Tysons is the business hub of Northern Virginia, and there’s no business like show business.
Four Broadway shows will be coming to Capital One Hall as part of the 2024-2025 season of Broadway in Tysons.
The shows will be, both in order that they’re coming to Tysons and in worst-to-best order of quality: Shrek the Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away and Chicago.
Tickets will go on sale starting Monday, May 6 at 10 a.m.
This is the fourth year of Broadway in Tysons. One show from the current season, Little Women, will run from May 17-19.
According to the release, the schedule for the upcoming season is: Read More
The 96th Academy Awards are just under a month away, which means there’s still time to catch up on this year’s nominees.
To help out, ShowPlace Icon Theatre in Tysons will host upcoming, “special” screenings of “Barbie” and “The Holdovers,” two of the films seeking to upset “Oppenheimer” on its steady march toward winning the Oscar for Best Picture.
Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking comedy will screen on Thursday, Feb. 29, while Alexander Payne’s Christmas-set throwback to the 1970s will screen on March 7, just days before the Oscars ceremony on March 10. Both screenings will start at 7 p.m.
With both movies available to watch at home, either on physical discs or online, The Boro theater is banking on a discount to attract audiences. With a $15 ticket, patrons can get a small popcorn and their choice of a soda, beer or wine.
Per its website, the theater typically charges $18.75 for evening showings, and drinks range from $6.50 for a beer bottle or can to $15 for some of the wines.
Tickets for the special screenings can be purchased through Eventbrite.
Located at 1667 Silver Hill Drive, ShowPlace Icon originally opened in February 2020 — just before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Fairfax County. After a one-month attempt at reopening, it officially reintroduced itself to the community in April 2021.
Tysons is also home to an AMC at Tysons Corner Center and CMX CinéBistro in Tysons Galleria.
(Updated at 6:35 p.m.) Movie watchers in Reston will officially have a new place to experience the cinema next month.
LOOK Dine-in Cinemas will launch in Reston Town Center (11940 Market Street) on Nov. 2 with a grand opening and “ticket tearing” ceremony, the company confirmed to FFXnow.
The theater took over and renovated Bow Tie Cinemas, which closed almost two years ago. The opening was first pushed to late 2022 and then the third quarter of this year.
This is the first location in Virginia and the D.C. area for the company. The self-described “luxury” brand offers dine-in service for all screenings with a food, beverage and cocktail menu, according to its website.
“I couldn’t be more excited to bring LOOK Dine-In Cinemas to Reston Town Center,” LOOK Dine-In Cinemas CEO Brian Schultz said in a statement. “Our theater is a place for this great community to enjoy, laugh, cry, be inspired, and most importantly, come together. It’s not just about movies; it’s about creating memorable moments and a shared experience that unites us all.”
The Reston theater will have 11 screening rooms ranging in capacity from 45 to 120 seats. All auditoriums have reclining chairs and digital surround sound.
More from LOOK on the new venue:
Through its modern, elevated experience, LOOK sets itself apart from the average dine-in cinema, offering a state-of-the-art immersive presentation, large screens, surround sound and luxury seating. LOOK + Dine mobile technology allows guests to order from chef-inspired menus and craft beverage selections and all items are delivered directly to the guest’s seat.
LOOK Reston Town Center will feature a PX auditorium, the largest auditorium in the complex with a massive wall-to-wall screen, crisp, clear digital projection and engulfing digital surround sound technology. Guests and corporations will be able to host group events in the auditoriums or private rental space.
Advance tickets are already being sold to some of the first showings at the theater, including “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” the video game adaptation “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and Martin Scorsese’s historical crime drama, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Going forward, the company says the theater will have a range of films, including blockbusters, independent movies, documentaries, concert films and special event screenings.
Reston Town Center residents and tenants can expect “special promotions,” LOOK says.
A virtual theater launched by South Lakes High School alumni is officially closing its curtains.
Walking Shadow Readers Theatre announced the company’s closure in an email on Monday (July 17). The company closed due to lack of capacity, a team member said.
The theater will officially go dark on July 31.
