THE DISTRICT’S FREE WEEKLY SINCE 1981 VOLUME 41, NO. 9 WASHINGTONCITYPAPER.COM SEPTEMBER 2021
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TABLE OF CONTENTS COVER STORY 13 State of the Arts: Our guide to what the D.C. art scene’s got on tap returns, featuring our picks for the music, museum, dance and performance, book, comedy, film, and theater events we’re excited for.
NEWS 4 Loose Lips: Current and former officers describe an alleged culture of aggression and humiliation in the D.C. Housing Authority Police Department.
SPORTS 8 Tee Time: Kendall Jackson plans to make her mark as a member of Howard University’s new Division I women’s golf team.
FOOD 10 Full Plate: Despite the challenges the pandemic presents, the family behind Lebanese Taverna focuses on feeding those in need, be they nearby or across the world.
DIVERSIONS 7 Crossword 41 Savage Love 42 Classifieds
On the cover: Illustration by Ashley Jaye Williams
Darrow Montgomery | Unit Block of Pierce Street NE, Sept. 9 Editorial
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Interim Editor CAROLINE JONES Arts Editor EMMA SARAPPO Food Editor LAURA HAYES Sports Editor KELYN SOONG City Lights Editor SARAH MARLOFF Multimedia Editor WILL WARREN Loose Lips Reporter MITCH RYALS Staff Writers AMBAR CASTILLO, BAILEY VOGT Staff Photographer DARROW MONTGOMERY Creative Director NAYION PERKINS Designer KATY BARRETT-ALLEY Audience Growth and Engagement Editor MICHELLE GOLDCHAIN Copy Editor GAIL O’HARA
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washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 3
NEWS LOOSE LIPS
Disrespecting Authority A culture of sexual harassment and bullying is allowed to run rampant in the D.C. Housing Authority Police Department, multiple officers say. By Mitch Ryals @MitchRyals By his own account, D.C. Housing Authority Police Department Sgt. Darnell Douglass is an asshole, multiple subordinate officers say. And, he tells those officers, he likes being an asshole. If they don’t like the way he treats them, they can try to take it up with his bosses. But officers say Douglass’ superiors have allowed his assholish behavior to continue unchecked. “He says, ‘You guys can file all the complaints you want. You should know by now nothing is going to happen,’” Officer Efosa Enadeghe says Douglass often boasts. Douglass, who has spent 22 years with DCHAPD, has terrorized, harassed, and bullied officers working under him for years, several Housing Authority police officers tell Loose Lips. For years they’ve reported Douglass’ behavior to DCHA Police Chief Joel Maupin and his command staff. They’ve filed grievances with the union. Enadeghe, who was elected union vice president in March, says he and other officers met with DCHAPD brass several times, but Douglass remains in his position. DCHAPD functions as an office within the Housing Authority, and Maupin answers to DCHA’s executive director, Brenda Donald. LL emailed Maupin on Friday, Sept. 3, requesting an interview and followed up with a more detailed list of accusations on Sept. 5. Maupin never replied. Instead, on Sept. 7, DCHA spokesperson Tony Robinson sent LL the following statement: “The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) does not publicly comment on internal employee relations or Human Resource matters. The Agency affirms its commitment to all provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977 as both are amended, and all other employment related law, statutes, and regulations. The DCHA takes all claims of discrimination and/or harassment seriously, takes measures to ensure that work place related claims are properly reviewed, and that appropriate measures are taken.” Later that same evening, Donald, who took over the agency in June and was recently awarded a two-year contract, emailed the
housing authority’s board of commissioners to inform them of LL’s request. “When I was made aware of the allegations, I instructed Chief Maupin and HR Interim Director Dexter Starkes to initiate an investigation and take appropriate actions,” Donald wrote in the email, which was shared with LL. It’s unclear exactly what Douglass is under investigation for and when that investigation began. Asked whether Douglass has ever faced disciplinary action and whether DCHA could refute any of the specific accusations in LL’s email, Robinson said the agency “has no further comment.” That Douglass is under investigation now means nothing to Enadeghe. “They’re complicit,” Enadeghe says of Maupin and and the department’s leadership. “They’re part of the problem. Even if they get rid of Douglass, the chief is the leader of the police department. Everything falls on him.” DCHAPD was established in 1995 to patrol public housing properties. It’s made up of sworn officers, special police officers (who receive less training than sworn officers but carry guns and have the power to arrest people at public housing properties), and security officers. Maupin, a retired Metropolitan Police Department commander, has led the department since 2012. Four current officers, including Enadeghe, and one former officer, spoke with LL on the record about Douglass’ abusive behavior and the culture that they say Maupin allows to continue. A handful of other current and former DCHAPD officers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, corroborated much of what their fellow cops said. Their willingness to speak publicly while working in a profession notorious for protecting its own speaks to the level of abuse they say they’ve endured and their lack of belief that DCHAPD leaders will address it. It’s not as if Maupin can claim that he is oblivious to Douglass’ behavior. In 2015, Douglass was involved in a domestic violence incident in Prince George’s County. According to court records, Douglass yelled at his romantic partner and pointed his gun at her during an argument. A Prince George’s County District Court judge barred Douglass from contacting the woman
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and required him to surrender all firearms. Douglass was also required to “participate in domestic violence counseling threw [sic] his employer,” according to the protective order that remained in effect until November 2016. In addition to the Prince George’s County records, LL obtained four grievances that the Fraternal Order of Police D.C. Housing Authority Labor Committee sent to Maupin in 2018. In one grievance, the FOP requests Douglass attend counseling and/or anger management sessions, receive training “on how to conduct himself in a professional manner,” and apologize to the officer. In another grievance, the FOP concludes, “It is clear, Sgt. Douglass lacks the necessary temperament to lead by example and conduct himself in a calm, rational and respectable manner when dealing with opposition, especially when it involves members of the opposite sex.” The FOP “finds his continued unacceptable behavior towards its members deplorable.” In a third grievance, the FOP describes Douglass’s behavior as “unjust, vindictive and misogynistic in nature.” When Enadeghe took over as union vice president six months ago, he was immediately bombarded with reports of Douglass’ abusive behavior. Officers called Enadeghe in tears and told him they used sick days to avoid working with Douglass. Many told Enadeghe they wanted to quit. The job that, for some, pays as little as $43,000 per year isn’t worth the abuse. In an interview with LL, former DCHA security officer Amanda Horn describes how Douglass harassed her. Horn says Douglass had her transferred from a post at a housing property to the office at DCHA headquarters on North Capitol Street NE where he worked. Douglass would tell Horn “I’ll have you rubbing my feet,” and “I’ll have you in the kitchen cooking my food,” Horn recalls. She says she reported his comments to human resources, and was then transferred away from Douglass and out from under his supervision. “That’s when the bullying started,” she says. Horn says Douglass would repeatedly show up where she was assigned to work and told her that he would never get in trouble because he knows the policy handbook back and forth. Horn reported Douglass’
continued actions to her supervisor Lt. Willie Street. But, she says, nothing was done, and she resigned. Another female officer tells LL that Street texted her a picture of his penis while he was on duty. The officer, who asked not to be identified by name, says she reported the incident to Maupin and Deputy Chief George Dixon. She believes DCHAPD investigated the incident, but is not aware of any disciplinary action that Street faced. He is still employed with the agency and he did not respond to an email seeking comment. “Those guys shouldn’t be working here,” Enadeghe says. “They shouldn’t be police officers. They’re just not fit to be in law enforcement.” Enadeghe says he also tried bringing his concerns about Douglass to Lt. Eugene Bentley, another supervisor. Asked what DCHAPD was going to do about the stack of complaints, Bentley told Enadeghe, “I like Douglass,” and “Doug is Doug. He’s not going to change,” Enadeghe says. According to Enadeghe, Bentley added: “I know you’re the vice president of the union now. I hope you’re not going to start something.” Bentley did not reply to an email seeking comment. By July, Enadeghe reached his breaking point. He emailed Maupin and members of the command staff to report that he had become a target of harassment after pressing them to address complaints about Douglass’ behavior. He wrote in the email that he intended to resign. Maupin never responded, Enadeghe says. Instead, Deputy Chief Dixon instructed Enadeghe to sign the resignation letter to make it official and did not address the accusations of harassment, says Enadeghe, who has not officially resigned. Enadeghe then sent an email to the entire department, as well as Donald, laying out the hostile work environment created by Douglass and DCHAPD supervisors. He has not received a response from Maupin. Officers Juanita Jones, Dominic Frazier, and Davá Duncan say they each have been targets of Douglass’ abuse. Jones, who has worked as a special police officer for the Housing Authority since No-
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NEWS LOOSE LIPS vember 2020, says Douglass constantly degrades and humiliates her for her weight. During roll call meetings, where she is often the only woman or one of two women, he has said, “If you’re a female, this job might not be for you” and “You’re probably not cut out for this job,” Jones recalls. On more than one occasion, Jones says she has asked Douglass, her direct supervisor, questions about how to properly do her job. Rather than providing answers, Douglass has told her to “go ask your classmates” (she assumes he is referring to her fellow officers), shoos her away with his hand, or simply stares at her without saying anything until she walks away. “Harassment, belittlement, unbecoming behavior,” Jones says. “He’s manipulative. It’s constant. All the time.” Jones says she feels like she’s going to throw up before roll call meetings, and she has trouble sleeping on nights before going into work. But she can’t afford to quit. Jones says she grew up in the Barry Farm public housing complex, which is now almost completely demolished. Around age 3 or 4 she was taken from her mom, who struggled with drug addiction, and was placed at St. Ann’s
Center for Children, Youth and Families. From about 2013 to 2015, she was homeless while working two jobs and trying to earn a college degree. During that time, she lived out of her car or slept behind a supermarket across from the fast food restaurant where she worked. “It was rough,” she says. “People steal from you. Sometimes I’d be awake for 22 hours.” She dropped out of school to get a private security license and worked for more than six years before landing the job at the Housing Authority. Jones wanted the stability and benefits that come with a government job, and the union covers her tuition at an online community college. If she loses her job or quits, her dream of earning a college degree disappears. Douglass’ demeanor is different around Jones, who is gay and describes herself as a “butch stud,” than it is around women who appear more feminine, she says. That’s a dynamic that Frazier has witnessed as well. “He has his favorites, the ones he lets do whatever he wants to see if he can get a date,” Frazier says. “And then when they deny him, that’s when he starts to harass them.” Frazier has worked as a special police officer for the past six years and worked with
Douglass while he was a patrol officer. He and several other officers describe Douglass as an overly aggressive patrol officer who, as a sergeant, encourages similar tactics. “He was rude to people, just disrespectful,” Frazier says. “That’s what he does: comes on the scene and bullies people, wants to take over and show them who’s boss.” All three officers say they’ve listened to Douglass boast during roll call meetings about how he “got away with a lot of stuff” as an officer. The three officers, each of whom spoke with LL separately, say some officers take cues from Douglass’ descriptions of abusive tactics and make the job unsafe by creating unnecessarily hostile situations. “He’s creating a culture of hotheads just like him,” Jones says. “Where officers brag about the number of people they arrest.” The three of them point to one officer in particular whose aggressive behavior, they say, mirrors that of Douglass. That officer refers to residents as “roaches,” and “those people,” and “good-for-nothings,” Duncan says. “He talks a lot about Black people. N—r this and n—r that,” Frazier says of the officer. “He refers to the residents as n—rs. Calls them crackheads. If he sees anybody Black,
he goes right up and grabs them.” For Duncan, the culture that Maupin and other supervisors have established means the sexual harassment she receives goes unreported. She says an officer once called her a “he/ she dyke.” When she reported the offensive comment to a supervisor, she expected to go through an official process. Instead, the supervisor said he didn’t believe her, Duncan says. Duncan says another officer, Harold Yeager, once pulled her close to him while they were on duty and asked her to have sex. When she said no, he started describing what his penis looked like, she says. Duncan didn’t report the incident because she didn’t trust her supervisors to take any action. “We’re in an environment where we can’t even speak up because we get called liars or flirty with them,” she says. Like Jones, Duncan feels stuck. “I was so excited to work for the Housing Authority, and when I got here, this is the worst place I’ve ever been,” she says. “But I have health insurance [and] sick leave. I have to put up with sexual advances and officers being disrespectful and supervisors not doing anything about it because I need my job.”
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7/1/2021 12:28:37 PM
DIVERSIONS CROSSWORD
BIG BOX STORES By Brendan Emmett Quigley
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washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 7
SPORTS GOLF
Tee Time
Maurice and Nena Jackson
Kendall Jackson is one of eight women making history as part of Howard University’s inaugural Division I women’s golf team.
Kendall Jackson
By Kelyn Soong @KelynSoong Since she moved from Pearland, Texas, to D.C. earlier this summer, firstyear Howard University student Kendall Jackson and her father, Maurice, talk on the phone several times a day. They chat about her classes, what she had for lunch, and recap her golf practices. And nearly every time, before they hang up, Maurice reminds his daughter of one thing. “I’ll call him in between class and he’s like, ‘Kendall, you know you’re making history, right?’” Jackson says. “I’m like, ‘I know. But I never really feel like it.’ It’s overwhelming, but in the best way possible.” The 18-year-old is one of four first-year students in Howard University’s Division I women’s golf program that will compete for the first time this fall. In 2019, Howard announced that it would be launching a Division I men’s and women’s varsity golf program for the first
time in school history with financial support from NBA superstar Stephen Curry. The Bison previously only had Division II and intramural club teams for golf. Led by coach Sam Puryear, the Howard women’s golf team consists of eight players hailing from all around the country, and is scheduled to compete at several fall invitationals through October. “All these ladies have the ability to do some really special things,” says Puryear, whose previous coaching stops include Stanford University and Michigan State University. Kendall is attending Howard on partial athletic and academic scholarships. While her golf skills got her to this point, she didn’t always enjoy the sport. Maurice first signed Kendall up for a program through First Tee Greater Houston when she was 6. The nonprofit aims to teach young people life skills through golf. At the time, Kendall was already participating in karate, an activity she preferred.
8 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
“I enjoyed the First Tee program. I did not like golf itself,” Kendall says. “I just thought it was really slow and really boring, and I’d rather be at home watching TV.” But as Kendall played, she realized she had some skill for the game. She could hit the ball pretty far, and one of the First Tee instructors told her family she had the potential to “possibly play at the college level,” Maurice says. He soon figured out that golf could be a pathway for Kendall, an only child, to receive a college scholarship. Maurice moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to Texas to play football on scholarship at Prairie View A&M University before transferring to Texas Southern University, where he played alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame member Michael Strahan. Maurice wanted his daughter to share in his experience of being on a college team. “Knowing that at that point in time, when I started her, that a lot of golf scholarships for girls were going unused, I was looking at how best as an avenue to make sure that A) she attended college, and then B) if she could attend a college and be on some type of athletic scholarship,” he says. Kendall didn’t figure out her father’s plans until she was in high school, but by that time, golf had become her passion. Maurice says that his daughter could beat him in a round of golf by the time she was 13, and around then they had an option to attend one of two local high schools. The Jacksons chose Pearland High School because it had a better golf program, Maurice says. At Pearland, Kendall quickly established herself as one of the school’s best ever golfers. In 2018, as a freshman, she became the first golfer from her school to qualify for the Class 6A state girls golf tournament. She didn’t make the cut her sophomore year and the COVID-19 pandemic ended her junior season early, but this past April, Kendall returned to the state tournament by rallying on the back nine in the regional tournament. Only the top three individual regional finishers advanced to the state tournament. “On the back nine, day two, this was the absolute most laser focused I have ever been on the golf course,” Kendall says. “I was able to shoot 4-under for a total of 5-under 67 to move from like 20th overall to third place and qualify for states.” Puryear already knew by then what Kendall could do on the golf course. A year earlier, in the summer of 2020, he noticed her name and results online. Puryear reached out and had her send him some swing videos, tournament results, and her upcom-
ing competition schedule. Unbeknownst to Puryear, Kendall and her father had already read Puryear’s book, Diamonds in the Rough, before he got the job at Howard. Still, she kept her options open during the college recruiting process. Howard initially wasn’t even on her list. “I did not really want to go north because less than 40 degrees is too cold,” she says. “I’m like, nope, I’m staying in the south: California, Texas, Florida, anything below that we’re good.” But the more she heard about the program, the more Howard became a “buzzword,” Kendall says, not just for her, but for her family. It felt like everywhere they went, they met someone who went to Howard or had a connection to the school. She committed to Howard last November. “It went from ‘I don’t really want to go to here’ to ‘I don’t want to go to anywhere else but here,’” she says. Asked now what she looks forward to at Howard, she says, “Seeing some real snow … Coming from Houston, I have seen snow all of like four times in my life and even then it wasn’t really snow, it was just ice.” For Puryear, it wasn’t just Kendall’s golf game that stood out. He found out she plays piano as well. “I’ve been coaching a long, long time. And one thing I’ve noticed is, you find students that are really, really talented,” he says. “So not only is she a really good student, she’s a good golfer, but she’s also a good musician. And going back to my Stanford days, I noticed that some of our best players, some of our more academically astute players, had all those same touch points.” Kendall has several goals with golf. She wants to win a tournament as an individual and with a team while at Howard. Afterward, she wants to play on the LPGA Tour. But one of her most important goals is to help grow and diversify golf. Stanford graduate Mariah Stackhouse is currently the only fulltime active Black player on the LPGA Tour. “In order for the game of golf to grow, you have to introduce more and more people who probably would not look at the sport as something they can play,” Kendall says. That role continues at Howard, where she intends to use her platform to inspire others. Kendall wants to show other African American women and women of color that golf can be a sport for them, too. And as her dad likes to remind her, she is part of a historic group that will likely bring more attention to historically Black colleges and universities. She wants to be a role model and leader for anyone paying attention. “Because you never know who’s watching,” she says.
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washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 9
YOUNG & HUNGRY
Full Plate
Darrow Montgomery
During a pandemic that has pushed restaurants to the brink, the family behind Lebanese Taverna still found a way to support causes close to their big hearts.
