Kennedy Center: Last News

keep fooling them, because I love being in musicals so much. It’s always delightful to do a musical, even though it’s so much work and I might not survive it. It’s just so infectious.

Born in Harlem on March 1, 1927, he was raised in Jamaica before returning to the Big Apple only to drop out of high school and enlist in the US Navy. Following his two-year stint, he was honorably discharged and went back to Manhattan.It wasn’t until later that his love for the arts shone through, and his frequent trips to a Harlem community theater enthralled him.

Ferry Tales, a theatrical production featuring stories and short tales about Potomac life performed at site-specific locations by actors Colie Aziza, Vanessa Gilbert, and Serena Rasoul and created and directed by Caitlin Nasema Cassidy (4/7-8, The REACH; 4/13, Georgetown Canal Boat; 4/14, various on-site locations; 4/15, The REACH).The Potomac will also factor into paintings created by guest artists Yasmine Iskander, Daniela Godoy, and Raiz Campos on site at Kennedy Center grounds during various times this weekend and next as part of “Potomac River Plein Air Outdoor Painting” (4/8-4/9, 4/15-16, various on-site locations).Other notable, date-specific programming at RiverRun include:A Moonlit Night on the Spring River, a unique concert, curated and led by composer/conductor Huang Ruo, celebrating the enchanting and diverse landscapes and rivers of China and featuring ancient and new music, including pieces for piano, violin, cello, pipa, and voice (4/12, Terrace Theater).Hanging by a Thread: Life on the Nile, a presentation by Ahdaf Soueif, part of the “Talking Rivers, Talking Water” series, about the Nile River’s role in the lives of everyday Egyptians and how that relationship has changed over the past 7,000 years (4/13, Justice Forum).Terje Isungset Ice Quartet, a concert by the percussionist-led Norwegian quartet, internationally known as the pioneer of ice music, using musical instruments all made out of blocks of natural ice harvested from lakes and rivers in Norway — from a harp to a horn to a drum set (4/14-15, Terrace).Debbie Allen’s Red Birds in “What About Us?”, the legendary dancer leads her company of young dancers, ages 8 to 18 and trained in classical ballet, jazz, hip-hop, aerial arts, and acting, for a

The Nutcracker to the Kennedy Center in December. But aside from that famed production, the Joffrey hasn’t performed a full-week engagement at the Kennedy Center in more than 25 years.The company makes a triumphant return with Anna Karenina, a full-length story ballet adapted and told through a contemporary lens to explore the complex politics of family, religion, morality, and gender.A co-production with The Australian Ballet, Anna Karenina is visionary Ukrainian-born choreographer Yuri Possokhov’s take on Leo Tolstoy’s 19th-century epic tragedy of desire and passion focused on a married aristocrat who finds herself caught in a life-changing affair with grave consequences.The ballet features music by Russian composer Ilya Demutsky, which will be performed live at the Kennedy Center by the venue’s Opera House Orchestra.

202-265-0930www.930.comMcLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. McLean, Va. 703-790-0123www.mcleancenter.org11810 Grand Park Ave.

Hurricane Diane at Avant Bard, a staging of Tony Kushner’s extraordinary Angels in America, Part 1 at Arena, featuring Ed Gero as Roy Cohn in a role that seems custom-made for the powerhouse actor, and a production of 1776 at the Kennedy Center that includes a cast replete with performers who identify as female, non-binary, and trans. Founding fathers, indeed!The sad news, however, is that after 29 years, Rep Stage is shutting its doors. The theater, on the campus of Howard Community College in Maryland, is being closed by the university.

202-265-0930www.930.com800 Key Highway Baltimore, md. 410-244-1900www.avam.orgMcLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. McLean, Va.

The Sleeping Beauty, and the Joffrey reimagines Tolstoy’s tale of all-consuming desire in a new ballet based on Anna Karenina, contemporary companies Sean Dorsey Dance and Khecari present radical, queer-inclusive visions of connection. Companies bravely explore disconnection, too, in Global Oasis by Nomad Dancers and Raqs el Hob, and Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company’s gripping El Muro/The Wall, just to name two.And everywhere you look, from Step Afrika! at Strathmore, to the Social Tango Project at Kennedy Center, and Indigenous Enterprise at GMU Concert Hall, artists from diverse cultures share the universal message that dance brings people together like nothing else can.1333 H St. NE 202-399-7993www.atlasarts.orgFredgren Studio Theatre 3443 Carlin Springs Rd.

