Bethesda Theater Hosts Lisa Ann Walter This Sunday

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My girlfriend Talia steers our TV binge watching, and recently recommended Abbot Elementary (on ABC.) It didn't take long to win us over. My two favorite players on the show are Janelle James and Lisa Ann Walter. The latter happens to be local (as in Silver Spring, MD and Catholic University (Go Cardinals!)) She also just happens to be headlining this Sunday (Sept. 17) night at our favorite Bethesda Theater.

Contest: Get Free Passes to See Adam Ferrara in Concert

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Living in the DMV is expensive, so any chance to do something for F-R-E-E is A-OK in our book. Even better, when it's a night of comedy at the Bethesda Theater (formerly Bethesda Jazz & Blues.) This Friday night to be exact, date night (September 1st.) Follow the instructions below to get a pair of F-R-E-E tickets to see comedian Adam Ferrara (Nurse Jackie, Rescue Me) this Friday night. Doors open at 6:30 PM, and the show starts at 8:30. Please note: There's a $20 drinks/food minimum (per person) but the food's terrific, and their $11 mimosas are to die for.

Capital Fringe Festival Starts This Week July 14-17 & 21-24 in Georgetown DC

From our friends at Capital Fringe...

Capital Fringe Festival Starts This Week July 14-17 & 21-24 in Georgetown DC

The Fringe Festival is back! Fringe has partnered with the Georgetown BID, Jamestown LP, and Citizen M to host a culturally valued event in the Georgetown neighborhood that is accessible, fun, and delivers attainable space and unjuried earning opportunities for performing artists. Tickets for the Capital Fringe Festival are on sale and are $15 for each performance!

Capital Fringe Festival Returns July 14-17 & 21-24 in Georgetown DC

From our friends at Capital Fringe...

Capital Fringe Festival Returns July 14-17 & 21-24 in Georgetown DC

Eight Days of Performances, 30 Theatre Productions and 140 Individual performances

The Capital Fringe Festival is returning to one of DC's most historic neighborhoods after two years. You will find Fringe performances at Georgetown Park, a dynamic retail environment in the heart of Georgetown. Georgetown Park underwent an $80 million redevelopment from an inward-facing enclosed mall into an outward-facing collection of premier retailers and home to the largest parking garage in Georgetown with 668 spaces.

Contest: Win a Pair of Passes to John Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons

We're giving away a pair of tickets to see John Leguizamo's Latin History for Morons at the National Theatre on Thursday, November 21st at 7:30 PM. All you have to do (to win) is fill out the form below before Monday, November 18th at 11:59 PM, and we'll select one lucky winner to attend the show. Said winner will be notified by e-mail, and can collect their tickets at Will Call. Good luck!

Casting Announcement: US premiere of White Pearl, Anchuli Felicia King at Studio Theatre

Casting Set for Studio Theatre's U.S. Premiere of Dark Corporate Comedy White Pearl by Ascendent Playwright Anchuli Felicia King

In her U.S. premiere, rising Thai-Australian playwright Anchuli Felicia King takes a scathing look at the ugliness of the beauty industry in White Pearl, beginning November 6. 2019 at Studio Theatre and directed by Desdemona Chiang. The draft ad for a new skin-whitening cream from Clearday, a fast-growing cosmetics startup based in Singapore, leaks on YouTube, amassing views and scorn that send the company’s all-female executive team into a frenzy as they try to contain the story before it hits the US market. Scapegoats are named, cover-ups planned, press statements written, crisis meetings convened, and alliances forged as the six women try to make this nightmare disappear. With swagger and dark humor, White Pearl interrogates globalism, millennial corporate culture, and whiteness as beauty’s gold standard.

New Shows at City Winery

Rhett Miller visits City Winery Washington DC, October 20th

From our friends at City Winery Washington DC...

New Shows Announced at City Winery Washington DC

Ivy City winery adds diverse acts to lineup

City Winery Washington DC (1350 Okie Street, NE) has added several new shows to the Concert Venue and Wine Garden slated for the fall and winter. Newly added shows include Soul, R&B, Folk, Go-go, Americana, Country, and Comedy acts.

AMP: Venezuelan Music, Comedy and Science All on Stage at AMP This November

Petty Coat Junction visits AMP, November 15th

From our friends at AMP by Strathmore...

