+Added July 12: The Kennedy Center's Seventh Annual Prelude Festival will begin with the annual National Symphony Orchestra Labor Day Concert, conducted by Emil de Cou, on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday, August 31. The festival is a pre-season celebration of “the best performing arts from Washington and the world” and will continue through October 5 at The Kennedy Center. The culmination of the Prelude Festival will be the 24nd Annual Open House Arts Festival on September 13. The daylong indoor and outdoor event celebrates the Kennedy Center's birthday. There will be more than 30 free performances of music, dance, and theater, plus many other family events and activities. Visit www.kennedy-center.org/nso/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showEvent&event=NILAB
National Symphony Orchestra conductor Emil de Cou - Photo courtesy of Wolftrap - Click to enlarge
MUSIC:
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at Wolf Trap will perform a concert titled Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) with Eric Idle on Thursday, July 24. English composers EricIdle and John Du Prez, who are known for their hit Broadway musical Spamalot, were inspired to write the comic oratorio by Handel's Messiah and Monty Python's comic Life of Brian. Their creation will be “performed by a cast of thousands (well, an audience of thousands plus the NSO, chorus, soloists, bagpipers, and a sheep)!” The NSO at Wolf Trap, led by Emil de Cou, will perform a concert titled Wolf Trap is for Lovers on Friday, July 25. The concert will feature “some of the most beautiful love music ever written.” The NSO at Wolf Trap, led by Randall Craig Fleischer, will perform a concert titled Broadway Rocks! From Phantom to Dreamgirls on Saturday, July 26. The orchestra will be joined by four Broadway singers - Susan Egan, Capathia Jenkins, Doug LaBrecque, and Rob Evans - who will perform great moments from Tommy, Rent, The Lion King, Mama Mia and other hit musicals. To read more about conductor Randall Craig Fleisher, who is also a composer, visit www.randallfleischer.com/ The NSO at Wolf Trap, led by Emil de Cou, and Korean pianist Joyce Yang will perform Beethoven’s Best on Thursday, July 31. The program will include the "Emperor" Piano Concerto and the choral finale to the Ninth Symphony.
+Added July 13: Performances by the NSO at Wolf Trap, conducted by Emil de Cou, will continue with Rodgers & Hammerstein at the Movies in the Filene Center on Friday, August 1. The program will feature hit songs from The Sound of Music, Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific and more. The performance will be complemented by clips from the great musicals shown on giant screens in-house and on the lawn. The NSO at Wolf Trap will present a program titled Dial “H” for Hitchcock on Saturday, August 2 in the Filene Center. Called “a symphonic spook-tacular” the concert will feature music from some of Director Alfred Hitchcock’s great suspense movies - complemented by clips of the films shown on giant screens in-house and on the lawn. The featured films will include To Catch a Thief, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, and North by Northwest.
+Added July 13: Wolf Trap will present the Face of America: Hawai`i Revisited on Tuesday, August 5 at the Filene Center. The program will feature Hālau O Kekuhi, The Brothers Cazimero and Ledward Ka'apana. There will be both traditional and contemporary music and hula. High-definition video footage featuring the natural beauty of the Hawaiian islands will be screened, and Ledward Ka’apana will perform his instrumental work as the images are shown. The Brothers Cazimero and their dancers will perform both traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music and dance. The Hālau O Kekuhi ensemble of 16 dancers, will perform, complemented by giant-screen high-definition projections of footage from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, conducted by Keith Lockhart, will perform Bernstein: A Celebration! on Tuesday, August 19 at the Filene Center. The concert will mark the 90th anniversary of Bernstein’s birth. Keith Lockhart was named conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1995, following Arthur Fiedler and John Williams.
Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart - Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap - Click to enlarge
Mike Love of The Beach Boys - Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap - click to enlarge
In addition to orchestral programs, Wolf Trap will present a diverse array of other concerts in August, including Jethro Tull The Gipsy Kings Gretchen Wilson B.B. King Herbie Hancock Smoky Robinson The Beach Boys Kenny Rogers & The Oak Ridge Boys Chris Isaak Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band The Irish Tenors - and more.
Please see the Theatre Column for information about the performances of Les Misérables at Wolf Trap's Filene Center, August 29-September 7.
