Musicals in Washington’s Historic National Theatre in 2020

The Last Ship

THE LAST SHIP, inspired by Sting’s 1991 album “The Soul Cages” and his own childhood experiences, tells the story of a community in Tyne and Wear. Sting will star and perform the role at every performance. It features an original score with music and lyrics by Sting as well as a few of his best-loved songs: “Island of Souls” “All This Time” and “When We Dance”. Learn more at TheLastShipMusical.com.

Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Run time: Approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes.

The King’s Speech

THE KING’S SPEECH is based on the true story of King George VI’s struggle with a speech problem and the friendship he formed with his doctor, Lionel Logue. With the Nazi threat coming and civil unrest at home, royal secrets explode around the King as he appeared onto the world stage.

Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Run time: Approximately 2 hours, 50 minutes.

Blue Man Group

At BLUE MAN GROUP, you’ll rock, laugh, and party! As three blue men explore our world, together we’ll discover music, comedy and surprises at every turn. It is perfect for audiences of all ages and cultural backgrounds, and returns to D.C. with new music, fresh stories, custom instruments like never before.

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

Run time: Approximately 1 hour, 30 minutes

Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

Donna Summer was a girl from Boston with a voice from heaven. With a score featuring more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits including “Love to Love You Baby”, “Bad Girls” and “Hot Stuff”, this electric experience is a moving tribute to the voice of a generation.

Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Run time: Approximately 1 hour, 40 minutes

It’s OK to say you’ve never heard of grime—unless you’re from the UK. That’s because this music was invented in the UK in the early 2000s.

To someone who’s not familiar with underground music culture, it’s easy to get confused between hip-hop and grime since they are both noisy. And many people didn’t bother to tell them apart, until earlier this month when grime stars like Stormzy and J Hus led this year’s Mobo— “music of black origin”—award nominations (提名) in the UK.

Just like UK electronic music and hip-hop, from which grime drew influence, it mostly reflects the thoughts of young people. But different from hip-hop, grime singers sing in dialects with strong accents, giving a special flavor to their songs.

Lady Leshurr, known as the "Grime Queen said that she once tried to hide her accent, as she didn’t want people to judge her. But one day, she realized that she didn’t need to change herself just to please others. And there’s no doubt that this is the most basic and important quality of grime music: be yourself.

Also different from the hip-hop culture, which usually focuses on being rich, grime singers pay more attention to social phenomena (现象) like the European refugee (难民) problem and the gap between the rich and poor.

Although still quite young, grime seems to be getting favored by more and more people. In 2016, the English grime artist Skepta won the Mercury Prize with his album Konnichiwa, beating big names like David Bowie and Radiohead. However, no matter whether grime is one day accepted by the mainstream music world or not, one thing is for sure: in grime, singers always stay true to themselves.

Essential Sounds of America

New Orleans

In the 19th century, slaves gathered on Sunday to play drums, dance and sing in Congo Square. Those exciting rhythms of Africa collided (碰撞) with the sounds of Europe to create Jazz, a significant American art form that has inspired countless generations and spread around the globe. New Orleans jazz has bite and pop. It sweeps you off your feet and makes you jump, clap and sing along.

Chicago

During the Great Migration (1916-1970), when large numbers of African Americans left the South in search of better opportunities, Chicago attracted scores of people. They arrived by thousands, bringing with them the sounds of Mississippi Delta. The blues didn’t originate in Chicago, but it found a new voice there and began to spread its message around the world.

Memphis

Memphis is the birthplace of rock and roll. It was here in Sun Studios during the summer of 1951 that Ike Turner and his band the Delta Cats recorded “Rocket 88” which is widely regarded as the first rock and roll song. But, like so many visionary moments, it happened by accident — the guitarist’s amp (扩音器) broke down during the recording, creating a strange guitar sound that would become a mark of the genre.

Austin

Austin calls itself the “live Music Capital of the World” for good reason. Some cities have more history and others have more big stars, but none have better passionate fans. There are over 250 live music venues in Austin, more per capita than anywhere in the country.