Washington's performing arts scene has an international reputation. Almost anything on Broadway has either been previewed here or will eventually come here. Better yet, D.C. is home to truly excellent and renowned repertory theater troupes, and to fine ballet, opera, and symphony companies. Rock bands, headliner comedians, and jazz/folk/gospel/R&B/alternative and other musical groups make Washington a must-stop on their tours.
Washington Celebrates Tennessee--If you're a fan of Tennessee Williams, you'll want to know about the astonishing number of Williams productions on stage here, from spring into summer of 2004. See individual listings for specific theater information.
At the Kennedy Center -- The Kennedy Center is hosting a "Tennessee Williams Explored" Festival, beginning in April. Here's the lineup: Five by Tenn (April 21-May 9), offers an evening of five one-act plays by Williams, four of the plays world premieres. Directing the plays will be Michael Kahn, the artistic director of The Shakespeare Theatre, here in D.C.; Kahn was also a friend and collaborator of Tennessee Williams. A Streetcar Named Desire (April 27-May 16), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (June 1-20), and The Glass Menagerie (July 6-25), each takes its turn on the Kennedy Center stage. The Washington Opera performs the East Coast premiere of André Previn's first opera, A Streetcar Named Desire, based on Williams's play, sung in English, and appearing at the Opera House (May 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, and June 2). Finally, June 11-13, actor Richard Thomas will star in a one-man show, "Letters from Tennessee: A Distant Country," playing Tennessee Williams as revealed through the playwright's letters.
At the Arena Stage -- Coincidentally or not, this esteemed repertory theater has chosen to end its 2003-2004 season with yet another Williams play, Orpheus Descending, in its Kreeger Theater, May 14-June 27.
Smaller Theatres
Some of Washington's lesser-known theaters are gaining more recognition all the time. Their productions are consistently professional, and sometimes more contemporary and innovative than those you'll find in the more acclaimed theaters. The Source Theatre Company, 1835 14th St. NW, between S and T streets (tel. 202/462-1073; www.sourcetheatre.com), is Washington's major producer of new plays. Joy Zinoman, the artistic director of the Studio Theatre, 1333 P St. NW, at 14th Street (tel. 202/332-3300; www.studiotheatre.org), showcases interesting contemporary plays and nurtures Washington acting talent; the 2002-03 season marked the theater's 25th anniversary. The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, in the Kennedy Center's AFI Film Theater (tel. 202/393-3939; www.woollymammoth.net), offers as many as six productions each year, specializing in new, offbeat, and quirky plays. (These are temporary quarters until construction of its new 250-seat state-of-the-art facility, at 7th and D sts. NW, in downtown Washington is complete -- scheduled for the fall of 2004.)
In addition, I highly recommend productions staged at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE (tel. 202/544-7077; www.folger.edu). Plays take place in the library's Elizabethan Theatre, which is styled after the inn-yard theater of Shakespeare's time. The theater is intimate and charming, the theater company is remarkably good, and an evening spent here guarantees an absolutely marvelous experience. The 2003-04 season brings to the stage Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well; Melissa Arctic, The Winter's Tale Retold; and A Comedy of Errors. The Elizabethan Theatre is also the setting for musical performances, lectures, readings, and other events.
Finally, there's Ford's Theatre, 511 10th St. NW, between E and F streets (tel. 202/347-4833; www.fordstheatre.org), the actual theater where, on the evening of April 14, 1865, actor John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln. Though popular among Washingtonians for its annual holiday performance of Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Ford's stages generally mediocre presentations, usually intertwined with American history themes.
Indoor Arenas & Outdoor Pavillions
When Madonna, U2, the Rolling Stones, or the Dixie Chicks come to town, they usually play at one of the huge indoor or outdoor arenas. The 20,600-seat MCI Center, 601 F St. NW, where it meets Seventh Street (tel. 202/628-3200; www.mcicenter.com), in the center of downtown, hosts plenty of concerts and also is Washington's premier indoor sports arena (home to the NBA Wizards, the WNBA Mystics, the NHL Capitals, and Georgetown NCAA basketball). Less convenient and smaller is the 10,000-seat Patriot Center at George Mason University, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, VA (tel. 703/993-3000; www.patriotcenter.com).
Largest of the outdoor venues is the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, 2400 E. Capitol St. SE (tel. 202/547-9077; www.dcsportscommission.com), the erstwhile home of the Washington Redskins (they now play at the new FedEx Field stadium in Landover, Maryland). The stadium continues as an outdoor event facility, packing crowds of 55,000-plus into its seats for D.C. United (men's) and Washington Freedom (women's) soccer games, concerts, and all-day music festivals.
The Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge, 7800 Cellar Door Dr., off Wellington Road in Bristow, VA (tel. 800/455-8999 or 703/754-6400 for concert information; www.nissanpavilion.com), has a capacity of 22,500 seats (10,000 under the roof, the remainder on the lawn), is 25 minutes from the Beltway, and features major acts varying from classical to country. The action is enhanced by giant video screens inside the pavilion and on the lawn.
During the summer, there's quality entertainment almost nightly at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., just off Route 29 in Columbia, Maryland (tel. 301/596-0660; www.mppconcerts.com), about a 40-minute drive from downtown D.C. There's reserved seating in the open-air pavilion (overhead protection provided in case of rain) and general-admission seating on the lawn (no refunds for rain) to see such performers as Nine Inch Nails, Joni Mitchell, Blink 182, The Cure, No Doubt, Jimmy Buffett, and Britney Spears. If you choose the lawn seating, bring blankets and picnic fare (beverages must be bought on the premises).
My favorite summer setting for music is Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna, Virginia (tel. 703/255-1860; www.wolftrap.org). The country's only national park devoted to the performing arts, Wolf Trap, 30 minutes by car from downtown D.C., offers performances by the National Symphony Orchestra (it's their summer home), and has hosted Lucinda Williams, Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, The Temptations, Ani DiFranco, and many others. Performances take place in the 7,000-seat Filene Center, about half of which is under the open sky. You can also buy cheaper lawn seats on the hill, which is sometimes the nicest way to go. If you do, arrive early (the lawn opens 90 min. before the performance) and bring a blanket and a picnic dinner -- it's a tradition. Wolf Trap also hosts a number of very popular festivals. The park features a daylong Irish music festival in May; the Louisiana Swamp Romp Cajun Festival and a weekend of jazz and blues in June; and the International Children's Festival each September.
The Carter Barron Amphitheater, 16th Street and Colorado Avenue NW (tel. 202/426-0486), way out 16th Street, is in Rock Creek Park, close to the Maryland border. This is the area's smallest outdoor venue, with 4,250 seats. Summer performances include a range of gospel, blues, and classical entertainment. The shows are usually free, but tickets are required. You can always count on Shakespeare: The Shakespeare Theatre Free For All takes place at the Carter Barron usually for 2 weeks in June, Tuesday through Sunday evenings; the free tickets are available the day of performance only, on a first-come, first-served basis (call tel. 202/334-4790 for details). The 2003 Free For All featured Hamlet.
Smaller Auditoriums
A handful of auditoriums in Washington are really fine places to catch a performance. The smallest, most clublike auditorium is the 350-seat Barns of Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Rd., Vienna, VA (tel. 703/938-2404), which is just up the road from Wolf Trap Farm Park. From late fall until May, the schedule features jazz, pop, country, folk, bluegrass, and chamber musicians. This is the summer home of the Wolf Trap Opera Company, which is the only entertainment booked here May through September.
DAR Constitution Hall, on 18th Street NW, between C and D streets (tel. 202/628-4780; www.dar.org), is housed within a beautiful turn-of-the-20th-century beaux arts-style building and seats 3,746. Its excellent acoustics have supported an eclectic (and I mean eclectic) group of performers: Sting, the Buena Vista Social Club, John Hiatt, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lil Bow Wow, Ray Charles, Trisha Yearwood, The Storkes, and the O Brother Where Art Thou? tour.
In the heart of happening U Street, the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW (tel. 202/328-6000; www.thelincolntheatre.org), was once a movie theater, vaudeville house, and nightclub featuring black stars like Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway. The theater closed in the 1970s and reopened in 1994 after a renovation restored it to its former elegance. Today the theater books jazz, R&B, gospel, and comedy acts, and events like the D.C. Film Festival.
At the 1,500-seat Lisner Auditorium, on the campus of George Washington University, 21st and H streets NW (tel. 202/994-6800; www.lisner.org), you always feel close to the stage. Bookings sometimes include musical groups like Siouxsie and the Banshees, comedians like "Weird Al" Yankovic, monologist Spalding Gray, and children's entertainers like Raffi, but are mostly cultural shows -- everything from a Pakistani rock group to the Washington Revels' annual romp at Christmas.
The Warner Theatre, 1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, with the entrance on 13th Street, between E and F streets (tel. 202/783-4000; www.warnertheatre.com), opened in 1924 as the Earle Theatre (a movie/vaudeville palace) and was restored to its original, neoclassical-style appearance in 1992 at a cost of $10 million. It's worth coming by just to see its ornately detailed interior. The 2,000-seat auditorium offers year-round entertainment, alternating dance performances (from Baryshnikov to the Washington Ballet's Christmas performance of The Nutcracker) and Broadway/off-Broadway shows (Cabaret, Lord of the Dance, Godspell) with headliner entertainment (Sheryl Crow, Margaret Cho, Wynton Marsalis).
