Brrrr it suddenly got really cold. So there would be a temptation to devote significant column space to the hours spent huddled upstairs in my apartment watching The Truman Show, Pleasantville and The Big Tease (all of which are excellent movies; the first of which is on Netflix, and the other two require actual purchase to stream them from Amazon - shocking). But worry not, we did brave the chill for some fun about town.
It's been a fab week for storytelling. Perfect Liars Club was fab - and only 7 people in the entire audience spotted the liar. For shame, Washingtonians. Pics and description here. Our next show is Wednesday January 7th so start your year off shrewdly and get tix here.
But we were only one of several cool things going on. Every year SpeakeasyDC puts on a show where two storytellers extend their usual 7 minutes into a longform storytelling extravaganza. This year the shows were last weekend... and this coming weekend. Keith Mellnick's 50 min-long slot, 'I'm not crazy' about his experiences with Peace Corps in Kazakhstan is up first, and is really excellent: engaging, fascinating, funny, sad, and entirely relatable. Worth going for him alone.
We were also excited to attend Story League's brilliant free show at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, or rather, in its Theatre Lab. The theme: inappropriate holiday gifts. They brought half the storytellers from New York which always delivers a certain je ne sais quoi... and the stories were largely fantastic. Plus some quirky songs. And this is cool: if you missed it, you can watch it online right now!
Our final fun event of the week was to go see a special presentation of The Imitation Game, as part of the AFI's European Union Film Showcase, on now. "What, Silver Spring?" I hear you moan (unless you live near there, in which case you're saying "Well, obviously."). Every time I go to the AFI I love it and beat myself up for not going more often. As regular readers know, usually I enjoy a matinee, followed by a superlative brunch at Jackie's, and cycle home down Rock Creek Park: an excellent day. This was embarrassingly my first evening AFI experience. Seems it's only a 5 min walk from the red line station. And afterwards we got to try out a long-imagined dream: Jackie's Sidebar. I don't mean to alarm anyone... but this bar is possibly cooler than any bar in central DC. The decor, ambience, cocktails, and food are all a delight. If this was near me, it would indisputably be my local. I felt like I was in London. If you haven't been, this may be the moment for you!
Finally, festive fun! First, a walk through the National Zoo's Zoolights was as kitsch and delightful as ever. Recommended! Then the Jingle All the Way 5k was the most hilariously festive run I've ever spectated. My lovely wife had excellent festive headgear but it paled in comparison to the lycra Santa suits, gingerbread men, and entire Santa's sleigh complete with full complement of reindeer... all running down Pennsylvania Avenue on Sunday morning. Fun.
What's coming up this week: Picks of the week
This is a brilliant week for shows and cool stuff - so just after buying a million tickets, I found I had to go to Scotland and miss them all. My loss is your gain though, expecially if you want to buy our Gay Men's Chorus tickets for Sunday? (email us with an offer)
Tue 9 Dec - SpeakeasyDC's monthly show is about Childhood Beliefs. I'm missing it.
Wed 10 Dec - Have you been to Mortified? It's a rather hilarious show where adults read out embarrassing bits of their writings from their angst-filled teenage years, like diary entries, poems etc. Adam Ruben runs it. I'm hoping to participate sometime. It's on tonight! I'm missing it. If you have time before, at 6pm there's a weird festive free tuba event at Kennedy Center...
Thu 11 Dec - It's the fab art/science mash-up DASER. This month's topic: art and ecology. I'm missing it.
Fri 12 Dec - Tonight a run of the brilliant Second City's Nut-Cracking Holiday Revue kicks off at the Arlington Drafthouse. It's bound to be excellent. I'll have to get someone to join me on another date... Or else head to the Bier Baron for Nutcracker Burlesque!
Sat 13 Dec and Sun 14 Dec - During the day on Saturday Yelp is hosting a cool festive fair at Monroe Street Market. Then go to Woolly Mammoth to see SpeakeasyDC's annual longform storytelling show, featuring two storytellers. Perfect Liars Club favorite Keith Mellnick is fantastic. Also on 13th and 14th is the Gay Men's Choir with Rockin' the Holidays.
And looking forward to next week:
Thu 18 Dec - Be sure to get tickets for SpeakeasyDC's Jewish-themed show at Sixth and I, My So-Called Jewish Life. Your very own Brit About Town Layla will be telling a never-before-heard story about her experiences traveling to Israel with the Birthright Program! Expect amusement...
Sat 20 Dec - It's back to Sixth and I for Chanu-comedy - some Jewish-themed comedy by Rachel Bloom and Danny Jolles.
