June 2011 Archives

In Larry Crowne, an aimless, unemployed man, played by Tom Hanks, goes back to college and gains more than just book smarts. He also gains a Mercedes -- that is, a woman named for the high-end carmaker, an instructor looking a new passion. Somehow, she finds it in Hanks -- but then Mercedes is played by Julia Roberts, who can find passion in anything. Hanks also directed the romantic comedy, co-starring Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson. Oprah would be hyping this to no end if she still had her talk show. Thank god for small favors. Opens Friday, July 1. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

More Michael Bay-sized explosions are promised in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third installment of the popular franchise. The movie takes the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing as its jumping off point for another interstellar war. After shooting her mouth off to the press, Megan Fox was replaced by Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as Shia LaBeouf's love interest. Leonard Nimoy (who is clearly having a hard time adhering to his retirement from sho-biz) voices Sentinel Prime, an alien object on the moon, while the star-studded cast also includes Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand. Parts of the film were filmed in D.C. -- remember the day Bumblebee got hit by a car? -- so it'll be fun to see what monuments they demolish. (Fingers crossed for Boehner's office.) Opens Friday, July 1. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

The Dreaming Tree is a modern-dance journey to the mystical -- and musical -- world of the Brazilian Amazon, complete with dolphins, monkeys and jaguars brought to life. The performances are being packaged with performances by the Grammy-nominated pop-styled Milkshake Trio. Saturday, July 2, at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Wolf Trap's Theatre-in-the-Woods, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $8 for a Day Pass to both shows. Call 703-255-1900 or visit wolf-trap.org.

"The work should be work," admonishes gay playwright-director Robert O'Hara's semi-autobiographical avatar in Bootycandy, a collection of 10 short plays receiving a snazzy, saucy world-premiere production at Woolly Mammoth. Featuring an impeccable cast, Bootycandy is a bracingly in-your-face provocation -- with full-on nudity -- that is as comfortable and confident drawing hearty laughs from minstrel-esque racial stereotypes as it is hurtling headfirst into disturbing realms of human desire and cruelty. Bootycandy is work -- for the actors, for the audience – but it feels like playtime for everyone. Closes this Sunday, July 3. Woolly Mammoth, 641 D St. NW. Tickets range from $30 to $65. Call 202-393-3939 or visit woollymammoth.net.

Read Jonathan Padget's full review here.

Just two months ago, the Philadelphia-area singer-songwriter Eric Roberson performed on a double-bill with Vivian Green at the Birchmere under the title "Soul Survivors." Now he returns for a solo set, focused strictly on his career. Roberson, a Howard University alum, has collaborated with DJ Jazzy Jeff and Jill Scott in addition to solo work. Jamaican-born, New York-based singer-songwriter Abby Dobson, known for a soulful, organic style of R&B, opens. Friday, July 1, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $29.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

We like the '60s vibe of the emerging Portland-based group Radiation City. Their debut single, "The Color of Industry," calls to mind a cross between Jefferson Airplane and The Mamas & The Papas. Could someone please pass the LSD?

Listen here.

Pictures of the Year features the best news images from last year, courtesy of the Pictures of the Year International, the oldest photojournalism contest in the world. Gripping photographs from flood-ravaged Pakistan to earthquake-torn Haiti, from troops in Afghanistan to the Canadian Winter Olympics, from the Gulf Coast oil spill to even Lady Gaga, all factor in the exhibit, on display through Oct. 31. Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $21.95 for general admission. Call 888-NEWSEUM or visit newseum.org.

Jared Ball's I Mix What I Like!: A Mixtape Manifesto analyzes the increasing corporate control in the music industry and suggests that popular homemade hip-hop mixtapes are a newfangled tool for helping everyday people have a say in the music they listen to. Ball, an associate professor of communication studies at Baltimore’s Morgan State University, has also been running for U.S. president as the Green Party candidate for the past four years. Wednesday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m. Langston Room at Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St. NW. Call 202-387-POET or visit busboysandpoets.com.

