Kennedy Center Presents MARY POPPINS, SHEAR MADNESS, et. al for July & August

The Kennedy Center presents MARY POPPINS and SHEAR MADNESS through the months of July and August as well special performances from the the Synetic Theater, the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and the National Symphony Orchestra. Several free concerts, including the daily ones on the Millennium Stage, will also take place. For more information about the event at the Kennedy Center, please visit the website at www.kennedy-center.org.

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh present MARY POPPINS from July 1st to August 22nd. Combining the best of the original Mary Poppins stories by P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney film, this Tony-winning musical tells the delightful story of a nanny who uses her magical touch to change the lives of the Banks children for the better.

The production will be performance in the Opera House. The show schedule is Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. The performance on August 18th is at 1:30 p.m. and there is no evening performance on August 22nd. Tickets range from $25 to $135.

The limited number of $25 tickets are available for purchase in-person only at the Kennedy Center Box Office with a limit of two (2) tickets per person. Prior to coming to the Kennedy Center, please call (202) 467-4600 to check availability.

Set in present-day Georgetown, SHEAR MADNESS engages locals and visitors alike as armchair detectives to help solve the scissor-stabbing murder of a famed concert pianist who lives above the Shear Madness unisex hairstyling salon. The show combines up-to-the-minute improvisational humor and a mixture of audience sleuthing to deliver a unique performance each night.

Shear Madness has been running in the Kennedy Center's Theater Lab for over 20 years, giving more than 9,000 performances and is the second longest play in the history of American Theater (its sister production of Shear Madness in Boston is #1.) The show's schedule is currently open-ended with shows on Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 6 & 9 p.m.; Sunday at 3 & 7 p.m. Tickets are $42 and running time is two hours.

The Synetic Theater ends its run of OTHELLO in the Family Theater on July 3rd. Tickets are still available and run between $30 and $55. Once again infusing one of Shakespeare's most poignant tragedies with their "art of silence," Synetic Theater now explores Othello, the tale of love destroyed by jealousy. This production includes cast members with and without disabilities and is part of the 2010 International VSA Festival.

Ending on July 11th, the Reduced Shakespear Company presents COMPLETELY HOLLYWOOD (ABRIDGED). In the Terrace Theater, the company takes on 175 movies in 100 minutes. Tickets range from $39 to $49.

Besides the annual A Capitol Fourth on the West Lawn of the Capitol on Independence Day, the National Symphony Orchestra will perform several concerts at the Wolf Trap. The concerts include music ranging from Rodgers and Hammerstein to James Bond. See the NSO website for more details: www.nationalsymphony.org