Metro Weekly

Out On the Town: DC arts and entertainment highlights — June 13 to June 19

Everything arts and entertainment in the D.C. area this week!

Gay Chorus Deep South: Oakland Interfaith

FILM

AFI DOCS

This year’s 17th annual documentary film festival, bringing global stories and experiences to the heart of our nation’s capital, will screen 72 films of varying length, kicking off with True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality, a world-premiere profile of a prominent national lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, which provides legal services for the poor and is the driving force behind a national lynching memorial, on Wednesday, June 19, at 6:30 p.m., at the National Archives (Constitution Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets NW). Next weekend brings screenings of two feature-length LGBTQ-themed documentaries: Gay Chorus Deep South, a look at the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and its tour, with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, to faith-based communities in red states after the 2016 election, which screens Friday, June 21, at Landmark’s E Street Cinema (555 11th St. NW), and Saturday, June 22, at 2:30 p.m. at the AFI Silver (8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring); and a 30th anniversary screening of Tongues Untied, Marlon T. Riggs’s revolutionary and moving film that gave voice to the discriminatory struggles as well as the artistic expression of communities of black gay men, incorporating poetry, music, performance, and autobiographical revelations into the mix, on Friday, June 21, at 9 p.m., at E Street. Other notable titles exploring this year’s theme exploring artists and their contributions to the creative world include Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, David Crosby: Remember My Name, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements, Shangri-La, The Apollo, and Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice — the latter the latest from the Oscar-winning gay filmmaking duo Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Times of Harvey Milk). Festival runs to June 23. Tickets are $12 to $15 each; $50 for the opening night film; passes are available starting at $150. Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi.com/afidocs.

BLOW-UP

Next up in the popular Capital Classics series at Landmark’s West End Cinema is a 1966 mystery thriller about a London fashion photographer who believes he has unwittingly captured a murder on film. Starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, John Castle, Jane Birkin, Tsai Chin, Peter Bowles, Gillian Hills, and the model Veruschka, Michelangelo Antonioni’s first entirely English-language film was co-written with British playwright Edward Bond. Blow-Up is especially notable for featuring what was at the time of its American release considered explicit sexual content — from a major Hollywood studio in direct defiance of the Production Code, and its subsequent success influenced the abandonment of the code in 1968 in favor of the MPAA system. Wednesday, June 19, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m. 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

BYE BYE BIRDIE

As part of its Divas Outdoors programming on the lawn, Hillwood Estate screens the 1963 movie adaptation of the Broadway musical by composer Charles Strouse, lyricist Lee Adams, and book writer Michael Stewart. Ann-Margret is the young fan whom rock star Conrad Birdie will sing to in a televised performance before he’s sent off to war via the draft in a movie also starring Dick Van Dyke and Janet Leigh. The evening begins after gates open at 4 p.m. with tours of the mansion and new special exhibition Mid-Century Master: The Photography of Alfred Eisenstaedt (see separate entry under Arts & Exhibits) as well as picnicking on the Lunar Lawn and the option of purchasing sandwiches and light snacks plus a champagne cocktail, beer, wine, and either alcoholic or non-alcoholic frozen beverage at the Merriweather Café. There will even be a “best picnic spread” contest with judging prior to the screening at 8:45 p.m. Friday, June 14, at the Hillwood Estate, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 to $15. Call 202-686-5807 or visit www.HillwoodMuseum.org.

FIELD OF DREAMS

This Father’s Day — Sunday, June 16 — Fathom Events offers a 30th anniversary screening of Phil Alden Robinson’s film celebrating baseball and one man’s journey to ease his family’s pain. Part of the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classic series, the classic film fantasy about fathers, sons, baseball, and the power of unwavering belief is presented with pre- and post-screening insights by TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz. Sunday, June 16, at 1 and 4 p.m., and Tuesday, June 18, at 4 and 7 p.m. Area theaters including Regal venues at Gallery Place (701 7th St. NW), Potomac Yards Stadium (3575 Jefferson Davis Highway), and Ballston Common (671 N. Glebe Road). Tickets are $13.25. Visit www.fathomevents.com.

LATE NIGHT

A cutthroat late night talk show host (Emma Thompson) teams up with her new — and only — female writer (Mindy Kaling) to try and save her show, after it’s threatened with cancellation. Kaling wrote the script and it’s helmed by Transparent director Nisha Ganatra, which suggests a compelling comedy-drama, but if anything Late Night only reminds us that there is currently just one female late night host, Samantha Bee, and on cable network TBS. Opens Friday, June 14. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema, 7235 Woodmont Ave. Call 301-652-7273 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com. (Rhuaridh Marr)

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL

Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth replace Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as the mysterious Agents who keep earth safe from extraterrestrial threats and the population oblivious to the aliens living and working among us. Not quite a spin-off, not quite a sequel, regardless this looks like good popcorn fun, and Thompson and Hemsworth proved their chemistry working together in Thor: Ragnarok. Opens Friday, June 14. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com. (RM)

