2700 F St.: Washington National Opera: Daughter of the Regiment
Young and beautiful Marie was found as a baby near a French regiment camp. And today she lives her life as the regiment’s resident mascot, singing songs and boosting morale wherever she goes.
Opera, Europe, Comedy

Cuesheet: Mariinsky Ballet: Raymonda
Raymonda is set in medieval Hungary and follows a countess torn between her betrothed, a crusading knight, and the arrival of a handsome warrior.
Dance, Comedy, Choreographers, Music, Composers

Cuesheet: The Joffrey Ballet's The Nutcracker
The Joffrey Ballet brings the magic of the holiday season to life with heroic toy soldiers, sword-fighting mice, and a glittering journey to the Kingdom of Sweets.
Dance, Comedy, Choreographers, Music, Composers

Cuesheet: Ballet's West's The Nutcracker
Ballet West brings the magic of the holiday season to life with heroic toy soldiers, sword-fighting mice, and a glittering journey to the Kingdom of Sweets.
Dance, Comedy, Choreographers, Music, Composers

Cuesheet: The Adventures of Robin Hood
He robs the rich and gives to the poor. He sneaks around Sherwood Forest with his band of merry men. It’s a tale that has been told a thousand times, but never quite like this!
Theater, Folklore, Comedy

Cuesheet: Mariinsky Ballet: Swan Lake
Russia’s historic Mariinsky Ballet—one of the most influential classical companies for more than two and a half centuries—returns to the Kennedy Center with the romantic masterpiece Swan Lake, in which the forces of evil are no match for true love.
Dance, Comedy, Choreographers, Music, Composers

Cuesheet: Cas Public of Canada: GOLD
Canada’s Cas Public dance ensemble uses everyday sounds and objects to explore the joy, humor, and mischief of childhood—performed to Canadian pianist Glenn Gould’s famous recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
Dance, Comedy, Choreographers, Music, Composers

Article: Cozying up to Così
A guide to Mozart's hilarious romantic comedy
Opera, Music, Theater, Comedy, Composers

Article: For the Love of Comedy
Kids love to joke around, but if your kid is especially hilarious, a career in comedy could be in her future. These four tips will make sure she gets plenty of laughs along the way
Young Artists, Comedy, Family

Grades 9-12 Lesson: Twain: An American Humorist
Students will analyze humor and the American character, developing a definition of “American humor”
Comedy, America, Folklore, Language, Literature

Everyday Arts Challenge: Comic Genius
Knock knock. Who’s there? Make up the rest of the joke.
Comedy

Everyday Arts Challenge: Brow Beat
Look in a mirror. Move your eyebrows around. Using only your brows, can you move them so you look surprised? Angry? What about curious?
Physical Activity, Comedy, Tragedy

Everyday Arts Challenge: Laughing Matters
Laugh out loud. Can you make your laugh sound goofy? How many different goofy laughs can you create?
Comedy

Arts Quotes: Lily Tomlin
"The road to success is always under construction."
America, Comedy, Movies & Movie Stars, Television

Arts Quotes: Mark Twain
"You can't depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus."
America, Comedy, Literature

Arts Quotes: Oscar Wilde
"The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts, but is also the return of art to life."
Europe, Controversial, Literature, Comedy, Playwrights & Plays, Theater

Arts Quotes: Oscar Wilde
"Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory."
Europe, Controversial, Literature, Comedy, Playwrights & Plays, Music

Arts Quotes: Oscar Wilde
"No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did he would cease to be an artist."
Europe, Controversial, Literature, Comedy, Playwrights & Plays

Arts Quotes: Oscar Wilde
"The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it immensely. All art is useless."
Europe, Controversial, Literature, Comedy, Playwrights & Plays

Arts Days: October 05, 1969: Big Top Laughs
Sprung from the delightfully demented minds of British comedy troupe Monty Python, this TV show pushed the boundaries of humor every which way. The men at the heart of the program—including John Cleese and Eric Idle—used a mixture of bizarre animation, silly skits, innuendo, and deadpan British humor to bring a new form of absurdist comedy to the small screen.

