Events in the Area

Art

  • “Charles Sheeler: Across Media” runs through August 27 at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building (Fourth St. and Constitution Ave., NW). The exhibit includes the works of this mid-century America painter/photographer who also created drawings, prints, a mural, and an avant garde film. Sheeler was a painter until his agent suggested he take up photography as a way to pay the bills. So he often painted and photographed the same subjects—geometric forms, machinery, and industrial landscapes.
  • Last chance! “Dada,” an exhibit with paintings, films, and other art that came from the zany-yet-serious art and antiwar movement that swept through Europe and into New York in the early 20th century, closes Sunday at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building through May 14.
  • 10 AM to 5 PM. Free. Call 202-737-4215
  • “Master Drawings From the Woodner Collections” is an exhibit of about 120 works spanning five centuries amassed by New York art gallery owner Ian Woodner. Among them are Cellini’s “Satyr,” a page from Vasari’s album, daVinci’s “Grotesque Head of an Old Woman,” landscapes by Rembrandt, and Picasso’s “Two Elegant Women.” The exhibit runs through October 1 in the National Gallery’s West Building (Sixth St. and Constitution Ave., NW). 10 AM to 5 PM. Free. Call 202-737-4215
 
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Event Links:

 
  • “Photographic Discoveries: Recent Acquisitions,” which show 75 works by photographers such as Eugene Atget, Brassai, Alfred Stieglitz, and others, is at the West Building through July 30.
  • “Amorous Intrigues and Painterly Refinement: The Art of Frans van Mieris,” shows portraits, genre paintings, and interiors by the 17th-century Dutch artist through May 21.
  • 10 AM to 5 PM. Free. Call 202-737-4215
  • “The Renoir Returns: A Celebration of Masterworks at the Phillips Collection,” featuring paintings by Bonnard, Cézanne, Matisse, and Klee, runs through July 30 at the newly renovated and expanded Phillips (1600 21st St., NW).
  • “Degas, Sickert, and Toulouse-Lautrec: London and Paris, 1870-1910,” which examines how artists from both sides of the English Channel influenced one another and includes works by Tissot, Vuillard, and Whistler, runs through May 14.
  • 10 AM to 5 PM. $12; seniors and students $10; children under age 18 free. Call 202-387-2151
  • “Hiroshi Sugimoto: History of History,” one of two Washington exhibits (another is at the Hirshhorn Museum—see below) focusing on the Japanese-born photographer, is at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art (1050 Independence Ave., SW) through July 30. While the Hirshhorn show is a career retrospective, this one puts on display some of Sugimoto’s influences, including his large collection of Japanese artifacts.
  • “Hokusai,” with paintings, scrolls, and fans by the popular 18th- and 19th-century Japanese artist, is at the Sackler through May 14.
  • 10 AM to 5:30 PM. Free. Call 202-633-4880
  • Last chance! “Hiroshi Sugimoto,” a retrospective of the Japanese-born photographer’s black-and-white images, is at the Hirshhorn Museum (Seventh St. and Independence Ave., SW) through Sunday.
  • “Gyroscope,” a frequently changing exhibit highlighting parts of the Hirshhorn’s permanent collection of modern art, runs through December 31.
  • 10 AM to 5:30 PM. Free. Call 202-633-4674 or click here (www.hirshhorn.si.edu) for more.
  • “Grant Wood’s Studio: Birthplace of ‘American Gothic’,” which gives a wide-ranging view of the Midwestern artist’s work in his Iowa workspace from 1924 through 1935, is at the Renwick Gallery (1661 Pennsylvania Ave., NW) through July 16. Though most people know Wood for his paintings—particularly his Depression-era portrait of a stoic couple on a farm—this show pays close attention to his craftsmanship in decorative objects of iron, glass, and wood. “American Gothic” is on view through June 11. 10 AM to 5:30 PM. Free. Call 202-633-1000
  • “Divine and Human: Women in Ancient Mexico and Peru,” which features over 400 objects that examine the role of women in South America and ancient Mesoamerica, is at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (1250 New York Ave., NW) through May 28.
  • “Vistas and Visions: Selected Landscapes From the Permanent Collection” runs through July 9.
  • 10 AM to 5 PM. $8; students and seniors $6; children under age 18 free. Call 202-783-5000  
  • “Archipelago: Portraits of Life in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,” which showcases David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton’s 60 photographs of unusual living things—birds, turtles, plants, and insects that are protected because only scientific researchers are allowed on the islands—is at the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall (1145 17th St., NW) through May 29. 9 AM to 5 PM. Free. Call 202-857-7588

Music

  • Mongolian musicians Tumen Ekh perform at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2700 F St., NW). 6 PM. Free. Call 202-467-4600
  • Synth-pop star Thomas Dolby performs at the Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria). 7:30 PM. $22.50. Call 703-549-7500
  • Indie-rockers Hockey Night perform at Iota (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). One Eyed Stanley opens. 8:30 PM doors. $10. Call 703-522-8340
  • Local alt-rock band the Lucky Bastards are at the Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW). The Blackout open. 9 PM. $5.

