March 6, 2012 | in:
giveaways,
performances
Puppeteer Basil Twist, described as “one of the most ambitious and imaginative…in contemporary puppetry,” brings his re-imagining of the ballet Petrushka to The Shakespeare Theatre Company.
First commissioned for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (and lauded by New York Times arts critics), Petrushka is a tragic love triangle of puppets at a Russian carnival. Petrushka, the clown, falls in love with a beautiful Ballerina at first sight, who rejects him in favor of the evil yet wealthy Moor.
Kids age eight and up, and their parents, will be intrigued as they decipher whether the puppets have come to life or are playing out a story being told. Nine hidden puppeteers use a combination of Czech and Japanese techniques to bring the puppets and Basil Twist’s vision to life, set to music by Stravinsky.
Petrushka at The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre
450 7th Street NW, Washington, DC
March 16-25, 2012
Tickets
$50 for adults, $22.50 for youth BUT use promo code KIDS for FREE tickets for children under 18 with the purchase of adult tickets.
Interested in a school field trip to see Petrushka? The Shakespearience program offers students discounted tickets, pre-performance workshops and specially prepared student and teacher guides to the production.
OPENING NIGHT FAMILY PACKAGE
Petrushka
Friday, March 16, 2012
Family Fun Fair and Buffet Dinner: 5:30-6:30
Performance of Petrushka: 7:00 PM
Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F Street NW
Ticket packages for families start at $250
To RSVP, please email familyseries@shakespearetheatre.org
FREE PUPPETEER EVENTS
Happenings at the Harman: Local Puppeteers
March 21, 2012, at noon
The Forum in Sidney Harman Hall
610 F St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Reservations not required.
At this installment of the Happenings at the Harman series, puppeteers from the D.C. area, including puppet theatre company Pointless Theatre, will feature examples of their work and excerpts from previous performances, in conjunction with the presentation of Basil Twist’s Petrushka. Free.
Conversation with Basil Twist
March 22, 2012, at 8 p.m.
Lansburgh Theatre
450 7th Street NW, Washington, DC
University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies professor Izumi Ashizawa will interview Basil Twist about his process and body of work. Audience members can ask questions of Twist and view puppets from his productions. Free.
GIVEAWAY
To be entered to win TWO tickets to a performance of Petrushka - the date is your choice, subject to availability! – leave a comment below describing your family’s best theater experience. I’ll draw the winner on Friday March 9th at midnight.
For additional entries:
Good luck everyone!
No compensation of any kind was provided to A Parent in Silver Spring for this giveaway.
vintage 1980's Disney on Ice poster
Update: The randomly-drawn winner is Jamie B.! Thanks everyone for entering.
I used to see the television promotions for Disney On Ice when I was a little kid back in the early eighties. I thought the show looked so beautiful as I watched the commercials. But although my parents were great about taking us kids to lots of shows and amusements, we never got around to seeing those Disney characters on ice skates live and in person.
So while I claim that I now attend Disney on Ice to entertain and delight my own children, often the kid in our family who is most excited is me. But as I have written about previously, my son Charlie and daughter Eve thoroughly enjoy the Disney on Ice shows, and they are happy to introduce little sister Alice to this favorite family outing, too.
Disney On Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic is here in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center February 15-20, and in Baltimore at the 1st Mariner Arena February 8-12. The show features a retrospective of kids’ favorite Disney characters over the past century, beginning with ol’ Steamboat Willie himself and all the way up to the gang from Toy Story. Eve is especially looking forward to her favorite girl warrior Mulan. And my cheesy heart is ready to see the figure skating art is choreographed to old school Disney songs I adore like “When You Wish Upon a Star” and “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.”
Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets via charge, by phone at 800-551-SEAT, via www.ticketmaster.com and at the Verizon Center and 1st Mariner Arena box offices.
Use code BLOG12 for tickets for just $15!
Show Times:
Baltimore – 1st Mariner Arena
· Wednesday, February 8th @ 7:30 p.m. – Buy One Ticket, Get One Free!
· Thursday, February 9th @ 7:30 p.m.
· Friday, February 10th @ 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
· Saturday, February 11th @ 11:00 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
· Sunday, February 12th @ 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.
DC – Verizon Center
· Wednesday, February 15th @ 7:30 p.m.- Buy One Ticket, Get One Free!
· Thursday, February 16th @ 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
· Friday, February 17th @ 7:30 p.m.
· Saturday, February 18th @ 11:00 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
· Sunday, February 19th @ 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
· Monday, February 20th @ 12:30 p.m. (President’s Day)
GIVEAWAY: Feld Entertainment has offered one lucky reader family of A Parent in Silver Spring 4 tickets to opening night at the Verizon Center, Wednesday February 15 at 7:30 p.m.
To enter to win, leave a comment below with the house of mouse character you or your kid would most like to see do a double axel. I’ll draw the winners on Wednesday February 8 at midnight.
To be entered to win:
- Leave a comment below with the house of mouse character you or your kid would most like to see do a double axel.
- Be available to see the Disney on Ice show at the Verizon Center on Wednesday 2/15 at 7:30 p.m.
For additional entries:
Good luck everyone!
Full disclosure: Tickets for my family and for the winning family have been generously comped by Feld Entertainment.
January 11, 2012 | in:
performances
UPDATE: The winner is Lisa Betts. Thanks everyone.
One of my goals for 2012 is to take my family to a children’s theater performance at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown. We have yet to check out their offerings for families, but their line-up of plays and musicals for kids always impresses me.
