FILM

BILL NYE: SCIENCE GUY

Still best known from his popular PBS kids science show, Nye is increasingly dressing-down the loud and well-funded activists hellbent on holding back society and progress with their denunciations of climate change, evolution, science and scientific learning in general. David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg’s film offers an exclusive, behind-the-scenes portrait of Nye and his new mission to fight the spread of anti-scientific thinking and propaganda across the world. Opens Wednesday, Nov. 22. Landmark’s West End Cinema, 2301 M St. NW. Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

COCO

Pixar’s newest film looks astonishing. It follows 12-year-old Miguel as he travels into the Land of the Dead to unpick the truth behind a century-old family secret. Based heavily on Mexico’s Día de los Muertos holiday, it will hopefully offer more of the charm, humor and emotion that characterizes Pixar’s best offerings. Opens Wednesday, Nov. 22. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (Rhuaridh Marr)

MUDBOUND

Six years ago, lesbian writer and director Dee Rees took inspiration from her own life for Pariah, a critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama that was also her feature-length debut. She’s since won an Emmy for her HBO biopic Bessie and is now generating significant Oscar buzz with Mudbound, set after World War II in Jim Crow-era Mississippi. Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Rob Morgan, and singer Mary J. Blige — in a performance that has critics swooning — star. Opens Friday, Nov. 17. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

REBECCA

Alfred Hitchcock’s first American project, the 1940 Oscar winner stars Joan Fontaine as the young beloved of a brooding, aristocratic widower (Sir Laurence Olivier), and forced to live forever in the shadow of his first wife. Judith Anderson, as the creepy housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, steals the film. Also with George Sanders. Rebecca screens as part of the American Film Institute’s month-long Joan Fontaine Centennial series. Friday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 19, at 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m, Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m., and Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13 general admission, or $10 for matinee screenings. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD

Capital Classics continues its winter season with the beloved adventure classic starring Errol Flynn as the dashing, athletic and wickedly funny Robin Hood. Olivia de Havilland is Maid Marian and Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains the evil villains Sir Guy of Gisbourne and Prince John in the 1938 swordfight-rich caper directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, with an Oscar-winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Happy Hour-priced beer and wine from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m. Landmark’s West End Cinema, 2301 M St. NW. Tickets are $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS

Charles Dickens mixed real-life inspirations with his vivid imagination to create the plot and characters of A Christmas Carol, foremost among them Ebenezer Scrooge. Dan Stevens is Dickens and Christopher Plummer, Scrooge in director Bharat Nalluri’s look into just how the holiday season became a worldwide omnipresent celebration — no humbug about it. Opens Wednesday, Nov. 22. Angelika Film Center – Mosaic, 2911 District Ave., Fairfax, Va. Call 571-512-3301 or visit angelikafilmcenter.com.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE OF EBBING MISSOURI

Frances McDormand plays a working-class Midwestern mother who uses highway billboards to shame revered local police chief (Woody Harrelson) into finally solving the mystery of her brutally murdered daughter. A dark comedic drama from Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh (In Bruges), the work is less of a crime story and more a rumination on how people cope with loss and deal with life’s injustices. Opens Friday, Nov. 17. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

WONDER

Based on R.J. Palacio’s 2012 bestseller, Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson star in a comedy-drama about a boy with facial differences attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. The film was pushed back from release earlier this year, but not to make alterations or fix problems. According to reports, it was so well received during press screenings that Lionsgate hopes it will be even more successful with a release in November — which, handily, is also Oscar season. Opens Friday, Nov. 17. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com. (RM)

STAGE

A LITTLE PRINCESS SARA CREWE

The married couple of composer Matt Conner and lyricist Stephen Gregory Smith teamed up with book writer Ellen Selby on a new musical adaptation of the children’s novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Presented by Creative Cauldron’s Learning Theater Ensemble and directed by Selby and the fledgling Virginia theater company’s Laura Connors Hull, A Little Princess Sara Crewe takes place at Miss Minchin’s School for Girls, capturing the spirit of the novel and its salute to the power of imagination. Closes Sunday, Nov. 19. ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Ave. in Falls Church. Tickets are $20 to $30. Call 703-436-9948 or visit creativecauldron.org.

