Metro Weekly

Out on the Town: D.C. arts and entertainment highlights — August 8-14

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

The Kitchen

FILM

DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID

The AFI Silver Theatre co-presents a free summer outdoor film series at nearby Sonny’s Green, where patrons can bring blankets and low-rise chairs as well as their own food and beverages. The series continues on Friday, Aug. 16, with the animated classic that ushered in the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s. Based on the short story by Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and features an Oscar-winning score from Howard Ashman. The screening begins at sundown, around 8 p.m. Off the parking lot of the Blairs Shopping Center, 1290 East-West Highway. Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi.com/Silver.

LOONEY TUNES

Every Saturday and Sunday morning over the next six weeks the AFI Silver Theatre screens a different 45-minute program featuring selections of Warner Bros.’ classic cartoons starring the Looney Tunes gang — Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Tweety, and more. The series continues with Program 3 this Saturday, Aug. 10, and Sunday, Aug. 11, at 11 a.m. 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $5. Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi.com/Silver.

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

Not even children are safe from horror this year, as Guillermo del Toro, in a producing capacity, adapts Alvin Schwartz’s iconic series of scary children’s books. Not that the teasers suggest the final film will be even remotely appropriate for children (though, given the books’ perennial status on many “most banned” lists, perhaps even they weren’t entirely suitable). Still, if you read them as a child, this should be a suitably chilling trip down memory lane. Directed by André Øvredal. Opens Friday, Aug. 9. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com.

THE KITCHEN

Running in a similar vein to last year’s Widows, The Kitchen stars Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss as three wives of Irish mobsters who take over their husbands’ criminal operations after the men are arrested by the FBI. Set in 1970s New York City and with Straight Outta Compton co-writer Andrea Berloff on writer-director duties, this could make for an entertaining crime drama — not least to see Haddish in a more dramatic role, something McCarthy managed with aplomb in last year’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? Opens Friday, Aug. 9. Area theaters. Visit www.fandango.com. (RM)

THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS

The second work from legendary filmmaker Orson Welles (after his breakthrough with Citizen Kane) was infamously edited and altered by the studio RKO without Welles’ consent. Even so, The Magnificent Ambersons, nominated for four Academy Awards in 1943, is often regarded as among the best U.S. films ever made, and was added to the National Film Registry almost 30 years ago. Based on Booth Tarkington’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the film tells the story of a socially prominent Midwestern family, whose fortunes are undone by industrialization and pride. The Magnificent Ambersons returns to the big screen as part of the Capital Classics series at Landmark’s West End Cinema. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 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.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

Landmark’s E Street Cinema presents its monthly run of Richard O’Brien’s camp classic, billed as the longest-running midnight movie in history. Landmark’s showings come with a live shadow cast from the Sonic Transducers, meaning it’s even more interactive than usual. Friday, Aug. 9, and Saturday, Aug. 10, at midnight. 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

WATER LILIES

A provocative and perceptive portrait of teen angst and budding sexuality, focused on a love triangle that develops between three Parisian girls. French filmmaker Céline Sciamma’s debut drama from 2007 screens as part of the Screen Queen series, curated by Josh Vogelsong and presented at the cozy Suns Cinema. Monday, Aug. 12, at 8 p.m. 3107 Mount Pleasant St. NW. Tickets are $11.49 including service fee. Visit www.sunscinema.com.

The Cat in the Hat — Photo: Michael Horan

STAGE

DEAR EVAN HANSEN

If you missed it when it started its life at Arena Stage four years ago, the Tony Award-winning masterpiece from the hit stage and screen songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul returns to the area as part of its first national tour. Michael Greif directs the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary tale, featuring a book by Steven Levenson, about the power and overpowering effects of social media and social standing. To Sept. 8. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $79 to $175. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

LEGALLY BLONDE

Dupont Circle’s Keegan Theatre closes out its 22nd season with the stage adaptation of the hit movie, based on Amanda Brown’s novel about effervescent Elle Woods and her journey to Harvard. Ricky Drummond helms Keegan’s production of the show, featuring music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin, aided by music director Walter “Bobby” McCoy and choreographer Ashleigh King. To Sept. 1. Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $52 to $62. Call 202-265-3767 or visit www.keegantheatre.com.