ROCKETMAN

Rocketman isn’t a straight-laced biopic. It’s best described as a musical fantasy biopic drama — a mouthful that only begins to scratch the surface of its enjoyable take on Elton John’s early years, his first break into music, and then his descent into drug-and-alcohol-fuelled hedonism. And it does it all while being a sung-through, choreographed, honest-to-goodness musical. Director Dexter Fletcher’s film is a constant visual splendor, held together by Taron Egerton’s incredible performance. Egerton makes Elton’s songs his own, and in turn produces a characterization that, while injected with perhaps a touch too much square-jawed machismo, brings to life a charismatic, deeply flawed, sympathetic man who has it all but deep down yearns only to be loved. In a world of straight-laced biopics, Rocketman tries for something different, and it thoroughly succeeds. Now playing. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com. (RM)

Shaft

SHAFT

“More Shaft than you can handle” is the tagline and, tittering aside, Warner Bros. isn’t lying. A sequel to 2000’s Shaft, it stars Jessie Usher as John Shaft Jr., a cybersecurity expert who enlists his estranged father, John Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson), to help him track down his missing friend. And for good measure, the original John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) tags along to help. That really is a lot of Shaft. Black-ish creator Kenya Barris co-wrote the script, so we’re expecting to enjoy every minute of this Shaft. Opens Friday, June 14. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (RM)

THE DEAD DON’T DIE

Writer/director Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive) offers a star-studded horror comedy featuring an ensemble of Jarmusch regulars — Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Iggy Pop, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits — as well as newcomers including Selena Gomez, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, and Carol Kane. A raucous, rueful, and satirical glimpse at American habits and desires at the end of the world. Opens Friday, June 14. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

THE FRONT PAGE
HIS GIRL FRIDAY

The American Film Institute concludes its important “The Fourth Estate Film Series” showcasing a handful of Hollywood’s most acclaimed journalism-themed hits with two comedies based on the same story, derived from the 1928 Broadway play The Front Page from newspapermen-turned-playwrights Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. First up, on Saturday, June 15, at 2:45 p.m., is The Front Page, the 1931 adaptation by director Lewis Milestone and screenwriter Bartlett Cormack, full of the play’s rapid-fire, smart-alecky dialogue and focused on its star crime reporter Hildy Johnson (Pat O’Brien) and his hard-driving, manipulative editor Walter Burns (Adolphe Menjoy). In 1940, director Howard Hawks and screenwriter Charles Lederer re-arranged the madcap humor and endless wisecracking and recast the two main characters as former paramours Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant, upping the sexual tension to create one of Hollywood’s greatest screwball comedies. His Girl Friday screens Sunday, June 16, at 2:45 p.m., followed by a discussion with The Atlantic‘s film critic Christopher Orr, New Yorker staff writer Margaret Talbot, and Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi, and moderated by Eric Cortellessa, digital editor of the Washington Monthly. 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13 general admission per screening. Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi.com/Silver.

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

Joe Talbot makes his feature-length debut as director and co-writer of a poignant and sweeping story of hometowns and how they’re made — and kept alive — by the people who love them. Winner of the Sundance Best Director and Special Jury awards, The Last Black Man in San Francisco focuses on one man’s unrealistic dreams of reclaiming the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of town, a wistful odyssey populated by skaters, squatters, street preachers, playwrights, and other locals on the margins. Jimmie Fails stars with a cast also featuring Jonathan Majors, Rob Morgan, Tichina Arnold, and Danny Glover. Opens Friday, June 14. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION

Less than two months after Stonewall, another event in New York sparked a related revolution, this one the result of its organizers’ counterculture manifestation of “peace and love.” Directed by award-winning filmmaker Barak Goodman (Scottsboro: An American Tragedy) and written by Goodman and Don Kleszy, Woodstock commemorates the 50th anniversary of the legendary music event, which drew half a million people to a small dairy farm upstate. A fascinating story of how Woodstock came to be, telling the story of the political and social upheaval leading up to the festival as well as the extraordinary happenings over the course of its three days, including never-before-seen footage. Opens Friday, June 14. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

A Doll’s House — Photo: Lilly King

STAGE

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2

Holly Twyford, Craig Wallace, and Nancy Robinette lead a powerhouse cast in this clever and sharp “sequel” to the Ibsen classic, circa 1879 from contemporary playwright Lucas Hnath (currently represented on Broadway with Hillary and Clinton). Nicole A. Watson directs a Round House Theatre production staged at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s secondary house while the Bethesda company’s venue undergoes a dramatic renovation. Now to June 30. Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. Call 202-547-1122 or visit www.roundhousetheatre.org.

A MISANTHROPE

Matt Minnicino’s new contemporary distillation of Molière’s classic comedy The Misanthrope is the last show of WSC Avant Bard’s 29th season. Where the 17th-century original skewered the hypocrisy of the French aristocracy, A Misanthrope is set in the present, and further characterized per official publicity materials as “a send-up of trendy suck-ups and phonies during a booze-fueled pool party with the wealthy and wanna-be famous.” The 90-minute intermission-less production is overseen by Megan Behm, directing a sizable 10-member cast including Sara Barker, Elliott Kashner, Thais Menendez, Tendo Nsubuga, and Hannah Sweet. To June 30. Gunston Arts Center Theatre Two, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $40. Call 703-418-4804 or visit www.wscavantbard.org.

