A new circus seeking to cater to diverse audiences and feature performers with disabilities has postponed its in-person world debut.
Crews were setting up Omnium Circus at Tysons III this week when the organization abruptly halted its upcoming run from Nov. 18 to Jan. 9.
Customers who purchased tickets can get a refund or exchange their tickets for the delayed performances. The circus also notes that people can choose to consider the tickets as donations due to the organization’s nonprofit status.
Founder Lisa Lewis said ticketholders are being contacted directly.
“So much of live entertainment — you even see it on Broadway — …they’re all trying to get back, and it’s not always a smooth ride for everybody at the start,” spokesperson Alan Miller told Tysons Reporter, adding that such performances are not seeing the advance ticket sales they previously did.
No definitive replacement dates have been set yet, but the circus said it’s rescheduling the show and plans to return in the spring. Groups that reserved tickets have already rolled over to those future dates, Lewis said.
The circus released a statement yesterday (Wednesday) announcing the decision, which it said was due to a “combination of insurmountable circumstances beyond our control have forced us to make the very difficult decision.”
“It was kind of like a perfect storm,” Lewis said.
According to Lewis, investors wanted the show to be postponed, citing COVID-19 concerns, slow ticket sales, and reports of a potential terrorism threat.
The circus called the decision “very, very difficult.”
“We’re just really excited to be able to come back in the spring,” Lewis said, adding that Ominum is delighted and honored that property owner Lerner was so accommodating with changing the dates.
The circus launched with a December 2020 livestream and worked with schools and other organizations during the pandemic.
Read the official statement on the rescheduling of the world premiere of Omnium: A Bold New Circus at https://t.co/2DnjHhiOgk pic.twitter.com/1f1RQsLoeZ
— Omnium Circus (@OmniumCircus) November 3, 2021
Capital One Hall is ready for its public debut.
The 125,000-square-foot performing arts venue at 7750 Capital One Tower Road in Tysons features a 1,600-seat performance hall, a 225-seat black box theatre, an atrium space for events and weddings with room for 500 people at tables, and an adjoining terrace with a standing capacity of 450.
The building’s façade is wrapped by a glass and Italian Carrera marble while the venue is topped by The Perch — a rooftop green space featuring a stage, Starr Hill Biergarten, and additional event space that opened in August.
“These openings are really a pathway to the future,” Capital One Hall Executive Director Dolly Vogt said at a media preview tour on Tuesday (Sept. 28). “It’s going to bring so much vibrancy and energy to the community…Theaters or arenas, venues like this really do help drive so much. It’s an economic driver in the community; it drives the arts in the community.”
The venue will host its inaugural performance on Friday (Oct. 1) at 8 p.m., courtesy of Grammy, Tony, and Emmy Award-nominated singer, songwriter, and actor Josh Groban. The country band Little Big Town will round out the grand opening weekend with its 2021 Nightfall Tour on Saturday and Sunday.
Since announcing its first booking in June, the venue has filled out its first season through May 2022 with a mix of shows, from pop stars and comedians to local orchestras. Next season’s events are in the midst of being finalized.
“You’ve got a world class entertainment venue that also serves the community,” said Bob Papke, vice president of theaters for ASM Global, which operates Capital One Hall.
“You can see ‘Waitress’ on one night, and you can go see the Fairfax Symphony on another night and a local dance troupe a night after that in this environment and this space, and they’re all sharing the stage and we’re all sharing the experience.”
The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra will be the first local group to perform in the venue on Oct. 9. The scheduled Broadway shows include the musicals “Waitress” from Oct. 29-31, “Fiddler on the Roof” from March 11-13, and “An Officer And A Gentleman” from May 13-15.
“Working with Capital One, it’s a Fortune 100 company, and you have ASM, which is the leader in facility management worldwide, we’re going to be interacting with not only the major promoters, but we’re going to be interacting with those local arts groups,” Papke said.
Community groups that use Capital One Hall are vetted by the nonprofit ArtsFairfax as part of Capital One’s development agreement with Fairfax County, which also includes a subsidized rate for local organizations.
“We’re going to be able to help them not only from the artistic side by giving them this great space to perform in, but also help them on the business side…helping those organizations with their marketing, their finance, with their long-range planning so that they continue to be a viable arts organization and continue to grow,” Papke said.
The venue will require patrons to present proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours before an event. Masks are also required for everyone ages 12 and up.
The show will not go on for the theatrical performances that 1st Stage Theatre had planned for the remainder of its 2020-2021 season — at least not in the form they were originally conceived.
