Out on the Town: Highlights of arts events in DC, from March 9 to 15

BETHESDA FILM FEST: FOCUS ON SHORT DOCS
Five short documentaries by local filmmakers will be screened at the 5th Annual Bethesda Film Fest, produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District. A panel with the filmmakers follows each screening. Friday, March 17, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 18, at 6 and 8 p.m. Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave. Tickets are $10. Call 301-215-6660 or visit bethesda.org.

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
Amy Heckerling’s iconic 1982 teen drama is part of a Library of Congress series of 15 films celebrating, however indirectly, Women’s History Month. Based on a script by Cameron Crowe and his findings spending nine months undercover as a high school student for Rolling Stone, the film stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, and Sean Penn and was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2005. Saturday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. Packard Campus Theater, 19053 Mount Pony Rd. Culpeper, Va. Free. Call 202-707-9994 or visit loc.gov/avconservation.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND
Jordan Vogt-Roberts fully immerses audiences in the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes in Warner Bros. Pictures epic monster blockbuster, part of a reboot of the King Kong franchise. Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and Brie Larson lead the cast. Opens Friday, March 10. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
Landmark’s E Street Cinema offers Richard O’Brien’s camp classic, billed as the longest-running midnight movie in history. Landmark’s showings come with a live shadow cast from the Sonic Transducers, meaning it’s even more interactive than usual. Friday, March 10, and Saturday, March 11, at midnight. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

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BOOTYCANDY
A cast of students from the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Montgomery College bring to life Robert O’Hara’s semi-autobiographical collection of 10 short plays about growing up gay and black. The subversive comedy, with mature themes and explicit sexual language, first came to life nearly six years ago at Woolly Mammoth and journeys from a budding gay youth’s childhood home and church to dive bars, motel rooms and nursing homes. Professor David Rothman directs. Closes Sunday, March 12. Theater 2 in Cultural Arts Center at Montgomery College’s Silver Spring campus, 7995 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. Tickets are $10. Call 240-567-5775 or visit montgomerycollege.edu/cac.

CHOIR BOY
Tarell McCraney’s drama focuses on the most talented — as well as most flamboyant — chorister at a hallowed African-American, all-boy prep school. A touching tale of bullying, homophobia, love and acceptance, the show’s greatest source of power is in McCraney’s subtle, graceful and evocative style of storytelling. To March 18. Richmond Triangle Players, 1300 Altamont Ave., Richmond. Tickets are $28 to $30. Call 804-346-8113 or visit rtriangle.org.

ELLA ENCHANTED
Adventure Theatre MTC offers a world-premiere musical, co-commissioned by First Stage from Milwaukee, Wisconsin with funding in part from the National Endowment for the Arts. Ella Enchanted is based on the award-winning book by Gail Carson Levine that also produced the 2004 fantasy rom-com starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy. Written by Karen Zacarias with music by Deborah Wicks La Puma, Mary Hall Surface directs the all-ages show. To March 19. Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Call 301-634-2270 or visit adventuretheatre-mtc.org.

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FICKLE: A FANCY FRENCH FARCE
Disguises, mistaken identities, palace intrigues and an improbable romance are in store in a world-premiere modern take on Pierre de Marivaux’s 18th-century French comedy The Double Inconstancy. Adapted by rising American playwright Meg Miroshnik, the delightful comic romp stars Tonya Beckman, Chris Dinolfo, Mark Jaster, Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan, Marcus Kyd, Kathryn Tkel, and Andy Reinhardt. Olney Theatre’s Artistic Associate Eleanor Holdridge directs. To April 2. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road in Maryland. Tickets are $45 to $65. Call 301-924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.

INTELLIGENCE
Inspired by the frenzy that followed when covert operative Valerie Plame’s cover was blown in post-9/11 America and the run-up to war, Intelligence is a fictionalized political thriller by Jacqueline E. Lawton. Daniella Topol directs a world premiere starring Hannah Yelland as Plame. To April 9. In the Kogod Cradle at Arena Stage, 1101 6th St. SW. Tickets are $51 to $66. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.

