LEAP!
Elle Fanning voices the tale of a poor orphan girl who gets a chance to audition for the Paris Opera Ballet and pursue her dream as a ballerina. Eric Summer and Eric Warin’s 3D computer-animated musical adventure also features the voices of Nat Wolff, Kate McKinnon, Mel Brooks, Carly Rae Jepsen, Maddie Ziegler, and Terrence Scammell as a demanding ballet instructor. Klaus Badelt wrote the score, with additional pop songs by Jepsen, Sia, and Demi Lovato. Opens Friday, Aug. 25. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

PURPLE RAIN
Prince is ”The Kid” in this semi-autobiographical film about a tortured musician. Apollonia and Morris Day also star in the 1984 film that is otherwise most notable for its superb soundtrack (”Let’s Go Crazy,” ”When Doves Cry,” ”Purple Rain”). If you’d like to see it in a crowd and are free Friday, Aug. 25, you’ll have to decide if you’d rather do so indoors in D.C., or outdoors in Silver Spring. Purple Rain screens after 7 p.m. in a seated show at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $10. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com. On the same day, at 8 p.m., it shows for free as part of the AFI Silver Theatre Outdoor Summer Screenings in Veterans Plaza, Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street, Silver Spring. Free. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

STOP MAKING SENSE
The late, great Jonathan Demme’s landmark concert film documents David Byrne with his band, The Talking Heads, when they were at the top of their pop game. The movie screens Friday, Aug. 25, at 9:45 p.m., as part a ”Jonathan Demme Remembered” weekend that also includes one showing each of Something Wild, The Silence of the Lambs and Melvin and Howard. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13 general admission. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

Read Next

Predator Meets Prey in Gay Cruising Allegory

THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD
★★★
In The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Samuel L. Jackson’s tried and true formula is spiked with a potent hit of Ryan Reynolds, the king of Hollywood nonchalance. The heroes never meet a problem that can’t be solved with a gun, a bigger gun, an explosion, or a pithy comeback, while the film feints at real-world commentary by zeroing in on a recognizably unhinged despot as its main villain. The Hitman’s Bodyguard is no twisty, Bourne-ian take on geo-politics; it’s a straightforward, crowd-pleaser, well-executed by professionals who know what they’re here to do. Now playing. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (Andre Hereford)

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
Kids (and kids-at-heart) will be abuzz watching outdoors the latest action-comedy to transport everyone’s favorite interlocking toys from childhood to the big screen, this time in service of the classic comic caper. Will Arnett is Batman, Michael Cera is Robin, Rosario Dawson is Batgirl and Zach Galifianakis is The Joker in Chris McKay’s Lego Batman Movie. The film screens Saturday, August 26, as part of Strathmore’s Comcast Xfinity Outdoor Film Festival, a benefit for the National Institutes of Health Children’s Charities that also includes free screenings of Moana on Thursday, Aug. 24, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Friday, Aug. 25. Visit strathmore.org.

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
Holly Twyford is known for her extraordinary range and dynamism, but there’s still one part she’s never before exhibited: Her singing. That all changes with Eric Schaeffer’s first-ever production of the Stephen Sondheim classic, A Little Night Music. Twyford joins a cast studded with Signature Theatre regulars, including Bobby Smith, Florence Lacey, Will Gartshore, Sam Ludwig, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Maria Rizzo, Susan Derry, and Kevin McAllister. In previews. To Oct. 8. Max Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call 703-820-9771 or visit sigtheatre.org.