This performing arts center is celebrating its 10th anniversary season, and as an anniversary gift to A Parent in Silver Spring, BlackRock is giving away four free tickets to their upcoming performance of Fancy Nancy & Other Story Books on February 4!
Fancy Nancy & Other Story Books is a musical revue by Theatreworks USA based on six favorite children’s books — Duck for President; Babymouse, the Musical; I Have to Go!; Leonardo, the Terrible Monster; Pirates Don’t Change Diapers and Fancy Nancy — and is geared towards kids aged four and up.
There are two performances, at 1pm and 3pm, and tickets are just $12 each. (Of course, one lucky winner will receive his or her four tickets for free.) Tickets may be purchased at the box office: 240 -912-1058 or online at www.blackrockcenter.org. BlackRock Center for the Arts is located at 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD near the intersection of Middlebrook Rd. and Route 118 (Germantown Rd.)
For a chance to win four tickets to the 3pm show on February 4, leave a comment below with which of the six books – Duck for President; Babymouse, the Musical; I Have to Go!, Leonardo, the Terrible Monster; Pirates Don’t Change Diapers or Fancy Nancy – YOUR child will most like to see come alive on stage!
I received no tickets or compensation for hosting this giveaway. Photo courtesy of Theatreworks USA.
This Saturday December 3rd Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer are the Institute of Musical Traditions’ Family AWESOME Concert Experience monthly concert at the Takoma Park Community Center. There are two showings, one at 1pm and another at 3pm. Tickets are $10 advance, $12 door.
Cathy and Marcy are trailblazers in children’s and family music. They play dozens of instruments from banjos to mandolins to rockin’ electric guitar, steel drum and ukulele. They sing, yodel, chicken cluck in harmony, twirl a mean lariat rope, scat sing and inspire effortless participation from every audience. Most importantly, they love what they do and have been rewarded for their excellence with 2 GRAMMY® Awards, 11 consecutive GRAMMY® nominations and literally hundreds of awards from The Parents’ Choice Foundation, American Library Association, John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Washington Area Music Association and on, and on….
For Saturday’s concert, Cathy and Marcy will be joined by local parent Joe Uehlein and his daughter Anna Grace, pictured here! The Uehlein/Windham family is also kindly donating two tickets to lucky readers!
This series on the first Saturday of the month features some of the best family musicians performing today, in an environment that lets parents and kids enjoy the show together (no toddler’s mosh pit!). Children one year old and up need to have a ticket. Infants under one year do not need tickets. Please be sure your child is able to sit through a hour-long concert without being disruptive.
Buy tickets here.
To win two free tickets to the 3pm Saturday show, please leave a comment below! I’ll draw the lucky winner in 24 hours = at noon on Thursday, December 1.
Many thanks to the Uehlein/Windham family for the tickets for A Parent in Silver Spring readers. No compensation was received for this post.
Kid-Friendly Nutcracker Productions
The Maryland Youth Ballet’s Mini-Nut
December 10th & 11th, shows at 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm.
Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center
Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, Georgia Avenue at East-West Hwy
A delightful, 50 minute, abbreviated presentation of the classic production.
Tickets in advance from Maryland Youth Ballet, (cash or check only.)
The Nutcracker at The Puppet Co. in Glen Echo Park 
December 1-31. Thursday-Sunday December 1-11, daily December 14-31 (excluding December 24-25).
The larger-than-life-size costume characters and marionettes delight Clara-Marie, and the audience, on her magical journey through the “Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” Originally performed live with the Arlington Symphony, this production is full of, as the Washington Post put it “clever costuming and delightful surprises.”
Running Time: 50 minutes; Recommended: 5 and older.
Tickets and exact showtimes.
The Nutcracker Fantasy for Tiny Tots (Age 0-4) at The Puppet Co. in Glen Echo Park
Saturday December 3-December 31 various Saturdays, Sundays and weekdays at 10 AM. Tiny Tots performance schedule.
Tiny Tots puppet shows are designed for the youngest theater patrons (ages 0-4). The shows are shorter, the lights stay on, and the doors stay open. We ask that children remain seated and keep noise to a minimum level, but there is a video monitor in the lobby should a break from the theater be necessary.
All tickets are $5 (babes in arms must have tickets too).
Purchase tickets.
The 
Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker at Strathmore in North Bethesda
Thursday, December 15 and Friday, December 16 2011 at 7:30 PM
Music Center at Strathmore
Set to Pytor Tchaikovsky’s famous score, Moscow Ballet’s production features lavish costumes, nine hand-painted backdrops with 3-D ornamentation and fanciful, larger-than-life puppets designed by a Russian master.
Running Time: two – 45 minute acts
Tickets
More Productions of The Nutcracker in the DC Area
Maryland Youth Ballet’s full-length production
December 16th & 22nd at 7:00pm
December 17th, 18th, & 26th
at 1:00pm & 5:00pm
Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College, Rockville
For tickets call the theatre box office at 240-567-5301, or online at: www.montgomerycollege.edu/PAC
The Washington Ballet at the Warner Theatre in downtown Washington, DC
December 1-24.
Accompanied by a live orchestra.
“Simply gorgeous! Washington Ballet dazzles with a capital Nutcracker. This production is truly Artistic Director Septime Webre’s greatest triumph, a showcase of his skills at stage direction and in sustaining a spectacle.” ~ Washington Post
Tickets and showtimes
American Ballet Theatre at The Kennedy Center
Dec. 8 – 11, 2011
Kennedy Center Opera House
Approx. 2 hours
$45.00 – $150.00
American Ballet Theatre performs Alexei Ratmansky’s production–”[it] seizes your attention…like no other” (The New York Times)–of Tchaikovsky’s family holiday classic.
