Women’s Voices Festival Is in Full Swing
The Women’s Voices Theater Festival is in full force this weekend with many of the plays featured below. The festival includes 24 theaters around the DMV presenting new plays penned by women playwrights and women-led collectives. For those who don’t like theater, there are a few other events to check out in the DMV this weekend too.
Metro’s Red Line continues to single track between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor with trains running every 24 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont and every 12 minutes between Farragut North and Glenmont between 9 a.m.-9 p.m. The Orange Line will single track between Foggy Bottom and Clarendon with trains operating every 24 minutes. Blue Line trains will single track between Foggy Bottom and Arlington Cemetery every 24 minutes. Silver Line trains will run every 24 minutes between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston ONLY. Green Line trains will single track between Southern Avenue and Navy Yard every 15 minutes. Yellow Line trains will operate every 15 minutes. From 7 a.m.-noon on Saturday, the Pentagon Station will be closed for an emergency response drill with Blue and Yellow Line trains passing through the station, but not stopping. Also, buses normally serving the Pentagon Transit Center will be moved to South Hayes Street outside the Pentagon City station.
Americans
American Indian images, names and stories infuse American history and contemporary life. Images of American Indians are everywhere, from the Land O’Lakes butter maiden to the Cleveland Indians’ mascot, from classic Westerns and cartoons to episodes of Seinfeld and South Park. American Indian names are everywhere, too, from state, city and street names to the Tomahawk missile. Beyond these images and names are familiar historical events and stories—Thanksgiving, Pocahontas, the Trail of Tears and Battle of Little Bighorn—that have become part of everyday conversation. Americans, a new long-term exhibition at the Museum of the American Indian, uncovers the many ways American Indian images, names and stories have been part of the nation’s history, identity and pop culture since before the country began. Not only does the exhibition reveal the phenomenon of hiding in plain sight, it also asserts that such images and words and stories are a powerful way to understand a country forever fascinated, conflicted and shaped by its relationship with American Indians. The highly anticipated exhibit debuted Thursday and will remain open through 2022. It features more than 350 objects and images.
Daily through 2022 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Hung Liu in Print
Chinese artist Hung Liu is the focus of Hung Liu in Print, a new exhibit opening this weekend at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Before immigrating to California in 1984, Liu grew up during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in China, where she worked alongside fieldworkers and trained as a painter. Liu is most commonly known as a painter, but her printmaking is also of note, as she uses an array of techniques, surfaces and colors to showcase her unique brand of realism. Adapting figures from historical Chinese photographs, she reimagines antique depictions of laborer, refugees and prostitutes. Her works deal with issues of identity, culture and class. And Sunday is the monthly Community Day, so admission is FREE!
Jan. 19 through July 8 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 65 and older or students and free for children 18 and younger. Sunday is Community Day and admission is FREE!
Jefferson’s Garden
Playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker explores the contradictions between our founding fathers’ ideals and the realities of freedom in America in Jefferson’s Garden as part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival. Christian, a Quaker pacifist, defies his family to fight in the American Revolution. Susannah, an enslaved woman, is tempted to fight for the British when they promise her liberty. On their travels, Christian and Susannah cross paths with Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and Sally Hemings. These encounters force them to confront the compromises America makes after the promise of equality. Wertenbaker takes us from Revolutionary battlefields to Paris to Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.
Jan. 19-Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. most Tuesdays through Sundays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (except Jan. 20 and 21) at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$62.
American Opera Initiative Festival
There is more to opera than war horses such as Carman and The Magic Flute. The Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative Festival focuses on the next generation of opera with premiers of four new works, including a trio of 20-minute operas at 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday for those with very short attention spans, over the course of three days. The main attraction is two performances of the hour-long Proving Up at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday, from the duo behind the acclaimed 2016 opera Breaking the Waves.
Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 20 at 7 and 9 p.m. and Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets for Proving Up are $39 and tickets for the three 20-minute operas are $29.
4,380 Nights
D.C. playwright Annalisa Dias examines post-9/11 America in her world premier of 4,380 Nights, a timely play from Signature Theater that is part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival. For the last 12 years, or 4,380 days, Malik Djamal Ahmad Essaid has been held without charge by the U.S. government in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. As he languishes in his cell, his interactions with those on the outside are juxtaposed with historical events in an expose into the most dangerous prison of all – fear.
Through Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays and 7:30 p.m. select Tuesdays and Wednesday at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $40-$103.
The Wolves
Dive into the spellbinding world of winter indoor soccer in The Wolves, a new play from Studio Theatre that is part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival. Meet the Wolves, a team of 16- to 18-year-old girls who are undefeated in the indoor soccer league, but deal with plenty of life’s pressures and conflicts off it. We are introduced to the dynamics of #46’s teammates as she discovers them: #13 is a stoner who leans into her quirks, #2 doesn’t handle cursing well, #7 curses too much, #11 is a bit of a social justice warrior. They bond over homework assignments, menstrual cycle discussions, birthday plans, a cold that makes its way through the team and the uselessness of their coach — perpetually hungover and content to let #25 (the seventeen-year-old team captain) run the show. Through the wandering conversations, jabs and jokes, The Wolves run drills with an agility and precision they hope will lead to bigger wins on the horizon: a trip to Nationals in Miami and opportunities to play for college recruiters. But as a shot at both prizes approaches, the game that united these strong, disciplined young women begins to isolate them. The struggles of adolescence, the importance of friendship and the fears of transitions into adulthood are all central themes in this production penned by Sarah DeLappe.
