This season, big names from across the arts and entertainment spectrum will be in town, from Wanda Sykes to John Waters, Chelsea Clinton to Neil DeGrasse Tyson. But it’s not simply because we’re hungry that we’re seeing a lot more culinary stars and events than usual. And not all are related to the inaugural Smithsonian Food History Weekend either. Alice Waters and Ruth Reichl are coming to Politics and Prose, Michael Pollan will be at the Jewish Literary Festival, and Lisner Auditorium welcomes a whopping three celebrity chefs — Ina Garten, Bobby Flay and Giada de Laurentiis. But wait, there’s more! There’s a “Science of Delicious” food sampling at National Geographic. A “‘Fall’ing for Beer” tasting at Sixth and I. Even an unusual event in which beer and food are paired with art at Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory. Because, as they say, one person’s art is another’s dinner.

Compiled by Doug Rule

AMP BY STRATHMORE

11810 Grand Park Avenue
North Bethesda, MD
301-581-5100
ampbystrathmore.com

• Miles Allen’s One Man Breaking Bad — Actor/comedian offers an unauthorized tour-de-force parody of the hit AMC TV show (9/27)
• Shocked & Amazed: NY Variety All-Stars (10/10)

ARLINGTON CINEMA N’ DRAFTHOUSE

2903 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA
703-486-2345
arlingtondrafthouse.com

• Deon Cole — Comedian known from Conan O’Brian’s show (9/18-19)
• ThreeGuysOn presents The Final Draft — Hosts of popular podcast present this comedy show every Friday night
• Open Mic Stand-up Comedy — Every Friday night
• Reel Rock 10 Film Tour — Offering the best in climbing and adventure films (9/23-24)
• Cool Cow Comedy Showcase – Every Thursday night
• Rich Vos and Bonnie McFarlane (9/25-26)
• The Newly Dead Game: A Murder Mystery Comedy Show (10/2)
• Mark Normand (10/2)
• Hasan Minhaj (10/3)
• Alice Wetterlund (10/9-10)
• Mitch Fatel (11/6-7)
• Tom Arnold (11/12)
• Andy Kindler — A former judge on Last Coming Standing (11/13-14)
• Brian Posehn (11/19-21)
• Alonzo Bodden (11/27-28)

THE ATHENAEUM

201 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA
703-548-0035
nvfaa.org

• Gary Stephans: Art of Ballroom Dance — All levels of dancers and dancer-wannabes welcome, with or without a partner, to learn fox trot, waltz, tango, swing, salsa, merengue, rumba, cha-cha and samba (9/28)
• Banned Book Week Read-Out — The public is invited to read excerpts from classic books that have been targeted and banned by overzealous leaders (9/29)
• Cocktails in La Zona Rosa — A Latin-themed party toasting the 50th anniversary of the Athenaeum’s opening, including a silent auction (10/2)

ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

1333 H Sttreet NE
202-399-7993
Washington, DC
atlasarts.org

• B-Fly Backstage: Comedy from the DMV — B-Fly Entertainment presents stand-up from a handful of D.C.’s funniest comedians, including Andy Kline, Chelsea Shorte, Vijai Nathan and Kasaun Wilson, and hosted by Paige Hernandez (9/20, Paul Sprenger Theatre)

BALTIMORE SPEAKERS SERIES

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
1212 Cathedral St.
Baltimore, MD
410-783-8000
baltimorespeakersseries.org

• Leon Panetta — Discussion with the former Congressman, White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense (10/6)
• Neil DeGrasse Tyson — Everybody’s favorite astrophysicist (10/7)
• Sanjay Gupta — TV’s most respected doctor (10/27)
• Jerry Seinfeld (11/6-7)
• Michio Kaku — This futurist and science advocate is a frequent host of specials for the BBC and Discovery channels (11/17)
• Bmore Comedy Festival — Corey Holcomb, John Witherspoon, Luenell and Mark Curry are part of the lineup (11/25)
• Ayaan Hirsi Ali — One of Time‘s 100 most influential people in the world, known for her critical views of radical Islam and its suppression of women (1/26/16)

