Thursday and Sunday: Washington Master Chorale at St. Ann’s Catholic Church and Church of the Epiphany
If, like me, you grew up on a steady diet of Miss Congeniality rewatches and have often wished for more footage of “Gracie Lou Freebush” honing her melodic water glass technique, you should definitely check out this annual holiday concert. (Apologies to the real glass harp nerds for this base reference; I’ll see myself out.) The city’s own Washington Master Chorale, a 60-voice chorus that got started in 2010, is presenting Comfort and Joy, a repertoire of seasonal choral music that includes the local premiere of a soaring work called “Northern Lights,” written by Latvian Composer Ēriks Ešenvalds for choir, tuned glass, and hand chimes. The piece combines a Latvian folk song with eyewitness accounts of the famed aurora borealis by two 19th-century Arctic explorers (including Charles Francis Hall, who famously died under suspicious circumstances while leading the Polaris expedition to the North Pole—intrigue!).
Baltimore-based tenor Opal Clyburn-Miller; courtesy of KRPR
Just like Sandy B., the chorale is performing “Northern Lights” on water-filled wine glasses, which really do lend themselves to spine-tingling moments of eerie transcendence. Baltimore-based tenor Opal Clyburn-Miller will bring their rising art-music stardom to the performance as a guest soloist on the folk song part. Unconventional instrumentation aside, the choir has also programmed two more contemporary seasonal pieces by young composers: Ephiphanytide, a motet by the multitalented Rhiannon Giddens mentee Mason Bynes, and Winter Breviary, a new three-part cycle of carols about the solstice by Reena Esmail, who synthesizes Indian and Western classical music traditions in her compositions. Traditional British and American Christmas carols will get their due in the program as well, from “Lute-Book Lullaby” to “Hosanna to the Son of David.” These professional and volunteer choristers have developed a warmly blended sound under artistic director Thomas Colohan that, indeed, should provide some comfort and joy this holiday season. The Washington Master Chorale performs at 7:30 p.m.on Dec. 19 at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, 4001 Yuma St. NW; and at 5 p.m. on Dec. 22 at Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW. $10–$60. washingtonmasterchorale.org. —Amelia Roth-Dishy
Thursday: Clue Christmas at DC Improv
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” plays on the phonograph as a log crackles on the fire. Eggnog is flowing, nieces and nephews are laughing, and your aunt is trying to sign you up for a multilevel marketing scheme. (“It’s only $800 to get started! I’m my own boss now!”) Suddenly, the room turns dim. There’s a clattering, the hiss of cold steel, and a scream. When the lights return, cousin Ralph is lying in the middle of the room, a carving knife intended for the glazed ham jutting from his back. And … scene! See how naturally Christmas and murder mystery tropes work together? You’ve already got a cast of related but very different characters with unique histories and quirks conveniently gathered up in a single location. All it takes is one stroke of the knife and a deductive mindset to turn the whole thing into an Agatha Christie story. The comedians at Die Laughing Productions saw this opportunity and decided to build an improv comedy show around it. In Clue Christmas, Die Laughing’s roster of comedians will recruit members of the audience to help solve a holly jolly murder in a show that combines theater, improv, and mystery. This isn’t Die Laughing’s first themed murder show. They’re also the masterminds behind other holiday mysteries like Halloween Whodunit and the Final Countdown (for New Year’s Eve, natch), along with shows modeled after reality TV and superhero movies. Joe Robinson (an Arlington Drafthouse comedian of the year) and Rob Maher (a finalist in Comedy Central’s Up Next competition) run the show, while comedian Katie Robinson works as choreographer and stage manager. Several other talented comics round out the cast. Clue Christmas is a great opportunity to get some much-needed holiday cheer, laugh until it hurts, and, if you’re up for it, play a small role in solving a murder. Clue Christmas starts at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 19 at DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. dcimprov.com. Sold Out. —Will Lennon
Friday: It’s a Wonderful Life and Nosferatu with Radiohead at Arlington Drafthouse
