Michael Bobbitt News

The humidity is starting to climb and it's what we call around here -- 'corn weather'. But in the air-conditioned theatres in the Nation's Capital there is a harvest of new shows opening. So if you're here visiting the monuments and the Smithsonian museums, get out of the heat and come see a play or a musical.

In anticipation of the February 2012 Grand Opening of the new Ford's Theatre Center for Education and Leadership, the Ford's Theatre Society announces the Lincoln Legacy Project; a five-year effort to create a dialogue in our nation's capital around the issues of tolerance, equality and acceptance.

Washington, D.C.'s Ford's Theatre has just announced their full 2011-12 season, which is set to include productions of PARADE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, 1776, and more.

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society's Theatre For Young Audiences is thrilled to present the Louisiana premiere of Mike Artell's PETITE ROUGE: A CAJUN RED RIDING HOOD (Book, Music and Lyrics by Joan Cushing, Based on the book by Mike Artell with Illustrations by Jim Harris).

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society's Theatre For Young Audiences is thrilled to present the Louisiana premiere of Mike Artell's PETITE ROUGE: A CAJUN RED RIDING HOOD (Book, Music and Lyrics by Joan Cushing, Based on the book by Mike Artell with Illustrations by Jim Harris).

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society's Theatre For Young Audiences is thrilled to present the Louisiana premiere of Mike Artell's PETITE ROUGE: A CAJUN RED RIDING HOOD (Book, Music and Lyrics by Joan Cushing, Based on the book by Mike Artell with Illustrations by Jim Harris).

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS) is excited to announce its 33rd Season of performances for 2010-2011! Be on the look out for new works, favorites and family-friendly fare that is sure to please audiences of all ages in the 33rd Season.

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS) is excited to announce its 33rd Season of performances for 2010-2011! Be on the look out for new works, favorites and family-friendly fare that is sure to please audiences of all ages in the 33rd Season.

With over 30 shows opening this month on DC area stages, there is a buffet of choices for local theatre goers and visitors to our nation's capital, from a Tom Kitt musical, to a bloody barber pie-filled Sondheim feast, to children's classics adapted for the stage, to American Idol contestants with slicked back hair, to a psycho woman and her schizo sister, to Commedia dell'Arte. There's something for everyone, so come visit the DC area, and have a monumental time in our theatres!

As we celebrate Christmas and await the New Year, here's a new audio interpretation of 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry, written and recorded by local DC actors and designers who make up The Audible Group. It is Christmas Eve, 1935. In a small apartment in the H Street NE neighborhood of Washington, DC where James and Della Young, a young couple who, though rich in love, but down to their last pennies, still manage to give each other the perfect gift. It will fill you - from head to mistletoe - with the holiday spirit. Listen here

As we wait for the first snowflakes to transform our nation's capital into a winter wonderland, the DC area theatres are giving families so many holiday-themed shows to choose from. Here are some productions which will make the holidays very jolly indeed!

The Annual Benefit at Arena Stage is a fun evening that raises over one-third of the funds necessary to run Arena's Community Engagement programs, which educate, excite and enrich the lives of over 20,000 students from across the region. This year's event on Monday, March 16, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City highlights Arena's temporary home in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, VA, with co-chairs Angela Fox, President/CEO, Crystal City Business Improvement District and Mitchell N. Schear, President, Vornado/Charles E. Smith.

In Spring 2009, actress Alice Ripley will reprise her role as Diana in Next to Normal on Broadway, one of two productions Arena Stage is proud to have transferred to Broadway this spring. Due to this exciting development, Ripley will no longer be able to perform in Arena Stage's upcoming 17th Annual Benefit for Community Engagement, as was previously announced. Replacing Ripley in the role of Dorothy for the evening's entertainment will be Lindsay Czarniak, anchor and reporter for Washington's News4 Sports.

The Annual Benefit at Arena Stage is a fun evening that raises over one-third of the funds necessary to run Arena's Community Engagement programs, which educate, excite and enrich the lives of over 20,000 students from across the region. This year's event on Monday, March 16, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City highlights Arena's temporary home in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, VA, with co-chairs Angela Fox, President/CEO, Crystal City Business Improvement District and Mitchell N. Schear, President, Vornado/Charles E. Smith.

The recipients of The 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards were presented tonight, Monday, April 28. Winners include Blickenstaff, Jones, Kudisch, and Irwin.

With apologies for a little self-promotion, I will be a guest on 'Mid-Day with Dan Rodricks' radio program between 1-2 p.m. (WYPR-FM, 88.1) on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 for a discussion on theater coming this spring to the Baltimore/Washington area and Broadway. You can access the program live on www.wypr.org or for about a month after the program on the WYPR web site. I hope to hear from many of my readers. You may call during the program at 410-662-8780 or long-distance at 866-661-9309.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) and Executive Director Kathy Evans announced the grant recipients for the 2007 Producer-Writer Initiative (PWI) this past Monday at NAMT's annual Spring Member Conference in Orlando, FL.