THE BENTZEN BALL COMEDY FESTIVAL

Various locations
Washington, DC
brightestyoungthings.com/bentzen-ball

• Lesbian comedian Tig Notaro curates this annual four-day event. Opening Night: Dr. Katz Live! — Starring Jonathan Katz, Jim Gaffigan, Notaro, Janeane Garofalo and Morgan Murphy (10/1, Lincoln Theatre)
• Not Funny! True Tales of the Hilariously Tragic (10/2, Howard Theatre)
• Blaria Live! — Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson perform with special guests (10/3, Lincoln);
• The Most Very Specialist Evening with Tig Notaro — Featuring Notaro’s “most very specialist stand-up and some most very specialist friends” (10/4, Lincoln)

BLACK CAT

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

• Story League Fall Championship (9/18)
• Ten Forward Happy Hour — One episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and drink specials every Friday, free
• The New York Nudie Revue (9/18)
• Dr. Who Happy Hour — One episode of Dr. Who and drink specials every Saturday, free
• Saints and Spinners: A Burlesque Game Show — All Hallow’s Tease Edition (10/2)

THE BIRCHMERE

3701 Mount Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, VA
703-549-7500

birchmere.com

• Raven’s Night (10/24)
• Suzanne Westenhoefer (11/7)
• Paula Poundstone (11/20-21)
• A John Waters’ Christmas — Holier & Dirtier (12/21)

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

University of Maryland
College Park, MD
301-405-ARTS
claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

• Kreativity Open Mic Night — The Kreativity Diversity Troupe offer a night full of music, dance and spoken word (9/18, 10/30)
• Margot Greenlee: Medicine By The Book — Greenlee’s book reveals the power our minds have to heal ailing bodies (11/4, Joe’s Movement Emporium)
• WorldWise: Angelique Kidjo — An Arts and Humanities Dean’s Lecture with “the undisputed queen of African music,” before her concert (12/4)

DAR CONSTITUTION HALL

1776 D Street NW
Washington, DC
202-628-1776
dar.org/conthall

• Mo’nique — Baltimore’s edgy, gay-friendly Oscar-winner brings her comedy set to town (10/4)

DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Georgetown University
3700 O St. NW
Washington, DC
202-687-ARTS
performingarts.georgetown.edu

• Georgetown Improv Association 20th Anniversary – Alumni from the past two decades perform for this special show (10/11) ^ Georgetown Improv Association – A monthly night of improv inspired by audience suggestions and showcasing the performers’ quick wit (10/17, Leavey Center)
• 15th Future of Music Summit — The only national conference that focuses on the connections between musicians and fans, policymakers and academics, legal experts and technologists, media professionals and entrepreneurs (10/26-27)
• ImprovFest — Georgetown Improv Association hosts this student-produced event also featuring visiting collegiate and professional guest troupes (2/12-2/13/15, Leavey Center)

DC IMPROV

1140 Connecticut Ave. NW
202-296-7008
Washington, DC
dcimprov.com

• Godfrey (9/17-20)
• ComedySportz Improv (9/19)
• “Five Minutes to Funny” Graduation (9/23)
• Cristela Alonzo (9/24-26)
• Jive Turkey and Friends — Local improv troupes take over the lounge (9/25)
• Jason Weems — Popular D.C./Baltimore comic headlines a show in the lounge also featuring Vijai Nathan and Matty Litwack (9/26)
• Greg Proops — Taping a live episode of The Smartest Man in the World podcast (9/27)
• Open Mic Night (9/30)
• Jimmy Tatro — The Memoirs of a College Dropout Tour (10/1)
• Earthquake (10/2-4)
• Steve Byrne (10/8-11)
• Comedy School Showcase (10/9)
• Nikki Glaser (10/15-18)
• DC Science Comedy: Yoram Bauman — “The world’s first stand-up economist!” (10/16)
• Comedy Kumite III — Eight comedians square off in a one-night tournament judged by the audience (10/23)
• Jessimae Peluso (10/23-25)
• Tommy Davidson (10/29-11/1)
• Judah Friedlander — Tickets include a copy of the 30 Rock actor’s new book If The Raindrops United! (11/3)
• Dave Attell (11/6-8)
• Flip Orley — “America’s premier comic hypnotist” (11/11-12)
• Marlon Wayans (11/13-15)
• Cindy Kaza — “Reach out to the spirits with a world-renowned evidential medium” (11/18)
• Bob Marley — Not that Bob Marley, but the still-living comedian (11/19-22)
• Donnell Rawlings (11/27-29)
• Freestyle Funny Comedy Show (12/2)
• Lavell Crawford (12/4-6)
• Story League Championship (12/9)
• Adam Ferrara (12/10-13)
• Finesse Mitchell (12/17-20)
• Erin Jackson (12/26-27)
• Orney Adams (12/31-1/2/16)
• Sheryl Underwood (1/8-1/9/16)

