Weekend Round Up January 18, 2018
By • January 18, 2018 0 618
This weekend, you can celebrate Leonard Bernstein, the Grateful Dead and Coretta Scott King, soprano. Speaking of sopranos, Washington National Opera will premiere three short operas. Also, the ’20s will roar again at the Woodrow Wilson House, the National Gallery’s Vermeer exhibition will wrap things up with a Renaissance band and the Travel & Adventure Show will turn the convention center into Vacation Central.
Company E: Leonard Bernstein at 100
In a world-premiere collaboration, Company E, the D.C.-based contemporary repertory dance company, and choreographer Robert J. Priore will bring to life the creative force of American composer Leonard Bernstein as part of the Kennedy Center’s Leonard Bernstain at 100 celebration. Performances of “I Never Dreamed It Could Be Like This” are Thursday, Jan. 18, and Friday, Jan. 19 at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, Jan. 20, at 3 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. For details, visit kennedy-center.org or call 800-444-1324.
Artist Talk at Dupont Underground
On Friday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m., artist Tim McLoraine and Ursinus College Media Studies professor Jennifer Fleeger will talk about the works currently on view at Dupont Underground, 1500 19th St. NW. Having begun his creative work designing video for opera productions and classical music concerts, McLoraine has been developing video art for installations and large-scale projection. A live performance by Dante Pope will follow the talk. Tickets are $15. For details, visit dupontunderground.org or call 919-265-8925.
Roaring ’20s at Woodrow Wilson House
At this event at the presidential home of Woodrow Wilson, 2340 S St. NW, on Friday, Jan. 19, at 7:45 p.m., attendees will experience the roaring ’20s with an evening of hot jazz, vintage games and light appetizers. Period dress is encouraged with awards given to the best-dressed lady and gentleman. Tickets are $35 ($55 VIP). For details, visit woodrowwilsonhouse.org or call 202-387-4062.
Grass is Dead at Gypsy Sally’s
Also on Friday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m., Gypsy Sally’s, 3401 K St. NW, welcomes Grass is Dead, a bluegrass combo that pays homage to the Grateful Dead, arguably America’s first folk-rockers and one of the most influential bands of the last 50 years. Tickets for this 21+ event are $12. For details, visit gypsysallys.com or call 202-333-7700.
Ice Yards
Now in its fourth year, Ice Yards immerses revelers in an adult-friendly winter wonderland. On Saturday, Jan. 20, from 1 to 5 p.m., in its new home on the Yards boardwalk, the event will feature food vendors, icy cocktails and local D.C. brews, interactive ice activities (such as ice carving, ice Plinko and ice shuffleboard), an ax-throwing station, an inflatable jousting pit, D.C.’s largest group shotski attempt and music by Down Wilson, DJ Alkimist and DJ Jerome Baker III. Tickets are $10. For details, visit eventbrite.com.
3 New 20-Minute Operas at WNO
On Saturday, Jan. 20, at 7 and 9 p.m., as part of Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative, three world-premiere short operas will be given concert stagings at the Kennedy Center, accompanied by a small chamber orchestra and followed by a Q&A with the artists and creative team. This season’s distinguished mentors include composer Kevin Puts, librettist Mark Campbell and conductor George Manahan. Tickets are $29. For details, visit kennedy-center.org or call 202-467-4600.
Baby Boomer Comedy Show
Kent Rader and Jan McInnis, both baby boomers, bring their Baby Boomer Comedy Show to the George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Drive in Fairfax, Virginia, on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. The show is 90 minutes of hilarious (and clean) stand-up comedy focusing on work, family, do-it-yourself projects and other topics that baby boomers can relate to. Tickets are $25. For details, visit cvpa.gmu.edu or call 703-993-8888.
Piffaro at the National Gallery
On Sunday, Jan. 21, the final day of the exhibition “Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry,” at 3:30 p.m., Renaissance band Piffaro will respond to the various scenes of music-makers and images of musical instruments on view. Piffaro’s ever-expanding instrumentarium includes careful reconstructions of shawms, dulcians, sackbuts, recorders, krumhorns, bagpipes, lutes, guitars, harps and percussion. The free concert will take place in the West Garden Court of the National Gallery of Art’s West Building, 401 Constitution Ave. NW. For details, visit nga.gov or call 202-737-4215.
Recalling Coretta Scott King, Soprano
The growing role of previously unheralded African American opera singers will be celebrated at an Opera NOVA concert on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 4 p.m., emceed by noted baritone and voice teacher Charles Williams. Among the performers will be Elise Jenkins, an emerging African American singer, and pianist Elizabeth Hill. The concert will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, 4444 Arlington Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia. Tickets are $10 and attendees are urged to RSVP by visiting operanova.org or calling 703-536-7557.
Washington DC Travel & Adventure Show
Public hours at this year’s Travel & Adventure Show at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW, are Saturday, Jan. 20, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 21, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The show will feature seminars, performances, cooking demonstrations, Segway rides, virtual reality experiences, giveaways and appearances by travel experts including Samantha Brown, Rudy Maxa and Peter Greenberg. Advance tickets are $11 for one day and $18 for both days. For details, visit eventbrite.com.