Books

  • George Saunders talks about his new collection of short stories, In Persuasion Nation , at Politics and Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave., NW). 7 PM. Free. Call 202-364-1919
  • Rich Cohen , who writes for Rolling Stone and the New Yorker , talks about his memoir Sweet and Low: A Family Story at Olsson’s (418 Seventh St., NW). 7 PM. Free. Call 202-638-7610
  • Paul Rieckhoff , a lieutenant and platoon leader in the US Army, talks about Chasing Ghosts: A Soldier’s Fight for America From Baghdad to Washington , about his role in creating IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America), the first and largest veterans’ group for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, at Olsson’s (2111 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). 7 PM. Free. Call 703-525-4227

Theater

  • Richard Clifford directs The Game of Love and Chance, an 18th-century French play about love that is forced and love that is real, at the Folger Theatre (201 E. Capitol St., SE) through May 14. Ian Merrill Peaks stars. 7:30 PM. $30 to $39. Call 202-544-7077
  • Ellen McLaughlin’s adaptation of Aeschylus’s war tragedy, The Persians, runs through May 21 at the Shakespeare Theatre Company (450 Seventh St., NW). Ethan McSweeny directs. 7:30 PM. $26 to $58. Call 202-547-1122
  • Theater J presents the world premiere of Richard Greenberg’s Bal Masque, a play about the storied 1966 Black and White Ball thrown in New York by Truman Capote. It runs through May 21 at the DC Jewish Community Center (1529 16th St., NW). 2 PM. $15 to $40.
  • Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, composed of songs made famous by Billie Holiday, is at Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater (1101 Sixth St., SW) through June 4. Noon and 7:30 PM. $50 to $59. Call 202-488-3300
  • Shenandoah, a revival of an all-American musical set during the Civil War, is at Ford’s Theatre (511 Tenth St., NW) through May 21. Scott Bakula stars. 7:30 PM. $25 to $52. Call 202-347-4833
  • Catalyst Theater’s Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, a drama about hostages, opens today at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (545 Seventh St., SE). 7:30 PM. $10.
  • Rorschach Theatre’s production of Tony Kushner’s A Bright Room Called Day is at the Casa del Pueblo Methodist Church (1459 Columbia Rd., NW). 8 PM. $12 and $18.
  • Frozen, a critically praised drama about a missing ten-year-old, runs through May 21 at the Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., NW). 8:30 PM. $25.
  • On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning is at Arena Stage (1101 Sixth St., SW). 8 PM. $46 to $61.
  • For ages four and up: The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia presents children’s classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favourites at the Kennedy Center Family Theater (2700 F St., NW).

 

 

MUSEUMS

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
1050 Independence Ave., SW; 202-633-4880

“Style and Status: Imperial Costumes From Ottoman Turkey” closes January 22. Having been preserved in Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace Museum, St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, and Moscow’s Kremlin Armory, these textiles have lost none of their vivid colors. The coats and pieces of cloth date from the 16th and 17th centuries, when textiles were important commodities. Scattered throughout the $1-million exhibit are reproductions of paintings that show Ottoman emperors and their courts wearing opulent clothing and waving banners. Sackler Museum director Julian Raby says men of status wore robes “as a fashion statement. They differentiated those who wore them from peoples who lived in neighboring countries.” The motifs, such as the large, stylized tulips and crescents, were “what we today would call ‘logos.’ ”“Gold: The Asian Touch” closes February 19. This is the first in a series of exhibits devoted to works made from a specific material and drawn from the Sackler and Freer collections. This one examines the uses of gold across the Asian continent: a Chinese scepter, a Japanese folding screen covered in gold leaf, and gold inlaid weapons from Mughal India. On your way out, swing by the front of the gift shop to see the first piece on view from “Ikat Silks of Central Asia,” 100 fine textiles, wall hangings, and robes collected by Guido Goldman of Harvard University that will go into the Sackler’s permanent collection. Used along the Silk Road, the ikat technique involved dyeing threads individually, then weaving them into colorful abstract patterns.

Corcoran Gallery of Art
500 17th St., NW; 202-639-1700. $4 to $8; pay as you wish Thursdays after 5 pm.

“Sam Gilliam: A Retrospective,” honoring the local artist who’s been creating for 50 years, closes January 22. Gilliam’s draped canvases and colorful painted sculptures never looked better.

“Warhol Legacy: Selections From the Andy Warhol Museum” closes February 20. Arranged by theme, the exhibit traces Warhol’s career from his early days in advertising to his portraits of celebrities, himself included, and soup cans.

“Encouraging American Genius: Master Paintings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art” closes January 2 before going on a nationwide tour. The Corcoran displays its engaging 19th- and 20th-century American paintings: landscapes by Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Church, and Thomas Cole as well as portraits from the Gilded Age by Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent.

Folger Shakespeare Library
201 E. Capitol St., SE; 202-544-4600

“Golden Lads and Lasses: Shakespeare for Children” opens January 21 and closes May 13. The story of Shakespeare’s life, his background, and his imagination is told in ways children can identify with. The exhibit includes a desk from the school Shakespeare attended in Stratford on Avon and a model of the Globe Theatre. Also part of the exhibit are the Lamb’s Tale books for children that retold Shakespeare’s plays, first printed with illustrations by William Blake.