Grace Abi-Najm Shea, Dany Abi-Najm, and Gladys Abi-Najm By Laura Hayes @LauraHayesDC When word came that thousands of Afghan refugees would be landing at Dulles in late August after their country fell to the Taliban, World Central Kitchen mobilized to make sure those reaching the U.S. after a harrowing journey would be greeted with a hot meal. The nonprofit’s first call was to Grace Abi-Najm Shea, one of five siblings behind Lebanese Taverna. Having collaborated with Lebanese Taverna previously, WCK Chef Tim Kilcoyne wanted to know if their team could produce 1,000 meals within a couple of hours. “We rallied the troops and got a couple hundred meals from each of our locations and delivered them,” Abi-Najm Shea says. “It was a no-brainer.” Abi-Najm Shea spent the next two weeks elbow deep in pots of lamb, rice, and spinach, rising as early as 6 a.m. After packing meals that WCK will reimburse,
she ferried them to the airport. Of the 61,298 meals WCK served there between Aug. 25 and Sept. 10, 5,037 came from Lebanese Taverna. “Folks are still coming in, not necessarily straight from Kabul, but maybe they’ve been laid over in Europe or elsewhere and their ultimate destination is the U.S.,” says Emma Haberman, WCK’s director of special projects. Her organization feeds most arrivals once they’ve cleared customs and immigration and are awaiting the results of COVID-19 tests. WCK also sets meals aside for unaccompanied minors and others whose paperwork is taking extra time to process. By the time the refugees receive a meal from Lebanese Taverna or another partner restaurant, they are exhausted. “I met a woman who had been on the tarmac for 16 hours,” Haberman says. “These people’s lives have changed overnight and they face so much uncertainty. To welcome them here with something warm, filling, and
10 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
familiar was important to us.” There’s a little overlap between Lebanese and Afghan cuisine, but Abi-Najm Shea called on someone special for guidance. “We had a previous employee who was with us for 12 years who is Afghan,” she says. “I called him and he came instantly. He translated the sign for WCK and wrote, ‘Hello friends, welcome to America. All of the food is halal.’” Homayon Karimy’s first job in the U.S., in 1998, was at Lebanese Taverna Market in Arlington. He was 16 years old and lived across the street. “Grace was the one who hired me,” he says. “Ever since that first meeting, we bonded. They’re like family to me. I’m like the sixth sibling.” He’s been in agony thinking about the Afghans who want to leave but can’t find a way out and felt compelled to help the ones who successfully fled. “We’re really grateful so many Afghans arrived safely,” Karimy says. “They’re going to have a future. At least they’re going to be safe.” When Karimy was helping cook, he was in his comfort zone, but meeting Afghans at the airport for the meal handoff brought back difficult memories. “In the 1980s, I was young, but it refreshed my memory when we left Afghanistan for Pakistan because of instability during the Soviet invasion,” he says. “Everything was coming back to me and it was overwhelming.” The experience tugged at Abi-Najm Shea’s heart too. Her family of seven was fleeing civil war when they boarded a cargo ship bound for Cyprus in the middle of the night in 1976. She was 2 years old at the time. “We weren’t in such a dire situation as the Afghan refugees coming, but the story wasn’t that different,” she says. “For me it’s always been a story because I don’t remember it. We were running from war, going to a foreign country and waiting for our papers to be processed before we could go on to the next place. It was a visual reminder of a part of my life that I’m not very familiar with.” Abi-Najm Shea is 46, the same age today that her father, Tanios Abi-Najm, was when they arrived in the U.S. and settled in Arlington’s Westover neighborhood, where some of their relatives already lived. After a couple of years, Tanios and his wife, Marie, gathered enough money to buy Athenian Taverna in 1979. “There wasn’t enough money to change the whole sign, hence the name Lebanese Taverna was born,” Grace says. “Taverna has nothing to do with Lebanon. It’s a Greek word.” The community welcomed them with open arms. “The people who became our customers helped us,” Grace says. “They
helped me with my homework at night in the restaurant because no one else could. My parents have third-grade educations. My mom was married at 14 and had four kids by the time she was 21 and had me 10 years later.” Dory, Dany, David, Gladys, and Grace all pitched in. “I was 4 and I was passing out business cards in kindergarten, telling my teachers to come to the restaurant since my school was across the street,” Grace says. One of the only things that irks her is people who ask if Tanios and Marie handed the restaurant down to their children. “No, we’ve been there since day one!” she says. Together, the family has turned one restaurant into a thriving regional empire with a 42-year legacy. Dany led the expansion. “He’s the CEO but I call him the dreamer, the risk-taker,” Grace says. “My parents only worked in the first location so D.C. [in Woodley Park] 32 years ago and on was him. Lebanese Taverna might have been great as a little restaurant in Westover, but if it was up to my parents that’s all it would have ever been and we would have all done something else and had our own lives.” “Early on we were in such a unique position, being Middle Eastern and specifically Lebanese,” Dany says. “Hommus was an unknown in the ’70s. I saw a future in Lebanese food and at one point, we decided we wanted to be everything Lebanese to all people.” The siblings operate five full-service restaurants, seven fast casual LebTav shops, a market, a catering business, and an outpost at National Airport. Dany says the pandemic forced them to put a pin in further expansion plans, with the exception of a Pentagon location due in 2022. The catering arm of the business was hit the hardest, along with the restaurants that depend on office workers and hotel convention attendees. Facing hardships like these, most hospitality industry businesses had to scale back their community efforts over the past 18 months due to limited time, money, and staff. One reason to root for neighborhood restaurants such as Lebanese Taverna to pull through the pandemic is because they’re constantly supporting causes, donating meals, and making their spaces available to those in need. “Filling the stomach is a very emotional need and I feel that it really warms people up and brings people together and because restaurants do that day in and day out, by nature they love to give back,” Dany says. Grace agrees. “Food is a basic human instinct,” she says. “If you’re in the
YOUNG & HUNGRY restaurant business, you’re not in it for the money. You’re in it to cook and feed people and make them happy. If you can do that, even during the pandemic, it’s something the restaurant gets back for themselves.” COVID-19 did not slow the family’s community-based approach, especially after they watched with horror as a blast at a port in Beirut killed more than 200 people on August 4, 2020. It wasn’t just any port; it’s the port where Tanios once worked as a customs officer. He moved back to Lebanon 10 years ago, but wasn’t in Beirut that day. “We have half a dozen cousins who could not live in their homes for quite some time and there were some injuries, but thankfully nothing major,” Grace says. “That home that they probably showed the most [on the news], one of those old classic homes that got demolished, was actually my grandparents’ home,” Dany says. “Seeing those images on TV called me to go to Lebanon and help.” He took his son and embedded with WCK for 10 days, making, packaging, and delivering food to those affected by the ammonium nitrate explosion. “I went where I was called and knowing the language helped tremendously,” he says. “I was able to call in reinforcements from my family. I have 67 first cousins. Half of them are in D.C. and the other half are in Lebanon.” He was happy to link up with WCK founder José Andrés. The Abi-Najm family goes way back with the chef and humanitarian. “I’ve known him since the early ’90s, since he was newly in this country, and we hit it off,” Dany says. “He has a gift of motivating people.” Grace shares a little known fact. Her family helped open one of Andrés’ first restaurants in D.C. in 2002. “All of Zaytinya’s Lebanese recipes are Lebanese Taverna recipes,” she says. “The hommus was called ‘Lebanese Taverna style’ on the menu. That puffy bread? Does that look familiar?” Immediately after the explosion in Beirut, Lebanese Taverna launched a fundraising campaign where a dollar from all of their hommus sales went to WCK’s relief work in Lebanon. But regulars who have come to see Lebanese Taverna as an extension of their home kitchens over the past four decades wanted to donate more. “This is the perfect avenue because people trust us,” Grace says. “Give us the money and we’ll make sure it gets to the right place. I didn’t even have a number in mind when we started but we got $150,000 for the Lebanese Red Cross and World Central Kitchen in a few weeks.” About $125,000 of it came through GoFundMe contributions,
while the rest came from the hommus sales. But the Abi-Najm family’s homeland was suffering before the events of last summer. The World Bank called the country’s financial collapse among the world’s worst, dating back almost two centuries. The crumbling economy has made food, fuel, electricity, and medicine scarce. Tanios will soon turn 90 years old. Grace worries about him. He can only access about $1,000 a month of his own money because the banking system bottomed out. The country’s currency has lost 90 percent of its value over the past two years. “This affects my family way more than the explosion because this affects everybody, not just people who live near the explosion,” she says. “This is the whole country. Whether you have money or not is irrelevant.” Even though there’s a global pandemic and other competing crises, Grace decided to step up once again. Lebanese Taverna is asking those who can to contribute to two funds supporting the American University of Beirut Medical Center and its patients. One pays for fuel to keep ventilators and other medical devices running, and another helps individuals pay for care. Her restaurants have hosted alumni association gatherings for AUB in the past. “I felt a little selfish sending it out because Afghanistan has the world’s stage,” she says. “So many places in the world need help. Of course Lebanon is the closest to us so this is what we’re doing right now.” She made the ask in an email blast to 50,000 subscribers the day before she got the call from WCK to help feed Afghan refugees landing at Dulles. They were likely also wondering if they would be able to stay connected to a home 7,000 miles away. Tanios and Marie must be considering their legacy. Marie is still local and didn’t accompany Tanios back to Lebanon because she wanted to watch over her grandchildren. Until she suffered major health setbacks three years ago, the family matriarch visited restaurant locations a few days a week to make sure the food was up to snuff. The company didn’t use standardized recipes until five years ago. Their original consistency strategy was to plant a cook at each location who worked under Marie and Tanios. “They’re proud but they don’t want us to work so hard,” Grace says. “They’re like, ‘We did this so you wouldn’t have to work so hard.’ They’re always concerned: ‘How’s business? Did you open too many?’” Her mom hasn’t totally relinquished quality control. “A couple times she’ll call me and say, ‘The kibbeh wasn’t good.’ And I tell her, ‘Love you, Mom, OK, bye!’”
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OCT 15 & 22
Saturdays OCT 16 & 23
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washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 11
Programs & activities still online. Keep safe!
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Your Passport to France Starts with a Membership
Tomorrow Leaders Learn French at AFDC: Enroll Your Child! www.francedc.org • 202-234-7911 12 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
of the
Neil Krug
State Arts
Music Tame Impala
We’re 18 months into a pandemic that changed our world in every area imaginable—disrupting the daily routines of our lives and upending our assumptions about our institutions. Nearly two years have passed since we published our last arts guide in February 2020 (which quickly became obsolete). When brainstorming about this issue early this summer, we were hopeful it would be a celebration of “a return to normal”— to the live shows, plays, dance performances, film screenings, art galleries, openings, and special events that make the city pop. Now, with the release of this special issue in sight, we know there’s no way to talk about what’s to come without talking about what the collective “we” have been through in these past 18 months. You don’t need us to tell you that it’s been a dispiriting year and a half crammed inside our homes, separated from our real and chosen families, freezing or sweltering through outdoor hangs. And unfortunately, we’re not out of the woods yet; people are still getting sick, here and across the world.
Tame Impala
Truth be told, we don’t have an unblemished or triumphant return to normalcy to share with you. But we do have glimpses of what the future might look like. We have a better understanding of what makes it safer to gather (namely vaccines and masks), and, thankfully, we do have arts venues and organizations across the D.C. region planning a fall season full of concerts, lectures, performances, and exhibitions. These venues are hoping to bring us back together in the safest ways possible, but we can’t ignore the reality that the coronavirus situation is a bit too unpredictable to list everything that’s currently on the 2021-2022 calendar. This isn’t our traditional full-length arts guide. Instead, our critics and arts team have curated a list of what we think is interesting and exciting for fall, and we hope you will find it interesting too. Consider it a preview of the season to come—and of what the future might hold in a hypothetical post-pandemic world.
Although Rauw Alejandro sang and danced in talent shows as a kid, his goal was to become a professional soccer player. But after an injury at age 20, the Puerto Rican Alejandro, who has lived in New York and Miami, turned to music full time. His second album, Vice Versa, is rooted in the suave choruses and insistent dance rhythms of pop reggaeton, to which he adds a few different elements. On the catchy single “Todo de Ti,” Alejandro croons in falsetto over atmospheric sounds and disco-tinged thumping. For “2/Catorce,” the heartthrob employs the same stop-and-start, stripped-down beats that other artists like reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny use (but Alejandro’s tuneful vocals are more ethereal). “Brazilera” adds some baile funk beats and guest vocals from Brazilian star Anitta. Live and in videos, Alejandro further expands his approach and returns to his childhood roots with flashy Michael Jackson and Usherinspired spins and steps. Sept. 17 at EagleBank Arena. $69–$214. —Steve Kiviat
—Emma Sarappo and Sarah Marloff
The concept of time is a curious thing, according to Tame Impala (né Kevin Parker). Parker, an Australian multi-instrumentalist who writes, performs, and produces all of his music, took five years off after Tame Impala’s 2015 album, the platinum-selling Currents, using that time to collaborate with Travis Scott, Lady Gaga, and Kanye West. He got around to releasing his latest album, The Slow Rush, in February 2020, right before the pandemic forced artists off the road, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. But the touring delay could be viewed as a blessing, allowing listeners to live with the album (which addresses the subject of time with songs such as “One More Hour,” “Tomorrow’s Dust,” and “Lost in Yesterday”) for 18 months. That gives the artist the advantage of familiarity as he launches his fall tour this month, playing at Capital One Arena on Sept. 23. The cavernous space will serve Tame Impala’s expansive electronic music and light show well, providing some much needed escapism for those who have listened to the music through their speakers for more than a year. Sept. 23 at Capital One Arena. $74.25–$195.50. —Christina Smart
Rauw Alejandro
Soccer Mommy Sophia Allison, best known as Soccer Mommy, launched her musical journey into the spotlight with her debut studio album, Clean, in 2018. Since then, she’s played alongside artists such as Vampire Weekend, Phoebe Bridgers, and Kacey Musgraves, and even performed at a Bernie Sanders rally. Most recently, her sophomore washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 13
MIDDLE KIDS Sept. 22, 7 p.m. $20. OH HE DEAD Sept. 25, 6 p.m. $20. SARAH JAROSZ Sept. 29, 7 p.m. $35. DR. DOG Oct. 1, 10 p.m. $35. YEMI ALADE Oct. 2, 6 p.m. $30. TOKIMONSTA Oct. 2, 10 p.m. $25. EMOTIONAL ORANGES Oct. 7, 7 p.m. $25. JPEGMAFIA Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m. $30. PINK SWEAT$ Dec. 3, 6 p.m. $25. LAURA JANE GRACE Dec. 29, 7 p.m. $35.
BULLY Dec. 11, 8 p.m. $20.
Courtesy of Union Stage
9:30 Club
Blues Alley VERONNEAU Sept. 16–19, $25. DAVE KLINE BAND Sept. 23–26, $25. BOWIE, PRINCE, KEYS, PEÑA Sept. 30–Oct. 3, $25.
Bossa Bistro JULES DAU Sept. 19, 8 p.m. $10. FLAMENCO CON MAGDALENA Sept. 23, 7 p.m. $20. JOÃO FÊNIX Sept. 28, 8 p.m. $10. MAGNÓLIA ZENEKAR Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. $10.
AMP by Strathmore DEVOTCHKA Dec. 12, 8 p.m. $33–$42.
Capital One Arena The Anthem FLOGGING MOLLY & VIOLENT FEMMES Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m. $45–$149. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT & JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ Sept. 28, 8 p.m. $55–$75. MT. JOY & TRAMPLED BY TURTLES Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m. $40–$140. FUTURE ISLANDS Oct. 14, 8 p.m. $40–$75. SYLVAN ESSO Nov. 11, 8 p.m. $45–$75. JOHN FOGERTY Nov. 14, 8 p.m. $55–$125. THE FLAMING LIPS Nov. 16, 8 p.m. $50–$95. PURITY RING Nov. 17, 8 p.m. $36–$111.
Barns at Wolf Trap DAMIEN JURADO & OKKERVIL RIVER Oct. 2, 8 p.m. $27–$32. WU HAN AND FRIENDS Oct. 24, 3 p.m. $50. HARLEM 100 Nov. 4, 8 p.m. $52–$57. STORM LARGE Nov. 17, 8 p.m. $52–$62. GEORGE KAHUMOKU JR., LED KAAPANA, & HERB OHTA JR. Jan. 20, 8 p.m. $27–$32.
Bethesda Blues & Jazz BACKYARD BAND Sept. 19, 8 p.m. $45. BE’LA DONA Sept. 24, 8 p.m. $30. FUNKATEERS BALL 5 Sept. 25, 8 p.m. $49. THE ALUMNI Sept. 26, 8 p.m. $69–$89. THE ISLEY BROTHERS Oct. 8, 8 p.m. $295–$350. LOOSE ENDS Nov. 6, 8 p.m. $69–$89. LEELA JAMES Nov. 27, 10 p.m. $79–$99.
The Birchmere AMY GRANT Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. $75. CHRISTOPHER CROSS Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m. $59.50. DAMIEN ESCOBAR Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. $59.50. THE WHISPERS Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. $85. TOM PAXTON Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m. $45.
HARRY STYLES Sept. 18, 8 p.m. $550. MALUMA Oct. 2, 8 p.m. $49–$759. J. COLE WITH 21 SAVAGE Oct. 4, 8 p.m. $99–$1,000. GENESIS Nov. 18, 8 p.m. $250–$400. GRUPO FIRME Nov. 21, 7 p.m. $49–$300. ANDREA BOCELLI Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m. $80–$2,000.
Faye Webster studio album, color theory (2020), gave fans of the Swiss American artist an inside look into her struggles with mental health. In just over 44 minutes, color theory touches on Soccer Mommy’s personal experiences with depression, insomnia, and self-loathing. One track, “yellow is the color of her eyes,” chronicles her thoughts on her mother, who is living with a terminal illness. While the subject matter is heavy, the sound of color theory is anything but. “circle the drain,” one of Soccer Mommy’s most popular songs, echoes like a bubbly pop hit. But lyrically, Allison croons that she’s been “falling apart these days.” While it’s unclear what comes next musically from the pop star slash poet, she’ll soon be making her way to Washington, D.C., as part of a rescheduled tour. If you’re in need of a cathartic release, pack some tissues and grab your tickets. Sept. 19 at 9:30 Club. $25. —Sarah Smith
DEAD SARA Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. $15–$18. OVERCOATS Oct. 1, 8 p.m. $20–$22. LEWIS DEL MAR Oct. 8, 8 p.m. $20–$22. DIET CIG Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m. $20. SHANNON & THE CLAMS Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. $20. OF MONTREAL Nov. 6, 8 p.m. $25. MURDER BY DEATH Nov. 11, 7 p.m. $22–$25. ANTI-FLAG Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m. $22–$25.
THE MILK CARTON KIDS Oct. 10, 8 p.m. $35–$45. TODD RUNDGREN Oct. 17–18 8 p.m. $59–$179.
City Winery YAHZARAHA Sept. 17, 8 p.m. $32. LORI WILLIAMS Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m. $28–$42. GRACE KELLY Sept. 29, 8 p.m. $20–$35. TIFFANY Oct. 7, 8 p.m. $28–$42. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS Nov. 6–8, 8 p.m. $55–$99. LOS LOBOS Nov. 18–19, 8 p.m. $58–$75. BETTY Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. $30–$45.
Ani DiFranco
Comet Ping Pong
A generation or two of Gen X and millennial feminists grew up listening to Ani DiFranco, whose music had a way of both empowering and easing even the most casual of listeners until her songs were burned onto mix CDs that were played until they skipped. The personal is political, but DiFranco has always made the political feel personal, too. While CDs are a dying format, DiFranco’s work and messages are very much current. Released in January, her latest album, Revolutionary Love, continues on the singer-songwriter’s path of telling it like it is while hoping to turn the fear so many have felt over the past five years into action. Of the 11 songs on the album, DiFranco wrote the majority pre-COVID—and well before the 2020 election, but according to her press kit, she was driven to record during the pandemic. Now, no stranger to the road, the 50-year-old musician is back on tour. On Sept. 22, DiFranco will join forces with the Indigo Girls for a doubleheader at Wolf Trap. If recent set lists are anything to go by, DiFranco will play a near 50-50 split of old and new material, but having made more than 20 albums, she has a lot of “old” material to choose from. Beloved tracks “Not a Pretty Girl,” “Gravel,” and “32 Flavors,” however, seem to be in heavy rotation. Sept. 22 at the Wolf Trap Filene Center. $45.50–$86. —Sarah Marloff
THE OPHELIAS Sept. 26, 9 p.m. $12.
STEPHANIE MILLS Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m. $89.50.
Black Cat
Capital Turnaround
Faye Webster The Atlanta-based singer-songwriter will stop by D.C.’s Navy Yard Car Barn turned performance venue to promote her fourth studio album, I Know I’m Funny haha. But don’t let the laughter fool you. According to Pitchfork, Webster’s new album has harnessed “the sound of the saddest person you follow on social media.” Think Kacey Musgraves swirled into a primordial soup with Phoebe Bridgers, Angel Olsen, and a dash of Aaliyah. It’s the kind of bedroom pop melancholia you can cry and dance to simultaneously—something we could all use more of in this economy. Sept. 24 at Capital Turnaround. $20. —Kathryn Fink
14 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
SWEEPING PROMISES Nov. 4, 9 p.m. $15. TC SUPERSTAR Nov. 5, 10 p.m. $15.
DAR Constitution Hall GOOGOOSH Oct. 2, 8:30 p.m. $60–$250. NO LIMIT REUNION Nov. 6, 8 p.m. $59.50–$175. KAROL G Nov. 29, 8 p.m. $88–$584.25.
DC9 DIVINO NIÑO Sept. 17, 8 p.m. $15. GLOVE Sept. 24, 8 p.m. $12–$15. THE CRYSTAL CASINO BAND Oct. 1, 8 p.m. $12–$15. STEVEDREEZ Oct. 9, 8 p.m. $12–$15. POORSTACY Oct. 24, 8 p.m. $20–$69. EMILY WOLFE Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. $13–$15. VAGABON Nov. 17, 8 p.m. $20. SKULLCRUSHER Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. $15.
EagleBank Arena MYKE TOWERS Oct. 30, 8 p.m. $59–$1,250. MAVERICK CITY MUSIC Oct. 31, 7 p.m. $38–$295. S. THAMAN Nov. 7, 6:15 p.m. $35–$250.
Echostage KSHMR WITH KREWELLA Oct. 1, 9 p.m. $33–$45.
Frank Schwichtenberg/Wikipedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
CARL COX Oct. 8, 9 p.m. $45–$50.65. ANJUNA FAMILY REUNION TOUR Nov. 26, 9 p.m. $67. ZEDS DEAD Jan. 7, 9 p.m. $56.65–$62.45.
The Howard Theatre JAY ELECTRONICA AND SMOKE DZA Sept. 18, 9 p.m. $25–$75. ŸETEP, LIONE, NESZLO, KLAXX Oct. 15, 9 p.m. $20–$390. KYLE GASS Oct. 19, 8 p.m. $30–$40.
Fillmore Silver Spring
EVA AYLLON Oct. 27, 8 p.m. $55–$90.
DIAMOND PLATNUMZ Oct. 10, 8 p.m. $39.99–$70. MON LAFERTE Oct. 11, 7 p.m. $45. WILLOW SMITH Oct. 16, 8 p.m. $35. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS Oct. 18, 8 p.m. $40. POPPY Oct. 19, 8 p.m. $27. PRINCESS NOKIA Oct. 22, 8 p.m. $35. ALKALINE TRIO/BAD RELIGION Oct. 30, 8 p.m. $38. CAFÉ TACVBA Nov. 4, 8 p.m. $47. TOBE NWIGWE Nov. 7, 8 p.m. $35. EIVOR Jan. 4, 8 p.m. $20–$45.
