Cuesheet: The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
Christopher Paul Curtis’ Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award–winning book comes to life in a staged concert reading. Told through Kenny’s ever-witty perspective, The Watsons Go to Birmingham captures hilarious family antics alongside poignant observations of Birmingham’s tragic church bombing. Experience the beloved story of a family’s bond and endurance amidst one of the darkest periods in America’s history.
|
Cuesheet: Voyagers: A Dance Among the Planets
A majestic ride awaits a young stargazer who is carried away by the magician Uranus. Join her and fellow voyagers in a journey through the solar system for the young and young at heart. The Kennedy Center and D.C. dance ensemble Company | E and composer Eric Shimelonis share an interplanetary display of modern movement set to Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Through a reimagining of Holst’s soaring suite, Company | E combines live music, dance, and a bit of Einstein to celebrate curiosity, compassion, and the natural world. Experience the distinct character of each planet, from the majestic and jolly Jupiter, to the angry and ominous Mars, to the lively and flighty Mercury.
|
2700 F St.: Tosca
In love and war, what will you stand for? Puccini’s breathtaking work is a tale of political corruption and ill-fated love that amazes and captivates new and longtime opera lovers alike. In 18th-century Rome, the zealous painter Cavaradossi and singer Tosca are deeply in love. When Cavaradossi hides an escaped political prisoner, a tragic conflict unfurls. Caught between contending with the villainous chief of police and staying loyal to her lover, Tosca make take matters into her own hands—but no one is guaranteed to get out alive.
|
Cuesheet: Timbalooloo Live
Explore the thrilling language of instruments! Grammy Award®–winning clarinetist and composer Oran Etkin and his band use games, stories, songs, and movement to teach children rich musical and cultural heritage. Instruments speak through music in this interactive, immersive concert for young audiences. Grammy Award®–winning clarinetist and composer Oran Etkin and his band use games, stories, songs, and movement to teach children rich musical and cultural heritage. Examining sounds from Mozart to Willie Nelson to Herbie Hancock, children will explore how music is as unique and magical as their own imagination.
|
Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Symphonic Storytelling: The Travels of Babar
Come children (and children at heart!) for a concert that mixes the magic of stories, images, and music, including Return to the Land of the Elephants by composer Raphael Mostel—the U.S. premiere of the orchestral version of one of his two multimedia musical voyages based on The Travels of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff.
|
2700 F St.: Star Wars: NSO Open Rehearsal
Experience the classic original film in the Concert Hall! Join Luke, Leia, and Han Solo on their epic journey as the NSO’s performance of John Williams’s Oscar®-winning score takes the music to new heights, from the bustling Cantina scene to the foreboding trumpets echoing Darth Vader’s first appearance. Note that as this is a rehearsal, there may be starting and stopping throughout.
|
2700 F St.: Silent Night
Based on the true story of a wartime ceasefire, Silent Night makes its WNO premiere in the centennial month of World War I’s end. The year is 1914 and the Great War has just been declared, dividing nations and sending millions into battle. As Christmas Eve falls on a battlefield near Belgium, soldiers in French, German, and Scottish trenches begin recalling songs of home, stepping into no-man’s-land for a spontaneous truce. Once sworn enemies, they trade their weapons for merriment and camaraderie—resulting in one miraculous night of peace.
|
2700 F St.: She A Gem
Krystin, Jaleesa, and Amber form a double-dutch team in inner city Philadelphia to compete in their neighborhood pageant. If they win, they’ll receive a special prize: their futures told by Ms. Mary, the local psychic. Will they become a famous singer? A hair dresser? Or maybe a “gem,” a special leader who cares for the neighborhood? Then they meet a pregnant teen from North Philly who can jump double-dutch almost better than any of them. Just as the girls anticipate learning about their futures, they’ll learn something important about her past that affects them all.
|
2700 F St.: San Francisco Ballet
Launching in Spring 2018 in San Francisco, Unbound: A Festival of New Works showcases all new ballets created by 12 of today’s most innovative choreographers, including David Dawson, Alonzo King, Edwaard Liang, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Cathy Marston, Myles Thatcher, Stanton Welch, and Christopher Wheeldon. Favorite pieces from the festival will make their way to the Kennedy Center this fall, celebrating dance without limits and the company’s unique spirit of curiosity, experimentation, and invention.