I tear up whenever I watch It’s a Wonderful Life. The Frank Capra Christmas classic about an overwhelmed, overworked parent who would rather off himself than start a GoFundMe campaign is infinitely relatable in late stage capitalism. The film is the best example of why everyone that believes in the American dream should be a democratic socialist. Unfortunately that lesson is lost on most … at least based on who the majority of U.S. voters elected last month. If you’re fearful of the inevitable march toward a second plague in under a decade, It’s a Wonderful Life pairs quite nicely with 1922’s Nosferatu. The scary silent film will be synced with music from Radiohead’s seminal 2000 album, Kid A, and its 2001 pairing, Amnesiac. No band better captured the depression, paranoia, and doom of early 21st-century politics and technology and with the rise of AI and authoritarianism, these two albums have become relevant yet again. Played over the first great vampire flick, it’s a neat chance to experience both types of art in a new way. Technically this is not a double feature but nothing is stopping you from enjoying three disparate pieces of art from the 1920s, ’40s, and 2000s. Who knows, you may even leave the theater feeling hopeful? It’s not like crippling depression, plagues, or politicians abusing power is anything new. It’s a Wonderful Life screens at 7 p.m. followed by Nosferatu With Radiohead: A Silents Synced Film, which screens at 9:45 p.m. on Dec. 20 at Arlington Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. arlingtondrafthouse.com. $8 for Wonderful, $12 for Nosferatu. It’s a Wonderful Life also screens at 7 p.m. on Dec. 22 and 23. —Brandon Wetherbee
Friday and Saturday: Annie Costia Beat Ya Feet at the Lincoln Theatre
Since theatrical visionary Lovail Long premiered his 2018 production The Giz, a go-go retelling of The Wiz, he has regularly presented musicals celebrating go-go culture, including Grease With a Side of Mumbo Sauce and Chocolate City Records. Long’s latest effort, Annie Costia Beat Ya Feet, is an adaptation of the Broadway musical Annie, in which little Annie Costia is an endearing and spunky foster kid living in an orphanage in Southeast D.C. As she searches for her parents, she encounters a wealthy Ghanaian prince, a character that Long says was inspired by go-go artist DeDe Folarin. Annie introduces the prince to the #DontMuteDC movement, and he, in turn, shares his Ghanaian culture. Characterized by intricate footwork, the Beat Ya Feet dance style first became popular in the early 2000s; since then, it has emerged as the most definitive and enduring dance style in go-go. For Annie Costia, Long partnered with John “Crazy Legz” Pearson, also known as the Beat Ya Feet King due to both his remarkable agility and his role in promoting Beat Ya Feet everywhere from Poland to Brazil. Crazy Legz serves as both choreographer and performer in the musical, which means audiences can expect plenty of dazzling dance steps. Other go-go luminaries featured in Annie Costia include gifted vocalist Pam Ward of Let It Flow and Push Play, TOB lead talker “Lil” Chris Proctor, and Trouble Funk’s “Big” Tony Fisher as a jolly Santa Claus. Annie is played by Nyah Glover, a ninth grader at Germantown’s Seneca Valley High School. “This show gives Beat Ya Feet dancers their just due for their role in the culture,” says Long. “We’re coming together for the future of the culture, and there’s more to come.” Annie Costia Beat Ya Feet plays at 7 p.m. on December 20 & 21 at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. thelincolndc.com. Sold out. —Alona Wartofsky
Saturday: Lilith Fest: A Tribute to Lilith Fair at the Atlantis
Ashley Menendez, Jahnel Daliya, and Cathy DiToro performing at Lilith Fest 2023. Credit: Mike Stone @musicfrommypov
While many kids were raised to wish they had attended Woodstock, my parents raised me to be sad I missed Lilith Fair, the iconic feminist, women-led and driven touring music festival that ran from 1997 to ’99. Lilith Fair played Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 29, 1997, with a lineup that featured Sarah McLachlan, the Cardigans, Fiona Apple, Jewel, and more. The fest was revolutionary for championing an all-women lineup, a dynamic that still evades festival booking (though we’ve seen some improvement). While I’ve chased the imagined high at festivals like All Things Go, the closest imitation of the true spirit of Lilith Fair will be found at the Atlantis on Saturday for the second annual Lilith Fest, a tribute to the original Fair organized by local nonprofit Project HERA. The fest will feature local artists covering classic songs by original Fair performers including Tracy Chapman, Indigo Girls, Erykah Badu, and more. Project HERA founder and Lilith Fest performer Cathy DiToro tells City Paper she started Project HERA in 2017, after hosting a weekly showcase of local women in music for two years at a bar in Crystal City. “I thought, I’d really like to get all of these wonderful and talented women in the same place, on the same day, to connect, and empower each other—invoking the spirit” of Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair,” says DiToro. “Her festival was my true inspiration for starting the nonprofit. So it’s full circle now that I’m hosting a second tribute show to Lilith Fair, all these years later.” DiToro hopes that the all-ages, family-friendly event will bring community members together, just like Lilith Fair once did. It’s the perfect event for the friend whose karaoke song is “Fast Car” or the roommate who recently got really into MUNA and is looking to learn more about the iconic women whose work influenced current artists. In other words, Go to the Lilith Fest to hear covers of songs by your favorite artists’ favorite artists. Lilith Fest starts at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 21 at the Atlantis, 2047 9th St. NW. theatlantis.com. $20. —Serena Zets