Read Next

Trump Taps Anti-LGBTQ Matt Gaetz for Attorney General

BIG FISH
★★★
The musical Big Fish, based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and on the film adaptation directed by Tim Burton, came and went on Broadway before many had a chance to see how the beloved father-son story translated to the stage. Boasting a book by the film’s screenwriter, John August, and music and lyrics by The Wild Party composer Andrew Lippa, the show is enjoying a D.C. premiere with a diverting — but not dazzling — production at Keegan Theatre. The wizardly element made Tim Burton a good fit for visualizing the fantastical world of Big Fish on film. Here, however, the onus rests on the show’s co-directors Mark A. Rhea and Colin Smith to realize the implausible characters and feats that live in the fertile imagination of young Will (Erik Peyton). The results are hit and miss. To Sept. 9. Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $45 to $55. Call 202-265-3767 or visit keegantheatre.com. (AH)

JULIUS CAESAR
Scena Theatre offers a modern interpretation intentionally teasing out the parallels between today’s Washington and ancient Rome. Robert McNamara directs and stars in Shakespeare’s classic tale of Senators Cassius and Brutus’s plot to kill Caesar and prevent him from becoming all-powerful Emperor, and the civil unrest that ensues. David Bryan Jackson, Ian Armstrong, Barry McEvoy, Ron Litman, Amanda Forstrom, Danielle Davy, Robert Sheire, and Kim Curtis also appear. Now to Sept. 24. Lab Theatre II in the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $30 to $45. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.

Read Next

Trans Student Severely Beaten by Bullies. School Does Nothing.

THE DEVIL’S MUSIC … BESSIE SMITH
Mosaic Theater Company kicks off its third season with its first musical, a show written by Angelo Parra and directed by Joe Brancato. A hit Off Broadway, The Devil’s Music stars the indomitable Miche Braden, performing 13 songs in character as bisexual blues pioneer Bessie Smith. The concert-style show recreates the boisterous diva’s final performance after she and her band were turned away from a whites-only theater in Memphis in 1937. Opening night is Monday, Aug. 28. Through Sept. 24. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $60. Call 202-399-7993 or visit mosaictheater.org.

WIZARD OF HIP
MetroStage presents a 25th Anniversary revival of a show by the company’s associate artistic director, Thomas W. Jones II. A nonstop comic journey following Afro Jo, an African-American everyman in search of the ultimate state of ”hip,” the show stars Jones, backed by the Lady Doo Wops, Kanysha Williams and Jasmine Eileen Coles. To Sept. 17. MetroStage, 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria. Tickets are $55 to $60. Call 703-548-9044 or visit metrostage.org.

CREATIVE CAULDRON CABARET: CLIFTON WALKER III
A romp through Broadway, pop and jazz from local musical theater up-and-comer Walker, performing ”Life: As I Sing It,” accompanied by Leigh Delano. Friday, Aug. 25, and Saturday, 26, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m. ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Ave. in Falls Church. Tickets are $18 to $20 per show, or $55 for a table for two with wine and $110 for four with wine. Call 703-436-9948 or visit creativecauldron.org.

DC MUSIC ROCKS FESTIVAL
”Some of the best music in the country is from right here in your neighborhood,” goes the tagline to this festival at the 9:30 Club. The lineup includes the country-rock of the Hayley Fahey Band, folk-rock trio Throwing Plates, the Split Seconds, grunge/psych-rock outfit Stone Driver and the punk-informed four piece Thaylobleu. Saturday, Sept. 2. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

DROP ELECTRIC
A local Radiohead/Sigur Ros-inspired band who makes woozily distorted yet passionate music one could dub ”the modern stoner sound” is the headliner for a United Against Islamophobia awareness-raising concert at the Black Cat. Opening acts include two other local bands: Small Leaks Sink Ships and We Were Black Clouds. Sunday, Aug. 27, at 8 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-667-4490 or visit blackcatdc.com.

DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS
Born in the Bayou, Jones teamed up with writer/producers Aaron Frazer and Blake Rhein through his involvement with the Indiana University Soul Revue. The Indiana-based Indications, which also includes bassist Kyle Houpt and organist Justin Hubler, are an emerging soul band whose new debut album, as a review in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel puts it, offers ”soul music that’s so much of the old school that it might as well drive a car with fins.” Friday, Aug. 25. Doors at 6:30 p.m. DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $14 day of show. Call 202-483-5000 or dcnine.com.