November 2019 Concerts at AMP

Highlights include... Music: Venezuelan singer Nella, Arturo O’Farrill, and the introduction of Strathmore’s 2020 Artists in Residence in a communal jam with fellow artists and their mentors

Comedy: Story District’s Horror Show and former Late Night with Stephen Colbert writer and rising star Emmy Blotnick

Health: Strathmore’s deep dive into arts and health with Arts and the Brain Series

Fall is in full swing at AMP by Strathmore, celebrated by a plethora of concerts as diverse as the colors of the leaves starting to fall from the trees. Kicking off the month on the heels of Halloween, Story District’s Horror Show features a line-up of eight hilarious and heartfelt true stories about situations that went oh-so-very wrong (November 1.) Venezuelan songstress Nella brings her blend of folk, contemporary Latin, and soulful Andalusian sound to the AMP stage for her first U.S. tour (November 3.) Strathmore’s Arts and the Brain Series continues, engaging teachers, scholars, and artists working at the intersection of arts and health to present strategies for harnessing the arts to strengthen vitality (November 5 & 19.) After a successful show at the Music Center in spring 2018,  GRAMMY-winning Latin jazz pianist and composer Arturo O’Farrill comes to AMP to present his interpretations of Latin jazz greats in a more intimate setting, interspersed with modern jazz arrangements (November 7) before he heads back to  the  Music Center at Strathmore for his collaboration with choreographer Ronald K. Brown (November 8.) The members of Petty Coat Junction pay tribute to the legacy of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers as they perform hits from their timeless catalog (November 15.) Roots powerhouse duo The Small Glories, featuring former member of The Wailin’ Jennys Cara Luft, bring their Canadian Prairie folk songs of love, loss, and environment to the AMP stage, delivering their signature sound through soaring vocals backed by stomping feet, clawhammer banjo, guitar, and harmonica. Members of Strathmore’s Artist in Residence Class of 2020 take to the stage for Fresh Air, a communal jam and cross-genre collaboration dedicated to showcasing each one of these up-and-coming DMV musicians (November 20.) Self-deprecating, incisive, and charming, rising star Emmy Blotnick, known for her work as a writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, brings her comedic talents to AMP (November 22.) The BSO Music Box concert series continues, offering young, budding music lovers the chance to develop musicality, creativity, coordination, and literacy through highly engaging and interactive concerts with an ensemble of BSO musicians.

Strathmore Announces November Performances

Wanda Sykes returns to Strathmore, November 3rd

From our friends at Strathmore...

November Performances in the Music Center at Strathmore

Culinary demigod Ina Garten giving you all the “good vanilla” and a peek at her new cookbook;
comedian Wanda Sykes; pop hits with a vintage twist from Postmodern Jukebox;
“Queen of Ranchera Music” Aida Cuevas; stunts from The New Chinese Acrobats;
NBC’s The Sing-Off winners Home Free kick off the holidays with A Country Christmas

November in the Music Center begins, appropriately enough, with culinary goddess Ina Garten, whetting palates in anticipation of Thanksgiving with tips from her new book Cook Like a Pro, audience Q&A, and stories about her TV show, the Hamptons, and, lest we forget, Jeffrey. Wanda Sykes shares laugh-out-loud stories with the wit, incisive commentary, and delivery that has fueled her popular comedy specials and characters on Blackish, Snatched, and Bad Moms. Pop hits get a retro twist from viral sensation-turned-touring juggernaut Postmodern Jukebox, while Mexican singer Aida Cuevas pays tribute to confidant, mariachi icon Juan Gabriel. The New Chinese Acrobats dazzle with incredible feats of physicality and winners of NBC’s The Sing-Off, Home Free, jump headfirst into the holidays with A Country Christmas.

AMP Announces October Concerts

Raul Midón visits AMP, October 12th

From our friends at AMP by Strathmore...

October 2018 Concerts at AMP

AMP in October - Friends! musical parody, Netflix alum Myq Kaplan, guitarist Raul Midón & more

A fall chill might be sweeping into the air (Right? It will be cool by then... right?!), but the lively, nostalgic concerts at AMP will help keep seasonal blues away. DC’s Julia Nixon celebrates the classic songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, backed by The Dave Ylvisaker Eleven. Grammy-nominated guitarist Raul Midón seamlessly blends flamenco and jazz in an impressive show of virtuosic ability. William “Smooth” Wardlaw remembers Luther Vandross, bringing his idol’s hits to life in the tribute Luther Re-Lives with uncannily familiar appearance, laugh, and vocals. Anyone who ran out to get “The Rachel” haircut won’t want to miss the uncensored, fast-paced, music-filled show Friends! The Musical Parody, reliving favorite moments from the hit TV show. Last Comic Standing finalist Myq Kaplan brings an idiosyncratic questioning of the world to his standup, jumping from the odd spelling of his name to the infinite expanse of space to pasta, in one breath - and the formula works, having landed Kaplan his own Netflix and Comedy Central Presents specials. The Four Bitchin’ Babes round out the month, celebrating the best of babes, boys, and Botox with their whimsical songs and unbridled comedic commentary on everyday life from a female perspective.