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

201 East Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
Washington, DC
folger.edu

• Caroline Bicks and Michelle Ephraim — Shakespeare, Not Stirred: Cocktails for Your Everyday Dreams is a cocktail and hors d’oeuvre recipe book mixing equal parts booze and Bard, and so will this Free Folger Friday talk over the Et Tu, Brut champagne cocktail (9/25)
• W.S. Di Piero and Rowan Ricardo Phillips: The Night’s Music — Two acclaimed poets read from their collected works, reflecting on the music of the natural and urban world (9/28)
• Georgianna Ziegler — A Free Folger Friday talk, by the Folger associate librarian and head of reference, about the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth I (10/2)
• PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction — Annual gala features authors reading short works written for the occasion on the theme of “Spark” (10/5)
• Book Launch: James Shapiro — Columbia University professor and member of Folger’s board discusses his new book The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 (10/7)
• Folger Institute Lecture Series: Sir Keith Thomas — “The Ends of Education in Early Modern England” from this honorary fellow of Oxford’s All Souls College (10/15)
• Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize: Anthony Thwaite and Jaimee Hills — Celebrated British poet, the literary editor of the New Statesman, and newer American writer both introduced by Joseph Harrison, the senior American editor of the Waywiser Press (10/26)
• Jane Smiley: Heartlands — Famous American author reads from her newest novel Golden Age (11/6)
• Julianna Baggott and Laura Kasischke: Chapter and Verse (11/23) ^ Curator Talk: Heather Wolfe — A behind-the-scenes look at exhibitions and collections at Folger (12/1)
• PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story: Deborah Eisenberg — Eisenberg becomes the fourth writer to have won both PEN Awards, the Faulkner and the Malamud (12/4)
• Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Linda Gregerson — Alice Quinn of the Poetry Society of America moderates a conversation with the Renaissance scholar and classically trained actress, a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets(12/7)

FORD’S THEATRE

511 10th St. NW
Washington, DC
202-397-7328
ticketmaster.com

• An Evening with Mark Russell — Ford’s Theatre Society presents the piano-playing political satirist just in time for this fall’s political cycle (9/19)
• History on Foot Walking Tour: Detective McDevitt – An actor playing a detective investigating the Lincoln assassination leads a weekend morning tour through downtown D.C. (Now-October)
• Author Talk: Cokie Roberts — A reading, Q&A discussion and signing of ABC News and NPR commentator’s latest book, The Civil War and the Women of Washington 1848-1868 (10/22)

GALA HISPANIC THEATRE

3333 14th St. NW
202-234-7174
Washington, DC
galatheatre.org

• Saulo Garcia — One of Colombia’s leading stand-up comics returns to GALA with En la USA me quede, a rip-roaring take on the dynamics between immigrant parents and their U.S.-born children, performed in Spanish (12/4-5)
• 4th Annual Film Festival — Four days of films from Mexico, Argentina and Chile, with a focus on contemporary films by emerging and young directors (12/9-13)
• Paso Nuevo Youth Program Presentation: Fall Show — A show written, acted and produced by GALA’s after-school performance program (12/18)
• Celebracion de los Reyes Magos – GALA’s traditional bilingual Three Kings celebration features the Magi, members of the Nativity scene, live animals, performances from local Latin American musical groups, and a walk through the neighborhood (1/3/16)

THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY MUSEUM
THE TEXTILE MUSEUM

701 21st Street NW
Washington, DC
202-994-5200
museum.gwu.edu

• Zachary Paul Levine: Jewish Immigrants in Washington, D.C., During the Civil War — The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington’s curator discusses the contributions and legacy of D.C.’s Jewish immgrants (9/21)
• Bonnie Morris: Women’s Music Movement — George Washington University professor (and former Metro Weekly columnist) shares songs and stories from the feminist wave in music (9/30)
• Jon Stewart — The former Daily Show host offers stand up as part of Colonials Weekend 2015 (10/17, Charles E. Smith Center)

HILLWOOD MUSEUM & GARDENS

4155 Linnean Avenue NW
Washington, DC
202-686-8500
hillwoodmuseum.org

• Hands-on Orchid Workshops — “To Repot or Not?” and “How to Get Your Orchid to Rebloom” (9/19, 9/26)
• Gardener’s Focus: Fall Seasonal Design — Hillwood head gardener Jessica Bonilla highlights the fall seasonal plantings (9/29, 10/6)
• Ingenue to Icon Fall Garden Party (9/30)
• Jonathan Katz: Queer Self-Fashioning Lecture and Reception — A leading LGBT scholar discusses the concept of “self-fashioning” in the community (10/8)
• Gardener’s Focus: Specialty Mums at Hillwood — Featuring Hillwood’s head grower Drew Asbury (10/13, 10/15, 10/18)
• Lecture: Valerie Steele: Chanel and Her Rivals: Women and 20th Century Fashion (10/15)
• Lecture: Robin Givhan: The Contemporary Role of Fashion in Politics and Power (10/22)
• Spooky Pooch Howl-o-ween Celebration (10/24)
• Lecture: Andrew Prince: From Downton to Gatsby — Jewelry designer for Downton Abbey discusses “Jewelry and Fashion from 1890 to 1929” (10/29)
• Russian Winter Festival (12/12-13)

THE HOWARD THEATRE

620 T St. NW
202-588-5595
thehowardtheatre.com

• Tom Segura (9/18)
• Creative Collab Tour featuring Matthew Espinosa w/Brandon Bowen and Chris Miles— Billed as a “next level, interactive variety show” full of comedy, theatrical sketches, games and music (10/6)
• Kyle Dunnigan (10/7)
• Protect Our Winters: A Night of Music, Climate Activism, Beer and Ice Cream — Ben & Jerry’s and New Belgium Brewing Co. kick off a collaboration to raise awareness about reducing the effects of climate change, featuring performances by Galactic and Dr. Dog (10/21)

HYMAN S. & FREDA BERNSTEIN JEWISH LITERARY FESTIVAL

Washington DCJCC
1529 16th St. NW
Washington, DC
202-777-3251
litfest.squarespace.com

• Selected Highlights: Opening Night: Etgar Keret — Winner of Israel’s Prime Minister Prize speaks about The Seven Good Years, A Memoir, which blends the personal and the national (10/18)
• Replacement Lives: David Bezmozgis, Boris Fishman and Lara Vapnyar — Three authors read from their newest works and discuss being part of a burgeoning Eastern European Jewish literary diaspora (10/19, Folger Shakespeare Library)
• Michael Pollan — A leading voice in the slow food movement and author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma explores the quest to be a more ethical eater (10/21, Lisner Auditorium)
• Alan Dershowitz — One of America’s best-known attorneys gives us a no-holds-barred survey of those who came before him in Abraham: The World’s First (But Certainly Not Last) Jewish Lawyer (10/25)
• Intrepid Time Travelers: New Fiction — Novelists Mary Morris (The Jazz Palace), Jami Attenberg (Saint Mazie) and Jessamyn Hope (Safekeeping) discuss common themes of their works with author Michelle Brafman (10/26)
• Local Author Fair — A focus on 15 D.C.-area writers (10/27)
• Closing Night: Shalom Auslander — A discussion focused on how the anxious, dark-humored author of memoir Foreskin’s Lament became the creator and showrunner of Showtime’s Happyish with no TV experience (10/28)