THE CAT IN THE HAT

A rainy day is turned into a miraculous, mayhem-filled adventure in an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic imported from across the pond, via the National Theatre of Great Britain. The theater for young audiences production out at Adventure Theatre-MTC in Glen Echo Park is directed by Adam Immerwahr, who has become known for works that are far more serious and adult in his day job as the artistic director of Theater J. Surely The Cat in the Hat is a nice change of pace, maybe even allowing him, to paraphrase from the late Mr. Geisel’s book, “good fun that is funny.” To Aug. 18. 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Call 301-634-2270 or visit www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

TIGER STYLE!

Described as an outrageous and cutting satire of Asian-American identity, Mike Lew’s latest work closes out the current season at Olney Theatre Center in a production helmed by Helen Hayes Award-winning director Natsu Onoda Power. Regina Aquino and Sean Sekino will star as third-generation Chinese-Americans, affluent Millennial siblings who face something of a late-adolescent identity crisis that leads them to try their hand at living in the motherland. Eileen Rivera as their mother and Michael Glenn as the show’s sole non-Asian actor playing a host of characters complete the cast. To Aug. 18. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-924-3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org.

TREASURE ISLAND

Virginia’s Synetic closes out its season with a high seas adventure full of pirates. The original adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel of the same name is the latest caper from a physical theater-focused company that’s made its name producing wordless variations on classics, particularly those by Shakespeare. Synetic’s impressive crew of athletic actors will bring to life the coming-of-age tale focused on the orphan Jane Hawkins and a ruthless band of buccaneers on a wild hunt for buried treasure. To Aug. 18. 1800 South Bell St., Arlington. Tickets are $35 to $60. Call 800-811-4111 or visit www.synetictheater.org.

Amanda Shires

MUSIC

AMANDA SHIRES

After mastering her craft playing fiddle with the Texas Playboys, this singer-songwriter has gone on to tour and record with artists including John Prine, Justin Townes Earle, Ryan Adams, Lee Ann Womack, and her husband Jason Isbell. In 2017, Shires was honored with the Emerging Artist Award by the Americana Association. Part of the new country supergroup The Highwomen along with Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hernby, Shires is currently touring in support of her most recent solo set, 2018’s To The Sunset. Saturday, Aug. 17. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $30 to $60. Call 202-787-1000 or visit www.thehamiltondc.com.

BRYAN FERRY

In March, the stylish British pop/rock artist was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his work in co-founding Roxy Music. Although never chart-topping hitmakers in the U.S., the pioneering glam-rock/synth-pop act was heralded by the rock critic for The Guardian in 2005 as second only to the Beatles as the most influential British band — and one whose influence extends from the Sex Pistols to Duran Duran to the Killers. In recent years, Ferry has generated buzz through his namesake jazz orchestra and its rearrangements of Roxy hits as well as those from Ferry’s solo career, including “Don’t Stop The Dance” and “Slave To Love.” Ferry is currently on a world tour on which he continues to revisit songs from his rich repertoire, including “More Than This” from Avalon, the 1982 studio album that stands as the best-selling work from Roxy Music. Opening for Ferry is the young German jazzy “pop noir” singer-songwriter who goes by the name Femme Schmidt. Tuesday, Aug. 13. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Tickets are $75 to $250. Call 202-888-0020 or visit www.theanthemdc.com.

CHOPTEETH AFROFUNK BIG BAND

The Washington Post called this 13-piece band “a storming powerhouse of big-band African funk…smart, tight and relentlessly driving.” The Afrobeat-driven group has won 13 Washington Area Music Association Awards, including Artist of the Year in 2008 and as best World Music Group the last nine years in a row. Chopteeth performs regularly throughout the region. Friday, Aug. 9. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Amp by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Ave. North Bethesda. Tickets are $22 to $29. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.ampbystrathmore.com.

