FILM

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

Malcolm McDowell is over-the-top magnificent as the Beethoven-loving ringleader of a band of thugs in a powerful satire about the evils and capriciousness of our modern, psychiatric-driven society. With its extreme violence and horrific rape sequence, A Clockwork Orange ranks as one of the most shocking in Stanley Kubrick’s rich cinematic oeuvre. The 1971 film, based on Anthony Burgess’ dystopian crime novel, returns to the screen at the AFI Silver Theatre as part of a two-month series honoring the great filmmaker, who died in 1999. Screenings are Friday, Aug. 17, at 10:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 18, at 10:30 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 19, at 9:30 p.m., and Wednesday, Aug. 22, at 7:30 p.m. Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $15 general admission. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

COMCAST XFINITY OUTDOOR FILM FESTIVAL

The chief draws at this year’s free screening series under the stars at Strathmore are two of cinema’s biggest, most progressive superhero tales: Black Panther (Aug. 24) and Wonder Woman (Aug. 26). The series launches Thursday, Aug. 23, with Coco, the latest Oscar-winning animated adventure from Disney-Pixar. Disney’s classic, The Lion King, screens on Saturday, Aug. 25. Each film is screened, starting at 7:30 p.m., on a nine-story-tall, 52-foot-wide inflatable movie screen. The festival features barbecue and beverage options available for purchase from Ridgewells catering, although patrons are welcome to bring picnic blankets, low beach chairs, and small coolers with their own food and drink. It’s all designed as a benefit for NIH Children’s Charities. On the lawn near the Mansion, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.

BLAZING SADDLES

Mel Brooks is a master of shtick-heavy, knee-jerk comedy, the kind that often doesn’t require much in the way of intellectual heavy-lifting. Several of his best-known works have been deemed by the American Film Institute among the funniest of the last century. Chief among these, coming in at No. 6 on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Laughs list, is this 1974 farcical Western caper co-written with Richard Pryor. A satire about the racist mythology of the American West, Blazing Saddles stars Cleavon Little as a black sheriff in an all-white town. Gene Wilder plays a gunslinging, alcoholic everyman sidekick, with a cast aided and abetted by a bevy of Brooks’ scene-stealing regulars, including Dom DeLuise, Harvey Korman, and the late, great Madeline Kahn. Blazing Saddles could never get made in today’s climate — and yet it seems the perfect statement for our times. The film returns to the big screen as part of Landmark’s West End Cinema Capital Classics series. Wednesday, Aug. 23, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m., 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

CLUE

Every Friday night through August 31, the AFI Silver Theatre co-presents a free outdoor film series at nearby Sonny’s Green, where patrons can bring blankets and low-rise chairs as well as their own food and beverage. Screening Friday, Aug. 17, is Game Night, the offbeat comedy released earlier this year starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams as a hyper-competitive, games-mad married couple, whose interactive murder mystery game night gets hijacked by actual criminals. Next week, Aug. 24, the series screens Clue, Jonathan Lynn’s 1985 zinger-filled comedy based on the classic murder-mystery board game starring Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Lesley Ann Warren, and Michael McKean. The original theatrical release featured three different endings. It’s likely they’ll show all three. Screenings begin at sundown, around 8 p.m. Off the parking lot of the Blairs Shopping Center, 1290 East-West Highway. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

LOONEY TUNES

The AFI Silver Theatre is currently running several programs, each roughly 45 minutes long, with selections of Warner Bros.’ classic cartoons featuring the Looney Tunes gang — Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Tweety, and more. Program 5 is Saturday, Aug. 18, and Sunday, Aug. 19, at 11 a.m., while Program 6 is Saturday, Aug. 25, and Sunday, Aug. 26, at 11 a.m. 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $5. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

METRIC: DREAMS SO REAL

This meticulously conceived and constructed feature-length concert documentary focuses on the Toronto-based synth-pop/rock quartet Metric, stadium-filling rock stars in Canada. The footage is of a 2016 concert at Vancouver’s Thunderbird Arena, exhaustively captured by filmmakers T. Edward Martin and Jeff Rogers through the use of a twenty six 4K cameras. Intended as a stunning recreation of the concert, Dreams So Real screens once next week at the AFI per its “Canada Now” series of films. Friday, Aug. 24, at 7:20 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

MILE 22

Mark Wahlberg continues his action movie renaissance as an elite CIA agent tasked with smuggling a secrets-holding police officer (played by Iko Uwais) out of Colombia. Naturally, there will be plenty of resistance — led by crime lord John Malkovich — as well as explosions and gunfire in Peter Berg’s film — his fourth with Marky Mark. Opens Friday, Aug. 17. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com (Rhuaridh Marr)