“When we began during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, our aim was to help keep theatre alive while the world shut down,” Walking Shadow Readers wrote in the announcement. “With your support, our virtual platform proved to be a resounding success, more than we imagined! The successes we’ve experienced make it that much more difficult to announce we have decided this past 2022-2023 season was our last.”
The model was established in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. It kicked off in June 2020 as a casual reunion of South Lakes drama alumni before organizing virtual readings and performances.
The theater celebrated its first season with a One Acts Festival, which featured eight short plays in the summer of 2021. The program was streamed on YouTube.
Since it was founded, the theater presented developmental readings of 26 new plays — some of which became published works or were presented in person once theaters reopened. It offered new and up-and-coming playwrights a chance to have their work reviewed and experienced.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to help establish and participate in this new theatrical medium these past three years,” the company wrote. “Working with playwrights as their stories evolve, and hearing artists give voice to the characters the world has yet to meet, has been an incredible adventure.”
The team thanks its playwrights, guest artists and audience members for their support. In a response to a request for information to FFXnow, the team declined comment.
Sophia Manicone has come a long way from her “Vienna Idol” days.
The 18-year-old Vienna resident recently realized the dream of every theater kid with her Broadway debut in the revival of “Parade,” which officially opened yesterday (Thursday) at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York City.
Starring Tony winner Ben Platt and “The Cher Show” breakout Micaela Diamond, the musical explores racism and antisemitism as a dramatization of the real-life 1913 trial of Jewish American factory manager Leo Frank, a case that stoked the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and led to the creation of the Anti-Defamation League.
Manicone — a senior at the Fairfax Academy for Communications and the Arts with Vienna’s James Madison High School as her base school — plays Iola Stover, a factory worker who testifies against Frank.
She joined the revival’s Off-Broadway premiere at New York City Center (NYCC) in November and learned a month later that she would be part of the transfer to Broadway. She was one of 18 cast members making their debut when the show began previews on Feb. 21.
“It’s so unbelievable. It still doesn’t feel real,” Manicone told FFXnow by email. “Being a part of this incredible cast is so thrilling. I’m performing alongside people I listened to (and sang along with) on cast recordings since I was a little kid. The people in the cast and the creative team have been welcoming and supportive. I feel so lucky!”
Manicone traces her love of theater back to the musical films and cartoons she watched as a young kid. A trip to see “Mary Poppins” on Broadway when she was 3 cemented that infatuation, leading her to pursue her first audition in New York when she was in second grade.
“My parents got us tickets in the last row of the theater in case I wasn’t able to sit through the show,” she recalled. “But apparently I didn’t move an inch and was mesmerized — especially when Mary Poppins flew across the theater!”
Manicone’s journey to the Great White Way began in earnest on the Vienna Town Green, where she made her first big public performances competing in the annual “Vienna Idol” fundraiser, she told DC Theater Arts in 2016.
She was 9 when she won the title in 2014 with “her booming Broadway voice,” The Connection reported at the time. From there came roles in local theater productions, including her first professional lead role in Creative Cauldron’s “Ruthless! The Musical.”
Because of her community theater work, Manicone says her ability to participate in school plays was limited, but in sixth grade, she appeared in “Seussical” at Louise Archer Elementary School. She also sang choir in her elementary and middle school years.
“I had amazing teachers and as a middle schooler, it was wonderful having such a supportive environment where I felt I belonged,” she said. Read More
A popular theater artist is slated to bring to life the stories of five Restonians to Reston Community Center’s CenterStage this month.
Ping Chong, a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Obie Award and National Medal of Arts, will create a residency format that his New York-based company — Ping Chong and Company — has adapted in communities around the country.
Starting next Monday (March 13), his artists will create performances featuring the stories of five Restonians as they navigate the world: Robin Feldman, Carmah Owen, Rosa Simon, Semret Worku and Natsu Zavala.
Chong, who plans to retire in the near future, has created more than 100 works for the stage. His company focuses on the connections between cultures and the multifaceted nature of identity.