KENNEDY CENTER

2700 F Street NW
Washington, DC
202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org

• Al Madigral — The Daily Show‘s Senior Latino Correspondent returns to the Kennedy Center for a headline set (10/3, Eisenhower Theater)
• The 18th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor: Eddie Murphy (10/18, Concert Hall)
• Adam Lowitt — Three-time Emmy-winning co-executive producer of The Daily Show with John Stewart stops by (11/1, Terrace Theater)
• In Conversation: Philip Glass — The famous avant-garde classical composer in discussion with Washington National Opera’s artistic director Francesca Zambello (11/2)
• Nate Bargatze (12/30, Terrace)

LINCOLN THEATRE

1215 U St. NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-328-6000
thelincolndc.com

• Bo Burnham — The comedian’s Make Happy Tour (10/10-12)
• Jim Jefferies — The Freedumb Tour (11/7)

LISNER AUDITORIUM

George Washington University
730 21st St. NW
Washington, DC
202-994-6800
lisner.org

• 2015 NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert — Marco Werman of PRI’s The World hosts this celebration of our nation’s master traditional artists in music, dance, crafts and more (10/2)
• The Newsmakers Series: Niall Ferguson — Focuses on the author’s first in a projected two-volume series on Henry Kissinger (10/5, Jack Morton Auditorium)
• Ina Garten: Barefoot Contessa — One of the country’s most beloved culinary icons comes for a discussion led by the Washington Post‘s Bonnie Benwick (10/8)
• The Newsmakers Series: Patti Smith — The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will read from M Train, a memoir in which she visits 18 places that have special meaning to her (10/9)
• Richard Dawkins — The forward-thinking science and religion writer whose latest work is Brief Candle In The Dark (10/12)
• America’s Test Kitchen Live — Public television host Christopher Kimball offers a multimedia behind-the-scenes presentation, plus cooking science experiments on stage with Dan Souza (10/14)
• Bobby Flay On Tour — The celebrity chef will discuss his new book Brunch @ Bobby’s (10/19)
• David Sedaris (10/22)
• America’s Got Talent Live: The All-Stars Tour! (10/28)
• Giada De Laurentiis On Tour — Emmy Award-winning star of the Food Network shares the inspiration for her newest cookbook Happy Cooking (11/7)

LYRIC OPERA HOUSE

140 West Mount Royal Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland
410-547-SEAT
lyricoperahouse.com

• Russell Peters — Canadian comic known from NBC’s Last Comic Standing (9/18)
• Last Comic Standing — The finalists from Season 9 perform live (10/21)
• America’s Got Talent Live — Some of the most popular performers from the NBC variety competition series, including Season 8 comedian Taylor Williamson (10/29)
• So You Think You Can Dance? — The Top 10 finalists from the 12th season of the Fox reality competition (11/5)
• Cirque Dreams Holidaze (11/20-21)
• Disney Live! Three Classic Fairy Tales (12/4-5)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE!

Grosvenor Auditorium
NGS Headquarters
1600 M Street NW
Washington, DC
202-857-7700
nglive.org

• When Tough Meets Tech: Exploration’s New Frontier — National Geographic explorer Mike Libecki discusses the role technology is playing in his adventures (10/15)
• The Defenders: Inside the Wildlife Trade — Geographic Fellow Bryan Christy offers an insider’s look into the institution’s new Special Investigations Unit, established to expose elephant poaching and combat illegal wildlife trafficking (10/22)
• Building The Photo Ark — Geographic photographer on a mission to capture portraits of the world’s animals before more disappear (11/4)
• It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War — Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist discusses working in hot spots from Afghanistan to Libya (11/11)
• Telluride Mountainfilm — Capturing the best films on adventure, extreme sports and mountain culture from this year’s Telluride Mountainfilm festival (11/12-14)
• Pristine Seas — Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Eric Sala discusses his project to save the last untouched places in our oceans (11/19)
• The Making of Meru — Photographer and renowned climber Jimmy Chin and filmmaker Chai Vasarhelyi offer a behind-the-scenes look at the making of their award-winning documentary about reaching the summit of the Northern Indian mountain (12/1)
• The Science of Delicious — Innovative food and drink pairings inspired by a story in the December issue of National Geographic (12/3)
• Rhinos, Rickshaws & Revolutions: My Search for Truth — A discussion with Geographic photojournalist Ami Vitale (12/8)
• National Geographic Photo Fest — For the first time, National Geographic is extending its invite-only photography seminar to include a new festival for the public (1/16/16)