Lil Baby performs at Broccoli City Festival on Oct. 2
iLe Puerto Rican singer iLe, born Ileana Cabra Joglar, was once a rapper and singer in the political reggaeton group Calle 13, led by two of her brothers. But on her 2016 debut album, iLevitable, iLe applied her lush, stirring voice to old-school boleros, bugalú, and cha-chas about love and loss. Her 2019 release, Almadura, created after Hurricane Maria ravaged her home, offers powerful political messages about imperialism in Puerto Rico, along with vocals that sound as striking as her previous efforts. Where iLevitable showcased strings and horns, Almadura substitutes Afro Caribbean percussion, some dashes of electronic ambience, and an appearance by legendary pianist Eddie Palmieri. Oct. 1 at Howard Theatre. $39–$260. —Steve Kiviat
Broccoli City Festival The Broccoli City Festival returns to D.C.’s RFK Stadium with a stellar lineup featuring A-listers Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo, Snoh Aalegra, and Lucky Daye. Lil Baby, backed by hip-hop’s powerful Quality Control label, may be the hottest rapper in the industry right now. He penned the poignant social justice anthem “The Bigger Picture” in response to George Floyd’s killing last year. Broccoli City, the self-described “largest festival in the country for young people of color,” combines entertainment with social consciousness. Festival attendees get more than just a show—they get an “experience” where they can learn about sustainable living strategies, environmental education, and economic opportunities. This year’s festival will have plenty of local flavor with rapper 3OH Black and the talented turntablists DJ Domo and Malcolm Xavier. The event will be hosted by media personalities Little Bacon Bear and Rodney Rikai. The Moechella go-go truck will also be on site. Created by Justin “Yaddiya” Johnson, the Moechella movement uses go-go music to advocate politically and culturally. During the pandemic when the regular go-go venues were shut down, the now-famous flatbed truck traveled around the city and gave pop-up concerts so fans could enjoy their favorite bands in a safe environment. Oct. 2 at RFK Stadium Festival Grounds. $99–$225. —Sidney Thomas
Porchfest Southeast Porchfest, one of D.C.’s most distinct music festivals, will put on a Southeast edition on Oct. 3. Porchfest is a free, family-friendly event featuring more than 25 musical acts that perform throughout the neighborhood. Yards, lawns, patios, and (of course porches) will transform into intimate makeshift stages for the day. The festival is coordinated by Porchfest DC, a nonprofit organization whose mission for this edition is to “spotlight both emerging artists and burgeoning communities east of the river.” This year, Porchfest takes on an additional significance because the pandemic forced numerous music venues to close their doors, temporarily and permanently. Many local musicians have not performed in front of a live audience in more than a year. Among the artists will be the amazing vocalists Khadijah Moon and Rue Pratt, gospel go-go bands Body of Evidence and Tru Worshiperz, 10-year-old rap prodigy Fly Zyah, and the legendary Soul Searchers. For maximum enjoyment, remember to bring a lawn chair and comfortable walking shoes, and please bring cash to tip the performers! Oct. 3 at various locations in Southeast. Free; donations encouraged. —Sidney Thomas
Jammin’ Java TRANSVIOLET Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. $15–$55. ERIN MCKEOWN Oct. 17, 7 p.m. $15. BLOOD Oct. 21, 8 p.m. $15. BLUE WATER HIGHWAY Oct. 23, 9:30 p.m. $15–$25. AARON LEE TASJAN Nov. 6, 8 p.m. $16. DAVID RYAN HARRIS Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m. $15–$50. ALICE PHOEBE LOU Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. $15–$20.
Jiffy Lube Live
Flash DJ TENNIS Sept. 17, 8 p.m. $20–$35. KRYPTOGRAM Sept. 25, 4 p.m. $25–$30. CARL CRAIG Oct. 1, 8 p.m. $25–$30. TINI Oct. 2, 10 p.m. $20–$30. TORREN FOOT Oct. 27, 10 p.m. $10–$20. ANFISA LETYAGO Oct. 28, 10 p.m. $10–$20. MAYA JANE COLES Nov. 5, 8 p.m. $20–$40. MAGDA Nov. 13, 10 p.m. $20–$30.
THE BLACK CROWES Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m. $11–$256. THE JONAS BROTHERS Oct. 10, 6 p.m. $35–$319. SLIPKNOT Oct. 13, 5:30 p.m. $35–$175. JASON ALDEAN Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. $44–$167.
Joe’s Movement Emporium TAMARA WELLONS Sept. 24, 7 p.m. $10–$20. JOE FALERO BAND Sept. 25, 7 p.m. $10–$20. UASUF GUEYE Oct. 2, 7 p.m. $10–$20.
Folger Shakespeare Library HENRY PURCELL AND MUSIC OF 17TH CENTURY LONDON Oct. 1–3. Online. Tickets on sale soon. A MEDIEVAL CHRISTMAS Dec. 10–18. Tickets on sale soon.
GMU Center for the Arts WIND SYMPHONY CONCERT Oct. 7, 8 p.m. $9–$16. SPHINX VIRTUOSI Oct. 17, 3 p.m. $29–$48.
Kennedy Center ALAN CUMMING AND ARI SHAPIRO: OCH & OY! A CONSIDERED CABARET Oct. 15, 8 p.m.; Oct. 16, 8 p.m. $29–$89 COME HOME: A CELEBRATION OF RETURN Nov. 6–14. $45–$299. PJ MORTON Nov. 7, 8 p.m. $39–$79. BEN FOLDS Nov. 15, 8 p.m. $39–$59.
JERUSALEM QUARTET Nov. 7, 4 p.m. $36–$60.
RAKIM, SLICK RICK, DJ JAZZY JEFF, AND KRS-ONE Nov. 19, 8 p.m. $39–$149.
VIRGINIA OPERA: LA BOHÈME Nov. 13–14. $40–$110.
INGRID MICHAELSON Dec. 10, 8 p.m.; Dec. 11, 2:30 pm. Tickets on sale soon.
CANADIAN BRASS Nov. 27, 8 p.m. $36–$60. DIANNE REEVES Dec. 4, 8 p.m. $36–$60.
Library of Congress MAMSELLE RUIZ Sept. 29, noon. Free. Online.
The Hamilton
CAMBALACHE Sept. 29, 12:30 p.m. Free. Online.
RED WANTING BLUE Sept. 17, 8 p.m. $20–$25. MIDNIGHT NORTH Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. $20–$30. THE JAYHAWKS Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m. $35. NEW POWER GENERATION Oct. 22, 8 p.m. $35–$75. DELLA MAE Nov. 11, 8 p.m. $14.75–$34.57. THE CHUCK BROWN BAND & EU Nov. 27, 8 p.m. $20–$30
Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital RACHEL BAIMAN Sept. 26, 4:30 p.m. Free. THE JAKOB’S FERRY STRAGGLERS Oct. 17, 4:30 p.m. Free.
Lincoln Theatre BIG FREEDIA Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m. $35. MAVIS STAPLES & AMY HELM Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m. $35–$150. X AMBASSADORS Oct. 30, 6 p.m. $35. MAYER HAWTHORNE Nov. 9, 6:30 p.m. $30–$90. ADRIANNE LENKER Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m. $31.
Mansion at Strathmore BEAU SOIR ENSEMBLE Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m. $30. POULENC TRIO Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. $30. AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ENSEMBLE Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m. $30.
Hill Country Live DAN LIPTON, TOM MACKELL, CHRIS WILCOX Sept. 17, 8:30 p.m. $12. LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS Sept. 25, 9:30 p.m. $15. SK8 Sept. 30, 9 p.m. $15–$100.
DAN TEPFER Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m. $30
Merriweather Post Pavilion 92Q END OF SUMMER JAM Sept. 19, 3 p.m. $99–$310.
SLAID CLEAVES Oct. 26, 8 p.m. $25–$30.
DIERKS BENTLEY Sept. 23, 7 p.m. $45–$75.
washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 15
Zachery Michael
Anjimile When Anjimile sings, “Am I not supposed to make you cry?/ Damn I just don’t know good loving/ The right way,” it’s with enough effervescent charm that you’re tempted to forgive them even before they explain. They’re trying, they sing on “Baby No More,” and they know they’ve done their love wrong, but they just can’t get it right. The song is an irresistible, groovy hit for the Boston-based folk musician, included on their full-length debut, Giver Taker. On that album, the mononymous singer-songwriter grapples with transition, recovery, faith, and family from the perspective, and stability, of their late 20s. They’ve been picking up buzz here and there—named WBUR’s favorite Tiny Desk Concert entrant from Boston in 2018, profiled by NPR Music, reviewed in Pitchfork—and Giver Taker is a triumphant effort worthy of that hype. “Maker,” from later in the album, finds the artist fully taking control of their body and their life: “I’m not just a man, I’m a god/ I’m not just a god, I’m a maker.” Oct. 13 at DC9. $14–$17. —Emma Sarappo
Monophonics
St. Vincent performs at All Things Go Festival on Oct. 16
OUTLAW MUSIC FESTIVAL Sept. 24, 4 p.m. $45–$199.50.
SARAH BRIGHTMAN Dec. 6, 8 p.m.; Dec. 7, 8 p.m. $69–$238.
NF Oct. 2, 8 p.m. $29.50–$69.50. THOMAS RHETT Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. $55–$125.50.
MGM National Harbor
Phillips Collection JOHN HOLIDAY AND KEVIN MILLER Sept. 19, 4:30 p.m. $10–$15. Online.
CHAKA KHAN Sept. 19, 8 p.m. $69–$331. ERYKAH BADU Sept. 25, 8 p.m.; Sept. 26, 8 p.m. $119.50–$440.80. COUNTING CROWS Oct. 1, 8 p.m. $79–$232.55. CHICAGO Oct. 8, 8 p.m. $60.50–$678. BRUNO MARS Oct. 9, 8 p.m.; Oct. 10, 8 p.m. $333–$2,753. JOHN LEGEND Oct. 12, 8 p.m. $90–$728. JUDAS PRIEST Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. $88–$845. GLADYS KNIGHT Nov. 5, 8 p.m. $49.50–$328. ANTHONY HAMILTON Nov. 19, 8 p.m. $79–$327. SMOKEY ROBINSON Nov. 20, 8 p.m. $75—$471.
Miracle Theatre
Pie Shop RNIE Sept. 25, 8 p.m. $12–$14. GO MOD GO! Sept. 29, 8 p.m. $12–$14. ACTORS Oct. 3, 8 p.m. $10. CHEAKAITY Oct. 11, 8 p.m. $20. DEVON BALDWIN Oct. 25, 8 p.m. $10–$13. SHORT FICTIONS Nov. 2, 8 p.m. $12. GYMSHORTS Nov. 4, 8 p.m. $12. SHUBH SARAN Nov. 20, 8 p.m. $20. MURDERSOME Nov. 28, 8 p.m. $12–$14. NATALIE BROOKE Dec. 18, 8 p.m. $12.
COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS Oct. 8, 8 p.m. $17.
The Pocket at 7DrumCity
MADISON CUNNINGHAM Oct. 23, 8 p.m. $20.
KNYVES ESCOBAR Sept. 18, 7 p.m. $12–$15.
CHARLOTTE CARDIN Nov. 13, 8 p.m. $17.
AUTUMN LABELLA & JMB MUSIC Sept. 24, 7 p.m. $15–$30.
That earworm cover of “Beggin’” by Italian rock band Måneskin? They weren’t the only ones to redo the Frankie Valli classic. Monophonics did it too. The psychedelic soul band is led by Kelly Finnigan, the sweatiest vocalist in the business. The California group brings a sound reminiscent of ’60s and ’70s era psychedelic funk and soul and intense energy that won’t let you stop moving—think Curtis Mayfield, Isley Brothers, Sly Stone, and Funkadelic. Finnigan’s raspy vocals and organ are backed by Ian McDonald on guitar, Austin Bohlman on drums, Myles O’Mahony on bass, Alex Baky on sax, and Ryan Scott on trumpet. The band is coming off their fifth album, It’s Only Us, released in 2020. And Finnigan just completed his first solo project, The Tales People Tell, released in 2019. Monophonics’ at times dirty, at times groovy high-energy live sets brought them international acclaim. New York’s Ghost Funk Orchestra will open the show (already rescheduled twice due to the pandemic). Composer and guitarist Seth Applebaum leads the powerful 10-piece in a similar blend of the soulful, psychedelic, and funky. If the world doesn’t come crashing down again, these two bands will deliver soulful rhythms for your ears and funky grooves for your dancing shoes. By the end of the night, Finnigan will certainly be dripping wet. And you probably will too. Oct. 15 at Black Cat. $17–$20. —Mitch Ryals
All Things Go Music Festival It’s hard to believe there’s a generation out there who is completely unaware of the late-’90s festival outing Lilith Fair. That festival, borne out of the imagination and frustration of singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan when she was unable to bring Paula Cole on her tour, proved to promoters once and for all that having more than one woman on a bill was not going to end in financial disaster: It would actually draw a crowd. The last revival of Lilith happened in 2010, leaving a gaping hole in this type of women-centered programming. The void was thankfully filled in 2014 when the first All Things Go Music Festival launched in the back lots of Union Market. It’s built with each successive outing, and the 2021 version will feature Girl in Red, Soccer Mommy, Charli XCX, Beach Bunny, and headliners St. Vincent and Haim. For good measure, they have allowed a few men on the lineup as well: Cautious Clay, Role Model, Isaac Dunbar, Tai Verdes, and Jelani Aryeh. That’s a lineup that would even make Sarah McLachlan proud. Oct. 16 at Merriweather Post Pavilion. —Christina Smart
Fay Victor’s SoundNoiseFUNK
TURNING JEWELS INTO WATER Sept. 26, 7 p.m. $20.
This all-star group in the world of avant-garde jazz is led by Fay Victor, who has released nine albums over the past 20 years. For her latest collaboration, she joins forces with Joe Morris (guitar), Sam Newsome (reeds), and Reggie Nicholson (drums). The quartet creates an improvisational experience, each member a composer in their own right. In July 2018, the quartet released a project titled Wet Robots, which garnered critical acclaim and solidified the foursome as an act. Catch the group at Rhizome; the venue’s eclectic vibes are a perfect match for the “sonic fun house of left turns” that is SoundNoiseFUNK. Oct. 24 at Rhizome DC. $20. —Laura Irene
POSTMODERN JUKEBOX Oct. 24, 8 p.m. $38–$88.
Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center
The Lantern Tour featuring Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle
LEDISI Oct. 26, 8 p.m. $49–$99.
THE BRAZILIAN ALL STARS Oct. 22, 8 p.m. $40–$45. THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS Nov. 6, 8 p.m. $60–$75.
PUMA BLUE Nov. 20, 8 p.m. $20.
Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center AMERICAN PATCHWORK QUARTET Sept. 30, 8 p.m. Free.
Music Center at Strathmore
PETER $UN Oct. 17, 7 p.m. $12–$15. SAM C. JONES & THE SINNERS Oct. 22, 7 p.m. $10–$15. SUFI HAMILTON Nov. 5, 7 p.m. $10–$15.
Rhizome DC
MYRIAM HERNÁNDEZ Oct. 17, 8 p.m. $75–$150.
MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER Dec. 4, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. $52–$108.
16 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
Emmylou Harris performed Joan Baez-style folk music regularly in D.C. clubs in the late 1960s. But in 1971, when she first duetted with country-rock singer Gram Parsons, he encouraged her to sing more classic honky-tonk country. Fifty years later, Harris’
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soprano still has a twangy pureness whether she’s singing folk, country, gospel, or rock-rooted material. While Harris sometimes writes her own songs, she is better known for her astute skill in making other people’s songs her own. Harris had her breakthrough commercial moments when she collaborated with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, including 1987’s Trio, which topped the country chart and reached the pop album top 10. Since the 1970s, Harris has covered the songs of Steve Earle; they’ve done gigs and activist work together, and this fall will be bringing “The Lantern Tour: A Concert for Migrant & Refugee Families” to the area. They’ll will be joined by Amy Helm, Larry Campbell, and Teresa Williams, plus Thao Nguyen of Thao & the Get Down Stay Down. Proceeds benefit the Women’s Refugee Commission, which works to protect the rights and lives of women and children fleeing danger and crisis. Oct. 28 at Capital One Hall, Tysons. $72.50–$202.50. —Steve Kiviat
Half Waif
Anjimile
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue JOSH RITTER Oct. 10, 8 p.m. $40–$45. JADE BIRD Oct. 16, 8 p.m. $25–$30.
SKERRYVORE Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. $128–$152. AMYTHYST KIAH Sept. 30, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. $152–$192.
RUSTON KELLY Nov. 11, 8 p.m. $22–$25. CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM Nov. 18, 8 p.m. $35–$40.
Union Stage
DARLINGSIDE Dec. 4, 8 p.m. $27.50–$30.
LION BABE Sept. 30, 8 p.m. $25–$40.
KEIYAA Sept. 19, 8 p.m. $13–$15. BRELAND Sept. 23, 8 p.m. $20–$100. JACKIE VENSON Oct. 7, 8 p.m. $15. SONDER BOMBS & GULLY BOYS Oct. 23, 8 p.m. $12–$14. NATION OF LANGUAGE Oct. 31, 8 p.m. $12–$15. CLAIRE ROSINKRANZ Nov. 16, 8 p.m. $15–$18. SLOW PULP Dec. 7, 8 p.m. $16–$20.
Soundcheck CHOCOLATE PUMA Sept. 17, 10 p.m. $26.95. SAYMYNAME Sept. 29, 10 p.m. $10–$20. BENNY BENASSI Oct. 9, 10 p.m. $26.95–$33.70. QRION Dec. 10, 10 p.m. $21.20.
State Theatre INFUSION Oct. 2, 8 p.m. $10. BILL FRISELL TRIO Oct. 15, 9 p.m. $35–$45. MIYAVI Oct. 29, 9 p.m. $35–$75. TAUK Oct. 31, 8 p.m. $12–$25.
NoMBe
KAMASI WASHINGTON Oct. 21, 8 p.m. $39.50–$119.
NoMBe makes bops. Whether you’re looking to start a living room dance party or just working to his second album, CHROMATOPIA, released in May 2021, shimmying is bound to happen. Depending where you look or who you ask, NoMBe’s music is classified as pop, soul, alternative, electronic, R&B, and dream pop—ultimately, the mashup of sounds makes for dreamy and fun yet complex, feel-good songs. The 30-year-old artist, born in Germany and currently splitting his time between L.A. and Hawaii, exemplifies the evolution of pop music. Sure, his songs are easy to listen to, but they’re also layered with various instrumentals and crooning vocals. The vibe is eternal, sultry summer. A rising star—profiled by onestowatch.com after the release of his first full-length album in 2018—NoMBe first went viral in 2015 with his single “California Girls.” The evolution of his inviting and catchy music is almost tangible in its growth. In press statements, NoMBe (Chaka Khan’s godson!) says that his goal was to make CHROMATOPIA feel bright and to explore the spectrum of color and love: “The core concept is that ‘love is a spectrum,” he writes. “It means that relationship status, sexual orientation, or gender fall onto a spectrum that is open to interpretation and everchanging. YOU get to decide how you want your relationship to be. The color spectrum plays a huge role in showcasing that visually.” The freedom that comes with defining yourself is part of what makes NoMBe’s music feel so good—there are no hard lines or boxes to check off, it just is what it is. Nov. 18 at Union Stage. $17–$30. —Sarah Marloff
Weinberg Center for the Arts
IDK
HEARTLESS BASTARDS Oct. 2, 8 p.m. $30–$40.
Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe
Sometimes plans are overrated, something that’s proven by Half Waif ’s fifth album, Mythopoetics. Released in July 2021, Nandi Rose, the singer, songwriter, and producer behind Half Waif, told Variety she was unexpectedly inspired to write new music that would become her latest album while helping a loved one get sober. While her original plan was to revisit old work with less synth and more piano, Mythopoetics is much grander than what she anticipated writing—its 12 tracks are imbued with powerful, not always pleasant emotions and beautiful harmonies. Although it was written largely in isolation before COVID took hold, the album, released a year and a half into the still-raging pandemic, somehow manages to embrace the turmoil of our current realities. On one track, aptly titled “Sourdough,” Nandi Rose coincidentally sings about making bread from scratch—a popular pandemic activity: “And so, I make sourdough on the counter like he showed me/ Though I taste his loneliness in the crust of every loaf/ I’ve got this weight in my mouth/ But I’m keeping it down.” The track also uses both stripped-down piano and grand vocals. Even at less than three minutes, it’s a song to get lost in. After a long stretch without touring, Half Waif hits the road in November, not only to promote Mythopoetics, but to also return attention to her previous album, Caretaker, which Variety notes was one of the debuts released in March 2020. Though the two albums embrace different sounds and life experiences, when listened to together they somehow manage to feel like a coin, different on each side, yet whole. Nov. 14 at Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe. $15. —Sarah Marloff
MOON HOOCH Oct. 15, 8 p.m. $20–$30. TORRES Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m. $15–$65. PHONY PPL Oct. 23, 8 p.m. $20–$40. WHITNEY Oct. 29, 8 p.m. $35. BINO RIDEAUX Nov. 3, 8 p.m. $25–$125. ELDER ISLAND Nov. 10, 8 p.m. $17–$30. YASMIN WILLIAMS Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. $20. CHRIS PUREKA Dec. 16, 8 p.m. $20–$25.
Warner Theatre CITY AND COLOUR Oct. 13, 8 p.m. $35–$167. BRIAN WILSON WITH SPECIAL GUESTS AL JARDINE AND BLONDIE CHAPLIN Oct. 15, 8 p.m. $75–$596. THE MONKEES FAREWELL TOUR WITH MICHAEL NESMITH & MICKY DOLENZ Oct. 18, 8 p.m. $55–$452.
PRESSING STRINGS & SILENT OLD MTNS. Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. $11.75.
KENNY G Dec. 20, 8 p.m. $75–$85.