KING CHARLES III
Three years after giving us Cock, British playwright Mike Bartlett returns with his latest theatrical effort. An Olivier-winning play that nods to Shakespeare, King Charles II explores how Prince Charles might rule were he to finally ascend to the British throne. The New York Times called it “an intellectually and emotionally gripping study of the strangely enduring anachronism that is the British monarchy.” Directed by David Muse. In previews. To March 18. Sidney Harman Hall, Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F St. NW. Call 202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org.

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MARX IN SOHO
Mary Myers is Karl Marx in a typically gender-bending production from Nu Sass of Howard Zinn’s one-man play. Dating to 1999, Marx in Soho offers a sympathetic portrayal of the 19th-century philosopher and his communist ideals. Angela Kay Pirko directs the show, performed in an intimate space of 30 seats, and in an immersive, open way with a goal of developing a connection with audiences beyond the typical. Opens Thursday, March 9, at 8 p.m. To April 2. Caos on F, 923 F St. NW. Tickets are $30. Visit nusass.com.

MRS. MILLER DOES HER THING
Emmy and Tony-winner Debra Monk stars in a comedy by Pulitzer-winning playwright James Lapine about Elva Miller, a songstress whose off-key singing found fame in the ’60s. Think of her as pop music’s Florence Foster Jenkins. To March 26. Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call 703-820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org.

PARADE
The complexities of social relationships in the early-20th Century South is the backdrop of writer Alfred Uhry’s story focused on the trial and lynching of a Jewish man wrongly accused of murder. Jake Null will lead the band in composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown’s rich, intricate score in the latest Tony Award-winning musical to get the Keegan Theatre touch. Christina A. Coakley (Cabaret) and Susan Marie Rhea (Hair) co-direct a large cast led by Michael Innocenti as Leo Frank and Eleanor J. Todd as his wife Lucille Frank in a tragic, touching musical that explores themes that are sadly as relevant as ever. Opens in previews Saturday, March 11, at 8 p.m. To April 8. Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $45 to $55. Call 202-265-3768 or visitkeegantheatre.com.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER
Kathryn Chase Bryer directs a Rick Elice’s prequel to Peter Pan, complete with swordfights, shipwrecks and mermaids, but also clever wordplay, daring ensemble movement and live music. Dallas Tolentino plays the Boy Who Never Grew Up, alongside Megan Graves as the plucky and precocious Molly and Michael John Casey as the Black Stache, determined to become the world’s most feared one-handed villain. Closes Sunday, March 12. Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $45. Call 202-204-7741 or visit constellationtheatre.org.

RAGTIME
Based on the sprawling novel by E.L. Doctorow, with book, music and lyrics by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, the Tony-winning musical Ragtime depicts three families striving for the American dream at the turn of the 20th century. It’s an epic musical, made all the more so by the all-star D.C. cast that director Peter Flynn (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) managed to assemble, led by Kevin McAllister, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Nova Y. Payton and Jonathan Atkinson. Talk about an American dream. Opens in previews Friday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. Runs to May 20. Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Call 800-982-2787 or visit fords.org.

THE GIN GAME
Roz White and Doug Brown take on D.L. Coburn’s play, which the New York Times called a “thoroughly entertaining lesson in the fine art of theatrical finesse.” Thomas W. Jones II directs. Closes Sunday, March 12. MetroStage, 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria. Tickets are $55 to $60. Call 800-494-8497 or visit metrostage.org.

THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS
Jennifer L. Nelson directs Lee Breuer’s modern adaptation of the Sophocles tale about the last days of Oedipus, with a score by Bob Telson. William T. Newman Jr. plays Preacher Oedipus in this soaring, poetic celebration of transcendence and the fragility of life, which won the Obie for Best Musical in 1984 and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Best Drama in 1985. Performed with the Women’s Ecumenical Choir of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va. To March 26. Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $30 to $35. Call 703-418-4804 or visit wscavantbard.org.

THE HOW AND THE WHY
Sarah Treem is a writer for House of Cards, In Treatment and The Affair. She’s also a Yale-educated playwright, and Theater J offers a chance to see her thought-provoking play about science, family, survival of the fittest and choices faced by women of every generation. Katie deBuys and Valerie Leonard star as two women who spar on the eve of a prestigious conference, one an up-and-coming evolutionary biologist and the other an eminent professor and leader in the field. Closes Sunday, March 12. The Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater, Edlavitch DCJCC, 1529 16th St. NW. Call 202-777-3210 or visit theaterj.org.

