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The Alden in McLean Kicks Off 2015-16 Season of Comedy, Dance, Theatre, Magic and More
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 30, 2015
Tickets for all season performances will go on sale online at the Alden's website www.aldentheatre.org on Saturday, Aug. 1. The Alden is located at 1234 Ingleside Avenue, inside the McLean Community Center.
Speakers and Education
Fall for the Book: Peter Straub
Tonight, Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Free. Reservations are not required.
A monster of the horror genre, author Peter Straub has won multiple Bram Stoker Awards for superior achievement in dark fantasy and horror writing, both on his own and with his collaborator, Stephen King. Books will be available for sale and signing. Cosponsored by Fall for the Book and the Fairfax County Public Library.
Kids and FamiliesTheatre IV's "Sleeping Beauty"
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2 p.m.
$15/$10 MCC district residents
For ages 4+. This musical adaptation of the original story by Charles Perrault follows the plot of the traditional fairy tale, but adds delightful surprises and comic situations. This classic tale illustrates that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and true goodness is found only in a loving heart.
Music
Julie Fowlis: "Music of the Scottish Isles"
Saturday, Oct. 17, 8 p.m.
$35/$20 MCC district residents
Julie Fowlis is one of Scotland's true contemporary treasures. Her perfect, authentic singing voice enticed Pixar to feature her in the soundtrack to "Brave," and Alden audiences will remember the voice that finds that place between haunting and soothing. Julie pushes accepted musical boundaries with her adaptations of songs from her native Scottish Gaelic tradition and her clear, gently thrilling vocals. Come be transported!
Movies at the Alden
Classics of the Silent Screen - Special Halloween Edition
"The Man Who Laughs"
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2 p.m.
$12/$8 MCC district residents
Based on a Victor Hugo novel and the inspiration for The Joker character in "Batman," this sad, horrific and swashbuckling film is a great way to start off your Halloween. The movie is shown on 16mm film with an introduction by film historian Bruce Lawton and a live, improvised score by composer Ben Model.
Juggling
Playing by Air
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2 p.m.
$20/$15 MCC district residents
Playing by Air captivates audiences with a joyful fusion of music, juggling and circus in which traditional theatricality meets absurd comedy. The award-winning performers of Playing By Air share their sense of playfulness and breathtaking feats in a production enjoyed equally by adults, families and children. Audiences are drawn into the performance with a contagious attitude of expressive play and creativity.
Comedy
Big and Tall: Bruce Vilanch and Judy Gold
Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 p.m.
$35/$20 MCC district residents
Oscar audiences will know Bruce Vilanch's hysterical, Emmy Award-winning writing for more than 20 years. He's written many other award shows, television series and variety specials, and his stand-up comedy routine draws on his years of being a Hollywood insider. Judy Gold is also an Emmy Award-winning actress and comedian, best known as the star of her two critically acclaimed long-running Off-Broadway hit shows, including "25 Questions for a Jewish Mother." Together, Bruce and Judy will fill the BIG & TALL order of making you laugh and laugh!
WARNING: This show is for mature audiences only.
Kids and Families
Elska
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2 p.m.
$15/$10 MCC district residents
Ages 4+. Welcome to the Island of Elska, the imaginary volcanic island off the coast of Iceland that is home to the singer Elska and a small population that includes her two-foot-tall best friend the Goobler, an arctic fox and a colony of lost socks. Her live show is packed with kid-friendly electronic pop songs and a blend of theater, storytelling, and musical performance
Theatre IV's "A Christmas Carol"
Saturday, Dec. 12, 1 and 4 p.m.
$15/$10 MCC district residents
For ages 5+. Perhaps the best loved holiday story of all time, this adaptation of Dickens' classic is particularly suited for children and features a magnificent score by Jule Styne, the composer of Broadway's immortal "Peter Pan," "Gypsy" and "Funny Girl." All the joy, sentiment and meaning are here, without being too frightening for young audiences.
Music
John Eaton Holiday Spectacular
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2 p.m.
$35/$20 MCC district residents
Have we got a holiday gift for you! Jazz pianist, musicologist and humorist John Eaton will treat you to an afternoon of American Songbook standards and commentary that The Washington Post called "as reliably entertaining as 'The Simpsons.'" You'll probably even hear a holiday classic or two.
Comedy
The Capitol Steps
Saturday, Jan. 9, 8 p.m.
$50/$35 MCC district residents
Hold on to your hats, it's an election year! More fodder for the ever-changing political comedy troupe ... and we're not talking about Congress.
Kids and Families
Barter Theatre's "A Wrinkle in Time"
www.bartertheatre.com/barter-players.php
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2 p.m.
$15/$10 MCC district residents
For ages 7+. On a dark and stormy night, the eccentric Mrs. Whatsit arrives at the home of Meg Murray, a tomboy who doesn't fit in at her high school. Aided by Mrs. Whatsit, Meg and her brother are transported through time and space on a mission to rescue their missing father from the frightening forces that hold him prisoner on another planet. John Glore's delightful and wildly theatrical adaptation brings this acclaimed story magically to life.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration
Julian Bond: "How I Got in the Movement"
Sunday, Jan. 17, 2 p.m.
