Kennedy Center to Present TWELFTH NIGHT, HAIR and More this Fall

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced its calendar of events for the months of September and October, 2010. All events are subject to change without notice. Free performances are held each evening at 6 p.m. on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

A brief preview of some of the events for this September and October are listed below. For schedules, event times and locations and more listings, please visit: www.kennedy-center.org.

SHEAR MADNESS
Set today in the Shear Madness hairstyling salon, this The Kennedy Center record-breaking comedy is Washington's hilarious whodunit. After more than 10,000 performances, the show has stayed in great shape, keeping all the bounce, body, and shine of opening night. ABC-7 News's Arch Campbell says Shear Madness is "the most fun I ever had at the Kennedy Center." Tickets for all seats are $42.

NINTH ANNUAL PAGE-TO-STAGE
The Kennedy Center hosts more than 25 D.C.-area theater The Kennedy Center companies in a series of free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals. This three-day event gives audiences a look at new works being prepared for Washington premieres in the 2010-2011 theater season. Free admission, no tickets required.

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Emil de Cou, conductor
NSO Labor Day Capitol Concert National Symphony Orchestra. Free admission, no tickets required.

The 26th Annual Kennedy Center
OPEN HOUSE ARTS FESTIVAL
Celebrate Mexico 2010 The Kennedy Center

 

Celebrating its 26th year, the annual Kennedy Center Open House Arts Festival on Saturday, September 11, 2010 continues to offer an entire day of free performances, activities, and events for the whole family. World-renowned composer and jazz and classical pianist Eugenio Toussaint joins forces with the National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Enrique Diemecke to perform Toussaint's Concerto for Improvised Piano and Orchestra (dedicated to Jesús Medina). Under the direction of veteran dancer Hugo Betancourt, Ballet Folklorico de Veracruz, or "Quetzalli," expresses the traditions of its people through music, songs, and dances characteristic of different ethnic groups. Hailing from Monterrey, Mexico, rock band El Gran Silencio blends a variety of rock, reggae, dancehall, and dub influences with traditional Latin American musical forms such as cumbia, vallenato, and banda. Musical icon Eugenia León, one of Mexico's most popular vocalists and a sensation throughout Latin America, embraces multiple musical styles-from traditional Mexican rhythms to tango to Latin America's rich musical heritage. All tickets are free (some events may require free tickets).

15TH ANNUAL MULTICULTURAL
CHILDREN'S BOOK FESTIVAL
The Kennedy Center

Bring the entire family to meet your favorite authors, listen to celebrity book readings, and enjoy performances, participatory workshops, illustration demonstrations, and more in this popular Kennedy Center event. Parents, children, teachers, and anyone else with a love of children's books can celebrate diverse cultures with renowned authors from around the world. Hundreds of titles will be available for purchase. Presented by the Kennedy Center Education Department as part of the Open House Arts Festival. Participating authors/illustrators include: Jacqueline Woodson - Locomotion, Miracle's Boys, If You Come Softly; Laurence Yep - Dragonwings, Golden Mountain Chronicles series, Chinatown Mysteries series; Joseph Bruchac - Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two, My Father is Taller than a Tree, Skeleton Man; Alma Flor Ada - My Name is Maria Isabel, Tales Our Abuelitas Told: An Hispanic Folklore Collection, Under the Royal Palms; R. Gregory Christie - Jazz Baby, Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, Yesterday I Had the Blues; Shane Evans- Olu's Dream, Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson, Free at Last!: Stories and Songs of Emancipation. Admission is free, no tickets required.

For information about the John F. Kennedy Center, please call (202) 467-4600. If calling from out of the Washington D.C. area, pleae call (800) 444-1324. For group sales, please call (202) 416-8400. For any other information, schedules or contact, visit: www.kennedy-center.org