A D.C.-based ensemble, the Cornel West Theory combines spoken word, instruments, electronics and vocals, and draws from genres ranging from D.C.'s own go-go to jazz to rock. In fact, you could say the results are as far-reaching as the band’s namesake, a professor, activist, historian, theologian, philosopher, and, with a couple rap/spoken-word albums to his credit, something of a wannabe hip-hop star. (Fun fact: West actually worked on a recording with the band last year.) Monday, June 27, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Tickets are free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

Race To The End of the Earth follows the race to reach the South Pole a hundred years ago between Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and British Royal Navy Capt. Robert Falcon Scott. Through photographs, historical artifacts, vivid dioramas and interactive exhibits, the exhibit explores the arduous journey the two faced. To Aug. 21. National Geographic Society, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $8. Call 202-857-7588 or visit ngmuseum.org.

Green: the Color and the Cause is the second exhibit in The Textile Museum's year-long exploration of the ties between textiles and environmentalism, following on "Second Lives: The Age-Old Art of Recycling Textiles" (which is still on display until July). The new exhibit explores the symbolism behind the color green, showcasing the work of contemporary green artists as well as historical precedents from the museum's collection. The museum will even have a "growing garden sculpture" installed this month. On display through Sept. 11. The Textile Museum, 2320 S St. NW. Suggested donation is $5. Call 202-667-0441 or visit textilemuseum.org.

Bad Teacher scares us. First, for the students who go to this school. Second, that we might die laughing. Cameron Diaz stars as a teacher with one goal in mind: enriching her bank account. She sets her sights on a wealthy colleague played by real-life ex Justin Timberlake. Foul language seems to be the primary source of humor, but that could still earn the film an easy A. Directed by Jake Kasdan. Now playing nationwide. Visit fandango.com.

David Cale's one-man show The History of Kisses focuses on seaside shanties, or work songs that sailors sing to help distract them from their arduous and monotonous work. In this world-premiere production, Cale plays characters who revolve around a writer working to finish a collection of tales of seaside romance while staying at an oceanfront motel. Through July 3. Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org.

Tom Stoppard's Night and Day, set in a fictional African nation on the cusp of internal rebellion, reveals, as one would expect with Stoppard, far more than initially meets the eye. After the bravado, there are deeper provocations on such topics as ideals versus pragmatism and the notion that the human connection can be at once cynical and poignant. There is also a particularly interesting female lead and plenty of dry humor. In short, it is a play that is both entertaining and intellectually enduring. To July 3. Produced by the Washington Shakespeare Company at their new home base in Artisphere's Black Box Theatre, 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Tickets are $25 to $35. Call 703-875-1100 or visit artisphere.com.

Read Kate Wingfield's full review here.

The American Film Institute/Discovery Channel presents the Silver Docs Film Festival, now in its ninth year. The event closes this Sunday, June 26, but not before some films of particular interest to the LGBT community, including Jerry Rothwell's Donor Unknown, about a woman raised by lesbians who seeks out her birth-father; Eric Drath's Renee, about pioneering transgender tennis player Renee Richards; Lee Hirsch's The Bully Project, which examines the "urgent crisis in American society" of bullying; and Bob Hercules and Gordon Quinn's A Good Man, which looks at celebrated gay choreographer Bill T. Jones as he works on a piece honoring Abraham Lincoln. All films screen at AFI's Silver Theatre and at the Discovery HD Theater at Discovery Communications World Headquarters, in downtown Silver Spring. Tickets are $11 per screening. Call 301-495-6720 or visit silverdocs.com.

Mary McDonagh Murphy's documentary Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird explores the history, context and impact of the Deep South-centered novel To Kill A Mockingbird -- one of the biggest bestsellers of all time -- and also offers an unprecedented look at the life of its reclusive writer Harper Lee, who stopped speaking to the press in 1964. Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, Anna Quindlen, Richard Russo, Jon Meacham and Andrew Young are among those interviewed for the film discussing the novel's impact on them. Now playing. West End Cinema, 2301 M St. NW. Call 202-419-FILM or visit westendcinema.com.

Rodman Flender's documentary Conan O'Brien Can't Stop offers an intimate portrait of an improvisational artist at the most improvisational time of his career. Of course we're talking about the former Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien, essentially forced out of his job by NBC. Following that much-publicized departure in 2009, and well before he launched Conan on TBS late last year, O'Brien hit the road for a 32-city music-and-comedy show. The film presents some of the onstage banter from the tour, plus bits from guests including fellow TV comedy show hosts Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, plus actor Jim Carrey and rocker Jack White. Now playing. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or click here for showtimes.