He said in a statement that he’s “delighted” to spend part of his final working days in Reston:
Fifty years have passed since I began my life as a theatre practitioner. I am now in the process of retiring. I will be 77 years old this year and it is time for reflecting on a fortunate, rich life. Time passes. I am delighted to share this moment of transition here in Reston. If theatre can do one thing, it is to bring community together. Thank you for this opportunity to remind us all that we are all connected by our humanity, that we are all human beings regardless of where we come from. All islands connect under water.
RCC Board Chair Bev Cosham said the center’s partnership with Chong’s company offers an opportunity for a “once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a theatrical trailblazer.”
“The work his company and our local team have created will reach deep into our emotional wells and surface the compelling stories of how we navigated these last traumatic years. It promises to be both a revealing and a healing experience,” Cosham said.
RCC’s staff will support the project and the work will by recorded by Storycatcher Productions, Inc.
A breakdown of the planned events is below: Read More
Though they won’t appear among the best director nominees at the Oscars this Sunday (March 12), female and gender non-conforming filmmakers will be celebrated tonight (Wednesday) at the Mosaic District.
The Merrifield neighborhood’s Angelika Film Center (2911 District Avenue) is hosting Lunafest — a traveling film festival that showcases movies by and about women — to mark International Women’s Day.
With doors opening at 6 p.m., the festival will screen seven short films from 7-9 p.m. The screenings will be preceded by a “social hour” with light hors d’oeuvres, drinks and a raffle, according to the event page.
All proceeds will go to Girls on the Run Northern Virginia (GOTR NOVA), a nonprofit based in Fairfax that offers running programs designed to teach girls life skills like teamwork and self-confidence.
“We love hosting Lunafest each year because it allows us to bring our community together to celebrate new perspectives and be inspired by the ideas of what our program participants could become and achieve,” GOTR NOVA Development Manager Catherine Reeves Keller said. “All of the proceeds from the event go back to GOTR NOVA to fund our programming and empower our participants.”
Lunafest was created in 2001 by Luna, a brand of Clif Bar & Company that makes a nutrition bar targeted toward women. Since then, the festival says it has raised over $7 million for nonprofits, featured 175 filmmakers, and hosted over 2,900 screenings in the U.S. and Canada.
The festival lineup includes a mix of live-action and animated films:
Reclaim Your Water: Natasha Smith — As a member of the Ebony Beach Club, Natasha Smith surfs, skates, and makes her own waves.
Miss Chelove: From Java to the Streets of D.C. — As she paints a mural, artist Cita Sadeli (aka Miss Chelove) opens up about her life, her cultural heritage, and how she fell in love with grafti in the 1980s.
Pete — The true story of Pete Barma explores gender identity, Little League Baseball, the people who inspire change by being themselves, and the superheroes who champion that change.
This Is Beth — As celebrated rock climber Beth Rodden grapples with her body image, she rediscovers the love of her sport… and herself.
More Than I Want to Remember — After her southeastern Congo village is bombed, 14-year-old Mugeni sets out on a remarkable solo journey across the globe, determined to reunite with her lost loved ones and lift up the Banyamulenge people.
Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night — All cards are on the table when Noor, a queer Pakistani Muslim woman, brings her Puerto Rican girlfriend, Luz, home for the rst time on the family’s annual game night.
Swimming Through — Amid a brutal Chicago winter and the global pandemic, Deirdre, Helen, and Jennefer’s friendship grows as they commit to a daily sunrise plunge together in Lake Michigan.
Tickets to the festival cost $30 and can be purchased online.
The spirit of Black History Month will extend into March at The Alden in McLean.
For tomorrow (Saturday) only, the McLean Community Center’s theater will host a one-act play by the Ohio-based company Mad River Theater Works “that brings the history of the Underground Railroad to life,” according a news release.
The sole performance of “Freedom Flight” will be held from 4-5:30 p.m. Featuring original music, the play is based on the true story of Addison White, who escaped slavery in Kentucky and later served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
“Freedom Flight” is a one-act play with music by Mad River that revolves around Ohio’s most famous incident in the history of the Underground Railroad: the story of Addison White, an escaped slave, and his rescue by the citizens of the town of Mechanicsburg, Ohio. When Evelyn, a descendant of Addison White, confronts her own difficulties with racism, an array of characters tell and relive their family history.
