Just in time for this fall’s political cycle, piano-playing political satirist Mark Russell returns to Ford’s Theatre (511 Tenth Street NW) for one night only, Monday, September 19, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. With impeccable timing, twinkling eyes and shock-of-recognition insights into American politics, Russell draws from material ripped from daily headlines. Russell’s unique brand of comedy earned him the Mark Twain Award for political comedy and made him a popular favorite on PBS.
Tickets for An Evening with Mark Russell: I’m So Mad I Could Sing! range $18 to $67, and are available atwww.fords.org. This performance is recommended for ages 16 and older.
MARK RUSSELL
Long before Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Mark Russell dared to joke and sing about the often-absurd political process. Though he actually knew little about politics when he began performing, his ability to find humor in anything made him an immediate hit. After serving in the Marines, Russell began playing at a piano bar on Capitol Hill before he earned a 20-year stint at the Shoreham Hotel. Russell’s television credits include nearly 30 years on public television on the eponymous Mark Russell Comedy Specials. His composing credits include two children’s musicals for the Kennedy Center: Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe (premiered December 2009) and Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major (2006).
Reading three or four newspapers a day allows him to constantly update his material. The result is that no two shows are ever identical. “I thrive on newspapers,” he frequently states. “And it looks like I’ll be thriving longer than them.” Russell performs annually at colleges, conventions and theatres, including frequent visits to Ford’s Theatre. He and his wife live in Washington. Russell is the father of three and the grandfather of seven.
Ford’s Theatre Society
One of the most visited sites in the nation’s capital, Ford’s Theatre reopened its doors in 1968, more than a hundred years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Operated through a partnership between Ford’s Theatre Society and the National Park Service, Ford’s Theatre is the premier destination in the nation’s capital to explore and celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s ideals and leadership principles: courage, integrity, tolerance, equality and creative expression.
The Ford’s Theatre Society was founded under the guidance of executive producer Frankie Hewitt, who, during her 35-year tenure, established Ford’s as a living, working theatre producing performances that highlighted the diversity of the American experience. Since the arrival of Paul R. Tetreault as Director, critics and the theatregoing public have recognized Ford’s for the superior quality of its artistic programming. With works from the nationally acclaimed “Big River” to the world premieres of “Meet John Doe,” “The Heavens Are Hung In Black,” “Liberty Smith,” “Necessary Sacrifices,” “The Widow Lincoln” and “The Guard,” Ford’s Theatre is making its mark on the American theatre landscape. In the last decade, the mission of Ford’s Theatre Society expanded to include education as a central pillar. This expansion led to the creation and construction of the Center for Education and Leadership, which opened in February 2012. Currently, under the leadership of Board of Trustees Chairman Eric A. Spiegel, the Society is building Ford’s Theatre into a national destination for exploring Lincoln’s ideas and leadership principles and finding new ways to bring Lincoln’s legacy to life for the 21st-century learner.
Washington National Opera (WNO) celebrates the return of free opera simulcasts to Nationals Park with title sponsor Mars, Incorporated with the M&M’S Opera in the Outfield performance of Mozart’s classic romantic comedy The Marriage of Figaro on Saturday, September 24, 2016. Gates open at 5 p.m. for “pregame” activities, and the opera will be broadcast live from the Kennedy Center Opera House to the high-definition NatsHD scoreboard at the ballpark at 7 p.m. Free seating will be available in the stands, while access to the outfield grass will be limited on a first-come, first-served basis when gates open at 5 p.m.
The Marriage of Figaro tells an upstairs/downstairs story of love, lust, seduction, infidelity, and ultimately, forgiveness, all set to some of the most sublime and memorable music ever written. The vibrant production, adapted from The Glimmerglass Festival, is directed by Peter Kazaras, whose La bohème was a hit of WNO’s 2014–2015 season. The opera is performed in Italian with English captions, making it easy to follow along with the story and music.
M&M’S Opera in the Outfield will take place rain or shine—in case of inclement weather, some covered seating is available. Regular concessions will be available throughout the ballpark.
More information about the free M&M’S Opera in the Outfield simulcast of The Marriage of Figaro at Nationals Park is available atOperaintheOutfield.org. A full press release is attached.
Play ball! Or Play Mozart!
Empire of the Sun, Passion Pit, Sylvan Esso, and Christine and the Queens will top the 2016 All Things Go Fall Classic bill at Yards Park at The Capitol Riverfront on Saturday, October 8. The tastemaker festival will also see performances from a number of rising stars, including Bishop Briggs, POP ETC, Sofi Tukker, and DC’s own Ace Cosgrove.
Following a sold-out event in 2015 at Union Market’s Dock5 space, the festival will move to Yards Park at the Capitol Riverfront, located just south of Capitol Hill and east of Nationals Park. The expansive green space is steps from DC’s iconic waterfront in the Navy Yard.
The All Things Go Fall Classic has quickly emerged as one of DC’s premier music festivals, as well as one of the only music events held within District lines, and features a hand-picked selection of emerging and internationally recognized artists for a truly exceptional live experience.