Through Mar. 17 at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except Jan. 20) and 7 p.m. Sundays (except Jan. 21) at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$106.
I Never Dreamed It Could Be Like This: Leonard Bernstein at 100
D.C.-based contemporary dance group Company | E’s I Never Dreamed It Could Be Like This: Leonard Bernstein at 100 premiers at the Kennedy Center, exploring the life and work of the composer, conductor and American icon. It is a crash course in all thing Bernstein through dance and spoken word. The performance is part of the local arts community’s year-long celebration of Bernstein’s impact on arts and culture in the U.S.
Jan. 19 and 20 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $25.
Unnecessary Farce
Hilarious confusion reigns in this crime caper/comedy at the Keegan Theatre. In Unnecessary Farce, two cops have set up a sting operation on a crooked mayor, observing a cheap motel room where his female accountant awaits his arrival. However, a mix-up ensues, as no one is sure who’s in which room, who’s on videotape, where the money is, where that hit man came from and so on. Expect lots of laughs during this production, which is making its D.C. debut.
Jan. 19-Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday with special performances at 8 p.m. on Jan. 23 and Jan. 29 at Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $45 for adults, $40 for seniors and $35 for people 25 and younger.
Hamlet
The Shakespeare Theater Company takes on Hamlet, quite possibly the greatest tragedy of Western literature. Hamlet comes home from college after his father’s sudden death to find his mother remarried, his uncle in power and, in turn, his entire world turned upside down. After being visited by the ghost of his father, Hamlet must decide whether to accept this new reality…or not. Michael Urie of Ugly Betty plays Hamlet.
Through Mar. 4 at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (except. Jan. 21) and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Mar. 4 at Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. Tickets are $44-$118.
Travel & Adventure Show
Looking to get inspired for your next adventure? The Travel & Adventure Show, the only travel show in the DMV featuring throughs of experts doling out information on top destinations and must-know travel tips, returns to the convention center this weekend. You will be immersed in cultures from around the world and you can hear from other globetrotters to help you live out your wildest travel drams. This year, keynote speakers include Peter Greenberg, an Emmy-winning reporter and CBS News travel editor; and Samantha Brown, host of PBS’ Places to Love.
Jan. 20 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Jan. 21 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW. Tickets are $11 for one day and $18 for both days online through Friday or $15 for one day and $22 for both days at the door. Active duty military (plus four family members) with ID and children 6 and younger with a paid adult are FREE!
Ice Yards
Ice Yards, the wintery festival for adults, is back at Yards Park featuring appropriately frozen games, including shuffleboard and Plinko; ax throwing; ice carvers; an inflatable jousting pit; a communal “shotski” shot attempt; bars serving local beers and wintery cocktails; food vendors; and music by DJs and cover band Down Wilson.
Jan. 20 from 1-5 p.m. at Yards Park, 355 Water St. SE. Admission is $10 and includes one drink.
Ongoing Events
1968: Civil Rights at 50 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 2, 2019 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is $21.21 for adults, $16.96 for seniors 65 and older, and $12.71 for children ages 7-18 in advance or $24.95, $19.95 and $14.95, respectively, at the door.
Beautiful Blooms: Flowering Plants on Stamps from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through July 14 at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Admission is FREE!
Drawn to Purpose: American Women Illustrators and Cartoonists from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Oct. 20 at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 29, 2020 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
The First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald at 100 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Apr. 2 at the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
The Faces of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Jan. 28 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
The Humans at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Jan. 28 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Eisenhower Theater, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $49-$139.
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: The Utopian Projects from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Mar. 4 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
In the Tower: Anne Truitt from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Apr. 1 at the National Gallery of Art East Building, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Making Room: Housing for a Changing American from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 16 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for seniors 60 or older, students, and children ages 3-17.
Mark Bradford: Pickett’s Charge from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 12 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Apr. 15 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Mural from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and 11 a.m-6 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 28 at the National Gallery of Art East Building, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Jan. 28 at the Renwick Gallery, 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
On Your Feet! at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Jan. 28 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Opera House, 2700 F St. NW. Tickets are $59-$149.
Painting Shakespeare from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 11 at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Parallax Gap from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily through Feb. 11 at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Portraits of the World: Switzerland from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 12 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Recent Acquisitions from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 4 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Sovereignty at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday with an occasional noon matinee on Wednesdays through Feb. 18 at Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $41-$119.
Remembering Vietnam from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 6, 2019, at the National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Rick Araluce: The Final Stop from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 28 at the Renwick Gallery, 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Secrets of the Lacquer Buddha from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through June 10 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Subodh Gupta: Terminal from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through 2020 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
The Sweat of Their Face: Portraying American Workers from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Sept. 3 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Tamayo: The New York Years from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Mar. 18 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Tomb of Christ from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Aug. 15 at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/students/military and $10 for children 5-12.
FINAL WEEKEND! Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 21 at the National Gallery of Art, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
What Absence Is Made Of from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through the summer of 2019 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue Sw. Admission is FREE!
The Way of the World at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday through Feb. 11 at the Folger Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $35-$79.
Weekend Morning Movies featuring Back to the Future Jan. 20-21, The Wizard of Oz Jan. 27-28, Despicable Me Feb. 3-4 or The Princess Bride Feb. 10 -11 at 10 a.m. at the AMC Loews Uptown theater, 3426 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $5.59.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.