The men dressed as women, broke the fourth wall, bopped each other over the head with fish, and stopped at nothing to wring new laughs out of their rabid fans. This “Circus” ran for 45 episodes, going off the air in 1974. But among those who like to imagine a “Ministry of Silly Walks,” as one popular skit did, its popularity has never waned.
Comedy, Television, Popular Culture

Arts Days: October 04, 1895: The Great Stone Face
A star of the silent film era, Buster Keaton delighted audiences with his trademark deadpan expression or “stone face”—which he maintained even as slapstick mayhem filled the screen. At age three, he began working with his parents in vaudeville and honing his talent for being a fearless, agile performer on stage.

He learned techniques to help him endure the pain of the amazing, and sometimes dangerous, athletic comedy stunts for which he also became well-known. Over the course of his career, Keaton made the transition to “talkies,” had his own TV show for a while, and also performed in live theater. His films, including The General, routinely land spots on best-film lists even today.
Comedy, Stunts & Special Effects, Movies & Movie Stars

Arts Days: October 15, 1951: Everybody Loves Lucy!
This classic sitcom made household names out of comedienne Lucille Ball, with her flaming red hair and incredibly funny facial expressions, and real-life husband, singer/bandleader Desi Arnaz. I Love Lucy broke television ground in several ways, including its use of multiple cameras to film in front of a live studio audience and its feature of a then uncommon interracial marriage between lead actors (Arnaz being of Cuban descent, Ball being Scottish).

But in the end, it’s Lucy's crazy schemes, from stomping grapes, to selling vitamins, to working on a candy assembly line, that fans embraced and remember best. And, not only did Lucy and Desi star in the most popular TV show of its day, they were shrewd business people, too. Together they launched Desilu Productions and later Desilu Studios, producing and syndicating their various shows.
Comedy, Television, Popular Culture

Arts Days: September 21, 1912: What’s Up, Chuck?
Here’s a pretty neat line of work: Imagine being the cartoonist who brings characters like Wile E. Coyote and Daffy Duck to life. That was Chuck Jones’ job. During his career, he worked as a cartoonist, screenwriter, and director of animated movies, often “shorts” that appeared before a feature film.

Jones worked on Warner Brothers’ Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, including “What’s Opera, Doc?” In this hilarious animated classic, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd perform in snippets of famous operas by 19th century composer Richard Wagner. Jones also helped turn the Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas into a TV show. Jones’ innovative use of humor and characterization helped elevate animation from amusement to art.
Cartoons, Comics, & Animation, Movies & Movie Stars, Comedy, Popular Culture, Television

Arts Days: September 17, 1983: Make Me a Star Tonight
Searching for tomorrow’s superstar singers and dancers? Before there was American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, there was Star Search. Ordinary contestants sang, danced, and performed comedy skits on national TV, with judges and a studio audience voting for a winner.

Lots of artists who made it big competed on Star Search, including Christina Aguilera and Rosie O’Donnell. Interestingly, few of the actual winners are household names today. The original show ran until 1995. A new version launched in 2002, but lasted for only two years. American Idol, which also began in 2002, pretty much ate Star Search for lunch.
Art Venues, Comedy, Dance, Music, Popular Culture, Television, Young Artists

Arts Days: September 28, 1901: Talent Scout
Hard to believe but for more than three decades, Ed Sullivan's television variety show kept Americans entertained. Sullivan, a former sports reporter and radio announcer, became an emcee to vaudeville revues and charity events. Despite his famously wooden persona and uncomfortable on-camera appearance, Sullivan knew how to choose and showcase talent.

Until 1971, The Ed Sullivan Show provided a staging arena for entertainers of all stripes. Elvis made his hip-shaking debut in 1956; the Beatles’ 1964 appearances were some of television’s highest rated programs. The show was as likely to feature opera performances as it was rock and roll bands, and hosted many black performers, including Pearl Bailey, Diana Ross, and Louis Armstrong.
Art Venues, America, Television, Young Artists, Rock & Roll, Comedy, Dance, Theater, Music