When it comes to Spring entertainment that is a little — or a lot — queer, any way you might define it, you’re sure to find it here. Ilana Glazer. Matt Mathews. Robby Hoffman. Anthony Oakes. And of course, the queerest of them all: Cheers to you, John Waters.

And then, seemingly from out of thin air and very hot off the ice, we give you: The Heated Rivalry Rave!

Yet this anything-goes Spring Arts section is anything-but limited to entertainment and art. Among everything else, this season even offers a rare opportunity to dabble in the spiritual — or to be more specific, to dabble in “a queer spirit invocation” — at the Folger Shakespeare Library, of all hallowed places. Also on tap: The usual slew of lectures, book readings, panel discussions, exhibits, workshops, film screenings, and even magic.

Given where we live, it wouldn’t feel quite right without a bit of the political — for a good laugh. As they say, Lovett or Leave It. (At the Lincoln, ‘natch.) For more along those lines, see the “Lollapalosers” at the Atlas.

All told, when you put everything in perspective, you really gotta hand it to ’em — all of ’em listed in this section, that is — they’ve really gone above and beyond this year.

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9:30 CLUB

815 V St. NW
202-265-0930
930.com

• Earlybirds Club: 80s Party — A retro night dance party for ages 21 and up — though no pop hit under 36 will be played at the March edition — specifically “designed for women, trans, and non-binary folks.” Ten percent of proceeds benefit Advocates for Youth (3/28)
• The Taylor Party — A Taylor Swift night (4/11)
• Emo Night Brooklyn (4/18)
• Robby Hoffman — Canadian-American stand-up comedian, comedy writer, and Emmy-nominated actor (Hacks) whom the New York Times dubbed “a modern lesbian Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay” (4/25-26)
• No Scrubs: 90s Dance Party — An “Early Edition” of this regular offering, with doors at 6 p.m. (5/15)
• Pattie Gonia: SAVE HER!— Honored as a Next Generation Leader by Time, the Oregon-based environmental drag activist presents “a drag show about the climate, politics, and the power of nature [and delivering] performances with humor, power, upcycled outfits, and more.” Featuring co-hosts VERA!, Sequoia, and “an all-star cast of local drag kings and queens” (5/31)

THE ALDEN THEATRE

McLean Community Center
1234 Ingleside Ave.
McLean, Va.
703-790-0123
mcleancenter.org

• Foreign Language Film: Your Name — Makoto Shinkai’s 2016 anime caper from Japan and in Japanese with English subtitles centers on two teenage strangers who discover they can magically swap bodies, only to find out it’s not so easy for them to actually meet in person (4/1)
• Foreign Language Film: Schultze Gets the Blues — Technically, Schultze gets the blues-inspired offshoot zydeco as the newly unemployed accordion-playing protagonist in Michael Schorr’s 2003 German-language film (4/8-9)
• Zak Mirz, Magician — America’s Got Talent Season 20 semifinalist and winner of Penn and Teller: Fool Us weaves magic into stories of his experience as a first-generation Texan and father of two (4/24)
• Foreign Language Film: El Norte — Gregory Nava’s 1983 Oscar-nominated film incorporates magic realism and beautiful imagery to enhance the tale of two teenage siblings who flee to the U.S. after the Guatemalan army violently destroys their Mayan Indian community (5/7, 5/13)
• Pat Hazell’s “Permanent Record” — What sounds like a truly original autobiographical one-man show is this “confessional night filled with humor, heart, and humanity” from a former writer for Seinfeld and The Tonight Show (5/9)
• Performing Arts Movie: Ballet Russes — A documentary from 2005 about the iconic and influential ballet company led by impresario Sergei Diaghilev a century ago as told through archival footage of original productions and interviews with surviving dancers, plus narration by Marian Seldes (5/14)
• McLean Day 2026 — The two-day festival is an annual to-do since 1915 that regularly attracts more than 10,000 residents, offers live music, carnival rides, food trucks, a beer and wine garden, exhibitors, games, a magician, and a petting zoo (5/15-16, Lewinsville Park, 1659 Chain Bridge Rd.)
• Foreign Language Film: Wings of Desire — Full of heart and whimsy, and what one critic called “a rich, mystical near-masterpiece,” Wim Wenders’ 1987 ode to Berlin is both one of the highest-grossing foreign-language films ever released in the U.S. (6/4, 6/10)
• Napoleon Dynamite Live! — “A wild and hysterical blend of Q&A, comedy improv, game show, and party, with plenty of audience participation,” this live show is led by actors Jon Heder who played Napoleon, Jon Gries who was Uncle Rico, and Efren Ramirez who was Pedro, and kicks off with a screening of the 2004 cult-popular indie comedy (6/6)
• Performing Arts Movie: Orchestra of Exiles — A suspenseful chronicle of how one man, Polish violinist Bronisław Huberman, helped save nearly 1,000 Jewish musicians and their families by recruiting them for his new orchestra in the mid-to-late 1930s. Josh Aronson’s 2012 documentary includes commentary from Itzhak Perlman, Zubin Mehta, Joshua Bell, and other contemporary classical stars (6/11)

ARLINGTON DRAFTHOUSE

2903 Columbia Pike
571-765-5904
arlingtondrafthouse.com

• Desi Alexander — The Stress Signal Comedy Tour (3/29)
• Adam Ferrara (4/3-4)
• The Oldest Profession Show (4/9)
• Sarah Colonna — As-seen-on-TV funny lady from her regular appearances on Chelsea Handler’s old late-night show to recurring acting work more recently, including playing Angie on Netflix’s Insatiable and Lori on Showtime’s Shameless (4/10-11)
• Film: Spoons Toons & Booze: Says No To Drugs — A “special menu of classical anti-drug PSA episodes” will screen along with “your favorite Saturday morning cartoons,” complete with free cereal (4/11-12)
• Comedy Vision-Aires — A fundraiser for the advocacy group Blood Cancer United described as “an event where ophthalmology’s most respected leaders take a leap outside their comfort zone: performing live stand-up comedy” (4/12)
• Carlos Mencia — No Hate, No Fear Tour (4/16-18)
• Film: Preserved — A screening presented by Monkey Wrench Films followed by a special Q&A with filmmaker Ben Clark (4/17)
• Drafthouse Divas (4/19)
• Chris Turner (4/24-25)
• Tiffany Haddish — The Emmy, Grammy, and NAACP Image Award winner has come along way since her breakout turn in Girls Trip (4/30-5/2)
• Mitch Fatel (5/8-9)
• Emo Philips — Regarded as “the best joke writer in America” by Jay Leno, this comedian is as unforgettable, by virtue of his signature nervous-energy demeanor and savvy use of pithy wordplay (5/15-16)
• Dulce Sloan — Former regular on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show (5/21-23)
• Tommy Brennan — One of the new cast members of Saturday Night Live (5/28)
• Brandi Denise (5/29-30)
• Michael Palascak (6/4-6)
• LaVar Walker — Quite possibly the only person who has ever been identified as “an American stand-up comedian, writer, and pharmacist” (6/7)
• Tim Meadows — A Saturday Night Live alum (6/18-20)
• Nick Thune — Something of a stand-up standout given this actor/comedian/writer’s “deadpan delivery and absurdist storytelling” (6/26-27)
• Drafthouse Diva Pride Show (6/28)
• Film: Found Footage Fest — “Porcelain VHS Treasures” is the title of this all-new “live comedy with VHS tapes” show (7/9)
• Andrew Orolfo (7/10-11)
• Rich Vos (7/17-18)
• Taylor Williamson (7/24-25)
• Daphnique Springs (7/31-8/1)
• Kevin Herrera (8/7-8)
• Blair Socci (8/21-22)
• Erica Rhodes (8/28-29)
• D’Lai (9/4-6)
• Carmen Lynch (9/11-12)

ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

1333 H St. NE
202-399-7993
atlasarts.org

• GMCW Sing Out: A Piano Bar and Open Mic — The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington invites anyone and everyone in the community to join them for an anything-goes evening where anyone can take a stab at their favorite little ditty, be it a showtune, pop song, jazz standard, or “whatever you like to sing” (3/18)
• Hexagon: Lollapalosers! — “Washington’s only original political, satirical, musical comedy revue” (4/17-26)
• Atlas 20th Anniversary Benefit — This year’s annual gala celebrates a milestone one of D.C.’s cultural gems, and will feature performances by Marty Thomas, Omar Jose Cardona, and Caro Dubberly, while the Atlas’s resident music ensemble, the Capital City Symphony, will be honored with the inaugural Atlas Marquee Award. Bookending the evening’s seated entertainment program will be a cocktail party with drinks and passed hors d’oeuvres and a dance party (4/20)
• Wine & Crime Podcast: Unpinned and Unhinged — A night of true crime and fine wine with special guest Ashwin Muthia of Unpinned Wine (5/16)

BETHESDA URBAN PARTNERSHIP

Bethesda, Md.
301-215-6660
bethesda.org

• Bethesda Film Fest — This year’s 14th annual film festival offers up a program of five short documentary films selected by a panel of judges, which will screen twice the second weekend of April followed by a discussion with the regional filmmakers (4/10-11, Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema, 7235 Woodmont Ave.)
• Bethesda Art Walk — On select Friday evenings roughly every other month, residents are invited to meet local artists and visit six Bethesda art galleries including Amy Kaslow Gallery, Gallery B, and Studio B (4/17, 6/12, 9/4)
• Bethesda Fine Arts Festival — Artwork created by 120 of the nation’s best artists will be on display and available for sale at this annual weekend festival set up on three blocked-off streets in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle, with live entertainment and specials at participating restaurants (5/9-10, along Norfolk, Auburn, and Del Ray Avenues)
• Summer Concert Series — A variety of local musicians will perform from an outdoor stage in Woodmont Triangle every Friday evening starting at 6 p.m. from mid-May to mid-September. The lineup includes the Jill Fulton Band, Honest Lee Soul, Patrick Alban & His Buena Vista Social, The 19th Street Band, J During Jr., Bansy, and Soul Crackers (5/15-9/15, Corner of Norfolk and St. Elmo Avenues)

THE BIRCHMERE

3701 Mount Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, Va.
703-549-7500
birchmere.com

• John Waters: Going To Extremes — 80th Birthday Celebration! (4/23)
• WMAL Free Speech Forum — NewsTalk 105.9 FM presents this discussion featuring WMAL personalities Chris Plante, Larry O’Connor, Vince Coglianese, and Derek Hunter debating the news of the day and answers questions from members of the audience (5/17)
• Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood –- “Asking For Trouble” with the improv veterans known from the hit TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway? (6/5)
• The Second City — “The Best of The Second City” improv revue features classic sketches (7/18)
• Stewart Copeland — The drummer and second-best known member of The Police tours his spoken-word show titled “Have I Said Too Much? The Police, Hollywood, and Other Adventures: An Evening of Conversation with the Hall of Fame Rock Star” (7/19)
• Pat McGann — Rising stand-up comedian and a relative latecomer to the craft, having only started with stand-up at the age of 31 roughly a decade ago (7/31)

BLACK CAT

1811 14th St. NW
202-667-4490
blackcatdc.com

• Right Round — 80s Alt-Pop Dance Night with DJ Lil’e spinning in the venue’s main second-floor Concert Room (3/28)
• HUMP! Film Festival — Dubbed “the world’s best indie erotic film fest,” Dan Savage’s HUMP festival focuses on short, under-five-minute films that go beyond typical porn to feature “all bodies, genders, sexualities, kinks, and creative storytelling” (4/3-4)
• Depeche Mode Dance Party (4/18)
• Muslim Pride — A few years after launching in Canada, this multi-genre performance series hits the road in 2026 to engage with communities in D.C. as well as in New York and Los Angeles, and will showcase over 30 queer and trans Muslim artists performing a mix of music, drag, and dance (6/14)

CAPITAL ONE HALL

Main Theater
7750 Capital One Tower Rd.
Tysons, Va.
703-343-7651
capitalonehall.com

• Rt. 123 Comedy — This edition of Northern Virginia’s local comedy night is as queer as they come, with a headline set by Anthony Oakes, a queer Black D.C. comedian originally from North Carolina, and also featuring Kade Wonders, Jamie Mack, and Sandi Benton (3/28, The Vault)
• David Spade — Outback Presents the comic actor performing the stand-up act, “I Got A Feel For It” (3/29)
• Dog Man: The Musical (4/3-4)
• All Things Equal — The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the subtitle to this stage show from Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes in a production presented by The Broadberry directed by Laley Lippard and starring Michelle Azar (4/5)
• Don Lemon & DL Hughley — “DL + DL ‘Anything Goes'” (4/18)
• Zakir Khan (5/23)
• The Music Man — A “Broadway in Tysons” production of the celebrated musical (5/29-30)
• The Princess Bride — “An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes” includes a screening of the classic followed by a moderated discussion Q&A with the star revealing behind-the-scenes personal stories (6/7)

THE CLARICE

University of Maryland
College Park, Md.
301-405-ARTS
theclarice.umd.edu

• A Night with Betsy Rosen — The puppetry artist-in-residence at the UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies will share her experiences and career highlights, including playing the Royal Bengal Tiger on Broadway and the first national tour of Life of Pi (4/6, Cafritz Foundation Theatre)
• Fearless New Works Festival — A new four-day exploration of new dance and stage performances and works in process from UMD theater students, ranging from staged readings to choreography presentations to guest speakers (4/9)
• Fearless New Works Festival Keynote: Jonathan Spector — Two years after Eureka Day, his first play on Broadway, managed to pull off the unthinkable and win the Tony Award, Spector will deliver a speech to kickoff the Fearless festival followed by a reading of a brand-new play-in-process, Best Available (4/9, Dance Theatre)
• The 2026 Henson Awards Showcase — This year’s student recipients of the Jim Henson Fund for Puppetry will present and perform their funded projects, followed by a post-performance talkback with Artist-in-Residence Betsy Rosen. The award honors Henson, creator of The Muppets, who graduated from UMD in 1960 (4/13, Cafritz Foundation Theatre)
• Maryland Day 2026 — Annual campuswide open house features artistic and creative performances, experiences, and activities at The Clarice and across campus (4/25)
• The Clarice at 25: A Retrospective Exhibit — Explore the history of the University of Maryland’s performing arts center through archival photos, newspaper clippings, posters, and renderings of the building, all presented on only one day and part of Maryland Day 2026 activities (4/25, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library)
• Lightwire Theater: Dino-Light — Prehistoric creatures dance, explore, and engage in lightsaber duels in the larger-than-life neon puppetry of Lightwire Theater, with Dino-Light representing the first full-length work by company founders Ian Carney and Corbin Popp, and its Clarice Presents debut is a one-afternoon-only matinee (5/9, Dekelboum Concert Hall)