KNIGHTRIDERS
CREEPSHOW

The AFI Silver Theatre toasts the late George Romero with screenings of notable works from the “the Father of the Zombie Film.” Knightriders is a strange entry for Romero, a hodgepodge of fantasy fiction and drama that is essentially horror-free. The 1981 film stars Ed Harris as the leader of an increasingly contentious traveling Renaissance Fair troupe. It screens Monday, Aug. 20, at 8:45 p.m. It’s followed by Creepshow, Romero’s collaboration with Stephen King, celebrating the days of EC Comics, with an assortment of short, creepy stories in which people tend to rise from the dead to eke out revenge. The best of the lot is a tale involving a very hungry monster in a box, and featuring a brilliant performance from Fritz Weaver. The fine cast includes Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, E.G. Marshall and even King himself, in arguably the film’s weakest segment. Creepshow screens Friday, Aug. 24, at 9:40 p.m., Monday, Aug. 27, at 9:05 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 9:30 p.m., and Thursday, Aug. 30, at 9:15 p.m. 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver for the full series.

RA XTRA: HARD PAINT (TINTA BRUTA)

In February, this brooding Brazilian drama won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the Berlin Film Festival. The focus is on Pedro, a socially alienated boy who strips and slathers himself in glow-in-the-dark paint to transform into NeonBoy, a popular, money-making avatar online, taking commands from men in private chat rooms. A sensitive, melancholic portrait of a queer boy struggling with today’s very real challenges of intimacy, community, and security in a homophobic society, Hard Paint is offered as part of Reel Affirmations’ monthly series. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Casa Ruby’s Shareese Mone on sex-work decriminalization. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Friday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. HRC Equality Center, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Tickets are $12, or $25 for VIP seating as well as one complimentary cocktail, beer or wine and popcorn. Call 202-682-2245 or visit thedccenter.org.

SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD

Those rumors of secretive trysts, extramarital lovers, and rampant promiscuity among many Hollywood heartthrobs in the postwar mid-century era? Little surprise that many, perhaps even most, turn out to be true, and mostly stemming from the same source: Ex-Marine Scotty Bowers, Tinseltown’s chief pimp/undercover sexual matchmaker at the time. Vanity Fair writer and documentary filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor) relates the true story of the man whose gas station on Hollywood Boulevard doubled as a rendezvous spot for his friends and actors and actresses on the down-low. Based on Bowers’ 2012 tell-all bestseller Full Service, the documentary is said to be “full of jaw-dropping reveals,” with eye-opening tales about icons ranging from Cary Grant to Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn to Ava Gardner. Opens Friday, Aug. 17. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

SCREEN QUEEN: FOXFIRE

Joshua Vogelsong, aka drag performer/punk rocker Donna Slash, has launched a weekly queer film series at the 35-seat, living-room cozy Suns Cinema in Mount Pleasant. Patrons can enjoy snacks, including fresh offerings from Suns’ vintage popcorn machine, as well as drinks from the full-service bar, which will remain open afterwards to encourage post-show discussion. Expect Angelina Jolie to be a chief topic after the screening starting at 8 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 20. As it happens, Foxfire was one of the actress’ first major films — and also the film that sparked her year-long romantic relationship with co-star Jenny Shimizu and with it, her publicly professed bisexual identity. Based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Jolie portrays a drifter who befriends a group of teenage girls — the cast also includes Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis — helping them bond and stand up to rampant gender and sexual harassment at home and school. 3107 Mount Pleasant St. NW. Tickets are $5. Visit sunscinema.com.

VENUS

A trans woman’s life is thrown for another, wholly unexpected loop when a 14-year-old boy, seeking to connect with his biological father, shows up on her doorstep proclaiming to be her son. Eisha Marjara’s gender-shifting, heartwarming comedy focuses on the immediate aftermath of this bombshell development and the multi-faceted family dynamics and drama at play, including the involvement of the parents and cisgender lover of lead character Sid (Debargo Sanyal). Part of the “Canada Now” series. Monday, Aug. 27, at 7:05 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13. Call 301-495-6720 or visit afi.com/Silver.

STAGE

DAVE

Drew Gehling (Broadway’s Waitress) is a high school teacher and presidential doppelgänger thrust into the Oval Office to avoid a national scandal in this musical adaptation of the 1993 hit comedy starring Kevin Kline. Tina Landau directs the world premiere at Arena Stage. Book by Thomas Meehan (The Producers) and Nell Benjamin (Mean Girls), lyrics by Benjamin, and music by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal). To Aug. 19. Kreeger Theater in the Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.

