, Christina Ham’s provocative musical journey Nina Simone: Four Women makes its East Coast debut at Arena Stage. Set in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four little girls lost their lives in 1963, Ham uses Simone’s song “Four Women” as the framework to explore the songstress’ shift from artist to artist-activist. Timothy Douglas returns to Arena Stage to direct this “gorgeous and moving testimonial” (Star Tribune). Nina Simone: Four Women runs November 10-December 24, 2017 in the Kreeger Theater.
The essence and spirit of Hip Hop music were alive on Monday, July 10th at the Millennium Stage located inside the historic Kennedy Center during a production of “Synching Ink.” As part of the annual Hip Hop Theater Festival, “Synching Ink” is a great love letter to Hip Hop and breath of fresh air for anyone tired of mumble rap. Written by Baltimore native & Howard University graduate NSangou Njikam.
The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) Free For All, one of the capital’s most beloved annual traditions offering free performances of a Shakespearean classic to the general public each summer, will return next month with the Company’s 2016 production of William Shakespeare’s Othello. Helmed by internationally acclaimed director Ron Daniels and starring screen actor Faran Tahir in the titular role, the production will run at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F St. NW) from August 15–27, offering more than 12,000 people the chance to see the play free of charge.
