Performing Arts
Events for the Week of 5/16-5/21: Zoo Feedings, ILL-Abilities Crew, Celebrate Hawai’i
Events for the week of 5/16/11 - 5/21/11
May 16, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
Agatha Christie on the Big and Small Screen
Even though Dame Agatha may not have enjoyed adaptations of her mysteries, audiences have been loving them for decades
May 16, 2011 |
By Daniel Eagan
Broadway’s Top Ten Musical Flops
With the imminent re-opening of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, we look back on some of the most memorable failures in musical theater history
May 11, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events for May 9-May 13: Harry Potter, Cultural Dialogue, "Cosmic Collisions"
Monday, May 9 -- Beautiful butterfliesWith new summer hours in place, you can stroll through this special butterfly exhibit with exotic plants and live butterflies from around the world until the last entry at 6 PM. Tickets are required, however and rates are as follows: $6 for adults; $5.50 for ...
May 09, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
Smithsonian Folkways Releases "Civil War Naval Songs"
In timing with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, Smithsonian Folkways has released a new collection, Civil War Naval Songs: Period Ballads from the Union and Confederate Navies, and the Home Front. The album consists of 13 lively 19th-century tunes that sailors sung on ships or, when docked i...
April 22, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
The Smithsonian Museums and The National Zoo Are Open
All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are open.Don't miss out on all the events and happenings, all scheduled as planned. Tarantula feedings at the Natural History Museum. A special tour of the Kinsey Collections at American History. An Earth Day celebration at the American Art Museum.And he...
April 08, 2011 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Happy Birthday, Billie!
It’s fitting that legendary jazz songstress-extraordinaire Billie Holiday’s (1915-1959) birthday today falls during Smithsonian’s Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM). “Lady Day,” as she was known, made songs her own, lazily wrapping her emotive voice like wisps of smoke around passages with distinctive h...
April 07, 2011 |
By Jeff Campagna
Events: FONZ Photo Club, Mad Science, Mars and More
Monday April 4: FONZ Photo ClubIf you’re a shutterbug with a penchant for snapping shots of critters, come on out to the National Zoo and participate in the Friends Of the National Zoo (FONZ) photo club’s monthly meeting. Share your photos, hear from speakers and learn about new techniques that may...
April 04, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
Jazz: The Smithsonian Collection: 111 Tracks of Music History
For the past three decades, when historians, critics and educators asked, “What is Jazz?” they turned to the 1973 Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, the landmark album by the late critic and Smithsonian historian Martin Williams. That six vinyl LP—an unprecedented collage of the "genre that re...
March 29, 2011 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Maria Anna Mozart: The Family’s First Prodigy
She was considered to be one of the finest pianists in Europe, until her younger brother Wolfgang came along
March 28, 2011 |
By Elizabeth Rusch
Events: West African Dance, an Online Poetry Workshop, Learn About Juliette Gordon Low and More
Monday, March 7: March Film Screening: My Name Is KahentiiostaKahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman, took part in a 78-day armed standoff in 1990 as a part of a land dispute between the Mohawks and the Canadian federal government. Arrested and imprisoned, she was detained longer than her pee...
March 07, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Gene Krupa: a Drummer with Star Power
Rising to fame with the Benny Goodman band, Gene Krupa was the first superstar drummer
March 2011 |
By Owen Edwards
Ella Jenkins Releases Her Latest Kid's Album, "A Life in Song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bol1lyO7134Today, singer and songwriter Ella Jenkins, the “First Lady of Children’s Music,” releases her 29th Smithsonian Folkways album, A Life in Song. Music is life for Jenkins, who turned 86 last August and has been playing and performing for more than 50 years. I...
February 22, 2011 |
By Jeff Campagna
Forty Years of Philadelphia Sound
Songwriters Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble composed tunes with political messages for chart-toppers like the O’Jays and Billy Paul
February 18, 2011 |
By Jim Morrison
Together, At Last
Doris Day, Miles Davis and Devo share the stage
February 2011 |
By Richard Middleton
Events: Holiday Fun, American Indian Artists, Fossil Forensics and More
Monday, December 13: For an all-inclusive seasonal celebration, come see “Seasons of Light.” This annual performance highlights the customs of winter holidays from all over the world, such as Ramadan, Diwali, Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas and winter solstice celebrations. Tickets are required. P...
December 13, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Wednesday Roundup: Jazz, Holiday Cards and the New Soda Bottle
Test Your Jazz Chops: Smithsonian Folkways just announced their forthcoming Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology, which will be available beginning March 29. The collection features 111 songs on six CD's that chronicle the history of jazz music, focusing on its most notable innovators and styles, from b...
December 08, 2010 |
By Jess Righthand
Events: Seasonal Celebrations, Norman Rockwell, Public Art and More
Monday, December 6: For an all-inclusive seasonal celebration, come see “Seasons of Light.” This annual performance highlights the customs of winter holidays from all over the world, such as Ramadan, Devali, Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas and Winter Solstice celebrations. Tickets are required. Pr...
December 06, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Dinosaur Drive-In: Triassic Attack
The most telling moment in SyFy's latest installment of Saturday night schlock - Triassic Attack - comes fairly early on in the film. Dismayed and angered by the expansion of a nearby college, a Native American protester named Dakota (played by Raoul Trujil...
December 03, 2010 |
By Brian Switek
Alvino Rey’s Musical Legacy
As the father of the electric guitar and grandfather of two members of Arcade Fire, Rey was a major influence on rock for decades
December 03, 2010 |
By Anne Miller

