Spotlight

Sure, "every night is ladies night" at Lace, as the new venue's tagline promises. But every night is also dinnertime. You might have dancing in mind, but come a little early and sample the cuisine so you'll have the calories to make that milk shake. Whatever your taste, from hearty and homey to delicate and delicious, Chef Yvonne Lucas is well-equipped to fill the bill. Share the calamari with its refreshing sun-dried tomato and pesto dip to start. Or, if you're looking for something a little meatier, try the spicy, honey-glazed drummettes. Lucas will reward your best behavior with knock-out salads. You won't miss anything by making a meal of the orange-glazed salmon salad, with Lace's homemade tequila-lime vinaigrette, or the Asian shrimp and spinach salad, with homemade sesame-soy-ginger dressing. Let the competition between Lace the bar and Lace the restaurant work to your advantage, adding one of Lace's signature cocktails to the experience. The "L" Word Martini mixes Absolut Mango with sour mix, Sprite and grenadine. You'll have to ask your server yourself what's in the Lace Panties.

Located at 2214 Rhode Island Ave. NE, Washington, D.C. Call 202-832-3888.

Asian Shrimp and Spinach Salad photographed for Metro Weekly by Todd Franson.

American Idol Fantasia Barrino reprises the role of Celie for the D.C. engagement of this musical, launching its North American tour at the Kennedy Center. The show, nominated for 11 Tony Awards, is based on Alice Walker’s Pultizer Prize-winning novel and subsequent film by Steven Spielberg, and features a libretto by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray and choreography by Donald Byrd. Gary Griffin also reprises his role here as the show’s director, as does Oprah Winfrey as the show’s lead producer. Opening Tuesday, June 30, at 7:30 p.m. Through Aug. 2. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $25 to $95. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

The final reading in Ganymede Arts' “Stonewall: 40 Years of Landmark GLBT Plays” series is this 2006 Terence McNally play, featuring vignettes from the past 50 years of GLBT history. Tonight, Monday, June 29, at 7 p.m. at HRC’s National Headquarters, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Tickets are pay-what-you-can. Call 202-390-1502 or visit www.ganymedearts.org.

The United Kingdom’s famed ballet company will perform Kenneth MacMillan’s three-act narrative ballet Manon, which follows a young woman whose plan to run away with a handsome student ultimately turns disastrous. Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m. Also Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28, at 1:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $35 to $135. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

In glitzy jackets, glittering gloves and ’80s regalia, Who's Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band, founded in North Carolina in 2004, is an infectious party production that takes audiences on a musical expedition spanning three decades of the King of Pop’s chart-topping music – as well as recreating his precise synchronized dance routines. Considering the events of yesterday, with the sudden passing of the King of Pop, tonight's party takes on a whole new resonance. One might even consider it a wake of sorts. Tonight, Friday, June 26. Doors at 8 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

Sundays at the M Street Bar & Grill are becoming an institution, where table-service brunch and endless mimosas/Bloody Marys are the rule. Yvonne Johnson's jazz accompaniment is the perfect aural digestif with brunch or Thursday dinner. All menus offer solidly American fare with hints of the Middle East and soul cooking at the edges. The two-course dinner for two for $40 makes for a great date -- especially so considering the rooms and suites of the St. Gregory Hotel fill the floors above the restaurant, for those wishing to add their own spice. Located at 2033 M St. NW in Washington, D.C. Call 202-530-3621.

Grilled Tuna Nicoise photographed for Metro Weekly by Todd Franson

Her multiple-Emmy-winning show My Life On The D-List is now back on Bravo and as funny as ever. But it's been months since the episodes we're seeing now were taped, which is an eternity in Kathy Griffin's world. She's sure to have lots of fresh celebrity jabs and gabs to share here. Thursday, June 25. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Md. Tickets are $35 to $75. Call 800-551-SEAT or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Washington-area cabaret singer Barbara Papendorp sings from the gay great Cole Porter songbook in what is the presenter Black Box Theater Company calls ''an intimate evening of naughty sophistication.'' Amy Conley provides accompaniment. Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Playbill Cafe, 1409 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-265-3055 or visit www.boxofficetickets.com.

Ever notice how white male contestants with rich, soulful voices on American Idol – from Taylor Hicks to Danny Gokey – are often likened to McDonald? Well, the original Doobie Brother is at Wolf Trap next week alongside Scaggs, the artist whose music spans various genres, from blues to jazz to rock. Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 8 p.m. Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25 to $42. Call 703-255-1900 or visit www.wolf-trap.org.

The next reading in Ganymede Arts “Stonewall: 40 Years of Landmark GLBT Plays” series is Harvey Fierstein's masterpiece, Torch Song Trilogy. Monday, June 22, at 7 p.m. at Miss Pixie’s Backroom Palace, 1626 14th St. NW. Tickets are pay-what-you-can. Call 202-390-1502 or visit www.ganymedearts.org.