SIDELINE AND HOGSLOP STRING BAND Nov. 5, 8 p.m. $16.75–$31.75.
Strathmore Patio Stage
Wolf Trap Filene Center
ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ & PEDRITO MARTINEZ Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. $112–$152.
THE AVETT BROTHERS Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m. $67–$97.
18 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
Who is Prince George’s County rapper IDK? Jason Mills gave himself that name at the age of 17 while serving a year in prison; he says IDK stands for “Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge.” “It’s basically part of the key principles of what makes me who I am,” he told NPR in August. “Ignorance and knowledge contrast, two things that don’t go together, something you want and something you need, and putting all of that together in one person ... that’s basically what it stems from.” On his latest album, Usee4Yourself, he’s the man chanting, “These hoes gettin’ greedier, gettin’
USUR 2 N I O 02 ! JO OR 1–2 ON F 02 S 2 EA S
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An Evening with David Sedaris
October 2 | 8:00 PM
2022
December 1 | 8:00 PM
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live! Neighbor Day February 2 | 3:00 & 6:30PM
The Magic of Rob Lake
Trey McLaughlin & the Sounds of Zamar
Frederick Jazz Festival
JJ Grey and Mofro
Afrique en Cirque by Cirque Kalabanté
October 20 & 21 | 7:00 PM
2021
A Chanticleer Christmas
with headliner TERENCE BLANCHARD featuring THE E-COLLECTIVE and TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET
November 6 | 1:00 PM
Jerrod Niemann
November 12 | 8:00 PM
January 17 | 6:00 PM January 21 | 8:00 PM
Blind Visionaries
January 27 | 7:30 PM
In Conversation JOHN LEGUIZAMO January 28 | 8:00 PM
Paula Poundstone March 26 | 8:00 PM
May 3 | 6:00 PM
. . . and many more!
Visit WeinbergCenter.org for a complete listing of events.
Trey McLaughlin
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live!
SEASON
Rob Lake
WEINBERGCENTER.ORG | 301.600.2828 20 WEST PATRICK STREET, FREDERICK MD
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washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 19
needier” over fast trap beats on “Red.” But he’s also the melancholy wordsmith on the artsier cut “Hey Auntie,” wondering, “Maybe I could learn from all the pain and get a lesson/ I hope that all this pain will start to lessen.” He often offers an interesting combination of the trite and personal, such as in “Cry in Church,” when he notes “Blue’s Clues raised me/ Cheerios saved me/ Porno, step father here is what changed me.” Nov. 26 at Fillmore Silver Spring. $25–$70. —Steve Kiviat
Mary Lattimore Many fans have yearned for the chance to see live music again and to commune with like-minded folks as their favorite artists provide some kind of catharsis. Unlike a pop or metal show, ambient musician Mary Lattimore offers a different kind of release. She is a harpist who uses effects and loops to turn her instrument into something more moody and ethereal than what we usually expect from its strings. Her most recent album was released in late 2020, and she’s also put out a 28-minute long track she made as a reaction to coping with the pandemic. Like the best ambient musicians, she provides a sense of tension in the way her music builds and cascades. There’s also a sense of hope, so newcomers may be surprised at the emotions she can provoke through the beauty of repetition. Nov. 27 at the Miracle Theatre. $25. —Alan Zilberman
Chvrches Electro-pop trio Chvrches just released their fourth full-length album, Screen Violence, in late August. The band decided against collaborating with multiple producers (as they did on their previous release), with the three members—lead vocalist Lauren Mayberry
Venues
with instrumentalists Iain Cook and Martin Doherty—directing the project themselves. Recorded remotely during the pandemic via the titular computer screens, the album has a darker feel than its predecessors do, but continues to perfect the synth-driven sound that is the band’s signature. Chvrches are touring the U.S. this fall in support of Screen Violence, and they’ll stop at the Anthem with opener Donna Missal. The production quality of the band’s live show has grown along with their music, so the audience can expect visuals that are engaging as the songs are catchy. Nov. 30 at the Anthem. $45–$75. —Sriram Gopal
Iphigenia: A New Opera Saxophonist-composer Wayne Shorter famously said, “To me, jazz means ‘I dare you.’” Bassist-vocalist-composer Esperanza Spalding, some 51 years his junior, is increasingly determined to follow through on Shorter’s credo. Putting them together, then, makes perfect sense, and at the same time sets up something unpredictable (to say the least). Who, for example, would have predicted an opera? Iphigenia is based on Euripides’ play of the same name, but a mere adaptation was never going to be enough to satisfy Shorter and Spalding’s creative muses. Years in the making, the opera promises a feminist perspective on the ancient Greek myth of Princess Iphigenia, as well as a deconstruction of the very concept of storytelling. Oh, and it’ll also feature a reconception of operatic music, with an orchestra organized around two members of Shorter’s longtime quartet—pianist Danilo Perez and bassist John Patitucci—who will be improvising freely on the written score. Not enough talent? The award-winning Lileana Blain-Cruz is its director, and legendary architect Frank Gehry is its set designer. Whatever else ends up being said about Iphigenia, surely nobody can cast doubt on the opera’s “I dare you” quotient. Dec. 10 and 11 at the Kennedy Center. $29–$89. —Michael J. West
CITY WINERY
THE HOWARD THEATRE
1350 Okie St. NE
620 T St. NW
(202) 250-2531. citywinery.com.
(202) 803-2899. thehowardtheatre.com.
COMET PING PONG
JAMMIN’ JAVA
5037 Connecticut Ave. NW
227 Maple Ave. East, Vienna
(202) 364-0404. cometpingpong.com.
(703) 255-1566. jamminjava.com.
9:30 CLUB
DAR CONSTITUTION HALL
JIFFY LUBE LIVE
815 V St. NW
1776 D St. NW
7800 Cellar Door Dr., Bristow
(202) 265-0930. 930.com.
(202) 628-4780. dar.org.
(703) 754-6400. bristowamphitheater.com.
AMP BY STRATHMORE
DC9
JOE’S MOVEMENT EMPORIUM
11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda
1940 9th St. NW
3309 Bunker Hill Rd., Mount Rainier
(301) 581-5100. ampbystrathmore.com.
(202) 483-5000. dcnine.com.
(301) 699-1819. joesmovement.org.
THE ANTHEM
EAGLEBANK ARENA
KENNEDY CENTER
901 Wharf St. SW
4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax
2700 F St. NW
(202) 265-0930. theanthemdc.com.
(703) 993-3000. eaglebankarena.com.
(202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
BARNS AT WOLF TRAP
ECHOSTAGE
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
1635 Trap Rd., Vienna
2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE
101 Independence Ave. SE
(703) 255-1900. wolftrap.org.
(202) 503-2330. echostage.com.
(202) 707-5000. loc.gov.
BETHESDA BLUES & JAZZ SUPPER CLUB
THE FILLMORE SILVER SPRING
LINCOLN THEATRE
7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda
8656 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring
1215 U St. NW
(240) 330-4500. bethesdabluesjazz.com.
(301) 960-9999. fillmoresilverspring.com.
(202) 888-0050. thelincolndc.com.
THE BIRCHMERE
FLASH
MANSION AT STRATHMORE AND PATIO STAGE
3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
645 Florida Ave. NW
10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda
(703) 549-7500. birchmere.com.
(202) 827-8791. flashdc.com.
(301) 581-5100. strathmore.org.
BLACK CAT
FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY
MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION
1811 14th St. NW
201 East Capitol St. SE
10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia
(202) 667-4490. blackcatdc.com.
(202) 544-4600. folger.edu.
(410) 715-5550. merriweathermusic.com.
BLUES ALLEY
GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS
MGM NATIONAL HARBOR
1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW
4400 University Dr., Fairfax
101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill
(202) 337-4141. bluesalley.com.
(703) 993-8888. cfa.gmu.edu.
(844) 346-4464. mgmnationalharbor.com.
BOSSA BISTRO
THE HAMILTON
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2463 18th St. NW
600 14th St. NW
535 8th St. SE
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CAPITAL ONE ARENA
HILL CENTER AT THE OLD NAVAL HOSPITAL
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER
601 F St. NW
921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
7995 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring
(202) 628-3200. capitalonearena.com.
(202) 549-4172. hillcenterdc.org.
(240) 567-5775. mcblogs.montgomerycollege.edu/cac.
CAPITAL TURNAROUND
HILL COUNTRY LIVE
MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE
770 M St. SE
410 7th St. NW
5301 Tuckerman Ln., North Bethesda
capitalturnaround.com.
(202) 556-2050. hillcountry.com/dc.
(301) 581-5100. strathmore.org.
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PHILLIPS COLLECTION 1600 21st St. NW (202) 387-2151. phillipscollection.org. PIE SHOP 1339 H St. NE (202) 398-7437. pieshopdc.com. THE POCKET AT 7DRUMCITY 1506 North Capitol St. NW (202) 643-7424. 7drumcity.com/the-pocket.html. RHIZOME DC 6950 Maple St. NW rhizomedc.org. ROBERT E. PARILLA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 51 Mannakee St., Rockville (240) 567-5301. mcblogs.montgomerycollege.edu/ reppac. SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE 600 I St. NW (202) 408-3100. sixthandi.org. SONGBYRD MUSIC HOUSE AND RECORD CAFE 2477 18th St. NW (202) 450-2917. songbyrddc.com. SOUNDCHECK 1420 K St. NW (202) 789-5429. soundcheckdc.com. STATE THEATRE 220 North Washington St., Falls Church (703) 237-0300, thestatetheatre.com UNION STAGE 740 Water St. SW (877) 987-6487. unionstage.com. WARNER THEATRE 513 13th St. NW (202) 783-4000. warnertheatredc.com. WEINBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS 20 West Patrick St., Frederick (301) 600-2828. weinbergcenter.org. WOLF TRAP FILENE CENTER 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna (703) 255-1900. wolftrap.org.
Greg Bolden
Museums
Elizabeth Ashe who channeled her energy into art, depicting mountains and empty sky. Sept. 9–Jan. 2. Free. NAVIGATING THROUGH Four artists—Kibibi Ajanku, Erin Barach, Mehves Lelic, and Mojdeh Rezaeipour— explore change and community through art during the pandemic. Sept. 10–Oct. 17. Free.
and Galleries
ELIZABETH ASHE RECEPTION & ARTIST TALK The artist will discuss her current exhibit. Oct. 9. 7 p.m. Free.
District Arts WIND Juried by retired art and design professor Lisa Sheirer, this exhibit pays homage to wind and air in all its real, mythical, and magical majesty. Oct. 13– Nov. 14. Free.
Dupont Underground TINGLAO: A BARRIO JOINT A three-day market, art show, and performance event with live music, talks, art installations, pop up shops, and more. Sept. 17–19. Free–$50. UNDERGROUND NATIVES An arts showcase featuring artists, DJs, bands, and local designers. Sept. 23, 9 p.m. $20. ART ALL NIGHT A nighttime market selling vintage goods, arts, crafts, food, and more. LADYGOD performs. Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m. Free.
Foundry Gallery SEPTEMBER SONG Featuring many Foundry artists, this show bids summer adieu and welcomes fall, mourning, and otherness. Sept. 3–26. Free. MOMENT OF INTERROGATION An art exhibit from Courtney Applequist. Oct. 1–31. Free. KRISTINA PENHOET EXHIBIT See the local artist’s work on display. Nov. 1–31. Free.
Franklin Park Arts Center
The Justice Arts Coalition Exhibition Justice Arts Coalition is a Silver Spring-based nonprofit that “unites teaching artists, arts advocates, currently and formerly incarcerated artists, and allies, harnessing the transformative power of the arts to reimagine justice.” Its upcoming monthlong exhibit at Rhizome will feature local artists who are part of the organization’s national network of currently and previously incarcerated creatives. This exhibit will include a spotlight on JAC’s CorrespondARTS, a multidisciplinary distance learning arts program, which launched in November 2020 in response to the lockdowns that prevented teaching artists from entering prisons to facilitate arts programs. Participants come from the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women and three Maryland prisons: Dorsey Run Correctional Facility, Central Maryland Correctional Facility, and Baltimore City Correctional Center. The exhibit will consist of visual art and poetry, and an opening event during the afternoon of Oct. 23 will include artist talks, as well as readings and performances by Free Minds Book Club poet ambassadors and members of the Voices Unbarred leadership team. Oct. 22 to Nov. 20 at Rhizome DC. Free. —Laura Irene
Urban Constellation: 100 Years of Mexico on 16th Street The exhibition tells the story of the presence of the MacVeagh House on 16th Street NW, before and after its purchase by the Mexican government in 1921, ending with its 1990 reinvention as the Mexican Cultural Institute. The exhibition’s idea of a constellation is a curatorial proposal that encourages the viewer to establish multiple visual connections across time and space. Fittingly, Urban Constellation is not a simple succession of images of any house on 16th Street, nor is it the story of a space completely removed from its many connections to the city. Instead, it is the story of a house that connects the past with the present—and opens the possibility to reimagine the future of Mexico’s house of cultural diplomacy in the United States. To Oct. 9 at the Mexican Cultural Institute. Free. —Laura Irene
Addison/Ripley Fine Art 40 - 4 - 40 For the gallery’s 40th anniversary, this group exhibit features 40 artists and various mediums including painting, photography, and sculpture. Sept. 10–16. Free
American University Museum
GALLERY TALK A discussion on climate change between curators Mary D. Garrard and Norma Broude and artist/climate activist Diane Burko, whose exhibition Seeing Climate Change addresses the ever-more pressing issue. Oct. 12, 6 p.m. Free. INTO THE LIGHT Using geometric designs and spiritual ideas, artist Anil Revri attempts to bridge East and West—where he’s from and where he lives. Curated by Eleanor Heartney, whose essay on Revri’s work will be available at the exhibit. Oct.16–Dec. 12. Free. GALLERY TALK Artist Anil Revir and Eleanor Heartney, who curated the fall exhibit, discuss Revri’s Into the Light. Nov. 20, 3 p.m. Free.
Brentwood Arts Exchange PUT IT TO THE FIRE: A VISUAL RESPONSE TO MENTAL ILLNESS A group exhibition that provides a glimpse into mental health through the artists’ eyes. Aug. 9–Oct. 9. Free. TOM LIDDLE Artist in residency, opening performance. Sept. 17. 7 p.m. $15.
DC Arts Center AÏLLMENT (ISOLATION) The pandemic triggered feelings of isolation and claustrophobia for artist
REMEMBRANCE A place for artists to remember those they’ve loved and lost, in honor of the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11 and the rising COVID-19 death toll. Sept. 10–Oct. 11. Free. SIDE BY SIDE A showing of artworks—created by friends, partners, colleagues, and more—that are intended to be viewed as a pair. Oct. 15–Nov. 14. Free. ALONG FOR THE RIDE An artistic ode to the many modes of transportation. Nov. 19–Jan. 2. Free.
Fred Schneider Gallery of Art PHOTOGRAPHS 2016-2021 A showcase of Roberto Bocci’s work spanning the past five years. Sept. 4– Oct. 23. Free.
Freer Gallery of Art FALCONS: THE ART OF THE HUNT Select paintings and artifacts spanning from ancient Egypt to China that celebrate the iconic falcon. The bird of prey has been associated with Egypt’s god of the heavens, trained hunters for royalty, and are still revered, especially in the Arab world, today. Jan. 15, 2022–July 17, 2022. Free.
Glenstone Museum ARTHUR JAFA Featuring film, sculpture, and photography, this exhibit is the artist’s first solo in D.C. Born in 1960, Jafa’s work tells the story of Black American life using found images, video, and more. Opens Sept. 16. Free. JEFF WALL Dubbed a “major monographic exhibition” by the museum, this show includes nearly 30 pieces—early pictures to recent large-scale color
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“Alma Thomas, Snoopy Sees a Sunrise, 1970, Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 in.,Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC, Gift of Mr. and Mrs.David K. Anderson”
Otro Tiempo Transformer Gallery’s 18th annual solo exhibition by a D.C.-based artist is Otro Tiempo, featuring photographs and videos by MichaelAngelo Rodriguez in his first solo exhibition. MichaelAngelo Rodriguez, born 1991 in Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania, is a 2018 BFA graduate from George Washington University. Otro Tiempo includes images from several series, all reflecting Rodriguez’s ongoing interest to capture the essence of a moment employing strategies of time and light to express retrospection and displacement prompted by the catalyst of familial geographic separation. Sept. 18 to Oct. 23 at Transformer. Free; advanced registration is required for some events. —Laura Irene
Laurie Anderson: The Weather
Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful
prints—spanning the past 50 years of Wall’s art. Opens Oct. 21. Free. VIJA CELMINS A showcase of Vija Celmins selected works, from the 1960s to the present, which often provide intimate glimpses into nature. Opens in November. Free.
Hemphill Fine Arts OPEN ON K The gallery’s first, fully open to the public exhibit since the pandemic began is going big, featuring “big impact,” defiant pieces from artists Rush Baker IV, Colby Caldwell, Steven Cushner, Stephanie Garon, Franz Jantzen, Mark Kelner, Tanya Marcuse, Renée Stout, and Julie Wolfe, to welcome gallery-goers back. Sept. 25–Nov. 24. Free.
Hillwood Estate, Museum, & Gardens THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE: YESTERDAY AND TODAY A virtual lecture on the history of the Harlem Renaissance with a focus on Josephine Baker, Jack Johnson, and Duke Ellington that will discuss how the movement effected modern-day culture from the Black Lives Matter to prominent artists such as Toni Morrison, August Wilson, and Isabel Wilkerson. Oct. 14, 6:30 p.m. Online. Free–$10. THE JAZZ AGE: AMERICAN STYLE IN THE 1920S Decorative arts historian Stephen Harrison discusses how jazz, travel, design, and decadence influenced America’s 1920s style. Oct. 21, 6:30 p.m. Online. Free–$10. BEFORE HILLWOOD: A HISTORY OF THIS LAND Elizabeth Rule and Wilfried Zeisler will discuss (and answer questions about) Hillwood land and the Indigenous people who first lived there as well as it’s connection to the 1700s, slavery, and more. Nov. 16, 5:30 p.m. Free–$10.
Hillyer Art Space THERE, THERE A virtual exhibit exploring what it means to be present in a period filled with absence.
Featuring new work by Julia Kwon, Lisa Park, Nara Park, and Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries. To Jan. 15. Online. Free.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden NICOLAS PARTY: DRAW THE CURTAIN That scaffolding currently encasing the Hirshorn? Expect it to become Nicolas Party’s newest exhibit! The internationally renowned Swiss artist’s Draw the Curtain will wrap the entirety of the temporary structure, spanning 829 feet, becoming the artist’s largest work to date. Sept. 18–March 3. Free. MARK BRADFORD: PICKETT’S CHARGE Inspired by the 19th-century cyclorama of Paul Philippoteaux, the L.A.-based artist’s exhibit weaves together past and present to invite viewers to reconsider American history and its narratives. Ongoing. Free. TOYIN OJIH ODUTOLA: A COUNTERVAILING THEORY Taking over the Hirshhorn’s second floor circular inner galleries, you’ll find 40 large-scale monochromatic drawings depicting a fictional story of Odutola’s making. The New York-based artist uses pastel, charcoal, and chalk to communicate her elaborate myths. Nov. 19–April 13. Free.
Honfleur Gallery KEEPING PACE Multimedia artist Sara Dittrich explores how body and land are connected in her recent collection of work. Aug. 13–Oct. 2. Free
Korean Cultural Center with Culture House
THE DAY AFTER Korean media artists Ivetta Sunyoung Kang, Su Hyun Nam, and Jayoung Yoon explore the many unexpected effects of COVID-19 and isolation in hopes of allowing space to heal. Sept. 18– Nov. 20. Free. CRANE DANCERS The massive, site-specific mural installation in the Avant Garden by Julia Chon, a.k.a. Kimchi Juice, combines traditional Korean symbols with pop art to explore, consider, and convey the nuances of the Korean diaspora. Sept. 4–Jan. 30. Free.’
