Musical Theatre

**Rhythmic Dance Fitness** Enjoy a vibrant and engaging dance experience that blends global rhythms and diverse styles. This class combines elements of Bollywood, Latin, and other dance forms into a smooth, easy-to-follow flow designed to get you moving and grooving at a comfortable pace. Perfect for all levels, this class focuses on fun, relaxation, and connection with the music while giving you a gentle workout. Join us at the Meditation Museum for a refreshing and enjoyable dance session! (Please wear socks). Fri., Feb.20th, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Held at Meditation Museum, 9525 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910. Free Event – Register at: [https://shorturl.at/nWnBB](https://shorturl.at/nWnBB)

Think you aren't flexible enough for yoga? Afraid to get onto the floor? Living with physical aches or restricted range of motion? Then this is the perfect yoga class for you! Explore your body's strengths in a fun, supportive environment while maintaining and growing your range of motion, flexibility, balance, strength, and sense of peace. All are welcome in this therapeutic class. Come ready to try new things, laugh, ask questions, and support each other. **Please reserve your spot at www.piesfitnessyoga.com.** The session is offered both InStudio and OnLine. The Zoom link for the OnLine session will be emailed 15 minutes before class starts to those who are registered at www.piesfitnessyoga.com. **Sign up for sessions must be made at least 2 hours prior to class.** The address is 1322 Prince St Alexandria, VA 22314. Our entrance is located on the side of the building, parallel to West St. **Street parking is available and additional parking is located at Shiloh Baptist church, spaces 3,5,7,9.** The church is located across the street from the studio, on the corner of Duke St. and West St. Discount is available to seniors, teachers, students, emergency responders, and military. All can save by purchasing class packs.

Refined Craft Cocktails. Elegant classical atmosphere. Fine Cuisine. Join the Craft Cocktails Club at Proper Bar (not to be confused with Proper 21). Happy Hour runs until 7pm. Find us at the bar properbar.com/drink-menu

Join us in Virginia for the Arts of Life: A meditative, creative journey throught art with local artist Nancy Burbridge. Join us every third Friday of the month in Virginia from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM for an afternoon of creativity, relaxation, and self-discovery. In this interactive session, you will learn how to draw, paint, and explore the beauty within, cultivating the best version of yourself in a serene and supportive environment. Come experience the magic of art and meditation as tools for self-expression and inner growth. All materials are provided, and no prior experience is necessary. Just bring your curiosity and a willingness to explore! We can't wait to see you there! Fri., Jan. 20th, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. Held at Brahma Kumaris, 14020 Thunderbolt Pl, Suite 200, 2nd Floor, Chantilly, VA. Free Event – Register at: **[https://shorturl.at/YmNjZ](https://shorturl.at/YmNjZ)** | | | --- | |

