Through the rain and soggy grounds, I was one of the few (50?) to make it to the Capitol last night for the first of two rehearsals for A Capitol Fourth. What a show! At first, the National Symphony rehearsed the march tunes always played at the end of the program. And then the music heated up with the cast of The Jersey Boys - Big Girls Don't Cry, Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, Oh What a Night. At first, they made us stand in the back portion near the Capitol steps. Then they let us down close. Suddenly, we heard "It's a Miracle," and saw famous silhouette, big nose, styled hair and all: Barry Manilow! He was giving directions to his musical director - very interesting. Copacabana got all 25 of us dancing on the soggy lawn. Next came the Sesame Street cast with Natasha Bedingfield singing the famous Carpenters tune Sing (Sing a Song). (Three 20ish women said they were just passing by and thought they heard Bedingfield! I was looking at her 50 feet away and didn't know who she was.) Lastly, Michael Feinstein and Andrew von Oeyen sat at opposite ends of huge piano to lead the symphony in Rhapsody in Blue. Absolutely beautiful! Hope to see you there tonight!
Some Events for the Week starting Sunday July 5
Argentina is getting very active on the cultural scene. Last night there was an Argentina Tango group appearing at Decatur House in Lafayette Square. They have First Thursdays with an interesting music group, wine, beer and hors d'oeuvres. Cost is $25 but might be worth a try. On SUNDAY at the National Gallery, the Argentina film Silvia Prieto will be screened at 4:30 pm with famed director Martin Rejtman in attendance. It's part of this amazing 3 Continents Film Festival taking place now.
On MONDAY, in McLean the new 1st Stage will be presenting a FREE staged reading of the hilarious Joe Orton face, What the Butler Saw. Apparently, the company is looking for help in choosing shows for their second season.
TUESDAY, there's something in the Post this morning that looks interesting. At Iota in Clarendon, one of our favorite places (!), Those Darlins apparently marry country and punk music together. They'll be playing at 8:30 pm and it's only $8. Drop me an e-mail if you'd like to go.
WEDNESDAY, my social bicycling club, Bike & Brunch, is having its July Happy Hour at Strathmore on Rockville Pike to celebrate the salsa sounds of Calle Sur. Barbecue items will be available and we should have a nice group there (as always!).
THURSDAY, the Capital Fringe Festival starts. We'll have more on that later.
And on SATURDAY, July 11, another of my favorite events takes place as Oldtown Alexandria celebrates their own birthday with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (and an always amazing 1812 Overture) and a huge cake on the river with fireworks.
** the crossroads of culture and community in the Washington DC area **
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