The DC Traveler

As one of the most popular and loved Broadway musicals of all time, spending over 20 years on Broadway time, and Victor Hugo’s best known story, Les Misérables, tells a passionate story of crime and redemption, love and betrayal, all set during the period of the French revolution.
The main character, prison parolee Jean Valjean, who is unable to find work after years in a labor camp, must steal in order to survive.  But his victim gives him a second chance when Valjean is caught by the police.  He takes the gift and changes his identify and his life.  Spending …read more

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Would you love to take your children to see the classic Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center?  But do you hesitate thinking they might be too young to sit through a lengthy and formal production?  Then take them to a children’s performance of The Nutcracker.
American Dance Institute’s Youth Ensemble will perform a shorter version, just an hour long, of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
Children an experience the magic of the story and dance in  less intimidating setting and more relaxed environment.
The performances will be held in the intimate 140-seat world-class facility, where children can get a close …read more

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Chicago’s world-renowned ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, returns to Washington DC and the Kennedy Center with it’s classic production of the timeless Christmas classic story with music by Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker.
Combining the Victorian charm, old world scenery and dazzling costumes of battling soldiers, pesky mice, snow-flake ballerinas, holiday party-goers and costumed dancers from around the globe, it’s sure to put anyone in to the holiday spirit.
I would recommend this performance over the Washington Ballet’s production of the same.
The Joffrey Ballet: The Nutcracker  
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Opera House
2700 F Street, NW
Washington DC. 20566 (map it)
Dates and …read more

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Elle Woods, the classic dumb blonde sorority girl, decides to try to get accepted into Harvard Law School, just to try to rekindle her romance with her college sweetheart, Warner Huntington III, who dumped her because she just wasn’t smart enough.
With the help of a law school professor, a beauty parlor confident and interactions with classmates, makes her realize that her idea of the perfect husband, is not what she wants.
The Broadway production of Legally Blonde grossed over $1 million and was nominated seven Tony Awards.
Legally Blonde the Musical
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 
Opera House 
2700 F …read more

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West Side Story is the classic American love story musical, about forbidden love between the member of one rival New York street gangs  and the sister of another.  The two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, each coming from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, fight for their turf during the 1950s, in the rough streets of Hells Kitchen.
With the familiar musical score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim and songs such as "America," "Maria," and "I Feel Pretty", adds to the story on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
The production coming to the National Theater in Washington, DC starting December 15th …read more

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The comedy troupe 500 Clown uses fast-paced improv combined with circus arts to create a “where the heck are they going?” action-based, highly-charged performance.  Lots of slapstick, planned and improved elements and audience inclusion that propels the performers into extremely physical and at times, high risk acrobatics.
The Elephant Deal explorers the gap between military life and civilian life in the United States. Taken from Man Equals Man and The Elephant Calf, it explores how the common man is transformed though the breaking and recreating of the recruit, from a civilian into the perfect fighting machine.

500 Clown and The Elephant Deal …read more

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In 1950, the singing cowboy, Gene Autry recorded the tune, “Frosty the Snowman” and it was an instant hit.  He had also had previous success with the now classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. (see below to read the words of the classic Christmas song – Frosty.)
Four years later, WGN-TV in Chicago, broadcast a 3-minute holiday short, that brought Frosty the Snowman to life.
In 1969, a 30-minute television cartoon was broadcast and is today, an annual holiday classic.
Adventure Theater in suburban Glen Echo, Maryland bring to live the story of how the mischievous Frosty comes to life, thanks to a …read more

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The American premiere of Love, Peace and Robbery, at the small, 50-seat Theatre on the Run in Arlington, Virginia, tells the story of two Irish ex-cons, Gary and Darren. They were recently released from Cork Prison in Ireland and sincerely want to put their lives back together. But to go straight, each must attempt to avoid the problems that got them originally sent to prison, so staying clean and sober, avoid “tabs” (pills), and obey the terms of their probation and curfew, even if it is hours earlier than their children’s curfew.
They may be a bit dangerous and tied into …read more

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The famous Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the world-famous Rockettes, is coming to Baltimore in early December.

As part of a 23 city national tour, the Rockettes, dressed in their famous Babes in Toyland outfits, will delight audiences with their precision chorus line dancing and signature high kicks.
I saw the Rockettes’ show in New York City a few years ago and it is a fun performance.
Radio City Christmas Spectacular 1st Mariner Arena 201 W Baltimore Street Baltimore, Maryland  (map it)
Dates and Times – December 2 – 7, …read more

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We all know the Lewis Carroll novel, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, and the young girl who follows the White Rabbit down his rabbit hole and discovers another world.
Enjoy as Alice partakes in a race where everyone wins, a mad tea party, stolen tarts and her dream-filled escape to a strange land of amazing creatures, including the Madd Hatter, King and Queen of Hearts and the grinning Cheshire Cat.
The World Premiere of Alice, at Round House Theatre in suburban Bethesda, blends the childlike fantasy with a wildly imaginative theatrical experience that should delight both children and adults alike. 
Alice
Round House …read more

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