JIMI HENDRIX CONCERT EVENT
The American rock band Fishbone and Nona Hendryx, a cousin of Jimi’s and former member of Labelle, are two headlining acts at this tribute to the late pioneering electric guitarist and rocker. Produced by veteran promoter Danny Kapilian, the concert comes as a 50th anniversary toast to the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Washington debut at the former Ambassador Theater, as well as what would have been Hendrix’s 75th year on earth. The lineup also includes Ernie Isley of the Isley Brothers, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, and up-and-coming R&B artists Judith Hill and Liv Warfield. Friday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $30 to $55. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

MARCIA BALL
East Texas blues meets southwest Louisiana swamp rock in the Grammy-nominated pianist and singer-songwriter, who offers tastes of roadhouse rock, jump blues, R&B, soul and zydeco. Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $25. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

NSO’S LABOR DAY CONCERT
Guest Conductor John Morris Russell leads the National Symphony Orchestra in an annual tradition on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. This year’s program features singer-songwriter and guitarist Aoife O’Donovan performing patriotic favorites as well as some of O’Donovan’s originals, including ”Red & White & Blue & Gold” and ”The King of All Birds.” Sunday, Sept. 3, at 8 p.m. U.S. Capitol Building, West Lawn. (Or Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, in case of inclement weather.) Free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org/nso.

PUFF PIECES, GOVERNESS, TK ECHO
Promoter Sasha Lord regularly presents concerts of up-and-coming punk acts at the popular pizza spot, Comet Ping Pong. On the all-local bill is art-punk band Puff Pieces, which will perform a new jaunty punk ditty and playful dance jam recorded by punk legends Ian Mackaye and Don Zientara at Arlington’s notable studio Inner Ear; Governess, a trio of mothers by day, angsty punk rockers by night; and TK Echo, a four-piece band featuring Josh Blair, Fiona Griffin, and two names you may know from their day jobs as arts journalists — Aaron Leitko, of the Washington City Paper, and Chris Richards, staff pop music critic at the Washington Post. Saturday, Aug. 26. Doors at 10 p.m. Comet Ping Pong, 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $12. Call 202-364-0404 or visit cometpingpong.com.

SHELBY LYNNE & ALLISON MOORER
Several years ago alt-country fans in the D.C. area were lucky to catch these real-life sisters in a double-bill concert, only one of five cities they performed in. Luck strikes again, with stops in both Alexandria and Annapolis this weekend, on a tour to promote their first album together, the just-released Not Dark Yet. British folk artist Teddy Thompson — son of Richard and Linda — produced the duet set of covers plus the co-written song ”Is It Too Much.” Saturday, Aug. 26, at 1 p.m. Ram’s Head On Stage, 33 West St., Annapolis. Tickets are $39.50. Call 410-268-4545 or visit ramsheadonstage.com. Also Sunday, Aug. 27, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $45. Call 703-549-7500 or visit birchmere.com.

TLC, C+C MUSIC FACTORY, SNAP
Wolf Trap offers an ”I Love the ’90s” throwback party to the time when dance-pop as we know it came into being and hip-hop and house were still growing up and playing nicely together. The lineup of ’90s-minted hit-making pop acts also includes Kid N Play, Montell Jordan and Rob Base. From ”No Scrubs” to ”Everybody Dance Now” to ”Rhythm Is A Dancer,” this is how we did it two decades ago. Sunday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $45 to $87. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org.

WAR ON WOMEN
A mixed-gender feminist hardcore act from Baltimore blows out a series celebrating the 11th anniversary of the concert and party venue that was a destination before its H Street neighborhood was. Singer Shawna Potter leads the hard-charging five-piece band through catchy and confrontational songs touching on rape culture, street harassment, the gender gap and transphobia. Potter gets support from guitarists Brooks Harlan and Nancy Hornburg, bassist Suzanne Werner and drummer Evan Tanner. Saturday, Aug. 26. Doors at 7 p.m. Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. Tickets are $15. Call 202-388-ROCK or visit rockandrollhoteldc.com.

