It has been a long time since I have been to a musical. I had been eyeing this one for a hot minute…read moreafter seeing the ads for it. My one colleague had just seen it and told me it was a great show. I was sold, bought my ticket to attend after work one day and the rest is history. I had no idea this was part of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, let alone a theater to begin with. I have been near here on several occasions and just walked on by. The building in unassuming from the street. But then when you enter, you definitely know it is a theater. A hallway takes you to the lobby area and signage lets you know which side of the theater to enter. In the lobby area there are a couple of different areas, merch, snacks, drinks. Some small seating and entrances to the restrooms. The actual theater, not a single bad seat in here. And, if you were like me and went by yourself, there is one row that has a single seat, accommodating to say the least. I saw '44 the Musical' and I have not laughed and had a song stuck in my head from a musical in a long time. The show was great, the cast was amazing, and I am still humming along to the song since I have seen the show.

Great theater running both Shakespeare and non Shakespeare productions. Another peek of living in…read moreDC.

Blue Dot Jazz Troupe: DC's hidden jazz gem!!!…read more Over the last couple of years I've been lucky enough to catch the rotating cast of Blue Dot characters all over the city. Whether it be providing the perfect speakeasy ambience at The Alex and Sotto (RIP), or energizing the crowd with jazz-infused bops at Boundary Stone and A Baked Joint -- Blue Dot always delivers! The group has so many talented musicians at their disposal, that you're guaranteed to hear something new and exciting each time out. Run, don't walk, to see these talented folks for yourself!! I'll see ya there :)

Fantastic! Sadly, I only heard them play a year after my wedding as they would have killed it. They…read morehave a lot of range, an original sound and fun takes on the classics / top 40, if thats what youre into. Definitely tracking their future gigs and would recommend them

Fabulous musical . Phenomenal cast. The Kennedy Center never disappoints. Our front row box seats…read morehad a great views. In a crazy world to enjoy the Arts and Sing out loud made my heart smile. Thank you to my husband for the BEAUTIFUL surprise

A great evening out at the Kennedy Center, enjoying the music of the fabulous Carole King. The…read moreplay tells the story of Carole's life, with the first half devoted to her marriage, her entering the music business as a composer, and the string of amazing hits that you had absolutely no idea Carole had written but that will bring back great memories for any of you who grew up in the 60s and 70s, including, in no particular order: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (The Shirelles), One Fine Day (The Chiffons), You've Got a Friend (James Taylor), Up On the Roof (The Drifters), You Make Me Feel (Aretha!), Another Pleasant Valley Sunday (The Monkees), and The Loco-Motion (Little Eva) ... all of that (and more) before she started her own vocal career in earnest, culminating in the Tapestry album we all know and love. The play reminded me of Jersey Boys in how it told the story of Carole's life and the forces that shaped her music, but the story line is definitely secondary to the music, and it's worth going for the music alone. Abby Mueller knocks it out as Carole, and Liam Tobin (who plays her husband, Gerry) has a great voice as well, complementing Abby perfectly. The actors playing the musical team of Weil and Mann added a great extra dimension to the story, featuring some more classic period music, including On Broadway by the Drifters. Even though the Kennedy Center's a bit tough to get to (especially mid-week), make the effort to check out some great singing that will bring back some great memories - and you'll even get some dancing-at-your seat in during the encore number, with the entire audience on its feet! (No, I'm not telling which song - go find out for yourselves!)

A historic building with an ostentatious name which has somehow eluded my attention until now. It…read morehouses a free (!) art gallery, which is just a big room with a little add-on at street level. The basement is open and is also visibly historic, but doesn't have much in the way of art. It does have cool air and a restroom. The scope of the art gallery clearly isn't large (bearing in mind that a free art gallery the size of a mansion is ho-hum by DC standards), but I enjoyed what they had and it was a perfect use of the time I had to spend on it. Surprisingly enough, they seem to allow people to bring their dogs inside.

All of the Athenaeum staff was excellent to work with. During the initial planning stages, Veronica…read moreand Richard were my main points of contact, both of whom were very helpful answering questions. They were happy to entertain our questions both via email and during the various trips to check out the space. The contract process was fairly straight forward and fortunately renting out the space includes both the art gallery and the outside garden (it rained on our wedding day and the ceremony was initially going to take place in the garden). A few days before the wedding, we were informed that Amanda would be the staffer on hand on the actual wedding day. I sent Amanda my proposed timeline and we reviewed it over the phone. She was willing to assist with flow of show and confirming chair and floral deliveries/set up. She advised us of some renovations that were taking place in the alley behind the garden, which is where the ceremony was originally going to take place. While the staff had not previously informed us of the planned renovation, it all worked out in the end. Amanda emailed me photos of the renovations, offered alternate solutions to ensure the scaffolding wouldn't be as visible, emailed the contractor to ensure they would be done with the renovations for the day prior to our scheduled photo time and ceremony start time, and offered to be at the venue early to ensure that everything was clean. When I realized it was likely going to rain on the wedding day, I emailed Amanda asking for a quick discussion on a rain plan. She contacted me right away to confirm a time and we spoke the morning of the wedding to come up with a rain plan. She handled the new set up with both the chair rental company and the florist. The set up came out beautifully. Also, one of the photographers left a water behind and Amanda emailed me about the item so I was able to retrieve it the next day. I would definitely rent this space again!

Max Major is a mentalist, he is a master of influence and phycology. He is brilliant. His…read morepersonality completely different from any magician I have ever met. He lightening entire auditorium with his charming smile and super friendly personality. He "doesn't wear crown" on his head like everybody else who as popular as he is. His not-traditional presentation spark entire crowd, build excitement and left crowd with their mouth opened for another 15 min and then entire evening talking about him.

