Address: | 2700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20566, USA |
Phone: | +1 202-467-4600 |
Site: | kennedy-center.org |
Rating: | 4.7 |
AL
Alice Wang
A beautiful venue for the performing arts, John F. Kennedy Center is actually the busiest performing arts facility in D.C. Some of the greatest performing artists have sung, danced, played instruments, and acted in this center. Its supported by both companies and private donors/foundations. Both the exterior and interior of this building is beautiful. Through one set of plaza doors is the Hall of States, which hangs the flags of all 50 states of the U.S., as well as its territories. Through the second set of plaza doors to the Kennedy Center is the Hall of Nations. This hall hangs the flags of every country with which the U.S. has diplomatic relations, so its a parallel to the Hall of States. As you walk past these halls, youll enter the grand foyer, which acts as a lobby and is considered one of the largest rooms in the world. The grand foyer has 16 hand-blown crystal chandeliers, gifts from Sweden, 8 high mirrors from Belgium, and red carpet. From the grand foyer, you can go to the concert hall, opera house, or the Eisenhower theatre. As the names suggest, the opera house is mostly for ballet, opera, and musical theatre; the concert hall is for classical music performances, symphony orchestras; and the Eisenhower Theatre is for theatrical performances. At the north end of the grand foyer is the Millennium Stage, where the Kennedy Center holds free performances at 6pm every day of the year. These free performances are a mix of symphony orchestra, chamber music, dance, jazz, and even storytelling and theatre. Be sure to check out the roof terrace, which overlooks the Potomac River. You can see Georgetown, the National Cathedral, and Roosevelt Island from here. Its a great place to hang out while youre waiting at intermission or before/after the performance. On a beautiful, sunny day, its a great spot for photo ops. Ive been here to see the Army/Navy bands play winter concerts, the Russian ballet perform Nutcracker and Giselle, the National Symphony Orchestra, and Li Yundi, a famous pianist. All the performances were breathtaking. The acoustics in the concert hall and opera house are equally fantastic. Its always such a thrill to come here, because I know the space is exquisite and the performances will be phenomenal. Everyone around you is equally excited too, so that just adds to the atmosphere. In my 20+ years of living in the D.C. area, Ive never grown tired of coming to the Kennedy Center. It is definitely worth a visit if youre a tourist and if you can catch a performance, thats even better. Theres a free shuttle that runs every 15 minutes from 9:45am-midnight on weekdays and 10am-midnight on weekends from the Foggy Bottom Metro stop to the Kennedy Center. You can also park at the Kennedy Center for $22. If you spend more than $10+ at their gift shops, you get 60 minutes of free parking (need to validate at the box office or gift shops).
AL
Alexander Zhang
Shear Madness Review: Upon entering the Kennedy Center, the smell of rotting flesh immediately hit me. In the concert hall, I was exposed to fifteen minutes straight of stage setting while Careless Whisper played in the background. It then became clear to me that the origin of the smell was the secret chamber in the closet. I saw the bodies of all of the Isabelles. It turns out they hire a new actor every show. In the closet I saw such victims as Nancy Pelosi, Sarah Palin and Carly Fiorina. Although you may think that all of these victims are alive, it turns out they have all been replaced by shape shifting reptillians from the Draco constellation. After careless whisper faded out, audience members then endure an hour of jokes about Donald Trumps meager hands. Occasionally, dabs and adult content are sprinkled in like salt over french fries. An interesting part is the audience participation. However, due to raicial bias it is very common for the audience to expect ze black peepul to be guilty. In order to appear unbiased, they do not convict ze blacks or ze weeaboo. This leaves the two whites. These two roles can both be guilty and change parts frequently. During the intermission, ze weeaboo was bombarded with questions about Cory in the House, the best anime of all time. The final hour of the show is spent answering questions. Many questions went unanswered, as they refused to take a side on the 9/11 debate. Btw there should not even be a 9/11 debate...thermite was found at ground zero and that is that. Thus one can conclude that Bush did 9/11. After the show, the actors survey those walking out of the theater and choose their next victim. Sadly, they chose my best friend, Osama to be the next victim. Apparently another man, named Adolf, was also taken. I will have to see which one is chosen to star and who is the understudy. Based on this evidence, one could conclude that memes are dank and so is racial bias. I do not support the views and racism of this play.
WA
Washington Redskins
ELF The Musical was TERRIBLE! This was by far the worst musical I have ever seen. If you have seen the movie, it is a disappointment because the story is butchered and "modernized" but becomes disjointed. The jokes are not as funny and if you have seen it as much as I have, the anticipation of something funny is a let down. Our "Buddy" did not really look the part. The acting was mediocre at best and the production was terrible. There were long drawn out speaking parts and actual gaps in the lines leaving silent "dead air!" It was like they had not rehearsed at all. If you have not seen the movie then it will be a disappointment because the story line is so hacked up that you will not know what is going on. There is a lot of context left out: where is Papa Elf?, no locker scene with the great "Baby Its Cold Outside" duet?, little of Buddy discovering NYC, no Miles Finch?. Warning, this show is NOT kid friendly! There are terms and phrases that are inappropriate for younger viewers, but probably only slightly worse than TV. In my opinion this was a complete waste of money and time. You can buy 20 copies of the DVD for what we paid to go to this amateurish review.
CO
Concha Johnson
Today, we went to the Kennedy Center for a tour, petting zoo and kinderconcert. We brought two kindergarten classes and a first grade. The experience was amazing. We had two tour guides one of which was Ms. Carol Berman. Both were informative, friendly and most accommodating with our little ones. We all learned a lot, adults and children alike. All of the ladies in red jackets were wonderful. While the location is magnificent, they made you feel personally welcomed and warm. The petting zoo was just what children loved. Actually, handling the instruments and trying to make sounds. We went to the rooftop terrace to see that spectacular view. There are no words to describe it. The concert was thrilling. The children were mesmerized with the instruments, sing-alongs and musicians. A big thank you to Ms. Willis who kept things rolling and made sure this experience happened for us. How lucky we are to be in a city with this awesome treasure. This day will be a memory throughout their ages and for this we are grateful.
DA
dani S.
Simply stunning historic performance center for the top shows and artists and elegant guests. A beautiful 94 m- foot tall ceiling from which dangle gorgeous crystal chandeliers evoke a feeling of being in a cathedral to pay homage to the arts. It is an elegant momentous occasion you spend here. We saw a superb Wagners Ring Cycle and were stunned by the performance that rivals the less than stellar staging at (our beloved) Met in NY. You mustnt forgo an evening here for the amazing array of performances they offer but also for the sheer pleasure of experiencing the grandeur the environs and hospitality of the staff. There is fine dining, cafe, snack bars, candy kiosks and boxed meal (plenty of tables and seating out doors) options for your culinary appetite. Parking available but best take a ride for ease. Enjoy as we are doing this whole week of the cycle!