|
2700 F St.: Ragamala Dance Company
Drawing from the classical Indian dance form Bharatanatyam, the Ragamala Dance Company’s work provides a bridge between ancient and modern cultures. In Written in Water, one of the company’s newest productions, the childhood game Snakes & Ladders—a second-century Indian board game—sets the stage for the emotional journey that unfolds when people search for truth while desperately attempting to avoid human failing. With the Sufi poem “The Conference of Birds” as a framework, rich choreography is paired with original music by Iraqi American jazz artist Amir ElSaffar and Carnatic composer Prema Ramamurthy and performed live by ElSaffar and an ensemble. Projections by Chennai-based cartoonist Keshav and Minneapolis artist Nathan Christopher draw you even further into this mesmerizing world.
|
2700 F St.: The Play That Goes Wrong
What would happen if Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had a Broadway baby? You’d get New York and London’s award-winning smash comedy! Called “the funniest play Broadway has ever seen” (The Huffington Post), this classic murder mystery is chock-full of mishaps and madcap mania. Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), it’s “comic gold” (Variety) sure to bring down the house.
|
Cuesheet: NSO Young People's Concert: Orchestra Look-In: NSO! Inside the Music
The NSO continues in the spirit of a series of Young People’s Concerts made popular by Leonard Bernstein at Carnegie Hall. Michael Butterman conducts this delightful performance that explores all of the pieces that come together to create an orchestra, and demonstrates that it can be accessible to everyone. The concert includes well-known works by Brahms, Copland, and Tchaikovsky, and introduces students to Jessie Montgomery, a living composer keeping the orchestra music alive and vibrant. The NSO along with Conductor Michael Butterman and NSO Assistant Principal 2nd Violinist Marissa Regni are joined onstage by an unexpected guest who is just as ecstatic about the orchestra as they are.
|
Cuesheet: Opera Look-In: La traviata
At this Look-In, students hear amazing performances; see demonstrations of behind-the-scenes technology, lighting, and stagecraft; and get a glimpse into the many careers available in stage performance, both onstage and behind the curtains.
|
2700 F St.: National Symphony Orchestra Open Rehearsal
with Lionel Bringuier (conductor) & Gil Shaham (violin)
|
2700 F St.: The Me I Want To Sing
Returning since its powerful 2017 premiere on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, this riveting two-performer show blends opera legends Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price’s most memorable performances—including opera, art songs, and more—with narrative spoken word. Created and written by Tom Minter and originally commissioned by Washington National Opera Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, the work chronicles some of the challenges these two women faced in their careers as African American singers, and highlights ongoing issues of race in America.
|
2700 F St.: Mariinsky Ballet: Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire is a captivating story of bold pirates, passionate maidens, shocking betrayal, and a dramatic shipwreck rescue. Beloved for its breathtaking choreography, virtuosic dancing, and spectacular scenery and costumes, the classic ballet is an unmissable, swashbuckling adventure. Choreographer Marius Petipa revived the ballet for the Mariinsky more than a century ago, and the company continues to perform it with exhilarating freshness and tradition.
|
2700 F St.: La Traviata: WNO Open Rehearsal
Including everything from the famous brindisi drinking song to heartbreaking arias, La traviata is one of the most beloved operas ever written. Violetta, a courtesan, is the life of every party. But she holds a devastating secret: she is sick and dying. When she meets the affluent Alfredo, happily-ever-after seems within reach— until his father condemns Violetta’s low social status. Now she must make an impossible choice before death claims her. This everlasting story of love and sacrifice captures Violetta’s unforgettable plight and illuminates tensions of social class that ring just as true today.
|
2700 F St.: Long Way Down
Sixty seconds. Seven floors. One elevator. Fifteen-year old Will’s brother has just been shot, and Will is ready to follow “The Rules”: 1) “No Crying.” 2) “No Snitching.” 3) “Get Revenge.” But on the ride down, with his brother’s gun in his pocket, his plan is interrupted by a few visitors. Told entirely in free-form poetry, Long Way Down captures the potent minute Will contemplates retaliation. As mysterious guests appear at each floor, Will realizes there might be a bigger story to be told. He knows who he’s after. Or does he?
|
Cuesheet: WNO Open Rehearsal: The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me
Based on the award-winning children’s book by Jeanette Winterson, this heartwarming production returns with whimsical costumes, music from a Tony®-award winning composer, and a talented cast featuring the Domingo- Cafritz Young Artists and the WNO Children’s Chorus.
|
Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Let's Go To The Moon!
