Monday, May 3, 2010

Sophisticated Ladies

Are you a fan of Duke Ellington? I never realized how much I knew of his music. Thanks to my friend Janine and Arena Stage, I now know much more...

On Friday, after a delicious dinner from Ulah Bistro, Janine, Ashley, Melanie and I went to go see a show at the Lincoln Theater (built in 1922!), titled Sophisticated Ladies, which is a musical revue based on the music of Duke Ellington. The show currently stars Maurice Hines, brother to original cast member Gregory Hines. Maurice is better known for his work in the theater...

The show was absolutely amazing! As we watched the cast members sing and dance, there was a feeling of awe (how do their feet go that fast? And how can they do this show eight times a week??). The cast members included professional actors and musicians, and pair of brothers from DC that had been cast from open call that Arena Stage held.

A creative spin that Arena Stage included in the show was giving it a DC "feel", because Ellington was originally from DC. The show begins with pictures of DC from the 1920s and includes pictures of Ellington throughout his life. The costumes of the show fit perfectly for each era that is represented throughout Ellington's life (we wanted to take all the costumes and shoes home!).

If you live in the DC area, I highly recommend you see this show. For tickets, please click on this link, you won't regret it!

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