THE SELECT (THE SUN ALSO RISES)
John Collins directs New York’s Elevator Repair Service adaptation of the classic novel by Ernest Hemingway about a group of American and British expatriates who travel to Spain for the Running of the Bulls. Shakespeare Theatre Company hosts the acclaimed theater ensemble a decade after they came to fame with their spin on F. Scott Fitzgerald with Gatz. The Select is a streamlined edit of Hemingway that stays true to the writer’s distinct style. To April 2. Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. Call 202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Synetic Theater continues its “Wordless Shakespeare” work, transporting the Bard’s “Battle of the Sexes” romantic comedy from Italy to Hollywood. The Taming of the Shrew is led by Synetic founders, the husband-and-wife team of Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili, and features Irina in the lead role, opposite Ryan Sellers as Petruchio. Choreography for the show comes from Zana Gankhuyag, who also portrays Gremio. Alex Mills is Grumio, Petruchio’s servant. To March 19. Theater at Crystal City, 1800 South Bell St., Arlington. Tickets are $20 to $60. Call 800-494-8497 or visit synetictheater.org.

THE WHITE SNAKE
A magical adaptation by Mary Zimmerman, The White Snake is brought to fantastical life in grand spectacle in Baltimore Center Stage’s newly renovated Head Theater. Based on an ancient Chinese fable, it tells the story of two animal spirits who take on human form as a beautiful woman (Aime Donna Kelly) and her sly servant. Natsu Onoda Power directs the production starring Aime Donna Kelly, Eileen Rivera and Joe Ngo and featuring an ensemble of actors and four actor-musicians led by music director Jeff Song. To March 26. Baltimore Center Stage, 700 North Calvert St. Tickets are $20 to $69. Call 410-332-0033 or visit centerstage.org.

AMERICAN POPS ORCHESTRA: CINDERELLA
Luke Frazier leads D.C.’s showtunes-focused orchestra in a new touching, comedic take on the fairytale classic — billed as one-part storybook, four-parts Great American Songbook. Austin Colby and MaryJoanna Grisso, the stars from Signature Theatre’s 2015 production of West Side Story, are featured performers along with Hilary Morrow and Dale Sampson in a magical, musical tale written by Taylor Ferrera and Matthew Webster, with repurposed songs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. Nathan Brewer directs the family-friendly show. Saturday, March 11, at 2 p.m. Live! at 10th and G, 945 G ST. NW. Tickets are $15 to $32. Call 202-628-4317 or visit TheAmericanPops.org.

ARI HEST
Thirty-six-year-old Ari Hest sings chiefly as a baritone — a range well suited to heavy sentiments about life and love. “I guess I identify more with the struggle — whatever the struggle is — in music,” he told Metro Weekly a few years back. “Not to compare myself to Leonard Cohen, but you know that kind of voice, generally, you think of some kind of weighted song coming from a voice like that.” Hest returns to the Barns after last year’s Grammy-nominated collaborative record with Judy Collins, Silver Skies Blue. Friday, March 10, at 8 p.m. The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $25 to $30. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS
Road Trip! Tour The USA in our Cabaret is a wild musical ride across the broad American landscape and the rich diversity in musical geography, from the blues up north to country down south, protest and psychedelic rock on the west and pop and showtunes out east. And always nearby, the funky/quirky streets of John Waters’ Baltimore. Tickets remain for performances Thursday, March 16, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 19, at 4 p.m. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $50. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.

GREEN DAY
It doesn’t sound particularly new. In fact, Green Day’s new album Revolution Radio follows a similar trajectory, lyrically and sonically, as the groundbreaking American Idiot did 13 years ago. Of course, in some ways the world is in a worse place now than it was back then, so it’s certainly welcome to have the tuneful punk-poppers back in rousing, blistering action. And it’s especially heartening to see that the San Francisco trio picked a like-minded band to open for them on their current stadium tour. If anything, Florida’s Against Me! is even more of a progressive rabble-rouser, and a lightning rod for the LGBTQ cause. Laura Jane Grace makes compelling use of the strong, reverberating male singing voice she was born with, making her case adamantly, sometimes viciously, on the band’s latest, Shape Shift With Me. Monday, March 13, at 7 p.m. Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. Remaining tickets are $80 to $202. Call 202-628-3200 or visit verizoncenter.com.

METROPOLITAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH NEW YORK VOICES
Alto-saxophonist Jim Carroll leads the big band ensemble, featuring many of the region’s best jazz musicians, in a concert with a polished and playful vocal quartet from the Big Apple. Saturday, March 11, at 8 p.m. George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax. Tickets are $30 to $50. Call 888-945-2468 or visit cfa.gmu.edu.

PRIESTS
Nearly five years old, the D.C.-based band has generated national buzz for revitalizing, however indirectly, another aspect of D.C. culture — punk rock, specifically the ’90s-originating “Riot Grrrl” variant. Led by the strong, elastically voiced Katie Alice Greer and including drummer Daniele Daniele, guitarist G.I. Jaguar, and bassist Taylor Mulitz, Priests is a mixed-gender, hard-charging band with a cheekily religious name — owing in part to Greer’s upbringing as the daughter of a Methodist minister. The band tours in support of its debut full-length, Nothing Feels Natural, which Paste magazine said “might be the first great punk album of the Trump presidency.” It’s hard to disagree with music this sharp, passionate, and powerful. Coup Sauvage & The Snips and Atta Girl open. Saturday, March 11. Doors at 8 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $16, with a dollar from each ticket donated to Casa Ruby. Call 202-667-4490 or visit blackcatdc.com.

REGINA SPEKTOR
The Russian-born New Yorker is a classically trained quirky pop singer-songwriter who may put you in mind of Tori Amos or Fiona Apple — or of Ben Folds or Rufus Wainwright. Spektor is certainly eccentric and dramatic and iconoclastic just as all those artists are in one way or another. Yet she doesn’t sound like any of them, really, and no one but herself. She tours in support of Remember Us to Life, her set from last year recorded with an orchestra. Tuesday, March 14, at 8 p.m. D.A.R. Constitution Hall, 1776 D St. NW. Remaining tickets are $40.25 to $50.25. Call 202-628-1776 or visit dar.org/conthall.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA: DEAD MAN WALKING
Francesco Zambello directs composer Jake Heggie’s instant modern classic, featuring a libretto by Terrence McNally and based on Sister Helen Prejean’s book that also inspired the hit 1995 film with Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Kate Lindsey plays the role of the kindhearted nun who takes on the final appeal of a convicted murderer (Michael Mayes) on death row, whose mother is played by Susan Graham, the original Prejean when the opera debuted in 2000. A searing emotional journey in its story, Dead Man Walking is further powered by Heggie’s music. NPR has called it “Gershwin-esque spiced with Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein, blues and even early rock.” To March 11. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $35 to $300. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

WICKED JEZABEL
Pauline Anson-Dross’ popular lesbian all-covers party-rock band Wicked Jezabel has been rocking — as well as raising money for various good causes — all over the region for a decade now, originally under the name The Outskirts of Town. Next up, as luck would have it, is a concert on St. Patrick’s Day. Friday, March 17, at 9 p.m. Freddie’s Beach Bar, 555 South 23rd St., Arlington. Call 703-685-0555 or visit wickedjezabel.com.

CHANDINI DARBY AND KYOKO RUCH
Chandini Darby’s Stances and Stanzas is a warrior’s poem honoring black poets past and present while giving a call to action for all to speak out as well as speak up for poets. Meanwhile, Kyoko Ruch’s Girl on Girl demonstrates the unnecessary obstacles that women face from birth in our patriarchal society and how it drives women to seek their identity and claim authority by minimizing other women. Darby and Ruch will perform the works in a joint program honoring them as the 2017 Presentation Choreographic Grant Recipients of Dance Metro DC and Dance Place, selected by an independent panel of D.C. dance professionals. Saturday, March 18, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 19, at 7 p.m. Dance Place, 3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $25 in advance, or $30 at the door. Call 202-269-1600 or visit danceplace.org.

AN EVENING OF HUMOROUS READINGS
Jon Wolper of McSweeney‘s and GQ hosts an event at DC9 that will feature some of D.C.’s funniest literary humorists reading from their work. Friday, March 10, at 7 p.m. DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202-483-5000 or dcnine.com.

