"Ella" and Friends
Before it closed in 2006, Ziegfeld’s cabaret on O Street in Washington, DC’s Navy Yard area was famous, or perhaps infamous, for its campy and saucy female illusionist “drag” shows. But the club closed to make way for the new National’s baseball stadium.
Yet Donnell Robinson (Ella Fitzgerald), DC’s longest performing drag artists, keeps the campiness alive for Valentine’s Day with a special free performance of Ella and Company: Call Me Madame, complete with song, fun and racy “beauties”, at the National Theatre.
It all started for Robinson when, for a high school talent show, he dressed in a costume that included a dress and a wig. Soon after, he started his career as Hurricane On Heels, a female illusionist and has been performing in front of DC audiences for over 30 years.
Ella and Company: Call Me Madame
National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC (map it)
202-628-6161
Dates and Times - Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, 6:00 and 8:30 p.m.
Tickets - Tickets are FREE, but required. Tickets distributed 30-minutes before the performance, on a first-come, first-served basis.
The show is not for kids under 16.
This performance is part of the National Theatre’s free Monday night performances program. Check out future free Monday performances including:
- March 10th - Nen Diako, Japanese drumming
- March 17th - The Lauren O’Neill-James Irish Dancers for St. Pat’s Day
- April 14th - An evening of Gospel Music
Nearest Metro Subway Station - Metro Center - Blue, Orange or Red lines, or Federal Triangle - Blue and Orange lines, then a 3-block walk.
Parking - Paid garage and limited metered street parking is available.
Images - Flickr
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