Alden To Reopen For New Performance Season In McLean

MCLEAN, VA—The Alden will return to its space in the renovated McLean Community Center in January. The 2018-19 performance season will feature shows in various community spaces before going back to The Alden in January 2019.

"Although we’ve enjoyed the creative and logistical challenge of programming outside of our home, we’re looking forward to being back in the community's beloved venue," said Alden performing arts director Sarah Schallern. "The inside of the theatre hasn’t been renovated; however, the rest of MCC will have amenities that will make the audience experience so much nicer."

Tickets are on sale at www.aldentheatre.org. The 383-seat theatre has offered interdisciplinary youth performances but is bringing more of a focus on shows all age groups can enjoy. "We’re finding that families are looking for outings that they can enjoy together—with their kids, teenagers, parents, even grandma and grandpa," said director of youth theatre programs Danielle Van Hook. "Our family programming aims to be inspiring to children and of a high enough caliber that adults will also be entertained."

Here is the performance schedule (subject to change):

Countdown Concerts in the Park (All Ages)

Sundays, Sept. 9-30, 5 p.m.
McLean Central Park Gazebo, 1468 Dolley Madison Blvd.
Free and open to the public

In anticipation of the McLean Community Center’s reopening in January 2019, The Alden presents a special concert series that tracks the history of the center from its opening in 1975 until today.

Superflydisco
Sunday, Sept. 9, 5 p.m.

Put your bell bottoms on and dust off your Bee Gees records. MCC opened its doors in 1975. Help us recreate the ’70s in McLean Central Park with this super fun tribute band.

Teäze
Sunday, Sept. 16, 5 p.m.

Oh, the ‘80s. The days of big hair, frosted lipstick and lots of eyeliner. Tease your hair and come check out Teäze (get it?), a comedy/tribute band saluting the hair bands of the 1980s.

Saved by the ’90s
Sunday, Sept. 23, 5 p.m.

Saved by the ‘90s serves up an interactive party in the gazebo, playing everything from the Backstreet Boys to Green Day to Notorious B.I.G. to Weezer.

So Fetch
Sunday, Sept. 30, 5 p.m.

So Fetch is a 2000s tribute band with a set list of pop-punk, rap, rock and pop hits from ten years ago.

Movie: "Jurassic Park"

Friday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.
$4/$2 MCC tax district residents
The Old Firehouse, 1440 Chain Bridge Rd.

The original 1990 movie forever changed how we see movies. Come revisit (or discover) the Spielberg movie that spawned a whole army of sequels. Then come back on Saturday, Nov. 17, for “Hold on to Your Butts,” the ingenious and hilarious live, two-person (plus two Foley sound effect artist), scene-for-scene recreation of the movie.

Theater

(Performances at The Alden unless otherwise noted)

"Hold on to Your Butts"
A Recent Cutbacks Production
Saturday, Nov. 17, 6 p.m.
$19/$14 MCC tax district residents
The Old Firehouse

65 million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the earth. Twenty years ago, a movie about dinosaurs came out that ruled the box office. Now, two actors and two Foley (sound effects) artists perform a live, “shot-for-shot” remake of "Jurassic Park" that was named a “Critic's Pick” and “Top 10 Comedy Show of 2014” by TimeOut NY.

"A Christmas Carol"
Sunday, Dec. 2, 2 p.m.
$175/$135 MCC tax district residents
Ford’s Theatre

Join your friends and neighbors for a special outing to experience a DC holiday tradition: “A Christmas Carol” at Ford’s Theatre. We’ll provide transportation and parking, theater tickets, and Alden staff members to act as your personal concierges. You just show up and enjoy.

The Capitol Steps (13+)
Saturday, Jan. 5, 8 p.m.
$50/$35 MCC tax district residents

No one is safe from these political satirists, their up-to-the-minute musical spoofs and (in)famous Lirty Dies.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration: “Liner Notes” (All Ages)
Sunday, Jan. 20, 2 p.m.
$25/$15 MCC tax district residents

You will collide with music’s past and present through jazz standards, hip-hop samples and actual liner notes from musicians of the civil rights movement in this multimedia concert experience.

Vital Theatre Company presents: "The Wizard of Oz"
Saturday, Feb. 2, 1 p.m.
$15/$10 MCC tax District Residents

Rediscover the joy of following the yellow brick road with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion as they travel through the eclectic world of Oz.

The Okee Dokee Brothers
Saturday, Feb. 23, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
$20/$15 MCC tax District Residents

The GRAMMY® Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers, mix their passion for the outdoors with Americana Folk music to create songs that they hope will inspire children and their parents to get outside and get creative.

Perspectives Speaker Series, presented in partnership with the Fairfax County Public Library: Author Walter Mosley (13+)
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m.
Free. Pre-registration required. Sixty-minute talk followed by a book signing.

NAACP Image Award-winning writer of mysteries and crime fiction, in 2016 Mr. Mosley was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America (Edgar Award).

The Joshua Show
Saturday, March 23, 1 p.m.
$15/$10 MCC tax District Residents

This award-winning family production features a modern-day Mr. Rogers with hipster appeal, live music, tap dancing, physical comedy and multiple styles of puppetry to take the audience on a journey to find the joy in being yourself.

American Shakespeare Center on Tour: Sophocles’ "Antigone" (13+)
Saturday, March 30, 2 p.m., doors open and live music starts at 1:30 p.m.
$40/$30 MCC tax district residents

Sophocles’s drama from 441 BC holds startling relevance today, examining divinity, obedience, and law – and how love overcomes them all.

American Shakespeare Center on Tour: Shakespeare’s "The Comedy of Errors"
Saturday, March 30, 7:30 p.m.
Doors open and live music starts at 7p.m.
$40/$30 MCC tax district residents

Two long-separated twins, their two tricky servants (also twins), a jealous wife, and her lovelorn sister romp through this fast-paced comedy.

American Shakespeare Center on Tour: Shakespeare’s "The Winter’s Tale" (13+)
Sunday, March 31, 2 p.m.
Doors open and live music starts at 1:30 p.m.
$40/$30 MCC tax district residents

Shakespeare’s magnificent late play is a roller-coaster ride from romance to tragedy to comedy and, finally, to a place of transcendent beauty that few other works of art have ever gone.

New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players: "I’ve Got a Little Twist"
Saturday, May 4, 7 p.m.
$40/$30 MCC tax district residents

A cabaret evening that reveals the timelessness of Gilbert and Sullivan, featuring ingeniously rewritten lyrics for G&S tunes, G&S numbers that are juxtaposed with more modern musical theatre and sometimes, classic Gilbert and Sullivan that is left intact and allowed to speak for itself.

"All the Way Live!" with Paige Hernandez and Baye Harrell
Saturday, May 11, 1 p.m.
$15/$10 MCC tax District Residents; Running time: 60 minutes

In this interactive show, world-renowned hip-hop artists collaborate on the spot to “remix” everything from the alphabet to folktales. The remix unfolds with dance, rhyme, music…and you!

Image via Shutterstock