A SHORT SERIES OF DISAGREEMENTS PRESENTED HERE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

British comedian/monologist Daniel Kitson has become a mainstay at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has won plaudits in the U.K. and Australia for “story shows” that are simultaneously funny and thoughtful, absurd and serious, rich with humanity and riddled with frustration. He brings his one-man show to Studio X. To Nov. 25. Studio Theatre, 1333 14th St. NW. Call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org.

AN ACT OF GOD

Tom Story is the divine one in a comedy by David Javerbaum, based on the Daily Show writer’s book The Last Testament: A Memoir by God. Story shares the stage with Evan Casey and Jamie Smithson as archangels Michael and Gabriel, helping God create an entirely new set of Ten Commandments. To Nov. 26. Signature’s Ark Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave. Arlington. Call 703-820-9771 or visit sigtheatre.org.

ANNIE

The sun’ll come out tomorrow and every day this holiday season at Olney Theatre Center. Forty years after composer Charles Strouse, lyricist Martin Charnin, and book writer Thomas Meehan teamed up for the feel-good musical about a determinedly optimistic little orphan girl, countless other, real-life kids have been inspired by the popular work to become theater performers (or at least theater queens) in their own right. The latest is Noelle Robinson, who heads a cast of 32, including Rachel Zampelli as Miss Hannigan, Kevin McAllister as Daddy Warbucks, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia as Rooster Hannigan. To Dec. 31. Mainstage, Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Call 301-924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

★★★

Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is an interesting animal: not quite historical drama, not quite lover’s tragedy. The already small Folger Theatre goes super-intimate by staging the production in-the-round and the intimacy gives the play personality. In director Robert Richmond’s cozy circle are a real Antony and Cleopatra. They may deliver grand and beautiful language, they may go to war or die by asp, but they are without question, living, breathing people who smirk, cuddle, and lose their tempers. A magnificent Cleopatra, Shirine Babb exudes the necessary countenance in the gorgeous garb of Mariah Hale. Babb is the reason to see this production. The only regret is that the revolving stage is not activated during her death scene so that more of the audience can see her expressive face as she chooses her fate. Closes Sunday, Nov. 19. Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $35 to $79. Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu. (Kate Wingfield)

EMILIE

★★★

Lauren Gunderson’s spirited drama looks at the literary side of the actual Émilie du Châtelet, a genius scientist, mathematician and philosopher who, in the early 18th-century, published work that changed the equation describing one of the fundamental laws of physics — challenging Newton and the world’s rules about women in science. Emilie is most searing when relaying the Marquise’s righteous anger that such learned and supposedly wise men as her fellow scientists might be almost incapable of taking her work seriously merely because of her sex. Directed by Rick Hammerly. Closes Sunday, Nov. 19. Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South Lang Street, Arlington. Tickets are $10 to $35. Call 703-418-4804, or visit avantbard.org. (Andre Hereford)

INTIMATE APPAREL

Dawn Ursula star in this turn-of-the-century tale about a talented African American seamstress and the romance she shares with a Jewish fabric merchant. Lynn Nottage’s play, inspired by a true story, gets a production in Baltimore directed by Tazewell Thompson and featuring Beth Hylton, Drew Kopas, Steve Polites, Bueka Uwemedimo, Jenn Walker, and Jade Wheeler. Closes Sunday, Nov. 19. Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette St. Baltimore. Tickets are $10 to $65. Call 410-752-2208 or visit everymantheatre.org.

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL

A celebration of Billie Holiday, as seen through one of her final performances, at a seedy, little jazz club in Philadelphia, four months before her death. Celeste Jones stars in Rep Stage’s production of Lanie Robertson’s popular play, featuring the Holiday standards “God Bless The Child,” “My Man” and “Strange Fruit.” Wil Lewis III is musical director. Closes Sunday, Nov. 19. The Horowitz Center’s Studio Theatre at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Md. Tickets are $40, except $10 Thursdays. Call 443-518-1500 or visit repstage.org.