Adam Sandler has not always been the biggest fan of Jennifer Aniston's past romances. During Tuesday night's episode of "The Tonight Show," Aniston spoke to Jimmy Fallon about her decades long friendship with Sandler. "[We've been friends for] over 30 years.

Into the Woods is a pleasure to behold. The way in which Milky White responds — with resounding sadness at being taken to market by Jack (of Beanstalk fame), or with sheer exuberance, giddily shaking its head side to side and literally smiling during the ensemble’s reprisal of the title song, is the kind of thing that makes theater undeniably magical.The simplicity of the arrangement, with Kanagawa in full, unconcealed view, literally at one with the object, only solidifies the strength of the illusion.“This was my first puppet,” says Kanagawa, whose credits typically veer toward the more traditional side of musical theater (Jesus Christ Superstar, Falsettos), thanks to a silvery tenor that possesses a sturdy, to-the-rafters belt when needed.“Milky White is such a unique puppet that I was able to go in without any preconceived notions of how a puppet was supposed to be operated,” he continues.

Cotton: The Soft Dangerous Beauty of the Past.The series of 35 large-scale photographs was presented as an exhibition in 2018 at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.Dowell’s haunting and often surreal images situate cotton both in the past and in the present of the African-American experience, and evoke the journey from rural Southern fields to the North, specifically the concrete canyons of New York City.Five years later, Dowell’s photography has inspired a new musical work by rising classical composer Damien Geter, one that was imagined, curated, and commissioned by Philadelphia’s Lyric Fest recital series to commemorate its 20th anniversary.Cotton is an intensely moving song cycle by the openly gay, Black composer that responds to Dowell’s imagery but also to original lyrics from eight luminary poets, “nationally renowned voices of the 21st century” also commissioned by Lyric Fest for Cotton: Charlotte Blake Alston, Nikki Giovanni, Afaa Michael Weaver, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Lauren Alleyne, Alora Young, Glenis Redmond, and Trapeta Mayson.Three days after its world premiere later this month in Philadelphia, Washington Performing Arts presents the D.C. premiere of Cotton at the Kennedy Center as the organization’s inaugural Ruth Bader Ginsburg Memorial Recital.Legendary mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, a favorite artist of the late Supreme Court Justice who performed at her funeral, will be joined by up-and-coming baritone Justin Austin and accompanied by pianist and Lyric Fest director Laura Ward, for a multimedia performance enhanced with projections of Dowell’s images, plus video readings from the commissioned poets reading their works during the performance.One night only.

CNN has obtained the exclusive rights to show the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, this year honoring Adam Sandler.

Guys and Dolls depicts life and love as a wild, scintillating game of chance.The quintessential Golden Age-era musical was built around Loesser’s immortal song standards, including “Adelaide’s Lament,” “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat,” and “Luck Be a Lady.”The show was last seen on Broadway a dozen years ago, with a revival that was criticized for being somewhat dull and listless. It ultimately proved to be short-lived.More recently, the show became a direct pandemic casualty: Ford’s Theatre was forced to cancel all performances of its planned production a few days before previews were to start in mid-March of 2020.Fortunately, the Kennedy Center is now preparing its own staging of the show, as the opening production in the new season of Broadway Center Stage, the organization’s popular series of semi-staged, actor-centered productions.

Editor’s Note: This column has been modified slightly from the magazine edition.McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. McLean, Va. 703-790-0123www.aldentheatre.orgwww.theamericanpops.org410-783-8000 www.bsomusic.org1635 Trap Road Vienna, Va.

Metro Weekly cover star Dana Tai Soon Burgess.In October, Burgess and his DTSBDC artists bring sculpture and dance together with Surroundings: A Tribute to Maya Lin, premiering at the National Portrait Gallery, while the Kennedy Center hosts September’s annual ultimate dance get-together, National Dance Day.District audiences enjoy a wealth of options for just the right Nutcracker to tickle their fancy, and a few lucky chances to catch super troupes like Mark Morris Dance Group, American Ballet Theatre, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.But blink and you might miss singular treats like beloved twister-tumblers MOMIX, and Farruquito, the flamenco superstar from Seville, stomping through on a mini-tour that’s sure to leave fans swooning.Editor’s Note: This column has been modified slightly from the magazine edition.1333 H St. NE 202-399-7993www.atlasarts.org3443 Carlin Springs Rd. Falls Church, Va.