As the 50th anniversary of the moon landing draws near, join the NSO for a fun-filled concert of interstellar proportions! Tap into your imagination and be transported from the Concert Hall to outer space with music from Star Trek and a new NSO Commission from Oscar®-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Star Trek trilogy, Star Wars: Rogue One, numerous Pixar films), Also sprach Zarathustra (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), and more.
|
2700 F St.: Imani Winds: Performance/Demonstration
Formed in 1997, Imani Winds is a classical woodwind ensemble known for their high-energy performances and musical versatility. They focus on representing composers and cultures of diverse musical backgrounds in their repertoire. Get to know them and their unique style as they perform and explore the building blocks of music.
|
Cuesheet: Christylez Bacon: The Human Beatbox
Christylez Bacon, Grammy-nominated Progressive Hip-Hop artist combines rhyming, storytelling, and interactive call and response choruses with diverse instrumentation to deliver a message of cultural acceptance & unification blending traditional elements of musical styles from jazz to hip-hop.
|
Cuesheet: How to Catch a Star
Best-selling author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers' beloved children’s book about chasing your dreams comes to vivid life in a production created and directed by Jared Mezzocchi. Featuring colorful projections and choreographed movement, How to Catch a Star is a whimsical tale of discovery, friendship, and delightful surprises.
|
Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Halloween Spooktacular
An annual tradition! The Concert Hall transforms into a ghostly sight when the NSO performs new and old classics to celebrate Halloween, which this year also marks the Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) with our ghoulishly attired musicians. Arrive early for trick-or-treating and a special Haunted Hall Musical Instrument “Petting Zoo.” Age 5+
|
2700 F St.: Faust
The famous story by Goethe focuses on the aging Faust, who makes a pact with Mephistopheles. Exchanging his soul restores his youth and helps him woo Marguerite, but his troubles are far from over. Along the seductive path to riches and power, Faust realizes his salvation is tragically bound to others, including those he loves most. WNO’s production of this tale of redemption and damnation features a storybook aesthetic and a phenomenal cast.
|
2700 F St.: Eugene Onegin
Based on Alexander Pushkin’s sweeping novel, Eugene Onegin is a provocative tale of rejection and regret, exploring a society divided between rural austerity and aristocratic extravagance. Young Tatiana confesses her devotion to the worldly Onegin, but his cold refusal devastates her. Years later, when Tatiana matures, it is Onegin who begs for her love. Will Tatiana embrace the man she once longed for? Or will Onegin forever be the victim of his own bitter decision? This production, originally created for The Metropolitan Opera, is complete with lush period costumes, majestic ballroom scenes, and a deadly duel.
|
2700 F St.: Dancing Earth Indigenous Contemporary Dance Creations
Dancing Earth Indigenous Contemporary Dance Creations, with Founding Director, Choreographer, and Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow, Rulan Tangen, present an exciting, interactive, “behind the scenes” peek at their performance SEEDS: RE GENERATION. Students will get to meet the intertribal Indigenous dancers whose performance art reflects the cultural heritage of Native America and indigenous global cultures. Each artist will lead different activities that may include movement, song, learning a few words in Apache and Dine languages, visual art, or possible surprise activities with seeds! Through these real life, inviting, interactivities, our artists counter stereotypes and under-represented histories, while inspiring students to unearth connections between current socio-environmental landscapes and their own origins, histories, varied cultural backgrounds, languages, homelands, foods, and “seeds” of hope, resilience, and solidarity.
|
2700 F St.: Chanticleer: Performance/Demonstration
Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by the New Yorker, the San Francisco based Grammy® award-winning ensemble Chanticleer is known for its seamless blend of twelve male voices ranging from soprano to bass. Known as “an orchestra of voices,” the group excels in original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, and a strong commitment to contemporary compositions. The winner of the 2010 Chorus America Education Outreach Award, Chanticleer’s education programs engage over 5,000 young people annually. At the Kennedy Center, students have the opportunity to engage with the group through a lecture concert.
