Copa Awakening

In honor of our three year roommate anniversary (don't judge), Linds and I thought we would celebrate with a little dinner and a show. Linds being the theater aficionado, she picked Spring Awakening. Theater is like the movies to me - I have no idea what's out nor what's good, so she gets to pick. And good thing she did, she scored us $25 tickets through the Kennedy Center's Attend student tickets program. (Even collegians need a govt. handout.)

However, when it comes to restaurants ... i can flex my foodie muscles (which involves sucking in my belly while trying on swim suits). With my Washingtonian's 100 best restaurants checklist in hand I did a little research on our foggy bottom selections, being that the Kennedy Center is all of 5 blocks from our old GW stomping grounds. I came to find not only is Circle Bistro one of the areas acclaimed digs, they also have a pre-theater pre-fix menu. So if you are able to sneak in before 7 pm, you can snag an appetizer, entree, and dessert for $35. Not too shabby considering an entree goes for $29 alone. Now we blew that cork out of the bottle by adding on wine. Not the point.

And the menu was impressive. I had the house smoked gravlocks (they had me at avocado) and continuing with the seafood theme for my entree Seared Diver Sea Scallops, Carrot-Ginger Coulis, Garlic Confit, Baby Bok Choy. Presentation was excellent, service was superior, and the food was paired nicely and not overly done. Combined with the Pinot Gregio and chocolate brownie with espresso ice cream for dessert, I was in food coma heaven. Did I mention the restaurant itself? Swanky but not over-trendy. We had such a good time - this may fold into the theater evening flight pattern more often.

Now onto the show. I was expecting a story of teen angst in a High School Musical fashion, Boppy and light with a rock concert feel. But this production hit it all: abuse, teen pregnancy, suicide, abortion, and death. Not to mention a little on stage nudity. Whoops - wasn't expecting that. But it worked. Between the highly explosive dance sequences using literally all available stage space, and the charged rock and roll dialogue the show had yours truly crying, laughing, clapping and swooning - sometimes simultaneously.

A quick plot snapshot: the Tony award winning musical, based on the play by Frank Wedekind's literary masterpiece, follows eight German teens on the trail of self discovery. Although the play is set in 1891 the issues are just as relevant today. Wrapped in Dunken Shieks' rock lyrics, it's easy to see why this story of rebellion and understanding made waves on the Broadway scene two years ago. Interesting side note, this is one of the first instances in over 100 years that the entire story line was used because it was so controversial.