Rebecca Holderness directs an adaptation of the international bestselling book about how Einstein came to be Einstein. Einstein's Dreams stars Elver Ariza-Silva, Frank Britton, Jonathan Fitts, Hilary Kacser, Jade Wheeler and Wendy Wilmer. Closes this Sunday, June 26. Spooky Action Theater, 1810 16th St. NW. Tickets are $15 to $20. Call 301-920-1414 or visit spookyaction.org.

The New York-based musician Dan Fishback, a native of Olney, Md., returns to D.C. tonight, Wednesday, June 22, at 7:30 p.m. to perform as part of the Washington Jewish Music Festival. "I'm a little weirded out," the queer singer-songwriter told Metro Weekly, "knowing that my parents are coming to the show and bringing their friends. That they're going to be in the audience listening to me singing really frank, honest songs about my personal life." It's all part of the Washington Jewish Music Festival at Washington at D.C.'s Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-518-9400 or visit washingtondcjcc.org.

Team DC's Night Out at the Nationals -- of which Metro Weekly is a major sponsor -- is tonight, Tuesday, June 21. The Nats play the Seattle Mariners. Guests are advised to arrive by 6:15 p.m. to hear the GMCW sing the national anthem. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. (Make sure to buy us some peanuts and Cracker Jacks.) Tickets are still available online by clicking here.

Dupont Circle Main Streets presents the annual Taste of Dupont 2011 tonight, Tuesday, June 21, from 6 to 10 p.m. Create your own progressive dinner with $5 individual tasting tickets redeemed at any one of the participating dining establishments. A five tasting ticket package is available for $20. Tickets purchased online today will be held at Will Call at the Dupont Resource Center at 9 Dupont Circle, the one story brick building that lies between CVS and PNC Bank. Tickets are also available for purchase at the Dupont Circle Resource Center tonight starting at 5 p.m. For more information, click here. For a complete map of the participating restaurants, click here.

The indelible pop singer-songwriter Neil Finn, best known for fronting hitmakers Crowded House ("Don't Dream It's Over," "Distant Sun"), has formed Pajama Club -- a new band with his vocalist wife Sharon Finn, and fellow New Zealanders Sean Donnelly and Alana Skyring. A mix of gritty, garage rock grooves and electronica, the Pajama Club is touring to give an early preview of its self-titled debut, set for release this September. Thursday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $29.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

The Atlas Performing Arts Center and Metro Weekly join forces to present a gay, summer-long film series based on this magazine's annual list of "Gay Films Everyone Should See." The series kicks off in high heel fashion this Thursday, June 23, with Victor/Victoria, Blake Edwards's 1982 musical comedy -- later, a Broadway musical -- starring Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Alex Karras and Leslie Ann Warren, with an Oscar-winning score by Henry Mancini. Films screen for free, less a $2 booking fee. Every Thursday night at 8 p.m., through Sept. 4. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are free. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org for a full schedule.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin returns to Wolf Trap for what's become an annual performance, drawing from her rich repertoire -- and maybe, just maybe, her rich hat collection. Singer-songwriter Vance Gilbert opens. Tuesday, June 21, at 8 p.m. Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Rd., Vienna. Tickets are $25 to $45. Call 703-255-1900 or visit wolf-trap.org.

"Places in Space" is a collaborative performance presenting work from The Next Reflex Dance Collective, comprised of seven local D.C.-based choreographers, each exploring an outdoor location. The themes were developed through exploration and improvisation, and result in an evening of choreographed works involving movement, voice and technology. Saturday, June 18, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, June 19, 7 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. For more details and ticket information, call 202-269-1600 or visit danceplace.org.

Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney make up Rascal Flatts, a popular country-rock band from Columbus, Ohio, best known for 2005's hit "What Hurts The Most." Sara Evans and Justin Moore join the trio for its "Flatts Fest" tour stop at Jiffy Lube Live. Tonight,, Saturday, June 18, at 7 p.m. Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow, Va. Tickets are $29.75 to $92.80. Call 703-754-6400 or visit livenation.com.