MEAN GIRLS

Tina Fey’s hit film transformed as a musical and the hottest ticket in town — especially since its stop at the National Theatre is a tryout prior to its Broadway debut, set for the spring. Fey has written the show’s book with music by her husband and 30 Rock composer Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde). Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon) directs. In previews. Runs to Dec. 3 at The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $48 to $128, although the National will hold a ticket lottery before each show, and individuals may submit their names at the box office to win up to two tickets at $25 each. Twenty lottery seats will be available for each performance, with names drawn 90 minutes prior to the show. Call 202-628-6161 or visit thenationaldc.org.

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

Blake Robison directs a production of Lee Hall’s adaptation of the bawdy Oscar-winning film from 1998, both riffing on and celebrating the Bard. Nicholas Carriere stars as Will among a large cast including Avery Glymph, Jefferson A. Russell, Liz Daingerfield, and Naomi Jacobson as Queen Elizabeth. To Nov. 26. Baltimore Center Stage, 700 North Calvert St., Baltimore. Call 410-332-0033 or visit centerstage.org.

THE BOOK OF MERMAN

No, that’s not a typo in the title: While the Kennedy Center presents another run of the popular Mormon-themed musical set in Uganda (see next entry), the outré Landless Theatre Company presents a similarly themed yet wackier musical comedy that goes beyond mere parody. Written and composed by Chicago’s Leo Schwartz, …Merman weaves a story about a chance encounter between two Mormon missionaries and the show’s namesake, Broadway’s legendary original diva. Ethel will share advice and insights for the budding boys, those who rang her doorbell. Opens Thursday, Nov. 16. To Dec. 8. District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC), 2438 18th St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-462-7833 or visit dcartscenter.org.

THE BOOK OF MORMON

Written by South Park‘s Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the riotously funny, audacious musical, which won a whopping nine Tony Awards, is both cutting edge in shocking substance yet traditional in style. The Book of Mormon may weave in unexpected and provocative plot twists and scenes as well as convey extremely modern sensibilities about life, culture and organized religion. Yet it still hews to the standard musical mold, from repeated musical lines and lyrics, to boisterous sing-along group anthems, to sharp group choreography, including a tap number. Closes Sunday, Nov. 19. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $59 to $250. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

THE PAJAMA GAME

In an unusual twist, artistic director Molly Smith turns over directing reins for this season’s Golden Age Musical to Alan Paul, who has proven his mettle with musicals at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Choreographer Parker Esse joins to try to rouse interest in this classic battle-of-the-sexes. To Dec. 24. Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.

THE REAL AMERICANS

Actor/journalist Dan Hoyle brings to life the characters he met traveling outside “the liberal bubble,” presented as part of Mosaic Theater’s “Transformational Journeys” and staged in repertory in the month of December with Draw The Circle. Charlie Varon directs. To Dec. 22. Atlas Performing Arts Center, Lab Theatre II, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $25 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or visit mosaictheater.org.

VICUNA & THE AMERICAN EPILOGUE

Mosaic Theater Company presents a Trump-inspired satire by Jon Robin Baitz (Other Desert Cities), the gay playwright assaulted by a Trump supporter after the inauguration. A play about an Iranian tailor and his apprentice struggling to make a suit out of vicuna wool for a real-estate tycoon running for president, Baitz has updated the work to include rumination on the assault for the Mosaic Theater production. Extended to Dec. 3. Atlas Performing Arts Center, Lang Theatre, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $65. Call 202-399-7993 or visit mosaictheater.org.

MUSIC

ALCINA

The Washington National Opera presents its first-ever staging of Handel’s masterful baroque opera, with world-class vocal talents led by Angela Meade as the sorceress skilled in the art of seduction, who falls prey to the enchantment of love in the land of illusion. In Italian with English supertitles. To Nov. 19. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $69 to $195. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

BETTYE LAVETTE

The great, hard-living soul singer Bettye Lavette has been incredibly forthcoming about her many dalliances with women, including in her recent memoir, A Woman Like Me. The New York Times touted her as second only to Aretha Franklin among her generation’s greatest — and Lavette has finally been getting some of the credit she deserved when she started in the business decades ago. She continues to tour in support of last year’s Grammy-nominated album Worthy, returning to the Hamilton for the second time this year. Sunday, Nov. 19. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $45. Call 202-787-1000 or visit thehamiltondc.com.