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Laurie Anderson can do, and probably has done, it all. The multi-hyphenate avant-garde artist has lectured at Harvard, been a critic for outlets such as Artforum, and invented at least two musical instruments. Her work incorporates spoken word, video, and theatrical elements; she’s directed two documentaries and was NASA’s first artist in residence. She’s a Grammy winner and electronic music pioneer; her best known album is 1982’s Big Science, which includes “O Superman,” the eight-and-a half-minute single (and a part of her larger work United States) that introduced her to the world outside of New York’s art scene. This fall, the Hirshhorn will show Laurie Anderson: The Weather, the largest U.S. exhibition of her work so far, featuring 10 new artworks alongside selections from her long career and hand-painted selections on walls. Anderson has long been preoccupied with America and its self-image and its contradictions; this is a clarifying and exciting opportunity to immerse ourselves in her work, in the swirl of a pandemic, political crisis, and awfully strange weather. Sept. 24 to July 31, 2022, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Free. —Emma Sarappo
Life of a Neuron ARTECHOUSE’s fall exhibition is a bit more science than art. That’s not surprising, considering the heavy emphasis the techy Southwest venue puts on technology as a conduit (and an inspiration) for artwork. In Life of a Neuron, the focus turns to the most basic unit of human technology—the tiny “thinking cells” in the brain that carry electrical impulses. The exhibition promises to dive into everything we know about how those cells work and communicate from birth to death, but the artistic interpretations begin where our knowledge ends and mystery begins. What is consciousness? What is thinking? How can science describe the wonders of human emotion and cognition? The Society for Neuroscience and a group of installations from worldwide artists will attempt to reckon with those questions in an immersive environment. Sept. 27 to Nov. 28 at ARTECHOUSE. $17–$24. —Emma Sarappo
Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful Alma W. Thomas devoted her life to capturing the joys of nature—particularly those colors and creations found around the District—and sharing that elated love through her artwork, gardening, community service, and teaching, empowering countless Black youths, artists, and community members along the way. As part of a months-long, citywide celebration of the iconic artist pegged to her 130th birthday, the exhibition Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful at the Phillips Collection offers a panorama of Thomas’ long career, starting at age 15 with her family’s migration from Georgia to D.C. and concluding, at age 81, with her making history as the first Black woman to show solo at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The exhibition—named for the celebration itself—explores the lesser known nuances behind Thomas’ interests in fashion, space, and the environment, though it bursts with her signature style: repeating vivid hues arranged in flowing, abstract designs, revealing only a whisper of reality in the form of wind-strewn wildflowers or well-tended gardens, as in “Pansies in Washington” (1969) or “Breeze Rustling Through Fall Flowers” (1968). The exhibit, like the group of other events across the city over the coming months, promises to be a lyrical meditation on the artistic mission Thomas so radically maintained: “Through color, I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness, rather than on man’s inhumanity to man.” Oct. 30 to Jan. 23, 2022 at the Phillips Collection. Free–$16. —Emma Francois
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ARTECHOUSE
THE WALL/EL MURO: WHAT IS A BORDER WALL? Presented from an architect’s perspective, this exhibit examines what the real impact of an actual border wall would be in hopes of better spotlighting the very real and very consequential realities. Opens Nov. 6. $7–$10.
National Gallery of Art CLOUDS, ICE, AND BOUNTY A collection of 27 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings from the Lee and Juliet Folger Fund Collection featuring works by Jacob van Ruisdael, Salomon van Ruysdael, Jan van Goyen, and more. Oct. 17– Feb. 27. Free. AQUATINT: FROM ITS ORIGINS TO GOYA Featuring 100 works, this is the first U.S. exhibit to examine the development of the 18th-century printmaking technique, aquatint, a style that took European artists by storm and produced a variety of pieces. Oct. 24–Feb. 21. Free.
National Museum of African Art
Life of a Neuron
The New Woman Behind the Camera Middle East Institute Art Gallery CONVERGING LINES: TRACING THE ARTISTIC LINEAGE OF THE ARAB DIASPORA IN THE U.S. Curated by Maymanah Farhat, this exhibit identifies how artists of the Arab Diaspora have greatly influenced American art for more than 200 years, though the role they’ve played is often overlooked or ignored. Sept. 10–Nov. 17. Free.
Morton Fine Art
WATER RIBBON Local Taiwanese American artist Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann’s solo exhibit focuses on her paper works exploring nature and landscape against the artificial. Sept. 8–Oct. 6. Free.
Multiple Exposures Gallery THE TRANSIT OF SHADOWS A solo photography exhibition by Fred Zafran. Sept. 7–Oct. 17. Free.
National Building Museum SUKKAH CITY X DC: COMMUNITY DAY In partnership with DC Public Library, DCJCC, PJ Library, Project Create, and Sixth & I, spend the day outside learning about and celebrating the Jewish holiday Sukkot with family-friendly activities, workshops, and more. Sukkahs, temporary huts built to celebrate the weeklong holiday, will be on display as will the architects who designed them. Sept. 19, 11a.m.–2 p.m. Free. LEGACIES OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER To mark the 20th anniversary of the Twin Towers’ destruction, MacArthur Fellows Ben Katchor, a cartoonist and New York observer, and Camilo José Vergara, photographer and sociologist, discuss Lower Manhattan, the land’s history, and more, in conjunction with Vergara’s current exhibit, The Towers of the WTC: 51 Years of Photographs, on view at the museum through March 6, 2022. Sept. 27. 6:30 p.m–8 p.m. Free.
This extensive survey of women in photography from the 1920s to the 1950s, organized jointly by the National Gallery of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, includes works by such well-known figures as Lisette Model, Tina Modotti, Berenice Abbott, Margaret Bourke-White, Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, and Helen Levitt. But such bold-faced names are in the minority in this exhibit; the curators’ biggest achievement is to provide a platform for a panoply of largely forgotten photographers—in Asia as well as Europe and the Americas—who took advantage of new, compact cameras and broader career options for women in the first half of the 20th century, including wartime assignments that required genuine bravery. These photographers did not limit themselves to the soft-focus imagery common among women photographers working in the 19th century; the most impressive cluster of works features such avant-garde techniques as vertiginous angles, solarization, long exposures, mixed-media works, and photograms (including Bernice Kolko’s clever cameraless image of hair and scissors). The exhibit also grapples with the way that some of the photographers’ ethnographic work engaged in racist stereotyping, and examines how, for example, their experimentation with portraying the human body took a cruel turn in the work of Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl. Ultimately, few works in the exhibit are radically different from what men were producing around the same time, but the fact that women we’ve largely forgotten were managing to match or exceed the work of men, despite the inherent obstacles, is something worth celebrating. Oct. 31 to Jan. 30, 2022, at the National Gallery of Art. Free. —Louis Jacobson
FUTURES
If you’re a newcomer to D.C.—as in, you moved here after 2004—you may not have ever stepped foot in the Smithsonian’s second oldest building, though you’ve certainly seen it. The red brick Arts and Industries building, which sits between the Hirshhorn and the Smithsonian Castle, has been closed to the public for 15 years. In the early aughts, it was kind of falling apart: Everything leaked, and the SI Archives’ website sheepishly admits the HVAC was “on its last legs” when the decision was made to fully close it and move out all staff in 2006. The history it held—it was the first dedicated exhibition space SI ever had and served as an early site for what later became Air and Space, Natural History, and American History—made it worth saving, and a $55 million renovation finished in 2015 meant it’s been a special event space (so a lucky few have
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CARAVANS OF GOLD, FRAGMENTS IN TIME: ART, CULTURE, AND EXCHANGE ACROSS MEDIEVAL SAHARAN AFRICA An exhibition that showcases West Africa’s impact on the world while also questioning how museums can represent the past with only fragments. The museum asks: “What role does imagination play in resurrecting the past?” July 16–Feb. 27. Free. IKÉ UDÉ: NOLLYWOOD PORTRAITS In 2014, Iké Udé returned to Nigeria—home of Nollywood, Nigeria’s $3 billion film industry—to photograph the country’s stars. See the photographer’s work as well as other Nollywood mementos. Opening Oct. 1. Free.
National Museum of American History RECKONING WITH REMEMBRANCE: HISTORY, INJUSTICE, AND THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL The Emmett Till Memorial Commission erected nearly a dozen historical markers to remember and honor Till 53 years after he was brutally lynched and killed at age 14. Since 2008, the signs have been defaced, shot at, and stolen. One of those markers, with more than 300 bullet holes, is currently on display as a reminder of the racism that still exists in America today. Sept. 3–Oct. 5. Free.
National Museum of Women in the Arts FRESH TALK: PLATED POLITICS The NMWA hosts a conversation about women in the kitchen— from home cooks to the culinary industry. Sept. 26, 4:30 p.m. Online. Free–$10. FOURTH ANNUAL MAKEHER SUMMIT WORKSHOPS A day of virtual workshops and resource sharing for creative entrepreneurs of all levels. Sept. 27, 10 a.m. Online. Free–$10. WOMEN ARTISTS: FOUR CENTURIES OF CREATIVITY NMWA and the Gadsden Arts Center and Museum lead an Art Talk Live on the exhibition Women Artists: Four Centuries of Creativity. Oct. 28, 5:30 p.m. Free–$12.
National Portrait Gallery PORTRAITS OF PROMISED LANDS Moderated by NPG curator Dorothy Moss, Philip Tinari, director and CEO of the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing discusses Hung Liu’s artwork, currently on display at NPG, with Yingchen Peng, an assistant arts professor at American University; Liu’s Portraits of Promised Lands runs through May 2022. Sept. 21, 5 p.m. Free. TOWARD AN AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL AESTHETIC IDYLL: ART AND IMAGES AT WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY, 18631914 HU assistant professor and coordinator of art history Melanee Harvey talks with Kate Clarke
made it inside). Now, to celebrate the building’s 140th anniversary and the institution’s 175th, the Arts and Industries Building is reopening to the public with a fall exhibition, FUTURES. What kind of futures? “Futures Past,” for one, showing off tucked-away Smithsonian artifacts that don’t get much airtime, plus “Futures That Inspire,” “Futures That Unite,” and “Futures That Work.” Expect a lot of design-thinking optimism and impressive inventions. Or, as SI puts it: “Smell a molecule. Clean your clothes in a wetland. Meditate with an AI robot. Travel through space and time. Watch water being harvested from air. Become an emoji.” Become an emoji, people. November to January 2022 at the Arts and Industries Building. Free. —Emma Sarappo
Sharon Camille Farmer was the first African American woman to be hired as a White House photographer and first woman to be director of the White House Photography Office. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., she began her career as a freelance photographer. She worked for the Smithsonian Institution, the Washington Post, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She documented news stories, political campaigns, cultural events, conferences, and portraits. This retrospective at the Corner (with no official title as of yet) will have Farmer’s archived photos from throughout her career on display. Nov. 19–Feb. 27 at the Corner at Whitman-Walker. Free. —Laura Irene
Insurrection: 1 Year Later It still doesn’t seem real. How could a political rally at the Ellipse degenerate into a raiding party that nearly pierced the heart of our democracy? How could a sitting president provoke an outright attack on the legislative branch and escape responsibility? How did the United States escape the fate of other failed states whose rotten foundations were exploited by mobs and despots? And how has it already been nearly a year since the day of the Capitol attack? As shock fades into numb resignation, our country must begin picking up the pieces and taking stock of who we really are in the wake of Jan. 6, 2021. Insurrection: 1 Year Later, an exhibition by artist Bruce Allen, will revisit the events of the attack via text and photographs at the newly opened Bad Candy gallery in D.C.’s Brookland neighborhood. Opens Jan. 8, 2022, at Bad Candy. $10. —Will Lennon
Phillips Collection SIMONE AGOUSSOYE An artist talk between Simone Agoussoye, winner of the People’s Choice Award for Inside Outside, Upside Down, and Phillips curatorial assistant Camille Brown. Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m. Free. DAVID DRISKELL: ICONS OF NATURE AND HISTORY Featuring more than 50 of Driskell’s paintings, collages, prints, and drawings, this is the first exhibit to comprehensively explore his work as a radical artist, educator, and art historian as well as his legacy as a curator who worked to prove Black art is a crucial part of American art. Oct. 16–Jan. 9. Free–$16.
Photoworks UNDER THE INFLUENCE Celebrating the life, art, and influence of Frank P. “Tico” Herrera, cofounder of Photoworks and local photography teachers. See his work as well as the work of his students. Sept. 3– Oct. 10. Free. OFFICIAL | UNOFFICIAL DC A juried photography exhibit that seeks to capture the real D.C. Opens Oct. 1. Online. Free.
Torpedo Factory Art Center
HYPOTHESES This group exhibition questions how artists explore new ideas and push past existing boundaries to discover something new. Sept. 11– Oct. 31. Free. 2021 FALL SALON This art show meets market features more than five dozen original pieces by local artists all available for purchase to support local creators and galleries. Nov. 10–Dec. 12. Free.
IN A PUBLIC PLACE: TOGETHER/ALONE Rick Braswel’s photo collection of people in cities going about their lives, expressing emotions, and interacting with loved ones and strangers. Sept. 10–Oct. 10. Online. Free. FICTIONAL FRIENDS During the lockdown phase of the pandemic, artist Rosemary Luckett turned to collaging—transforming paper into faces. Those collages inspired paintings that she refers to as portraits of “Everywoman” on view at Touchstone. Sept. 10– Oct. 10. Online. Free.
AN END TO SLEEP This solo show by Detroit-based artist Tony Hope embraces the horror season with a playable six-hole mini golf course inspired by scenes from the Nightmare on Elm Street films and adorned with animatronics, lights, and hyperrealist sculpture as well as canvas art pieces. The exhibit is blacklight sensitive and stays open to the public through midnight on Halloween. Sept. 11–Oct. 31. Free.
OTRO TIEMPO MichaelAngelo Rodriguez’s first solo exhibition features a series of photography and video works that attempt to capture a moment in time. Sept.18–Oct. 23. Free.
WHEREWITHAL GRANTS INFORMATION SESSION Learn about both the Wherewithal Project Grants or Research Grants local visual artists and collectives before the Oct. 18 deadline. Sept. 23, 6 p.m. Free.
Venues
ADDISON/RIPLEY FINE ART
1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW (202) 338-5180. addisonripleyfineart.com. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW (202) 885-2787. american.edu/cas/katzen. BRENTWOOD ARTS EXCHANGE 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood (301) 277-2863. arts.pgparks.com. DC ARTS CENTER
JONNA MCKONE A showcase of the Baltimorebased filmmaker, photographer, and journalist’s visual art that employs natural elements and historical research and explores ideas of body, land, and buildings as memory vessels. Oct. 27–Jan. 2. Free. NOAH BREUER As a creator, Breuer starts projects with researching and collecting before reimagining
9 Hillyer Ct. NW (202) 338-0325. athillyer.org. HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN 7th Street and Independence Avenue SW (202) 633-4674. hirshhorn.si.edu.
(202) 365-8392. honfleurgallery.com. KOREAN CULTURAL CENTER 2370 Massachusetts Ave. NW (202) 939-5688. washingtondc.korean-culture.org. MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE ART GALLERY 1763 N St. NW (202) 785-1141. mei.org/art-gallery. 52 O St. NW #302 (202) 628-2787. mortonfineart.com. MULTIPLE EXPOSURES GALLERY 105 North Union St. #312, Alexandria (703) 683-2205. multipleexposuresgallery.com. NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM 401 F St. NW (202) 272-2448. nbm.org. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW (202) 737-4215. nga.gov. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART 950 Independence Ave. SW (202) 633-4600. africa.si.edu. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW (202) 633-1000. americanhistory.si.edu. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS 1250 New York Ave. NW (202) 783-5000. nmwa.org.
2438 18th St. NW (202) 462-7833. dcartscenter.org. DISTRICT ARTS
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 8th and F streets NW (202) 633-8300. npg.si.edu.
(301) 695-4050. districtarts.com. DUPONT UNDERGROUND
PHILLIPS COLLECTION 1600 21st St. NW (202) 387-2151. phillipscollection.org.
19 Dupont Circle NW
PHOTOWORKS
dupontunderground.org.
7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo
FOUNDRY GALLERY
(301) 634-2274. glenechophotoworks.org.
2118 8th St. NW (202) 232–0203. foundrygallery.org. FRANKLIN PARK ARTS CENTER 36441 Blueridge View Ln., Purcellville (540) 338-8598.
TORPEDO FACTORY ART CENTER AND TARGET GALLERY 105 N. Union St., Alexandria (703) 838-4565. torpedofactory.org. TOUCHSTONE GALLERY
FRED SCHNEIDER GALLERY OF ART 888 N. Quincy St. #102, Arlington (703) 841-9404. facebook.com/fredschnidergallery. FREER GALLERY OF ART Jefferson Drive and 12th Street SW (202) 633-0457. asia.si.edu.
VisArts
HILLYER ART SPACE
MORTON FINE ART
Washington Project for the Arts
franklinparkartscenter.org.
Transformer
(202) 686-5807. hillwoodmuseum.org.
1241 Good Hope Rd. SE
15 North Market St., Frederick
Touchstone Gallery
4155 Linnean Ave. NW
HONFLEUR GALLERY
von ammon co
Sharon Farmer retrospective
Lemay, senior historian and interim director of the Portrait Gallery’s Scholarly Center, about the African Methodist Episcopal—the first independent Black religious denomination, and how it influenced Wilberforce University, one of the nation’s first HBCUs. Oct. 5, 5 p.m. Free. DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS NPG hosts a celebration of music, life, and art with an altar, digital live painting, and more. Nov. 1, 6:30 p.m. Free.
the materials and information acquired; see the artist’s latest work on display. Oct. 27–Jan. 2. Free. SUGHRA HUSSAINY Specializing in the Afghan art of miniature paintings, Hussainy addresses and condemns stereotypes of Afghanistan, women, and Islam, while also expressing her love for her country of birth. Oct. 27–Jan. 2. Free. KEEP A-KNOCKIN’ This group show explores America’s rebellious roots spanning pop culture to politics. Nov. 5–Jan. 2. Free.
901 New York Ave. NW. (202) 347-2787. touchstonegallery.com. TRANSFORMER 1404 P St. NW (202) 483-1102. transformerdc.org. VISARTS 155 Gibbs St., Rockville
GLENSTONE MUSEUM
(301) 315-8200. visartsatrockville.org.
12100 Glen Rd., Potomac
VON AMMON CO
(301) 983-5001. glenstone.org.
3330 Cady’s Alley NW
HEMPHILL FINE ARTS
(917) 658-5444. vonammon.co.
434 K St. NW (202) 234-5601. hemphillfinearts.com. HILLWOOD ESTATE, MUSEUM & GARDENS
WASHINGTON PROJECT FOR THE ARTS 2124 8th St. NW (202) 234-7103. wpadc.org.
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David Hou
Dance Red Sky Performance Canada’s dance community takes great pride in its Indigenous dance artists. Case in point: The 2019 Dora Award nominations for dance were dominated by three First Nations-focused dance troupes. “Trace,” a multimedia work by Red Sky Performance, ended up beating out the National Ballet of Canada when they took home the honors for Outstanding Original Choreography. Now, Red Sky look to build momentum with a North American tour of this athletic work exploring human origins. Teme-Augama-Anishinaabe artist Sandra Laronde brings her company to Dance Place to perform Oct. 2 and 3. “Trace” will mark the first indoor ticketed performances at the beloved Brookland venue in more than 18 months, and what better way to restart than by celebrating the First Nations of North America through dance? Oct. 2 and 3 at Dance Place. Free–$100. —Rebecca J. Ritzel
Deaf Enlightenment and Arts Festival All summer, the Kennedy Center has toasted the return of live performance with its 2021 Millennium Stage summer series. Now, it continues to program engaging performances for the fall, such as the Deaf Enlightenment and Arts Festival, a showcase of Deaf artists working across various disciplines. In partnership with Visionaries of the Creative Arts and National Theatre of the Deaf, this three-day community event will feature outdoor activities and performances including dance, film, ASL poetry, and theater. The Kennedy Center will offer a range of accessibility accommodations that will be available to attendees during the festival, including courtesy wheelchairs, assistive listening devices, and open captions. Sept. 23 to 25 at the Kennedy Center REACH. Free; registration required. —Kathryn Fink 26 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
Capital One Arena GOLD OVER AMERICA TOUR STARRING SIMONE BILES A celebration of the great athletes of women’s gymnastics with performances by Biles, Jordan Chiles, MyKayla Skinner, Laurie Hernandez, Katelyn Ohashi, Peng Peng Lee, Morgan Hurd, and others. Oct. 31, 7 p.m. $22–$378.
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
NEXTNOW FEST 2021 From the University of Maryland’s new Arts for All initiative, this fest unites campus and community artists to create a world where art not only transforms the future, but also connects people. Sept. 13–19. Free. FALL M.F.A. DANCE THESIS CONCERT Two different performances: Risk of Play by Amber Daniels combines dance, theater, and play for a performance that requires audience participation; Christina Robson’s Overscore uses various visual diagrams from different arts to challenge convention. Oct. 15–17. Free–$100. THE SCHOOL OF THEATRE, DANCE, AND PERFORMANCE STUDIES’ FALL DANCE CONCERT A celebration of live performance
with carefully crafted, collaborative, and technical choreography. Nov. 18–21. Free– $100.
Dance Place JUMATATU M. POE & JERMONE DONTE BEACHAM The latest performance piece from these choreographers’ Let ‘im Move You series explores the meaning of Black queer bodies in public space. Oct. 28–30. Pay what you can. EMBARK GALA A hybrid in-person and virtual event that celebrates Dance Place with performances from current artists in residence Tariq Darrell O’Meally and Britta Joy Peterson, national artist slowdanger, and more. Nov. 12–13. Tickets on sale soon. DISABILITY JUSTICE VIRTUAL FORUM A virtual series spotlighting artists with disabilities. Dec. 18. Online. Free.