CHRISTOPHER TITUS
The star of six one-hour comedy specials currently running on Comedy Central, with a seventh on the way, Titus offers a live run of what he calls his ”hard funny” standup style. Friday, Sept. 1, at 7:30 and 10 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 2, at 7 and 10 p.m. Arlington Cinema N’ Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. Tickets are $30. Call 703-486-2345 or visit arlingtondrafthouse.com.

CLAYTON ENGLISH
Originally from Atlanta, the winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2015 is now a writer and actor who will be soon featured in season two of the Judd Apatow-helmed Netflix series, Love. Friday, Aug. 25, at 8 and 10 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 26, at 7 and 9 p.m. Drafthouse Comedy, 1100 13th St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-750-6411 or visit drafthousecomedy.com.

DAVID MCCULLOUGH: THE AMERICAN SPIRIT
The most honored living American historian has put together a collection of some of his most important speeches in a brief volume designed to identify important principles and characteristics that are particularly American. The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For is a timely book meant to offer hope in a seemingly hopeless time about the durability of the American experiment. McCullough comes to town for a discussion, part of the Hay-Adams’ Author Series, that includes a three-course menu with wine pairings by executive chef Nicolas Legret. Kramerbooks will be on hand selling copies of The American Spirit for a signing after the luncheon. Friday, Sept. 1, at noon. The Hay-Adams Room, 800 16th St. NW. All-inclusive tickets are $90. Call 202-638-6600 or visit hayadams.com/author-series/events.

JOHN NICHOLS: HORSEMEN OF THE TRUMPOCALYPSE
”President Trump-It Could Happen” was the prescient article published in February of 2016 by The Nation and penned by their national affairs reporter, whose latest book is subtitled A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America. Far beyond the more prominent political strategists that have been dropping away like flies, Nichols profiles obscure but long-serving Trump advisors such as Carl Icahn and Diane Hendricks, laying out their connections and special interests to give a glimpse of what other travesties may be in the offing. Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit politics-prose.com.

MARK LILLA: AFTER IDENTITY POLITICS
”The End of Identity Liberalism,” proclaimed a New York Times op-ed headline published days after Trump’s election. Now, its author, a professor at Columbia University, has expanded on his analysis of liberalism’s last two decades, offering a bracing polemic for the future. To reinvigorate the Democratic Party and achieve real political change, Lilla argues, progressives must stop pursuing narrow social movements and start building a government that helps all Americans. Lilla will be in conversation with Vox‘s Sean Illing. Sunday, Aug. 27, at 5 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit politics-prose.com.

NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL
The 17th annual Library of Congress event features more than 100 best-selling authors and illustrators participating in this year’s festival, including David McCullough, Condoleezza Rice, Kate DiCamillo, Scott Turow and Ernest Gaines. Saturday, Sept. 2, from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. Call 202-249-3000 or visit loc.gov/bookfest.

AMENDING AMERICA
Featuring more than 50 original documents from the National Archives, this exhibit highlights the remarkably American story of how we have amended, or attempted to amend, the Constitution in order to form ”a more perfect union.” Of course it all started 226 years ago when the Bill of Rights was ratified, addressing some of the most pressing issues of the day that are still very much timely. Since then, there have been 11,000 proposed amendments — but only 17 ratified. Through Sept. 4. Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Museum, Constitution Avenue at 9th Street NW. NW. Call 202-357-5000 or visit archives.gov/museum.

AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: A GREAT LEAP OF FAITH
In late June, the Smithsonian’s American History museum opened this display of prominent artifacts highlighting the history of citizen participation, debate and compromise from the nation’s formation to today. The American experiment is still alive, if not altogether well at the moment, but it has endured rough times before and this exhibition highlights the various ways in which leading figures have strived to make the country ”a more perfect union.” Objects include Thomas Jefferson’s portable desk he used to draft the Declaration of Independence, the inkstand Abraham Lincoln used to draft the Emancipation Proclamation, and the table on which Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. Ongoing. National Museum of American History, 14th St. and Constitution Ave. NW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit americanhistory.si.edu.