BROADWAY, THE NEXT GENERATION SERIES

Every year, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) offers a weeklong showcase of new generation Broadway composers at the Kennedy Center. Previous lineups have included recent Tony winners Steven Lutvak (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen). Each program features a different composer or composing team, who either perform themselves or recruit others to highlight songs in their repertoire, cabaret-style. This year’s series, offered in free programs at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage, concludes with Max Vernon (The View UpStairs), on Thursday, Nov. 16; and Andrew Lippa (I Am Harvey Milk), on Friday, Nov. 17. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

CECILY

Increasingly known by mononym, young soprano and D.C. native Cecil Bumbray’s sound is rooted in a deep appreciation for mid-century soul and jazz, ’90s-era R&B and contemporary folk. More specifically, it’s rooted in influences from Chocolate City forebears, from Duke Ellington to Gil Scott-Heron, Roberta Flack to Meshell Ndegeocello. She returns to the Atlas Performing Arts Center for the third annual “Cecily Salutes DC,” a concert followed by a discussion about how to keep gentrification from chipping away at what makes the local arts scene unique, with a panel including Cecily, Art All Night creator Ariana Austin, musician Aaron Myers and Washington Project for the Arts’ Jordan Martin. Saturday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. Sprenger Theatre, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $22.5 to $28. Call 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.

CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS: WE WILL RISE! EQUALITY CONCERT

An afternoon of powerful and inspiring works in song, poetry, and dance chronicling the ongoing and multifaceted struggle for civil rights and equality in the U.S. A collaboration with Joy of Motion Dance Center, Alexandria Harmonizers, Unique Sounds of Love, Capitol Movement and Chris Urquiaga, the concert features the full chorus and the American Youth Chorus. The program includes the D.C. premiere of Like Dust I Rise, Mark Hayes’ four-movement song cycle based on the poetry of Maya Angelou. Sunday, Nov. 19, at 4:30 p.m. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW. Tickets are $18 to $36. Call 202-347-2635 or visit congressionalchorus.org.

DOM FLEMONS DUO

One of the founders of the great black bluegrass band the Carolina Chocolate Drops headlines a concert with bandmate Dante Pope and opening act the Herd of Main Street at the new District Wharf’s more intimate concert venue that serves as a restaurant/cafe by day — now including breakfast starting at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 18. Doors at 7 p.m. Pearl Street Warehouse, 33 Pearl St. SW. Tickets are $14 in advance, or $16 day-of show. Call 202-380-9620 or visit pearlstreetwarehouse.com.

ETHEREA VOCAL ENSEMBLE

The Georgetown Concert Series offers one of the first Christmas-themed concerts in the area, with a candlelight Christmas performance by the intimate chamber group specializing in choral repertoire for treble, or high, voices. Led by countertenor Derek Greten-Harrison, the New York-based Etherea makes its Washington-area debut with a program featuring Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols and John Rutter’s Dancing Day with harpist Grace Cloutier, plus traditional carols of the season, accompanied by organist and choirmaster Samuel J. Carabetta. A holiday reception follows the performance. Saturday, Nov. 25, at 5 p.m. St. John’s Episcopal Church, Georgetown Parish, 3240 O St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-338-1796 or visit stjohnsgeorgetown.org.

