You are invited to a Philadelphia Theatre Weekend on Friday, November 25th, Saturday, November 26th and November 27th – leaving back to DC on Sunday night – or you can stay over Sunday night. It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and a great way to work off all that turkey and stuffing. Our April Philly trip was a blast, so it’s time for another one!

Eastern is $28 for a roundtrip.  

Greyhound is $64 for a roundtrip.

AMTRAK is $127 for a roundtrip.

AMTRAK SCHEDULE Friday, November 25th $35.00 174 Northeast Regional Departs Union Station 10:20 AM Arrives 12:12 PM  30th Street Station (Philly) OR 11:02 AM Arrives 12:51 PM  30th Street Station (Philly) OR 12:02 PM Arrives 01:51 PM 30th Street Station (Philly) OR 01:02 PM   Arrives 02:51 PM 30th Street Station (Philly) 
Duration: 1 hr, 52 min

COMING BACK SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH

$92.00 
Departs: 7:33 PM Philadelphia, PA – 30th Street Station (PHL) 

Arrives: 9:35 PM
135 Northeast Regional  Washington, DC – Union Station 

HOTEL:

I have rooms at Club Quarters -1627 Chestnut Street - for $115 a night including taxes, and the deposit I have to put down per room to allow us to get my membership rate for everyone. It’s a great deal and we have stayed there before. and we know how nice it is and convenient. It’s right in the heart of Center City and is a 10-15 minute walk to the theatres (except to he Arden which is in the Historic Area – and is a 25 minute walk).

CONCERT: SHOWS TO SEE:
Friday, November 25th at 8 PM
Philadelphia Orchestra
Eschenbach Conducts Beethoven 
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Jennifer Koh, violin
Ticket prices TBA 9/12
http://www.kimmelcenter.org/events/index.php?id=4246

THE SHOWS:
(1)  The King and I at Walnut Street Theatre
November 8, 2011 – January 8, 2012
$85 with taxes and fees.
http://www.walnutstreettheatre.org/season/kingandi.php

(2)  The Whipping Man AT THE ARDEN
October 27 – December 18, 2011
http://www.ardentheatre.org/2012/whippingman.html
$55.00 with fees.

(3)  ORDINARY DAYS
NOVEMBER 25th – DECEMBER 18th, 2011
Directed by Joe Calarco Skybox @ the Adrienne-2030 Sansom Street, 3rd floor
$25 with taxes.
http://www.11thhourtheatrecompany.org/ordinarydays.html

(4)  Billy Elliot The Musical
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 – Sunday, November 27, 2011
Kimmel Center, Inc. $80 for Orchestra Seats (Estimate-won’t know until 9/12)
http://www.kimmelcenter.org/events/?id=4027

There other options. Jazz, Food Walking Tour of Little Italy. Trolley Tour of Historical Sites, A Flyers or 76er game.

We will have three dinners together so we can talk about our shows one at Positano Coast, one in Chinatown, and one in Little Italy. We’ll get a bite at The Reading Terminal.

There’s lots of nice boutique shops and a mall across the street and the surrounding streets where we are staying. 

Let me know if you are interested. I need to know by September 15th, so we don’t lose our rooms at that great rate and get great seats, which I will purchase for the group.

I will add a $35 fee to organize your trip.

Any questions? Feel free to call me at (703) 447-8805
My email is joel@ushers.us

Joel Markowitz, Assistant Organizer with Darlene Olsen
Founder, The Ushers Theatre Going Social group-our 22nd season
www.ushers.us
Editor, Maryland Theatre Guide
http://www.mdtheatreguide.com/

Join us on Saturday, September 24th for Synetic Theater’s Wordless Macbeth at The Crystal City Metro at 5:30 PM for dinner (TBA) and 8:00 p.m. for the show. Price: $28 by check or $31 by paypal for members and $34 for non-members. 

MACBETH at SYNETIC THEATER
at the Crystal City Metro (in the old Arena Stage space).
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Come see why Synetic Theater keeps winning lots of Helen Hayes Awards as they present another ‘Wordless” production of Macbeth at their Crystal City  Location (right at the Crystal City Metro.)
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I am a huge fan of Synetic Theater because their productions are visually stunning, with incredible dance, movement, athleticism, costumes, and score. 
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VIDEO PREVIEW FROM THEIR 2007 PRODUCTION OF MACBETH:
Look at a preview video from their 2007 production of Macbeth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqIKWUvKI9w
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INCREDIBLE TICKET PRICE FOR THE USHERS AND BROADWAY BOUND MEETUP:

We have gotten an amazing deal: $28.00 for tickets.
REGULAR PRICE IS $45-$55.00. SO WE ARE GETTING THE GOLDSTAR PRICE!-
but we need to get 20 people to do it, so please RSVP now.
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RSVP:
Please RSVP here on this site and answer all 5 questions. We need to know your full name, a cell phone number where I can reach you, an email where I can send you info about the show, a menu, directions, a carpool list and attendees list. This information will not be shared with anyone. It is there to help me organize this event efficiently.