DC COMEDY LOFT

1523 22nd St. NW
202-293-1887
dccomedyloft.com

• The Sirens of Sin — Performing “Once Upon A Tease,” described as “an original and legally distinct fairy tale burlesque” (3/29)
• Homegrown Hilarity (3/29)
• Nate Meeker (4/1)
• Teachers Lounge Comedy Special — A program of “high-energy, smart, and observational comedy about teaching, parenting, and everyday life” (4/2, The Cellar)
• Don McMillan (4/2)
• Myq Kaplan (4/3-4, The Cellar)
• Jeff Dye (4/3-4)
• Na’im Ali (4/5, The Cellar)
• A-Train (4/5)
• Stef Dag — Brooklyn comedian/writer/actor and host of digital dating show “Hot and Single” (4/8)
• Last Minute Comedy Show — Hosted by Mike Brown (4/9, The Cellar)
• Brittany Brave (4/10-11, The Cellar)
• Ron Funches (4/10-12)
• Judge Poole — “All Rise Comedy Showcase” (4/12, The Cellar)
• Noah Gardenswartz (4/13)
• Alex Quow (4/15)
• Vinny Guadagnino — Billed as “one of the most recognized lifestyle personalities and digital influencers,” all stemming from his time on MTV’s Jersey Shore 17 years ago (4/16-18)
• Jamar Taylor — Baltimore-based comic and comedy show host (4/16, The Cellar)
• Akeem Woods — A semi-finalist on Stand Up NBC also familiar from Kevin Hart’s LOL Network and James Corden’s old show, among other appearances (4/17-18, The Cellar)
• Aaron Branch — Rising comedian and actor has gone from winning the title of “Best Comedian in Kansas City” before he was even 18 years old, to more recently featuring as a series regular on Netflix’s Unstable with Rob Lowe and also serving as a recurring panelist on YouTube’s The Kevin Langue Show (4/19)
• Chris Andrade (4/22)
• Aurie Styla — Award-winning U.K.-based comedian and actor (4/23)
• Caleb Elliott — Rising young North Carolina-reared comedian (4/23-25, The Cellar)
• Sugar Sammy — “A fearless comic” per the New York Times who is also billed as “one of the hottest comedians on the international circuit” (4/24-25)
• The Ex Factor — “Live & Unfiltered” and promising “love, laughter, and a little bit of mess” (4/26)
• Ilana Glazer — The queer actor, comedian, and creator from Comedy Central’s beloved Broad City comes to town for an intimate “special event” and her DC Comedy Loft debut (4/29)
• Chris Higgins — Offering what is billed as “a unique blend of stoner wisdom, masterful impressions, and outdoorsy sensibilities” (4/30-5/2, The Cellar)
• Danny Polishchuk — From “brutally honest takes [to] quick-fire punchlines,” this comedian is gaining increasing recognition for what is characterized as “the kind of humor that makes you laugh before you realize you shouldn’t” (4/30)
• Austin Nasso (5/1-2)
• Certified Fools — Dwain Watts and Barry S. Naylor (5/3, The Cellar)
• Matt O’Brien (5/6)
• Steve Hofstetter — Social media comedy star with over 225 million views on YouTube and half a billion more on Facebook (5/7)
• Dan Pulzello (6/5-6, The Cellar)
• Greta Titelman — “Ambassador Gibbons” from both seasons of HBO’s Los Espookys (5/8-9, The Cellar)
• Radel Ortiz (5/8-10)
• Yolks On You! Burlesque and Variety Brunch — Jim Dandy, a veteran Ringling Bros./Barnum and Bailey clown, teams up with burlesque performer Delilah Dentata for what they describe as “a brunch-time romp that celebrates the funniest, strangest, and most delightful variety performers” (5/10)
• Khairy Chreek — Performer from the east side of Baltimore City known for his “captivating storytelling style and vulnerability” (5/10, The Cellar)
• Fiona Cauley — Nashville-based performer taps into her quick wit and dark sense of humor “to give some insight into what life is like as a disabled female comic” (5/13)
• Matthew Broussard (5/14-16)
• Helen Hong – Known for lightning quick crowd work as can be seen on her Well Hong comedy special now streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ (5/15-16, The Cellar)
• Marvin Hunter (5//17)
• The Magic of Eric Eaton — “Magic for Adults” from this performer from TV’s Masters of Illusion (5/17)
• Bra & Order: Civil Libertease — A multi-act, multi-genre program of burlesque performers will pay “‘tribute’ to crime, justice, and lovers of both” (5/20)
• Byron Brooks (5/21, The Cellar)
• Jackie Fabulous (5/21-23)
• Zane Helberg — A social media comedy star affiliated with The Kevin Langue Show is known for his “brutally honest, wildly self-aware storytelling” (5/24)
• Natan Badalov (5/27)
• Leslie Liao (5/28-30)
• Chris Martin — A “charming but cheeky” British comedian and actor (5/29-30, The Cellar)
• Last Minute Comedy (5/29-30, The Cellar)
• Abby Govindan (6/3)
• Ian Lara (6/4-6)
• David C. Smalley (6/7)
• Amber Wallin (6/11)
• Maddie Wiener (6/11-13, The Cellar)
• Damon Williams (6/12-13)
• Dan LaMorte — New York-based “stand-up comedian and ultra-runner” (6/17)
• Drunk Black History — Comedian Brandon Collins hosts this event featuring comedians, writers, and scholars “skunked out of their mind trying to recap the biography of a historical Black figure or event that hasn’t gotten the mainstream love they deserved” (6/18)
• Benny Nwokeabia — Multicultural comic of Nigerian and Ethiopian heritage who was born in D.C. and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the Top 10 Comedians to Watch in D.C. per the Washington Post (6/19-20, The Cellar)
• Shapel Lacey (6/19-20)
• Jack Grady — A comedy magician with a cult following and growing fan base in part as a result of a chaotic, unpredictable style (6/21)
• Gigi Leflair (6/21)
• Matt Richards — New York actor and comedian who serves as host of A&E’s popular food travel series Best in Chow (6/24)
• Jourdain Fisher — A recurring viral sensation on social media as well as a guest on several TV shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (6/25-27)
• Tara Cannistraci (6/26-27)
• Dauood Naimyar (6/26-27, The Cellar)
• Tim Shropshire (6/28)
• Gus Constantellis — Gay, first-generation Greek-American raised in Brooklyn now on “The Book Tour” to promote his new cookbook, My Greek Mom’s Recipes: She Died, I Wrote This Cookbook (7/2-3)
• Alaire Thomas (7/8)
• Kiran Deol — Emmy-nominated filmmaker whose debut documentary Woman Rebel premiered on HBO, while her debut comedy special, Joysuck, is now streaming on Amazon Prime (7/9-11, The Cellar)
• Damon Wayans Jr. (7/9-11)
• Harland Williams — Known the world over for his funny film roles and outlandish stand-up and sketch comedy routines, from Dumb and Dumber, Something About Mary, Half Baked (7/16-18)
• Maddy Kelly (7/17-18, The Cellar)
• Jackie Kashian (7/23-25)
• Tacarra Williams
• Max Meisel (7/31-8/1, The Cellar)
• La’Trez Anderson (8/2)
• Shayne Smith (8/7-8)
• K-Striggss (8/7-8, The Cellar)
• Spencer Franco (8/8, The Cellar)
• Emma Willmann (8/13-15)
• Steven Ho — Not Your Comedy Hero Tour from the former ER technician who shares true hospital stories (8/13-15)
• King Bach (8/20-22)
• Pauly Shore — It’s been over 35 years since MTV debuted “Totally Pauly,” a variety show from the channel’s heyday that served as a launching pad for the then-MTV VJ to branch out and become a movie star for a time (8/20)
• Gabriel Rutledge (9/3-5)
• Darius Bennett (9/4-5, The Cellar)

DC HISTORY CENTER

801 K St. NW
202-516-1363
dchistory.org

• Class Action: Education and Opportunity in the Nation’s Capital — The DC History Center opened this interactive and inspiring exhibition last year with stories of the many dedicated teachers, school leaders, parents, students, and community advocates who have fought to protect and strengthen D.C.’s tradition of Black educational excellence, enhanced with class photos and yearbooks along with playful vintage furniture, old-fashioned chalkboards, a library nook, even costumes. The exhibition also delineates other fascinating aspects of the city’s educational history that may not be well known yet continue to have a lasting impact today (Ongoing)
• DC Hall of History — A 40-foot panoramic timeline of the city’s history, showing major moments in our collective past that yield surprising facts and make important connections (Ongoing)
• Carnegie Gallery — The historic Beaux-Arts gem that reopened after a major restoration in 2019 to house the DC History Center as well as an Apple Store (Ongoing)

