Elite Night: Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center

Amazing event as always! Thanks Kimberly! Who doesn’t love getting to watch a free show at the Kennedy Center?!
I was so stoked to win tickets to see Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center! The Kennedy Center just oozes classiness. I love to come early and wander about. The different halls usually have different little art exhibits setup. It’s fun to go to the top floor and walk around the rooftop over looking the river. Just gorgeous all around.
Picking up my tickets was easy peasy. Went to the will call window and gave them my name and ID.
Shear Madness is a live comedy murder mystery. I’ve actually seen the show once before and what I love about the show is that it’s different every time.
The cast keeps the material fresh and current. I enjoyed how all the jokes were DMV centric (what’s wrong with living in Rockville?!). And this time there was a lively rowdy bunch of middle/​high schoolers who were very vocal with their laughter and comments.
After the show it was a real treat to get to meet the director and cast and pick their brains. It was fun to hear hilarious stories that has happened to them during the shows, what their process was, how the cast flows with each other, etc.
As one of the longest running shows ever (since 1987) may it live long and prosper! Lol. Thanks again Kimberly!!!

We really enjoyed our night watching Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center.
The comedy show was funny and pretty much interactive. The cast all were amazing and impressive. The ending was quite surprising — it was based on the audiences’ feedback so you see how interactive it was. I like that the content is always being updated according to the ongoing events. The Kennedy center itself is such an amazing venue, very beautiful! The view from the balcony over the Potomac river is so beautiful at night.
Many thanks to Unilocal for inviting us to this show!

This was so much fun! The Kennedy Center is just such a beautiful and impressive venue, so naturally I was very excited just to be able to go to a show there. I had never seen Shear Madness, which seems like a travesty considering the longevity of the show. Our seats were great, and all of the Kennedy Center staff were friendly and super helpful.
The show itself was a blast. I was a little worried about the number of high school kids there, particularly when audience participation time came around. However, the cast was incredible at both encouraging audience participation, but also moving the show along and using the feedback to drive the plot. I was incredibly impressed! I also loved how the jokes drew from a mixture of modern-​day happenings as well as older humor. There really were one-​liners for everyone in there. Overall, I was very impressed, and I can’t wait to see the show again!

Thanks for organizing another great event for us, Kimberly.
The show was a complete surprise for me– it’s a combo of improv, audience participation, current pop culture humor and jokes (range of jokes from «what are those?!», poking fun of Taylor Swift and Hillary’s emails) to some sexual innuendos (may not be appropriate for all ages), some campiness, and an unexpected ending– it was a great way to spend a Thursday evening after a long day of work.
Don’t forget to bring cash for concessions and also if you get lucky– you can snag some free street parking close by. If not valet is $ 10 and there’s always the metro.

I just love walking into the Kennedy Center and BOOM ~ the tallest ceilings and longest and widest hallway you’ve ever seen! It really says something that Shear Madness has been playing in the Kennedy Center for so long.
I was uncertain if I would like the show since it seemed like it could be a bunch of slapstick comedy. There was definitely some of that, but there were also some pretty hysterical jokes. A lot of jokes were current too, like the reference to the Pope’s recent visit and to presidential candidate Jeb Bush. I also really liked the interactive set, and was impressed at how observant the rest of the audience was. And it was cool that the cast stayed in character during the intermission!
The one thing that sort of cheapened the experience was the immaturity of some of the middle school students (though the vast majority of the students were well-​behaved). They just couldn’t get over any remotely sexual joke, and I felt bad for the cast catering to that just to get a laugh (especially Barbara shaking her breasts when she knew what kind of reaction she would get).
I’m really sorry we missed out on the special opportunity to meet the cast out of character but hubby has to wake up at 6AM tomorrow morning. :(

For my first event in DC, this was a great experience. Neither my girl nor I have seen this show despite it’s unbelievably long run (25+ years!) in multiple cities and were both happy for the opportunity to spend some time out downtown on a weeknight. Several things to make note of:
*Access to the Kennedy Center is ridiculously easy as long as you’re a metro commuter. Free shuttle from Foggy Bottom (surrounded by easy food options) to the Center and back. If the weather is nice, you don’t even need to do that.
*The seating area in the theater is small, so it’s a relatively intimate show. From other reviews and commentary from my co-​workers, I’d expected this to be a comedic show based on simple gags, so I wasn’t looking for Louis C.K. and the cast of Kids in the Hall. I was looking for a simple, good time, and there it was… right under the hot towels.
*The evening view around the terrace is beautiful, especially the lights of Georgetown with the mist from the humidity. There aren’t a lot of spots in DC to see a pretty skyline for free, but this is definitely one of them.
*Counting the daily 6pm free show (violinist w. piano accompaniment) it’s sort of a double feature. Also worth the price of admission.
*The show itself was engaging and entertaining, and, regardless of the presence of younger kids (way past their bedtimes), it worked. At the very least, consider it a great way to engage a younger audience to build an interest in live stage entertainment. Tell most kids that they’re going to the theater and seeing people instead of Iron Man, and they’ll look at you like you pulled out a rotary phone. Performing arts are important, and, without downplaying the talents of the cast, you have to have a foundation to create a bonafide interest in something bigger.
*Getting to chat with the cast post-​show was great. They have an awesome attitude despite the repetition of eight shows per week and are genuinely invested in what they do. Hearing about the random things they’ve seen and experienced (first time I’ve ever heard of someone having a service monkey) during the show, to how they gauge and alter their routine jokes based on current events and location granted a nice insight to the overall experience.
Thank you, Kim, for a really fun event.

Thoroughly enjoyed the show. The seats were great! The Theater Lab is pretty small so any seat has a good view! It was my first time at the Kennedy Center and it was beautiful! Loved the view out on the balcony. Had a glass of wine while enjoying the view (they only take cash!)
Though there were lots of corny jokes, it was overall entertaining. The high school and middle school kids definitely had a lot of fun.
I warmed up to the characters by the end and loved the unpredictable ending!