POLITICS AND PROSE

5015 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-364-1919
politics-prose.com

• Dylan Horrocks — Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen (9/18)
• Todd Moss — Minute Zero (9/19)
• Martin Walker — The Patriarch: A Bruno, Chief of Police (9/19)
• Gilbert Gaul — Billion-Dollar Ball: A Journey through the Big-Money Culture of College Football (9/19)
• Alice Hoffman — The Marriage of Opposites (9/20)
• Will Haygood — Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America (9/20)
• Chelsea Clinton — It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going! (9/24)
• Steve Sheinkin — Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War (9/25)
• John Lahr — Joy Ride: Show People and Their Shows, a collection of New Yorker reviews by the only critic ever to win a Tony Award (9/25)
• Joe Urschel — The Year of Fear: Machine Gun Kelly and the Manhunt That Changed the Nation (9/26)
• Ira Chaleff — Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You’re Told to Do Is Wrong (9/26)
• Scott Shane — Objective Troy: A Terrorist, A President and the Rise of the Drone (9/26)
• Marvin Kalb — Imperial Gamble: Putin, Ukraine and the New Cold War (9/27)
• Thomas Mallon — Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years (9/27)
• Jay Wink — 1944: FDR and the Year that Changed History (9/28)
• David Maraniss — Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story (9/29)
• Paul Theroux — Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads (9/30)
• Robert B. Reich — Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few (10/2)
• Joby Warrick — Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS (10/3)
• David O. Stewart — The Wilson Deception (10/3)
• Steven Lee Myers — The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin (10/6)
• Tam O’Shaughnessy — Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America’s Pioneering Woman in Space (10/7)
• Roberta Kaplan — Then Comes Marriage: United States V. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA (10/7)
• Melanne Verveer — Fast Forward: How Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose (10/8)
• Kate Clifford Larson — Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter (10/10)
• Mark Riebling — Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War against Hitler (10/10)
• Morton Kondracke — Jack Kemp: The Bleeding Heart Conservative Who Changed America (10/10)
• Alice Waters — My Pantry: Homemade Ingredients that Make Simple Meals Your Own (10/11)
• Daniel J. Levitin — The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload (10/11)
• Jenny Lawson — Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things (10/12)
• Larissa MacFarquhar — Strangers Drowning: Grappling with Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices and the Overpowering Urge to Help (10/13)
• Dvid Talbot — The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA and the Rise of America’s Secret Government (10/15)
• Dinner with Ruth Reichl — My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes that Saved My Life (10/17, Buck’s Fishing & Camping; 10/18, Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market)
• Tom Lewis — A History of Our Capital City (10/18)
• Sarah Vowell — Lafayette in the Somewhat United States (10/22)
• Dan Jones — Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty (10/24)
• Dan Ephron — Killing A King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel (10/26)
• Tom Gjelten — A Nation of Nations: A Great American Immigration Story (10/31)
• Steven Hill — Raw Deal: How the ‘Uber Economy’ and Naked Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers (11/1)
• Erin Hagar — Julia Child: An Extraordinary Life in Words and Pictures (11/10)
• Matt Ridley — The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge (11/11)
• John Sedgwick — War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and the Duel that Stunned the Nation )11/12)
• Isabel Allende — The Japanese Lover (11/13) ^ Susan Cheever — Drinking in America: Our Secret History (11/14)
• Richard Cohen and James Barnes — The Almanac of American Politics, 2016 (11/15)
• James Rosen — The Cheney Tapes: Candid Conversations with America’s Most Controversial Statesman (11/21)
• Alexander Wolff — The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball of the Age of Obama (11/23)
• Charlie Savage — Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency (12/1)
• Amy Ellis Nutt — Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of An American Family, the true story of a transgender girl from a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter (12/3)