GMU Center for the Arts
CARTOGRAPHY An interactive, multidisciplinary performance following young refugees in search of home from Christopher Myers and Mason artist-in-residence Kaneza Schaal. Oct. 2, 7 p.m. $28–$46.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
TICKET OFFICE
cfa.gmu.edu or 703-993-2787
Sphinx Virtuosi
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel
Sunday, Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. Stretch beyond the usual notions of the classical music canon
Sunday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. An evening of dynamic performances and fascinating stories
Mason Artist-in-Residence
Tracing Visions
Jerusalem Quartet
FEATURING Arts Emerging: A Celebration of Renewal
Saturday, Sep. 25 at 5 p.m. A one-night-only family-friendly event full of arts, food, and community Mason Artist-in-Residence
CARTOGRAPHY
Saturday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. A timely and interactive theatrical work
Featuring Pinchas Zukerman, violin/viola and Amanda Forsyth, cello
Sunday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. Performing Romantic-era works by Bruckner, Dvorák, and Brahms Virginia Opera
La Bohème: Rodolfo Remembers Saturday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. A stunning condensed version of Puccini’s masterpiece
The Glorious Music of Chopin
Canadian Brass
Making Spirits Bright
Saturday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. Impeccable music and witty repartee that’s perfect for the whole family
Dianne Reeves
Christmas Time is Here
Saturday, Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. One of the world’s preeminent vocalists
American Festival Pops Orchestra Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season Saturday, Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. A beloved holiday tradition!
Additional tickets go on sale October 12 for performances featuring Kristin Chenoweth, Mark Morris Dance Group, and more! Located on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University.
For information on health and safety protocols, visit cfa.gmu.edu.
washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 27
XMB Photography
A CONCERT PRESENTATION OF FOOTLOOSE A dance concert based on the hit 1984 Kevin Bacon classic. Oct. 28–30. $15–$30. CAMILLE A. BROWN & DANCERS Known for combining ballet with modern dance, hip-hop, African, and tap, Camille A. Brown’s company dances about race, culture, and identity. Jan. 22, 8 p.m. $28–$46.
Kennedy Center CHAMBER DANCE PROJECT: DANCE ON
FILM Shot throughout the U.S. during 2020 and 2021, D.C.’s contemporary ballet company has reimagined its work as a series of seven dance films. Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. $30–$70. THE ROOTS RESIDENCY: BLACK THOUGHT: STREAMS OF THOUGHT Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter leads a conversation on art, inspiration, and creative consciousness. Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m. $45. RONALD K. BROWN/EVIDENCE AND MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO Several modern dance works by Ronald K. Brown will be performed, including Mercy, in which Brown collaborates with Meshell Ndegeocello. Oct. 21–23, 8 p.m. $29–$59. TANGO APIAZZOLLADO: CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ASTOR PIAZZOLLA Tango dancers, Latin Grammy winner Rodolfo Zanetti, pianist Pablo Estigarribia, and the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestro Sergio Alessandro Buslje, celebrate the Argentine composer who revamped the tango. Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. $55–$75. DORRANCE DANCE The Nutcracker on tap (dance). This jazz interpretation of the classic holiday ballet will put a new strut on the season. Dec. 3–4. $24–$79.
Lincoln Theatre BENDELACREME & JINKX MONSOON These two queens are gonna put the drag back in “make the yuletide gay” with holiday themed lewks, songs, and laughs. Dec. 5, 6:30 p.m. $35–$100.
MGM National Harbor
CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE A winter wonderland of gingerbread acrobatics, flying reindeer, and dancing snowmen set to an entirely original musical score. Dec. 17–19. $32.50–$253.
Music Center at Strathmore STATE BALLET THEATRE OF UKRAINE: CINDERELLA This rendition of the fairy tale about a servant girl, glass slippers, a charming prince, and a little bit of fairy dust is performed by graceful Ukraine dancers, choreographed by Vladimir Vasiliev and set to Sergei Prokofiev’s music. Nov. 6, 4 p.m. $35–$75. THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER Infused with hip-hop dancers, DJs, violins, and more, this new spin on an old classic takes place in modern day Manhattan and features a cameo by Kurtis Blow. Dec. 20–22, 8 p.m. $34–$68.
The Publick Playhouse
MUTE: DANCE SILENCED BY COVID A screening of local artist Shawn Short’s film about how the initial COVID-19 lockdown and the murder of George Floyd affected six U.S. dancers, followed by an artists’ talk. Oct. 17, 4 p.m. Free.
The Washington Ballet Opening Performance Celebration The pandemic halted the Washington Ballet’s 2019-2020 season at its peak, just weeks before the company was set to perform Swan Lake. Now, the ballet is welcoming audiences back with their 2021-2022 season opening performance. The 75-minute program will include staples of classical repertoire such as a pas de deux from “Diana and Acteon,” loosely based on the myth of the Roman goddess of the hunt Diana and the hunter Acteon. The duet’s triumphant tone is accompanied by more contemplative modern pieces, such as excerpts from Jessica Lang’s “Reverence.” The ballet, set to Robert Schumann’s “Symphonic Etudes Op. 13,” felt nostalgic and wistful when the Washington Ballet last performed it in October 2019 at the Sidney Harman Hall. In a pandemic, that feeling is magnified by the dancers’ interconnectedness, with several sometimes working together to lift another individual. The performance will also include new works created by company members—fitting for an occasion hinting at the company’s future. Oct. 21 and 22 at the National Building Museum. $80–$110. —Ilena Peng
S.J. Ewing & Dancers For many, the coronavirus pandemic split life into two distinct spheres. One was a virtual world, containing many of the activities that used to happen in person, at least in part: entertainment, dating, friendships, and work, for those fortunate enough to have the option of remote work. The other sphere was the reality outside our doors, where masks covered half our faces and we walked around each other on the sidewalk, where neighbors, not coworkers, became the people we saw each day. Now, these spheres have pulled at us for 18 months—but art can still be part of what helps us reconcile the two. The CulturalDC Mobile Arts Program seeks to help audiences see artistic works with fresh eyes by taking them outside traditional venues such as galleries and theaters. This fall, contemporary dance company S.J. Ewing & Dancers will present “Inside/Out” at the former Peet’s Coffee on 14th Street NW. Being both viewed and experienced by audience members visiting the vacant space, the performance can help bridge that gap between what we’ve seen in the past months and what we’ve experienced in our own bodies. October at the former Peet’s Coffee at 1829 14th St. NW. Check for updates at culturaldc.org. Free. —Mary Scott Manning
28 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
Venues CAPITAL ONE ARENA 601 F St. NW (202) 628-3200. capitalonearena.com. CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Stadium Drive and Route 193, College Park (301) 405-2787. theclarice.umd.edu. DANCE PLACE 3225 8th St. NE (202) 269-1600. danceplace.org. GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS 4400 University Dr., Fairfax (703) 993-8888. cfa.gmu.edu. KENNEDY CENTER 2700 F St. NW (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. LINCOLN THEATRE 1215 U St. NW (202) 888-0050. thelincolndc.com. MGM NATIONAL HARBOR 101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill (844) 346-4464. mgmnationalharbor.com. MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE 5301 Tuckerman Ln., North Bethesda (301) 581-5100. strathmore.org. THE PUBLICK PLAYHOUSE 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly (301) 277-1710. arts.pgparks.com.
Courtesy of DC Improv
Comedy Michelle Wolf, DC Improv, Nov. 5–7
DC Comedy Festival Dave Chappelle. Wanda Sykes. Tony Woods. All these comedians have one thing in common: Their careers started in D.C. While the District has produced countless comics, comedian and DC Comedy Festival organizer Eddie Liles says many people pay little attention to the comic scene or the venues throughout the city. That’s why his festival was born in 2017: to showcase the producers and venues that are putting on shows, the D.C. comedy scene, and the local talent. Over the course of five days, comics from all over will perform at classic venues such as Busboys and Poets and Dupont Underground. However, this year’s event will also include a venue addition—the Miracle Theatre on Sept. 18, with Tony Woods headlining. With last year’s festival being canceled due to COVID-19, Liles sees this year’s event as a way to show people that the D.C. comedy scene is still alive and thriving. “We want to make sure everybody understands the comedy inside of D.C. is not gone and we hope to rejuvenate it,” Liles says. To Sept. 18 at various venues. Free. —Hannah Docter-Loeb
The Birchmere
PREACHER LAWSON He came in 12th on America’s Got Talent; he’ll certainly come in first at this showing. Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. $45. PAULA POUNDSTONE Longtime comic, panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!, and host of Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone podcast brings her latest laughs to Alexandria. Nov. 19, 20, 21, 7:30 p.m. $55. A JOHN WATERS CHRISTMAS After a pandemicprompted hiatus, Baltimore’s very own king of trash, sleaze, and blessedly perverted ways is back on the road with his 25th Annual Christmas Tour and, trust us, it’s gonna be filled with COVID jokes. Too soon? Never. Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m. $55. PUDDLES PITY PARTY: UNSEQUESTERED TOUR Clowns are terrifying, but if you think a sad one is funny, this show is for you. Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. $49.50.
Capital Turnaround
STEVE-O’S BUCKET LIST TOUR That other dude from MTV’s Jackass is crossing things off his bucket list, but be warned: He’s been known to offend. Dec. 4, 7 p.m. $30.
DAR Constitution Hall
NATE BARGATZE All new jokes from the comic behind the Netflix special The Greatest Average American. Sept. 24, 7 p.m. $37–$157.75. THE FABULOUSLY FUNNY COMEDY FESTIVAL Mike Epps, Desi Banks, and others round out this one night only lineup! Oct. 1, 7 p.m. $59–$125. JO KOY He was a regular on Chelsea Lately, his 2019 comedy album reached No. 1 on Billboard’s charts, he’s got Netflix specials, and he sells out arenas. Oct. 9, 7 p.m., Oct. 10, 6 p.m. $55–$65.50.
KATT WILLIAMS: WORLD WAR III TOUR The Emmy Award-winning comic has new jokes and lots of social commentary. Oct. 29, 8 p.m. $59–$125. BERT KREISCHER The star of The Cabin with Bert Kreischer is touring with his classic party boy meets dad humor. Nov. 3, 7 p.m. $37.75–$195. ILIZA: BACK IN ACTION TOUR If you cooked alongside her while watching Don’t Panic Pantry on her Insta feed during the pandemic, now’s your chance to laugh alongside her too! Nov. 12, 7 p.m. $47.50–$63.
DC Improv
SARAH COOPER Last fall she was named one of 10 comics to watch out for (Variety) and a comic to know (Vulture), so don’t say we didn’t warn you. Sept. 23–26. $30–$140. KIRAN DEOL This comic does it all—from acting and directing to writing—but now she’s back touring as a stand-up comedian. Sept. 24–26. $17–$20. JOSH POTTER He started on morning radio; now he works on two podcasts—including one he named after himself. He’s also a rising comic. Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. $20–$100. DERAY DAVIS Get ready to ROFL with the former host of MTV’s Hip Hop Squares and Joking Off. Oct. 7–10. $55. TONY WOODS AND FRIENDS D.C.’s own Tony Woods brings his signature stand-up, and a few friends, to DC Improv’s lounge. Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m. $25–$120. CORINNE FISHER AND KRYSTYNA HUTCHINSON This comedy duo, the creators of the Guys We F#@$!D podcast, have been making raunchy jokes since 2011. Don’t miss their signature house party-like comedy vibes. Oct. 14–17. $30–$35. RAMON RIVAS He started in Cleveland, now he’s here (for a third time). Oct. 22–24. $17–$20. GODFREY Known for his high-energy stage shows, it’s no wonder his podcast is called In Godfrey We Trust. Oct. 28–31. $25–$160. MICHELLE WOLF Remember that time she performed at the 2018 White House Correspondents’ Dinner? We’ve loved her ever since. Nov. 5–7. $45–$220. ALI SIDDIQ Writer, stand-up star, and public speaker, Siddiq was named the comic to watch by Comedy Central in 2013 and a finalist of NBC’s Bring the Funny in 2019. Nov. 17–20. $25–$140.
Kennedy Center PATTON OSWALT: WHO’S READY TO LAUGH? How do you even sum up a guy like Patton Oswalt? He’s an award-winning comic, he’s been on TV and starred in movies, he helped finish his wife’s book when she died unexpectedly, and he’s disarmingly funny. Sept. 17, 7p.m. and 9 p.m. $49–$79. JONATHAN VAN NESS: IMAGINARY LIVING ROOM OLYMPIAN We all know JVN is everyone’s fave member of the Fab Five, so don’t miss your chance to see this star shine. Oct. 1, 7 p.m. $39–$184. DULCÉ SLOAN It would take too much space to properly sum up this comic’s growing list of accolades, but she’s been on the fast track to stardom since becoming a Daily Show correspondent in 2017. Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m. $25.
Lincoln Theatre
BIANCA DEL RIO You loved—or loved to hate— her on Drag Race; now, don’t miss this queen throw some real life shade for her Unsanitized tour. Sept. 16, 6:30 p.m. $40. NIKKI GLASER From sketch comedy and late night TV to sex ed, Glaser is no stranger to making folks laugh. Nov. 6, 7 p.m. $40.
JIMMY O. YANG The star of HBO’s Silicon Valley and Crazy Rich Asians is kicking off his fall tour right here in D.C. Nov. 12, 6:30 p.m. $35. DEON COLE With 20 years of comedy experience, Cole, of Black-ish, Barbershop 3, and Angie Tribeca, isn’t one to miss. Oct. 22 and 23, 8 p.m. $35–$116.
MGM National Harbor
#IMOMSOHARD: THE GETAWAY TOUR You know ’em from their web series, now catch now catch Kristin and Jen, comics, moms, and BFFs, cracking jokes about motherhood, married sex, and more live. Sept. 23, 8 p.m. $39–$106.
Warner Theatre
RANDY RAINBOW The musical satirist who got famous by dumping on Trump will talk politics, perform some parodies, and answer audience questions. Oct. 8 and 9. $45–$187. DANIEL SLOSS: HUBRIS Hailing from Scotland, Daniel Sloss has made his mark on U.S. stand-up. Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. $49.50–$127. RONNY CHIENG: THE HOPE YOU GET RICH TOUR Stand-up comic and Daily Show correspondent comes to D.C. Oct. 30, 7 p.m. $37. TITO CHEETO TOUR: ANDREW SANTINO LIVE Maybe you know him from FX’s Dave, or Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, or from his podcasts Bad Friends and Whiskey Ginger—now see him live. Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m. $35–$197.
Venues THE BIRCHMERE 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria (703) 549-7500 CAPITAL TURNAROUND 770 M St. SE capitalturnaround.com DAR CONSTITUTION HALL 1776 D St. NW (202) 628-1776. dar.org. DC IMPROV 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW (202) 296-7008. dcimprov.com. KENNEDY CENTER 2700 F St. NW (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. LINCOLN THEATRE 1215 U St. NW (202) 888-0050. thelincolndc.com. MGM NATIONAL HARBOR 101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill (844) 346-4464. mgmnationalharbor.com. WARNER THEATRE 513 13th St. NW (202) 783-4000. warnertheatredc.com.
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Jim Saah
Books In My Eyes: Photographs 1982-1997 D.C. photographer Jim Saah pretty much owes his entire career to being at the right place at the right time—that is, in the right class at Wheaton High School. “I was a high school student in 10th grade,” says Saah. “They offered a photography class and I thought that would be cool. At the same time, I got into punk rock and I had this camera that the school gave me. So I just started photographing every show that I went to.” Saah’s chronicling of one of D.C.’s most prolific music periods can be seen in his new book, In My Eyes: Photographs 1982-1997. Documenting a time of no rules and no barriers, vintage black-and-white shots of DMV punk legends Fugazi, Minor Threat, Jawbox, and Government Issue capture the intensity and rawness of their performances. Saah eventually parlayed his amateur photographer status into a professional one, using his punk pics as his portfolio and shooting for outlets including this one and the Washington Post. Going back to his photography roots, Saah is aware that not only does his book capture a specific place and time in the D.C. music scene, but it also tells of what can happen going forward. “What I’m trying to show people is that young people, given the opportunity, can be very creative and support one another in that creativity,” says Saah. “The book is a celebration of this period where all these kids from the DMV found this music.” The book will be released Oct. 15 via Cabin 1 Books. $49. —Christina Smart 30 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
Capital Turnaround
TABITHA BROWN Nicknamed “America’s mom,” the actor, social media personality, and famous vegan will discuss feeding the soul and her book by the same name. Sept. 27, 8 p.m. $47.
DC Public Library PEOPLE’S UNIVERSITY: BLACK POWER IN WASHINGTON DC, 1961-1998 George Derek Musgrove, a local historian and professor, discusses his current work, mapping D.C.’s Black power movement of the ’80s and ’90s. Sept. 22, 4:30 p.m. Free. LIVE FROM THE LIBRARY: SON COSITA SERIA Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Mount Pleasant Library and Son Cosita Seria. Sept. 30, 7 p.m. Free. WASHINGTON BLADE DESCRIBE-A-THON Celebrate LGBTQ History Month by helping DC Public Library digitize Washington Blade issues from your own home. Oct. 2, 10 a.m. Online. Free.
BY BROAD POTOMAC’S SHORE: A POETRY READING Local poets including Kim Roberts, Dan Vera, Teri Cross Davis, and Regie Cabico will read from By Broad Potomac’s Shore: Great Poems from the Early Days of Our Nation’s Capital, the recently published anthology of D.C. poets from 1800 to 1930. Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. Free.
East City Bookshop KRISTIN HANNAH Author of The Four Winds chats with fellow author Christina Baker Kline. Sept. 23, 7 p.m. Online. Free–$66.23. SONYA LALLI A conversation between Sonya Lalli, romance writer and author of the new book A Holly Jolly Diwali, and Sonali Dev, known for her Bollywood love stories. Oct. 5, 7 p.m. Online. Free–$53.52. BRIAN JOHNSON Congresswoman Marie Newman joins activist Brian C. Johnson to discuss his book on American scholarship, wealth, and income inequality. Oct. 6, 7 p.m. Online. Free–$66.23.
AMERICA’S FAVORITE SEX THERAPIST RETURNS SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 24
FROM THE BESTSELLING MEMOIR NOVEMBER 10 – DECEMBER 5
A SPECIAL HOLIDAY ENGAGEMENT DECEMBER 17 – 25
Tickets at Theaterj.org/City2021 or call 202.777.3210 Three, Four, & Five-Play Subscriptions Available Now
washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 31
An established tradition in the D.C. literary community, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference is back from Sept. 16 through Oct. 30. Remaining virtual this year, the schedule includes a variety of discussions, workshops, readings, films, awards presentations, and a keynote talk from Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic Michael Dirda of the Washington Post’s Book World. The events are all free to the public, with the exception of the writing workshops, which interested parties can register for at fscottfestival.org; they feature noted writers such as Tope Folarin, Lauren Francis-Sharma, and E. Ethelbert Miller. Adult and student winners and runners-up of the annual short story competition will read from their winning stories on Oct. 21, and the Writer’s Center will host a tribute to John Edgar Wideman on Oct. 29. Wideman himself will be in conversation with Walton Muyumba on Oct. 30 in “A Conversation About the Art of Fiction.” Sept. 16 to Oct. 30 at fscottfestival.org. Free. —Hannah Grieco
sure to discuss with David Brooks. Sept. 29, 7 p.m. $12–$20. SUTTON FOSTER The star of TV’s Younger is a crafter at heart; here she talks about her book, Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life, and how crafting can help you too. Oct. 14, 7 p.m. $35–$40.
Courtesy of Politics and Prose
F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference
Solid State Books JAI CHAKRABARTI The author discusses her debut novel that tackles romance, forgiveness, and the aftermath of World War II, set in New York and rural India of the 1970s. Sept. 17, 7 p.m. Online. Free. VICTORIA CHANG The poet chats about Dear Memory, her collection of letters, mementos, and more that delves into the act and art of remembering. Oct. 28, 7 p.m. Online. Free.
Warner Theatre
Tomás Morin Aside from his work curating anthologies and translating Pablo Neruda, Tomás Morin has become a noted poet in his own right, with work published in Poetry, Blackbird, and Borderlands. Morin’s energetic and funny debut collection, titled A Larger Country, netted him the American Poetry Review Honickman First Book Prize in 2012. His more recent book, Patient Zero, is a darker collection that examines love as a virologist might study an infectious disease. Morin’s poems oscillate masterfully between the deeply personal (“For My Daughter”) and the baldly political (“Goosestep”). His work is a pleasure to read, but also lush and dense, thick with literary references and featuring drop-ins from the likes of Shakespeare, Cleopatra, Odysseus, and Socrates. His new book, titled Machete, is a collection of poems for hacking through life on a merciless planet. Morin has also written a memoir called Let Me Count the Ways coming in 2022. He will discuss Machete and poetry in this online event hosted by Solid State Books. Oct. 20 virtually via Solid State Books. Free. —Will Lennon
Rick Riordan Live on your laptop, Rick Riordan is coming to Politics and Prose! The New York Times best-selling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series will be reading from his new book, Daughter of the Deep, on Oct. 11. Purchase of the book is required, but the event includes both a signed copy and an exclusive tour T-shirt. Riordan is known across the globe for his funny, relatable, action-packed middle grade stories—and Daughter of the Deep, his “modern-day homage to Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” is no exception. Books can be picked up at the store or shipped to your home. Oct. 11 virtually via Politics and Prose. $20–$40. —Hannah Grieco
Kennedy Center
Lost City Books
QUESTLOVE The one and only drummer and cofrontman of the Roots, DJ, and best-selling author discusses his latest work, Music Is History—a copy of the book is included with ticket purchase. Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m. $60.
LAURA ZAM Author, speaker, certified trauma professional, and sexuality educator Laura Zam discusses her memoir (and sexual healing odyssey), The Pleasure Plan, with local sexuality educator Justyn Hintze. Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m. $5. WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR FRIEND MIKEY? Lost City Books hosts a table read and discussion of Sean McGrath’s three-act play about several friends who attempt to comprehend how one of their own could’ve killed his wife. Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m. $5.
