The Performing Arts

Washington's performing-arts scene has an international reputation. Almost anything on Broadway has either been previewed here or will eventually come here. Better yet, D.C. is home to truly excellent and renowned repertory theater troupes, and to fine ballet, opera, and symphony companies. Rock bands, headliner comedians, and jazz/folk/gospel/R&B/alternative and other musical groups make Washington a must-stop on their tours.

Getting Tickets

Most performing-arts and live-music venues require admission by tickets, which you can purchase online at the venue's website, in person at the venue's box office, or through one of the ticket vendors listed below.

The best deals in town might be those posted on the website, www.goldstar.com. It costs nothing to subscribe and you immediately start receiving e-mail notices of hefty discounts on admission prices to performances and venues, including museums, all over town.

 Washington's only discount ticket outlet, TICKETPLACE, 407 7th St. NW, between D and E streets (no phone; Metro: Gallery Place/Verizon Center or Archives-Navy Memorial), displays a chalkboard listing of those performances that still have seats available, including opera, ballet, and events at major Washington-area theaters and concert halls. TICKETPLACE is open Wednesday through Friday from 11am to 6pm, Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday noon to 4pm. Otherwise, TICKETPLACE tickets are available online at www.ticketplace.org until 4pm for that day's performances. Whether you purchase tickets online or at the ticket outlet, you pay half-price, plus a substantial per-ticket service charge, e.g., a $50 ticket would be sold half-price at $25, plus a $6.25 service fee. TICKETPLACE accepts only American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. If you've ordered tickets online, you can pick them up at the "Will Call" booth of the venue you're attending; bring your credit card and confirmation of your purchase. TICKETPLACE is a program of the Cultural Alliance of Washington. For more information, including performances offered at the TICKETPLACE outlet, visit www.culturecapital.com.

Ticket sellers Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in January 2010, which means that you can buy full-price tickets for many performances in town from both operations: Live Nation (tel. 877/598-8497; www.livenation.com) and Ticketmaster (tel. 800/551-7328; www.ticketmaster.com). Expect to pay taxes, plus a service charge, an order-processing fee, and a facility fee (if a particular venue tacks on that charge). Or you can visit the Ticketmaster sales booth at the Verizon Center, at 601 F St. NW (Metro: Gallery Place/Verizon Center). For the same kinds of performances, also check out www.ticketfly.com, tel. 877/435-9849.

Finally, check out www.instantseats.com, which bills itself as the place to go for "online ticketing for the performing arts." (The site also sells tickets for river cruises on the Potomac, so perhaps the company defines "performing arts" to cover a multitude of entertainment.) This is the site that handles sales of tickets to embassy events.

Smaller Theaters

Some of Washington's lesser-known theaters are gaining more recognition all the time. Their productions are consistently professional, and sometimes more contemporary and innovative than those you'll find in the more acclaimed theaters. These more intimate theaters have their own strong followings, which means their performances often sell out.

Studio Theatre, 1333 P St. NW, at 14th Street (tel. 202/332-3300; www.studiotheatre.org), since its founding in 1978, has grown in leaps and bounds into a four-theater complex, helping to revitalize this downtown neighborhood in the process. Artistic director Joy Zinoman, who retired in 2010, helped to create buzz for Washington's theater scene as well as for the U Street/14th Street neighborhood in which Studio resides. Her legacy lives in Studio's continuing success in showcasing contemporary plays and in nurturing Washington acting talent. The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (tel. 202/393-3939; www.woollymammoth.net) offers as many as six productions each year, specializing in new, offbeat, and quirky plays, often world premieres. The Woolly resides in a 265-seat, state-of-the-art facility at 641 D St. NW (at 7th St. NW), in the heart of the Penn Quarter.

In addition, I highly recommend productions staged at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE, at 2nd St. (tel. 202/544-7077; www.folger.edu), which celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2012. Plays take place in the library's Elizabethan Theatre, which is styled after the inn-yard theater of Shakespeare's time. The theater is intimate and charming, the theater company is remarkably good, and an evening spent here guarantees an absolutely marvelous experience. The Elizabethan Theatre is also the setting for musical performances, lectures, readings, and other events.