“Consuming Splendor: Luxury Goods in England, 1580–1680” closes December 31. During the 17th century, the English began to import and copy such finery as Italian glass and marble, Flemish tapestries, and French silks. There were coffee from Turkey, tea from Asia, and tobacco from North America. Shown are very good examples of lace, china, and books as well as prints that illustrate how silk and porcelain were made.

Freer Gallery of Art
Twelfth St. and Independence Ave., SW; 202-633-4880

“Artists of Edo: 1800–1850” closes May 29. Edo—now known as Tokyo—was a haven for artists and writers in the early 19th century. Their subjects were theater and the places where pleasure was the focus. Japan was still an isolated nation, devoid for the most part of foreign influence during these years. The 30 paintings and prints that make up this small exhibit lift the veil on a rare time and place. Music in ancient China was considered a way of balancing heaven and earth and keeping people civil. And there was the pleasure factor. In “Virtue and Entertainment: Chinese Music in the Visual Arts,” closing March 26, instruments such as a bell dating from the fifth century BC and a 1,000-year-old zither play prominent roles. The paintings and contemporary calligraphy also are enjoyable.

“Pretty Women: Freer and the Ideal of Feminine Beauty,” an exhibit of 25 paintings, closes next summer. When Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919) began collecting art in the 1880s, his interest was piqued by two styles: contemporary American painting and all forms of Asian art. He was fond of sensitive (and some might add sentimental) portraits of delicate women by James McNeill Whistler, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, and Abbott Handerson Thayer.

National Academy of Sciences
2101 Constitution Ave., NW (enter at 2100 C St., NW); 202-334-2436

“Cycloids: Paintings by Michael Schultheis” closes February 1. Schultheis, an artist and mathematician, fills his canvases with ideas spelled out in a progression of notations and numbers that lead to a visual sensation. It’s a process he likens to a musician being able to hear what he reads on a sheet of music.

“Cheryl Goldsleger: Utopia” closes February 1. The subject of Goldsleger’s mixed-media paintings is design by female architects and their use of space. The concept of user-friendly buildings is a bit obscure, but the images are intriguing.

National Building Museum
401 F St., NW; 202-272-2448

“Jewish Washington: Scrapbook of an American Community” closes January 8. Prominent in the exhibit is Washington’s first Jewish congregation, Washington Hebrew, formed in 1856. As it became more Americanized, it became more Reform. German and English were substituted for Hebrew, offending some members, who in 1869 broke away and formed their own strictly orthodox congregation, Adas Israel. Both congregations went on to build synagogues and remain part of the community.

“Cityscapes Revealed: Highlights From the Collection,” opening December 3, is the museum’s way of celebrating its 25th anniversary. Included are architectural drawings, photographs, even toys.Visitors also can get a close look at a terra- cotta panel that was a model for the Civil War frieze that encircles the museums’s exterior. Styles represented range from the curlicues of Beaux Arts to sleek and functional skyscrapers. But the best example of fine architecture and craftsmanship is the 1881 building that houses the museum. Formerly known as the Pension Building, it was designed by Montgomery C. Meigs in 1881 and completed in 1887.

National Gallery of Art, East Building
Fourth St. and Constitution Ave., NW; 202-737-4215

“Masterpieces in Miniature: Italian Manuscript Illumination From the J. Paul Getty Museum,” a jewel of an exhibit in the National Gallery of Art’s East Building, closes January 2. From Bologna to Rome, in the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, painting in books was one of the most heralded and expensive art forms. The attention to detail and rich gilding and color are extraordinary. “Winslow Homer in the National Gallery of Art,” oils, watercolors, and drawings by the 19th-century American artist, remains on view until February 20.

National Gallery of Art, West Building
Sixth St. and Constitution Ave., NW; 202-737-4215

“Cézanne in Provence” opens January 29. To mark the 100th anniversary of the artist’s death, the National Gallery and the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence (Cézanne’s hometown) have collaborated on an exhibit that looks to be a block- buster. Paintings and works on paper have been gathered from all over the world.

“Nicholas Nixon: The Brown Sisters” closes February 20. Every year for the past 31 years, the photographer took pictures of his wife and her three sisters. The lineup was the same and the clothing they wore not much different from year to year. It’s a study in how the siblings have aged.

“Audubon’s Dream Realized: Selections From The Birds of America” closes March 26. These may be the only birds in town not headed south for the winter. The National Gallery of Art owns one of the only two known complete sets of John James Audubon’s unbound illustrations.

“The Prints of Félix Buhot: Impressions of City and Sea” closes February 20. Buhot’s 60 moody prints of Paris and London in the 1870s and ’80s set the scene for winter.

In the Dutch cabinet galleries through December 31 is “Pieter Claesz: Master of Haarlem Still Life,” a 17th-century painter. Beautifully composed tabletops are covered with half-finished meals, luscious fruit, and symbols of death. If you see only one exhibit this month, Claesz is a good choice.