The Tysons-based theater company announced this afternoon (Thursday) that it will not move forward with productions of “The Waverly Gallery,” “The Nance,” and “Mlima’s Tale” as planned “due to the ongoing health crisis.”
“While we were holding out a sliver of hope that the new vaccines might give us a chance to move forward as planned, it is clear that there simply won’t be a safe option,” 1st Stage said in an emailed newsletter.
In lieu of the anticipated in-person performance, the company will instead present a virtual, live reading of “The Waverly Gallery” performed by the original 1st Stage cast. A finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, “The Waverly Gallery” is a memory play written by playwright and film director Kenneth Lonergan that follows the concluding years of a grandmother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
1st Stage will hold the live reading via Zoom on Mar. 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $5 and can be purchased through the organization’s website.
The theater company does not indicate whether there are any plans to do similar live readings of “The Nance” by Douglas Carter Beane or “Mlima’s Tale” by Lynn Nottage, but it says it is working on getting the necessary permissions to move its fourth annual Logan Festival of Solo Performance up to this spring with outdoor performances.
The scrapped productions had originally been scheduled for 2020 as part of 1st Stage’s 13th season, but the theater decided in July to delay the season to this year so that it could focus on virtual offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That pivot will continue with a newly announced slate of online classes, including an introductory “Drama Games” course and two improvisation courses, one aimed at adults and the other at middle and high school students. Registration for the classes is now open with a deadline of Mar. 11.
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
The Boro is giving away free tickets this week to its upcoming Valentine’s Drive-In Movie Series.
The series will run from Feb. 12-14, and in order of their screening date, the featured films will be “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” and “Valentine’s Day.”
Details for entering the contest for free tickets can be found on The Boro’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Winners will be selected randomly and contacted by The Boro later this week.
The Boro decided to offer a Valentine’s Day-oriented film series after finding success with drive-in movie screenings last summer and on Halloween.
“We witnessed a huge demand for this type of activation when we quickly sold out our summer drive-in series,” The Boro Director of Marketing Tanya Graves said. “We’re excited to bring it back in this new capacity, helping people celebrate Valentine’s Day in a safe, but still romantic way.”
Gates for the screenings, which will be held behind The Loft at the intersection of Broad Street and Silver Hill Drive, will open at 6:30 p.m. The movies will begin at 8 p.m.
Paris Baguette will provide complimentary hot chocolate and sweet treats for the event. The Boro is also encouraging visitors to stop by its restaurants and retailers before the screenings.
“The last few months have been tough on everyone so The Boro wanted to offer the community a safe and fun outdoor activity to enjoy together,” Graves said. “We also want to support our retailers by inviting guests to grab dinner beforehand at one of our many dining options like North Italia, Santouka Ramen, and Poki DC.”
Tickets are now on sale through Eventbrite. They cost $25 per vehicle, and parking spots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Limited spaces are available to promote social distancing,” The Boro says on the event page.
The Boro is asking that people remain in their vehicles for the duration of each screening, except to use the bathroom or visit Boro Place retailers. Vehicles will also not be able to arrive late or leave early unless there is an emergency.
Audio for the movies will be available through a dedicated FM radio channel.
Like The Boro’s previous drive-in movie screenings, the Valentine’s Day series is being produced by DC Fray and District Fray Magazine.
Photo via The Boro Tysons/Facebook
Anyone who says a Zoom webinar can’t be action-packed should brace themselves for the young actors of the Traveling Players Ensemble, who will be fighting ogres, evacuating subways and fleeing detectives in three one-act plays adapted for Zoom next week.
The players are making final preparations for the inaugural festival, which will be held on Dec. 13 with shows from 2-3:15 p.m., 3:30-4:45 p.m. and 7-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for access to a Zoom webinar.
A McLean-based theater company for youths in grades 4-12, the Traveling Players Ensemble is known for its summer camps, so when COVID-19 arrived this spring, it had to make a choice: be outdoors with masks, or be virtual without them.
Since masks were not going to be an effective way to perform, the group went virtual. Producing Artistic Director Jeanne Harrison says she was pleasantly surprised by the results.
“We couldn’t believe it worked, or that the community became strong,” she said. “We thought it would be isolating. It didn’t work for 100% of the kids, but it worked for most of them.”
She decided to carry that energy into the fall by doing something new for TPE: fall plays. The young actors are upbeat about performing for the Zoom screen.
“I feel like it hasn’t affected the way I act very much,” said Sara Kaufman, who plays Flavia, a teen who travels back in time to first-century London when it was occupied by the Romans, in “Dust.”
While she does not have to do as much physical blocking, Kaufman says “you can still interact and play off people’s energies online on Zoom.”