There's also a lot of festive improv on all this month. Details and tickets here.
And don't forget Perfect Liars Club is back on Jan 7th. Tickets here!
It's been a fab week for storytelling. Perfect Liars Club was fab - and only 7 people in the entire audience spotted the liar. For shame, Washingtonians. Pics and description here. Our next show is Wednesday January 7th so start your year off shrewdly and get tix here.
But we were only one of several cool things going on. Every year SpeakeasyDC puts on a show where two storytellers extend their usual 7 minutes into a longform storytelling extravaganza. This year the shows were last weekend... and this coming weekend. Keith Mellnick's 50 min-long slot, 'I'm not crazy' about his experiences with Peace Corps in Kazakhstan is up first, and is really excellent: engaging, fascinating, funny, sad, and entirely relatable. Worth going for him alone.
We were also excited to attend Story League's brilliant free show at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, or rather, in its Theatre Lab. The theme: inappropriate holiday gifts. They brought half the storytellers from New York which always delivers a certain je ne sais quoi... and the stories were largely fantastic. Plus some quirky songs. And this is cool: if you missed it, you can watch it online right now!
Our final fun event of the week was to go see a special presentation of The Imitation Game, as part of the AFI's European Union Film Showcase, on now. "What, Silver Spring?" I hear you moan (unless you live near there, in which case you're saying "Well, obviously."). Every time I go to the AFI I love it and beat myself up for not going more often. As regular readers know, usually I enjoy a matinee, followed by a superlative brunch at Jackie's, and cycle home down Rock Creek Park: an excellent day. This was embarrassingly my first evening AFI experience. Seems it's only a 5 min walk from the red line station. And afterwards we got to try out a long-imagined dream: Jackie's Sidebar. I don't mean to alarm anyone... but this bar is possibly cooler than any bar in central DC. The decor, ambience, cocktails, and food are all a delight. If this was near me, it would indisputably be my local. I felt like I was in London. If you haven't been, this may be the moment for you!
Finally, festive fun! First, a walk through the National Zoo's Zoolights was as kitsch and delightful as ever. Recommended! Then the Jingle All the Way 5k was the most hilariously festive run I've ever spectated. My lovely wife had excellent festive headgear but it paled in comparison to the lycra Santa suits, gingerbread men, and entire Santa's sleigh complete with full complement of reindeer... all running down Pennsylvania Avenue on Sunday morning. Fun.
What's coming up this week: Picks of the week
This is a brilliant week for shows and cool stuff - so just after buying a million tickets, I found I had to go to Scotland and miss them all. My loss is your gain though, expecially if you want to buy our Gay Men's Chorus tickets for Sunday? (email us with an offer)
Tue 9 Dec - SpeakeasyDC's monthly show is about Childhood Beliefs. I'm missing it.
Wed 10 Dec - Have you been to Mortified? It's a rather hilarious show where adults read out embarrassing bits of their writings from their angst-filled teenage years, like diary entries, poems etc. Adam Ruben runs it. I'm hoping to participate sometime. It's on tonight! I'm missing it. If you have time before, at 6pm there's a weird festive free tuba event at Kennedy Center...
Thu 11 Dec - It's the fab art/science mash-up DASER. This month's topic: art and ecology. I'm missing it.
Fri 12 Dec - Tonight a run of the brilliant Second City's Nut-Cracking Holiday Revue kicks off at the Arlington Drafthouse. It's bound to be excellent. I'll have to get someone to join me on another date... Or else head to the Bier Baron for Nutcracker Burlesque!
Sat 13 Dec and Sun 14 Dec - During the day on Saturday Yelp is hosting a cool festive fair at Monroe Street Market. Then go to Woolly Mammoth to see SpeakeasyDC's annual longform storytelling show, featuring two storytellers. Perfect Liars Club favorite Keith Mellnick is fantastic. Also on 13th and 14th is the Gay Men's Choir with Rockin' the Holidays.
And looking forward to next week:
Thu 18 Dec - Be sure to get tickets for SpeakeasyDC's Jewish-themed show at Sixth and I, My So-Called Jewish Life. Your very own Brit About Town Layla will be telling a never-before-heard story about her experiences traveling to Israel with the Birthright Program! Expect amusement...
Sat 20 Dec - It's back to Sixth and I for Chanu-comedy - some Jewish-themed comedy by Rachel Bloom and Danny Jolles.
There's also a lot of festive improv on all this month. Details and tickets here.
And don't forget Perfect Liars Club is back on Jan 7th. Tickets here!
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