ART14 SUMMER 2017
The summer edition of the seasonal art series at the Coldwell Banker Dupont/Logan office focuses on recent works by three Mid City Artists: Michael Crossett and his mixed-media images of D.C. neighborhoods juxtaposed with cultural signifiers, Charlie Gaynor’s photographs of cities and people drawn from around the world, and Mark Parascandola and his photographs of abandoned sets and buildings in southern Spain used by Hollywood filmmakers in the ’60s and 70s. Through August. Coldwell Banker, 1617 14th St. NW. Call 202-387-6180 or visit galleriesmagazine.com/?p=9621.

ARTECHOUSE: XYZT: ABSTRACT LANDSCAPES
An internationally traveling exhibition by French digital artists and ”multimedia choreographers” Adrien Mondot and Claire Bardainne launches what a first-of-its-kind interactive digital art museum in D.C. Founded by Sandro Kereselidze and Tatiana Pastukhova of event producer Art Soiree, ArTecHouse, near the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Southwest D.C., is dedicated to showcasing work at the intersection of art and technology. First up is XYZT, an immersive, multisensory, multi-space exhibit featuring, through 10 digital landscapes, experiences from walking on floors that react to movement, to manipulating light particles within a giant digital cube, to blowing into glass boxes and witnessing virtual letters assemble and disassemble as if by magic. Viewed in 45-minute timed-entry sessions daily through Sept. 4. ArTecHouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets for 45-minute, timed-entry sessions are $15 for daytime or $25 for evening admission. Visit artechouse.com.

CLOWNING AROUND
The subject of paintings and graphics for centuries, clowns are the focal point in the latest series of artworks by member artists at Del Ray Artisans. Depicted in ways fun, playful, sadistic, comedic and tragic, the exhibit, curated by Gordon Frank and Zade Ramsey, speaks to those who see clowns as fanciful or sinister circus performers or as sympathetic — or just plain sad — hobo characters. Closes Sunday, Aug. 27. Del Ray Artisans Gallery, 2704 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria. Call 703-731-8802 or visit thedelrayartisans.org.

CONNECTIONS: CONTEMPORARY CRAFT AT THE RENWICK
New acquisitions made during the Renwick Gallery’s renovation are now on display along with iconic favorites in the permanent collection. More than 80 objects are featured as part of a dynamic presentation celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world. Ongoing. Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Fr. Call 202-633-1000 or visit renwick.americanart.si.edu.

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. Through Aug. 27. Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Free. Call 202-633-1000 or visit renwick.americanart.si.edu.

MARLENE DIETRICH: DRESSED FOR THE IMAGE
”She’s an early pioneer of cross dressing and of embracing bisexuality without apology,” National Portrait Gallery historian Kate Lemay told Metro Weekly of the Hollywood screen legend. From her very first Hollywood film — the Josef von Sternberg’s 1930 drama, Morocco, which earned the actress her only Academy Award nomination — Dietrich ”was able to introduce to a very conservative, American, puritan population the idea of accepting women being attracted to other women.” Dressed for the Image charts the actress’s career, longevity, and influence on everyone from Madonna and Jane Lynch to Janelle Monae. It includes details about the 1955 outing of the German-born actress as bisexual. On exhibit through April 15, 2018. National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Streets NW. Call 202-633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.