She and fellow actor Kaitlyn McCarley say it is hard not to see the audience and play off their reactions. Instead, Kaufman, McCarley, and fellow actor Liam Mclaughlin read the congratulatory messages on the Zoom chat for a confidence boost between acts.
Mclaughlin plays a comic relief character named Unferth in “Beowulf (and the Bard).” While his acting has not changed, he has started moving the camera around to alter what the audience sees for comedic effect.
“Sometimes, that makes things, if anything, a bit better,” Mclaughlin said. “You can do a lot of things with a camera that you couldn’t do with an audience’s point of view.” Read More
(Updated on 11/12/2020) Capital One expects to unveil a 1.2-acre sky park with food trucks, a bar and beer garden, games, a dog run and an amphitheater in time for summer 2021.
Nested on top of the newly open Wegmans grocery store, The Perch is part of the second building to be completed in the 24.25-acre Capital One complex. Two more parts of the project are slated to open in the fall of 2021: the Watermark Hotel and the Capital One Hall.
From The Perch, Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said the public will “view Tysons from a completely different vantage point.”
For him, that perspective applies to the company’s mission to mix employees and Tysons residents.
“We are trying to separate from the notion that this is for only Capital One employees,” he said, citing The Star, a shopping and dining destination inside the Dallas Cowboys’ new training facility in Frisco, Texas, as inspiration.
The Watermark Hotel and two residential buildings will surround the Perch. The 300-room hotel will be managed by B.F. Saul Hospitality, whose flagship property is The Hay-Adams luxury hotel in Washington, D.C.
The Watermark will no longer be one of two hotels on campus, after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a request to change a planned hotel into an office building.
The Watermark Hotel is slated to open next fall, while construction on the residential towers could begin in 10 years, Griffith said.
Until the residential towers go up, semi-permanent installations will “activate the space,” including an old-school double-decker London tour bus and an Airstream converted into food trucks, Griffith said.
From the Sky Park, people can see the glassy Capital One headquarters, completed in 2018, as well as a 30-story office building with two floors of retail.
These developments fit with the trifecta of “live, work and play,” but Griffith said a fourth component, “culture,” is missing.
To fill that gap is Capital One Hall, with a 1,600-seat theater and 250-seat black box theater, as well as vaulted event spaces, large restrooms, plentiful concession areas and an expansive coat room, he said.
Capital One Hall General Manager Jamey Hines described both performance venues as “tight in feeling and room focus, but not uncomfortable.”
“People on the edges have just a good view and the audience won’t feel far away from the performer,” he said.
Having two options impacts the performer, too. “I’ve found that you have to create the room, so people achieve in the room, through seating,” Hines said.
Capital One, Fairfax County, and ARTSFAIRFAX are working together to ensure county agencies and Fairfax County Public Schools get access to 15% of the hall’s bookings at discounted rates. Already, the manager is looking to fill dates for 2022-2023.
Hines has mapped out some events and is gauging what people want to see.
The pandemic has given Capital One Hall more opportunities to be added to a multi-city tour, but he anticipates the Hall will be a bigger destination for one-time shows and productions. Hines encouraged those who are interested in dates to join the email list at capitalonehall.com.
Capital One Hall and The Perch will be open to weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, galas and functions for nonprofits, concerts and speaker series, Capital One Center marketing and community affairs manager Meghan Trossen said.
The coronavirus pandemic has sped up the building pace, now unencumbered by traffic, but the supply chain has been disrupted, impacting shipments of materials and equipment, Griffith says.
Through it all, he said Fairfax County has done “an incredible job” accommodating construction during the pandemic, implementing measures such as inspections via FaceTime to keep employees safe.
Photo courtesy Capital One
Tysons’ 1st Stage Theatre announced today (Thursday) that it’s delaying its upcoming season until February and will focus on virtual class offerings this summer.
Until 2021 rolls around, 1st Stage will offer new online classes. The “Virtual Classroom” will feature six education courses taught by the theater’s staff:
- July 13-Aug. 17: “Introduction to Playwriting” by family member Bob Bartlett
- July 14-Aug. 18: “Beginning Scene Study” by Associate Artistic Director Deidra LaWan Starnes
- July 15-Aug. 19: “A Director Prepares” by Artistic Director Alex Levy
- July 17-Aug. 21: “Beginning Voice Training” by Casting Director Jane Margulies Kalbfeld
- July 18-Aug. 22: “Approaches to Script Analysis” by Literary Manager Laura Esti Miller
- July 19-Aug. 23: “Introduction to Improvisation” by Director of Engagement Heidi Fortune Picker
Instead of kicking off its 13th season later this year, the theater will wait until February. The new season will include three productions from February-May before the Logan Festival of Solo Performance, which was cancelled this summer, will return in July 2021.