Our NEIGHBORHOOD GEMS series features emblematic meals from around the world. This series shines a light on local restaurants and is designed to bring together inquisitive foodies and dishes that are unique and oh so worth a trip on roads less traveled! Join us for playful Indian-ish food at the communal table at ***Tapori*** ! **Eater DC** On March 12, two days before the H street's anticipated South Asian restaurant opened, head chef Baburam Sharma finally touched down in D.C. After developing Tapori's menu over Zoom for over a year, months of visa delays, and over 20 hours of travel from Nepal, Sharma headed directly from his hotel to the Northeast kitchen that executive chef Suresh Sundas had built for them I just put my luggage in the room and came here, and we started prep,” he recounted. Sundas, who has been recognized by the Michelin Guide for his inventive cooking at neighborhood spot Daru, says that he and Sharma immediately clicked. They had been workshopping a complex menu spanning popular street foods from all over India and their shared birthplace of Nepal while 7,000 miles apart. But once they were together, those dishes evolved even more. From workshopping new ingredients, like pesto and pine nuts in the fragrant mushroom pilau, to finally having Sharma’s expertise on South Indian techniques, they began to perfect Tapori’s key dishes. These three represent their commitment to recreating South Asian street foods from distinct regions in an American kitchen: momos from Nepal; dosas from Tamil Nadu; and bison phav bhaji from Mumbai. **Jhol Momo** \- Sharma explains that while there are only two Himalayan snacks on the menu\, one of them had to be a momo\. “The most selling item in Nepal is the momo\,” he said\. “You will find the momo everywhere\, every state\.\.\. even in India\.” The steamed dumplings from Nepal and Tibet are usually filled with vegetables or minced meat, traditionally chicken, pork, or lamb. For Sundas, the lesser known wagyu beef momo at Tapori is an homage to a food memory from 45 years ago that still haunts him. A momo shop a block away from his father’s business was his daily indulgence while growing up in Nepal. He still smiles as he describes “the smell of that momo… Oh my god.” He’s been trying to recreate that “texture of the wrap” and meat filling ever since, but he’s never been able to without those “pure local ingredients.” So he decided he would do something more original. Instead of a small bowl of richly flavored broth sometimes served beside momos in Nepal, the wagyu beef momos at Tapori come swimming in a chicken stock that is simmered for four hours and seasoned with Nepalese session peppers, garlic, and leeks. The wagyu filling is seasoned simply as well, with chili, ginger, cilantro, and a little soy sauce. The similar seasonings meld together the two different proteins, while a bit of cilantro oil drizzled on at the end cuts through the rich flavors. **Podi Masala Dosa** \- Sundas was laser\-focused on producing the best dosa possible: “Every single day we are working on it together\,” he says\. He had started his culinary career in D\.C\. in 2007 working at South Indian restaurants and he knew that he had to show diners “the taste of a very authentic dosa\.” He found many dosas in the District were more crepe\-like\. They were missing that sour fermented flavor and thin texture with a satisfying crunch\. That’s where Sharma came in\. He had started his career in five\-star hotel kitchens in the southernmost state of Tamil Nadu and had made dozens of dosa almost daily for 15 years\. They create Tapori’s creamy and fermented batter over two days. The process of soaking the lentils and rice for at least four hours and cleaning the grains 10 to 12 times is repeated twice before they are ground up in a specially-ordered, massive dosa grinder from India, which they converted themselves to work with an American power grid. Salt and sugar are added for an eight-hour fermentation period to keep the batter at room temperature overnight. Sundas and Sharma are also grilling up each dosa at Tapori right now, expertly spreading out and flipping 40 to 50 a day with an “intuition” that comes with years of practice. The flavor punch of podi masala, a combination of seeds and spices known as gunpowder seasoning, plus a potato filling and nutty ghee that are added to the batter as it fries up on their grill. It’s served with an array of stews and coconut chutney, though that crispy texture and spicy, fermented flavor makes it easy to eat on its own. Sundas says that labor intensive process pays off when Indian and Indian American diners tell him that the dosa is “exactly how they got it in India.” **Bison Phav Bhaji** \- Tapori is named after rowdy Mumbai street culture\, so it had to include the city’s favorite internationally\-influenced street food: phav bhaji\. The hearty snack is comprised of buttered buns \(originally from Portuguese immigrants\) and stewed potato and pea curry\, but Sundas wanted to create a flavorful meat version that stood out from the chicken or fish dishes on the menu\. After trying to source local water buffalo meat from West Virginia, he finally settled on bison from Texas that’s cooked down with tomato paste, onion, minced garlic, green chili, and cumin paste. Cilantro and butter are added after a little over a half hour of stewing to balance out the heavy umami flavors. The buns add even more butter to the mix with a recipe that was developed in-house. The chefs are proofing and baking the buns themselves on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the total process taking about three hours. On busier weekend shifts, artisan wholesale bakery Uptown Bakers makes buns based on the Tapori team’s original recipe. Why create your own buns half the week when you have a great supplier? It’s the same reason that Sundas and Sharma fold fresh momos if they run out of their prepped dumplings after a long night of service. They’ll dig into the dough and wagyu filling they saved for the next day instead of saying they’re sold out, because they’re devoted to making each dish perfectly for every customer that walks through Tapori’s door. **Check out the menu** [here](https://www.taporidc.com/menus) Separate checks will be arranged in advance. All diners will settle their own tabs. We ask that ALL folks honor their RSVP. If you are unable to attend after sending in a YES, please update your status so that others may join and help us support local businesses. In the event our group incurs a fee for no-shows / late cancellations, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding. To enhance the opportunity for great conversation, we will continue to limit the group size. Please feel free to sign-up to meet us along with up to 4 friends. **\*\*** **WAITLIST:** Meetup does not allow waitlists for paid events. *If this event fills and you would like to be added to the waitlist, please send a note to the host through the Meetup app. **\*\**** In the future, we will vary the days of the week and the types of restaurants to keep events interesting. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMMITTED TO GO WHEN YOU RSVP FOR THIS EVENT. Feel free to make suggestions for future meet locations. \*\* The small non-refundable registration fee helps us share the cost associated with the Meet-Up platform ($360/yr) and reduces the likelihood of no-shows, allowing us to better plan our events and accommodate all participants. Meetup charges $0.51 and Paypal charges $0.53 on the $2 registration fee. Thanks in advance for your understanding!\*\* If you are unable to join us in February, we hope you'll stay interested and join us for a meal in the future. Looking forward to catching up with you for a delightful dinner at Tapori!

