Above and Beyond: Spring Arts 2012

DC IMPROV

1140 Connecticut Ave. NW
202-296-7008
dcimprov.com

Flip Orley – America’s premier comic hypnotist (3/28-4/1)
Jo Koy – The regular from Chelsea Lately who’s not gay despite what Chelsea insists (4/5-7)
Jim Norton (4/12-14)
Comics United – Benefit show for Joe Deeley (4/15)
The District’s Funniest College Finals – Area college students compete for the comic crown (4/18)
Wendy Liebman (4/19-22)
Larry Miller (4/27-29)
Gilbert Gottfried – Yes, that is his natural speaking voice (5/4-6)
Godfrey (5/10-13)
Bobby Slayton (5/17-20)
Bob Marley – The other Bob Marley, who’s very much alive: he holds the Guinness World Record for longest stand-up show at 40+ hours (5/23-27) ^ Corey Holcomb (5/31-6/3)
Greg Proops – The Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Chelsea Lately regular will record his podcast ”The Smartest Man In The World” from here (6/7-10)
Gary Valentine (6/14-17)
LaVell Crawford (6/22-24)
Aisha Tyler (6/29-30)
John Witherspoon (7/5-8)
Tom Papa (7/19-21)
Michael McDonald – The longest-running cast member on MAD TV (8/10-12)
D.L. Hughley (8/17-19)
Guy Torry (8/23-26)
Jake Johannsen (8/29-9/2)
Tommy Davidson – The one-time In Living Color comic actor returns to his hometown (9/6-9)

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

201 East Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
folger.edu

Early Music Seminar: City of Ladies – Folger’s artistic director Robert Eisenstein offers insight into composers and their world (4/11)
Shakespeare in Action Family Program – Performance-based techniques, including simulating stage combat and performing a scene from Macbeth, to introduce the language of Shakespeare to elementary-aged children (4/14)
Shakespeare’s Birthday Lecture 2012: Dr. Sarah Beckwith – Duke University professor offers a lecture titled ”What Mamillius Knew: Ceremonies of Initiation in The Winter’s Tale (4/16)
2012 Folger Gala – The venue’s most important fundraiser of the year (4/18)
Shakespeare’s Birthday Open House – Jugglers, jesters, musicians and actors all re-create the time and stories of Shakespeare for this party, complete with a birthday cake and tour of the reading rooms (4/22)

FORD’S THEATRE

511 10th St. NW
202-397-7328
ticketmaster.com

History on Foot Walking Tours – Actors playing characters from Civil War-era Washington lead two weekend morning tours through downtown D.C.
Cokie Roberts – Before a performance of the hit musical 1776, Ford’s Theatre welcomes the author and journalist to discuss her work on Revolutionary-era women (5/1)
Edna Medford – Before a performance of 1776, Ford’s welcomes this Howard University history professor to discuss the African-American experience during the American revolution (5/7)

HILLWOOD MUSEUM & GARDENS

4155 Linnean Ave. NW
202-686-8500
hillwoodmuseum.org

Greenhouse Tours – daily tours through the working greenhouse with an extensive collection of exotic orchids and other flowers grown for floral arrangements (throughout March)
A Lifelong Love Affair: Marjorie Merriweather Post and Her Orchids – Hillwood’s greenhouse and design head Jason Gedeik discusses the estate founder’s love of orchids (3/23, 3/27, 3/30)
Fabergé Egg Family Festival – Festive Russian folk music and storytelling and a centuries-old egg-rolling game, plus workshop to decorate your own Fabergé-inspired egg (3/31, 4/1)
Spring Garden Tours – Docent-led tours of the elaborate gardens most days of the week (Now-6/9)

THE HOWARD THEATRE

620 T St. NW
202-588-5595
thehowardtheatre.com

Henson Alternative – ”Stuffed and Unstrung” is an adults-only comedy improv show featuring puppets from the Jim Henson Company – as in The Muppets – which is led by Jim’s son Brian (4/18)
McCoy Tyner + Savion Glover – ”A night where the keyboard meets the floorboard,” as the Grammy-winning jazz pianist and his trio are joined by the Tony-winning man many consider the king of tap dance (4/27)

JOSEPH MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL

1212 Cathedral St.
Baltimore
410-783-8000
ticketmaster.com

Stanley McChrystal – The retired four-star general and former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan offers a talk as part of the Baltimore Speakers Series (3/27)
David Sedaris – WYPR presents the hilarious gay essayist (4/12)
Ron White – Stand-up charter member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour (4/19)
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Babar The Elephant – The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs Francis Poulenc’s lively and light-hearted score for the book Babar The Elephant, while Rheda Baker narrates the story and cartoonist Angie Jordan illustrates it live onstage (4/18, 4/20-21)
Tom Brokaw – Former NBC News journalist and author of The Greatest Generation offers a talk as part of the Baltimore Speakers Series (4/24)

KENNEDY CENTER

 

202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org

Yvonne Caruthers – Lecturer begins a new series on great but lesser known classical composers starting with 20th century English composers Frank Bridge and Benjamin Britten (4/14)
Alec Baldwin – Famed actor offers the 25th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy (4/16)
Wendell E. Berry – Famed Southern writer offers the 41st Annual Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities presented by the National Endowment for the Humanities (4/23)
Ballet 360 Degrees – Dance critic Alexandra Tomalonis uses video of well-known ballets to examine the fine craft of the art form (5/5, 6/23)

LISNER AUDITORIUM AT GWU

730 21st St. NW
202-994-6800
lisner.org

Marjane Satrapi w/Azar Nafisi – Author of graphic memoir and film Persepolis sits for a one-time-only interview with fellow Iranian, the author of Reading Lolita In Tehran (4/27)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE!

Grosvenor Auditorium
NGS Headquarters
1600 M St. NW
202-857-7700
nglive.org

National Geographic’s Tech Team: Gadgets, Gizmos and Gee Whiz – Eric Berkenpas and Alan Turchik offer a glimpse into the technology used to capture amazing images and info about the world for National Geographic Television, from a miniature video-shooting helicopter to a bright light contraption for underwater images (3/24)
Samurai Cinema – Take in any or all of three screenings of classic Japanese films in conjunction with National Geographic’s new Samurai Exhibit (3/31)
The Changing Face of Marseille – National Geographic photographer Ed Kashi discusses the peaceful cohabitation he found of natives and Muslim newcomers in France’s second largest city (4/4)
Winston Groom’s Shiloh – author of Forrest Gump and The Crimson Tide discusses his new National Geographic book about the deadly, epochal Civil War battle (4/5)
Robert Ballard: Titanic: 100 Years After – National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence who discovered the famous shipwreck reflects on the vessel and offers his insights (4/10)
Discovering The Soul of Cuba – Geographer Juan Jose Valdes discusses a new detailed map of Cuba while travel writer and guide Christopher Baker offers a virtual tour of the island; a Cuban Salsa Dance Party follows (4/13)
The Will To Climb – Ed Viesturs talks about his feat of being the first American to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen (4/16)
Joyce Maynard: Landscsapes of the Mind – The syndicated columnist talks travel and its impact on everyday life, along with National Geographic Traveler editor Don George (5/8)
Garrett Oliver’s beer celebration – Oxford Companion to Beer offers its annual beer tasting, focused on ”big but beautiful” beers (5/15)
Explorers Symposium – Scientists, innovators and adventurers share their experiences and work in this annual gathering (6/12)
Easter Island: The Statues That Walked – Archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo offer a daring new theory on the islands’ iconic giant statues (6/21)