DESCRIBE THE NIGHT

The stories of seven lost souls are connected across decades by history, fiction, lies, and blood in the latest play from Pulitzer Prize-finalist Rajiv Joseph (Guards at the Taj), based on the diary of Russian Jewish writer Isaac Babel. Recipient of the 2018 Obie Award for Best New American Play, Describe the Night makes it D.C. debut in a Woolly Mammoth Theatre production directed by John Vreeke and featuring Tim Getman and Kate Eastwood Norris as part of a cast also including Moriamo Temidayo Akibu, Regina Aquino, Danny Gavigan, Jonathan David Martin, and Justin Weaks. To June 23. 641 D St. NW. Call 202-393-3939 or visit www.woollymammoth.net.

FALSETTOS

It’s a notable achievement that William Finn and James Lapine’s musical is touring the country now, nearly 30 years after the show became one of the first to present gay life and same-sex love on Broadway. Yet far from being outdated, the two-time Tony-winning musical has proven it still resonates with contemporary audiences, even those seeing it for the first time in the current Lincoln Center Theater production, once again directed by Lapine. For one thing, there’s the story, which fundamentally is about the rewards and ramifications of coming out and being true to oneself — as timely as ever. And then there’s the music, which elevates the show to another level, says Nick Adams, currently playing the role of Whizzer opposite Max von Essen as Marvin. “The score really has some of the most beautiful melodies in the musical theater catalog,” Adams says. “And that’s the thing — people get wrapped up in the emotion that’s carried in the songs. It’s just fantastic. But as a full piece, to see it — God, it’s a ride.” To June 23. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $49 to $139. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

GREASE

Go for a drive up to Columbia if you’d like to go back in time — all the way back to the 1950s — for Toby’s Dinner Theatre’s production of Grease, the hit musical circa 1971 by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical-writing duo set the show in a mid-20th century American high school — one where even cool kids can’t resist breaking out into the sing-along fun of such hit staples as “Summer Nights,” “You’re The One That I Want,” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You.” Mark Minnick directs and choreographs a that stars Matt Hirsh as Danny and Nicki Elledge as Sandy. To July 28. 5900 Symphony Woods Rd. Columbia, Md. Tickets are $47.50 to $63, including buffet-style dinner and coffee and tea. Call 301-596-6161 or visit www.tobysdinnertheatre.com.

HELLO, DOLLY

Tony-winning Broadway legend Betty Buckley (the original Grizabella in Cats) stars as Dolly Levi, following in the formidable footsteps of Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters (and way before them, Carol Channing and Barbra Streisand). The touring production of Jerry Herman’s masterpiece, per Jerry Zaks’ swell Tony-winning revival, now settles in for a month-long run at the Kennedy Center. Also starring Lewis J. Stadlen. To July 7. Opera House. Tickets are $49 to $159. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

KLYTMNESTRA: AN EPIC SLAM POEM

Danielle Drakes directs the latest Theater Alliance production, a dynamic one-woman show written and performed by local black trans woman Dane Figueroa Edidi. A saga of strong women, the men who seek to destroy them, and the dangerous extremes this kind of society can have if left unchecked, Klytmnestra is a multicultural retelling of the classic Greek myth written to vindicate a mother slain by her own son’s hand, incorporating Kabuki and African dance elements along the way. To June 16. Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Place SE. Tickets are $30 to $40. Call 202-241-2539 or visit www.theateralliance.com.

RICHARD III

Synetic Theater offers its 14th “wordless Shakespeare” production, an athletic, futuristic, cyberpunk adaptation of King Richard III’s Machiavellian rise to power, highlighting the terrifying extremes made possible through the abuse of modern technology. Synetic’s Paata Tsikurishvili directs Alex Mills in the title role, with Irina Tsikurishvili portraying Queen Elizabeth. The cast also includes Matt Stover, Maryam Najafzada, Thomas Beheler, Philip Fletcher, Jordan Clark Halsey, Aaron Kan, Tim Proudkii, Nutsa Tediashvili, Ana Tsikurishvili, and Scean Aaron. To June 16. 1800 South Bell St., Arlington. Call 800-811-4111 or visit www.synetictheater.org.

RIPCORD

Megan Thrift directs Keegan Theatre’s latest, a production of David Lindsay-Abaire’s dramatic comedy about a seemingly harmless bet between two old women that quickly escalates into a dangerous game of one-upmanship. The setting is a sunny room on an upper floor in a senior living facility, which the cantankerous Abby (Deb Gottesman) had to herself before the arrival of the infuriatingly chipper Marilyn (Claire Schoovoner), setting the stage for the bet. Jared Shamberger, Kari Ginsburg, Oscar Ceville, and Robert Bowen Smith round out the cast. Previews begin Saturday, June 15. Opens Tuesday, June 18. To July 6. Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Call 202-265-3767 or visit www.keegantheatre.com.

Sooner/Later

SOONER/LATER

Mosaic Theater Company of D.C. presents a world premiere offering a metaphysical twist on romance, marriage, and parenting, while exploring the pains and pleasures of all three. Developed as part of Locally Grown Mosaic, a series nurturing and commissioning works by local artists, Allyson Currin’s play follows a teenage daughter as she helps her reluctant single mother to reenter the dating scene. Gregg Henry directs Cristina M. Ibarra, Erica Chamblee, and Tony K. Nam. To June 16. Sprenger Theatre in the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $30 to $60. Call 202-399-7993 or visit www.atlasarts.org.

SPUNK

An unearthly Guitar Man and Blues Speak Woman interweave three tales based on short stories by the Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston and adapted by Jelly’s Last Jam‘s George C. Wolfe. The Signature Theatre production is directed by Timothy Douglas and stars Jonathan Mosley-Perry and Iyona Blake, with Drew Drake, Marty Lamar, Ines Nassara, and KenYatta Rogers. Mark G. Meadows (Ain’t Misbehavin’) serves as musical director for the show, which is infused with live blues music composed by Chic Street Man. To June 23. The Ark, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call 703-820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.

THE DRAG BY MAE WEST

The Shakespeare Theatre Company celebrates Pride Month by offering a free reading, as part of its ReDiscovery Series, of a banned drama by gay icon and sex symbol Mae West, known for her eyebrow-raising double-entendres and sex-positive comedic stylings. One of the earliest depictions of gay life on the American stage, The Drag focuses on the murder of a closeted gay man who is married to the daughter of a famous gay conversion therapist, but this 1927 melodrama also features a raucous drag ball that featured West herself as a guest. Written in collaboration with West’s cast of gay male actors, The Drag was Broadway-bound after previews in Connecticut and New Jersey — but then the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice stepped in, arresting West and cast on charges of obscenity for her Broadway production of Sex, a sentimental drama about a sex worker. New York State subsequently passed a law prohibiting the representation or discussion of homosexuality on stage. The Shakespeare Theatre’s reading, directed by producing artistic director of Maryland’s Rep Stage, is followed by a talkback with local activists, performers, and scholars moderated by Metro Weekly editor Randy Shulman. Monday, June 17, at 7:30 p.m. Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. Tickets are free but required. Call 202-547-1122 or visit www.shakespearetheatre.org.

THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING

An evocative, poetic coming-of-age drama adapted from the novel of the same name, Carson McCullers’ play is set in rural Georgia during the summer of 1945. The Member of the Wedding focuses on the relationship between 12-year-old Frankie Addams and her family’s housekeeper Berenice Sadie Brown, a surrogate mother to Frankie who struggles under the weight of the deeply entrenched racism she endures. Zoe Walpole and Deidra LaWan Starnes star. Cara Gabriel directs. Extended to June 16. 1st Stage, 1524 Spring Hill Rd. Tysons, Va. Tickets are $15 to $39. Call 703-854-1856 or visit www.1ststage.org.

Kim Petras — Photo courtesy of LiveNation

MUSIC

BRANDI CARLILE W/LUCIUS

Twins Phil and Tim Hanseroth write, sing and play with lesbian frontwoman Brandi Carlile, whose music is an intriguing country-rock blend, with additional influence from gospel and folk — think Indigo Girls blended with Johnny Cash and a touch of Elton John. And then there’s Carlile’s eminently captivating voice, supple and expressive, not too dissimilar from Sia’s. Carlile continues to tour in support of sixth set By The Way, I Forgive You, full of dramatic story-songs. The four-piece indie-pop band Lucius, known for the tight harmonies between dual lead vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, opens. Friday, June 14. Gates at 5:30 p.m. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Md. Tickets are $46 to $76. Call 800-551-SEAT or visit www.merriweathermusic.com.

DC JAZZ FESTIVAL

Billed as the fastest-growing jazz festival in the U.S., as well as the largest and most diverse music festival in D.C., this 15th annual event offers 150 performances in 40 venues around town, from the Phillips Collection to Twins Jazz Club. The second and final weekend of the festival, presented by EventsDC, offers marquee events at venues on the Southwest Waterfront, including two concerts at the Anthem: the first, Friday, June 14, featuring Brooklyn-based instrumental fusion band Snarky Puppy along with “Lean on Me: José James Celebrates Bill Withers”; the second, Saturday, June 15, a New Orleans Party featuring Jon Batiste & Stay Human and Brass-A-Holics. The weekend also offers free performances on multiple stages down at the District Wharf, with Saturday, June 15, headlined by Joshua Redman Quartet and Michael Franks at the District Pier, and Allyn Johnson and Sonic Sanctuary and Sasha Berliner Quartet on the Transit Pier; and Sunday, June 16, bringing a lineup including Joey Alexander Trio, Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science, and Ralph Peterson’s Gen-Next Big Band to the District Pier, Girls in Airports, Cinema Italia, and the Jazz Academy of Music to the Transit Pier, plus a Jazz in the ‘Hoods International Showcase at Pearl Street Warehouse. The festival closes on Sunday, June 16, at 8 p.m., at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall with the star-studded Great Masters of Jazz concert paying tribute to Quincy Jones, Roy Hargrove, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Horn, and Fred Foss, and featuring Patti Austin, Justin Kauflin, Kenny Garrett, Joshua Redman, Princess Mhoon Dance Project, Roberta Gambarini, Adam Clayton Powell III, Sharon Clark, Leon Harris, Angela Stribling, Paxton Baker, Cassandra Wilson, Willard Jenkins, and Sunny Sumter. Call 855-332-7767 or visit www.dcjazzfest.org for the full lineup and ticket details.

FIREFLY MUSIC FESTIVAL

Spread out over a scenic, woodsy 100 acres at Dover Downs, Delaware’s Firefly, now in its eighth year, offers non-musical diversions, including The Great Atlantic Campout, an immersive camping experience including daily yoga, panels, meet-and-greet events, silent discos, “Spruce Up” stations and showers, plus a farmers market, bar, and general store. But the chief focus is on catching many of music’s latest and greatest. Panic! At The Disco, Tyler, The Creator, Zedd, Travis Scott, Kygo, Death Cab for Cutie, Post Malone, Vampire Weekend, and DJ Snake are this year’s headliners. Other notable acts in the lineup include, per day: Louis The Child, AWOLNation, Courtney Barnett, X Ambassadors, Bob Moses, TLC, The Knocks, Ekali, Cuco, Arkells, Grizfolk, and Shaed, on Friday, June 21; Passion Pit, Young The Giant, Alison Wonderland, Dashboard Confessional, King Princess, Bishop Briggs, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Tank and the Bangas, Joywave, MansionAir, Max, Let’s Eat Grandma, Great Good Fine Ok, Rubblebucket, Max Frost, and Yoke Lore, on Saturday, June 22; and Griz, Walk The Moon, Lykke Li, Gucci Mane, AJR, Car Seat Headrest, Jessie Reyez, LovelyTheBand, Nora en Pure, Jukebox the Ghost, Nombe, VHS Collection, and Magic Giant on Sunday, June 17. The Woodlands of Dover International Speedway, 1131 N. Dupont Highway, Dover, Del. Passes start at $129 for a single day or $319 for a Weekend pass. Call 855-281-4898 or visit www.fireflyfestival.com.

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN: ADWELA & THE UPRISING, BLACK MASALA

A summertime staple for 19 seasons, the National Gallery of Art offers free outdoor concerts immediately after work every Friday through late August. Bands offering a range of jazz styles, from swing to Latin to ska, perform amidst the museum’s collection of large-scale sculptural works while patrons enjoy food and drinks, including beer, wine, and sangria, as sold by the Pavilion Café. New menu items for 2019 include the popular vegetarian Teriyaki Impossible Burger, a Bahn Mi Turkey Burger with ginger soy aioli, and more traditional sandwiches of pulled pork and beef brisket, all available at grill stations throughout the Sculpture Garden. The series continues with a reggae concert from Adwela & the Uprising on June 14, and “world steam punk” from popular local band Black Masala, consisting of members of Thievery Corporation, on June 21. Evenings from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sculpture Garden, between 7th and 9th Streets NW. Call 202-289-3360 or visit www.nga.gov.

KIM PETRAS

A performer at Capital Pride 2018 along with Troye Sivan — who she opened for last fall at the Anthem — the German-born, L.A.-based trans dance-pop artist Petras is a bubbling-under act you’ve no doubt heard here or there via hits “Heart to Break,” “I Don’t Want It All,” “All I Do Is Cry,” and “Broken.” Petras drops by the Fillmore Silver Spring on her Broken Tour through the U.S. Mazurbate opens. Saturday, June 15. Doors at 8 p.m. 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $20 to $23. Call 301-960-9999 or visit www.fillmoresilverspring.com.

PRIESTS

This largely LGBTQ-identified, mixed-gender, hard-charging D.C. band returns to the 9:30 Club to celebrate the release of its second full-length album The Seduction of Kansas. Led by the strong, elastically voiced Katie Alice Greer and featuring drummer Daniele Daniele and guitarist G.I. Jaguar, the band’s cheekily religious name originated in part from Greer’s upbringing as the daughter of a Methodist minister. The band will be joined by bassist Alexandra Tyson in performance on tour, along with the post-hardcore quartet Mock Identity, a D.C.-rooted group consisting of vocalist Adriana-Lucia Cotes, guitarist Jeff Barsky, bassist Joshua David Hoffman, and percussionist Nate Scheible that will open the show. Saturday, June 15. Doors at 10 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

THE IN SERIES & INNOVĀTIŌ: THE TALE OF SERSE

The plot to Serse, George Frideric Handel’s vibrant, revolutionary Italian-language opera, is streamlined into a simple story of love in a new In Series production. Director Timothy Nelson intends to transform the 18th-century work by broadening its appeal to today’s more culturally sensitive, globally aware audiences. The Tale of Serse features new spoken English narration, crafted from the poetry of Rumi in a nod to the story’s Iranian roots, with scenic calligraphy and painting by artist Parinaz Bahadori of the Iranian-American Community Center. Handel’s magnetic and visionary score is rendered by the In Series’ new period instrumental ensemble Innovātiō featuring Nelson as conductor and harpsichordist. Friday, June 14, and Saturday, June 15, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, June 16, at 3 p.m Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West Preston St. Baltimore. Tickets are $20 to $30. Call 410-752-8558 or visit www.theatreproject.org

DANCE

10 HAIRY LEGS: GAY PRIDE CELEBRATION

The New Jersey-based all-male dance troupe returns to Baltimore with a mixed-repertory program on the theme of Pride. Now concluding its 7th season, 10 Hairy Legs is focused, in part, on dispelling assumptions about male dancers. “If you watch two women dance on stage, you don’t normally assume that they are homosexuals,” says founder and leader Randy James, himself a gay man. “But if you watch two men dance on stage, people do assume that sometimes. And hopefully, that is one of the things that we’re kind of educating audiences on.” The program includes: Al Blackstone’s commissioned quintet Brian, a 2018 Emmy Award-nominated work touching on the loneliness of adolescence, the desire for friendship, and the journey to self-realization; an excerpt from Christopher Williams’ The Portuguese Suite, a sinuous duet set to traditional Fado songs; David Parker’s Friends of Dorothy, a tongue-in-cheek duet set to a rousing score of songs by Debbie Reynolds and Jane Powell; Stephen Petronio’s Bud, a duet with intricate partnering set to Rufus Wainwright’s “Oh What A World”; and Raj Feather Kelly’s Andy Warhol’s Bleu Movie, a 2017 commissioned quintet alluding to the 1970s gay club scene and the nature of fleeting attraction and romance and set to an original score by Bryan Strimpel. Thursday, June 20, and Friday, June 21, at 8 p.m. Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West Preston St. Baltimore. Tickets are $20 to $25. Call 410-752-8558 or visit www.theatreproject.org.

CITYDANCE CONSERVATORY DANCERS IN CONCERT

At its annual year-end showcase, young dancers from the CityDance Conservatory will perform a rich collection of reportory from summer and guest artists, including Koresh Dance Company, Bruce Wood Dance, YY Dance, and Yuanyuan Wang, along with a restaging of the classical ballet Swan Lake by the conservatory’s ballet master Stanislav Isaaev. The showcase will also feature original contemporary works by CityDance faculty members, including gay CityDance Choreographer-In-Residence Robert J. Priore, who will be honored with the 2019 Pola Nirenska Award for Outstanding Achievements in Dance from Washington Performing Arts this year during the program Saturday, June 15, at 7 p.m. Additional dates are Friday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, June 15, at 2 p.m. Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, 17301 Old Vic Boulevard, Olney, Md. Tickets are $25. Call 301-581-5204 or visit www.citydance.net.

READINGS & DISCUSSIONS

MORTIFIED LIVE PODCAST: PRIDE EDITION

An unsent love letter he had written as a teenager didn’t just send David Nadelberg on a wistful trip down memory lane. It sparked the idea for a project focused on the strange, extraordinary, or just plain embarrassing things people create as kids. Launched in 2002, Mortified is a spin on the popular genre of curated storytelling shows in which strangers from all walks of life take to the stage — as well as the airwaves a la podcast — to “share the shame” of their “teen angst artifacts,” created when they were all so young and impressionable. Revealing such memorabilia, organizers say, can be a revelatory experience: “You’d be surprised what you discover in the process.” The June show features childhood diary entries, stories, and other adolescent scribblings “exploring sexual and gender identity, coming out, and other LGBTQ stories.” Friday, June 14. Doors at 8 p.m. Black Cat Mainstage, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $17 in advance, or $20 at the door. Call 202-667-4490 or visit www.blackcatdc.com.

Triangle Art Studios: Women Celebrating Women, Suffragists

ART & EXHIBITS

MAY IS ALL ABOUT TRANS: ART EXHIBITION

This year’s month of programming celebrating D.C.’s transgender community, launched by Trans Pride founder SaVanna Wanzer, introduces an exhibition featuring 30 pieces of art from a diverse and talented group of 15 area artists identifying as transgender, non-binary, genderfluid, Two-Spirit, and/or agender. Westminster Presbyterian in Southwest D.C. hosts a show featuring: Alex Ramirez, Ameirah Neal, Autumn Towne, Dorian Blue, Edith Flores, Kay Wrenn, Sir Max Even, Molly Stratton, Nona Conner, Star Bennett from Check It Enterprises, and Zayn Thiam, plus Ahanu, Alexa Elizabeth Rodriguez, Kariwase Duprey, and Xemi. Tapepechul from the Nelwat Ishkamewe Two-Spirit Art Collective. Closes June 14. 400 I St. SW. Call 202-484-7700 or visit www.mayistransdc.com.

MID-CENTURY MASTER: THE PHOTOGRAPHER OF ALFRED EISENSTAEDT

Nearly 50 photographs and ephemera from the Life Magazine artist known for capturing larger-than-life personalities and those among the most notable people of the 20th century — from Marilyn Monroe to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. This special exhibition at Hillwood naturally explores the relationship that evolved over the course of photo sessions between Eisenstaedt and Hillwood founder Marjorie Merriweather Post. Now to Jan. 12. Hillwood Estate, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Suggested donation is $18. Call 202-686-5807 or visit www.HillwoodMuseum.org.

ONE VOICE

The Kimpton Carlyle Hotel Dupont Circle is celebrating Capital Pride with a summer-long art exhibition in its lobby featuring local LGBTQ artists and allies. Curated by Julie Ratner and Golie Miamee of Artworx Consultants, One Voice includes works by Tom Hill, Maggie O’Neill, Wayson Jones, and Rose Jaffe, in addition to several permanent works by world-renowned mixed-media artist Michele Oka Doner and Michael Crossett’s piece “Community,” which was commissioned for Kimpton in partnership with Shop Made in DC. Through Sept. 2. 1731 New Hampshire Ave. NW. Suggested donation of $5 per person that will benefit Kimpton brand partner the Trevor Project. Call 202-234-3200 or visit www.carlylehoteldc.com.

REDISCOVERING BALTIMORE’S FORGOTTEN MOVIE THEATERS

A survey of Baltimore’s movie-going past from 1896 to the present, this Flickering Treasures exhibition at the National Building Museum features oral histories, architectural fragments, theater ephemera, and of course photography — particularly vivid, contemporary shots from Baltimore Sun staff photographer Amy Davis. All of it illuminates themes of memory, loss, and preservation, as well as the importance of movies and movie houses in 20th century American life. While only a handful of more than 240 theaters built in Charm City still function today, many survive in some form, as documented in this exhibition. On display to Oct. 2019. 401 F St. NW. Call 202-272-2448 or visit www.nbm.org.

STONEWALL AT 50: LGBTQ+ ACTIVISM IN THE UNITED STATES

The Library of Congress celebrates “LGBTQ+ Pride Month” with a new display commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. Drawing from the papers of early LGBTQ rights pioneers Lilli Vincenz and Franklin Kameny, the exhibit puts that turning point in the LGBTQ movement in context with materials representing activism from the time periods before — those from the education-focused homophile movement of the 1950s — and after, or the more radical gay liberation movement. The display also includes flyers and ephemera from the very first pride event, the Christopher Street Liberation Day in 1970. On display through July 11. The Great Hall in the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Call 202-707-8000 or visit www.loc.gov/events.

TREATIES BETWEEN THE U.S. AND AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS

With the lead title Nation to Nations, this long-term exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian tells the story of the treaties signed between U.S. leaders and influential Native diplomats. Most Americans today live on land that was originally promised to Native Nations via (obviously broken) treaties. And while most of the documents date to the early days of the American republic, the exhibit, which has been on display since 2015, has recently been updated to end with an 11.5-foot-tall mile-marker post created by activists protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota — touted as the largest gathering of Native Americans in protest. In other words, the treaties are hardly something relegated to museums and history books but in fact very much an ongoing, present-day concern. On display through 2021. National Museum of the American Indian, Independence Avenue at 4th Street SW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit nmai.si.edu.

WOMEN CELEBRATING WOMEN

Bethesda’s Triangle Art Studios honors the women’s suffrage movement and the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution with an exhibition and open house featuring studio artists Jill Newman, Maruja Quezada, Barbara Siegel, and Clare Winslow. Nonprofits supporting women, including Emerge Maryland, Empowered Women International, the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, and Emily’s List, will earn 25 percent of proceeds of art sales during the Opening Reception on Friday, June 14, from 6 to 8 p.m., which also includes making statement sashes, registering participants to vote, and contributing to a large, interactive mural about the movement and current issues surrounding voting rights. On exhibit through June at the studios, located in the Cheval Condominium, 7711 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda. Call 301-215-6660 or visit www.bethesda.org.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 15: A view of the venue during The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library Press Preview presented by Comedy Centrals The Daily Show on June 15, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for Comedy Central)

ABOVE AND BEYOND

BY THE PEOPLE: ARTS AND DIALOGUE FESTIVAL

Dozens of installations, pop-up performances, and discussions — many of them free — will take place over the next week at various venues around town, from Union Market to the hotel Eaton DC to a floating art barge on the Potomac River, all part of the annual arts and innovation festival organized by Georgetown’s Halcyon House. Yet the majority of activities take place at the Smithsonian’s Arts + Industries Building (900 Jefferson Dr. SW), which once again serves as the festival hub on weekends, with installations including: Walking on Clouds by New York mixed-media collage and digital technologies artist Jonathan Rosen; Post Referendum…. More Than a Number, featuring 272 pedestals commemorating the lives of the enslaved people sold by Jesuit priests at Georgetown University in 1838, by Baltimore multimedia artist Ada Pinkston; Cosmic Warrior, an augmented reality sculpture from Virginia interdisciplinary artist Alexis Gomez; Pillar of Salt: Illuminated History in Writing, a series of crowdsourced written histories and light sculptures exploring gender equality, by interdisciplinary artist Mengxi “Althea” Rao; We The People, an augmented reality reflection on the embrace and expression from one citizen to another, by digital artist and animator Marjan Moghaddam; various sculptures from D.C. artist Martha Jackson Jarvis; a work exploring the delicate threads of directions presented, journeys chosen, and paths leading you here, by D.C. mixed-media fiber artist and printmaker Rania Hassan; Eye See You, a comment on the age of surveillance, by D.C.-based Nigerian-American painter Victor Ekpuk; Red/Act, a virtual reality experience featuring poetry written by incarcerated and previously incarcerated indigenous women, by Cherokee Nation citizen Jessica Mehta; 108+1, collaborative performances calling for collective healing through sound baths and an immersive live experience and featuring Naoko Wowsugi and Estefani Mercedes; Night Light: Half-World, a work-in-process meditative, contemporary dance and movement piece from UNUM Dance Collective founder Tariq Darrell O’Meally; and Two Truths and a Lie, a dance work weaving together seven short pieces from D.C.-based company Agora Dance. And during the Solstice Saturday event on June 22, the building will remain open until midnight with “Soulstice Soundscapes” by Les The DJ plus performances by Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown and Shanna Lim. Among highlights elsewhere, there’s the By The People Art Fair featuring 51 local artists, curated by Nina O’Neil in partnership with Monochrome Collective and on display in the former Jonathan Adler Store (1267 Wisconsin Ave. NW). Festival runs to Sunday, June 23. Call 202-796-4240 or visit www.bythepeople.org.

SUMMER SOLSTICE AT GEORGETOWN WATERFRONT

The Georgetown BID, in partnership with Athleta, presents this three-hour event featuring free outdoor fitness classes, prizes, and giveaways and all to celebrate the official start of summer as well as International Yoga Day and the longest day of the year. A special offshoot of the free Georgetown Sunset Fitness classes held every Wednesday at 6 p.m. and featuring the neighborhood’s more than 40 studios and athletic specialty stores, this Solstice event on Friday, June 21, starts at 4 p.m. and offers hour-long yoga classes sponsored by Down Dog Yoga, The Wing, and Athleta, plus bottled water and healthy snacks. (Attendees must bring their own yoga mat.) The first 300 attendees receive an Athlete swag bag filled with goodies and discount coupons and surprises, while all attendees will get the chance to win a $100 Athleta gift card, a Down Dog Yoga 10-class pack, a Tuckernuck clutch and earrings, and a Kendra Scott giveaway, among other prizes. And attendees sporting their #GeorgetownSummerSolstice Wristband will be offered drink specials and discounts at nearby businesses including Church Hall, The Tavern, Pinstripes, and Tuckernuck. Visit www.georgetowndc.com/summersolstice for more information and to register.

THE DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL TWITTER LIBRARY

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah offers a pop-up exhibit that riffs on “the finest works from Trump’s Twitter collection,” just in time for President Trump’s 73rd birthday. A hit in Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, the cheeky exhibit will “memorialize and celebrate the many ‘unpresidented’ moments of President Trump’s Twitter history,” and also includes a new display on First Lady Melania Trump’s main initiative, “An End to Cyberbullying,” described as “her battle against those who use personal attacks, threats of violence, and really dumb nicknames in a vain attempt to soothe their own insatiable insecurities.” Other attractions include: the “Commander-In-Tweet” interactive installation replicating the Oval Office in which participants wil be presented with a crisis situation and have 30 seconds to compose a tweet “while sitting on a golden toilet, just like the president”; “Sad! A Retrospective” video display of the people, places, and things the president has deemed “sad!”; “Trump Vs. Trump,” which documents the president’s “unique ability to hold a variety of different opinions on the same subject”; and “Verified Survivors,” a series of testimonials recounting the trauma of being attacked by Trump on Twitter from high-profile individuals. Friday, June 14, through Sunday, June 16, from noon to 8 p.m. The Showroom, 1099 14th St. NW. Free. Visit www.thedailyshow.com/trumptwitterlibrary.

WIKIPEDIA EDIT-A-THON: LGBTQ+ EDITION

The Smithsonian American Art Museum hosts a workshop at which participants — of all levels of technological proficiency — will learn to edit and create new articles on Wikipedia, specfically about artists and on themes from the LGBTQ community. The free program kicks off with a special tour of works by LGBTQ artists from the museum’s collection. Saturday, June 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. MacMillan Education Center, 8th and F Streets NW. Free but registration recommended. Call 202-633-1000 or visit www.americanart.si.edu.

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