The season is now scheduled to kick off with “The Waverly Gallery,” directed by Alex Levy and written by Kenneth Lonergan. Then in April, the theatre will show “The Nance,” directed by Nick Olcott and written by Douglas Carter Beane. “Mlima’s Tale,” directed by José Carrasquillo and written by Lynn Nottage, will be the season’s last production.
The “Tysons After Dark” series highlights different activities that keep people busy once the sun goes down.
Movie-goers have three different drive-in movie options this summer in the Tysons area.
The various screenings recommend that people get their tickets sooner rather than later due to limited capacity. Here’s where people can find the drive-in movies and which dates still have tickets available.
Mosaic District
Tonight, drive-in movies kick off at the Mosaic District with “Captain Marvel.”
People must stay in their vehicles on the seventh floor of the Market parking lot to watch the movies, which will have captions and audio via an FM transmitter on the radio. Movie-theater inspired fare from Alta Strada will be available to order.
While tickets have sold out for tonight’s show and the double feature — “Toy Story 4” and “Jurassic Park” — on Friday, July 24, tickets have not gone on sale for the yet-to-be-announced films on Friday, Aug. 28.
The Boro
Last week, The Boro started off its four-week-long screenings with “Dreamgirls.” The drive-in at The Boro has a pedestrian-only section along with spaces for cars and offers extended restaurant outdoor seating and live entertainment.
“The entire series is sold out, but we are opening a limited number of spots to each upcoming movie at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning!” a post on The Boro’s Facebook page said on Tuesday. Tysons Reporter previously wrote about the full line-up of family-friendly films.
Capital One Center
Capital One Center will soon have drive-in movies from July 11 to Aug. 2 to fundraise for Second Story, a local nonprofit that helps people seeking food, shelter and emergency support.
While the movies at the McLean Metro lot (1820 Dolley Madison Blvd) are free, Capital One is asking people to make a $25 donation when they register.
“How to Train Your Dragon,” which is the series’ first movie on Saturday, July 11, still has available slots. The movies for July 12 ad July 18-19 are sold out.
Registration will open on July 13 for:
- Saturday, July 25: “Shrek”
- Sunday, July 26: “A League of Their Own”
- Saturday, Aug. 1: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
- Sunday, Aug. 2: “Footloose”
Food will be available from Curbside Kitchen. Movie-goers must stay in their vehicles.
Photo via The Boro Tysons/Facebook
Drive-in movies are coming to Tysons outside Capital One for four weeks this summer.
While the movies are free, Capital One Center is encouraging moviegoers to make a $25 donation to Second Story, a local nonprofit that helps people seeking food, shelter and emergency support. People can also text “MOVIES” to 50155 to make a donation.
Here is the line-up:
- Saturday, July 11: “How to Train Your Dragon”
- Sunday, July 12: “Pitch Perfect”
- Saturday, July 18: “Men in Black”
- Sunday, July 19: “Grease”
- Saturday, July 25: “Shrek”
- Sunday, July 26: “A League of Their Own”
- Saturday, Aug. 1: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
- Sunday, Aug. 2: “Footloose”
The movies will take place at the McLean Metro lot (1820 Dolley Madison Blvd) from 7-11:30 p.m.
Moviegoers are asked to register in advance due to limited space. People will be able to get food at the movies from Curbside Kitchen.
More from the event page:
In addition to following and enforcing CDC guidelines, our event guidelines are approved by local county officials. No smoking, alcohol and drugs are permitted.
Parking has a limited capacity to ensure proper distance between cars, and guests must stay in their vehicles (except for bathroom usage). Restrooms and hand-washing stations will be provided and sanitized consistently throughout the event.
Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash
The full list of movies for The Boro’s new drive-in series has been released.
On Monday, The Boro announced the drive-in movies on Facebook. The four-week-long series kicks off tomorrow (Friday) with “Dreamgirls.”
Here is the full line-up:
- Friday, June 19: “Dreamgirls”
- Saturday, June 20: “Grease”
- Thursday, June 25: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
- Friday, June 26: “Back to the Future Part 1”
- Saturday, June 27: “Back to the Future Part 2”
- Thursday, July 2: “Batman”
- Friday, July 3: “Mission Impossible 3”
- Thursday, July 9: “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”
- Friday, July 10: “Star Trek”
- Saturday, July 11: “Jurassic Park”
The gates will open at 7 p.m. and the movies will start at 8:30 p.m. People can reserve a vehicle or non-vehicle spot for $20.
Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash
