FAMILY PERFORMANCE

The Shadow Show
Based in the city of Xian--the "cradle of Chinese culture," start of the Silk Road, and origin of shadow puppetry--Shaanxi Folk Art Theater is China's only professional province-based shadow puppet performance group. Since 1953, the company has used ancient shadow puppetry techniques to bring classic Chinese tales to life. Set to lively music, its vast repertoire has earned the group numerous awards and worldwide acclaim. The company makes its U.S. debut with an hour-long shadow puppet performance for young audiences and their families. The production features a collection of signature vignettes based on Chinese folklore, including The Crane and the Turtle, The Bear and the Flowers, The Red Coxcomb, and more. 

Recommended for ages 4 & up

Grand Opening of the New Family Theater
A World Premiere Kennedy Center Original Production

By Whoopi Goldberg
Adapted for the Stage by Kim Hines

So you think being rich will get you a giant house, fun times, and lots of great friends? Smart and sassy young Alice believes it will, so when she wins a mysterious sweepstakes, there's no time to lose to claim her prize! With her two best friends in tow--a white rabbit who's, well, kind of invisible, and a card-playing nerd who has a thing for hats--Alice heads into the topsy-turvy neon wonderland of the Big City in a race against the clock in this adaptation of Whoopi Goldberg's children's book.

Recommended for ages 5 & up

Back by Popular Demand!
A Kennedy Center Original Production

Book and Lyrics by Judith Viorst
Music by Shelly Markham

After weathering all those comic calamities in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, the loveable and irrepressible Alexander now faces his biggest challenge ever: moving--as he puts it--"a thousand miles away!" Everyone is packing, but NOT Alexander, who can't bear the thought of leaving his best friend Paul…his tree house…his soccer team…his babysitter…and everything else he considers home sweet home in this "hilarious and heartrending" (The Washington Post) musical for the whole family.

Recommended for ages 5 & up

Back by Popular Demand!
A Special Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend Event

American Place Theatre

Adapted for the stage from Richard Wright's landmark autobiography, this poignant coming-of-age story traces the African-American author's many boyhood struggles--from growing up poor and being abandoned by his father to facing "Jim Crow" prejudice in early 20th-century America. Through his love of literature and his own personal writings, Wright finds the power to rise above these challenges and make his mark on the world. Part of American Place Theatre's acclaimed Literature to Life series, this moving one-man production features acclaimed actor Charles Holt, from Broadway's The Lion King, portraying 20 different characters from ages 4 to 28. Black Boy returns to the Kennedy Center in commemoration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Recommended for young adults and their families

A World Premiere Kennedy Center Original Production

Written by Laurie Brooks

Popular high school senior John has a secret: He loves books. But he's afraid to tell anyone, for fear it'll ruin his "angry-cool" rep. When his mother remarries, John is suddenly stepsiblings with Lexie, an honor student who couldn't be more his opposite. Their many differences--from their upbringing and skin color to musical interests and friends--lead each to make flawed assumptions about the other. But when John and Lexie least expect it, they discover the old adage "never judge a book by its cover" still rings true. Mixing powerful storytelling and contemporary music with stand-up comedy "rants" about culture and society inspired by such literary classics as To Kill a Mockingbird, Invisible Man, and Brave New World, this imaginative new work by noted playwright Laurie Brooks (The Wrestling Season) asserts that if you look beyond the surface, you'll see that the world is what YOU make it…and the time to start creating it is NOW. 

Recommended for young adults and their families

A Black History Month Event

Charlotte Blake Alston and John Blake Jr.  

You've probably heard the sounds of the fiddle and the banjo--but do you know what a kora or a bolong is? How about a ngoni or a xalam? Well, you're about to find out when master storyteller, narrator, and singer Charlotte Blake Alston joins her world-renowned jazz violinist brother John Blake Jr. to celebrate the fascinating role of stringed instruments in African and African American culture. Blending "eloquent storytelling" (The New York Times) with lively jazz and sound effects, you'll discover how these instruments were played when babies were named, when history was told, when people married, and much more!

Recommended for ages 4 & up

Part of the Kennedy Center Country Music Festival

Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, and Friends

It's toe-tappin', hand-clappin', sing-along fun when two-time Grammy(r) winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer take audiences of all ages on an exciting journey through the roots of America's country music. This exciting program mixes fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and more with some real fine country harmony singing, old-time "front porch" string band music, western yodeling, and Grand Ole Opry tunes.

Recommended for ages 5 & up

A World Premiere Kennedy Center Original Production

Adapted by Naomi Iizuka
From the Book by Barry Denenberg

In this poetic and inspiring memory play, a young Japanese American boy's world changes overnight when his family is sent to a California internment camp during World War II. Through a journal given to him by his father, Ben Uchida reflects on their troubled life in the barracks, his stern new schoolteacher, and the sometimes harsh reactions of other Americans. But key visits by the ghosts of his ancestors show Ben how family, humor, compassion, and even baseball and a telescope can help the human spirit endure in the most challenging of times in this compelling Kennedy Center co-commission from Scholastic Entertainment's popular My Name Is America book series.

Recommended for ages 9 & up

Special event on Fri., March 10 (free with your performance ticket): Following the performance, there will be a panel discussion with special guests The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, playwright Naomi Iizuka, and director Chay Yew. The discussion will be moderated by Terry Hong, Project Director for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.

A World Premiere Original Production
Co-commissioned and Co-produced by the Kennedy Center and the Performing Arts Center of Amman, Jordan

This groundbreaking collaboration between Jordanian and American artists celebrates the richness, diversity, warmth, and humanity of Arabian culture. Incorporating lively song and dance into an engaging "story theater"-style musical, Walking the Winds weaves together a colorful spectrum of Arabian legends and lore, by turns heroic, comic, and dramatic. Don't miss this landmark production featuring theater, music, choreography, and poetry from one of the most fascinating and influential regions of the world. 

Recommended for ages 9 & up

Part of the Kennedy Center Arts of Japan Celebration

Kazenoko Theatre Company

In this beautifully told story featuring actors and puppets, a little girl made out of paper is born into an exquisite paper world. As Maru-Chan begins to explore the earth, sea, and sky around her, she meets many fantastic creatures and objects along the way. Kazenoko, one of Japan's best-known children's theater companies, reveals the many exciting possibilities of paper and performance in collaboration with Australian puppet master Peter Wilson, who directed an Opening Ceremony sequence for Sydney's 2000 Olympic Games. 

Recommended for ages 4 & up

Full Circle Productions

Meet Kwikstep, Rokafella, Buttafly, Stretch, and the rest of the crew. They're all here for just one thing--to break, lock, pop, and uprock until you stand up and cheer! Following their wildly popular Kennedy Center engagement as part of the 2004 DC Hip Hop Theater Festival, the members of Full Circle present a high-energy combination of Afro-Latin dance, beat-boxing, and song along with plenty of audience participation. From their passion for hip-hop culture comes positive and vivacious urban expression that's sure to get audiences of all ages up on their feet. 

Recommended for young adults and their families

Back by Popular Demand!

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia has been staging children's literary classics for more than 25 years. Now the company brings its unique adaptations of Eric Carle's delightful storybooks back to the Kennedy Center. Puppetry, music, and black light effects turn Caterpillar's struggles to become a butterfly--and Cricket's adventures to find his own voice--into a "playful and tender" (The Los Angeles Times) glow-in-the-dark event.

Recommended for ages 4 & up