Into The Woods: Montego Glover — Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
February at the Kennedy Center offers an embarrassment of riches across all genres and in all the major venues of the complex. It’s as if programmers at the national performing arts center collectively decided to issue a challenge to area arts lovers, daring them to resist the lure of even just one show.
Most likely, you’ll rack up a solid 10 must-sees before you even flip through the schedule to the last week of the month. Our list? It goes to 11.
Right off the bat, there’s the chance to see one of the greatest romantic ballets of all time, performed by world-class artists “united by the tragedy of war and an ardent hope for the future.” Catching theĀ United Ukrainian Ballet, a 60-member troupe of refugees, performĀ GiselleĀ in 2023 is sure to be a moving experience you won’t forget. (2/1-5, Opera House)
The month also comes rushing in with a new Broadway Center Stage production ready for its closeup — the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicalĀ Sunset BoulevardĀ starring Tony-winning powerhouse Stephanie J. Block (Falsettos) as Norma Desmond, Tony-nominee Derek Klena as Joe Gillis, and Grammy-winning baritone Nathan Gunn as Max Von Mayerling. (2/1-8, Eisenhower)
February also gets off to a great start for jazz fans, with an “exquisitely intimate performance” from the inspired pairing of gay pianist and composerĀ Fred HerschĀ and vocalistĀ Esperanza Spalding, a “living legend” (The New Yorker) meets “the 21st century’s first jazz genius” (NPR). (2/1-2, Studio K)
Kennedy Center: American Ballet Theatre: Hee Seo and Cory Stearns in Romeo and Juliet — Photo: John Grigaitis
If you need a good laugh,Ā Sarah Silverman‘s got your back with her new stand-up showĀ Grow Some Lips, which she’ll drop by to perform on a break from regular duties as host of the new TBS showĀ Stupid Pet TricksĀ and her own acclaimed eponymous weekly podcast. (2/3, Concert Hall)
The legendaryĀ Alvin Ailey American Dance TheaterĀ returns for its annual week-long engagement performing several new works and season premieres mixed in with company classics, kicking off with a midweek Gala. (2/7-12, Opera House)
Two days before Valentine’s Day, the Washington National Opera presents a recital with sopranoĀ Leah Hawkins, this year’s Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner also recently heralded by theĀ Washington PostĀ as one of “23 for ’23” rising classical stars. (2/12, Terrace Theater)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Are You in Your Feelings? — Photo: Paul Kolnik
Among several National Symphony Orchestra programs to come in February, the cream of the crop is a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s legendarily provocativeĀ The Rite of Spring, performed with the NSO under the baton of electrifying young Polish conductor Krzysztof UrbaÅski. (2/9-11, Concert Hall)
TheĀ American Ballet TheatreĀ returns for its annual run of shows, this year reviving choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s drama- and emotion-filledĀ Romeo and Juliet, which will be performed with different leads at each performance. (2/15-19, Opera House)
Internationally renowned German-born performerĀ Ute Lemper, returns to her roots in cabaret (andĀ Cabaret) by performing songs from the Weimar Republic and the German avant-garde, including an homage to Marlene Dietrich, as well as to the Jewish composers who fell victim to the Nazis (2/10, Eisenhower).
Ute Lemper — Photo: Steffen Thalemann
April ClarkĀ andĀ Grace FreudĀ are the trans comedians behindĀ Girl God, touted as “the most popular trans comedy group performing today, if not ever,” on account of their surreal, interactive live performances. (2/11, Studio K)
There’s a common thread between the musical that launches February at the Kennedy Center and the one that closes it, and her name is Stephanie J. Block, returning as The Baker’s Wife in Stephen Sondheim’sĀ Into the Woods, a “strictly limited engagement direct from Broadway” with Montego Glover (as The Witch), Sebastian Arcelus (The Baker), and Gavin Creel (Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf) also reprising their roles from the recent Broadway production. Directed by Lear deBessonet. (2/23-3/19, Opera House)
The atmosphere is not the same at the Kennedy Center since weāve entered the era when many who love the institution show their love and support by not going there. This might create a heavier lift for the artists and performers welcomed into the space, like the cast and company of the musical drama Parade.
A touring production of Michael Ardenās Tony-winning 2023 Broadway revival, which starred Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, this Parade trudges a bit through openers āThe Old Red Hills of Homeā and āThe Dream of Atlantaā before the show really gets marching.
Thatās when Max Chernin brings the spark of urgency to his vivid portrayal of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager from Brooklyn, New York making a go of it in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife Lucille (Talia Suskauer), who was born and raised Jewish in the South.
Metro Weekly magazine was barely a year and a half old when, in 1995, we were offered the chance to interview ā and photograph ā Broadway legend Carol Channing, then appearing at the Kennedy Center in Hello, Dolly! that fall. Two moments from that experience stand out, the first at the photo shoot with Annie Adjchavanich.
We'd set up a black velvet backdrop in the Hall of States and were waiting for Miss Channing to arrive. When she finally swept in, she looked radiant. Exceptā¦ she refused to remove her enormous sunglasses. Indoors.
I begged her to take them off, but she firmly declined. "I don't have my eyelashes on," she said. "You are not seeing me without my eyelashes!" And that was that ā sunglasses it would be. The result was a cover that was both thrilling (Carol Channing!) and oddly surreal (Carol Channing in giant sunglasses!).
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet itās crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So wonāt you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each weekās magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
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