CREATIVE CAULDRON’S SUMMER CABARET SERIES

The 10th annual summer cabaret series at ArtSpace Falls Church continues with Erin Granfield in “If The Dress Fits,” an evening of song addressing sartorial and other quintessential questions, on Friday, Aug. 9, and performer/lyricist Stephen Gregory Smith, leading “Game On: A Game Night Cabaret,” on Saturday, Aug. 10. All shows at 8 p.m. Series runs to Sept. 14. 410 South Maple Ave. in Falls Church. Tickets are $18 to $22 per show, or $60 for a table for two with wine and $120 for four with wine. Call 703-436-9948 or visit www.creativecauldron.org.

DC MUSIC ROCKS FESTIVAL

Some of the city’s best and best-known music acts from various genres take the stage at the 9:30 Club next weekend as part of this third annual event, presented by the syndicated FM radio show, podcast, and website DC Music Rocks in collaboration with Girls Rock! DC. The lineup includes Los Empresarios, the all-girl groups More AM Than FM and Iza Flo, the Eli Lev Collective with special guest Jarreau Williams, and Sub-Radio, plus singer-songwriters Daniel Warren-Hill, Jahnel Daliya, Jasmine Gillison, Gabrielle Ziwi, Lauren Calve, and Karen Jones. A portion of the concert’s proceeds benefits The Musicianship, recognized by DC Public Schools as an official After-School provider, one offering music lessons and opportunities particularly for at-risk and underprivileged populations. And The Musicianship’s drumline program is also set to perform. Saturday, Aug. 17. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

HOT AUGUST MUSIC FESTIVAL

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Turkuaz, Billy Strings, and Melvin Seals & JGB are the headliners across the three stages at this folk and bluegrass festival, now in its 27th year. Other acts set to perform include Samantha Fish, Cedric Burnside, the Lil Smokies, the Dirty Grass Players, Larry McCray, Travers Brothership, Vanessa Collier, and the Old Part of Town. Saturday, Aug. 17. Gates at 11 a.m. Tickets are $68 in advance, $87 the day of, or $199 for VIP including parking, alcohol, two meal tickets, special viewing area, and special restrooms. Oregon Ridge Park, 13401 Beaver Dam Rd. in Cockeysville, Md. Call 877-321-FEST or visit www.hotaugustmusicfestival.com.

INTEGRITI REEVES

Celebrated local jazz vocalist, composer, and educator leads her ensemble in a mix of jazz standards, Brazilian music, and original compositions, and all as part of the Kennedy Center’s free nightly programming. Friday, Aug. 16, at 6 p.m. Millennium Stage. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS

The nine-time Grammy-winning jazz icon Marsalis will be joined by 15 soloists, ensemble players, and arrangers for a swinging evening under the stars. Friday, Aug. 16, at 8 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $30 to $125. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit www.wolftrap.org.

National Gallery of Art: Jazz in the Garden: The Bailsmen — Photo: Nina Galichiva

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN: THE BAILSMEN, THE DIXIE POWER TRIO

A summertime staple, 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 New York’s Django Reinhardt-inspired gypsy jazz band The Bailsmen on Aug. 9, and the Dixie Power Trio, a New Orleans-centric jazz ensemble sometimes referred to as the “East Coast’s premier Louisiana variety band,” on Aug. 16. 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.

LILA DOWNS

Known for her smoky voice and magnetic performances, the Grammy-winning Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs offers a pan-Latin brand of folk-inspired pop music that seems to channel her late compatriot Chavela Vargas one minute, Celia Cruz the next, even Shakira every now and then — occasionally all within the same song. Downs tours in support of Al Chile, her new album paying homage to the chile and the complicated relationship Mexicans have with the fiery fruit, touted as “a smorgasbord of high-energy, soulful, spirited, and dance-inducing new tracks.” Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $69.50. Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

LUTHER RE-LIVES

It takes some smooth crooning to come close to the vocal greatness that was Grammy-winning R&B legend Luther Vandross. But William “Smooth” Wardlaw comes close enough to live up to his billing as the featured voice of the concert experience he’s fronted for nearly a decade. “We try not to say tribute or impersonation,” Wardlaw told Metro Weekly. “That’s why we’re called ‘Luther Re-Lives,’ because we want people to relive those moments when Luther was onstage.” The Alexandria native relives his own love for Luther’s music and vocal prowess by performing the artist’s songs, accompanied by two backup singers and a five-piece band. The show is a full, Vegas-style performance that Wardlaw says aims to recapture not just the sublime musical effect of Luther live, but also “the flamboyance, the lighting, the wardrobe.” Friday, Aug. 16. Doors at 6:30 p.m. City Winery DC, 1350 Okie St. NE. Tickets are $35 to $45. Call 202-250-2531 or visit www.citywinery.com. (Andre Hereford)

MOONRISE FESTIVAL

Steez Promo and Glow DC team up for this annual two-day EDM festival on the grounds of the former Virgin Mobile Festival and the Infield Fest. Alan Walker, Illenium (DJ set), KSHMR, R3hab, Tiesto, 21 Savage, Big Gigantic, Gryffin, 12th Planet, Infected Mushroom, AC Slater, and Nora en Pure are among the headliners across the festival’s four main stages and dance areas. Saturday, Aug. 10, and Sunday, Aug. 11, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day. Pimlico Race Course, 5201 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore. Tickets range from $169 to $182.30 for single-day passes, including tax and fees, or $224.29 for a two-day pass, more for VIP options. Call 202-397-SEAT or visit www.moonrisefestival.com.

NATALIA KAZARYAN

A graduate of Julliard and an adjunct piano faculty member at Howard University, Kazaryan has garnered top prizes at several piano competitions, including the Eastman Young Artists International Competition. This weekend, she will perform pieces by female composers for the latest installment of the Steinway Series, the free summer piano series presented by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Sunday, Aug. 11, at 3 p.m. McEvoy Auditorium, Lower Level, 8th and F Streets NW. Free. Call 202-633-1000 or visit www.americanart.si.edu.

STRATHMORE’S LIVE FROM THE LAWN: RARE ESSENCE

One of the leading and legendary purveyors of go-go, D.C.’s homegrown energetic style of funky dance music, next performs in Maryland on the lawn outside of the Strathmore mansion as part of the venue’s free weekly summer series. Wednesday, Aug. 14, starting at 7 p.m. Gudelsky Gazebo, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Tickets are free. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

THE 9 SONGWRITER SERIES

Folk-rock musician Justin Trawick formed this collaborative a decade ago to help increase performance and collaborative opportunities for fellow local musicians as well as to give audiences an easier way to discover songwriters and bands to love. Next up in the series is a 10th Anniversary show offering performances by Trawick, Louisa Hall, the Sweater Set, Tiffany Thompson, Jenn Bostic, Brian Dunne, Jasmine Gillison, Eric Brace, and Jason Ager. Chris Timbers Band, Laura Love, Justin Shapiro Music, Jeff Madonna, CaSh & Earle, Christian Douglas Music, and the Tula Duo with Gena Photiadis. Friday, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $20. Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

UKEFEST

Grammy Award-winning folk musicians Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, partners in music and life, present the 11th edition of a popular festival at Strathmore devoted to the signature Hawaiian stringed instrument the ukulele. This year’s lineup includes two weekend concerts in the Education Center, each featuring a Student Showcase of 2019 UkeFest participants followed by performances from UkeFest instructors, with Maureen Andary, Diane Nalini, and Daniel Ho on tap Saturday, Aug. 10, at 6:30 p.m., and Fink & Marxer, Frank Youngman, and Devin Walker featured in the show Sunday, Aug. 11, at 6:30 p.m. Then on Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m., everyone will hit the Gudelsky Gazebo for a free UkeFest Finale including a mass strum-along as part of Strathmore’s Live From The Lawn series. 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. The evening concerts are $18 apiece. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

WHITE FORD BRONCO

“D.C.’s all ’90s party band,” cheekily named after O.J. Simpson’s notorious failed getaway car, is a five-member ensemble consisting of singer/guitarist Diego Valencia, singer Gretchen Gustafson, guitarists Ken Sigmund and McNasty, and drummer Max Shapiro. White Ford Bronco sings through that decade’s songbook in all styles of popular music. Saturday, Aug. 10. Doors at 8 p.m. Nightclub 9:30, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

Vince Ebert: Sexy Science

COMEDY

JOKES THAT GIVE BACK

Once a month at the comedy club a few blocks from Logan Circle comes a stand-up show featuring comics mostly drawn from around the region and all geared as a fundraiser for a different charity, and presented and hosted by comics Gigi Modrich and Andie Basto. Thursday, Aug. 15, at 7 p.m. Drafthouse Comedy, 1100 13th St. NW. Tickets are $5. Call 202-750-6411 or visit www.drafthousecomedy.com.

THE SECOND CITY: AMERICA; IT’S COMPLICATED

The legendary comedic troupe from Chicago returns to the Kennedy Center for another all-new, made-for-Washington politically minded show mixing sketch comedy, improv, satire, and original music. Mary Catherine Curran, Cody Dove, Jillian Ebanks, Jordan Savusa, Adam Schreck, and Holly Walker are the featured players for America; It’s Complicated. To Aug. 11. Theater Lab. Tickets are $49 to $59. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

VINCE EBERT: SEXY SCIENCE

Nearly two decades after launching an improbable career as a comedian with a satirical science bent, this German star, who has a degree in physics, brings the English-language show he debuted at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe festival to the Kennedy Center. The show riffs on everything from skeptical thinking to fake news to “the secret of German cars,” while also posing the question: “Do strippers in the southern hemisphere turn around the pole in the opposite direction?” Saturday, Aug. 10, at 6 p.m. Terrace Theater. Tickets are free, distributed two per person in line in the States Gallery at approximately 5 p.m. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

READINGS

AWKWARD SEX…AND THE CITY

Comedians from New York relive their most awkward sex/dating/relationship moments on stage at this raunchy storytelling event, which returns to D.C. at the Black Cat. Gay comedian and Towleroad columnist Bobby Hankinson will add his awkward tales in an otherwise all-female show featuring Anita Flores, Karolena Theresa, and Natalie Wall. Saturday, Aug. 10. Doors at 8 p.m. 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-667-4490 or visit www.blackcatdc.com.

STORY DISTRICT: MAN VS NATURE

A preselected mix of everyday storytellers perform personal tales all centered around a natural theme as part of the popular monthly series from D.C.’s preeminent storytelling organization. Tuesday, Aug. 13. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-667-4490 or visit www.blackcatdc.com.

Queens of Egypt

ART & EXHIBITS

AMERICA IS…

Touchstone Gallery presents its third national juried exhibition — after 2016’s Art as Politics and 2017’s Art of Engagement — exploring national identity and values during a time of divisive politics and great social change. Four jurors from across the nation — Rachel Adams of Omaha’s Bernis Center for Contemporary Arts, Taylor Bythewood-Porter of the California African American Museum, Jen Mergel of the Association of Art Museum Curators, and Jennifer M. Williams of New Orleans Museum of Art — helped select the works on display from nearly 50 artists, ranging from paintings and photographs to multimedia pieces to life-sized scale sculpture installations. LGBTQ discrimination is among the themes represented in the exhibition alongside political corruption, racism and xenophobia, police violence, climate change, women’s rights, drug addiction, and digital distractions, among others. On display to Aug. 29. 901 New York Ave. NW Call 202-347-2787 or visit www.touchstonegallery.com.

CONTRAST

Maryland’s visual arts gallery Pyramid Atlantic presents an inky and dark-hued show featuring the diverse artworks of three contemporary printmakers working in the intaglio style, which is the opposite of a relief print and most commonly seen today via paper or plastic currency, passports, and postage stamps. To develop his intaglio prints, New York’s Curt Belshe starts by taking photographs of figures that he then digitally sculpts in 3D software before exposing the images to light-sensitive plates and creating etchings. Meanwhile, Jake Muirhead prints from hand-drawn etching into copper plates and his fellow Maryland-based artist Jenny Freestone works in a mix of styles including drypoint, etching, and gravure. When considered collectively, the prints on display from the three artists have “a velvety and mysterious quality.” To Aug. 18. 4318 Gallatin St., Hyattsville, Md. Call 301-608-9101 or visit www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.

E16: THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED

The culminating exhibition of the nonprofit gallery Transformer’s 16th Annual Exercises for Emerging Artists Program debuts new and experimental video-based works by E16 artists Maps Glover, Alexis Gomez, Paula Martinez, and Tam-anh Nguyen, set within a black-box-designed installation created by E16 lead mentors Rachel Debuque and Justin Plakas. Now to Aug. 24. 1404 P St. NW. Call 202-483-1102 or visit www.transformerdc.org.

EYE TO I: SELF-PORTRAITS FROM 1900 TO TODAY

Despite its title, this is not an exhibition celebrating the everyday selfie but rather notable, high-quality self-portraits from American artists drawn primarily from the National Portrait Gallery’s vast collection — and the concluding exhibition in the Smithsonian museum’s series celebrating its 50th anniversary. Elaine de Kooning, Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence, Diego Rivera, Roger Shimomura, and Martin Wong are among the artists represented in this display of more than 75 works examining the range of ways artists have chosen to portray themselves. Through Aug. 18. 8th and F Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or visit www.npg.si.edu.

INSPIRED BODIES

Brookland’s community-based Bluebird Sky Yoga Studio is currently celebrating all bodies and resilience with a show featuring works by local artists who self-identify with a disability, including curators Alice Gardner-Bates and Metro Weekly contributor Hannah Chertock. The artworks in the multimedia exhibit were either inspired or influenced by physical or mental disability, chronic illness, or pain. Now to Oct. 31. Opening Night reception with selected artists is Saturday, Sept. 21. Bluebird Sky Yoga, 3101 12th St. NE. Call 202-248-2218 or visit www.inspiredbodies.wordpress.com.

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.

QUEENS OF EGYPT

A new exhibition at the National Geographic Museum puts a rare spotlight on the queens of ancient Egypt, including Hatshepsut, Nefertari, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra VII. The life and leadership of these legendary figures, whose rule ranged from the New Kingdom (1539-1514 B.C.) to the Ptolemaic dynasty (51-30 B.C.), is told with the help of more than 300 ancient Egyptian artifacts, including monumental statues, sparkling jewelry, and impressive sarcophagi — plus the use of advanced virtual reality technology providing a 3D flythrough tour of one of the most well-preserved tombs in the Valley of the Queens, that of Queen Nefertari. Many of the objects on display come courtesy of the Museo Egizio of Turin, Italy, one of the international cultural partners in the exhibition. And much of the research is based on the work of renowned Egyptologist and National Geographic Explorer Kara Cooney, author of the companion book When Women Ruled The World: Six Queens of Egypt, published by National Geographic Books last fall. To Sept. 2. The museum is located at 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $10 to $15. Call 202-857-7588 or visit www.ngmuseum.org.

QUEER AS GERMAN FOLK: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF TRANSATLANTIC RAINBOW FRIENDSHIP

The Goethe-Institut Washington and the DC Center for the LGBT Community have teamed up for a joint, two-part exploratory exhibition featuring a hands-on deconstructed archive that visitors can browse at their own pace and according to their own interests. The archive includes materials drawn from the Schwules Museum Berlin as well as D.C.-based archives and partner resources such as the Rainbow History Project, Whitman-Walker Health, local photographer Elvert Barnes, and the DC Public Library. The similarities and differences in the push for LGBTQ equality in both capitals will be highlighted. To Aug. 23. Goethe-Institut/German Cultural Center, 1990 K St. NW. Ste. 03. Also The DC Center, 2000 14th St. NW. Ste. 105. Free. Visit www.goethe.de/washington and www.thedccenter.org.

REVOLUTIONARY REFLECTIONS: FRENCH MEMORIES OF THE WAR OF AMERICA

The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati presents a free exhibition featuring the journals, memoirs, and portraits of French officers who served in the American War of Independence, either idealistic volunteers or resolute soldiers of the French king. Largely drawn from the institute’s collections, the memorabilia offers French impressions of early America and the cause of American independence, which helped spark other democratic revolutions of the same era — perhaps none more so than the one in France. Now to Oct. 27. Anderson House, 2118 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Call 202-785-2040 or visit www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org.

THE LIFE OF ANIMALS IN JAPANESE ART

This major exhibition at the National Gallery of Art covers 17 centuries of animal-inspired art — from the 5th century to the present — and across a wide variety of media, everything from sculpture to painting, ceramics to textiles, metalwork to woodblock print. In total, the exhibit includes more than 300 works spread across 18,000 square feet. Artists represented include Sesson Shūkei, Katshushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Kusama Yayoi, Issey Miyake, Nara Yoshitomo, and Murakami Takashi. To Aug. 18, with the exhibit staying open until 8 p.m. every night to recover hours lost during the partial government shutdown and inclement weather, but also to showcase a rotating group of light-sensitive objects. Concourse Galleries in the East Building, 3rd Street at Constitution Avenue NW. Call 202-737-4215 or visit www.nga.gov.

FOOD & DRINK

PEPINO POP-UP AT COTTON & REED

Cotton & Reed, the rum distillery and tasting room in the Union Market District, plays host to a special culinary pop-up over the next month from Christian Irabién, the Mexican-born, D.C.-based chef who spent years working with José Andres and his Mexican outpost Oyamel. Pepino is designed as a preview of Amparo (www.amparofondita.com), Irabién’s forthcoming contemporary Mexican restaurant that is set to open this fall as part of the new Latin marketplace La Cosecha. The pop-up features six special ceviches (priced at $7 to $16 each). Meanwhile, Cotton & Reed complements Irabién’s menu with “Prickled Pink,” a specially concocted slushie consisting of white rum, mezcal, prickly pear, and lime ($12). To Aug. 18. Pepino is open from noon to 8 p.m. on weekends and 4 to 10 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. 1330 5th St. NE. Call 202-544-2805 or visit www.facebook.com/cotton.and.reed.

La-Ti-Do: Chani Werely

ABOVE AND BEYOND !

FORD’S THEATRE’S HISTORY ON FOOT

A local actor offers the guided tour Investigation: Detective McDevitt, portraying Detective James McDevitt, a D.C. police officer patrolling a half-block from Ford’s Theatre the night President Lincoln was shot. Written by Richard Hellesen and directed by Mark Ramont, the 1.6-mile walking tour revisits and reexamines the sites and clues from the investigation into the assassination. Tours are offered approximately three evenings a week at 6:45 p.m. Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $17. Call 202-397-7328 or visit www.fords.org.

LA-TI-DO: POP NIGHT

Regie Cabico and Don Mike Mendoza’s La-Ti-Do variety show features higher-quality singing than most karaoke, often from local musical theater actors performing on their night off, and also includes spoken-word poetry and comedy. The next offering in the monthly series features Mendoza and Anya Randall Nebel as hosts for an evening of pop songs — plus spoken word — that features Chani Wereley and also features guest performers Hannah Gilberstadt, Josh Ferno, Christina McCann, Neema Meena, Allison Saba, and Dan Westbrook. Paige Rammelkamp is music director. Monday, Aug. 12, at 8 p.m. Penn Social, 801 E St. NW. Tickets are $20. Visit www.latidoproductions.com/dc.

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