PAINTING SHAKESPEARE
An exploration into how Shakespeare’s words have inspired visual artists, as seen in pictures, oil sketches and paintings from the Folger’s collection. Why is there visual art in a library? Because collectors Henry and Emily Folger understood that it takes more than books and manuscripts alone to understand Shakespeare and his era. On exhibit through Feb. 17. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

QUEER INTERIORS
Through an initiative commissioning installations and public programs related to its broad Imagining Home exhibit, the Baltimore Museum of Art brings together video and film artist Rahne Alexander and interdisciplinary artist/organizer Jaimes Mayhew with Chase Brexton Health Care’s LGBT Health Resource Center. Queer Interiors features a larger-than-life bed and furnishings, personal artifacts and a multimedia wall display known as the Baltimore LGBTQI+ Home Movie Quilt, which pays homage to Baltimore album quilts and the AIDS Memorial Quilt by presenting a growing, crowd-sourced portrait of the city’s queer communities. Through Aug. 31. The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. Baltimore. Call 443-573-1700 or visit artbma.org.

RESIST
An exhibition featuring works interpreting and reflecting the state of world affairs, particularly the Resist movements that have been springing up in protest. Featured works, touching on everything from threats to democracy, scientific progress, women’s issues and international relations, are on display at the gallery as well as at six area Busboys and Poets locations. Zenith Gallery owner Margery Goldberg was one of three jurors for the show, as well as freelance exhibition expert Carol Rhodes Dyson and progressive pollster Celinda Lake. They selected works by artists from around the country, including Doba Afolabi, Robin Bell, Ivanete Blanco, William Buchanan, Jessica Damen, Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, Philip Hazard, Gregory Hein, Sally Kauffman, Katharine Owens, Andrew Wohl, and Curtis Woody. Through September 1 at Zenith Gallery, 1429 Iris St. NW. Call 202-783-2963 or visit zenithgallery.com.

YUMMM! THE HISTORY, FANTASY AND FUTURE OF FOOD
One of the quirkiest museums around celebrates its 21st birthday with a playful visual feast featuring works by 34 artists focused on humankind’s relationship with food. Food-centric paintings, sculptures, embroideries, installations, and films are part of this exploration of the serious creative vision needed to reinvent how a planet of an estimated 9.6 billion people will eat in the year 2050. Runs to Sept. 3, 2017. American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway. Baltimore. Tickets are $15.95. Call 410-244-1900 or visit avam.org.

YVES SAINT LAURENT: THE PERFECTION OF STYLE
Virginia’s leading art museum plays host to a traveling exhibition of one of history’s most radical and influential fashion designers. Drawn from the archives of the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent and other private collections, the exhibition features 100 examples of haute couture and ready-to-wear garments, plus accessories, photographs, drawings, film and video, showcasing Saint Laurent’s artistic genius, process and sources of inspiration. The ”Paper Doll Couture House,” which launched Saint Laurent’s career as a teenager in 1953, is among the artifacts on display for the first time in the U.S. In the ensuing decades the designer, first at the House of Dior and later via his own label, is credited with helping advance women’s wear beyond the dress to include jackets and pantsuits. Garments from when he officially retired via his final runway collection in 2002 are also on display. Closes Sunday, Aug. 27. Altria Group and New Market Galleries, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 North Boulevard. Richmond, Va. Tickets are $10 to $22. Call 804-340-1405 or visit vmfa.museum.

HAY-ADAMS: OFF THE RECORD LOBBY POP-UP
The Hay-Adams hotel’s famous downstairs hideaway and watering hole will be closed to undergo renovations over the next month. But never fear: Off The Record’s collectable political coasters, stately furnishings and classic cocktails will pop up to the lobby level at the hotel across Lafayette Square from the White House. Sip the Washington-original Lime Rickey (gin with fresh lime juice and club soda) or other classics, including a Mint Julep or a Fill a Buster (gin, ginger liqueur, cucumber, basil and sparkling wine). In what was the hotel’s original dining room and popular bar, you can also enjoy summer savory creations by executive chef Nicolas Legret — from OTR Slides with crab cakes and tartar sauce, to a Seafood Platter of oysters, jumbo shrimp and lobster, to a grilled black angus strip steak with romaine, fries and Maitre d’Hotel butter — and desserts including S’Mores Cheesecake, Homemade Ice Cream and Hay-Adams Baked Cookies from pastry chef Josh Short. To Sept. 4. The Hay-Adams Room, 800 16th St. NW. Call 202-638-6600 or visit hayadams.com.