DC IMPROV

Main Room
1140 Connecticut Ave. NW
202-296-7008
dcimprov.com

• Comedy Brunch with Paris Sashay (3/29)
• Two Faces Comedy Series: Perfect Liars Club — The April edition of this “storytelling with a twist” live comedy show (4/1)
• Couples Therapy: A Comedy Show (4/2)
• Spring Fever Showcase — “Celebrate Spring with 5 great comics” (4/3-4)
• Led Varela — An evening of stand-up en español (4/8)
• Lady Bunny — “Bunny Butchers Broadway” (4/9)
• Erin Jackson (4/10-11)
• Stand-Up Showcase (4/10-12, Lounge)
• Josh Gondelman (4/12)
• Love Isn’t Blind — Live Dating Game Show ((4/16)
• Mo Amer (4/17-18)
• Kasaun Wilson (4/17-19, Lounge)
• Tony Woods & Friends (4/19)
• Mean But True Live! (4/21)
• DC Science Comedy: What on Earth? — An Earth Day Comedy Showcase (4/22)
• Kountry Wayne (4/23-26)
• Read the Room — A crowd-work show presented by Tim Miller (4/23, Lounge)
• Stand-Up Showcase (4/24-26, Lounge)
• Rachel Feinstein (4/29)
• The Answer Is Murder 2 — A murder mystery offering from Die Laughing Productions (4/30, Lounge)
• Improv Comedy Jam — “Can I Get a Yes And” (4/30, Lounge)
• Preacher Lawson (5/1-2)
• Elena Torres — Stand-up en español (5/1, Lounge)
• Aaron Weber (5/3)
• Comedy Bootcamp Grad Show — An Armed Services Arts Partnership program (5/5)
• DC Improv Comedy School Showcase — Chris Coccia hosts (5/6)
• Don “DC” Curry (5/8-10)
• Peter Revello (5/8-10, Lounge)
• Jaboukie Young-White (5/13-14)
• Alfred Robles — Vatos with Gatos Tour (5/15-17)
• Pun DMV — Spring’s pun contest (5/20, Lounge)
• Michael Blackson (5/21-24)
• Julian McCullough (5/26)
• Very Delta Live! — Delta Work Podcast with Jasmine Kennedie (5/27)
• The Washington Roast — Top local comedians portray real-life political figures in this hit comedy show known for “savage, no-holds-barred roast battles” and performed in an interactive format so “the audience becomes part of the chaos” (5/28)
• Mike Vecchione (5/29-30)
• Annie Lederman (6/5-6)
• Jimbo the Drag Clown — A Joan Rivers female impersonator performs “Joan! Can We Laugh?!? Tour (A Parody)” (6/7)
• Jay Jurden (6/12-14)
• Alec Flynn (6/12-14, Lounge)
• Drag & Comedy Brunch — Hosted by Vagenesis (6/14)
• Jordan Rock (6/19-21)
• Steve Byrne (7/2-3)
• Marcus D. Wiley (7/9-12)
• Chris D’Elia (7/17-19)
• Lewis Belt — Known for “Sonniebo Sketches” and YouTube specials (7/17-19, Lounge)
• Sheryl Underwood — The I Need A Job Tour (7/24-26)
• Peter Antoniou: Pretty Psychic – “As Seen On America’s Got Talent” (8/5)
• Tommy Davidson (8/6-9)
• Michael Turner (8/6-8, Lounge)
• Greg Warren — The Impulse Buy Tour (8/21-23)
• Tony Roberts (8/28-30)
• Jay Pharoah (9/10-13)

DC9

1940 9th St. NW
202-483-500
dc9.club

• Peach Pit — DJ Matt Bailer’s ’90s Dance Party continues well into its second decade as a popular monthly dance-a-thon and meeting ground especially for Millennials, be they gay, straight, or in-between (3/28)
• Survivor Watch Party — Watch episodes from Season 50 of the reality show live on Wednesdays surrounded by fellow fans and neighbors (4/1)
• Love Language — Femme Fatale, a party series celebrating the lives of Black queer and trans people, presents “A Queer Slow Dance Party,” a free evening of “strictly R&B slow jams, old and new” (4/2)
• Slings & Arrows — DJs Vampyre Noire and Vlad will spin “trad goth, post-punk, dark wave, synth-pop, ebm” and more, plus a live drag performance by Jane Saw (4/4)
• Hot Spur — “D.C.’s newest queer line dancing night” will kick off the first Tuesday in April with line dance lessons at 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (4/7)
• Nerd Nite — Billed as “D.C.’s favorite irreverent lecture series since 2009” returns for another round of three speakers with “dozens of cheeky slides” and all for a crowd of “rowdy nerds who love special interest deep dives” (4/24)

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

201 E. Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
folger.edu

• Adjoa Andoh: What’s The Story and Who’s Telling It? — Carrying the main title “Tell Out My Soul,” this lecture from the inaugural director-in-resident at the Folger offers personal reflections on Andoh’s career as a theatermaker, director, and actor, the latter including playing Lady Danbury in Netflix’s Bridgerton (4/19)
• Shakespeare’s Globe: Richard II — A free screening of the UK’s first all-women-of-color production of Richard II from 2019, which was conceived, co-directed, and starred Adjoa Andoh (4/21)
• Federal Theatre Project’s Macbeth — Adjoa Andoh will conclude her week in residence at the Folger by directing and starring in a staged reading with a full company of actors (4/25)
• 2026 Folger Gala — Adjoa Andoh will be the special guest at this year’s annual benefit for the Folger and its programming (4/24)
• On View: Mandy Cano Villalobos — Artist’s small solo exhibition intends to draw attention to the lasting legacies of injustice and environmental damage resulting from early modern colonization and empire building (Now-4/5, Rose Exhibition Hall)
• Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era — Consider both the stories Shakespeare created and the stories that were created about him through this display of 14 paintings from the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London, displayed together for the first time since 1805 (Now-8/2, Rose Exhibition Hall)
• Shakespeare Exhibition Hall — The Folger institution’s permanent and temporary exhibitions are located below the Grand Hall, spread out across a large subterranean area that opened in 2024 after years of extensive and intricate excavation work, allowing the Folger to display treasures from its vast collection (Permanent)
• Out of the Vault — An ever-changing exhibition focused on key items from the Folger collection, rotated in and out to limit light exposure, all intended to provide an intriguing window on the institution’s “remarkable collection, multifaceted work, and passionate community” (Ongoing, Rose Exhibition Hall)

GLEN ECHO PARK

7300 MacArthur Blvd.
Glen Echo, Md.
301-634-2222
glenechopark.org

• Epiphany — Photographs by students from the local Holton-Arms, Poolesville High, and Walter Johnson High schools will be on display in this annual showcase (Now-4/19, Photoworks Gallery)
• Expressions in Glass — A display of kiln-formed glass pieces created by studio artists of the park’s Art Glass Center (Now-4/12, Art Glass Center Gallery)
• 2026 Yellow Barn Studio Instructors Exhibition — Showcasing the unique and diverse works of instructors from Glen Echo Park’s primary painting and drawing residency, a haven for both budding artists and experienced painters that is also one of the largest painting studios in the region (3/28-4/26, Popcorn Gallery)
• Nicole Maloof Twomey: 180-300 — A display of exuberant and dynamic candy-inspired paintings and sculptures, made with hard candy and medical supplies as well as plaster, paint, and resin, alluding to this D.C.- and New England-based artist’s experience living with an autoimmune disease, specifically Type 1 Diabetes, with the exhibition’s title taken from the average range of additional health-related decisions people with Type 1 make every day (3/28-4/26, Stone Tower Gallery)
• Bryan Jernigan: Sound of Line — In Glen Echo Park’s gallery focused on emerging visual artists, the latest solo presentation features conceptual mixed-media works and paintings created by this local artist, with lines going every which way or fading into the background to represent the urbanness of the nation’s capital and the vast numbers of people who come and go and leave their marks (3/28-426, Park View Gallery)
• Glen Echo Park Civil Rights and History Tour — Learn about the park’s history, with a particular focus on the civil rights protests that ultimately led to desegregating the park in 1960, on this free, 45-minute walking tour, led by a National Park Service ranger, starting from the century-old Dentzel carousel at 10 a.m. the first Saturday of most months (4/4, 5/2, 6/6, 8/1, 9/5, 10/3)
• Glen Echo Pottery Gallery — Located inside a wooden yurt across from the Dentzel carousel is this seasonal gallery — open Saturdays and Sundays, April through December — featuring and selling unique, handcrafted ceramic art made by instructors and advanced students of its year-round pottery school (Opens 4/18)
• Awakening — This year’s juried exhibition of photography is organized around the theme of celebrating Spring and renewal (4/25-5/31, Photoworks Gallery)
• Art Walk in the Park — The first Friday of every month, May through August (except July), brings open studios and artist demos along with specific activities per month (5/1, 6/5, 8/7)
• National Parks Along the Potomac — On second Saturdays through September the National Park Service offers a free two-hour, four-mile guided hike with stops along the C&O Canal, the Washington Aqueduct’s Union Arch Bridge, and the historic house of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, all while starting with a traipse through the park, once Washington’s premiere amusement park (5/9, 6/13, 7/11, 8/8, 9/12, 10/10)
• An Evening With Strauss: Waltz Ball — “Formal or dressy attire is suggested but not required” at this annual spring fundraiser for the park presented by the group dance outfit Waltz Time, starting with Viennese waltz dancing lessons before three hours of waltzing to five-piece band Olde Vienna including a “spectacular Grand March” plus light refrehsments (5/3, Spanish Ballroom)
• Gala in the Park: Glen Echo Park in Bloom — Another annual spring fundraiser celebrates the park’s unique history and grounds with a reception and silent auction in the Bumper Car Pavilion followed by dinner and an awards ceremony in the Spanish Ballroom, with added attractions of live music, swing dancing, and rides on the historic Dentzel carousel (5/16)
• Friday Evening Summer Concerts — Now entering its 17th year, the park’s 2026 series of free concerts featuring local and regional artists will be announced soon (6/12-8/21, Bumper Car Pavilion)
• Lauri Hafvenstein: Magic Staircase — Two years ago, local artist created this kaleidoscopic public art installation “hidden” in the park, specifically by adding colored film to over 1,250 of the glass blocks in the floor-to-ceiling glass wall surrounding the simple staircase inside the main building housing art galleries and administrative offices. The “magic” happens when the stairwell is illuminated by the late-afternoon sun, blanketing it in an ever-shifting rainbow of luminous colors (Ongoing, Art Deco Arcade Building)

GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS

4373 Mason Pond Dr.
Fairfax, Va.
703-993-2787
cfa.gmu.edu

• The Magic of Rob Lake: Live from Broadway — Praised by NBC as “the world’s greatest illusionist,” this America’s Got Talent quarter finalist in 2018 has also served in recent years as magic and creative consultant for shows ranging from Adele’s Las Vegas concert residency to Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway (4/19)

HILLWOOD MUSEUM & GARDENS

4155 Linnean Ave. NW
202-686-5807
HillwoodMuseum.org

• Brittany Cox: An Antiquarian Horologist on Mechanism, Risk & Wonder — The third and final lecture in the series related to the On Time: Giving Form to the Fleeting exhibition tracing the origins of Cox’s craft as an antiques and clocks expert across time and objects, tools and stories (3/31)
• Guided Bird Walks — Learn about the vibrant bird life at Hillwood from a birding expert with the DC Bird Alliance (4/4, 4/19, 5/2, 5/17, 6/6, 6/19)
• Gardener’s Focus Tour: The Spring Garden — See magnificent displays of tens of thousands of cheerful bulbs and gain insight into the design process for this year’s unique spring display, plus hear first-hand stories offering practical gardening lessons (4/7, 4/9, 4/14, 4/16)
• Guided Forest Bathing Walks — Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, meaning to absorb the forest atmosphere, this stroll for health and wellness through the gardens at Hillwood is led by a Certified Forest Therapy Guide for five to 15 participants each (4/11, 4/17-18, 4/24, 5/8-9, 5/15, 5/23, 6/5, 6/13, 6/26-27)
• Onsite Floral Design: Ethereal Spring — A hands-on workshop for guests to create their own arrangement of tulips, daffodils, blooming branches, and other flowers of the season (4/11); Romantic Roses –A hands-on workshop featuring the fragrant flower with delicate petals in all their magnificent forms, from garden roses to tea roses (5/16)
• Trivia Night: The Art of Time — Event promises “a fun and enlightening evening of trivia at Hillwood” (4/16)
• Museum Shop Pop-Ups: Nina J. Design Studios — An exclusive pop-up featuring one-of-a-kind ceramics and limited-edition table linens (4/17-18); ABW Designs (5/9)
• Earth Day Celebration — Learn about environmental stewardship initiatives at Hillwood from the estate’s Environmental Action Team (4/17)
• Writing Workshop: Write Your Dreams to Life — Wellness-focused writing workshops (4/18, 5/9, 6/13)
• Cocktails & Containers: Herbs — Start with a tasting of specialty spring cocktails, then plant a furnished, take-home container with a variety of herbs and vegetables that pair well with cocktails, and finally learn tips for harvesting and caring for the plants at home from Hillwood gardener supervisor Michael Rollinson (4/25); Succulents — Plants that will brighten your home (5/2)
• Gardener’s Focus Tour: Woodland Path — A stroll through the property’s rustic and winding woodsy path, constructed in 2016, by Hillwood’s Hugo Frost (4/29-30, 5/6-7)
• Jazz on the Lunar Lawn: Amy K. Bormet — “Time Travel” is the title of an evening outdoor concert from local musician and her jazz ensemble inspired by the Hillwood special exhibition On Time: Giving Form to the Fleeting and performing time-inspired works ranging from Cyndi Lauper to Hindustani rhythms to new jazz tunes (4/29)
• Gardener’s Focus Tour: Rose Garden — A guided stroll through the rose garden (5/12, 5/14, 5/19, 5/21)
• Dinnertime Classics — On select evenings every spring, Hillwood stays open a few hours later than usual and grants exclusive access for registered guests to wander around the mansion, gardens, and greenhouse, take in the special exhibition, and enjoy a seated dinner at the Merriweather Café, all culminating in the visitor center’s theater for a designated film screening, including Sunset Boulevard (5/13), Keeper of Time (5/20) and Secret Mall Apartment (5/27)
• 2026 Gala: A Rich Tapestry — Annual gala doubles as the opening of the new special exhibition Interwoven: A Tradition of Textiles (6/2)
• Gardener’s Focus Tour: Bounty of the Cutting Garden — Explore Hillwood’s extensive cutting garden and learn about sustainable gardening practices (6/9, 6/12, 6/16, 6/19)
• Divas Outdoors: Legally Blonde (6/11)
• Gardener’s Focus Tour: Japanese-Style Garden (7/8, 7/10, 7/15, 7/17)
• Tanabata: The Japanese Star Festival (7/9)
• Onsite Floral Design: Japanese-Inspired Arrangement (7/11)
• Gardener’s Focus Tour: Summer Designs (7/14, 7/17, 7/21, 7/24)

THE HOWARD THEATRE

620 T St. NW
202-803-2899
thehowardtheatre.com

• Bingo Loco — Billed as “the world’s only bingo party,” this touring show features comedians as hosts, DJs playing top hits of the past few decades, dance-offs and lip-sync battles, and, oh yeah, rounds of bingo with random prizes for winning players, from vacation packages, to small appliances, to “giant teddy bears” (3/28, 5/23)
• Jacqueline Novak — A regular guest on Seth Meyers’ and Jimmy Fallon’s late-night talk shows, this touring comedian is also gaining recognition for her critically acclaimed solo show “Get On Your Knees,” now streaming on Netflix (4/2)
• Emma Grede — A fashion entrepreneur, having launched a number of clothing brands over the past decade, the U.K.-born Grede is touring to promote her new self-help book, Start With Yourself: A New Vision for Work & Life (4/23)
• Heated Rivalry Rave — Described as “an unforgettable night celebrating romance, hockey, rivalry, and all that delicious tension,” featuring “the Internet’s biggest H.R. edits, queer anthems, and pop classics all night long” (4/24)
• Best of The Apollo — Showcasing dynamic artists from New York’s famed “Amateur Night at the Apollo” (4/26)
• Alex Elle — Bestselling author tours with special guests to promote her new book, The Company We Keep: Friendship, Connection, and Redefining What It Means to Grow Together (5/3)
• Sistas Who Kill: Back From The Dead — Best friends MaRah and Taz tell true crime stories about Black murderesses while also discussing how the justice system fails Black women and female criminals in this “true crime meets social justice” evening (5/9)
• Dayshift — “The 30+ Daytime Party!” with doors at 5 p.m. is designed for over 30-year-olds “who still love to dance, but would rather be in bed by 10” (5/16)
• Naomi Watanabe — Comedian out on her From Tokyo Tour (5/27)
• Dayshift x Tipsy Rodeo — Another day party starting at 5 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m. this time a “Country Music Day Party” for country-loving, non-nightowl-type millennials and older wanting to get down and two-step to “big country anthems, sing-along classics, and line dancing” (5/30)
• Zainab Johnson — Comedian and actress who was a semi-finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2014 and winner of HBO’s American Black Film Festival Comedy Competition in 2013 performs stand-up comedy from her unique point-of-view as someone who grew up in Harlem as one of 13 siblings in a black Muslim family (6/6)