RAM’S HEAD ON STAGE

33 West Street
Annapolis, MD
410-268-4545
ramsheadonstage.com

• Capitol Steps (9/19)
• Murder Mystery Dinner: Murder Vegas Style! (9/20)
• Paula Poundstone (12/5)

ROCK AND ROLL HOTEL

1353 H Street NE
Washington, DC
202-388-ROCK
rockandrollhoteldc.com

• Greg Graffin — Vocalist and co-founder of Bad Religion performs a handful of songs, but the focus is a reading and Q&A about the UCLA professor’s new book Population Wars: A New Perspective on Competition and Coexistence (9/18)
• DC Air Sex Championships — Like air guitar, except contestants are pretending to play with a lover, acting out their sex moves (10/18)
• SuicideGirls: Blackheart Burlesque — Billed as geeky burlesque, performers pay tribute to an eclectic mix of shows, from Star Wars to Orange is the New Black to Donnie Darko (10/23)

SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE

600 I Street NW
Washington, DC
202-408-3100
sixthandi.org

• Salmon Rushdie — Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights blends history, mythology and a timeless love story to offer a tale about the way we live (9/19)
• Richard Nisbett w/Malcolm Gladwell — World-renowned psychologist presents scientific and philosophical ideas in Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking (9/24)
• Elizabeth Gilbert — Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear (9/26)
• David Gregory — How’s Your Faith: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey from the former NBC news anchor, raised by a Catholic mother and a Jewish father (9/29)
• Anne-Marie Slaughter — Unfinished Business: Women, Men, Work, Family presents the vision for what true equality between men and women really means (10/1)
• Ben Bernanke w/Judy Woodruff — The Courage to Act offers an insider’s look into the worst financial crisis and economic slump in America since the Great Depression (10/8)
• Individual World Poetry Slam Finals — Poetry Slam Incorporated offers the culminating event in its four-day festival (10/10)
• Ta-Nehisi Coates w/James Bennet — Between the World and Me is a heartfelt meditation on identity, racism and the American Dream from the provocative writer (10/14)
• “Fall”ing for Beer: A Seasonal Beer Tasting — Some of the area’s best local breweries will have pumpkin ales and other seasonal brews on tap (10/14)
• Elvis Costello w/Dan Kois — Unfaithful Music & Disappointing Ink describes the combination of dumb luck and cunning that has allowed Costello to sustain his career (10/15)
• Sherry Turkle — Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (10/19)
• Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully w/Jeffrey Goldberg — The NOPI Cookbook brings the restaurant’s favorite dishes to life (10/20)
• Sloane Crosley (10/21)
• Gary Gulman — Boston-bred comedian (10/24)
• Dennis Ross — Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama (10/27)
• Gloria Steinem w/Kristen Gillibrand — My Life on the Road offers a candid account of the legendary feminist’s life (10/28)
• Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink — Welcome to Night Vale (11/2)
• Drew Barrymore — Wildflower shares stories from the descendant of Hollywood royalty who has become a star in her own right (11/3)
• Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company (12/20)

SMITHSONIAN FOOD HISTORY WEEKEND

National Museum of American History
1400 Constitution Ave. NW
202-633-1000
bit.ly/foodwkend

• Culinary leaders, researchers, practitioners and scholars will lead discussions and tastings at this event, intended to boost understanding about the history of food in America: Gala — Featuring guests Alton Brown, Marcus Samuelsson, Sara Moulton and Derek Brown, plus Daniel Boulud, who will create the evening’s menu as well as present the first Julia Child Award to Jacques Pepin (10/22)
• Roundtable — A free day-long symposium with discussions on the theme of food innovation (10/23, Warner Bros. Theater)
• Festival — A day of free activities around the museum, from demonstrations to book signings to film screenings (10/24) ^ After Hours: Brewing Up Innovation — Maureen Ogle, author of Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer, leads a ticketed discussion about the rise of American craft beer followed by beer tastings and appetizers (10/22-24, Coulter Performance Plaza)

STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda
301-581-5100
strathmore.org

• Panel Discussion: Women Chefs: Artists in the Kitchen — Bonnie Benwick, Ruth Gresser and Nora Pouillon are among the familiar female chefs in discussion in conjunction with the Strathmore Mansion’s The Art of Taste exhibition (9/20)
• Museum Shop Around — Nineteen of the area’s best museum gift shops set up shop at Strathmore for this annual benefit, a treasure for holiday gift ideas (11/12-15)

TORPEDO FACTORY

105 N. Union Street
Alexandria, VA
703-838-4565
torpedofactory.org

• 13th Annual King Street Art Festival (9/19)
• 20th Annual Art Safari — A day of hands-on craft activities, from papier-mache animals to origami to pottery (10/10)
• Art on Tap – The Art League’s intriguing mix of art, beer and food, as local craft brews are paired with works of art, which are further complemented with appetizers from local restaurants (10/16)
• Richard Ormond: John Singer Sargent — A former U.K. museum director and one of the world’s leading authorities on his famous great uncle will share anecdotes about and insights into the world of this leading portrait painter of the late 1800s (11/5)
• Holiday Open House — The Alexandria Choral Society will sing seasonal favorites as the galleries are open on the same evening as the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights on the Potomac (12/5)

VERIZON CENTER

601 F Street NW
Washington, DC
202-628-3200
verizoncenter.com

• Nitro Circus Live (10/8)
• Washington International Horse Show (10/20-25)

WARNER THEATRE

513 13th Street NW
Washington, DC
202-397-SEAT
warnertheatre.com

• The Wiggles — Australian children’s music group (9/26)
• Jo Koy (10/2)
• Margaret Cho — The psyCHO Tour (10/9)
• Alvin and the Chipmunks (10/10)
• Anderson Cooper & Andy Cohen — Glamour gays dishing the dirt (10/17)
• Criss Angel Presents The Supernaturalists — Magic tricks and more (10/20-21)
• Sebastian Maniscalco — Chicago-born stand-up comic (10/23)
• Tyler Perry’s Madea on the Run (10/29-11/1)
• So You Think You Can Dance? — The Top 10 finalists from the season that just ended perform live (11/6) ^ Wanda Sykes (11/7-8)
• Ron White (11/13)
• I Love Lucy: Live on Stage — A touring musical stage show adapted from the beloved long-ago TV show (11/20)

WOMEN’S VOICES THEATER FESTIVAL

Various locations
womensvoicestheaterfestival.org

• This two-month-long push for greater awareness of the work of female playwrights goes beyond the several dozen full-scale productions at participating theaters, which can be found throughout this issue’s Stage listings. d(All) Women’s Voices: A Conversation about Intentionality and Inclusion — Jennifer Nelson moderates this broad-focused panel discussion after an introduction by the Kennedy Center’s Deborah F. Rutter (9/21, Kennedy Center)
• Writing In The District: Women Playwrights of Washington, D.C., Speak Out (9/26, Theater J)
• There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame: Women in Musical Theater — The Washington Post‘s Nelson Pressley moderates a panel including playwright Julia Jordan and Signature actors Nova Y. Payton and Tracy Lynn Olivera (9/28, Signature Theatre)
• The Glass Curtain: Gender Parity in the American Theatre (10/4, Woolly Mammoth Theatre)
• Driven: Trailblazing Women of the Entertainment Industry — A frank discussion about the rare women in high-powered, high-profile positions throughout the industry and how gender has shaped their career trajectories and the creative material they choose (10/5, Ford’s Theatre)
• Fight Like A Girl: Changing Roles for Women in Stage Combat (10/23, Round House Theatre)

More Fall Arts 2015

• Film
• Television
• Stage
• Pop Music
• Classical
• Dance
• Museums