The three statues of “Monumental Sculpture From Renaissance Florence” move home, to a specially designed museum in Florence, after the show’s December 31 closing here. Say arrivederci to Ghiberti’s “Saint Matthew,” Nanni di Banco’s “Four Martyred Saints,” and Verrocchio’s “Christ and Saint Thomas.” The gallery’s guide will help decipher the religious references in these larger-than-life works.

National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall
17th and M sts., NW; 202-857-7588

“Wide Angle,” an exhibit of 35 works by National Geographic photographers, includes shots of indigenous people, exotic scenes, and spectacular landscapes. It closes January 25.

“Napoléon, an Intimate Portrait” closes January 2. The military leader and emperor lived a colorful life from 1769 to 1821. In his own words, he “brought order out of chaos” and rewarded “merit regardless of birth or wealth,” but not everyone agreed with his methods. Displayed here are some of Napoleon’s belongings, such as his three-cornered hat, as well as portraits of the proud man in the familiar pose with hand tucked into jacket. Among the memorabilia is a map of the
French Empire in 1812 with pinholes marking battle sites and a plate that survived Waterloo better than the French did.

National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Ave., SW; 202-633-4600

“African Art Now: Masterpieces From the Jean Pigozzi Collection” closes February 26. Pigozzi, a venture capitalist, became enthralled with contemporary African art ten years ago and has amassed an extensive collection. The artists’ nationalities, themes, and media are as varied as the continent, making this an important exhibit for those interested in
African art. One by one, selections from the Walt Disney–Tishman Collection, a West African treasure trove that came into the museum’s hands last year, are being put on display. A full exhibit is planned for 2007, so this month visitors can simply preview a couple of masks, an ornate door, a hunting horn, and ivory armlets. More items are expected to be shown this
year.

National Museum of Natural History
Tenth St. and Constitution Ave., NW; 202-357-2700

“The Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals,” is a permanent exhibit made possible by a $20-million donation from the eponymous developer, big-game hunter, and philanthropist. The hall, measuring 25,000 square feet and featuring plenty of kid-friendly, interactive exhibits, has 274 lifelike (though taxidermied) mammals in realistic settings.

National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Ave., NW; 202-783-5000.
$8; seniors and students $6; free the first Wednesday and Sunday of the month.

“Alice Neel’s Women” closes January 15. Throughout her career, Alice Neel was interested in women and their accomplishments. Her subjects include Charlotte Willard, a New York Post art critic; Florence Lasser, who worked for the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union; and Mary D. Garrard, an art-history professor at American University.

National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave., NE; 202-633-5555

Before taking a magical mystery tour into the world of rock ’n’ roll, the young John Lennon collected stamps. His 145-page album from the 1950s, which listed with a starting price of $73,000, has been bought by the National Postal Museum.
“John Lennon: The Lost Album” will be on display through April 10. It seems Lennon was fond of adding his own childish touches to the album, such as a moustache and beard he drew on a likeness of Queen Victoria.

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THEATER

Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., SW; 202-488-3300

Damn Yankees, the musical about baseball, runs through February 5. Brad Oscar, who played Max Bialystock in the Broadway production of The Producers, returns to his hometown to play the devil. His machinations make this show a winner. The lineup also includes Matt Bogart as “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo.,” and Fred Shiffman, the funniest comedian on Washington’s stages.


Awake and Sing!, Clifford Odets’s bittersweet tale of family and a war veteran living with them during the Great Depression, directed by Arena Stage founder Zelda Fichandler, starring Rob Prosky, runs January 20 through March 5. $49 to $68.

Cuttin’ Up, written and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, closes January 1. Barbershops can be gathering places for neighbors, which is the case in this African-American play with music. $41 to $60.

Folger Theatre
201 E. Capitol St., SE: 202-544-7077

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare runs January 19 through February 26.
Aaron Posner directs the Bard’s comic take on the morality—and hypocrisy—of leaders. $25 to $49.

Ford’s Theatre
511 Tenth St., NW; 202-347-4833

Ford’s replaced its traditional holiday show last year with a recent adaptation called A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas, which puts a twist on Dickens’s classic. The theater has dressed it up with Broadway-style special effects and given Dickens a cameo. It plays through December 31. $30 to $55.

Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
202-467-4600

The Subject Was Roses, the 1965 Pulitzer Prize winner by Frank Gilroy, runs January 7 to 29 at the Kennedy Center and stars Bill Pullman (left) and Judith Ivey. Timmy Cleary, a World War II soldier, returns home in 1946 to the Bronx. His parents, scarred by the Depression, have reached an impasse in their marriage. Timmy takes roses to his mother, saying they are from his father. Tickets ($25 to $78).

Kennedy Center Family Theater
202-467-4600

Brave No World: Identity. Community. And Stand-Up Comedy, by Laurie Brooks, premiering January 27 and 28, is suitable for anyone over age 13 who has struggled with the years between being a child and being an adult. No preachy stuff, just storytelling and hip music. $15.