To read more about upcoming programs at Wolf Trap, visitwww.wolf-trap.org/
Gretchen Wilson - Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap - Click to enlarge
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO)will present Leon Fleisher — 80th Birthday Celebration on Thursday, July 24. The BSO and the Baltimore native will perform three Mozart compositions: the Symphony No. 35, “Haffner,” the Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major and the Symphony No. 40. The renowned pianist was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Award in 2007.
The BSO, led by conductor and pianist Bramwell Tovey, will present A Tribute to Gershwin & Bernstein at the Music Center on Thursday, July 31. Bramwell Tovey, who is music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, is also a composer. The all-American evening of popular music will feature George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris and Leonard Bernstein's America and West Side Story Symphonic Dances.
Pianist Leon Fleisher - Photo by Eli Turner - Courtesy of the BSO - Click to enlarge
Strathmore will present soul singer Michael McDonald in a concert in the Music Center on Tuesday, July 29. The inimitable singer will be touring in support of his new album Soul Speak. To read more about singer/songwriter Michael McDonald, visit www.michaelmcdonald.com/
Strathmore will present jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan in the Music Center on Friday, July 25. The artist will unveil his first mainstream release in a decade, State of Nature. His gold-selling debut album Magic Touch was nominated for a Grammy® in 1985. To read more about Stanley Jordan, who is from California, visit http://stanleyjordan.com/
+Added July 13: The Music Center at Strathmore will present Norman Brown’s Summer Storm Tour ‘08 on Friday, August 8. Grammy Winning guitarist and vocalist Norman Brown is a leader in the evolution of Pop, R&B and Jazz. The concert will feature R&B singer Chante Moore, funk “Sax Man” Paul Taylor and the soulful piano of Alex Bugnon. To read more about Norman Brown, visit www.normanbrown.com/home.htm
The Music Center will present a Tribute to Joni Mitchell on Thursday, August 14. (Joni Mitchell is not scheduled to appear.) A tribute concert is annual tradition at Strathmore, and this year some of the Washington area’s best musicians will participate, including Laura Burhenn, Mary Ann Redmond, Grace Griffith, Steuart Smith, Chaise Lounge, Jon Carroll, Luke Brindley, LEA, Naked Blue, Carey Creed, John Jennings, One Horse Town, Margot MacDonald, Deeme Katson, Esther Haynes, Chelsea Lee, Cairo Fred, Diane Rosenthal, Al Williams, and Cal Everett. Joni’s many admirers will get to hear classic hits like “Big Yellow Taxi,” “California,” and “Help Me.”
Strathmore is having Free Outdoor Summer Concerts on the lawn this summer. Dinner on the lawn before the outdoor summer concerts at Strathmore is a popular option! BBQ ribs, pulled pork, veggie burgers, hot dogs, side dishes, desserts, soda, water, beer and wine will be available for purchase at Bruce’s BBQ Shack. Upcoming concerts will be on
July 23: Christylez Bacon & Strange Fruit - Hip hop artist/guitarist July 30: Brave Combo & Bugs & Balloons - “Bring the kids......". August 6: The Lovell Sisters - A fusion of country, folk, and contemporary acoustic music
+Added July 8: The U.S. Coast Guard’s Dixieland Band will perform at the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in Washington on Coast Guard Day, August 5. The concert will mark the Guard’s birthday. The Coast Guard Band, of which the Dixieland Band is a component, is one of the finest professional concert bands in the world. All band concerts are open to the public - no tickets are required. Visit www.uscg.mil/band/
+Added July 13: The United States Army Band - “Pershing’s Own” - will give their annual performance of Tchaikovsky‘s “Overture 1812” at the Sylvan Theatre on the slope of the Washington Monument Grounds, complete with the cannons of The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Presidential Salute Battery, on Tuesday, August 12. This performance is, for many, a must-see/hear summer event. The concert includes classical, popular, and patriotic music for audiences of all ages. Visit http://www.usarmyband.com/events/overture_1812.html
Singer Michael McDonald - Photo courtesy of Strathmore - Click to enlarge