JAMMIN JAVA

227 Maple Ave. E.
Vienna, Va.
unionstagepresents.com/jammin-java

• Screaming Infidelities — Emo Night is “designed to bring the mid-2000s Warped Tour scene back to life” as a DJ will play songs from Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, among others (4/4)
• Six: The Musical (Teen Edition) — Lopez Studios presents a slightly modified version of the hit Broadway musical about the six wives of Henry VIII and featuring a cast of performers who “aren’t just students, they’re the future of Broadway” (4/26)
• Icons — Electronic New Wave Dance Party led by DJ D of Belt It Out Productions is dedicated to “the most memorable dance party sounds” from four legendary acts, all ’80s-minted hitmakers: Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, and Duran Duran (5/22)
• Todd Barry — Veteran comedian on the Extend All Courtesies Tour (6/4)
• Disco Inferno — Celebrate the “groovy, funky, boogie” dance music of the 1970s with DJ D, and also the fashion, as there will be prizes for the best themed outfits (7/24)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Thomas Jefferson Building
10 First St. SE
202-707-8000
loc.gov/exhibits

• Film: A League of Their Own (4/2, Packard Campus Theater, Culpeper, Va.)
• Film: Jesus Christ Superstar (4/3, Packard)
• Swann Lecture: Mobility, Familiarity and U.S. Military Media in Korea — Swann Fellow Hyun Kong presents a lecture titled “From Allegory to Archive,” based on her PhD dissertation highlighting primary research into the use of cartoon art in the U.S. military (4/8, Dining Room A, James Madison Building)
• Film: Live! at the Library: Latin Music USA — An hour-long TV documentary from 2009 highlighting American music created by Latinos and celebrating the Latin rhythms at the heart of jazz, rock, country, and R&B (4/9, Pickford Theater, James Madison Building)
• Lecture: Brian Alexander: Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice — As part of the “Made at the Library” series, this author and professor of politics discusses his groundbreaking research that informed a 2025 manuscript of the same name (4/10, Thomas Jefferson Building)
• Film: Rebel Without a Cause (4/10, Packard)
• Film: Return to Oz — In 1985, director Walter Murch offered a darker return to L. Frank Baum’s fantasy world, combining practical effects and surreal design for an imaginative family adventure starring Fairuza Balk and Nicol Williamson (4/17, Packard)
• Film: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — Winner of five Academy Awards, Mike Nichols’s searing adaptation from 1966 of Edward Albee’s play features ferocious performances by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton transforming marital conflict into riveting cinema (4/23, Packard)
• Live! at the Library: A Conversation With Poet Laureates Arthur Sze and Simon Armitage — Representing the U.S. and the U.K. respectively, these two leaders will share the stage for the first time to discuss general matters of poetry as well as their respective new books, all as a closing toast to National Poetry Month (4/30, Coolidge Auditorium, Jefferson Building)
• Special Event | Our Common Ground: 250 Years of Americans Engaging with Nature — The Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division presents an all-afternoon symposium of dynamic talks, rare book displays, a performance, and a reception inspired by the nation’s breathtaking landscapes and unique wildlife (5/14)
• Exhibit: The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution — Exploring the lives of George Washington and King George III, from their early years to the revolution that brought them into conflict to their overlapping years as president and king, as told through papers from the Library of Congress and the Royal Archives brought together for the first time (Now-3/21/26, Southwest Exhibition Gallery)

LINCOLN THEATRE

1215 U St. NW
202-888-0050
thelincolndc.com

• Rob Anderson — “Are You Afraid of The ’90s?” is a comedy show that delves into what we learned from the mass media and pop culture of the 90s about teenage pregnancy, drug addiction, and intergenerational relations, all shared “through comedic breakdowns, original songs, and diabolical presentations” (3/28)
• The Dollop Podcast Live — Fans of both comedy and history are drawn to this top-charting podcast in which Dave Anthony reads an unknown and often wild story from American history to fellow comedian Gareth Reynolds summoning his impressive improv skills in reaction (3/30)
• Tim Heidecker & Gregg Turkington’s On Cinema – What started 15 years ago as an exaggerated Siskel and Ebert-style review show, described as “a sprawling comedic soap opera masquerading as a disastrous movie review show,” has since established itself as “a grand satire of America itself,” and one that has expanded to include multiple spin-off series, including Adult Swim’s “Decker” and the 2019 feature-length film Mister America, and it even factored into the plot of all three Marvel Ant-Man movies as a result of being a favorite of Marvel’s Kevin Feige (4/1)
• The Naked Magicians — The most successful Australian magic act in history features a male duo performing magic and comedy “while wearing nothing but a top hat and a smile” (4/13)
• Rhys Darby — “The Legend Returns” aka this stand-up comic from New Zealand for a show “strongly recommended for ages 14+” (4/16)
• Nimesh Patel — A live taping of the forthcoming comedy special “With All Due Disrespect” from this favorite at comedy clubs and on late-night TV who’s also served as a writer or producer on shows including Saturday Night Live and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (4/18-19)
• Lovett or Leave It — Pod Save America co-host Jon Lovett is back for a new season of his own hit podcast that “breaks down the biggest and dumbest stories in politics,” with a planned episode to be recorded “Live in DC” from the Lincoln with special guests tba (4/23)
• Pub Choir — After going viral with an audition for America’s Got Talent, the self-described “whacky” singer Astrid from Down Under will lead the audience in “Eyes Up!,” billed as “the world’s easiest, funniest, and most chaotic music lesson” (5/13)

LITTLE DISTRICT BOOKS

631 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
202-629-2975
littledistrictbooks.com

• Rob Osler — The Case of the Murdered Muckraker is the latest mystery with an LGBTQ main character written by Osler, focusing on a woman investigator whose next assignment of a high-stakes murder case forces her to subdue her queerness and somehow blend in as an “unremarkable” skirt-wearing young woman. Fellow queer mystery writer Cheryl A. Head will lead a conversation with Osler (3/31)
• Samuel Clowes Huneke — Award-winning D.C.-based historian and George Mason University faculty member is out with the new book I Will Not Abandon You: Queer Women of Nazi Germany, drawing on a decade of archival research to show how love, queer resistance, and collective action survived under Nazi rule and touted as “a vital new history of queer life under facism and a call to rethink the foundations of progressive politics today” (5/5)

LOYALTY BOOKS

4203 9th St. NW
1155 Dahlia St. NW
202-726-0380
loyaltybookstores.com

• Drag Story Hour: Charlemagne Chateau — The queer- and Black-owned Loyalty mini-chain has presented Drag Story Hour readings practically from the start, persuasively arguing that such a reading “captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models.” Currently, the main Petworth location presents two monthly readings, with Ms. Chateau reading books to kids the second Sunday of each month (4/12)
• Tiffany D Carter — A week later, on the third Sunday of the month, Ms. Carter is in the reading spotlight (4/19);
• Stephanie Stalvey — North Carolina-based artist and writer best known for her autobiographical comics tours in support of her debut novel, Everything In Color, offering “an emotional journey of faith, romance, motherhood, and loss,” and told through what is billed as “striking prose and beautiful mixed-media illustrations; NPR’s Sarah McCammon will lead the discussion (4/29)