Tempest for the ages.We’re excited for almost every season offering, but the one thing that fills us with an embarrassment of joy? The return of the Broadway Center Stage series to the Kennedy Center. Prior to the pandemic, the series routinely blew the roof off the national arts center with its extraordinary staged concerts that, in some cases, felt Broadway-ready.Other highlights of the 2022-2023 season include the returns of Les Miserables, Chicago, Wicked and — why not? — Cats; an Olney Kinky Boots; a Bountiful moment with Nancy Robinette at Ford’s; the return of Michael Urie and husband Ryan Spahn to the (boldly, beautifully rebranded) Shakespeare Theatre; Arena Stage tackling Tony Kushner’s gay masterpiece Angels in America; and the long-anticipated “Till Trilogy” at Mosaic. Buy stock in Kleenex now.1524 Spring Hill Rd.

Carmen from this past spring.The opera will screen for free to all those amassed on the field, this year held in the state-of-the-art home stadium of Major League Soccer’s D.C. United.The 17th annual Opera on the Field focuses on Georges Bizet’s beloved, blockbuster tragedy, second only to Verdi’s La Traviata in a recent ranking of the world’s most performed operas.It comes to life with some of opera’s biggest stars, including Isabel Leonard, Vanessa Vasquez, Ryan Speedo Green, and Michael Fabiano.The production was a Washington National Opera debut for the openly gay Fabiano, one of opera’s most in-demand tenors.Fabiano plays Don José, the humble soldier who spurns everything and everyone else after becoming infatuated with the titular seductress, played by fellow opera superstar Leonard.“In light of the way the world is right now, Carmen could seem taboo for some people and some sensibilities, as a man basically violently murders a woman at the end of the opera,” Fabiano told Metro Weekly. “But we still today face huge problems with violence against women in our society, where men stalk women until they’re murdered.

Dear Evan Hansen entered a world pre-too many things to mention, at a moment of unimaginable innocence compared to the here and now.The musical, with a book by Steven Levenson, and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, had its world premiere at D.C.’s Arena Stage in 2015 and enjoyed a moment practically to itself at the forefront of a nuanced conversation about teens and depression, guns, suicide, and the pervasive influence of social media.The lore is long surrounding Michael Greif’s original production — perhaps most fervently among those who missed it — and the early revelation of seeing Ben Platt perform the title role.That was before Pasek and Paul had cemented their golden rep as the Oscar-winning lyricists of La La Land‘s “City of Stars,” and composers of original songs like “This Is Me” for Hugh Jackman’s blockbuster hit The Greatest Showman.That was before director Greif took Evan Hansen to Broadway and the show earned six Tonys, including Best Musical and Best Actor for Platt.Eras and movements have come and gone since the show helped frame new ways of considering a host of hot-button issues — chiefly teenage mental health — and before shocking real-world events, from Parkland to presidential politics, kept reshaping the conversation at a grueling and violent pace.Dear Evan Hansen now comes back around for a second time with the touring production of Greif’s Broadway staging, three years after its first stop at the Kennedy Center.It long ago shed its original cachet as the edgiest pop culture phenom around about disaffected teens. In fact, years of audience-pleasing commercial success might have smoothed some of the show’s formerly sharp edges.

George Clooney, “The Empress of Soul” Gladys Knight, “The Queen of Christian Pop” Amy Grant, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and songwriter Tania León, and legendary rock group and humanitarians U2 -- which is comprised of members Bono, The Edge Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr -- will all be honored during this year’s ceremony in Washington, D.C. “Growing up in a small town in Kentucky I could never have imagined that someday I’d be the one sitting in the balcony at the Kennedy Center Honors,” 61-year-old Clooney said in a statement to the Kennedy Center. «To be mentioned in the same breath with the rest of these incredible artists is an honor.

“Sesame Street” was honored. The Eagles were honored in 2016 and Led Zeppelin in 2012.Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said in an interview that her group has “worked really hard to think about ‘Are we including all of the performing arts?’” as it hands out its awards. She singled out Grant’s music in particular as a different genre being represented in the honors this year.“We’ve had gospel before.

George Clooney, Gladys Knight, U2, Amy Grant and Tania León will receive Kennedy Center Honors at the next ceremony, typically held the first weekend of December.