WASHINGTON JEWISH LITERARY FESTIVAL
Eight writers will reflect upon the theme of this year’s festival, “Unexpected Journeys,” in a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction as part of the Local Authors Fair and Reception beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15. Other highlights of this year’s festival: Author/storyteller Noa Baum with a presentation based on her memoir A Land Twice Promised: An Israeli Woman’s Quest for Peace on Tuesday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m.; A discussion with three authors focused on “Unpacking Parenthood: Memoir, Mindfulness and Managing the Meltdowns,” on Thursday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m.; and a closing Selected Shorts program on Sunday, March 19, at 3 p.m. featuring short stories written by established and emerging writers focused on the festival theme and performed by Tony-winning actor James Naughton, Helen Hayes-winning actress Holly Twyford and Broadway and Ugly Betty star Michael Urie. An additional off-site program Sunday, March 19 — set for 10:30 a.m. at Washington Hebrew Congregation, 3935 Macomb St. NW — is Maya Benton discussing Roman Vishniac Rediscovered, featuring images from the International Center of Photography depicting Eastern European Jewish life pre- and post-Holocaust and in post-war America. The Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater, Edlavitch DCJCC, 1529 16th St. NW. Call 202-777-3210 or visit edcjcc.org/center-for-arts/literary/

CARL VAN VECHTEN: HARLEM HEROES
Many central figures in the Harlem Renaissance were captured by photographer Carl Van Vechten, some when they were young and on the cusp of achieving international fame, from James Baldwin and Langston Hughes to Bessie Smith and Ella Fitzgerald. There are 39 images spanning over 30 years, all drawn from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection, but never before presented as a set since they were acquired in 1983. Through March 19. Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and F Streets NW. Free. Call 202-633-1000 or visit americanart.si.edu.

EMULSION 2017: EAST CITY ART REGIONAL JURIED SHOW
Organizers of this locally focused visual art exhibition, now in its 4th year, moved to a larger downtown venue to accommodate the increase in the number of applicants. As show juror, Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams of Arlington County’s public art program selected over 60 artists competing for $2,000 for First Place, $1,000 for Second, $500 for Third and $250 for two Honorable Mentions. Among those competing: David Amoroso, Jacqui Crocetta, Michael Crossett, Ric Garcia, Michelle Goldchain, Joanne Kent, Chee-Keong Kung, Juan Pineda, Andrew Taylor, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Ellyn Weiss, Michael West, and Andrew Wodzianski. Runs through March 16. Pepco Edison Place Gallery, 702 8th St. NW. Call 202-872-3396 or visit eastcityart.com.

ISAMU NOGUCHI: ARCHAIC/MODERN
One of the most innovative American sculptors of the 20th century is the focus of a full-scale exhibition exploring how both the ancient world and the space age shaped his works, 74 of which are on display. Noguchi saw himself as equal parts artist and engineer, and the exhibition devotes special attention to his patented designs as well as iconic artworks, including monolithic basalt sculptures, fountains and floating Akari ceiling lights. To March 19. Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and F Streets NW. Free. Call 202-633-1000 or visit americanart.si.edu.

JEFF SHENG: FEARLESS PROJECT
An exhibition and photography series focused on over 200 LGBT student athletes in the U.S. and Canada taken over the last decade by American artist Jeff Sheng. Fearless Project is presented in conjunction with the Washington National Opera and its upcoming production of Champion. Through March 18 in the Kennedy Center Hall of Nations. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

JUNE SCHWARCZ: INVENTION & VARIATION
One of the most innovative enamelists of the 20th century, June Schwarcz gets the retrospective treatment in a new exhibition that details her career, spanning more than 60 years until her death in 2015. Smithsonian curators selected nearly 60 artworks, several of which have never been publicly seen, to demonstrate her technical innovations as well as her variety, from vessels and three-dimensional objects to wall-mounted plaques and panels. Opens Friday, March 10. Through Aug. 27. Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Free. Call 202-633-1000 or visit renwick.americanart.si.edu.

REFRESH VII
Long View Gallery presents its seventh annual exhibition featuring new works by gallery favorites, this year including Mike Weber, Ryan McCoy, Cheryl Wassenaar, Lori Katz, Colin Winterbottom and J. Jordan Bruns. The gallery will also premiere pieces by Baltimore artists Jessie and Katey. Through March 19. Long View Gallery, 1234 9th St. NW. Call 202-232-4788 or visit longviewgallery.com.