JACQUES BREL: SONGS FROM HIS WORLD

The InSeries presents a new cabaret about the Belgian chanson master directed by Steven Scott Mazzola. “We’ve taken the most beautiful, the deepest, the most profound of his songs and assembled them in one,” performer Byron Jones tells Metro Weekly. Fleta Hylton, Simon Charette, and Brian J. Shaw join Jones as featured vocalists in the InSeries production with music director Reenie Codelka. Why Brel and why now? “Though he was a child of World War II, his take on life and relationships and the realities and the idiocy of war, it seems so current,” Jones says. “I think that’s why his songs resonate with us, because they’re about the human condition, and about human relationships, and about struggling with self, and trying to escape from the situation you’re in.” Performed in French with English supertitles. Remaining performances are Friday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18, at 2:30 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 19, at 2:30 p.m. Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $43. Call 202-204-7741 or visit inseries.org.

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Gershwin’s An American in Paris factors into “a tour of Europe” program led by Gianandrea Noseda and also featuring Respighi’s Fountains of Rome, Chausson’s Poème, and Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat Suites No. 1 & 2. Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 19, at 3 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 to $89. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

You very likely will laugh out loud as Kenton Chen sings an incongruently jaunty, retro-swing jazz cover of Nine Inch Nails’ hardcore banger “Closer” — throwing out lyrics like “I want to fuck you like an animal” as if he were a carefree Rat Pack crooner. (Better still is the way he lets out a scream like a hyena in heat toward the song’s end.) And so it goes in the repertoire of Scott Bradlee’s group, which has made silly, swinging covers of modern pop and rock songs its stock in trade. This year’s full-length set, New Gramophone, Who ‘Dis? isn’t as strong as you’d hope it would be, on account of several grating guest vocalists and ill-considered covers (most egregiously, Kygo featuring Selena Gomez’s bitter “It Ain’t Me” as a tone-deaf jovial jam). But the group has a strong repertoire overall, and Bradlee is an entertainer at heart and gives good show. Sunday, Nov. 26, at 8 p.m. Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $35. Call 301-960-9999 or visit fillmoresilverspring.com.

SHEPPARD

“Say Geronimo” they shouted over a rousing banjo-plucking electro-pop Top 40 hit back in 2015. Now the six-piece group named after three siblings, George, Amy, and Emma, returns with another feel-good ditty “Coming Home.” Sheppard is also previewing new music on a U.S. tour that comes after the band opened for Justin Bieber in their native Australia and Little Mix in Europe. Monday, Nov. 20. U Street Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-588-1880 or visit ustreetmusichall.com.

THE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY: MONTEVERDI’S VESPERS OF 1610

Scott Tucker leads the full chorus and orchestra along with special guests the Thirteen in a performance of a choral masterpiece that brilliantly superimposes Baroque music over traditional Gregorian chants, combines sacred music with secular styles, and alternates the grandeur of the large ensemble with solos and duets. Saturday, Nov. 18, at 3 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $15 to $69. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

WASHINGTON CONCERT OPERA: LA STRANIERA

Inspired by true events during the 12th century, Bellini’s La Straniera tells the tale of a French king’s scandalous divorce from a Danish princess and his subsequent marriage to a mysterious foreign woman, who’s kept tucked away in a wooded cottage. The bel canto treasure features soprano Amanda Woodbury, mezzo-soprano Corrie Stallings, tenor Gerard Schneider, and baritone Javier Arrey. Sunday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m. GW Lisner, The George Washington University, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets are $40 to $110. Call 202-994-6851 or visit concertopera.org.

DANCE

DANCE PLACE’S WHAT’S GOING ON

Dance Place’s first full-length production is a reflection of the world today as viewed through the lens of Marvin Gaye’s music, specifically the 1971 classic about life, love and social justice that gives the show its title. Vincent E. Thomas, Ralph Glenmore and Sylvia Soumah offer eclectic choreography in the work, spearheaded by Thomas in a co-commission with the National Performance Network Creation Fund Project with additional partnership from RestonCenterStage. The work returns home after a year-long nationwide tour. Saturday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 19, at 4 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.

EXHIBITS

10X10 INVITATIONAL

Over 85 regional and national artists are represented in the third annual 10×10 invitational. Every artwork is different, although the same size, and are intended as original holiday gifts, priced at $50 each. The invitational benefits Hyattsville’s Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, located in the historic Arcade building in the Gateway Arts District and featuring a papermaking studio, print shop, letterpress studio, bindery, a darkroom and a woodshop. Now to Dec. 17. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, 4318 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville. Call 301-608-9101 or visit pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.