Join the group for *Stereophonic* at National Theatre on Saturday, February 21! There will be a gathering at a nearby restaurant between the matinee and evening performances for folks to gather (those attending after the matinee--just don't give anything away for the evening attendees). All of the group tickets for our initial order have been sold. I can access additional group tickets for those interested, but these seats may not be adjacent to our existing ticket blocks. * Left Orchestra: $132 * Center Mezzanine Row F: $114 * Center Mezzanine Row L or M: $87 * Left Balcony: $42 Please comment below on your ticket location preference. NOTE: This is a play with music. The most Tony Award-winning Show of the year. The most Tony Award-nominated Play of all time. ***Stereophonic*** mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation as it zooms in on a music studio in 1976. Here, an up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds itself suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. The ensuing pressures could spark their breakup—or their breakthrough. Written by **David Adjmi**, directed by **Daniel Aukin**, and featuring original music by Arcade Fire’s **Will Butler**, *Stereophonic* invites the audience to immerse themselves—with fly-on-the-wall intimacy—in the powder keg process of a band on the brink of blowing up. ***Stereophonic***, which features original songs by Academy Award® nominee and Grammy Award® winner **Will Butler**, formerly of Arcade Fire, dominated the “Best Theater of 2023” lists, with top rankings in *The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, Time Out New York, Town & Country, TheaterMania, Theaterly*, and *The Spectator*. In April 2024, Stereophonic became the most Tony-nominated play in history receiving 13 Award nominations. It then became the most Tony Award-winning show of the 2024 season, winning 5 Tony Awards including Best Play, Direction (**Daniel Aukin**), Scenic Design (**David Zinn**) and Sound Design (**Ryan Rumery**).The Stereophonic creative team includes **David Zinn** (scenic designer), **Enver Chakartash** (costume designer), **Jiyoun Chang** (lighting designer), **Ryan Rumery** (sound designer), **Justin Craig** (music director), and **Gigi Buffington** (voice, text, and dialect coach). ***Stereophonic*** is 2 hours and 50 minutes including one intermission.

Join the group for *School of Rock* at The Little Theatre of Alexandria on Sunday, February 22 at 2PM. NOTE: This performance is sold out. If you're interested in attending on a different date, please comment below. Based on the hit film, this hilarious new musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. While teaching these pint-sized prodigies what it means to truly rock, Dewey falls for the school’s beautiful, but uptight headmistress, helping her rediscover the wild child within. (The New York Times says, **“BE WARNED! There’s a love story in this one.”**)

Join us for the inaugural gathering of the DC Creative Collective for Film, TV, and Theater — a welcoming space for filmmakers, writers, actors, and creative enthusiasts across the DMV to connect and create together. This first meetup will be an introduction to the collective’s vision, followed by networking, artist introductions, and an open discussion where members can share their creative interests, experience levels, and the kinds of projects they hope to collaborate on. We will also host a casual table read and idea exchange, giving participants a chance to hear scripts, workshop concepts, and meet potential collaborators for future productions. Whether you are experienced in the industry or just beginning your creative journey, come ready to build community, share stories, and help shape a collaborative artistic home where ideas move from imagination to stage and screen.

For Smokey Robinson's birthday, let's sing a few of his songs or any of your other Motown favorites. See you at SOJO! Seasoned SOJO'ers already know the program, but below are all the details which may be helpful to our new members. MOST IMPORTANT POINTS: 1. If you have copies of Rise Up Singing and Rise Again, please bring them. If you don't, we may have some extras available for you to borrow (one time only, please). Both books are easy to find and order online. And here's a link to find YouTube Videos of any song in either book. https://www.riseupandsing.org/songs/search 2. Feel free to bring lyrics and chords to hand out for songs not in the books. If you'd like to bring a song that most people don't know well, see if you can find a YouTube link and post it in the comments when you RSVP. We'd like to listen a few times before the SOJO to get the hang of it. 3. Bring something to drink, as singing is likely to make you thirsty. 4. We appreciate (but do not require) contributions to cover our room rental costs of $75 per session. 5. Please do RSVP. It helps us know how to set up the room and allows us to contact you if we have to cancel. *** FURTHER DETAILS, if you like: * Our regular gatherings take place on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month. We meet from 2 to 5 p.m. with a break around 3:30. You can come for the whole time or just part of it. If you can arrive a little early to help set up or stay a little late to help put things back in order, that would be great. Occasionally we take pictures of our events. If you would rather not be photographed, just politely let the person with the camera know and step out of view. We'll be respectful of your wishes. Whether you're new to SOJO or not so new, we look forward to singing and playing with you!