NOPA KITCHEN+BAR: $70 WEEKEND DINNER FOR TWO MENU
Across from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Penn Quarter, this 160-seat American brasserie, part of the same family as Rasika, Bibiana and the Oval Room, should already be on your shortlist for brunch. On Sundays between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., each diner can choose between an appetizer and entree or sandwich, as well as a special mimosa or bloody Mary, for $28 to $30 each (or $38 with bottomless classic mimosas). Now Executive Chef Matt Kuhn is working to get Nopa on your radar earlier in the weekend as well, with a new dinner menu focused on composed dishes designed for couples, whether lovers or close friends, reasonably priced at $70 for two, before tax and tip. The menu changes weekly, and is available exclusively on Fridays and Saturdays during dinner service, 5 to 11 p.m., subject to availability. Nopa Kitchen+Bar, 800 F St. NW. Call 202-347-4667 or visit nopadc.com.

TAQUERIA DEL BARRIO: DRAG BRUNCH
Petworth’s new Mexican eatery from the DC Empanadas crew presents another round of its last-Saturday-of-the-month drag brunch. Desiree Dik hosts a show featuring queens Shaunda Leer and Whitney GucciGoo, who perform while guests enjoy French toast, chilaquiles and Taqueria’s signature tacos, among other dishes, all washed down with mimosas, Bloody Marys and Absolut vodka cocktails. Two seatings Saturday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. 821 Upshur St. NW. Tickets are $25 and include one brunch entree or three tacos and one brunch cocktail. Call 202-723-0200 or visit taqueriadelbarrio.com.

CTRL: SUMMER BUMMER
DJs Adam Koussari-Amin and Devon Trotter helm a beach-themed August edition of their popular dance party featuring a photobooth run by David Claypool, themed decor and a seemingly endless supply of party favors, from masks to glowsticks. The party favors a slightly more mainstream electro/EDM-focused musical approach to help ensure it is a more festive, even rambunctious night out than the typical, regardless of venue. Although being at Town heightens everything. Saturday, Aug. 26. Doors at 10 p.m. Town Danceboutique, 2009 8th St. NW. Cover is $12. Call 202-234-TOWN or visit towndc.com.

THE BLACK MADONNA, FLASHY SUNDAYS
”Ladies of the Underground” is the theme to the event that kicks off Labor Day weekend at D.C.’s most intimate club, featuring a disco-sampling DJ who is shaking up the club scene in her home of Chicago. ”Dance music needs riot grrrls,” the artist known as the Black Madonna says as part of a manifesto that also includes the statements ”Dance music needs women over the age of 40,” ”Dance needs cranky queers and teenagers who are really tired of this shit,” and ”Dance music does not need more of the status quo.” Keenan Orr, one of D.C.’s leading gay DJs, opens for the party Friday, Sept. 1. Two nights later, Sunday, Sept. 3, more of D.C.’s leading gay DJs will run the club, when DJs Sean Morris and Kurt ”TWiN” Graves offer the next round of Flashy, their gay party that has become one of the venue’s most popular. Mike Reimer and Bill Spieler will also be on the decks. Flash Nightclub, 645 Florida Ave. NW. Tickets are $15 for Black Madonna, $20 for Flashy Sundays. Call 202-827-8791 or visit flashdc.com.

17TH STREET FESTIVAL
The Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets’ eighth annual event is designed to celebrate the restaurants and gay-friendly businesses in the blocks of what once was the gayest street in the city. (It’s still plenty gay.) Vendors, artists, performers, and kids activities are on tap come rain or shine. Hopefully, the latter. Saturday, Aug. 26, from noon to 6 p.m. Call 202-656-4487 or visit 17thStreetFestival.org for more information.