The American Film Institute's Silver Theatre presents the second in a three-part series exploring the works of the great filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Part II focuses on his early Hollywood pictures. Up next: 1954's Dial M For Murder, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings, playing respectively a jealous husband seeking to murder his unfaithful wife and her mystery writer former fling. This was Hitchcock's only 3D film, and although it's not screening in 3D at the AIF, if you watch closely you'll notice how Hitchcock utilized props to achieve a sense of forced depth. Hitchcock eschewed the typical 3D gimmicks, but he does have one "jump out of the screen" moment, the iconic shot of Kelly's hand grasping over her head as she fends off a killer. Saturday, June 18, at 12:30 and 7 p.m. Also Sunday, June 19, at 12:30 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $11 for each screening. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

The Source Theatre's annual festival presents 100 percent new work, incorporating theater and dance as well as music, visual art, film, spoken word and more. The 2011 festival includes 18 10-minute plays, three full-length productions and four "artistic blind dates," in which artists from different creative disciplines were paired together to create new pieces integrating the best of their talents. There will also be a one-night-only talent show. The festival runs through July 3 at Source, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $10 to $20 per show. Call 866-411-8111 or visit sourcedc.org for more details.

Marina Lambrini Diamandis -- better known as Marina and the Diamonds -- is another electro-pop ingenue from the U.K. -- the hotbed that's given us Goldfrapp, La Roux, Ellie Goulding and Florence and the Machine, not to mention Kate Bush and Annie Lennox. The half-Welsh, half-Greek pop chanteuse tours in support of her charming 2010 set The Family Jewels. Tonight, Friday, June 17. Doors at 5:30 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

Need further convincing as to why you must be at this show? Watch her illustrious video of the inescapably catchy "I Am Not a Robot" below.

One In Ten and Hillwood Estate offer up its second and final Divas Outdoors film screening of the season tonight, Friday, June 17, with the 1959 classic Operation Petticoat, starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis -- as well as Dina Merrill, daughter of Hillwood founder Marjorie Merriweather Post. Guests are welcome to bring picnics, blankets and chairs for lounging, though meals will be available for purchase, as well. The mansion and gardens will be open for strolling before the screening. Saturday, June 18, 6:30 to 10 p.m. Screening starts at sundown. Lunar Lawn at Hillwood Estate and Gardens, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-686-5807 or visit HillwoodMuseum.org.

Join more than 200,000 people on historic Pennsylvania Avenue, between 7th and 3rd streets and celebrate Pride 2011 in front our nation's Capitol at the 36th Annual Capital Pride Festival. The festival, a massive event with three entertainment stages, is free and open to all, but you can make a suggested $5 donation at the entryway on Pennsylvania Avenue at 7th Street. The day's entertainers on the Main Stage (at Pennsylvania and 3rd Street) include headliner Jennifer Holliday (who will be joined by DJ Tony Moran for the world premiere of her new dance hit, "Magic"), Lil' Mo, The Lost Bois, Mama's Black Sheep, Jonathan Bascope, Venus D Lite and Bettina Shelker. Festival grounds are open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Convenient to the Archives/Navy Memorial or Gallery Place/Chinatown metros. Visit capitalpride.org for the latest details.

Here's a look at some highlights from last year's festival:

Today, Saturday, June 11, is the Capital Pride Parade, the annual parade that traverses Dupont Circle, down 17th Street, and across to Thomas Circle. Join thousands of people to watch this landmark event. Note the new start time -- one hour earlier this year -- kicking off at 5:30 p.m. You can view the official parade route and a list of participating contingents here. Advice to the claustrophobic: Dupont Circle or 17th Street too packed? Try New Hampshire Avenue or P Street between 17th and 14th for a great view.

To get you in the mood, take a moment and enjoy our Parade videos from 2009 and 2010, by David Uy and Aram Vartian, respectively.

The '80s pop hitmakers The Go-Go's got the beat to unofficially kick off Capital Pride weekend, out at Wolf Trap, as part of a "Ladies Gone Wild Tour." Sounds like time for a mini-vacation. Friday, June 10, at 8 p.m. Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Rd., Vienna. Lawn seats are still available for $25 to $42. Call 703-255-1900 or visit wolf-trap.org.

