The Artisphere, which opened in October 2010, is a cultural center occupying a 62,000 square foot space in the Rosslyn section of Arlington County. It includes three theaters, a curated two-story video wall, a large ballroom, and three art galleries. The facility is the home of the Washington Shakespeare Company, the Bowen McCauley Dance Company, and the National Chamber Ensemble. ...more...

The Arts Club of Washington is the city’s oldest non-profit organization, founded in 1916 by two groups of artists looking to create a multidisciplinary arts club styled after New York’s National Arts Club and the Chelsea Arts Club of London. Its original focus was on painting, sculpture, music and drama, and the Club also had the distinction of being the first such group in Washington to admit women as full …more…

The Atlas Performing Arts Center is a relatively new addition to the H Street neighborhood in Northeast D.C., but is already a vital part of that community, a major centerpiece in the city’s recent efforts to breath new life into the area.  The theater itself is a movie house built in 1938 that enjoyed early success.  As years passed, the migration of the middle class into the suburbs took a …more…

The Birchmere is perhaps Northern Virginia’s most extensive venue for concerts of all kinds.  Focusing almost exclusively on American music including jazz, folk and bluegrass, the Birchmere offers the highest quality music from all corners of the nation in an informal environment.  A number of well-known American artists, including Lyle Lovett, Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris, spent their emerging years performing here, whether on their way through the area or …more…

The Kennedy Center is America’s busiest performing arts center, and a living memorial to John F. Kennedy, who lead fundraising efforts while he was President of the Unied States.  Its origins date back to 1958, when President Eisenhower signed a bill creating a National Cultural Center.  The Kennedy Center opened its doors on September 8, 1971, with the premiere of a Requiem Mass for Kennedy by Leonard Bernstein.  Since then …more…

It opened in 1922, featuring some of the nation’s greatest performers as the jazz era came into full swing; native son Duke Ellington appeared here regularly, along with greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong.

The Lincoln also showed silent films and vaudeville in its early years, even hosting a number of birthday parties for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in its Ballroom. It was profoundly …more…

Located only a few blocks from the White House, the National Theater has been called the “Theater of Presidents”. It is the longest running major touring house in the nation, opened in 1835 during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Although the building burned down soon after opening, and has been rebuilt five times, the Theater has remained a presence for over a century and a half. It has featured the …more…

Strathmore is one of the capital area’s most active and comprehensive multi-arts centers, occupying an 11-acre site in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside the capital Beltway.  It was founded in 1981 as a non-profit and has presented a plethora of arts programs, from visual art exhibitions to performing arts events to literary lectures and more.

Premiere musical artists of all genres have appeared at Strathmore’s Music Center, which includes a 1,976-seat concert …more…

Opened in 1924 as the Earle Theatre, this venue has a story similar to that of many early 20th century entertainment houses. In its early years, vaudeville and silent movies were the main attractions here, with productions including live orchestras and even a dancing group called the Roxyettes. In 1945 the theater switched to exclusively motion pictures, and soon after changed its name to Warner Theatre to reflect the ownership …more…

The Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) was formed in 1965 by Patrick Hayes, a former manager of the National Symphony Orchestra, and was one of the nation’s first independent, non-profit professional performing arts organizations. It was a daring venture, with a mission to bring the world’s premiere performers to venues throughout Washington, promote arts education in local schools, and create new opportunities for artistic development and expression.

Throughout its main season, …more…

(May-September) A wild variety of performers come out every year to play at Wolf Trap, located on the woodsy rolling terrain of a national park. Wolf Trap devotees brave the muggy Virginia weather and risk the chance of getting wet (concerts go on rain or shine) to see artists like Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Elvis Costello, Jewel, Rufus Wainwright, Morrissey, the Beach Boys, and even the National Symphony Orchestra, while picnicking out on the expansive lawn of the Filene Center. ...more...