Each month Noah Gitlis teaches a different Jazz Standard with emphasis on melody, harmony, accompaniment, and rhythm. The goal of the class is to help students boost their jazz repertoire, and build the skills required to feel confident in a jazz jam session. These classes are a lot of fun and a great way to get out and play with other people while learning some really fun music. All instruments and skill levels are welcome but students should have basic proficiency on their instrument to get the most out of the class. Songs such as: Blue Bossa Autumn Leaves Footprints All of Me So what My Favorite Things Ages 14+ Register Here: https://square.link/u/e1yAgBNo

Are you struggling to book auditions? Learn from an award-winning casting director! The DC Stage Society presents a two-day TV/Film scene study and cold read workshop! Get 10% off of tickets ($251 instead of $279) with code DCFILM10. When: February 21, 2026 from 2pm-5pm February 22, 2026, from 10am-1pm Where: Studio Theater 1501 14th St NW Washington, DC, 20005 You can find more information at [https://dcstagesociety.com/](https://dcstagesociety.com/)

**DINNER AND MUSIC**! Pubs, breweries, and American eateries often host local bands playing popular hits, country, or rock offering a nice ambiance for socializing and diverse food and drink menus. *Tonight we'll check out [TIPTON TAVERN](https://www.pizza-cottage.com/locations) (inside Pizza Cottage Lewis Center).* Family-friendly casual [pizzeria](https://www.pizza-cottage.com/menu) for pizzas plus salads, wings and subs. We'll meet in the bar area, where the live music is set up. You're welcome to stay late, if you like. *Tonight's band:* Shucking Bubba Acoustic! **Live music starts at 6pm**.

Join us for something different as we get together to see EPIC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT! While researching his 2022 film, director Bas Luhrmann came across and compiled rare and previously unseen interviews and videos of Elvis in concert to create “one of the most exciting concert films you’ve ever seen!” Here are details, a trailer and our plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: Part documentary, part concert film, the latest from director Bas Luhrmann is a follow-up to his 2022 film starring Austin Butler. While researching the film, he came across 68 boxes of previously unseen interviews, concert performances and outtakes from previous films. A combination of offstage and onstage Elvis, comes a film that “befits the magnitude of Elvis as a performer but also offers deeper revelations of his humanity and inner life." It is written/directed by Baz Luhrmann (ELVIS, MOULIN ROUGE, THE GREAT GATSBY) and stars the legendary Elvis Presley! TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmqWusmzp0k BUZZ AND ACCLAIM: The film screened at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival where it was the runner up in the category People’s Choice Award for Documentaries. Next Best Picture says, “Certain to energize longtime fans and generate new ones for generations to come, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a masterwork of montage.” And according to the NY Post, whether you have a room in the house devoted to Elvis or not, this truly “Epic” concert film is an energizing experience!” PLAN: We’ll plan for a pre-show bite at nearby BRAVO around 5 or 5:30pm followed by a 7pm-ish showing on one of their larger screens. Once showtime is announced, advance ticket purchase is advised. Please list your seat number in the Comments below. Exact showtime and meeting details will be confirmed/announced as the date gets closer. Look forward to seeing you there, Dan

**Caller: Frank Buschelmann** **Band: The Rosenthorns** **Big Scioty Contra Dance** **temporarily returning to our long ago location for Jan-March - First Congregational Church, 444 E. Broad St., Columbus 43215** WHAT IS CONTRA DANCING? Picture the Grand Ball scenes like you’ve seen in period films such as “Pride and Prejudice”, where the dancers are lined up in long lines, across from each other. That’s English Country Dancing, the predecessor of contra dancing. Now, add moves like “swing your partner” and “do-si-do,” like you’ve seen in square dancing. Set it to fabulous, high energy, live music with fiddles, guitars, percussion and more, alá “Riverdance.” Finally, set the whole scene down in the middle of Woodstock, with a hip, groovy atmosphere, a bit of tie-dye, and hints of counter-culture attitude. THAT’s Contra Dancing! Wear cool and comfortable clothes (you will get warm) and clean shoes that won't mark up our nice wood floor. Be sure to come for the beginner's lesson from 7:30 - 8:00, followed by dancing 8:00 - 10:30. All dances are taught; we will help you learn! Beginners always welcome, no need to bring a partner. Cost is $10.00 adults, $5.00 ages 12-26. Under 12 free. Free parking in church lot. For more information contact me or check out our website: [www.bigscioty.com](http://www.bigscioty.com/) Please bring your own refillable water bottle. Snacks to share are always welcome!

Come check us out! You will have a wonderful time! The music and friendships are life-changing!