The Kennedy Center inaugurates its newest space, the 324-seat Family Theater, with the world premiere of Alice, adapted for the stage by Kim Hines from the children’s book by Whoopi Goldberg. It runs through January 2. Alice is one tough, big-city chick who’d like to be rich. When she learns she has a shot at winning the lottery, off she goes with a couple of friends: a white rabbit who’s often hard to see and a guy who plays cards and wears big hats. They rush
to get rich before the chance passes them by. $15.

Kennedy Center Opera House
202-467-4600

Wicked, winner of three Tonys and a Grammy, continues to cast a spell over audiences in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and now here. The run December 21 to January 15 is officially sold out, but you might get lucky by trying the box office for returned tickets ($42 to $150), especially as the performance date nears. Failing that, many second-hand ticket dealers are selling—at high prices. Craigslist, eBay, and Stubhub.com are your best chances at a fair deal.

National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-628-6161

The musical Les Misérables, by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, returns to Washington for what producer Cameron Mackintosh claims is the last time. “Les Miz,” the quintessential tearjerker, is about a poor man —jailed for stealing a loaf of bread—and those who befriend him or stand in his way. The music is stirring, and visually this can be a very moving show. For tickets ($36.25 to $83.25), call 800-447-7400 or visit telecharge.com.

Shakepeare Theatre Company
450 Seventh St., NW; 202-547-1122

Don Juan by Molière runs January 24 to March 19. Stephen Wadsworth has translated and attempted to re-create the original 17th-century performance of the French satirist’s “fearless perceptions of French society” at the time of Louis XIV. Wadsworth, who also directs, calls Don Juan “a free thinker ahead of his time.” $14.25 to $71.25.

The Comedy of Errors, directed by Douglas C. Wager, closes January 8. There’s a reason the expression “comedy of errors,” meaning one thing after another going wrong, is used to this day. Shakespeare stacked his Comedy with double trouble: two sets of twins, a family seemingly lost at sea, and merchants determined to protect their business. It’s funny, short, and often slapstick. Daniel Breaker and Gregory Wooddell head the cast. $26 to $71.25.

Signature Theatre
3806 S. Four Mile Run Dr., Arlington; 703-218-6500

The world premiere of Nevermore, a musical adaptation by Matt Conner of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories, is January 10 to February 26. Eric Schaeffer directs. $31 to $55.

Sherri L. Edelen and Ty Hreben perform “Together Again,” an evening of cabaret, January 6 and 7. $22.

Studio Theatre
1501 14th St., NW; 202-332-3300

Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig, about romance, obesity, and societal prejudice, runs January 4 through February 12. $32 to $52.

Studio’s LaBute festival also includes the world premiere of Autobahn, a series of comic vignettes about what LaBute describes as the chasm or intense claustrophobia inside the average family car, January 11 through February 5 on Studio’s SecondStage. $25.

“A Day in LaButeville” includes a matinee performance of Fat Pig, followed by a postshow discussion, readings from LaBute’s collection of short stories, a box dinner, and a performance of Autobahn. The package is available January 21,
22, 28, and 29 for $100.

Theater J
DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St., NW; 202-777-3229

Betty Rules, with Amy and Elizabeth Ziff and Alyson Palmer, continues through January 29. This biographical rock musical covers the band’s start at DC’s 9:30 Club, television gigs on Nickelodeon, PBS, and Showtime’s The L Word, and the group’s current status as an off-Broadway hit. It’s an irreverent show.

Theater of the First Amendment
George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax; 703-993-2787

Lift: Icarus and Me runs from January 19 to February 5. The talented playwriting duo of Mary Hall Surface and David Maddox has transposed the myth of the high-flying Icarus and his inventive father, Daedalus, to East Texas, where the music is Texas swing. $25, $30.

Warner Theatre
513 13th St., NW; 202-783-4000

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom and Jeffrey Hatcher runs January 24 through 29. Dominic Fumusa takes the autobiographical part of Mitch Albom, a sportswriter who visits his former sociology professor (played by Harold Gould), now dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Sixteen years after Albom’s graduation, the two have a lot to catch up on—sports, life, love—during their 90-minute dialogue. $25 to $48.50.

Evita, the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber musical about Eva Perón, wife of an Argentine dictator, runs from December 27 to January 1. Melodic, clever, and disturbing because of its enthusiasm for a demagogue. For tickets ($36.50 to $76.50), call 800-551-7328 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre
641 D St., NW; 202-393-3939

The world premiere of The Velvet Sky runs January 30 to March 5. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s fantastical play is about a woman who has not slept in 13 years in an effort to protect her son from the Sandman. One of Washington’s best actors, Rick Foucheux, heads the cast. $10 to $48.

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MUSIC & DANCE

Birchmere
3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria; 703-549-7500

The Alejandro Escovedo Quartet sets the singer/songwriter’s compositions to violin, cello, and guitar January 5. $20.

Local favorite Eddie From Ohio brings its distinctive folk-rock sound January 13, 14, and 15. $29.50.

Spunky pianist Nellie McKay comes January 22 with new tunes mocking pop culture and politics. $27.50.

