Spotlight: Events in D.C., from December 7-13
Our pick of the best in arts and entertainment in D.C. this week!
The Book of Will
What if Shakespeare’s works had been lost forever? Ryan Rilette directs a Round House Theatre production of Lauren Gunderson’s hilarious and heartfelt story inspired by true events surrounding Shakespeare’s First Folio. Mitchell Hebert, Kimberly Gilbert, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, Todd Scofield, and Michael Russotto are among the cast. Now to Dec. 24. Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. Call 240-644-1100 or visit roundhousetheatre.org.
Megan Hilty with the NSO: A Holiday Pops
The Washington Chorus joins the NSO, led by Steven Reineke, for a concert featuring the Broadway star (9 to 5: The Musical) and Kennedy Center regular, most widely known as the ambitious Ivy Lynn on Smash, the NBC television series about the making of a new musical. Hilty returns to lead a performance of favorite yuletide songs. Friday, Dec. 8, at 8p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 9, at 2 and 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $24 to $99. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
Habibi
Inspired by the ancient Silk Road as well as Gary Chapman’s “Five Love Languages,” Habibi traces the communication of love between friends, lovers, and family in a fusion of the sounds of the east with dances of the west. Under the direction of Shawn Short, the Dissonance Dance company performs to traditional Hebrew song as well as music by Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Timberland, Hassaon Hakmoun, Ahmed Qawala, Lata Mangeshkar, and Shades of Black. Saturday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 10, at 4 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $15 to $30. Call 202-269-1600 or visit danceplace.org.
Hot 99.5 Jingle Ball: Kesha, Halsey, Charlie Puth
Kesha and Halsey are two of the LGBTQ performers on tap at this year’s local pop stadium festival, which also includes last year’s Capital Pride Ally performer Charlie Puth. Fall Out Boy, Logic, Zedd, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We will also take to the former Verizon Center stage courtesy of “D.C.’s #1 Hit Music Station,” as part of the national iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour. Monday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m. Capital One Arena, 601 F St. NW. Call 202-628-3200 or visit capitalonearena.com.
Lumia: Thomas Wilfred And the Art of Light
The Smithsonian American Art Museum presents a groundbreaking exhibition of 15 spellbinding, image-projecting light sculptures created nearly a century ago. This was a time, of course, well before technology made Thomas Wilfred’s colorful moving light creations an easy feat, and his contemporaries, including Jackson Pollock, László Moholy-Nagy and Katherine Dreier, recognized the Danish-American artist as an innovator. Yet the difficulty to maintain his sculptures is why, after faddish mid-20th century popularity, they’ve long been relegated to the storage archives of modern art museums, all-but forgotten along with the artist himself. With works shown together for the first time in nearly 50 years, Lumia, organized by Keely Orgeman of the Yale University Art Gallery, is helping to restore Wilfred’s works and reputation as a modern art pioneer. To Jan. 7. Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and F Streets NW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit americanart.si.edu.
Photo: Veronique Rolland
Emmylou Harris
One of the true legends, Harris’s concert is billed as “An Intimate Performance Benefiting Bonaparte’s Retreat,” the dog rescue organization the singer founded in Nashville. A Washington Post critic once described Harris as the “silken-voiced muse of a summer night,” but her eloquent, expressive country-folk is welcome even in the dead of fall. Joining Harris is country couple Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, as well as D.C.’s Craig Grossi, a veteran who rescued a stray dog while serving in Afghanistan. Sunday, Dec. 10. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $90 to $250. Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamiltondc.com.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
