Flashback to October 2022 and one of my best friends Haley and I are on the train to Philadelphia. We had experienced a lot of issues with Amtrak leading up to eventually getting on our train and on track to the City of Brotherly Love. So, like many people who were once stressed and exhausted, I *none other than* fell asleep on the train, well, until I heard on the intercom that we were in Baltimore. And, like just any other Hairspray fan, I found the iconic song “Good Morning Baltimore” gleaming throughout my head. Since then, I knew I had to see Hairspray the Musical live!
Capital One Hall is a brand-new performing arts center in the Washington, DC area based in Tysons Corner, Virginia as a part of the brand-new Capital One Center. My office happens to be in the Tysons Corner area, so I had been to the Starr Hill Biergarten (on the 11th floor aka rooftop of the Capital One Center) a few times and just happen to be familiar with the area in which this brand-new theatre is located. Along with Capital One Hall and Starr Hill Biergarten, there is also a hotel known as The Watermark Hotel, fine dining restaurants like Wren, and mini golfing place on the rooftop at The Perch. The interior architecture is gorgeous and super modern at Capital One Hall. There are 3 cafes where guests can get refreshments, whether it be snacks, coffee, or alcoholic beverages – ALL of which they can take into the theatre to enjoy the show. They also have a booth for purchasing performance-related merchandise, some of which my friends Brianna and Brittany happened to snag! To learn more about Capital One Hall, follow them on Instagram @capitalonehall AND look no further than here: https://www.capitalonehall.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqtqzho3m_AIVxd7ICh0KfwaEEAAYASAAEgIUgPD_BwE
One of my favorite parts of the Capital One Hall was the red carpet like photo booth that ALL guests could take photos in front of. There was a bit of a line when we went but luckily we got there early enough to get some photos before it got super crowded. There was ALSO a light ring aka just about every influencer’s dream at the photo booth to give that red carpet feel *just a bit more*! You really do feel like royalty when seeing a show at Capital One Hall!
Hairspray happened to be the first show that I was interested in seeing at Capital One Hall. My best friends Brianna and Brittany and their Mom invited me to join them (we happened to book seats right next to each other, too!!). We attended a 1:30pm or 2pm show on a Saturday and it was PERFECT. I LOVED the creativity of the performance and the cast: it was truly unique (especially to our location of Tyson’s Corner!) and every actor’s unique flair shined.
The only downside to seeing a show at Capital One Hall was the fact that the staff were rushing everyone out right after the show ended. This utter rushing via the staff was due to another performance being scheduled right after ours. However, the rushing of guests led to guests not being able to snag merchandise, take a photo (or two!), use the bathroom for longer than 5 minutes, or even grab a refreshment for the ride home. It sadly felt like we were rushed out to the point of where we couldn’t enjoy anything after the show. I’m hoping in the future that this manner of planning for two shows on the same day gets ironed out over time, as Capital One Hall is fairly new to the performance circuit.
Through it all, I LOVED getting to experience the brand-new Capital One Hall and hope to see a show there again in the future. I also had a GREAT time catching up with Brianna, Brittany, and their Mom. Here’s to making many more memories very soon!!
XOXO – Katie <3