Comedian Kathy Griffin Visits DAR Constitution Hall, September 8th

From our friends at The Wilbur...

Kathy Griffin Is Taking Her "Laugh Your Head Off" Tour to Washington, DC

She speaks! After a year of national scandal and following a sold-out run of stand-up shows and rave reviews around the globe, Kathy Griffin is returning with the much-anticipated North American continuation of her  “Laugh Your Head Off” World Tour to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Armed with the story of the now infamous and controversial photo (yes... that photo), the fiery redheaded, award-winning, American comedian is bringing the story of the photo heard ‘round the world and the fallout that followed, along with breaking down everything in the pop-culture landscape from Trump to the Kardashians. Griffin tells all in this more than 2-hour no-holds-barred show in the raw, honest, and engaging way fans have always loved about her.

Strathmore Announces October Performances

Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood visit Strathmore, October 5th

From our friends at Strathmore...

October Performances in the Music Center at Strathmore

Masters of improv from Whose Line is it Anyway?, jazz pioneer Pat Metheny, insightful dialogue with authors Eve Ensler and Anne Lamott, composer Goran Bregović distills influences of Christianity, Islam, Judaism on Balkan music

Everyone needs a laugh after the official end of summer and Strathmore is ready to deliver, beginning its October Music Center programming with comedians Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood of Whose Line Is It Anyway? in Scared Scriptless, an off-the-cuff, interactive improv show. Jazz icon and 20-time Grammy winner Pat Metheny performs with longtime drummer Antonio Sanchez, Malaysian-Australian bassist Linda May Han Oh, and British pianist Gwilym Simcock. Enlightened authors, trailblazers, and cultural luminaries Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) and Anne Lamott (Hallelujah Anyway, Rediscovering Mercy) have a candid dialogue about their writing, personal experiences, and beliefs where no topic is off limits. Balkan composer Goran Bregović presents an homage to his homeland in the new orchestral work, Three Letters from Sarajevo, exploring the influences of the region’s three coexisting religions - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - on its culture and violin performance styles, with violin soloists Mirjana Neskovic (Serbia), Gershon Leizerson (Israel), and Zied Zouari (Tunisia.)

AMP Announces September Concerts

Cowboy Mouth visits AMP, September 30th

From our friends at AMP by Strathmore...

September 2018 Concerts at AMP

AMP in September: jazzman Charlie Sepulveda; singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff; Cowboy Mouth & more

Summer might be drawing to a close, but the good times continue to roll at AMP with lively, soulful performances. World-class Latin jazz performer Charlie Sepulveda blends the influences of mentors Eddie Palmieri, Dizzy Gillespie, and Wynton Marsalis with his band, The Turnaround. Karla Bonoff, who has written songs for Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt, proves she is as adept with a mic as she is with a pen as she takes the stage to peruse her singer-songwriter catalog. Washington, DC’s Let it Flow combines jazz, neo-soul, and modern hip hop in a captivating take on contemporary R&B. A decided break from the month's chill vibes, Cowboy Mouth shakes things up with their distinct New Orleans roots-rock sound. Comedians Bengt Washburn and Robert Baril hilariously take on the education system, children, and other popular issues of the day. Brooklyn-based Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights celebrate subjects such as equality and healthy eating in their carefree ballads in one of AMP’s family-friendly Kids Pajama Jam early concerts.

Just Announced! Comic Icon Weird Al Yankovic at Strathmore

"Weird Al" Yankovic visits Strathmore, March 20, 2018

From our friends at Strathmore...