The Lovell Sisters - Photo courtesy of Strathmore - Click to enlarge
“Protecting Our Capitol by Edward Dyson” - CGC James Rankin, buoy tender, 41, utility boat, UTB, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capital, Washington D.C. - Image courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard - Click to enlarge
+Added July 13: The Verizon Center will present the Neil Diamond 2008 World Tour on Tuesday, August 5. He will perform hits from his long and successful career, including "Sweet Caroline," "Shilo," "Save Me a Saturday Night” and many more. Visit www.verizoncenter.com/events/index.php?opts=detail&eid=2541&evtype=special
+Added July 13: Live Nation will present singer Chaka Khan & Musiq Soulchild in the Funk This Tour 2008 on Thursday, August 14 at the Warner Theatre. To read more about Chaka Khan, the Grammy-winning star known as The Queen of Funk Soul, visit www.chakakhan.com. To read more about R&B star Musiq Soulchild, visit: www.musiqsoulchild.com/ For more information, visit www.warnertheatre.com/calendar.asp
Please see the Arts Column for information about jazz performances which will be part of The Phillips Collection After 5:Enhanced Extended Hours on Thursdays, July 24-August 21..... or visit www.phillipscollection.org/html/news.html
Jazz in the Garden concerts continue in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden on Friday evenings, to October 3. The concerts feature top local and regional artists who perform a mix of eclectic jazz in the Sculpture Garden in front of the Pavilion Café - next to the grand fountain and reflecting pool. Food and drink selections are available at the café. Some 800,000 people have enjoyed dining, listening, and dancing to jazz during previous concerts. The upcoming concerts are on:
July 25: Deanna Bogart Band (Boogie-Woogie Rhythm and Blues Jazz) August 1: The Greg Hatza ORGANization (Hammond Organ) August 8: QuinTango (Tango) August 15: Perry Conticchio Jazz (Saxophone) August 22: The Young Lions (Jazz Rock) August 29: Daysahead (Rhythm and Blues Jazz) September 5: Bruno Nasta (Jazz Violin) September 12: Bruce Ewan and the Solid Senders (Blues)/The U.S. Navy Commodores (Swing Jazz) September 19: Warren Wolf (Vibes) September 26: The Rob Levit Trio (Jazz Guitar) October 3: Frédéric Yonnet (Harmonica) - Duke Ellington Jazz Visit www.nga.gov/programs/jazz/
Jacob Lawrence, The Migration Series (1940-41) - Panel no. 31 “The migrants found improved housing when they arrived north.” Casein tempera on hardboard, 12 x 18 in., The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., acquired 1942 - See the Arts column for information about the ongoing exhibition - Click to enlarge
The Children’s Chorus of Washington, led by Founder and Artistic Director Joan Gregoryk, is preparing to tour Italy, July 24-August 4. Before their departure, they will perform a Send-Off Concert on Monday, July 21 at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church in Northwest DC. Visit http://cchorus.homestead.com/07-08performances.html
The Children’s Chorus of Washington - Photographed at their Spring Concert by Don Lassell - Click to enlarge
Photo from a previous Summer Chorale Institute for High School Students - click to enlarge
+Added July 10: The National Philharmonic will sponsor a Summer Chorale Institute for High School Students in August. They will present a free concert on Friday, August 1, at 8 pm at Richard Montgomery High School. TheSummer Strings Institute High School Concert will be on Friday August 8, at 7:30 pm at Mondzac Performing Arts Center, Landon School. The Summer Strings Institute Middle School Concert will be on Friday August 15, at 7:30 pm at the Mondzac Performing Arts Center, Landon School. For more information about the National Philharmonic, visit www.nationalphilharmonic.org/sci.htm
Photo from a previous Summer Strings Institute High School session - click to enlarge
The Sage Chamber Players
+Added July 15:The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) will host a performance by the new chamber ensemble, Sage Chamber Players, at the Workshop in Southeast DC on Friday, August 15. The Sage Chamber Players will perform a program of French composers, including Fauré and Milhaud. The ensemble is comprised of violinists Kyung LeBlanc, Nancy Jin and Hannah Eldridge, cellist Sean Neidlinger, clarinetist Joseph LeBlanc, and pianist Jennifer Yeo.