Colin Meloy of the Decemberists and Laura Veirs play their literary-style pop January 28. $17.50.

Keller Williams uses on-stage equipment to mix acoustic-guitar samples and beat-box sounds January 27. $25.

Blues Alley
1073 Wisconsin Ave., NW; 202-337-4141

Singing/songwriting couple Tuck & Patti combines his delicate guitar melodies with her smooth voice. They come January 26 to 29 with original songs and covers of modern pop classics. $32.25.

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland
Stadium Dr. and University Blvd., College Park; 301-405-2787

The Joe Goode Performance Group presents two modern-dance pieces January 27 and 28. Grace and Hometown—the second and third parts of Goode’s “Folk Series” begun in 2004—are about ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Goode is known for combining movement with spoken word and visual effects. $7 and $30.

Dance Place
3225 Eighth St., NE; 202-269-1600

Devi Dance Theater, a Maryland-based group of Indian dancers, is led by choreographer Anila Kumari, who teaches classical Indian dance from a feminist perspective. Her newest piece, From the Diary of Sita, is about “an epical heroine in a blend of Japanese, Korean, and Indian dance styles.” It premieres January 28 and 29. $7 to $20; free for kids under age 13 with paying adult on Sunday.

Folger Shakespeare Library
201 E. Capitol St., SE; 202-544-7077

At this time of the year, the Folger Theatre likes to “dress” appropriately with garlands, trees, and poinsettias. It makes the hall smell like pine and cinnamon and adds to the mood for the Folger Consort’s December 21–23 concerts of Christmas music by baroque composers Corelli and Charpentier. Soprano Rosa Lamoreaux accompanies the ensemble, which as always will play period instruments. $40.

George Mason University Center for the Arts
4400 University Dr., Fairfax; 703-993-8888

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Charles Dutoit, performs a program including Mozart and Sibelius on January 20. $25 to $50.

Kennedy Center Concert Hall
202-467-4600

The Master Chorale of Washington, under the baton of Donald McCullough, performs Christmas music December 21. The repertoire includes “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” “White Christmas,” and “Ave Maria.” What makes this concert distinctive is the chorale’s candlelit entrance and exit through the auditorium. $21 to $57.

Washington Performing Arts Society
(202-785-9727)
presents its Men and Women of the Gospel Choir.
On January 29, the 150-voice choir joins the a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock in the world premiere of “Indaba,” a piece composed by Sweet Honey. The title refers to the Zulu word for a type of community gathering. $30 to $55.

The National Symphony Orchestra has extended its repertoire into opera. On January 12, 13, and 14, it performs the first act of Wagner’s Die Walküre and on January 26, 27, and 28 Mozart’s The Abduction From the Seraglio, starring soprano Jennifer Casey Cabot.

Kennedy Center Opera House
202-467-4600

Wicked, the touring version of the hit Broadway musical filled with spectacle, arrives at the Kennedy Center on December 21 for a four-week run. Set in Oz before Dorothy arrives, the story focuses on the Wicked Witch of the West, born tough and green, and her envy of the beautiful Glinda, the Good Witch. For tickets to this sold-out show ($42 to $150), follow the yellow-brick road to your preferred ticket wizard or try the box office for last-minute returns.

The National Ballet of Canada, under the artistic direction of Karen Kain, performs Swan Lake, choreographed by James Kudelka, from January 17 to 22. $29 to $84. From January 26 through 29,

“Protégés: The International Ballet Academy Festival” presents the younger dancers from
the schools of some of the best companies: London’s Royal Ballet, Paris’s Opera Ballet, Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Ballet, New York’s Dance Theatre of Harlem, and St. Petersburg’s Kirov. The performances by ensembles of dancers—some as young as 12—are a way for the dancers and audiences to compare the groups’ styles. Globalization has come to ballet; no longer are companies identified by a single characteristic such as the classicism of the Danish Ballet or the fluid arm
movement of Kirov dancers. $19 to $60.

American Ballet Theatre performs a mixed program January 31 to February 2 including Mark Morris’s Gong and Jerome Robbins’s Afternoon of a Faun. February 3 to 5, the ballet performs Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet to the Prokofiev score. $29 to $99.

MCI Center
601 F St., NW; 202-628-3200

The Trans Siberian Orchestra, a rock opera with a yuletide undercurrent, is December 22. $39.50 to $43.50. For tickets, call 800-551-7328 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman La., North Bethesda; 301-581-5100

The National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Piotr Gajewski, plays Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons on January 7. $25 to $80; children 7 to 17 free.

Warner Theatre
513 13th St., NW; 202-783-4000

The Washington Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker—it premiered to good reviews last year—returns through December 24. This version, featuring professionals from the company and students from the Washington Ballet’s school, is set in Georgetown and has many local references. Cherry blossoms, for instance, replace sugarplum fairies. For tickets ($29 to $72), call 800-551-7328 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Washington National Cathedral
Massachusetts and Wisconsin aves., NW; 202- 537-6200

The Folger Consort (202-544-7077), with soprano Rosa Lamoreaux and bass/baritone François Loup, performs Renaissance motets and Baroque music by Monteverdi and Palestrina on January 6 and 7. A discussion precedes the January 6 concert. $27 to $40.