ARENA STAGE’S COMMUNITY DAY & COSTUME SALE
Two months from now, many of city’s newest high-end restaurants and attractions on the District Wharf will be open and all abuzz, but for now the Southwest Waterfront’s main attraction remains Arena Stage. This Saturday, Aug. 26, the company opens its grand, glassy Mead Center complex for an afternoon full of free performances, a sale of costumes fit for Halloween and accessories from previous shows, such as Sophisticated Ladies, Oliver!, Carousel, and The Music Man — and food from neighborhood restaurants Muze in the Mandarin Oriental and Station 4, as well as from forthcoming Wharf restaurants including Mike Isabella’s Requin. The American Indian Society of Washington will install a temporary giant teepee and offer traditional storytelling, music and dance, with additional performances in the lobby from Americana/rock act Justin Trawick and the Common Good, pop/soul artist Cecily Bumbray and La-Ti-Do musical theater singers. Saturday, Aug. 26, from noon to 6 p.m. Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Free. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org/communityday to see more details and full schedule.

FORD’S THEATRE’S HISTORY ON FOOT
A local actor offers the guided tour Investigation: Detective McDevitt, portraying Detective James McDevitt, a D.C. police officer patrolling a half-block from Ford’s Theatre the night President Lincoln was shot. Written by Richard Hellesen and directed by Mark Ramont, the 1.6-mile walking tour revisits and reexamines the sites and clues from the investigation into the assassination. Tours are offered approximately three evenings a week at 6:45 p.m. Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $17. Call 202-397-7328 or visit fords.org.

HARBOR DOME: SUMMER SNOW GLOBE
Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like — an oversized, enclosed orb in which ”snow” will be falling and swirling all around — yet not keeping you trapped or stuck. A childlike playland for the strictly 21-and-over set. To Sept. 3. Intersection of Waterfront Street and National Plaza, National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Md. Tickets are $10 to $25 per night. Visit nationalharbor.com/summersnowglobe.

KENNEDY CENTER’S PAGE-TO-STAGE NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
More than 60 D.C.-area theater companies offer free readings, workshops, open rehearsals and previews of developing plays and musicals as part of this 16th annual event taking place over the three days of Labor Day weekend. Among the highlights: What Had Happened, Was…, the latest sampler of short plays from the LGBTQ-focused African-American Collective Theater; Abortion Road Trip, a play by Rachel Lynett produced by the LGBTQ-run Theatre Prometheus; a reading of Danny Baird Jr. and Andrew Gordon’s new musical version of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, presented by Monumental Theatre Company; Factory449’s Lela & Co. by Cordelia Lynn; and The Peculiar Awakening of Riley Parker, Desmond Bing’s examination of a gay black man’s quest for self-determination. Saturday, Sept. 2, through Monday, Sept. 4. For a complete schedule, visit kennedy-center.org.

MARYLAND PARANORMAL CONFERENCE
Speakers, vendors, palm and tarot card readers and a host of people whose interests or abilities go beyond explanations of science (and reason) will gather in a small, tucked away town outside of — where else but — Baltimore. And if most adults can’t even quite understand it, certainly no kid can, which is why organizers have posted the sign, ”No one under 16 admitted.” Saturday, Aug. 26, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Elk’s Lodge, 1506 Defense Highway, Gambrills, Md. Tickets are $45 in advance, or $55 at the door. Visit mpc2017.eventbrite.com.

MARYLAND RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
As summer nears its end, thoughts naturally turn to jousting, feasting, crafts, theater, music, and merriment. Yes, it’s time once again for one of the world’s largest festivals recreating 16th century England. Now in its 41st season and set in a park outside of Annapolis, Md., the festival encourages patrons to dress up in period costume. (They’re available to rent if you don’t have your own doublet and hose.) Just don’t bring weapons, real or toy, or pets, as they tend to eat the turkey legs. Festival kicks off Saturday, Aug. 26. Weekends through Oct. 22. 1821 Crownsville Road, Annapolis, Md. Tickets are $17 to $25 for a single-day adult ticket. Call 800-296-7304 or visit rennfest.com.