Scrappy Travels

Few performers exhibit the sheer joy of performing, and basking in the air of doing what they love, like Gavin Creel. Each time he steps on the stage, you can see his love for the arts and his desire to share it with the audience. That was no different when he joined Mary Mitchell Campbell at the Kennedy Center on Thursday as part of the Renee Fleming Voices series. Gavin is undeniably talented, and unabashedly himself, and the audience (and I) loved every moment of it! For those who may not know him, Gavin is best known for his work in the theater starring in Thoroughly Modern Millie , She Loves Me , and The Book of Mormon (in London), and later winning a Tony for his role as Cornelius Hackle in 2017's gorgeous production of Hello Dolly!   Throughout this time, he's been writing music, sharing his favorites in concert, and just being an all around wonderful performer and champion of the arts.  I first saw him in She Loves Me , and though he didn't win a Tony for t...

One of the jewels of the DMV's theatre scene is Signature Theatre of Arlington. The shows produced at this gorgeous space, are always new and exciting. So much so, that the theatre itself won a regional Tony award in 2009. That's an amazing accomplishment in itself, but since then, they've continued to push the envelope with their productions. Currently running at the Signature is Assassins by Stephen Sondheim. While the show has always been edgy and maybe just a bit warped, what they've done with it, is (I've heard) revolutionary. Though I haven't managed to snag tickets yet, I did visit the theatre to attend another of Signature's - well, signature events. Every few weeks, in the Arc theatre, singers, dancers and actors alike perform in specially curated cabarets. The Arc is a black box theatre, with a small stage and about 30 tables. Ali's bar has specialty drinks on tap, and a few snacks to tide you over until dinner at one of the surrounding r...

Aside from Lin, my very favorite member of the original Hamilton cast is Chris Jackson. And tonight I finally had the chance to see him in concert. I just love his personality and of course that gorgeous voice of his, so I was very excited to see him in a more informal setting. Obviously, he knocked it out of the park. His concert was seemingly off the cuff. He would sing a bit, then chat about a singer he liked or anecdotes about his family or Broadway. He's so sincere, and seemed to be blown away by the fact that he was performing at the Kennedy Center. It was sweet to see him get as excited as we were to see him. He chose a wide variety of songs to sing, such as classics by Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Harry Belafonte. Those were most of the ones I knew. He sang quite a few others that I'd never heard before, but they were no less fun. He even ended the show with a snappy version of "Happy" by Pharrel Williams. All in all, I liked his choices and they wo...