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A Night Out: Madame Tussaud's Opens
By
David Hicks
Published Friday, October 05, 2007
Channel 7 reporter Alison Starling and (wax) Bill Clinton. All photographs by Jennifer Smoose.
What: Opening of Madame Tussauds Washington, DC
Where: The Woodies Building, 1025 F Street, NW
When: Thursday, October 4, 6 to 9 PM
Who: Spotted were DC City Council members Vincent Orange and Carol Schwartz, newsies Alison Starling and Pamela Brown (Channel 7), power lawyer Bob Barnett, and International Spy Museum head Peter Earnest. Oh, and lots of famous stars, politicos, and world leaders—in wax, that is.
Scene: On a night full of events in Washington—from the opening of the Shakespeare’s Harman Center for the Arts to the Hardball anniversary party—Marion Barry, who was the only party attendee who is also a wax sculpture, stole the show at the opening of the new branch of the famed Madame Tussauds wax museum. Photo ops abounded as a wax figure of the Mayor for Life greeted guests upon their red-carpet arrival. The stand-in was moved inside a little later, after the real mayor arrived. He was generous with his photo-op time, highlighted by a fun session involving the Oval Office and a lovely young intern. Some commented that the wax mayor appeared more lifelike than the real thing.
Want to see more photos from Washington events and parties? Click here for Washingtonian.com's photo slideshow page. Other highlights of the event—where the $25 entry fee stunned more guests than did the wax sculptures—included a creepy LBJ, dark-suited men pawing at Madonna, Beyonce, and J-Lo, and starstruck ladies clutching at Johnny Depp.
Food: Tiered buffet of roasted vegetables, charcuterie, breads, and cheeses. Mini-cheesecakes and chocolate tarts circulated.
Drink: Top shelf cocktail bar, with red and white wine circulation. Makers Mark specialty cocktail station. Chock Full of Nuts coffee station in the Washington Current Affairs gallery.
Ratings:
Boldface names: 5—it doesn’t get bigger than the fake people at the museum.
Swankiness: 2.5 (out of 5)
Food/drink: 2.5 (out of 5)
Exclusivity: 3 (out of 5)
Total score: 13 (out of 20)
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Comments
I went to the Grand Opening this weekend. The line outside was daunting, but by the time we parked the car and walked 2 blocks back to Madame Tussauds (MT), our placeholder was at the front of the line.
The figures were pretty realistic, it was obvious the curators were trying their hardest to give the Museum a unique-to-DC feel. The first few figures were a Native American, politcal figures and black music and political icons. Considering the placement of the figures in the visitor trail and use of giant screen in the background, Beyonce and J-Lo were considered to be the biggest attractions. ( I wasn’t impressed by J-Lo. She wasn’t as real looking as the others. I know her booty is bigger than that!)
The Opening Day throng significantly slowed our speed-challenged group’s progress through the museum. (Imagine navigating two small children, one very pregnant waddling woman, one ornery teenager, and Me, the sole picture taker in the group.) However, in 45 minutes we were done! The Gift Shop at the end of the tour came upon us so suddenly I wondered aloud, "why would they put the gift shop in the MIDDLE of the museum?"
In all there were maybe 60 figures, NOTHING like the New York MT. I remember wandering for hours, taking pictures with the Dalai Lama, Lenny Kravitz and the Spice Girls. The variety of the figures in the DC MT is limited. The $10 entrance fee seemed fair considering the size and scope of the DC collection.
My overall feeling-- Merlin was anxious to open a Madame Tussauds in DC in time to take advantage of the fall and holiday tourist season, but they are behind on deadlines for figures and plumbing. Very unfortunately, there was no running water in the restrooms. Imagine hundreds of Opening Weekend visitors not heeding the "Restrooms Out of Order" signs...Yuck!
Here’s hoping they get more figures (and running water!)soon and give people their $25 worth.
Posted by: Maria T, Oct 09, 2007 07:25:35 PM
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