Following the performance by Sage Chamber Players, CHAW and the GLBT Arts Consortium will present a fully-staged production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. CHAW is a non-profit multi-disciplinary arts education facility. Visit www.chaw.org
Friends of the National Zoo are presenting Sunset Serenades on Thursdays through August 7. The summer concerts take place on the Zoo’s Lion/Tiger Hill and are free! There’s jazz, folk, blues, rock and roll and more. Visitors can bring picnics or buy snacks at the Mane Restaurant. Visit http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ActivitiesAndEvents/Celebrations/Sunset/default.cfm
+Added July 13: The DC Blues Society will present the annual DC Blues Festival at Carter Barron Amphitheatre on Saturday, August 30. The performers will include Zac Harmon & The Mid-South Blues Revue, Lil Dave Thompson, Charles “Big Daddy” Stallings Band, Acme Blues Co., The Jazzy Blues Women, The Country Bunker Funky Blues Band, The Colours Splatt Blues Band & others. To read more about the DC Blues Society, visit www.dcblues.org/ Visit www.nps.gov/rocr/planyourvisit/cbarronschedule.htm
OPERA & OPERETTA:
+Added July 14: The Wolf Trap Opera Company will perform Richard Strauss’s opera Ariadne auf Naxos in The Barns on Friday, August 15, Sunday, August 17 and Tuesday, August 19. Conducted by Timothy Long and directed by Thaddeus Strassberger, the lead performers will include Marjorie Owens as Ariadne, Diego Torre as Bacchus, and Erin Morley as Zerbinetta. A behind-the-scenes prologue is performed before the opera, which is set in Vienna, Austria. The concept is that a wealthy man wants to present a serious opera - Ariadne - and also a comedy - Zerbinetta and her Lovers - plus fireworks - all on the same night. The combination is explosive and unique. The opera will be sung in German with English supertitles. Visit www.wolf-trap.org/Home/Find_Performances_and_Events/Performance/08Opera/Ariadne.aspx
+Added July 15: The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) and the GLBT Arts Consortium will present a fully-staged production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance at the Workshop in Southeast DC on Friday, August 15. The performance will follow the performance by the Sage Chamber Players on the same evening. (Please see the Music column for information about the Sage concert.) Visit www.chaw.org
The Summer Opera Theatre Company, conducted by H. Teri Murai, will perform Georges Bizet’s Carmen on July 23 and 27 at the Harman Center for the Arts in downtown DC. Tenor Benjamin Warschawski will return to the company to perform the role of “Don Jose,” and the production will introduce mezzo-soprano Teresa Buchholz in the title role and Thomas Beard as "Escamillo." The production will be performed in French with English surtitles. To read more about Benjamin Warschawski, visit www.warschawski.net To read more about Teresa Buchholz visit www.teresabuchholz.com/html/slideshow.php Visithttp://summeropera.org/
Classical WETA 90.9 FM Opera House continues on Saturdays at 1 p.m. with a Vienna Konzerthaus performance of Verdi's I due Foscari on July 26. Visithttp://classicalweta.org
Art work for the Wolf Trap Opera company production of Richard Strauss’s opera "Ariadne auf Naxos" - click to enlarge
THEATRE:
+Added July 13: Wolf Trap will present Les Misérables, the 1987 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical on Broadway, August 29-September 7 in the Filene Center. The epic story of the struggle between good and evil in France in the early 1800s is told through the life of a man who rose above his circumstances to enhance the lives of those around him. The many memorable songs include “On My Own” and “Master of the House.” Visit www.wolftrap.org
The Second Annual Capital Fringe Festival is in progress in Washington, through July 27. The festival gives emerging artists an opportunity to present their works to “adventurous audiences.” The artists can receive support through workshops on show production, marketing, administration and fundraising. Arts audiences are challenged to discover works not available elsewhere. Low prices attract audiences who otherwise might not have been interested. The name “Fringe Festival” dates back to Scotland's Edinburgh International Festival in 1947, when performers who excluded from the festival created makeshift theatres on the outskirts - or “fringe” - of the established festival. The Fringe Festival movement eventually overtook the mainstream event in popularity. Some of the Capital Fringe Festival events tale place in well-known theatres such as Woolly Mammoth, the Studio Theatre, the Shakespeare Theatre and the Source, while others are in less familiar theatrical venues. Visit www.capfringe.org/