Library of Congress 2021 NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL More than 100 authors from across genres and styles—including Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Roxane Gay, Lupita Nyong’o, LeVar Burton, and Isabel Allende—will take part in this year’s National Book Fest, spanning 10 days with various virtual interview events and in-person gatherings at the Library of Congress. Sept. 17–26. Free.
Lincoln Theatre ANITA HILL The woman behind the landmark 1991 testimony accusing now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment will dicuss her latest book on gender violence, combining memoir with social analysis. Oct. 1, 6:30 p.m. $45–$60.
One More Page Books GAYLE JESSUP WHITE Journalist and genealogy enthusiast Gayle Jessup White discusses her book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy, as well as the four decades she spent researching her relations to Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Nov. 18, 7 p.m. Free. RONALD SMITH Black Panther fans rejoice: Podcaster Preeti Chhibber chats with Smith about the second book in his Young Prince series, Black Panther Spellbound, which drops in September. Sept. 29, 7 p.m. Online. Free.
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GABRIELLE UNION Actress, advocate, and writer Gabrielle Union talks about You Got Anything Stronger?, her latest memoir, and about all of life’s plot twists. Every ticket purchase comes with a copy of the book. Sept. 21, 8 p.m. $35–$127.59.
MEG CABOT The author of The Princess Diaries returns to discuss her latest Little Bridge Island novel with Jen DeLuca. Sept. 30, 7 p.m. Online. Free. MAAN GABRIEL Local writer by night, comms person by day, Maan Gabriel, celebrates the release of her debut novel, After Perfect. Oct. 6, 7 p.m. Online. Free. BIG BOOK BIRTHDAY BASH! Six YA authors— Laura E. Weymouth, Makiia Lucier, Rebecca Ross, Laura Taylor Namey, Rebecca Kim Wells, and Lauren Blackwood—unite virtually to celebrate all their November releases. Nov. 5, 7 p.m. Online. Free.
Politics and Prose JARRETT ADAMS Civil rights lawyer Jarrett Adams, who, at 17, was sentenced to prison by an all-White jury for a crime he didn’t commit (and for which he has since been exonerated), discusses his book Redeeming Justice: From Defendant to Defender, My Fight for Equity on Both Sides of a Broken System. Sept. 19, 3 p.m. Online. Free. DAVE ZIRIN Washington Post sports reporter Michael Lee sits down with Dave Zirin to talk about Zirin’s latest book, The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World. Sept. 20, 6 p.m. Online. Free–$33.98. TARANA BURKE The woman who started the #MeToo movement discusses her long-awaited memoir about how she came to say “me too” and, ultimately, ignited a global movement against sexual misconduct. Sept. 23, 7 p.m. Online. Free–$35.99. ALEC ROSS Hillary Rodham Clinton interviews Alec Ross about his debut book, The Raging 2020s, and his proposal to reset the balance between people, politics, and corporations. Sept. 28, 1 p.m. Online. Free–$35.99.
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue ANDERSON COOPER The CNN anchor and bestselling author discusses his latest book, Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, which tells the story of Cooper’s mother’s family, the Vanderbilts. Sept. 22, 7 p.m. $37–$40. KATE BOWLER IN CONVERSATION WITH DAVID BROOKS The author of Everything Happens for a Reason, Bowler’s latest book No Cure for Being Human: (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) tackles cancer, ambition, faith, and peace—topics she’s
Venues
CAPITAL TURNAROUND 770 M St. SE capitalturnaround.com. EAST CITY BOOKSHOP
645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Suite 100 (202) 290-1636. eastcitybookshop.com. KENNEDY CENTER 2700 F St. NW (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 101 Independence Ave. SE (202) 707-5000. loc.gov. LINCOLN THEATRE 1215 U St. NW (202) 888-0050. thelincolndc.com. LOST CITY BOOKS 2467 18th St. NW. (202) 232-4774. lostcitybooks.com ONE MORE PAGE BOOKS 2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington (703) 300-9746. onemorepagebooks.com. POLITICS AND PROSE 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW (202) 364-1919. politics-prose.com. SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE 600 I St. NW (202) 408-3100. sixthandi.org. SOLID STATE BOOKS 600 H St. NE (202) 897-4201. solidstatebooksdc.com. WARNER THEATRE 513 13th St. NW (202) 783-4000. warnertheatredc.com.
Courtesy of AFI Silver
Film
with a new lineup of sexy shorts screening at the Black Cat. Nov 4–5. $25.
Double Exposure
DOUBLE EXPOSURE INVESTIGATIVE FILM FESTIVAL AND SYMPOSIUM A five-day virtual fest that lives at the intersection between investigative journalism and filmmaking, with more than 75 speakers, more than 35 panels, plus master classes, workshops, networking opportunities, pitch sessions, and special screenings. Oct. 13-17. Online. $75–$175 ($12 for single screening tickets).
Freer Gallery of Art THE GODDESS Celebrate National Silent Movie Day with a virtual screening of this famous Chinese silent film, starring Ruan Lingyu and presented with a new score by pianist and composer Donald Sosin. Sept. 29. Online. 7 p.m. Free. A TALE OF THREE SISTERS Reunited in the remote countryside of their youth, after years in foster care and service, sisters Reyhan, Nurhan, and Havva must outwit the men in their lives to return to the city. Turkish with English subtitles. Oct. 15–31. Online. Free. HEY THERE! There’s a pandemic lockdown in Istanbul and two friends are planning a tech scam to steal money in this comedy about what happens when people are stuck at home. Directed by Reha Erdem, the film was written and shot over Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic. Turkish with English subtitles. Oct. 15–31. Online. Free.
GMU Center for the Arts
Latin American Film Festival
For more than 30 years, the American Film Institute has brought together the best, most innovative films from the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking worlds. AFI’s Latin American Film Festival celebrates cinema from European countries, as well as Central and South America, which only broadens its available horizons for area cinephiles. Last year’s festival was singular, even if it was only virtual: Highlights included Pablo Larraín’s provocative drama Ema and Ariel Winograd’s The Heist of the Century, a comic thriller from Argentina that should please anyone who loves the Ocean’s Eleven series. Even before this year’s slate was announced, other prestigious festivals programmed new works from Pedro Almodóvar and Santiago Segura, so it was clear this local offering would again provide an opportunity for audiences to catch world cinema on the big screen it deserves before these titles wallow in obscurity on countless streaming services. Sept. 23 to Oct. 13 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. $13–$200. —Alan Zilberman
SHAOLIN JAZZ: CAN I KICK IT? BLACK PANTHER Expect a live and remixed soundtrack played by Gerald Watson and DJ 2-Tone Jones at this special showing of Marvel’s best superhero movie starring Chadwick Boseman (RIP) as T’Challa/Black Panther. Sept. 17, 7 p.m. Free.
Landmark E Street Cinema BLUE BAYOU Living in a small Louisiana town, Antonio LeBlanc (played by writer-director Justin Chon), a Korean adoptee who’s married to Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and stepdad to their child, is faced with possible deportation. Sept. 16, 7:45 p.m. $10–$14.
National Gallery of Art ONE DAY PINA ASKED… Chantal Akerman’s 1983 film follows Pina Bausch’s Wuppertal dance theater troupe for five weeks leading up to a European tour, with a focus on repetitive movement, gendered enactments, and life’s absurdities. Sept. 15–21. Online. Free.
confrontation between the city of Philadelphia and Black liberation group MOVE, when 11 people died among the destruction of more than six dozen homes. Sept. 16, 7 p.m. $10. THE INNER SCAR The Velvet Underground’s collaborator Nico stars in this 1972 psychedelic, battle of the sexes French film. Sept. 18, 9:30 p.m. $10. THE WIND WILL CARRY US Released in 1999, this mythical story is filled with morals for personal and professional life, following a Tehran TV crew hoping to film a special funeral in a remote village, but the woman whose funeral is in question refuses to die. Sept. 19, 7 p.m. $10. THE WIND It’s 1986 and a mystery novelist (Meg Foster) arrives in Greece to be faced with a terrifying dilemma: Go outside and risk death in a monstrous hurricane or stay indoors with a murderous maniac? Sept. 23, 9:30 p.m. $10. SALT OF THE EARTH A 1954 film about an extended mine workers’ strike in New Mexico, domestic violence, and both women’s and workers’ rights. Sept. 24, 7 p.m. $10. HARLAN COUNTY USA This Academy Award– winning documentary by Barbara Kopple tells the story of a brutal, 13-month long coal miners’ strike in rural Kentucky. Sept. 24, 9:30 p.m. $10. EYIMOFE Directed by twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri, Eyimofe—meaning “this is my desire”—offers a complex and intimate look into daily modern life in Lagos, Nigeria, as two strangers hope to start over. Sept. 26, 7 p.m. $10. WHAT WE LEFT UNFINISHED Weaving together real and fictitious histories, as well as restored footage from several lost Afghan Communist films from 1978 to 1991, What We Left Unfinished pays homage to the original filmmakers who risked their lives to create art. Sept. 30, 7 p.m. $10.
Venues
AFI SILVER THEATRE AND CULTURAL CENTER 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring (301) 495-6700. afi.com/silver. AMC GEORGETOWN 14 3111 K St. NW (202) 342-6033. amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/ washington-d-c/amc-georgetown-14. BLACK CAT 1811 14th St. NW (202) 667-4490. blackcatdc.com. DOUBLE EXPOSURE FILM FESTIVAL dxfest.com. FREER GALLERY OF ART 1050 Independence Ave. SW
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH Two screenings of Amy Heckerling and Cameron Crowe’s 1982 teen comedy starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Penn, Forest Whitaker, and more. Sept. 18, 4:25 p.m.; Sept. 23, 9:15 p.m. $8–$13. VALLEY GIRL Martha Coolidge’s like totally 1983 cult classic about a punk teen (a young Nic Cage) who falls for the It Girl (Deborah Foreman). Sept. 19, 4:25 p.m.; Sept. 23, 7 p.m. $8–$13.
AMC Georgetown 14 AFTER WE FELL Tessa and Hardin return for the third of four After films, based on Anna Todd’s book series; their somewhat sordid love affair is once again faced with hard choices as Tessa graduates college, reunites with her long absent father, and considers taking her dream job in Seattle or moving to London with Hardin. Sept. 30, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Oct. 4, 7p.m. $15.90. SPIRITED AWAY In the process of moving, Chihiro and her family are spirited away to a magical realm where her parents are enchanted and Chihiro must figure out how
to save the family and return home. Oct. 3, 3 p.m.; Oct. 4 and 6, 7 p.m. $11–$14.25. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE Sophie, a young salesperson, befriends a handsome wizard in a moving castle, but is soon forced to fight the Witch of the Waste to save them both and stop a war. Oct. 24, 3 p.m.; Oct., 25 and 28, 7 p.m. $11–$14.25. CASTLE IN THE SKY Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, and Mandy Patinkin lend their vocal talents to Pazu, an engineer’s apprentice, who falls for Sheeta, a floating girl, in a quest to find a mythical castle and battle air pirates, secret agents, and more. Nov. 14, 3 p.m.; Nov. 15 and 18, 7 p.m. $11–$14.25. MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO This animated classic follows two sisters (voiced by Dakota and Elle Fanning) who befriend forest spirit Totoro and their many adventures together. Dec. 5, 3 p.m., Dec. 6 and 9, 7 p.m. $11–$14.25.
National Harbor
(202) 633-0457. asia.si.edu.
NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS Get in the Halloween spirit with Jack, the Pumpkin King, Sally, and the rest of Halloweentown as they try to take over Christmas from Claus. Oct. 3, 4 p.m. Free. HOCUS POCUS Set free by a virgin who lights a magic candle, the witchy Sanderson sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy) are back for one night only unless they can take the souls of Salem’s children and defeat two teenagers, one kid, a zombie, and an immortal cat. Cinematic gold. Oct. 24, 4 p.m. Free.
The Publick Playhouse THE SAPPHIRES Set in 1968, the film follows Australian girl group the Sapphires as they perform for U.S. troops in Vietnam. Sept. 24, 11 a.m. $3.
GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS 4400 University Dr., Fairfax (703) 993-8888. cfa.gmu.edu. LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 555 11th St. NW (202) 452-7672. landmarktheatres.com. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW (202) 737-4215. nga.gov. NATIONAL HARBOR 165 Waterfront St., National Harbor (877) 628-5427. nationalharbor.com. PUBLICK PLAYHOUSE 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly (301) 277-1710. arts.pgparks.com.
Black Cat
Suns Cinema
HUMP FILM FESTIVAL Dan Savage’s indie porn fest, made by real people for real people, slides back into D.C.
LET THE FIRE BURN Using found footage, director Jason Osde tells the story of the 1985 deadly
SUNS CINEMA 3107 Mount Pleasant St. NW sunscinema.com.
washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 33
Courtesy of Arena Stage
Theater
August Wilson’s Seven Guitars Constanza Romero Wilson describes Seven Guitars, the Tony Award-nominated play from 1995 by her late husband, August Wilson, as “an eclipse.” In an interview with Arena Stage posted in 2019, Constanza, an artist and costume designer, explains that the protagonist in the play, Floyd Barton, “is like the sun. His trajectory is toward being a recording star and a blues musician. He wants also to win his girlfriend back.” In Pittsburgh in the 1940s, Barton is released from jail and discovers that one of his records has become an unexpected hit. He imagines a brighter future for himself in Chicago and encourages his ex-girlfriend, Vera, to come with him. But his journey is interrupted by the antagonist of the play, Hedley, whom Wilson calls “the moon.” “It’s about dreams deferred,” Wilson explains in the video interview. Tazewell Thompson returns as the play’s director, and the full casting will be announced at a later date this fall, a spokesperson tells City Paper. Arena Stage has produced nine out of the 10 plays in Wilson’s American Century Cycle, which chronicles the Black experience in America during the 20th century. Nov. 26 to Dec. 26 at Arena Stage. $86–$105. —Kelyn Soong
Becoming Dr. Ruth Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer’s name has been synonymous with sex ever since the 1980 launch of her New York radio show, “Sexually Speaking.” For decades, she advised Americans on everything from the best time of day to roll in the sheets to how to build confidence about your body. Quotes like this grace the front of T-shirts sold all over the internet: “Curvy women need to visit a museum. Men have been attracted to those curves forever and still are. They can’t help it and that helps you.” Less is commonly known about Westheimer’s life before she became known as America’s favorite sex therapist. Becoming Dr. Ruth traces Westheimer’s early years, starting when she fled Germany as a child after the Nazis took her father. She landed in a Swiss boarding school, but both of her parents died in the Holocaust. Her unconventional life took her to Jerusalem, then on to America, where she made a name for herself and published a steady stream of books. This is the second time Theater J is putting on Mark St. Germain’s Becoming Dr. Ruth, and Naomi Jacobson is once again the star of the one-woman show. She earned a Helen Hayes Award nomination for the role in 2018. Sept. 30 through Oct. 24 at Theater J. $5 to $75. —Laura Hayes 34 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
Anacostia Playhouse TAKIN’ IT TO THE STREETS Celebrate the playhouse’s reopening with several days of activities, performances, previews, and more. Outside events are free, indoor performances are ticketed and require proof of vax. Sept. 24–26. Free–$50.
Arena Stage
TONI STONE Based on Martha Ackmann’s Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, this theatrical biography tells the story of the first woman to play professional baseball in a men’s league in the 1950s. Sept. 3–Oct. 3. $76–$95. CELIA AND FIDEL In 1980, Celia Sánchez was Fidel Castro’s trusted confidante and political partner; this magical realism play directed by Molly Smith considers a conversation about power and morality between the two. Oct. 8–Nov. 21. $92–$95.
Atlas Performing Arts Center
EXPATS THEATRE: PANKRÁC ’45 Set in a Prague prison in 1945, Pankrác ’45 follows five women— each accused of working for the Nazis—as they await their fate. Written by Martina Kinská and translated by Barbara Day. Karin Rosnizeck and Melissa B. Robinson direct in partnership with the Czech Republic Embassy. Oct. 28–Nov. 21. $20–$35.
Avant Bard Theatre
HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED August Wilson’s autobiographical one-man play takes the audience on a tour of the writer’s life, from his days as a poet to his time in jail and the racism he faced. Dec. 1–19. Tickets on sale soon.
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center RICH KIDS: A HISTORY OF SHOPPING MALLS IN TEHRAN A virtual performance by the Javaad Alipoor Company examining the growing divide between rich and poor, as well as the roles technology, entitlement, and more play in strengthening that divide. Sept. 30– Oct. 2. Online. $10–$20. FANDANGO FOR BUTTERFLIES (AND COYOTES) Coming together in the name of celebration, a group of immigrants unite within a community sanctuary where they’re forced to wait out ICE raids, fear of family separations, and concerns for loved ones attempting to cross the border. Oct. 7 and 8, 8 p.m. $10–$20. LITTLE WOMEN: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL Jo and her sisters Meg, Beth, and Amy are once again brought to life in this musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s venerated 19th-century novel. Oct. 28–31. $10–$20. HOOKMAN Literally haunted by the unexpected death of her high school BFF, college freshman Lexi must navigate ghosts and the early stages of adulthood simultaneously. Nov. 13–24. $10–$20.
Constellation Theatre Company MYSTICISM & MUSIC Incorporating music, dance, and poetry, creators Tom Teasley, Allison Stockman, A.J. Guban, and Chao Tian delve into folklore and spiritual literature from across the world. Oct. 23–Nov. 21. $10–$49.
Ford’s Theatre MY LORD, WHAT A NIGHT Based on the real-life friendship of physicist Albert Einstein and contralto Marian Anderson and the events that led to Anderson’s Lincoln Memorial concert. Oct. 1–24. $20–$48. THE MOUNTAINTOP Making her Ford directorial debut, Nicole A. Watson takes another look at the night
MUSIC BY SARA BAREILLES (“LOVE SONG,” “BRAVE”)
October 29 - 31, 2021 Tickets and subscriptions are available now! CapitalOneHall.com Tysons, VA
THE 2021/22 SIGNATURE SEASON
a thrilling return to live theater safe and strong RENT
NOVEMBER 2, 2021 – JANUARY 2, 2022
DAPHNE’S DIVE
FEBRUARY 1 – MARCH 20, 2022
through January 9, 2022 SHE LOVES ME
MARCH 1 – APRIL 24, 2022
THE UPSTAIRS DEPARTMENT APRIL 26 – JUNE 12, 2022
WE WON’T SLEEP
MAY 31 – JULY 3, 2022
THE COLOR PURPLE
AUGUST 16 – OCTOBER 9, 2022
SAFETY AT SIGNATURE LEARN MORE AT SIGTHEATRE.ORG/SAFETY
VACCINE PROOF REQUIRED
MASKS REQUIRED
PAPERLESS TICKETING
ASHRAE RECOMMENDED AIR FILTRATION
Hokusai
Mad about Painting Enjoy our exploration of the prolific career of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai
asia.si.edu/hokusai
Tickets on sale September 23
washingtoncitypaper.com september 2021 35
GALA Hispanic Theatre DOÑA ROSITA LA SOLTERA Set between the turn of the 20th century and the brink of the first World War in Spain, this play follows Rosita’s life as she experiences aging and exploitation. Sept. 9–Oct. 3. $20–$48.
struggling with family and racism; winner of a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. Sept. 11–25. $21–$24.
Courtesy of Woolly Mammoth
before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Jan. 21–Feb. 13, 2022. Tickets on sale soon.
WAIT UNTIL DARK Set in the 1960s, this thriller pits Suzy, a blind woman alone in her home, against a group of con men without a phone when the lights go out. Oct. 16–Nov. 6. Tickets on sale soon.
National Theatre
LA LLAMADA DE SYLVIA MÉNDEZ This bilingual play tells the life story of civil rights activist Sylvia Méndez of the 1946 landmark Supreme Court case Méndez v. Westminster, which desegregated California schools for Mexican and Latinx students. Oct. 16–24. $10–$12.
DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL A full-blown musical rendition of the Grinch’s efforts to steal Christmas from the Whos down in Whoville, the tall and the small, narrated by Max the Dog. Nov. 23–Dec. 5. $50–$110.
LA CASA DE LA LAGUNA Adapted from Rosario Ferré’s novel, one woman fights to find her voice amid Puerto Rico’s socioeconomic and racial struggles as well as the struggles within her marriage. Feb. 3–27, 2022. $25–$55.
TOOTSIE In this well-loved classic, Michael Dorsey is a perfectionist actor trying to make it in New York; after bombing another audition, Michael decides to try his luck as an actress instead. Hilarity ensues. Dec. 7–12. Season ticket packages $145–$501; single tickets on sale soon.
GMU Center for the Arts
Olney Theatre Center
LIGHTWIRE THEATER: A VERY ELECTRIC HOLIDAY Max, a young bird, ends up lost and alone in the North Pole, but in his adventure to reunite with his family he befriends nutcrackers, critters, dancing poinsettias, and a whole lot more in this family-friendly story filled with electroluminescent puppetry, dancers, and music. Nov. 28, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. $10–$19.