MGM NATIONAL HARBOR

101 MGM National Avenue
Oxon Hill, Md.
844-346-4664
mgmnationalharbor.com

• Chris Tucker (4/4)
• Russell Peters — Relax World Tour (5/22-23)
• Theresa Caputo — “Live: The Experience” (6/5)
• DeRay Davis (7/3)
• Earthquake (9/5)

NATIONALS PARK

1500 S. Capitol St. SE
202-675-6287
mlb.com/nationals/tickets/events

• DC Beer Fest — Brew adventurers can tap into unlimited samples of seasonal offerings from over 80 craft breweries at this buzzy biannual afternoon affair at the ballpark, also featuring live music, a dueling piano bar, and snack and meal options for sale via local food trucks (4/11)
• Uncorked — Oenophiles get their turn at bat two weeks later at this event offering unlimited samples from over 50 wineries as well as live music and dancing, and also various fare available for purchase from food trucks for those seeking to be wined and dined (4/25)
• ADOBO Day Party — “The 2nd Annual summer kickoff featuring the biggest multicultural party in the DMV,” hosted by Waltero and featuring DJ Pedro Night (5/9, Plaza Stage; www.adobodmv.com)

PHILLIPS COLLECTION

1600 21st St. NW
202-387-2151
phillipscollection.org

• Miró and the United States — Featuring 75 works by more than 30 artists, this special exhibition, co-organized with Barcelona’s Fundació Joan Miró, reframes the Catalan artist’s legacy by revealing how his dream-like pictures evolved through artistic dialogue and experimentation with his counterparts in the burgeoning American art scene in the latter half of the 20th century, including Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Lee Krasner, Norman Lewis, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, and Adolph Gottlieb (Now-7/5)
• Phillips After 5: Miró by Night — This evening of “Miró-inspired cosmic fun” comes as the April edition of the First Fridays series “Phillips After 5” and will offer Phillips educators discussing surrealist art, Eyefish Ink giving a surreal art performance, Skye Marinda leading 10-minute tarot readings, Cosmic Connections giving an “Astrology 101” talk, SoulShine Aura demonstrating the art of aura photography by capturing the “biomagnetic energy field” of guests by request, plus beats by DJ RBI aka Ron Brown (4/2)
• Art & Wellness Club: Sound Bath — A free, 30-minute online meditation led by mindfulness teacher and singer Ofosu Jones-Quartey inspired by Arthur B. Davies’ painting Many Waters and beginning with a Spotlight Talk led by a Phillips Educator about the painting in the collection (4/8)
• Film Screening: Around and About Miró — A rare and free screening of Thomas Bouchard’s 1955 film from the Harvard Film Archive offering an intimate look at Joan Miró, presented as the Third Thursday April offering in conjunction with the special Miró exhibition (4/16)
• Tiffany Barber — “The Black Atlantic Surrealist Movement” lecture from an Assistant Professor of African American Art at UCLA comes as part of the Phillips’ Living Room series in conjunction with the special Miró exhibition (4/24)
• Paul Jaskunas — A longtime faculty member at Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art focused on literature and creative writing offers “Miró and Poetry,” a lecture in the Living Room series revealing how poetry helped shape Miró’s paintings and exploring the dynamic relationship between poetry and painting (5/29)
• peter campus: there somewhere — From an iconic early video from the late 1970s to the debut of four breakthrough landscape video works, inspired by the serene coastline near the artist’s home in Long Island that the artist refers to as the phillips quartets, this special exhibition positions campus as a seminal figure in the history of new media art and a key creative force in elevating video to a contemporary art form (Now-5/3)
• Be Curious: Art Links to Learning — This Community Exhibition celebrates the 20th anniversary of Art Links and traces the evolution of the Phillips’s young artists exhibitions and the role its played in education through the display of artworks created over several years by students from across the region in response to works from the Phillips collection, all of it selected by seniors of Northwestern High School (Now-7/26)
• Juried Invitational — A special exhibition highlighting the work of artists living and working in the D.C. region, selected by esteemed jurists from submissions of recent works across all visual arts media, from drawing to printmaking, painting to sculpture, photography to video to mixed-media (8/1-9/20)

POLITICS AND PROSE

5015 Connecticut Ave. NW
202-364-1919
politics-prose.com

• David Pogue — Apple: The First 50 Years is a deeply researched and lavishly illustrated book that shares the iconic company’s entire life history written by the seven-time Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning (3/30)
• Daniela Gerson and Amanda Katz — A discussion with two prominent lesbian journalists led by D.C.-based writer and editor Katz but focused on Gerson’s The Wanderers: A Story of Exile, Survival, and Unexpected Love in the Shadow of World War II (3/31)
• Trisha Pasricha — You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong: How To Make Your Bowel Movements A Joy (4/10, PnP at The Wharf, 610 Water St. NW)
• Masud Husain — Our Brains, Our Selves: What A Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him about the Brain shares seven fascinating cases of brain disorders from across this acclaimed Oxford University neurologist’s career and what they can teach us about our own brains (4/23, PnP at Union Market, 1324 4th St. NE)
• Gal Beckerman — How to Be A Dissident (4/24)
• Charlotte Ickes & Josh T Franco — Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Always to Return (4/26)
• David Streitfeld — Western Star: The Life and Legends of Larry McMurtry is the definitive biography of one of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century, whose works include Brokeback Mountain, Lonesome Dove, and Terms of Endearment, written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was also a longtime friend and the only person he trusted to do his story justice (4/28)
• Garrett Peck — Bright Edges of the World: Willa Cather and Her Archbishop from the noted author and historian offers a well-researched portrait of the legendary early 20th-century writer (4/29)

SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE

600 I St. NW
202-408-3100
sixthandi.org

• Jim Collins — What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire, and the Self-Knowledge Imperative (4/7)
• Mary Claire Haver — The New Perimenopause: An Evidence-Based Guide to Surviving the Zone of Chaos and Feeling Like Yourself Again (4/9)
• Pacifica Quartet with narrator Nina Totenberg — Revolutionary Portraits: Our Better Angels is described as “a moving evening of music and storytelling that celebrates the enduring spirit of American resilience and transformation” (4/12)
• Kate Bowler — Joyful, Anyway from the Duke University professor, author, and podcast host explains how she struggled with feelings of resentment, longing, and guilt after miraculously surviving a stage-four cancer diagnosis (4/15)
• Jodi Kantor w/Anthony Fauci and Derek Thompson — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist’s How to Discover Your Life’s Work (Even When the World Is Upside Down) will serve as a springboard for a conversation about some of the big questions about life and work with Dr. Fauci and Thomspon (4/28)
• Roland Betancourt — Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happiest Place on Earth shows how Disney’s visionary engineers and designers transformed the technologies of the postwar assembly line and of the military into an entertainment experience (5/2, PnP at Union Market)
• Jen Hamilton — Birth Vibes: Stories and Strategies for an Empowered Birth is an expectations-setting guide to what happens in the delivery room written by a nurse and ER veteran and for anyone preparing to give birth or supporting someone who will (5/6)

SOLID STATE BOOKS

600 H St. NE
202-897-4201
solidstatebooksdc.com

• Elliot Williams — Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York’s Explosive ’80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation from the CNN legal analyst revisits a chapter in history from over 40 years ago with as much resonance today as ever (3/31)
• Abigail Savitch-Lew — Livonia Chow Mein is a gripping story of family history and political upheaval centered around a Chinese family-owned restaurant in Brooklyn and its impact on the neighborhood’s Jewish and Black residents over a century (4/22)
• Rachel Seidman — Our Story: A Guide to Recording and Sharing Your Family History (5/5)
• Anna Badkhen — To See Beyond is “a globe-spanning essay collection on the human condition” from a prolific author and artist in residence at the University of Pennsylvania (5/15)