In addition to the music lineup, fans will be offered a curated selection of food options, including Shake Shack, Beefsteak, Buredo, Takorean, Timber Pizza Co. and more.
A limited amount of Early Bird passes will be available for $65 starting at 10AM EST on Tuesday, August 2, in addition to general admission tickets for $75 as well as VIP packages.
Visit http://www.
All Things Go Music Festival 2016 Complete Lineup:
Tuesday, October 18, 2016 | 6-8 pm
Shaw’s Tavern (520 Florida Avenue NW Washington, DC 20001)
Join Gourmet Symphony for an Oktoberfest celebration featuring German-style fair foods, a new festbier from Atlas Brew Works, and festive music performed by members of Barclay Brass.
Ticket includes:
- Passed small plates
- Pretzel station
- Festbier tastings
- Live chamber music
- Entry to costume contest and drinking games
A portion of this event’s proceeds will support Gourmet Symphony’s Taste Your Music community outreach project, which brings culinary concert programs to local soup kitchens and food banks.
Pricing: $49 pp, all-inclusive
Made in the District (MITD) will host a special edition of Burgers and Beats – THE GREY ZONE, a pop-up event dedicated to the celebration of burgers and music discovery. The event will be powered byRooam’s socially connected mobile payment app, a seamless, secure and hassle-free payment solution. By downloading the free app, event attendees can quickly pay for food and drinks directly from their smartphones. The attendees can also take advantage of Rooam’s unique “check out” feature that allows instant check out and the quickest way to pay tabs.
The event will feature music by guest DJ Brenmar, Austin Millz from Fool’s Gold Records, J. Robb and Smasha. Additionally, the first 100 attendees to arrive will receive a free burger from Shake Shack, and all other attendees will receive a free fries voucher.
When & Where:
Burgers + Beats – THE GREY ZONE
Sunday, February 12, 2017, 4 – 8 p.m. ET
Eighteenth Street Lounge, 1212 18th St NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Cost: $20 + ($2.09 service charge fee)
For tickets and more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/burgers-and-beats-special-edition-the-grey-zone-tickets-31086062249
WHO:
DJ Brenmar, based in New York by way of Chicago, represents a strange musical paradox. In 2015, Brenmar signed with A-Trak’s Brooklyn-based Fool’s Gold Records. Brenmar had an explosive 2016, with a new mix series and a record label under his belt. His music has always sat at an intersection of hip hop and dance music by marrying the gloss of commercial hip hop and r&b with the urban grittiness of underground styles like Chicago Ghetto House, UK Bass and Jersey Club. In 2016, Brenmar released two singles, “She Already Know it” and “Like a Boss” on Fool’s Gold Records. He launched his own music label “High End Times,” which has released records by UniiQU3 and Austin Millz as well as the “Grey Zone” monthly dj mix series, which has been racking up plays on SoundCloud all year.
Austin Millz, based in Harlem, New York, has always been passionate about music and the process of creating it. Layering soul samples over hard-hitting drums with riffs on the saxophone and piano, Austin has stacked up an arsenal of beats and has prepared to debut his talents to the world. In February 2012, Millz released his debut solo project, Earned, consisting of 17 instrumental tracks produced over the course of a year. Austin has placed productions with Jim Jones, Maybach Music Group, G.O.O.D. Music, Wale, Troy Ave and Hit-Boy. In late 2016, Millz unleashed his new single “Cyclone” featuring rapper Tungi Ige and revealed his signing to Fool’s Gold Records.
Jay Roberts, popularly known as J. Robb has always had a love of music. Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, J. Robb discovered FL Studio 9 in 2011 where he began developing his music skills. J. Robb’s single, “Euphoria,” has brought him a wealth of attention in the consumer and industry scenes. His SoundCloud presence alone has garnered him over 200,000,000 listens and has already been featured on outlets such as BBC1xrtra, Soulection, Beats1 Radio, Vice, Earmilk, Nest HQ and more. J. Robb is preparing for his latest project which will release in Spring 2017 and is working on booking more shows. J. Robb is influenced by artists who exude high octane energy in their live performances. He looks up to a wide range of artists from J. Dilla and Madlib to Pharrell Williams.
On Monday, February 27, the Edlavitch DCJCC will screen Get In The Way, The Journey of John Lewis, a biographical film about the revered civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman. The movie focuses on Lewis’ leadership in the peaceful protest movement that sought voting rights for African-Americans in the South.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton will speak to the audience following the film about civil rights, human rights, and her experiences working with Lewis as the District’s representative for fourteen terms.
This screening is the second film in a three-part series called “Race, History and Community: A Series Focusing on Race and Justice in America.”
DATE: Monday, February 27, 2017
TIME: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
LOCATION: Edlavitch DCJCC, 1529 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
WHAT: Film Screening: Get In The Way, The Journey of John Lewis
Presentation by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
The Edlavitch DCJCC is presenting this film series in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Adas Israel Congregation Racial Justice Working Group, and Sixth & I.
Ticket Info: $13.50
Program and ticket details available here