Gala Hispanic Theatre presents Canto al Peru Negro, a world premiere production from Gabriel Garcia that promises an evening of song, dance and dramatic scenes depicting the origins and experiences of Afro-Peruvians, whether in Peru or in D.C. Hugo Medrano directs. In Spanish with English surtitles. To June 26. GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $38. Call 202-234-7174 or visit galatheatre.org.

Duncan Sheik is once again working with Steven Sater, with whom he created the Tony-winning 2006 sensation Spring Awakening, this time on an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale as well as Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland. Sheik is also working independently on a musical adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. All three shows should see full productions in the next year or two. In the meantime, the indie-rock singer-songwriter has released a new studio set, Covers 80s, featuring acoustic reinterpretations of '80s synth-pop hits by Depeche Mode, New Order and The Cure. He'll play selections from the album when he stops by Alexandria's Birchmere tomorrow. He'll also perform from his own hit repertoire (1997's "Barely Breathing," and 2003's "On A High" and "Half-Life"). And he'll throw in a few musical theater numbers as well. Saturday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $29.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

Emmy-winning TV star and Tony-winning Broadway legend Mandy Patinkin offers a powerful passionate evening of popular song, from Irving Berlin to Stephen Sondheim, from Cole Porter to Harry Chapin, part of this year's Washington Jewish Music Festival. "Mandy Patinkin is in the business of showstopping," raves the New Yorker. Thursday, June 9, and Friday, June 10, at 8 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are $35 to $78. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.

Mark Walter Braswell, Washington lawyer by day, composer by night, has been playing the piano since the age of six, drawn early to standards by the likes of George and Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter. Singers Ryan Burke and Sam Ludwig, along with Jacqueline Grabois, will perform Two Guys, a new cabaret of compositions by Braswell. Talk about a Washington songbook. Sunday, June 12, at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Monday, June 13, at 8 p.m. Black Fox Lounge, 1723 Connecticut Ave. NW. Admission is $13 in advance or $15 at the door. visit blackfoxlounge.com.

The Washington Savoyards presents a production of this rollicking, swinging, finger-snapping revue, a tribute to the music of 1930s Harlem, where Thomas "Fats" Waller and the Cotton Club reigned. Adventure Theater's Michael Bobbitt directs a cast including Iyona Blake, Nova Tate, Lauren Du Pree, Cliff Walker and Daryl Spiers. To June 19. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $15 to $40. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.

Led by artistic director Nikolaj Hübbe, the world-renowned Royal Danish Ballet returns to the Kennedy Center for the first time since 2004 to offer new productions of August Bournonville's A Folk Tale and his signature and enduring masterpiece Napoli. A Folk Tale runs Tuesday, June 7, through Thursday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m. Napoli runs Friday, June 10, and Saturday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m., and also Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12, at 1:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $29 to $99. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

Felicia Curry, James Gardiner, Jake Odmark and Bayla Whitten unite to close out Signature's season with an eclectic evening of the greatest duets ever written for the Broadway stage, accompanied by pianist Howard Breitbart. The Broadway Duets Cabaret Series takes place in the intimate Ark theater space, transformed into a cabaret venue, complete with tables, candlelight and a full-service bar. Tuesday, June 7, through Saturday, June 11, at 8:30 p.m. Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $35. Call 703-820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org.

Capital Pride announced this morning that renowned DJ Tony Moran will perform with Jennifer Holliday on the MainStage at Sunday's Capital Pride Festival.

Holliday, who just this past weekend appeared with the Gay Men's Chorus in a roof-raising and critically-acclaimed performance, stepped in as Pride headliner after Kelly Rowland abruptly (and unceremoniously) bowed out (see if we ever buy another album by you, Miss Rowland). And, to be perfectly frank, we'd rather listen to Holliday any day -- she of the amazing vocal depth and lung power that could do battle with a Category 5 tornado. Holliday is poised to blow the dome off the Capitol with her new song Magic, created in conjunction with Moran. The song will have its live world premiere at Pride.

"We're thrilled that Tony Moran will join us at the Capital Pride Festival," said Michael Lutz, president of the Capital Pride Board of Directors. "With Tony joining Jennifer Holliday, we are set to have an afternoon of outstanding entertainment that will appeal to a wide audience." Moran will also play music from the main stage DJ booth at the festival. For more info on this and other pride-related events, visit capitalpride.org, or pick up a copy of the Capital Pride Guide, in significant amounts at JR.'s and Number Nine and everywhere you find Metro Weekly.