Strathmore Presents "Weird Al" Yankovic

The ridiculously self-indulgent, ill-advised vanity tour

Legendary comedian, parody wizard, and accordion ambassador “Weird Al” Yankovic will make his debut in the Music Center at Strathmore as part of his national Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at 8 PM. After his Mandatory World Tour - 200 dates at massive venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and Radio City Music Hall - the comic icon wanted to break from the high-octane theatrics he’s known for, opting for a more relaxed show that highlights his band of three decades and the music they’ve loved creating together. “A little musical palate cleanser,” in his words. Drawing from a catalogue of 14 studio albums, Yankovic promises to deliver a different set list every night that will feature the deep cuts and obscure tracks that have so endeared his fans. Opening the show is Yankovic’s longtime friend, Emo Philips. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

Comedian Margaret Cho to Perform at GW to Benefit Program on LGBT Health Policy and Practice

Margaret Cho visits Lisner Auditorium, July 13th

From our friends at George Washington University...

Event Will Serve as Fundraiser for GW’s Public Health Program on LGBT Issues

Margaret Cho, the stand-up comedian and actress, will perform at a benefit show for the George Washington University’s LGBT Health Policy & Practice Program.

Tony Perkins and Gary Stein Put Their Comedy on Display at the DC Improv

Tony Perkins and Gary Stein (r) visit DC Improv, April 29th

From our friends at DC Improv...

Comedic Duo Is Taping an Episode of Their Podcast "The Tony Perkins Show Featuring Gary Stein" Before a Live Audience

The comedic duo of Tony Perkins and Gary Stein are treating listeners to a live recording of their popular podcast on Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 PM at the DC Improv. Tony and Gary will be joined onstage by special guests, comedian Rob Maher and TV personality and blogger Sarah Fraser. This is the comedy team’s third appearance at the DC Improv. Their two previous shows were sell-outs.

Whoopi Goldberg Comes to Strathmore, May 27th

Whoopi Goldberg visits Strathmore, May 27th

From our friends at Strathmore...

Strathmore Presents Whoopi Goldberg

EGOT icon, stage and screen star, author in stand-up comedy act, unscripted audience Q&A

Never afraid to speak her mind, pop culture icon Whoopi Goldberg shares her musings on life and unique observations on current events, coupled with an unscripted audience Q&A, in the Music Center at Strathmore on Saturday, May 27, 2017 at 8 PM. The woman who blessed the internet with the “you in danger, girl” meme is one of an elite group of artists who have won a Golden Globe plus an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT.) She is also a prolific producer and well known for her humanitarian endeavors on behalf of children, the homeless, human rights, education, substance abuse, and the battle against AIDS. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org. Tickets went on sale to the general public on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 10 AM.

David Sedaris Comes to Strathmore April 13, Just Before Release of His Next Book

David Sedaris visits Strathmore, April 13th

From our friends at Strathmore...

Strathmore Presents David Sedaris

Humorist brings sharp wit, offbeat observations to Music Center reading, discussion as he prepares for May 2017 release of his next book, Theft by Finding

Preeminent American humorist David Sedaris brings heart and hilarity to the Music Center at Strathmore on Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 8 PM for a reading and forthright, funny conversation with the audience mere weeks before the release of his next book, Theft by Finding. Beginning with his wildly popular “SantaLand Diaries,” Sedaris has proven himself a master of satire, using sardonic wit and incisive social critiques to cut through cultural euphemisms and political correctness. There are over 10 million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 25 languages. His byline can often be seen in The New Yorker and he has twice been included in “The Best American Essays.” For more information or to purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

Capital Fringe Winners & Extension Week

From our friends at Capital Fringe...

Capital Fringe Festival Award Winners Announced

Don't say goodbye to Fringe yet. Best of Fringe starts Thursday Did you have fun meeting Fringe? From energetic musicals to inspiring dances and powerful performances - we all got to know Fringe together. And, last night the award-winning productions were announced! Two new awards were given out to recognize people and/or organizations making a difference in the DC independent art scene: Community Connector and the Trophy of Epicness. Also for the second time since the festival’s inception, there will be an extension week featuring successful festival productions.

Amy Schumer Announces World Tour, Date Set for September 23 at Verizon Center

Amy Schumer visits Verizon Center, September 23rd

From our friends at Monumental Network...

Fresh off her live announcement on Thursday night to a sold out Madison Square Garden crowd, Amy Schumer will be embarking on a 50+ city world tour. Amy is the first female stand-up comedian to sell out MSG and will continue touring worldwide this fall. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, June 28 at 10 AM local time with an Artist presale Friday, June 24 at 10 AM through Monday, June 27 at 10 PM local time (Artist code: “amylive.”) Further information and tickets at http://www.amyschumer.com/tour.