Dogfight KEEGAN THEATRE
Sun, Sept. 13, 3 p.m or Thurs, Sept. 17, 8 p.m. at Church Street Theatre
With Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and Book by Peter Duchan, this is an area premiere for Washington audiences and will be directed by local talents Christina Coakley and Michael Innocenti. Set in 1963, on the eve of the Vietnam War and the Kennedy assassination, Dogfight follows the story of three marines on their final boys’ night of debauchery before their deployment to Vietnam. This will be our first “live and abouting” as a group to this lively and richly talented company who have recently bought and renovated the Church Street building. They’re here to stay!
As One URBAN ARIAS
Sun, Oct 4, 2 p.m. (Note: 1 performance only) at Atlas Performing Art Center
A Chamber opera in which two voices, Hannah After and Hannah Before, share the part of a sole trans-gender protagonist. As usual our “Live & About” favorite cutting-edge opera company promises to bend all the rules on this one while delivering exquisite musicality under Artistic Director and Conductor Robert Wood. Join us and be provoked.
Catone in Utica OPERA LAFAYETTE
Sun, Nov. 29, 2 p.m. (1 performance only) at Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre
The premiere of this early work of opera by Antonio Vivaldi in the Americas was debuted at Glimmerglass Theatre Festival, and reviewer Susan Galbraith had her proverbial socks knocked off. It may sound like something old but everything about nearly 300-year old opera was breathtakingly new and gorgeous. The singing roles as well as the acting will remind you that gender bending is nothing new in our time. Hearing the countertenor John Holiday alone may be one of opera’s greatest “freaky” gifts. Tazewell Thompson has directed this opera beautifully, and if you want to be in the know about musical superlatives in Washington, look no further than Ryan Brown as a force in discovering the pulse of this early music and how it can speak to us now.
As You Like It SYNETIC THEATRE
Wed, Jan 6, 8. p.m. or Sun, Jan 10,2 p.m. in Crystal City
Join us as we return with our group to one of “the wordless Shakespeare” productions of D.C.’s premier physical theater. With resident composer Konstantine Lortkipanidze, the music both underscores and highlights every wordless moment, challenging audiences to redefine both Shakespeare and, pertinent to the Alliance’s mission, what makes music-theatre. Husband and wife team Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili have been stunning Washington audiences and basically rewriting the rules for serving up text-based theatre since they landed in D.C. 15 years ago from Georgia
Lost in the Stars WNO Dress
date TBA, week of February 8 at the Opera House, Kennedy Center
This is the show not to miss this season or any season, as Artistic Director Francesca Zambello reassembles director Tazewell Thompson and a multi-national cast headed up by Eric Owens in his superb, compassionate portrayal in the lead role as a South African minister based on Alan Payton’s Cry the Beloved Country. Kurt Weill wrote this cross-over work for Broadway to speak to the world about the pain and wreckage to a country marred by the policies of apartheid. The Alliance has been privileged to bring a select number of tickets to the dress rehearsal of this work, but only with the full season package
Road Show SIGNATURE THEATRE
Wed, Feb. 24, 7:30 pm or Sun, Feb. 28, 2 pm in Shirlington
Eric Schaeffer has made Signature’s reputation based in part on his commitment to the works of Stephen Sondheim. Road Show is Signature’s 26th Sondheim production and the third collaboration between Weidman and Sondheim (Assassins, Pacific Overtures). This is a freewheeling musical travelogue of the optimism and opportunism of the early twentieth century through the eyes of two ambitious, eccentric, yet playfully charming brothers. Based on the real-life Mizner siblings, Road Show follows the dreamer and the schemer’s quest for the ever elusive, shape-shifting American dream.
R.U.R. ALLIANCE FOR NEW MUSIC-THEATRE
TBA
Support the Alliance and Washington’s newest cultural destination, DuPont Underground, at the nexus of Embassy Row and the economic hub of Connecticut Avenue and explore something a little on the wild side with this retelling through music of Karel Čapek’s prescient work from 1920 about the age of robotics and artificial intelligence from the man who invented the word robot. With music by Maurice Saylor and words by Saylor and Susan Galbraith, the reinvention of Čapek’s play as a musical will both provoke and delight. Be in on the very special conversations following every performance about where technology and artificial intelligence is leading us. Special party following at a residence in the DuPont area with cocktails served by robots.
Kabarett & Cabaret INSERIES
Fall in love again with iconic Berliner cabaret gems! The song revue explores the artistry of émigré stars of film & music who came to America fleeing Nazi persecution: Marlene Dietrich, Lotte Lenya, Hanns Eisler, Kurt Weill, Arnold Schoenberg & the film music geniuses Frederick Hollander (The Blue Angel), Erich Korngold (Robin Hood), Franz Waxman (Sunset Boulevard). They brought the dark, raunchy, political world of the Kabarett to ‘Weimar on the Pacific,’ aka 1940s Hollywood. The show features iconic songs like Falling in Love Again and Lola, plus forgotten Berliner and Viennese cabaret gems, and their American ‘offspring,’ such as Speak Low. http://inseries.org/kabarett-cabaret/
Black Pearl Sings METRO STAGE
Sun, Apr 24, 3 pm Wed, Apr 27, 8:00 pm in Old Town Alexandria
This promises to be a deeply emotional “play with music” about two extraordinary women in Depression-era Texas. An ambitious Library of Congress musicologist and an African American woman with a soulful voice and steely spirit learn how they must work together to fulfill their personal goals. Theirs is a journey of race and reconciliation, religion and tenacity, historical origins of folk music, and ultimate healing and understanding. Based on the discovery of legendary folk singer/guitarist Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter in prison by folklorist John Lomax and their subsequent musical partnership, the show will feature over 20 American folk and spiritual songs.
Plus a SUMMER ADD ON
A Summer Performance at CASTLETON FESTIVAL
date to be announced in Castleton, Virginia
Come frolic with us on a special field trip next summer out to Castleton in Virginia including a wine tour of two of the areas finest award winning vineyards and a picnic followed by a performance in Maestro Lorin Maazel’s idyllic pastoral setting, a tradition carried on by his widow, the outstanding Dietlinde Turban Maazel.