Indoor Arenas and Outdoor Pavilions

When John Mayer, U2, or Beyoncé come to town, they usually play at one of the huge indoor or outdoor arenas. The 20,600-seat Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW, where it meets 7th Street (tel. 202/628-3200; www.verizoncenter.com), in the center of downtown, hosts plenty of concerts and also is Washington's premier indoor sports arena (home to the NBA Wizards, the WNBA Mystics, the NHL Capitals, and Georgetown Hoyas basketball games). The stretch of F Street between 6th and 7th streets has been renamed "Abe Pollin Way" to honor the philanthropist and entrepreneur who developed the Verizon Center -- and in doing so, revitalized this downtown area; Abe Pollin died in 2009. Less convenient and smaller is the 10,000-seat Patriot Center at George Mason University, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, Virginia (tel. 703/993-3000; www.patriotcenter.com).

During the summer, there's quality entertainment almost nightly at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., just off Route 29 in Columbia, Maryland (tel. 410/715-5550; www.merriweathermusic.com for general information, or www.ticketfly.com for tickets), about a 40-minute drive from downtown D.C. There's reserved seating in the open-air pavilion (overhead protection provided in case of rain) and general-admission seating on the lawn (no refunds for rain) to see such performers as Neil Young, Counting Crows, Diana Krall, the Killers, the Cure, or No Doubt. If you choose the lawn seating, bring blankets and picnic fare (beverages must be bought on the premises).

My favorite summer setting for music is the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna, Virginia (tel. 703/255-1868; www.wolftrap.org). The country's only national park devoted to the performing arts, Wolf Trap offers performances by the National Symphony Orchestra (it's their summer home), and has hosted Lucinda Williams, Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, Sheryl Crow, Wilco, and many others. Performances take place in the 7,000-seat Filene Center, about half of which is under the open sky. You can also buy cheaper lawn seats on the hill, which is sometimes the nicest way to go. If you do, arrive early (the lawn opens 90 min. before the performance) and bring a blanket and a picnic dinner -- it's a tradition. Wolf Trap also hosts a number of very popular festivals, including the Louisiana Swamp Romp Cajun Festival in June. Wolf Trap is about a 30-minute drive from D.C.; the Wolf Trap Express Bus runs (usually $5 charge round-trip) between the West Falls Church Metro Station and the arts center.

The Carter Barron Amphitheater, 16th Street and Colorado Avenue NW (tel. 202/426-0486; www.nps.gov/rocr/planyourvisit/cbarron.htm) is in Rock Creek Park, way out 16th Street close to the Maryland border. This is the area's smallest outdoor venue, with 4,250 seats. Summer performances include a range of gospel, blues, and classical entertainment. The shows are usually free, but tickets are required.

Smaller Auditoriums

A handful of auditoriums in Washington are really fine places to catch a performance.

DAR Constitution Hall, on 18th Street NW, between C and D streets (tel. 202/628-4780; www.dar.org), is housed within a beautiful turn-of-the-20th-century Beaux Arts building and seats 3,746. Its excellent acoustics have supported an eclectic group of performers: Sting, the Buena Vista Social Club, John Hiatt, the Count Basie Orchestra, Tori Amos, Anita Baker, Bow Wow, Trisha Yearwood, and the Strokes.

In the heart of happening U Street, the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW, at 13th St. (tel. 202/328-6000; www.thelincolntheatre.org), was once a movie theater, vaudeville house, and nightclub featuring black stars like Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway. The theater closed in the 1970s and reopened in 1994 after a renovation restored it to its former elegance. Today the theater books jazz, R&B, gospel, and comedy acts, and events like the D.C. Film Festival.

The Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW, between E and F streets (tel. 202/783-4000; www.warnertheatre.com), opened in 1924 as the Earle Theatre (a movie/vaudeville palace) and was restored to its original, neoclassical-style appearance in 1992. It's worth coming by just to see its ornately detailed interior. The 2,000-seat auditorium offers year-round entertainment, alternating dance performances, like the Washington Ballet's Christmas performance of the Nutcracker, with comedy acts, like those of Steven Wright or Damon Wayans, with headliner musical entertainment (PJ Harvey, John Prine, Bob Dylan).