RONI HORN
Maryland’s modern art and architecture-focused Glenstone Museum offers an exhibition of more than 30 works by Roni Horn, drawn from the museum’s collection and selected and installed by the artist herself. Spanning four decades of her career, works on view explore wide-ranging topics including nature, ecology, identity, landscape and language. Glenstone, set on 200 acres of rolling pasture and woodland in Montgomery County, Md., also offers hourly guided outdoor sculpture tours of works by Andy Goldsworthy, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Ellsworth Kelly, Jeff Koons, Charles Ray, Julian Schnabel and Richard Serra. Through Jan. 28, 2018. Glenstone Museum, 12002 Glen Road, Potomac, Md. Call 301-983-5001 or visit glenstone.org.

CENTRAL MICHEL RICHARD
Executive Chef David Deshaies has assembled a special menu of signature dishes given to him during 16 years of mentorship by the legendary French namesake of Central, who died last year. A week-long promotion kicking off what would have been Richard’s 69th birthday, the four-course prix-fixe dinner features: Smoked salmon terrine with leeks tartare and brioche to start, lobster ravioli with citronelle emulsion, 72-hour braised short ribs in a mushroom-syrah reduction, and Michel’s Profiteroles for dessert. All courses are available with optional wine pairings during dinnertime only. Through Saturday, March 11. Central Michel Richard, 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Cost is $80 per person, with an additional $45 for the wine pairings. Call 202-626-0015 or visit centralmichelrichard.com.

ESPITA MEZCALERIA: FIRST BIRTHDAY COCKTAILS
The Southern Mexican-inspired Shaw spot, which has helped increase the popularity of tequila’s worm-infused spirit cousin mezcal, celebrates its first anniversary the first full week of March. Through Sunday, March 12, Beverage Director Megan Barnes offers five “fan favorite” cocktails, including the Oaxacan Sour with “excessive Angostura bitters,” Espadin mezcal, lemon and pineapple, the Beatriz, a play on a dry martini with Sotol, Cocchi Americano and elderflower, and the Guajillo Mango Highball, which combines house-made soda from chili peppers, fresh-pressed mango juice and mezcal. Espita Mezcaleria, 1250 9th St. NW. The birthday cocktails are $12 to $16 each. Call 202-621-9695 or visit espitadc.com.

MAKE ST PATRICK’S DAY GREAT AGAIN: A VARIETY SHOW
Old Style Irish Dancer Shannon Dunne leads an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration featuring traditional Irish music, dance, song and comedy. Fellow dancers Kate Spanos and Catherine Marafino will join Dunne in performances with musicians Donna Long, Laura Byrne, Mitch Fanning and the Bog Band. And after the evening show there will be traditional music and drink specials in the Fringe Bar. Saturday, March 11, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Trinidad Theatre at Capital Fringe, 1358 Florida Ave. NE. Tickets are $15 to $20. Call 202-737-7230 or visit capitalfringe.org.

RESIST COUNTER CABARET
Feminist punk performance group Tia Nina presents another free variety show aimed at bringing progressive-minded artists and audiences together, for a cathartic expression of the world around them. Expect performances by dancers, musicians, theater artists, comedians, clowns and more at the Capital Fringe complex, including its Fringe Arts Bar, which opens at 6 p.m., while the show starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, in the Trinidad Theatre, 1358 Florida Ave. NE. Free. Call 202-733-6321 or visit capitalfringe.org.

THE PRIDE OF PURIM: A QUEER MASQUERADE
The Kurlander Program for GLBTQ Outreach & Engagement at the Edlavitch DCJCC and The Coven team up for D.C.’s only queer party for Purim, the Mardi Gras-like Jewish holiday celebrating Queen Esther and general confusion, mayhem and mischief. Technically, Purim celebrates the Jews who were spared execution by Persian leader Haman in biblical times. It calls for dressing up and drinking a lot. A LOT. Oakland DJ Lady Ryan provides music for the all-night masquerade, which also features performances of the Megillah by Pussy Noir and the Noir Creative collective, plus performance artist Kunj and Dainty Dandridge of Chocolate City Burlesque and Cabaret. Costumes are encouraged. Saturday, March 11, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Ten Tigers Parlour, 3813 Georgia Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Call 202-518-9400 or visit edcjcc.org.