106.7 The Fan vs. The Team 980 live at Bethesda Theatre on February 2, 2024

A special event at the historic Bethesda Theatre at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue this Friday night, February 2, 2024 will feature on-air personalities from two of Washington, D.C.'s top sports radio stations, 106.7 FM The Fan and 980 AM The Team. The event begins at 8:00 PM Friday, and the doors open at 6:30 PM for dinner.

An event announcement promises "a night of sports debate, laughs, and behind-the-scenes stories! It's 106.7 The Fan vs. Team 980 LIVE! What will the Commanders do in free agency? Who will they select with the #2 overall draft pick? How soon before they're actually good again? Plus, they'll preview the Super Bowl matchup and debate who will win. It's all off-air, on-stage, and uncensored! Featuring the Sports Junkies, Grant and Danny, BMitch and Finlay, Kevin Sheehan, Chris Russell, Craig Hoffman, and more!"

Tickets are available online. 

American Idols to reunite at Bethesda Theatre January 22, 2024

Two of the highest-profile contestants from the golden age of American Idol will reunite at the historic Bethesda Theatre at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue on January 22, 2024. Ruben Studdard was named the American Idol as the winner of the blockbuster TV show's second season in 2003. Clay Aiken was the runner-up that year, losing by only 134,000 votes out of 24,000,000 ballots cast by viewers, according to Broadcasting & Cable magazine. Both were fan favorites, and have remained friends ever since.

Now Studdard and Aiken will reunite for an evening at the famed art deco theater with entertainment as the goal, rather than competition. The booking is apparently so new, it isn't even listed on the official tour website as of this writing. When it does appear, VIP packages that include a special soundcheck performance with meet-and-greet should be available for the biggest Idol fans.

Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter to perform live in Bethesda on November 17

Attention Backstreet Boys fans: Nick Carter's Who I Am tour will include a Bethesda date on Friday, November 17, 2023 at the Bethesda Theatre at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue. Doors will open at 6:30 PM for dinner. Showtime will be 8:30 PM. While you are waiting for the show, read about one of the odd connections between the Backstreet Boys and Bethesda.

Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club activates new LED marquee at Bethesda Theatre (Photos)

The Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club's new LED marquee was activated yesterday. It replaces the traditional marquee outside the historic Bethesda Theatre at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, which now serves as the club's venue, but the neon signage on top remains the same. As you can see in these photos, the marquee functions as a wraparound screen, capable of displaying images as well as text. It will certainly grab more attention from passersby, if not reflect the art deco aesthetic of the 1938 movie palace.

Historic Bethesda Theatre marquee replaced with...LED electronic screen (Photos)

The marquee of the historic Bethesda Theatre at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue has been replaced with an LED electronic screen. Earl Ciccel, owner-manager of current tenant Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, wrote to Montgomery County that the existing marquee was dangerous for staff to change the letters in a travel lane of Wisconsin, and that letters were falling off onto pedestrians below. There is also an ongoing issue of water damage to the marquee and neon signage, and the supper club is proposing to replace the neon light tubes from the BETHESDA sign with LED rope lighting that is supposed to replicate the appearance of the old bulbs.

Montgomery County's Historic Preservation Commission approved the replacement marquee, under the condition that a row of bulbs remain above and below the LED screen. This is what was allowed at the historic AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring. The HPC said it was not as sold on the LED rope lighting, and would have to see an existing example of it "in the field" to evaluate how accurately it can duplicate the look of the original lighting.

My personal take is that LED marquees degrade the historic character of old movie theaters. They are cheaper to maintain, and will be more attention-getting for the supper club, and I realize they need all the help they can get in the current business environment. 

But I'm not in favor of this. Wisconsin Avenue has been six lanes for decades, and somehow the letters got changed and stayed on without anyone being injured. If the original wiring and lighting of the rest of the marquee signage need help, why wasn't at least a tiny fraction of the $11 million(!!) the Maryland General Assembly is giving to the Olney Theatre Center directed to that purpose? 

Whatever the thinking, I believe the HPC is misreading the County code and Secretary of the Interior standards in determining that LED screens are "compatible in character" with a 1938 movie theater facade, and that "the removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property" is somehow being "avoided" in this case.

Dave Chappelle surprises at Bethesda Blues & Jazz sold-out reopening weekend

The exterior of the historic 1938 Bethesda Theatre was lit for the first time in over a year this past weekend, as comedian Earthquake reopened the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with back-to-back sold out shows. There was already a scent of Hollywood in the air going into the weekend, as the shows were being taped for a Netflix special. But fans and Earthquake himself got a bonus surprise when superstar Dave Chappelle made an appearance at Saturday night's event. 

Rolls-Royce parking only!

Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club makes final preparations for Netflix, reopening night (Photos)

The final preparations are being made at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue for tonight's grand reopening. Comedian Earthquake will perform tonight and tomorrow night, shows being taped live for a Netflix special. 

A Netflix banner was put over the marquee out front on Thursday evening. It's almost as exciting as the building's first opening night in 1938, when screen legend Clark Gable sent a congratulatory telegram as the art deco movie palace made its debut as The Boro theater, part of the regional cinema and drive-in empire of the legendary Sidney Lust.

Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club readies return this weekend

The Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue is preparing for a return to operations this Saturday, when local comedian Earthquake will film a Netflix special live at the venue over two back-to-back nights. Yesterday, workers were readying the historic theater for the weekend, performing painting and other maintenance work. 

Big names who will be appearing at the club this fall include Ruben Studdard, Peabo Bryson and Kirk Whalum. The former movie theater has been known as The Boro, the Bethesda Theatre, and the Bethesda Cinema & Drafthouse over its history, since opening in 1938. You'll find art paying tribute to the iconic movie palace in the TD Bank and Matchbox in downtown Bethesda.

Matchbox Bethesda Row pays tribute to historic Bethesda Theatre

The interior design of the new Matchbox restaurant opening soon at Bethesda Row is rounding into final shape. In addition to patriotic American flags, a hyperlocal artwork adorns one wall panel. A stylized matchbox of the literal sort is depicted emblazoned with an image of the marquee tower of the historic Bethesda Theatre at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue.

This is a grand touch given that the art deco movie theater, now home to Bethesda Blues & Jazz, is the crown jewel of the few remaining historic buildings in downtown Bethesda. If you do not gasp the first time you round the wall from the lobby and concessions area and enter the majestic auditorium, you probably are not human, or just have terrible taste in art.

Perhaps the most famous fan of the Bethesda Theatre was screen legend Clark Gable. He sent a congratulatory telegram to the theatre on opening night, May 19, 1938, when the movie palace debuted as The Boro Theater. It doesn't get any better than that.

Bethesda Theatre for sale again

The historic Bethesda Theatre at 7719 Wisconsin Avenue is back on the market. Currently operating as Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, the streamline art deco movie house can be yours for $9,000,000, according to a new online sale listing. The club narrowly escaped a foreclosure auction in June, that was triggered by one of its own investors.

But now it is for sale again two months later. The supper club business itself is also being offered for sale at an asking price of $1.5 million.

Mural at new TD Bank pays tribute to Bethesda landmark (Photos)

Environmentally-friendly features like a green roof and solar panels will dominate the exterior of the future TD Bank at 7628 Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda. But inside, a historic downtown landmark is the central feature.

A large mural depicts the Bethesda Theatre, which opened in 1938 as The Boro. The marquee announces a 1941 film, Swamp Water, starring Walter Brennan. In between those dates, the theater was renamed the Bethesda Theatre. Now, what the stacks of tires represent, I'm not sure. There is also a group of people standing in the foreground of the image.