The Barns at Wolf Trap
1635 Trap Rd., 877-965-3872

Acoustic-blues singer/songwriter Chris Smither performs January 6. $20.

Three dances are scheduled at the Barns: Jazz singer/guitarist Daby Touré, a Parisian with roots in Senegal and Mauritania, performs world music January 19. $20.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chuck Brown, the godfather of go-go, plays January 25. $30. And the local roots rockers Cravin’ Dogs will play January 27. $16.

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Film

New Films From Europe

Nine German-language features make their Washington premieres in the Goethe Institut’s New Films From Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Each provides a snapshot of life in Europe.

One Day in Europe, the opening-night film in the series, is a comedy about the difficulties of cross-cultural communication. Following the screening is a reception with DJ Yellow Fever at the Goethe Institut (812 Seventh St., NW). $25.

Written and directed by Johannes Brunner, Oktoberfest intertwines the stories of strangers who cross paths on the last day of the German beer festival.

Soeren Senn’s first feature film, KussKuss, is about the tender relationship between an
intern and a research scientist at a Berlin hospital. Based on the novel by Christoph Hein, Andreas Dresen’s Willenbrock takes viewers into the world of a gruff former East German car dealer with a penchant for extramarital affairs.

E Street Cinema,
11th and E sts., NW; 202-289-1200. $6.75 to $9.50.

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring; 301-495-6700

AFI puts holiday favorites on the big screen with its Christmas Classics. The Muppet Christmas Carol stars Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy in a spin on Charles Dickens’s story. A Christmas Story, set in 1940s Indiana and based on the novel by Jean Shepherd, is about a boy’s dream of receiving a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. And there’s Frank Capra’s 1946 favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life. Screenings are through December 25.

Jim Henson is famous for his innovative puppet films and television shows like Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and The Muppet Show. “The Myth and Magic of Jim Henson” is a series dedicated to the director’s fantasy films and lesser-known experimental shorts December 27 through January 3.
Two adventures provide a glimpse into Henson’s darker side. Labyrinth stars Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie alongside puppet creatures in a trippy tale about a 16-year-old in search of her kidnapped baby stepbrother. The Dark Crystal is set in an eerie world designed by fantasy artist Brian Froud. Time Piece is a nine-minute experimental short that was nominated for an Academy Award in 1966.

Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg has a retrospective from January 13 to February 20. His films often intertwine the psychological with the physical and explore bodily transformation.In 1986’s The Fly, a brilliant but eccentric scientist transforms into a human-size fly after an experiment goes wrong.Dead Ringers, starring Jeremy Irons, is a dark portrait of identical-twin gynecologists who seduce their patients and share them as lovers. In 2002’s Spider, Cronenberg takes viewers inside the mind of a man (played by Ralph Fiennes) who has struggled with schizophrenia for 20 years.

The work of Austrian-born director Otto Preminger is the subject of a retrospective from January 4 to February 23. Known for confronting taboos, Preminger died in 1986. Adapted from the John Voelker novel, Preminger’s 1959 classic Anatomy of a Murder is about a murder/rape trial. In Laura, a police detective falls in love with the dead woman whose murder he’s investigating. Where the Sidewalk Ends is about a police officer who accidentally kills a murder suspect, then tries to pin it on a crook. $6.75 to $9.25

Landmark E Street Cinema
11th and E sts., NW; 202-452-7672

Paula Fouce’s documentary Naked in Ashes chronicles the spiritual world of India’s yogis, who see their suffering as a source of redemption for others. In the yogis’ quest to understand the divine, they devote their lives to chastity, austerity, and discipline. The movie opens January 6.

Opening January 13, 39 Pounds of Love tells the story of Ami Ankilewitz, a 34-year old, 39-pound man in Israel who battles a rare form of muscular dystrophy and exceeds his life expectancy.
$6.75 to $9.50

National Gallery of Art
East Building Auditorium, Fourth St. and Constitution Ave., NW; 202-842-6799, Free.

Since the 1960s, photographer William Eggleston, who was born on a cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta, has used the South as an inspiration. In William Eggleston in the Real World, director Michael Almereyda turns the artist into the subject. The documentary’s Washington premiere is January 5 to 8. On January 21, the gallery screens Eggleston’s only moving-image work, Stranded in Canton. Filmed in 1973 and ’74 with a portable video camera, the film records conversations with his friends, a group of eccentric, often-drunk writers, artists, and musicians.

Montreal’s International Festival of Films on Art showcases documentaries about painting, photography, film, music, dance, and literature, and every year the National Gallery screens the festival’s best films. This year’s series, being shown January 7, 14, and 15, features Moshe Safdie, The Power of Architecture, which follows the Canadian-Israeli architect from childhood to his recent work on the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

Another highlight is Taoism in a Bowl of Water: Chinese Composer Tan Dun, about the Academy Award–winning creator of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon score who splits his time between his native Hunan and New York City. Director Andreas Morrell sheds light on the blend of cultural influences in Dun’s work.