THE THANKSGIVING PLAY In Larissa FastHorse’s satire, a group of White liberals tie themselves in knots while trying to write a “politically correct” Thanksgiving play for schools to put on. Sept. 29– Oct. 31. $49–$79.
Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard Community College THE INSEPARABLES Bill Gillett directs an over-thetop retelling of Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers with hand puppets. Nov. 18–21. $10–$15. SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD A play promising to take audiences on a journey of discovery from 1492 to modern day Manhattan while exploring the milestones that make life worth living. Dec. 2–19. $15–$40.
Keegan Theatre GOOD PEOPLE In this small town, inspired by the place playwright David Lindsay-Abaire grew up, most people can’t pay to be good; instead, they rely on random and unexpected acts of kindness and sacrifice. Sept. 10–Oct. 3. $45–$55. N Adrienne Pender’s play explores the relationship between Charles S. Gilpin, who starred in the 1921 production of The Emperor Jones—the first Black actor to star in a lead Broadway role—and playwright Eugene O’Neill, who penned the script. Oct. 23–Nov. 20. $45–$55. AN IRISH CAROL 2021 Set in modern day Dublin, this Irish spin on Charles Dickens’ tale, follows a rich pub owner who’s faced with a lonely future or changing his reality. Dec. 10–31. $46–$55.
Kennedy Center HADESTOWN Anaïs Mitchell’s raved-about musical weaves together two doomed love stories: Orpheus and Eurydice’s and Hades and Persephone’s. Oct. 1–31. $45–$169. BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL The jukebox musical uses Carole King’s music to tell the decades-long story of her career—a career which, coincidentally, made her a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2015. Dec. 14–Jan. 2. $49–$149. AIN’T TOO PROUD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS Follow along with the quintet’s journey from Detroit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with their music scoring the way. Dec. 15–Jan. 16. $45–$175.
Little Theatre of Alexandria AUGUST WILSON’S FENCES It’s the 1950s, segregation is ongoing, and former Negro League baseball star Troy Maxson is now working as a sanitation worker
A Strange Loop Before Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop, for which he wrote the book, music, and lyrics, won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, he worked for five years as an usher at The Lion King and Mary Poppins, ringing chimes at intermission. His semi-autobiographical, metafictional musical is like “a portrait of a portrait of a portrait of a portrait of the Black gay artist as a young man,” as he says in a video for Playwrights Horizons, where his piece premiered off Broadway in 2019. His funny, tormented, true-feeling work traces a particular yet universal interior journey from self-loathing to self-acceptance. The pandemic-postponed production at Woolly Mammoth is being directed by Stephen Brackett and produced in association with Playwrights Horizons and Page 73 Productions. Following its holiday season run, this baby is Broadway bound. Say you saw it first in D.C. Nov. 22 to Jan. 2, 2022, at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. $1–$74. —Diana Michele Yap
Birds of North America A dad and a daughter with differing beliefs try to connect while (what else?) birdwatching in a suburban Maryland backyard. Birds of North America is Baltimore native and L.A.-based playwright Anna Ouyang Moench’s look at affection in one family across a decade of fraught visits and the increasingly visible impacts of climate change. First produced by Colorado’s Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company in 2017, her play’s regional premiere at Mosaic Theater Company features a cast (Regina Aquino and Mitchell Hébert) and creative team from the D.C. area or with D.C. roots. “Anna’s centering of climate change deeply attracts us to this play,” says director Serge Seiden, managing director of Mosaic. While Birds of North America will be Mosaic’s first in-person production in the pandemic era, a streaming version will also be available. Oct. 27 to Nov. 21 at Mosaic Theater Company. $20–$68. —Diana Michele Yap
A Christmas Carol After 18 interminable months of pandemic, when so many of us have been cooped up and living an indoor Groundhog Day, it’s understandable that you’re looking for new things to do. By all means, get a tattoo, go skydiving, and quit your job. But this holiday season, I’d like to advocate for tradition. At least when it comes to Ford’s Theatre’s A Christmas Carol. Yes, you already know the redemptive story of Ebenezer Scrooge, but that’s the point. Once again this winter, Ford’s, led by one of D.C.’s very best actors, Craig Wallace, will take you through the past, present, and future of Scrooge’s life, reminding you of what’s truly important in yours. While every production puts a new spin on the story, it will be comfortably familiar. And that’s the beauty of A Christmas Carol. Like hot cocoa and garlands, it recasts the otherwise dark and gloomy winter as a magical holiday season. And time traveling isn’t the only magic trick A Christmas Carol pulls off. While
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HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH A punk rock musical about Hedwig, her journey from Germany and a botched surgery, and her dreams of becoming a rock star. Nov. 26–Jan. 2. $49–$79.
Round House Theatre QUIXOTE NUEVO Directed by Lisa Portes, playwright Octavio Solis uses the sounds of Tejano music to reimagine Don Quixote as a bilingual professor in a Texas border town. Sept. 8–Oct. 3. $60–$78. NINE NIGHT Director Timothy Douglas brings Natasha Gordon’s play about the traditional Jamaican Nine Night—the days-long celebration of mourners after a family loses its matriarch. Jan. 5–30. $55–$78.
Shakespeare Theatre Company THE AMEN CORNER It’s the 1950s and Pastor Margaret leads a Harlem storefront church where she sings about redemption, but soon must face her own past. Sept. 14–26 at Sidney Harman Hall. $35–$112. REMEMBER THIS: THE LESSON OF JAN KARSKI A one-man show on World War II hero and Holocaust witness Jan Karski. Starring Academy Award nominee David Strathairn. Oct. 6–17 at the Michael R. Klein Theatre. $35–$112. ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME With the help of Britney Spears’ most beloved hits, famous fairy tale princesses aren’t burning bras, they’re breaking glass slippers and finding their own happily ever afters. Nov. 30–Jan 2 at Sidney Harman Hall. $50–$145.
Signature Theatre RENT Living in Manhattan’s East Village, a group of artists and friends are confronted with gentrification, the end (and beginnings) of relationships while the AIDS epidemic ravages the country. Nov. 2–Jan. 2, 2022. Tickets on sale Sept. 23. DAPHNE’S DIVE Over nearly two decades, Daphne has run a beloved dive bar in Philly where a group of misfits have grown into a chosen family. Feb. 1– March 20. Tickets on sale Sept. 23.
Spooky Action Theater THE REALISTIC JONESES Two pairs of suburban married Joneses are neighbors. In a series of short vignettes, they realize they have more in common than their names. Oct. 7–24. $30–$40. MAN COVETS BIRD A boy turns into a man overnight and no one recognizes him. He befriends the flightless
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Morris Mac Matzen
Pretty Woman the play may not change much year to year, you certainly do. It’s a mirror. Who knows, maybe when you watch it this year, you’ll find a new appreciation for kindness, family, and community in yourself. Nov. 24 to Dec. 27 at Ford’s Theatre. $22–$124. —Will Warren
Secret Things How far would you go for the truth? That’s the question posed in Elaine Romero’s Secret Things, a play that first premiered in 2013 at the Wells Fargo Auditorium at the National Hispanic Cultural Center; now, it’s coming to 1st Stage in Tysons. Set in the 1990s, the show follows Time magazine writer Delia as she returns to her hometown in New Mexico. Despite her editor slash ex-boyfriend’s protests, she continues pursuing her investigation into anonymous articles that claim Jewish families secretly settled there in the 16th century to escape the Spanish Inquisition, and that they continue practicing in secret. Delia’s research spurs thoughts and dreams in her head that unmoor her from reality and show her that she has to finish both this story and her own. Nov. 18 to Dec. 19 at 1st Stage. $15–$50. —Bailey Vogt
Pretty Woman: The Musical It’s been more than 30 years since the classic rom-com Pretty Woman walked down the street and into our hearts. Now the musical adaption is coming to D.C. and asks “are you ready to fall in love all over again?” Pretty Woman: The Musical will arrive at the National Theatre as part of a national tour, telling the story we all know about a man who pays a sex worker to pose as his girlfriend for a week at his business events—and finds love along the way. The 2018 Broadway audience favorite is directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell. The original score was developed by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance and the book was created by the 1990 movie’s original director, Garry Marshall, and screenwriter J.F. Lawton. The musical calls itself a “dazzling theatrical take on a love story for the ages.” Dec. 28 to Jan. 2, 2022, at the National Theatre. Season tickets start at $145. Single tickets on sale later. —Bailey Vogt bird he finds outside his window, similarly adrift—and together they head to the city. Dec. 2–19. $30–$40.
Studio Theatre FLIGHT This immersive theater installation, created by Scottish innovators Vox Motus, puts audience members in personal booths, adorned with headphones, to follow two orphaned children traveling across Europe in search of freedom and safety. December. Dec. 2– Feb. 20. Season ticket packages $275–$385; single tickets on sale soon.
WHITE NOISE A story, written by Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, on four 30-something longtime friends and lovers who must face the reality that they are not living in post-racial world. Jan. 12–Feb. 20, 2022. Tickets on sale soon.
Synetic Theater THE MADNESS OF POE A suspenseful and sinister thriller that combines several of Edgar Allan Poe’s creepiest tales, including a new spin on Synetic’s 2007
38 september 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher. Oct. 11–31. $20–$60 CINDERELLA Part of Synetic’s family programming, this movement-based adaptation of the classic tale follows a young woman’s attempt to get to the ball and woo the prince. Nov. 29–Dec. 26. $15–$60.
Theater J TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE Jenna Place directs a play based on the memoir of the same name, about sports writer Mitch Albom and his former college professor Morrie Schwartz, as Morrie faces an ALS diagnosis. Nov. 10–Dec. 5. $30–$60.
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company TEENAGE DICK In Mike Lew’s retelling of Shakespeare’s Richard III, the titular teenager works to scheme his way into getting a great date to his high school’s Sadie Hawkins dance. Sept. 22–Oct. 17. $39. SPIT DAT: GLOW UP The monthly spoken word event and open mic returns with special performances by Amiah McGinty and Brandon Alexander Williams. Sept. 20, 8 p.m. Online. Free.
Venues ANACOSTIA PLAYHOUSE 2020 Shannon Pl. SE (202) 290-2328. anacostiaplayhouse.com. ARENA STAGE 1101 6th St. SW (202) 488-3300. arenastage.org. ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 1333 H St. NE
(202) 399-7993. atlasarts.org. AVANT BARD THEATRE 3700 S Four Mile Run Dr., Arlington (703) 418-4808, avantbard.org. CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Stadium Drive and Route 193, College Park (301) 405-2787. theclarice.umd.edu. CONSTELLATION THEATRE COMPANY AT SOURCE 1835 14th St. NW (202) 204-7800. constellationtheatre.org. FORD’S THEATRE 511 10th St. NW (202) 347-4833. fords.org. GALA HISPANIC THEATRE 3333 14th St. NW (202) 234-7174. galatheatre.org. GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS 4400 University Dr., Fairfax (703) 993-8888. cfa.gmu.edu. HOROWITZ VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia (443) 518-1500. repstage.org. KEEGAN THEATRE 1742 Church St. NW (202) 265-3767. keegantheatre.com. KENNEDY CENTER 2700 F St. NW (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. LITTLE THEATRE OF ALEXANDRIA 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria (703) 683-5778. thelittletheatre.org. MICHAEL R. KLEIN THEATRE 450 7th St. NW (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org. NATIONAL THEATRE 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (202) 628-6161. thenationaldc.com. OLNEY THEATRE CENTER 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd., Olney (301) 924-3400. olneytheatre.org. ROUND HOUSE THEATRE 4545 East-West Hwy., Bethesda (240) 644-1100. roundhousetheatre.org. SIDNEY HARMAN HALL 610 F St. NW (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org. SIGNATURE THEATRE 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington (703) 820-9771. sigtheatre.org. SPOOKY ACTION THEATER 1810 16th St. NW (202) 248-0301. spookyaction.org. STUDIO THEATRE 1501 14th St. NW (202) 332-3300. studiotheatre.org. SYNETIC THEATER 1800 South Bell St., Arlington (866) 811-4111. synetictheater.org. THEATER J 1529 16th St. NW (202) 777-3210. theaterj.org. WOOLLY MAMMOTH THEATRE COMPANY 641 D St. NW (202) 393-3939. woollymammoth.net.
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DIVERSIONS SAVAGE LOVE I’m a 35-year-old straight woman living in the Midwest. I was seeing a massage therapist for three years and we became very close friends. I referred my friends to him and helped him grow his business. He eventually disclosed that he had developed feelings for me. I went into instant shock and said that I had no idea; I thought we were only growing in our friendship. He told me that he had to tell me and wanted to leave it up to me if I felt comfortable continuing to see him. I was really numb from my shock and thought I was OK at first, only later realizing how upset and violated I felt. I never went back to him. I found out that he closed his practice during COVID. My question is, should I report him to his ethics board? —Really Upset By Bewildering Erotic Disclosure No. This guy was initially your massage therapist, RUBBED, but you eventually became very close friends. I’m going to assume this was one of those consensual friendships—meaning, your former massage therapist didn’t force his friendship on you—and that you welcomed it. So, while you may have gotten to know him in a unique professional setting, you wound up in a kind of two-track relationship with him: He was your massage therapist and also your friend. It’s not uncommon for friends to catch feelings for each other and it would seem to be in that capacity—in his capacity as your friend—that your massage therapist caught feelings for you. Given that he developed feelings for you, I don’t see how he could avoid making this disclosure. Indeed, keeping these feelings to himself while continuing to see you as a client—or dropping you as a client without explanation (an explanation that you, as a friend, would have felt entitled to)—would have constituted an ethical violation. “What he did was borderline, but not unethical,” says a healthcare provider I shared your question with. “That he brought up the fact that she could/should consider no longer seeing him keeps it just in bounds. The most correct thing would’ve been to maintain boundaries and not become friends in the first place.” A massage therapist I shared your email with says that your former massage therapist handled this the way he was trained to handle similar situations in the professional ethics courses he was required to take to get his license: Disclose and discontinue the professional relationship. Another massage therapist thought your former massage therapist was guilty of an ethical lapse. He referred me to the professional code of conduct published by his professional association—the College of
Massage Therapists of British Columbia— which bars entering into a “close personal relationship” with a client. He felt the friendship was the ethical violation; if your massage therapist had done the right thing and kept your relationship strictly professional, he wouldn’t have caught feelings for you the way he did. And if he hadn’t caught feelings for you the way he did, RUBBED, he wouldn’t have put himself in the position of having to disclose those feelings to you. Or put you in the position of having to listen to him make that discomforting disclosure. I understand not wanting to see this massage therapist again, RUBBED, and I understand feeling squicky about this. If I were in your shoes, I would probably wonder how much time, if any, passed between my friend/ massage therapist becoming consciously aware of his romantic feelings for me and the moment he disclosed those feelings—and I might find myself thinking back on our previ-
ing semen, I now find it almost impossible to come at the time of my choosing. It is almost as if my inner tantric shaman has taken hold of the controls. The wonderful woman in my life consistently has multiple orgasms, but I come about once every seventh or eighth time, and only when we have a long, involved, and deeply connected sex session. While the release, when it comes, is always spectacular, I would like to have more control over my orgasms. Do you have any suggestions? —Wanting A Direction Men who practice orgasm denial—whether they’re withholding their own orgasms or being denied orgasms by their dominant partners—often report existing in a pleasantly buzzy state of perpetual horniness. Doms who lock their lovers’ cocks up in chastity devices (instead of relying on them to refrain climaxing or jacking off) often report that their perpetually horny partners are more attentive. And while those are
It’s also possible that age caught up with you and your orgasms ous sessions and feeling a little goobed out. But while it’s uncomfortable to contemplate a massage therapist taking his own pleasure in your sessions, RUBBED, that’s always a risk. (Kind of like how friends catching feelings for friends is always a risk.) We rely on massage therapists to be professionals and to quash feelings of sexual attraction during a session, regardless of how long we’ve been seeing them. And regardless of what kind of relationship we might have with them outside the treatment room. Some of the massage therapists I spoke with felt you should report him, but the majority did not—and I’m going to stick with my advice not to report him. But you get to make your own call. —Dan Savage I’m a healthy and active 72-year-old man who found love the second time around. In fact, I have discovered not only a depth of love I never knew existed, but with my new mate I have the most active and satisfying sex life I’ve ever known. My question is this: During nearly a year of solitary processing after my marriage ended, I chanced upon writings about tantric lovemaking practices and was fascinated by them. I began to practice withholding ejaculation, which is a tantric practice that has tremendous benefits. One of those benefits is existing in a state of perpetual desire for my partner and this lovely hum of continual sexual energy between us. But after two years of practicing withhold-
attractive perks, I’ve never been tempted to go the orgasm denial route myself. First and foremost, I enjoy coming too much to give it up. And coming in a close second, multiple studies have shown a link between frequent ejaculation and a lower incidence of prostate cancer. Maybe at 72 you’re not worried about prostate cancer—seeing as you haven’t gotten it by now—but guys who don’t want to risk prostate cancer should err on the side of busting those nuts (which is not to be confused with busting those balls). As for your problem, WAD, if withholding orgasms is making it difficult for you to have ‘em when you want ‘em, well, then you might want to stop withholding ‘em. But considering how much pleasure you get out of withholding them—that buzz, those spectacular orgasms when you do come— maybe unpredictable orgasms are a price you’re willing to pay. It’s also possible that age caught up with you and your orgasms became a little less reliable at the same time you took up tantric sex practices. (For the record, tantra is a nearly two-millennia old tradition/body of wisdom that originated in India and is typically practiced by Hindus and Buddhists. While sex is a part of tantra, sex isn’t the only thing tantra is about.) —DS
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Dear Readers of Washington City Paper : Now, more than ever, we care how you feel. Really, we do. We asked for your favorite haunts, your favorite handyman, your favorite vegetarian joint, your favorite bike shop, and, of course, the things that got you through the pandemic. Let’s celebrate D.C. Let’s define what we love most about living here, in good times and bad. Thank you for voting. We hope that you will join us in celebrating these favorite neighborhood businesses, places, and people that make our city feel like home. And we hope that you continue reading us as we celebrate 40 years of local stories in our 40th anniversary year!
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KINGSMAN ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL Notice: Request for Proposals Kingsman Academy Public Charter School in accordance with section 2204 (c) of the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 is advertising the opportunity to bid on a food service management company (FSMC) for the opportunity to provide meals that meet the USDA and OSSE nutrition standards and guidelines. Proposal Submission A Portable Document Format (pdf) election version of your proposal must be received by the school no later than 4:00 PM on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. Contact procurement@ kingsmanacademy.org for a copy of the Scope of Work. Proposal submissions should be emailed to procurement@kingsmanacademy.org No phone calls. TWO RIVERS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Tutoring Two Rivers Public Charter School is seeking tutoring services to provide virtual instruction to students in elementary and/or middle school. For a copy of the RFP, email Liz Riddle at procurement@tworiverspcs.org. SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION 2021 ADM 000710 Name of Decedent, Carol Elizabeth Geisler. Name and Adress of Attorney, James F. Warren, Esq., 3331 Resevoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007. Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs, Sarah Adrian Geisler, whose address is 1651 34th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007, was appointed Personal Representa-
42 september 17, 2021 washingtoncitypaper.com
tive of the estate of Carol Elizabeth Geisler who died on September 15, 2020, without a Will and will serve without Court Supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/19/2022. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or to the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/19/2022, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication: 8/19/2021 Name of Newspaper and/or periodical: Washington City Paper/Daily Washington Law Reporter. Name of Personal Representative: Sarah Adrian Geisler TRUE TEST copy Nicole Stevens Acting Register of Wills Pub Dates: August 19, September 16, October 7.
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Saving lives from the opioid epidemic
The Strathmore’s Patio Stage is a comfortable, outdoor venue that reminds us how magical it is to experience live music together.
THE SWEET REMAINS
SKERRYVORE
Sept 17
Sept 28
ALFREDO RODRÍGUEZ & PEDRITO MARTINEZ
AMYTHYST KIAH
Cuban jazz
Revitalized roots & modern blues
Sept 26
Sept 30
Folk-rock trio with lush harmonies
Celtic rock powerhouse
DECEMBER 12 STRATHMORE.ORG/PATIOSTAGE
AMPbyStrathmore.com |
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On the Red Line
Live music makes a bold return to the Concert Hall
BÉLA FLECK
LEDISI
SARAH BRIGHTMAN
featuring Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, and more
Tue, Oct 26
Mon & Tue, Dec 6 & 7
PAT METHENY
THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER
MY BLUEGRASS HEART Wed, Sept 22
THE WILD CARD TOUR
GIPSY KINGS
FEATURING NICOLAS REYES
SIDE-EYE WITH JAMES FRANCIES & JOE DYSON
Fri, Oct 15
Sat, Nov 13
SCOTT BRADLEE’S
MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS
POSTMODERN JUKEBOX THE GRAND REOPENING TOUR Sun, Oct 24
A CHRISTMAS SYMPHONY
WITH GUEST MC KURTIS BLOW Mon–Wed, Dec 20–22
BY CHIP DAVIS
Sat, Dec 4 Matinee & Evening Shows L–R: Sarah Brightman, The Hip Hop Nutcracker by Tim Norris, Ledisi, Béla Fleck by Jim McGuire
STRATHMORE.ORG | 301.581.5100 | 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852