+Added July 12: Woolly Mammoth Theatre will present the world premiere of Jason Grote’s Maria/Stuart, directed by Pam MacKinnon, August 18-September 14. The production will feature company members Naomi Jacobson and Sarah Marshall. The “macabre romp” was inspired by Friedrich Schiller’s classic tale of warring queens. There are family secrets, “simmering angst” and even “a bizarre shapeshifter that guzzles soda and chatters German verse.” The play is deemed appropriate for ages 16 & up. An award-winning playwright, Jason Grote teaches at Rutgers University. To read more about him, visit http://jasongrote.com/ For more information, visit www.woollymammoth.net/performances/show_maria_stuart.php
A scene from "Les Misérables" - Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap - Click to enlarge
Gia Mora as Angelique, Rene Auberjonois as Argan and Tony Roach as Cleante in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of The Imaginary Invalid, adapted by Alan Drury and directed by Keith Baxter - Photo by Carol Rosegg - Click to enlarge
The Shakespeare Theatre Company is presenting French playwright Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid, adapted by Alan Drury and directed by Keith Baxter, in the Lansburgh Theatre, now through July 27. Molière(1622-1673) was also an actor, and died within hours of giving his last performance of The Imaginary Invalid. The esteemed actor René Auberjonois is making his Shakespeare Theatre Company debut in the production. To read more about the popular actor, who is currently appearing on television in Boston Legal, visit www.renefiles.com/
Signature Theatre is having their 2nd Annual Sizzling Summer Nights performance series through August 1. There's live music and performances in Signature’s 110-seat ARK Theatre. The black box nightclub setting offers cabaret seating for performances ranging from show tunes, cabaret, jazz, blues, and R&B, to spoken word and comedy. An hour before performance time, patrons can visit Ali’s Bar in the lobby and purchase wine, beer, and chef-prepared fare to take to their tables in the theatre.
+Added July 8: Signature Theatre will have the 3rd Annual Open House, a celebration of musical theater and drama, on Saturday, August 2. There will be free performances, master classes, demonstrations, contests, and exhibits. The events will stretch throughout the two-theater complex, and attendees can go behind the scenes, hear music from the upcoming season, participate in Sondheim sing-alongs, learn new dance steps and more. Leading performers will be on hand, including R&B and Broadway DreamgirlJulia Nixon and Emily Skinner from Broadway and Signature’s Witches of Eastwick. For children, there will be a moon bounce, snow cones, and more.
+Added July 12: The Signature Theatre will present Ace, a Broadway-bound musical with book and lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker and music by Oberacker, August 26-September 28. Directed by Eric Schaeffer, the story is set in America’s heartland in the 1950s and tells about the adventures of a 10-year-old boy. The boy’s foster parents give him a toy airplane, which opens a “world of dreamtime adventures…” in which he travels back in time with a pilot, Ace, to witness heroic deeds of airplane pilots in World Wars I & II. Visit www.signature-theatre.org/seasondescrip.htm
The new Signature Theatre - Photo by Scott Suchman - Click to enlarge
The Studio Theatre will present Jerry Springer: The Opera in the Mead Theatre beginning July 23. With music by Richard Thomas and book and lyrics by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas, the show will be directed by Keith Alan Baker. The opera was inspired by the Jerry Springer television talk show, which was often raucous and outrageous. All of the 21 roles will be sung, except for that of "Jerry," and the singers will be backed up by an 8-piece band. The actual TV show was famous for its presentation of unconventional guests, and, in the opera, there is a staggering turn of events when The Devil becomes involved in a production...... in Jerry’s afterlife. One might say the guests are Divine! Visit www.studiotheatre.org/plays/plays_details.php?plays_id=132
Gwendolyn Mulamba (Jenny Sutter) and Kate Mulligan (Lou) in “Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter” by Julie Marie Myatt - Photo by David Cooper - Courtesy of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - Click to enlarge
The Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays is presenting Julie Marie Myatt’s play Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter, directed by Jessica Thebus, now through July 27 in the Terrace Theater. The contemporary drama about personal recovery and acceptance has been staged by the Tony Award–winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It’s the story of a wounded Marine Sergeant, Jenny Sutter, who returns from Iraq, to find herself “lost in the California desert, without the body and mind she once knew.” Feeling unprepared to greet her family, the veteran takes a side trip to a desert community whose eccentric inhabitants help her on her way to emotional recovery and reunion. The contemporary West Coast playwright Julie Marie Myatt also wrote the comedy The Sex Habits of American Women. The Fund for New American Plays dates back to 1985 and was created to “ensure the continued vitality of American theater by supporting its emerging playwrights.”
