Mayer and NSO Play Kennedy Center for Free 'American Playlist' Concert, 7/20

The Kennedy Center's An American Playlist queues up three free shows celebrating the arts, and Mary Poppins unpacks her bag in the Opera House in the upcoming month.

Celebrating the culmination of the Kennedy Center's Arts in Crisis 50-State Tour, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage presents An American Playlist, three evenings of spoken word, dance, and music. The performances are free, but tickets are required and will be distributed on Saturday, July 10, 2010. Two free tickets per person in line will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. See details below.

Young poets and MCs from across the country join forces with D.C. go-go favorites Mambo Sauce and Grammy Award-winning recording artists Black Thought and ?uestlove of The Roots. The performance is directed by Universes' Steven Sapp and the Hip Hop Theater Festival's Kamilah Forbes, and produced in partnership with Clyde Valentine of the Hip Hop Theater Festival.
Sun., July 18 at 6 p.m. | Concert Hall

Hosted by Grammy-winning saxophonist and producer Branford Marsalis, who will also perform, members of The Suzanne Farrell Ballet perform Balanchine's Ragtime pas de deux and "Contrapuntal Blues" pas de deux from Clarinade, Evidence, A Dance Company/Ronald K. Brown performs selections to jazz music, and D.C.'s tap dancing phenomenon the Manzari Brothers.
Mon., July 19 at 6 p.m. | Eisenhower Theater
Acclaimed opera singer and D.C. native Harolyn Blackwell, Grammy winner and 2006 Kennedy Center
Honoree Smokey Robinson, Grammy winner John Mayer, and saxophonist Branford Marsalis join the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hugh Wolff and Sarah Hicks in a program of classical works and popular song.
Tue., July 20 at 6 p.m. | Concert Hall

Combining the best of the original stories by P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney film, the Tony-winning musical Mary Poppins tells the delightful story of a nanny who uses her magical touch to change the lives of the Banks children for the better.
Now thru Aug. 22 | Opera House

For more information visit online at www.kennedy-center.org.

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