WELCOME From the President of the Board of Directors Week in Pride Calendar Parade - Sat, June 11 Map & Contingents Festival - Sun June 12 Map, Booths & Vendors Entertainment Lineup Nightlife Parties and Club Events	ENTERTAINMENT Performers Jennifer Holliday with Tony Moran Lil' Mo Jonathan Bascope Lost Bois Mama's Black Sheep Venus D Life Bettina Shelker Other Options Taste of Pride: Dining Out Interactive Film: Moulin Rouge	ABOUT PRIDE Mind, Body & Soul of Capital Pride Pride Committee Community Partners Pride Planning Committee Behind the Pride Guide Covers

Expect a lot of screaming girls -- yes, really -- in addition to a guaranteed gay contingent when the cast of Fox's hit show Glee goes to nationals -- that is, a national tour, with live performances based on routines from the actual show. Boy they make those kids work -- you never saw the cast of Lost embark on a summer tour. Thursday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m. Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. Tickets are $52.50 and $92.50. Call 202-628-3200 or visit verizoncenter.com.

He may now call San Francisco home, but Bob Mould still stops in his former D.C. stomping grounds regularly, for the dance party Blowoff and an occasional concert, such as his stop next Friday, June 10, at the Birchmere. He'll perform from his storied repertoire and his most recent studio set Life & Times, the 2009 album filled withs songs as pithy and tight as ever. He's also touring in advance of the release of his autobiography, See A Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody, due a week later. Friday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $25. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

Bob Mould photographed for Metro Weekly by Todd Franson.

Mario Marcel directs the U.S. premiere of Gracia Morales' dramatic comedy As If It Were Tonight, starring Andrea Aranguren and Karen Morales-Chacana, focused on a mother and daughter in a magical world. In Spanish with English surtitles. To June 11. Gunston Theater II, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $25 to $30. Call 703-548-3092 or visit teatrodelaluna.org.

Over 30 gay (or at least gay-friendly) wedding planners, florists, photographers, caterers and more will be on hand at the Hotel Palomar to help market their services to LGBT couples planning their big day. Registration for the Say I Do LGBT Wedding Expo also includes raffles and prizes, plus a bag of goodies -- a $75 value -- for the first 100 couples. And drag queen Ba'naka will add some fun hosting a newlyweds-style game, "How Well Do You Know Your Partner?" Sunday, June 5, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Hotel Palomar, 2121 P St. NW. Advance tickets are $7 for singles, or $10 for couples. Visit sayidoexpo.com for more information.

In the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, six young people in the throes of puberty learn that winning isn't everything and losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. The Tony-winning musical from Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn is never a static piece, as the script's topical references are altered at least twice weekly to remain relevant and fresh, and four audience volunteers are selected to participate at each show. Christina A. Coakley directs Keegan Theatre's production. Opens tonight, Saturday, June 4, at 8 p.m. An adults-only "Dirty Bee" is set for Saturday, June 25, at 11 p.m. To July 3. Church Street Theater, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $40. Call 703-892-0202 or visit keegantheatre.com.

When boy banders totter into middle-age, what do they do? Well, if you don't achieve solo fame a la Bobby Brown and Justin Timberlake, then you pretend you're still a horny teen, with a fan base of screaming girls. And you know what? Sometimes, inexplicably, you can still fill stadiums. Maybe even with a few gay boys in tow, in this case to cheer on NKOTB's recently outed (by Tiffany, no less) Jonathan Knight. They'll be loving you forever, it seems. They want it that way. Don't hold out for "The 2025 Walker Tour," catch them while they can still bust a pre-arthritic move. Friday, June 3, at 8 p.m. Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. Call 202-628-3200 or visit verizoncenter.com. Tickets are $51.50 to $91.50.

Dominion Stage mounts a production of the off-the-charts Charles Busch camp classic Psycho Beach Party, a mashup of mid-20th century-era beach movies and Hitchcockian suspense thrillers, with a heavy dose of split personalities thrown in for extra delight. Emily Ann Jablonski directs. Opens Friday, June 3, at 8 p.m. Weekends to June 18. Dominion Stage -- Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $15. Call 571-DS-SHOWS or visit dominionstage.org.