|
2700 F St.: Cartography
Inflatable rafts on the Mediterranean. Dark holds of cargo trucks. Family photos wrapped carefully in a backpack that crosses border checkpoints. Cartography explores how the world is alive with movement and migration. Inspired by the artists’ creative work with young refugees from around the world, Cartography asks what part we play in the lives of youth who set out into the unsure waters of their future. From the effects of climate change to war and poverty, this powerful story examines the forces that shape where we have come from, how we have moved, and where we are going.
|
2700 F St.: Camille Thurman: The Origin of the Blues
What is the Blues? Saxophonist, vocalist, and composer Camille Thurman and her quartet present a fun session exploring the genre. Students can learn about the blues in terms of history and geography, the influence of society and culture, and presence in today’s music. Students will also get to hear Camille Thurman, whose vocal abilities have been compared to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Betty Carter, and who has been equally lauded for her lush, rich, and warm sound on the tenor saxophone.
|
Cuesheet: Break It Down!
Watch, listen, and lend a helping hand as the dynamic duo of Paul Fadoul on marimba and Zara Lawler on flute build music from the ground up. This energetic program delights in dissecting parts of music and musical instruments. Children will be amazed by the way instruments from the wind and percussion families—plus some interesting “outsiders”—are taken apart and put back together again.
|
Cuesheet: Banda Magda
This award-winning band combines South American rhythms with jazz improvisation, sung in six languages for a globetrotting adventure. Banda Magda returns with a lively performance showcasing its new album Tigre, featuring Uruguayan candombe to Greek folklore to Brazilian samba beats. With plenty of audience participation and irresistible rhythms led by accordionist and composer Magda Giannikou, Banda Magda will get everyone moving.
|
2700 F St.: Ballet West: The Nutcracker
No company holds a more storied relationship with The Nutcracker than Ballet West, which has kept the ballet in its repertoire since performing the first complete American version more than 70 years ago. Now, Ballet West returns to perform the D.C. premiere of its whimsical new production of The Nutcracker, which was unveiled in Salt Lake City last year. Pairing reimagined designs with beloved choreography, the opulent production delivers treasured moments and surprising new delights. Featuring grand sets and fantastical costumes alongside Tchaikovsky’s cherished score, this Nutcracker is a glittering, larger-than-life adventure.
|
2700 F St.: Anastasia
Inspired by the beloved films, the romantic and adventure-filled new musical Anastasia is on a journey to Washington at last! From the Tony Award®–winning creators of the Broadway classic Ragtime, this dazzling show transports us from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Anastasia features a book by celebrated playwright Terrence McNally, a lush new score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (also the acclaimed composer/lyricist team for the Kennedy Center production of Little Dancer), and direction by Tony Award® winner Darko Tresnjak.
|
Cuesheet: American Revolution, Produced by Theater Unspeakable from Chicago, IL
Chicago’s award-winning Theater Unspeakable returns to take on the challenge, telling a big story on an impossibly tiny stage! Using only 7 actors and their bodies, the show recreates the entire American fight for independence in 50 minutes. Combining tongue-in-cheek humor with a dash of derring-do, American Revolution displays the company’s signature imaginative physical theater.
|
2700 F St.: American Ballet Theatre: Harlequinade
ABT’s star-studded roster of dancers, combined with the dynamic vision of Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, has garnered cristical acclaim for the company across global audiences. The D.C. premiere of Ratmansky’s retelling of Marius Petipa’s 19th-century comic ballet follows its New York world premiere in summer 2018. He brings the “lost” classic to life with a bold new staging co-produced with Australian Ballet, inspired by Petipa’s archival notes and set to original music by Riccardo Drigo. In this two-act ballet, Harlequin fights for his true love, Columbine. Playful costumes and vivid sets create a charming tribute to the Italian commedia dell’arte style, known for its slapstick humor and rollicking characters.
|
2700 F St.: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater shares “Ailey Magic” with students, giving insight into the history of the company and its founder Alvin Ailey. The company performs selections from its varied and inspiring repertoire, including their signature work, Revelations.
|