AARON LACRATE: JUST A KID FROM HIGHLANDTOWN

The man behind the New York-based fashion brand and record label Milkcrate gets his first solo exhibition in his hometown of Baltimore. Creative Alliance presents works by the visual artist and fashion designer, ranging from vintage flyers and photographs, to t-shirts and clothing from his Milkcrate Athletics brand, to customized skate decks. The exhibition features an immersive recreation of LaCrate’s initial basement shop, which also points to his work and influence as a DJ and producer in helping popularize what is known as Baltimore Club music. It also includes a mural painting celebrating skateboard culture in ’80s-era Highlandtown — and referencing LaCrate’s recent work through his Bodymore Skateboard Co., helping young black men in the city of Baltimore find stability through skating. Closes Saturday, Nov. 25. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. Call 410-276-1651 or visit creativealliance.org.

CARL BRETZKE: RECENT WORK

A mix of plein air sketches and more refined studio paintings are on display in Bretzke’s second solo exhibit at Susan Calloway’s contemporary gallery in Georgetown. Based in Minnesota, Bretzke’s work recalls Edward Hopper and the Ashcan school and typically features vehicles or figures from everyday life often set off by an intriguingly lit landscape or cityscape background. Opens Friday, Nov. 17. To Dec. 16. Susan Calloway Fine Arts, 1643 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Call 202-965-4601 or visit callowayart.com.

DEL RAY ARTISANS: UNDER $100

Members present artworks priced at $100 or less that can go home at the time of purchase in this annual exhibition — with new works on display all month long. Closes Sunday, Nov. 26. Del Ray Artisans Gallery, 2704 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria. Call 703-731-8802 or visit thedelrayartisans.org.

GREGORY FERRAND: IT IS YOU (AND ME TOO)

You’ve likely seen striking work by this artist before, particularly if you’re a regular local theatergoer. Mosaic Theater Company, GALA Hispanic Theatre, and Theater J have all commissioned Ferrand for illustrations capturing key characters in key scenes used to promote specific productions. In his first solo show at Maryland’s contemporary Adah Rose Gallery, the focus is on stylized paintings portraying subjects who feel isolated, alienated or alone — even if surrounded by those they love, and despite the ever-connected state of modern-day life. Opening reception with live music by the band Terraplane is Saturday, Nov. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. On display through Jan. 5. 3766 Howard Ave. Kensington, Md. Call 301-922-0162 or visit adahrosegallery.com.

MARLENE DIETRICH: DRESSED FOR THE IMAGE

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,” says National Portrait Gallery historian Kate Lemay. 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.

PHOTO ’17: NATIONAL PHOTO COMPETITION

Molly Roberts, National Geographic‘s Senior Photography Editor, served as the juror for the national exhibition of fine art photography presented by Virginia’s Multiple Exposures Gallery. Ranging from dramatic landscapes to captivating portraits to intriguing conceptual or figurative studies, the exhibition features 31 stunning works that keep you looking, including: Farm Dog by Ron Evans, Bubba’s Thangs by Nicholas Fedak II, Green Tree by Wenjie Han, Please Darling Keep Quiet by Kristen Harner, Hot Tamale Festival by Betty Press, Warren Oregon by Lacey Monroe, and Porch by Joanne Rojcewicz. Closes Sunday, Nov. 26. Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 North Union St. Alexandria. Call 703-683-2205 or visit multipleexposuresgallery.com.

REMEMBERING VIETNAM: 12 CRITICAL EPISODES IN THE VIETNAM WAR

The National Archives offers a framework for understanding the decisions that led to the Vietnam War, its consequences and legacy. More than 40 years since its end, the complexity of the conflict is still being unraveled — in part by historians pouring over newly declassified documents, some of which factor into this exhibition of more than 80 original records. Now to Jan. 6, 2019. Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery, Constitution Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets NW. NW. Call 202-357-5000 or visit archivesfoundation.org.