Disney'sThe Lion King,the Tony Award-winning musical, continues at the Kennedy Center Opera House, now through August 24. It’s a spectacle of animals “brought to life” through puppetry by Julie Taymor, with a unique musical score by Elton John and Tim Rice. To read more about the company on tour, visit http://disney.go.com/theatre/thelionking/#/tour/ For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org
+Added July 12: The Olney Theatre Center will present David Lindsay-Abaire’s play The Rabbit Hole, directed by Mitchell Hébert, on the Mainstage, August 6-31. The play tells about a couple who live happily in an upscale suburban neighborhood until “a life-shattering accident turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting perilously apart.” They are on a “rich journey that searches for hope, comfort, and forgiveness in the darkest moments of our lives.” David Lindsay-Abaire, an American playwright, won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Rabbit Hole. Visit www.olneytheatre.org/ticketsprogramming/calendar/show.asp?id=20016404
A scene from "The Rabbit Hole," with Deborah Hazlett as Becca Corbett and Paul Morella as Howie Corbett remembering the good times - Photo by Will Dockery - courtesy of Olney Theatre Center - Click to enlarge
Sam Ludwig as Huck Finn and Isaiah Johnson as Jim in the National Players Production of “Big River: The Adventures of Hunkleberry Finn" - Courtesy of The Olney Theatre Center - Photo by Stan Barouh - Click to enlarge
The Olney Theatre Center has extended the run of the National Players Production of the musical Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, through August 3. Directed by Eve Muson, with bluegrass and country-style music and lyrics by Roger Miller, the Tony Award-winning show is a musical adaptation of Mark Twain's classic novel of 1884, Huckleberry Finn. It’s the tale of young Huck and Jim, a slave, and their escape to freedom as they raft down the Mississippi River. National Players Production is America's longest-touring company. American singer/composer Roger Miller became famous for his song King of the Road and other hits. Visit www.olneytheatre.org/ticketsprogramming/calendar/show.asp?id=20016758
Sandra Bernhard - Photo by William Baker - Courtesy of Theater J - Click to enlarge
Tickets for Theater J’s 2008-9 season are now on sale. The season will include a limited engagement of Sandra Bernhard’s classic show Without You I’m Nothing, which is expected to sell out! The show will run September 9-28 and will begin a world-wide 20th anniversary tour. Sandra will perform with her band, The Rebellious Jezebels, in a show has been called “an electrifying fusion of lethal satire, sly cabaret, and sizzling rock 'n' roll.” Visit www.washingtondcjcc.org/center-for-arts/theater-j/
The Washington Stage Guild will continue their series of play readings in the Mead Theatre at Flashpoint in downtown DC with The Amorous Servant by Carlo Goldoni,an 18th-century Italian playwright, as translated by John Van Burek, on Sunday, August 3. Directed by John MacDonald, the comedy tells a tale of servants and masters who forget their places, inspiring “laughter in two languages.” The Guild will read G.K. Chesterton’s Magic, directed by Bill Largess, on Sunday, August 10. It’s a “story of atheism shaken by a party trick that just might be a miracle.” The company will read G.B. Shaw’s Press Cuttings & Farfetched Fables, directed by John MacDonald, on Sunday, August 17. The two one-act satires are "an ideal antidote for an election year." Visit www.stageguild.org
The Little Theatre of Alexandria will present the Tony Award-winning musical 1776, July 26-August 23. It’s the story of the struggles, both public and private, that led the Continental Congress to create our Nation. Visitwww.thelittletheatre.com/onstage.htm