Orson Welles in Spain features three films that reveal Welles’s passion for his adopted homeland. Telling a story that originated in Spain, the documentary F for Fake uses three con artists—an art forger, his biographer, and Welles—to toy with the concept of truth. Chimes at Midnight, which was shot in Spain, mixes material from five Shakespearean texts to create a single story. Made in 2005 and directed by Kristian Petri, The Well combines archival footage with detours to Welles’s old haunts to reveal his love affair with Spain.

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Out & About

A Window Into The Local Art Scene

With so many world-class art museums in Washington, it’s easy to overlook the art in neighborhood galleries. Monthly gallery walks, open houses, and joint exhibit openings are a way to explore the area’s gallery scene. These free events offer a chance to scope out—or buy—new artworks as well as talk with artists and keep up with movements in art. Gallery walks also offer the chance to explore Washington’s vibrant neighborhoods—most of them wrap up at 8 or 9 and leave time for a late dinner. While the quality of artwork varies depending on the gallery and exhibition, gallery hops can
offer a cultural and inexpensive evening out.

DUPONT CIRCLE
Washington’s largest concentration of commercial art galleries is around Dupont Circle. On the first Friday of every month, more than 20 galleries coordinate opening receptions from 6 to 8. An informal event for more than ten years, Dupont Circle’s First Friday gallery crawl has the feel of an urban block party. A good place to start is on Connecticut Avenue at 20th and R streets, where a row of galleries is hidden among townhouses: The Washington Printmakers Gallery (1732 Connecticut Ave.; 202-332-7757), Kathleen Ewing Gallery (1609 Connecticut Ave.; 202-328-0955), and Irvine Contemporary Art (1710 Connecticut Ave.; 202-332-8767) are three good ones.

PENN QUARTER
DC’s Penn Quarter owes its revitalization to its art galleries. Before the neighborhood’s restaurants, shops, bars, and theaters drew crowds, a growing community of galleries began to turn the area around. On the third Thursday of every month, those galleries—most are along Seventh Street—welcome visitors from 6 to 8, and Starbucks (Seventh and H sts.) hosts poetry readings at 6:30. Opening January 19 at Flashpoint Gallery (916 G St., NW; 202-315-1310) is an abstract
exhibition, “Assimilation/Dissolution,” featuring the work of three local artists. Other good galleries in this neighborhood are Zenith (413 Seventh St.; 202-783-2963) and Touchstone (406 Seventh St.; 202-347-2787).

LOGAN CIRCLE
The galleries along Northwest DC’s 14th Street corridor are contributing to Logan Circle’s rejuvenation. Although there are not yet organized monthly events, many galleries coordinate exhibit openings. On January 7, Fusebox (1412 14th St.; 202-299-9220) and Hemphill (1515 14th St.; 202-234-5601) hold free opening receptions from 6:30 to 8:30 for their January exhibitions.

GEORGETOWN
On the third Friday of every month, the Galleries 1054—a group of five galleries in Georgetown’s Canal Square—stay open until 9. Sea Catch Restaurant, which shares the square, provides food. The DC Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA DC) consistently hosts interesting exhibits. 1054 31st St., NW; 202-342-6230

BETHESDA
Thirteen galleries in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle open their doors from 6 to 9 on the second Friday of every month for the Bethesda Art Walk. Many of these galleries have a shoplike feel—you’ll find a lot of paintings, sculpture, photography, and jewelry from local artists. Bethesda’s free trolley takes visitors from gallery to gallery. Along Norfolk, Woodmont, and Wisconsin aves., Bethesda; 301-215-6660

OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA
During Alexandria’s Second Thursday Art Night, the galleries and working studios of the Torpedo Factory Art Center as well as most of the art spaces scattered throughout Old Town extend their hours to 9 pm. A variety of media—jewelry, ceramics, photography, paintings—are on sale. Visitors are greeted with live entertainment, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. You can find a list of participating galleries on the Torpedo Factory’s Web site; participation is highest in the summer. 105 N. Union St., Alexandria; 703-838-4565

BIG EVENTS IN SMALL TOWNS
Two towns on the outskirts of Washington offer monthly arts happenings. Although these events are dubbed “gallery walks,” local restaurants, boutiques, theaters, and shops also take part, creating a festival-like atmosphere. More than 80 galleries, shops, and restaurants are part of Frederick’s First Saturday Gallery Walk from 5 to 9. Visitors enjoy live entertainment, artists talks, and extended shopping hours at specialty boutiques. The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, housed in the 90-year-old Mountain City Mill on Carroll Creek, is worth a visit. The January exhibit, called “InterREaction,” is a collaborative effort by a trio of artists: a poet, watercolorist, and photographer. Market St., Patrick St., and Shab Row/Everedy Square, Frederick; 301-698-8118;

During Leesburg’s First Friday, the town—founded in 1758—becomes lively. Nearly 30 galleries, specialty antique and home-furnishing shops, restaurants, a bookstore, and a theater take part. Although the event takes a break in January, Leesburg’s First Friday returns on February 3 from 6 to 9 pm. Market and King sts., Leesburg; 703-777-7838



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