Like the growing Christmas tree, the grand Tchaikovsky score and the sparkle on the snow queens, there are certain things audiences expect from their annual viewing of “The Nutcracker,” and the Kansas City Ballet production of it currently at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, provides most of them. If the sight of small […]
Category Archives: Holidays
The Incredible Shrinking Macy’s Parade
The first half of The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade (NBC, 9 a.m.) was always concentrated on Herald Square, where Broadway stars would incongruously stage big production numbers of the type you’d see at, well, no other parades. This year, because of Covid, what’s left of the parade will all take place at a Herald Square devoid […]
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She & Him Throw a Christmas Party
The first time Zooey Deschanel sang a Christmas song for huge audiences was 16 years ago in the movie “Elf,” crooning “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in the shower, eventually dueting with an unwelcome Will Ferrell. It was that moment that showed M. Ward that the actress could actually sing, and they eventually got together to form […]
A Soulful ‘Motown Christmas’ at Signature
Because Christmas is mandatory on entertainment stages all month, it’s no surprise that a cabaret at Signature Theatre is again devoted to the Yuletide songbook. But in a clever and very welcome variation, they’ve approached the holiday through the classic interpretations of one of America’s favorite labels. “A Motown Christmas” brings together enduring holiday originals […]
Riding Rev. Horton Heat’s Holiday Hayride
The Rev. Horton Heat issued his Christmas album 13 years ago, but only for the last few years has he loaded up a big holiday revue that includes a few other acts equally worthy of headline status — Junior Brown and The Blasters. They all packed into the Black Cat in D.C. Saturday, playing a […]
Regarding Looking at the Sun
You’d think the sky was a BB gun, aiming to put your eye out every time there’s an eclipse. But Angela Des Jardins, director of the Montana Space Grant Consortium and leader of the Eclipse Ballooning Project says it’s not a particularly more dangerous time to look up into the sky. Des Jardins, who is […]
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The Old 97’s Ring in Another New Year
In the 2014 song “Longer Than You’ve Been Alive,” The Old 97s note “most of our shows were a triumph of rock, although some nights I might have been checkin’ the clock.” Checking the clock is what playing New Year’s Eve gigs are all about. And though Texas band’s return to the tony Hamilton Club […]
Inside A Rainy ‘A Capitol Fourth’
An invitation to the “Capitol Fourth” concert on the National Mall seemed interesting. Smokey Robinson was headlining, a bigger draw for me than, say Barry Manilow or Frankie Valli, who have performed in earlier years. It’s always enlightening to see a TV special put together, too, and it might be the first chance I’ve gotten […]
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Ten Christmas Songs That Aren’t Really
Think of it as the inverse of the War on Christmas. Rather than being downsized by supposed political correctness, Christmas is the aggressor, swallowing up land (mall parking lots), airwaves (all-Christmas music stations in October) and everything you see (enough with the Christmas commercials already). It has also annexed the meaning of a number of […]
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Nick Lowe’s Quality Holiday Revue
The snow white hair of Nick Lowe is about the only concession to seasonal decor in his tasty “Quality Holiday Revue” that played a sold out show at the Birchmere in Alexandria Friday. Sure, he had some nifty red and green patterned shirts (that he could wear year ’round) and his super sharp backing band […]
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