*** Please RSVP ASAP. We need 20 people to get this price.

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PAYMENT: CHECK OR PAYPAL:
You can send a check for $28.00, made out to Joel Markowitz and send it to:
Joel Markowitz
5750 Bou Avenue
Unit 1606
North Bethesda, MD 20852 
OR
You can pay $31.00 by Paypal to joel@ushers.us (they charge me a fee).
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Speak No More: The Silent Shakespeare Festival
Macbeth
If the first installment  Hamlet…the rest is silence surprised Washington audiences with its silence, Synetic’s second Silent Shakespeare production took the area by storm with a “titanic clash of blood and thunder.” One of the most successful Synetic productions of all time,  Macbeth returns with its dark tale of ambition, bloodlust and the supernatural. In 2008,  Macbeth was the recipient of five Helen Hayes Awards after being nominated for 11. Set in a dark, impressionistic, military world,  Macbeth is a swirl of murder, madness and self-destruction, exploring the outsized ambitions of a husband and wife.

Macbeth stars Irakli Kavsadze (2008 Helen Hayes Nominee Outstanding Lead Actor) as the doomed king, Irina Tsikurishvili (2008 Helen Hayes Nominee Outstanding Lead Actress) as Lady Macbeth, Philip Fletcher (2008 Helen Hayes Recipient Outstanding Supporting Actor), Mary Werntz, and Sarah Taurchini as the infamous three witches, Ben Cunis, veteran Synetic Theater Company Member, as Macduff, and Salma Shaw (2008 Helen Hayes Nominee Outstanding Supporting Actress) as Lady Macduff. The production also features Alex Mills, Ryan Sellers, JB Tadena, Dallas Tolentino, Ryan Tumulty, Vato Tsikurishvili and Matt Ward.

irected by Paata Tsikurishvili

Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili
Set and Costume Design by Anastasia R. Simes
Lighting Design by Colin K. Bills
Original Music by Konstantine Lortkipanidze
Sound Design by Irakli Kavsadze and Konstantine Lortkipanidze
Starring Irina Tsikurishvili and Irakli Kavsadze.

It’s closing night of The snazzy, jazzy, finger-snapping, toe-tapping Ain’t Misbehavin’ in the intimate Elden Street Players’ Industrial Strength Theatre in Herndon, VA.

For 20 years, my other social group The Ushers has ended its season watching ESP’s summer musical and our own Vonda McCrae reviewed the show for my website Maryland Theatre Guide and raved:

“For two hours, I really felt like I was in 1930’s Harem. I was disappointed when the show ended and I had to come back to the reality. ESP’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a ‘Must See’ theatrical event. So don’t forget to ‘Grab a jug an’ cut the rug, because that joint was really jumpin’’.

We’ll also be having dinner at 5:30 PM at Taste of the World if you wish to attend.

RSVP to Joel by email (Joel@ushers.us) or phone (703.447.8805).

RSVP to Joel by email (Joel@ushers.us) or phone (703.447.8805).

Come celebrate the 2011 Broadway Season by attending our Annual Tony Awards Potluck and viewing of the awards ceremony. Cheer for your favorite Broadway shows and performers!

RSVP to Joel by email (Joel@ushers.us) or phone (703.447.8805).

Two theatre critics, Moon and Birdboot, watch a ludicrous setup of a country house murder mystery. By chance, they become involved in the action causing a series of events that parallel the play they are watching.

RSVP to Joel by email (Joel@ushers.us) or phone (703.447.8805).

When your hard-earned fame has been surpassed by a brilliantly gifted, potty-mouthed golden boy, what else can you do but smile to his face while secretly plotting his downfall? Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, winner of seven Tony Awards – including Best Play – and the Oscar for Best Picture, depicts the flamboyant genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as seen through the eyes of his desperately jealous contemporary, composer Antonio Salieri.

RSVP to Joel by email (Joel@ushers.us) or phone (703.447.8805).

We will be staying Friday, 4/22/11 and Saturday, 4/23/11 with an option to stay Sunday night, 4/25/11. We will be checking out on Sunday and returning home Sunday night on the 7:00 p.m. Tripper bus. Others have made their own travel arrangements. You can decide which shows you want to see. I will create a schedule catered to you.

RSVP to Joel by email (Joel@ushers.us) or phone (703.447.8805).

We will have a potluck and viewing of Cabaret. Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Tony Winner Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing nationalist Socialist Party. The film is loosely based on the 1966 Broadway musical Cabaret by John Kander and Fredd Ebb, which was adapted from The Berlin Stories of Christopher Isherwood and the play I Am a Camera.

RSVP to Joel by email (Joel@ushers.us) or phone (703.447.8805).

Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in New Rochelle, NY; and Tateh, a Latvian Jewish immigrant.

RSVP to Joel by email (Joel@ushers.us) or phone (703.447.8805).