Showing posts with label Kennedy Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kennedy Center. Show all posts

Thursday, January 24, 2013

things to do: alice's adventures in wonderland

If you're looking for something to do this weekend and you have a little scratch to splurge with (and you love the ballet!), let me advise that you get yourself to the Kennedy Center to see the National Ballet of Canada's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.


Valerie scored free tickets through a MyTix giveaway, and I was her date. Andrew and Tony, meanwhile, parked themselves at Froggy Bottom Pub for two and a half hours. The stereotypical gender division was agreeable to all parties.

I told Tony afterwards, though, that it's a shame he's sat through so many ballets over the years, and THIS is the one he missed. He would've really liked it. It was as if the set designers and costume designers had no limits to their imagination.

I was skeptical that the set folks would be able to make Alice shrink when she drank the potion and grow into a giant when she ate the cookie in a believable way, as this is a live stage show and all. But they did it! Thanks to video projections of doorways that got really, really big when Alice drank the potion. And the doors got really, really tiny when Alice ate the cookie.

And the caterpillar! That was my favorite costume. He paraded across the stage with his long body trailing him. His legs were those of eight ballerinas walking en pointe. The ballerinas' heads and bodies were hidden by the long body costume, so only their legs showed.

The duchess and the cook's bloody costumes and kitchen were disturbing and wonderful. The cook's sausage-making operation included the hindquarters of a pig sticking out of her meat grinder. *Shutters.* Disgusting.

The ballet is full of surprising, interesting moments like that. Highly recommend Alice before the show closes this weekend. (P.S. You can see a video with some of the costumes and sets here.)

<3

In other news, how neat was it to have a little bit of snow this morning? I hope my bulbs survive, though.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

things to do: kennedy center mytix

I love going to the Kennedy Center. I love getting dressed up in big earrings and big heels, walking through the grand hallways with a handsome man on my arm who's wearing a jacket and tie. It's so fancy. It's a very D.C. thing to do.


Tony has taken me to the Kennedy Center a few times to see ballets. (I love ballet. Tony loves me.) But those have been splurges for special occasions -- going to the Kennedy Center isn't the kind of thing we do on a regular basis.

But there's good news! The Kennedy Center has regular ticket giveaways and offers discounted tickets for young adults (18-30 years old) through its MyTix program. The idea is to get more young people to the theater to enjoy the performing arts.


Last Friday, I got discounted MyTix tickets to see a play called Famine. As the title implies, it's an incredibly uplifting (sarcasm!) show about the Irish potato famine in 1846. Despite the heavy material and the really depressing nature of the show, it was a wonderful, thought-provoking play with a particularly beautiful set. The show was in the Eisenhower Theater, and our seats couldn't have been better. And the tickets were only $15.

The Kennedy Center sends out e-mails with its current MyTix promotions - I recommend signing up!