Founded in 1978, Mad River Theater Works produces original plays that “challenge racism, sexism and intolerance” by finding inspiring stories in American history, according to its website.
Tickets for tomorrow’s play cost $15 for all residents of MCC’s tax district and $25 for non-residents, though seniors and students pay just $20. The Alden is a 383-seat theater in the community center at 1234 Ingleside Avenue.
In February, MCC marked Black History Month with a performance by the all-female, a capella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. The center also hosted “The 1619 Project” creator Nikole Hannah-Jones, who was invited to speak by Fairfax County Public Library.
Tysons moviegoers can now escape to Pandora while munching on blackened salmon.
CMX CinéBistro (2001 International Drive, Suite 1700U) has officially opened at Tysons Galleria after a couple of delays last fall. The dine-in movie theater, which features a full bar and lounge, is located on the third floor of the mall’s redeveloped Macy’s wing.
CMX Cinemas announced on Instagram that its newest theater opened its doors for the first time last Friday (Jan. 27).
The 43,268-square-foot theater has over 800 reclining seats in eight screening rooms. Available in theaters and at the Stone Sports Bar in the lobby, the menu focuses on “rustic New American cuisine” prepared by formally trained chefs, CMX said in a press release.
“The thing that really sets our menu and concept apart from other theaters in the region is that we serve it in-theater while guests are sitting in a plush recliner, and we pair it with the latest projection and audio technology,” CMX CEO Patrick Ryan said. “We want to be able to check every box in terms of food, technology, comfort and amenities, because it’s when you put it all together that it adds up to an unbeatable experience.”
Dishes include blackened salmon with roasted garlic mash and butter sauce, artichoke cakes with Old Bay remoulade and Brazilian tomato slaw, a signature CMX Burger, and a crispy chicken bowl with jasmine rice.
Standard movie theater concessions are also available, along with alcoholic and non-alcoholic milkshakes.
Patrons planning to use the in-theater dining service need to arrive at least 30 minutes before their showtime, and except for films designated as “family-friendly,” showings after 8:30 p.m. are limited to people 21 and older.
Movies currently playing include recent Oscar nominees like “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” along with this weekend’s new releases “80 for Brady” and M. Night Shamalyan’s “Knock at the Cabin.” There was also a repertory screening of “Rocky” on Wednesday (Feb. 1).
Ticket prices vary based on the movie and time of day, from $8 for a weekday matinee of “80 for Brady” to $14.49 for a “prime time” showing of “Top Gun: Maverick” on Friday night. On Tuesdays, all tickets for adults and kids are just $5, according to a promotional sign outside the theater.
This is CMX’s first location in Fairfax County, though the Florida-based company has theaters in Richmond and Leesburg.
“We are proud of our tenant offerings, and CMX CineBistro is one of the final elements that will complete the new wing at Tysons Galleria,” said Chris Pine, executive vice president of anchors, big box leasing and development at Brookfield Properties for retail. “CMX offers a sophisticated and comfortable experience that compliments the Tysons Galleria experience.”
The final additions to the new wing include the Southeast Asian restaurant Jiwa Singapura, which is located directly across from CinéBistro and expected to open early this year, and Yard House.
The sports bar was scheduled to have a grand opening on Jan. 15, but permit issues with Fairfax County delayed the opening, which will now be on Feb. 26, according to Dylan Wieder, executive chef for Yard House’s Tysons location.
It may be a some time before Reston Town Center patrons get a first look at the replacement for BowTie Cinemas.
Initially expected to come in late 2022, LOOK Dine-in Cinemas now anticipates an opening sometime in the first half of this year.
A company representative told FFXnow that the movie theater will likely open sometime in the second quarter of the year, which runs from April to June.
Once an officially date is known, the company plans to announce details on its website.
This is the first location in the D.C. area for the company, which plans to renovate the Reston theater. Other features of the “luxury” brand include a food, beverage and cocktail menu, according to the company’s website.
Bow Tie Cinemas, which acquired the theater from Rave Cinema in 2011, closed in April.