SALVATORE PIRRONE: STRING ROOM INSTALLATION

CulturalDC has transformed a 40-foot shipping container, retrofitting it as the mobile gallery Space4: Visual Arts, which will showcase works by local visual artists on a rotating basis. First up is an immersive exhibit by Pirrone, a local sculptor, designer and educator, who has used yarn donated by Ward 6 residents to create an intimate environment where people of all ages and abilities can dismantle the piece, one string at a time, exposing a new, unexpected physical environment beneath the surface. Closes Tuesday, Nov. 21. Yards Park at the Capitol Riverfront, 301 Water St. SE. Call 202-315-1321 or visit culturaldc.org.

SUPERSIZED: DISH UP

The Ceramic Guild stuffs the Scope Gallery with pottery big and tall, all with a focus on eating and dining and the Thanksgiving holiday. Expect all manner of serving platters, bowls and gravy boats. In conjunction with the Art League’s Tabletop show. Closes Sunday, Nov. 26. Scope Gallery in Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 North Union St. Alexandria. Free. Call 703-838-4565 or visit torpedofactory.org.

WONDER WOMEN!

From the Guerrilla Girls righting the wrongs of the art world, to painter Edna Reindel’s tough WWII riveters, to vintage feminist comic books, this exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts features images of the powerful woman, real and fictional. The wide-ranging selection, including artist correspondence, sketches, ephemera, photographs, posters, rare books, museum archival material and artists’ books, draws from the special collections and artists’ archives of the museum’s Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center. Closes Friday, Nov. 17. 1250 New York Ave NW. Admission is $10. Call 202-783-5000 or visit nmwa.org.

FOOD & DRINK

BINDAAS FOGGY BOTTOM

James Beard Award-winning chef Vikram Sunderam’s newest dining concept reflecting the modern-day cuisine of his native India makes for a similarly satisfying and noteworthy experience as his original Rasika. A degree above fast-casual, Bindaas focuses on the kind of food one might find on the streets and in the food markets of Mumbai, yet offered in a more relaxed and refined environment. With this just-opened second outpost, the intimate, not-quite-secret Cleveland Park gem becomes a much bigger and more noticeable jewel in a younger, hipper, and more diverse part of town. Impressive dishes from the opening menu include “Roadside Sandwich” burgers made from either chicken or seasonal vegetables and served on a pao bun with chutney, a Butternut Squash lentil/rice pancake with green curry sauce, and a delicious and filling Chicken Curry with tomatoes, garam masala and saffron rice. Bindaas also features a full bar with wine, beer and creative cocktails made with spirits from local distilleries, including Green Hat Gin and Cotton & Reed Rum. Don’t even think of going without trying the Tamarind soda, housemade with honey, ginger, clove, nutmeg and sumac. 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Call 202-516-4326 or visit bindaasdc.com.

FRENCHIE’S: THANKSGIVING PIES TUTORIAL

If you’d like professional guidance in attempting to make your own pie for the holiday, the Hill Center is here to help. Three days before Thanksgiving, the “On the Cooling Rack” hands-on tutorial will be offered by Erica Skolnik, who in 2011 founded the local artisan bakery Frenchie’s, which works with local producers for fresh and seasonal ingredients. Monday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. Hill Center, Old Navy Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Call 202-549-4172 or visit HillCenterDC.org.

HANK’S PASTA BAR: SPARKLE SATURDAYS

Every third Saturday, Hank’s in Alexandria offers a drag brunch led by Summer Knight and her girls Whitney GucciGoo, India Larelle Houston and a special guest. Jug O’ Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s will also be available. Two seatings, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18. Hank’s Pasta Bar, 600 Montgomery St., Alexandria. Tickets are $25 per person, excluding drinks. Call 571-312-4117 or visit hankspastabar.com.

TAQUERIA DEL BARRIO: DRAG BRUNCH

Petworth’s Mexican eatery from the DC Empanadas crew presents another round of its monthly drag brunch. Desiree Dik hosts a show featuring queens Chicki Parm and La Bella Mafia, 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, Nov. 18, 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.