For the Yelper who mentioned that there was no hypnosis in the show, I have to politely disagree. I…read morewas absolutely hypnotized by how tight Max Major's skinny jeans are. Hipsters beware, he will put you to shame! Back before I was Community Manager or even Yelp Elite I used to enviously read other Yelpers reviews when they got exclusive access to Max Major shows in the city. My cousins and I used to geek out on magician shows as a kid so when the opportunity came for me to check out one of Max's show I jumped on it! I bought one of my besties who is not as easily amused as I am but I sneaked a few peeks at her during the show and definitely saw some O faces of wonderment. The show has the elements of a good time: Gore - Russian Roulette with a staple gun? Your night immediately got more exciting. Celebrity - I won't spoil it for you but be prepared for a celebrity guest appearance. Laughs - Max is super funny and down to earth. Even my ADD was kept in check for two hours! Education - Get schooled on the art of psychology by the mentalist himself Surprise - So...many...surprises.... and if all else fails.... Alcohol - If you are lucky enough to get pulled on stage, you can partake in whiskey shots with the dashing host. It's no wonder he was voted Best Performance Artist in the Washington City Paper several years in a row!

I saw a Groupon deal for Sunday Fun Day $25 for VIP tickets for unlimited drinks. Bonuses were…read morethat we got a free bottle opener,souvenir stein to carry our drinks in, free pickles, speck and sausage in the VIP tent and a pretzel necklace to munch on while you try all the beers and liquors you want. Plus a good variety of German food. I totally recommend the potato pancakes I think it was 2 for $5.00 it's like a steal because they are so good and so crispy they have apple sauce or sour cream if want. The brautwarst sandwich was just as good as when I had it in Austria. Perfect snap when you bite into in. Only negative I have is that they did run out of a few beers mainly the pumpkin beers which bummed me and my friend out but we made due and since Sunday was the last day they rushed us out of the venue as quickly as possible. Major buzzkill.But another bonus they gave us soft pretzels on the way out lol.Other then that I had a positive experience and will probably have to go again.

This event needs to be held at a much bigger venue, or they need to limit ticket sales more. There…read morewas a line out the door to bathrooms at all times, to the point where bathroom attendants had tip jars out (and in exchange they stayed right there cleaning constantly. Not bad!) The indoor part of the festival was packed shoulder to shoulder. Getting anywhere meant ducking through gaps when you could, and otherwise shuffling along with a crowd so dense I could feel the texture of people's clothing on my arms. I had to take my contact lenses out, because of the smoke from the indoor BBQ, and with people smoking the cigars that were for sale, my eyes started burning. It got better once the plastic was out though so for people who don't wear contact lenses it probably wasn't an issue. I noticed that the stage was a bit too close to the indoor merchant area; the crowd was backed up into the building, blocking about 20 booths as well as one of the bathrooms. There was a literal wall of people all the way up to the Yelp.com booth. On the PLUS side: For a beer festival I was impressed with the low level of drunkenness. I was there all day and only saw 2 people leaning on each other. I didn't see a single fight. No one who talked to me was slurring their speech. I did see a group of young men playing a hand slapping game; if anyone spilled beer, everyone in their group took turns slapping their hand as hard as they could for the sacrilegious act of shame. Any time anyone broke a glass, a group "Ohh!!" would sound through the entire crowd. It was hilarious. I brought a huge stein with me, and in hindsight it wasn't very nice of me. People who had paid $35 for the 4 oz tasting tumbler who saw my stein were a little saddened. I felt bad. One guy held his tumbler up to my big 24 oz glass and took a picture. The food smelled amazing and was typical faire-fare price; about $6 for BBQ or a turkey leg. Lots of German meats. The aroma was great. Overall, fun and silly. There were people in costume and all crowding aside people were generally having a good time. Oh: To the guy selling $12 candied apples: try offering samples of that particular item. Otherwise they seem far too expensive. I understand that you're a gourmet candy shop but for customers who don't seek your business out for it's gourmet reputation the price was daunting and samples would have helped. Not for general consumption; but for anyone who asked about the apples. You wouldn't even need to advertise that you were sampling; just offer if it looks like you're going to lose the sale otherwise. It might turn them around. These festivals are all about advertising, getting the name out there, right?

This is a cool spot. My friend and I visited for their Dia de Los Muertos exhibit, an altar to the…read moresky, made by Mexican artist Paloma Vianey, and it was free admission. They are open until 6 PM during the week. This is further up 16th St NW and not downtown as I originally thought, so a bus will get you here easily. The exhibit closes on November 26. Worth a visit!

What a treat to have visited the Mexican Cultural Institute. From 1921-1989 the historic mansion…read morehoused the Embassy of Mexico. Located in the SW section of the Columbia Heights neighborhood, it's an easy walk from either the Columbia Heights or U street stops on the green line. It's an impressive building with gorgeous murals surrounding the central staircase. On the 4th floor was an exhibit featuring the stunning artwork of Francisco Loza (spring 2024). It wasn't crowded when we stopped in on a Tuesday morning. Free to enter, just PUSH on the door to enter or ring the bell for help from the security staff.

I really liked this show, but stopped short of loving it. Despite rave reviews from almost all…read morecritics I could find, I did not love the lead. She was great-- I think this is one of the most difficult roles to play-- but just didn't quite capture the nuances of the part or something (sorry, that sounds super douchey, but that is the whole point of this show, after all!) Still, she was on, and she sang the HELL out of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina." I thought the choreography/dancing was great, and the set, though simple, was beautiful. The costumes were perfect. Evita is not one of my favorite scripts because I think it simplifies what is a fascinating story, but the music can't be beat and they did it justice!