STORY DISTRICT

Penn Social
801 E St. NW
202-630-9828
storydistrict.org

• Behind The Headlines — D.C.’s main outfit for personal storytelling, or “true stories told live on stage,” that ultimately help all attendees “[feel] more connected to the people and stories of our city,” will reveal stories behind the stories at its April show when a handful of D.C.’s Black journalists, including Micha Green of The Washington Informer and freelance photojournalist Shedrick Pelt, share their experiences of “chasing truth, shaping narratives, and breaking barriers” while covering the news and newsmakers of the region, the good, the bad, and the “no comment” ugly (4/16)
• Freaks & Geeks with Mortified DC — Real teenage diaries as well as “love letters, bad poetry, and middle-school obsessions,” all shared by the adults those awkward and confiding teens became, alongside “true stories about the weird, tender, and defining moments of growing up” (5/14)
• Hot Mess — “True stories about things going off the rails, told live,” from “glorious disasters [to] beautiful breakdowns, wild nights, public meltdowns, plans that exploded, and the people who made it unforgettable” (6/4)

TOUCHSTONE GALLERY

901 New York Ave. NW
202-682-4125
touchstonegallery.com

• 50 for 50: Visual Artists Spotlight — 50 community artists showcase their work throughout 2026 in honor of the gallery’s 50th anniversary, and Touchstone will also feature the 50 artists one by one through special week-long solo exhibitions, with Lakshmikant Gupta featured for a week starting on Sunday, March 29, work by Salvador Rubio Rivera up on Sunday, April 7, S. Manya Stoumen-Tolino featured the week of Sunday, April 12, and Xenia Gray coming Sunday, April 19 (Now-4/26)
• 50 for 50 Interactive: Pollination by Chris Combs — A display of a flower-shaped interactive sculpture whose camera recognizes human faces and splays them into rotating shapes, while a central microphone listens for speech and shows transcripts on a multitude of small screens. Ultimately, the display serves as a metaphor for the spread of pollen, “as millions of invisible particles flowing in all directions with uncontrollable effects” (Now-4/26)
• 50 for 50 Interactive: Call Collecting by Rick Gonzalez — This D.C.-based video and mixed-media artist has created an interactive video art piece that connects random audio to unexpected images and visuals, specifically a series of voicemails from strangers, ranging from silly jokes, to compelling stories, to private confessions, paired with collected video footage and played on loop from a 12 x 12 wooden panel with custom frame, 3D-printed phone hook, and vintage landline phone receiver connected to an iPad (4/29-5/25)
• McCain McMurray: Shape & Surface — Inspired by the ideas of the De Stijl movement, this artist’s overlapping planes of mostly primary colors are cut and shaped into interlocking forms in a manner the artist suggests is “immutable, rational, and expressive” (Now-4/26)
• Rosemary Luckett: Searching and Shelter — A display of artworks capturing movement as a fundamental force in human life, with depictions of individuals at “moments when [they] are compelled to search, leave, or transform,” and all made, as the artist puts it, “through an intuitive practice of layering paper, paint, and assembled forms [and allowing] images to evolve and reveal their own meanings” (Now-4/26)

TRANSFORMER DC

1404 P St. NW
202-483-1102
transformerdc.org

• Alexander D’Agostino: Something Wicked — Evoking the history of its space as a spiritual healing shop, Transformer’s small Logan Circle storefront currently functions as “a chamber of magic and memory” by virtue of a multidisciplinary project from the Baltimore-based mixed-media artist centered on his interpretation of Oberon, the king of the fairies, as a queer archetype of magic and liberation and inspired by a 16th-century Book of Magic that is part of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s collection (Now-4/25)
• A Distinct Terroir — Browse displays of artwork from Transformer’s FlatFile collection, a growing and ever-changing body of over 400 relatively small and affordably priced pieces created by more than 40 area artists (Now-5/20, Pavilion Pop-Up at The Heights Lobby, 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW)

WARNER THEATRE

513 13th St. NW
202-783-4000
warnertheatredc.com

• Bassem Youssef — Comedian on his Belly of the Beast Tour (4/3)
• Matt Mathews — His aspirations of becoming a country star may not be a joke, but then neither is this gay Alabama native’s growing popularity as a comedian, with his “Boujee On A Budget” stand-up show continuing to expand to new cities and bigger venues (4/11)
• Nick Offerman — Comedian and actor is out on The Big Woodchuck Tour featuring humor, storytelling, and woodworking, as well as a plug for his related new book, Little Woodchucks: Offerman Woodshop’s Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery (4/15)
• Matt Fraser — “America’s Top Psychic Medium” (4/17)
• Bridget Everett — “Big Titties, Big Dreams” (4/12)
• Whose Live Anyway? — Catch a live version of TV’s hit improv show (4/18)
• Jordan Klepper — One of the current rotating hosts of The Daily Show takes a break from poking fun at the news to offer a night of his “Suffering Fools” stand-up (5/8)
• Akaash Singh — Generational Triumph Tour (5/9)
• Sam Harris — The multi-hyphenate pro-science, pro-atheism big thinker is touring for the first time in six years with his new show “Truth & Consequences,” which reviews some of the key challenges of our time along with the growing and overriding sense of “perpetual crisis,” before concluding with some sage advice and words of wisdom to help counteract all that worldly woe (5/13)
• Daniel Tosh — The former Comedy Central star returns to stand-up with his cheekily named “My First Farewell Tour” (6/18-19)
• The Marvelous Miss Gender starring Bosco — Murray & Peter Present a new “cinematic two-act musical comedy” created by and starring the Seattle-based drag entertainer known as a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 in 2022 as well as her return three years later for Drag Race All Stars Season 10 (7/11)

WEINBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS

20 W. Patrick St.
Frederick, Md.
301-600-2828
weinbergcenter.org

• The Wizard of Oz — Other Voices Theatre, Frederick’s community-based theater company, puts a local spin on the classic with “local performers of all ages” plus “inventive theatrical staging and community participation” (4/3-4)
• Re-Leaf Agency — Carrying the tagline “music meets movement meets art in a plea for existence,” this immersive evening of original music, movement, text, and video is a collaboration between The Weather People, the horn-driven, genre-defying music ensemble” who will perform new compositions “written from the viewpoint of trees,” and halfMAD Dance, a “movement art group working in an intimate and improvisational way with a focus on the natural world,” here featuring dancers who will “amplify all manner of small and precious flora and fauna” (4/4, New Spire Arts)
• Silent Film Series: Chicago (1927) (4/12)
• Paula Poundstone (4/17)
• Bored Teachers — The Is It Friday Yet?!! Comedy Tour is a brand-new show from this collective of former teachers-turned-comedians intended “for anyone who’s ever worked in education, taught a lesson, or just survived parent-teacher conferences (4/23)
• Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through The Change — Set sail on a cruise alongside a handful of menopausal women in what is touted as “the ultimate girls-night-out” and also “the side-splitting sequel,” which features “a new soundtrack of parodied hits from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s” (5/2)
• Cathy Ladman — An evening of sharp, self-revealing comedy that “dives into the hilarity, anxiety, identity, and everyday neuroses with refreshing honesty and wit” (5/3, New Spire Arts)
• Man of La Mancha — Terri Magers directs the Landless Theatre Company’s take on the Tony-winning masterpiece by Dale Wasserman with composer Mitch Leigh and lyricist Joe Darion (5/22-24, New Spire Arts)
• Classic Film Series: The Age of Innocence (1993) (6/11)
• The Super Pickle — Subtitled “A Hilarious Pickleball Musical Parody” (6/27, New Spire Arts)

WOLF TRAP

The Barns
1635 Trap Road
Vienna, Va.
703-255-1868
wolftrap.org

• 37th Annual Evening of Comedy — For this year’s show, Wolf Trap presents stand-up sets from Bobby Collins, former host of VH1’s Stand-Up Spotlight, Jeff Stilson, a comedian, writer, and producer affiliated with everything from The Late Show with David Letterman to The Chris Rock Show, and Monique Marvez, the viral Latina sensation known from her “Dry Bar Comedy” special (4/10-11)

ZENITH GALLERY

1429 Iris St. NW
202-783-2963
zenithgallery.com

• 48th Anniversary Exhibition — A grand total of 45 artists are on board to toast Zenith’s perseverance fueled in part by pride in its impressive roster of “extremely talented artists.” “We can confidently say that our collection is unlike anything you have ever seen before,” says founder Margery Goldberg. “Throughout our history we have pushed boundaries and broken ground with an ever-evolving selection of art” (Now-4/18)

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