$25/$10 MCC district residents
Legendary as founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee nominee and former Chairman of the NAACP, Bond continues to deliver a powerful message of equality, freedom and justice with a renewed sense of relevance. Bond was a first-hand eyewitness to many watershed moments in the history of the Civil Rights Movement, and you'll have the chance to experience his personal story of his work with Dr. King and beyond.
Insider Knowledge Series
"Brush Up Your Shakespeare"
Thursday, Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m.
$6/$3 MCC district residents
Experts from the Shakespeare Theatre, American Shakespeare Center and the Folger Shakespeare Library are back to give you a guided tour of the world of Shakespeare in preparation for American Shakespeare Center on Tour's Shakespeare Weekend at The Alden.
Theatre
American Shakespeare Center on Tour's Shakespeare Weekend at The Alden
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
Back by popular demand, American Shakespeare Center (ASC) on Tour brings their fast-paced, super-accessible interpretations of the Bard's best. ASC recreates the theatre experience the way Shakespeare's audiences would have enjoyed it, with the lights on. Audience members are encouraged to sit on stage and, at times, even interact with the performers. And just as in Shakespeare's time, before the show the cast sings and plays contemporary music related to the play, but in ASC's case it's Weezer and James Brown.
"Julius Caesar"
Friday, Jan. 22, 8 p.m.; Live music starts at 7:30 p.m.
$35/$20 MCC district residents
In this profoundly moving, breathtaking and deeply human play, Shakespeare shows us a world on fire; a world turned upside down; a world where some of history's most famous men commit horrific crimes in the name of patriotism and honor. "Julius Caesar" is a dazzling thrill ride of betrayal, violence and perhaps most surprisingly, love.
"The Importance of Being Earnest"
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2 p.m.; Live music starts at 1:30 p.m.
$35/$20 MCC district residents
Oscar Wilde's brilliant and wicked comic masterpiece defines wit and style. This "trivial comedy for serious people" is at once blissfully silly and outrageously shrewd. One-hundred twenty years after its first performance, "The Importance of Being Earnest" continues to delight audiences with its playful language, charming characters and biting look at contemporary society, and ASC on Tour's production will have you in absolute hysterics.
"The Life of King Henry V"
Saturday, Jan. 23, 8 p.m.; Live music starts at 7:30 p.m.
$35/$20 MCC district residents
The story of England's hero-king and the greatest upset in European military history is Shakespeare's finale to his great history plays. More than that, Henry V-at once touching, heroic, savage and comic-explores the nature of greatness and its connection to theatre; and, perhaps more than any other of Shakespeare's works, it makes the audience part of the story.
Other Alden Season Offerings include:
Kids and Families
Puppet Festival
Saturday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Ages 4+.
$15/$10 MCC district residents
Music
U.S. Navy Commodores
www.navyband.navy.mil/commodores.shtml
Saturday, Apr. 2, 8 p.m.
Free. Reservations are not required.
Comedy and Dance
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Thursday, Apr. 7, 7:30 p.m.
$50/$40 MCC district residents
Theatre
New York Neo Futurists
"Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind"
Saturday, Apr. 16, 8 p.m.
$25/$15 MCC district residents
Kids and Families
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia's
"Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny"
Saturday, Apr. 23, 2 p.m.
Ages 4+.
$15/$10 MCC district residents
Kids and Families
ArtsPower's
"Chicken Dance"
Saturday, May 14, 2 p.m.
Ages 4+.
$15/$10 MCC district residents
Speakers and Education
"Gut Churn" from Radiolab's Jad Abumrad
Saturday, June 11, 8 p.m.
$30/$15 MCC district residents
Kids and Families
"Gustafer Yellowgold's Show"
Sunday, June 12, 2 p.m.
Ages 4+.
$15/$10 MCC district residents
Magic
The Magic of Bill Blagg Live!
Saturday, June 18, 8 p.m.
$20/$15 MCC district residents
Speakers and Education
Jazz Masters with John Eaton
Saturday, April 30
$12/$5 MCC district residents
Speakers and Education
Jazz Masters with John Eaton
Saturday, June 25, 1 p.m.
$12/$5 MCC district residents
Tickets sales begin Saturday, Aug. 1, at noon. For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit: www.aldentheatre.org or call 703-790-0123, TTY: 711.
Built in 1975, the 383-seat Robert Ames Alden Theatre, "The Alden," is a cultural resource for the citizens of McLean and the Washington Metropolitan area that presents a full professional season of interdisciplinary and high-quality performances, lectures and educational programs for audiences of all ages. The Alden is ADA-compliant and will make arrangements for accommodations. To request this information in an alternate format, call 703-790-0123, TTY: 711, or visit: www.aldentheatre.org.
The Robert Ames Alden Theatre is a cultural resource for the citizens of McLean that presents high-quality performances, lectures and educational programs for audiences of all ages. The Alden Theatre is ADA-compliant and will make arrangements for accommodations. To request this information in an alternate format, call 711.
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