HAMILTON

★★★★★

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical raps and rhymes American history with an uncanny flair for mining gold from the tremendous life story of one “bastard orphan.” Inspired by Ron Chernow’s 2005 best-selling book Alexander Hamilton, Miranda’s musical infuses emotion and insight throughout a score that’s as efficient in delivering story as it is a delight to hear sung and played live. Director Thomas Kail has constructed a smartly executed succession of set-pieces that showcases each song for individual impact, and it adds up to an impactful epic. Alexander Hamilton bore a restless, relentless energy that Miranda has tapped into willfully and quite successfully. The compositions reflect a practically unerring ear for synthesizing pop, hip-hop, R&B, Broadway, and dexterous narrative into a stirring, cohesive blend. The music paves the way forward for an entire production that feels classic and iconoclastic, historical and hip. To Sept. 16. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $99 to $625, or $49 for any same-day, standing-room-only tickets, released two hours before curtain. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org. (AH)

H.M.S. PINAFORE
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE

The Hypocrites and the House Theatre of Chicago, two innovative theaters in the Windy City, have teamed up to stage two of Gilbert & Sullivan’s best-loved comic operettas in rotating rep at Olney Theatre. Celebrated for being immersive and family friendly, the productions are presented promenade style, with some seats on stage with the actors. These silly tales of scurvy pirates, modern Major-Generals, and star-crossed lovers were both directed by Sean Graney, who co-adapted The Pirates of Penzance with Kevin O’Donnell, and H.M.S. Pinafore with Andra Velis Simon and Matt Kahler. To Aug. 21. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Tickets are $30 to $64 each. Call 301-924-3400 or visit olneytheatre.org.

LEGENDARY: SWEET SLICE OF LIBERTY

Partly inspired by New York’s Sleep No More and nurtured at Capital Fringe, TBD Immersive is a devised, participatory theater company that intentionally blurs the line between audience and performer, while also straying far afield from the usual theater experience or event venue. After two politically inspired cabaret shows, TBD significantly alters course by offering three courses as part of a “culinary pop-up theater experience” at Slim’s Diner in Petworth, devised and directed by Strother Gaines in collaboration with Jenny Splitter and the show’s cast. Based on responses to a preliminary questionnaire, theatergoers are matched with one of nine performers — all portraying supernatural “Legends” charged with keeping order in the universe — sitting with and guiding patrons through a meal starting with salad and offering choices for entree (Shrimp and Grits, Meatloaf, or Ratatouille) and dessert (Apple or Key Lime Pie). Each experience, lasting roughly 90 minutes, will be slightly different, affected by individual engagement and interaction as well as external variables such as “chaos, gluten, and uninvited guests.” Clearly, this isn’t theater nor dinner as usual. “Think of the show as a world to explore rather than a play that you watch,” reads an official note. To Aug. 25. 4201 Georgia Ave. NW. Tickets are $45, including three-course meal. Visit TBDImmersive.com.

MELANCHOLY PLAY: A CONTEMPORARY FARCE

Don’t let the first half of this play’s title fool you: Constellation Theatre Company’s next production is not only right up its farcical alley, it’s a bubbly and whimsical comedy that “will make you fall in love with love.” Written by Sarah Ruhl, the acclaimed playwright of The Clean House and Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Melancholy Play focuses on a morose woman (Billie Krishawn) who is the apple of everyone’s eye — until she discovers happiness. Nick Martin directs. To Sept. 2. Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $19 to $45. Call 202-204-7741 or visit constellationtheatre.org.

THE COLOR PURPLE

In addition to Hamilton, the Kennedy Center is playing host to the other big winner from the 70th Annual Tony Awards in 2016, the adaptation by Marsha Norman and composer/lyricists Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell, and Allee Willis that won as Best Musical Revival. To Aug. 26. Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $69 to $149. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

MUSIC

BEACH HOUSE

Like much of their music, the Baltimore-based dream-pop duo’s success has been a slow build. And 7, Beach House’s newest album, is the culmination of years of precisely refining technique, doubling down again and again on a now unmistakable sound and aesthetic and striving to perfect it. The synths, soft guitars, and Victoria Legrand’s haunting voice make it impossible to mistake this for anything other than her band with Alex Scally. Beach House’s soundscapes have always been dreamy, escapist fantasies, but with 7, the duo has also put forth a hopeful message of rebirth, a simple perfection rising out of darkness and chaos. Beach House supports the stellar five-star album on tour with fellow Sub Pop labelmate Papercuts, the “soft indie pop” four-piece founded and fronted by Jason Robert Quever. Saturday, Aug. 25. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Tickets are $38 to $55. Call 202-888-0020 or visit theanthemdc.com. (Sean Maunier)

CREATIVE CAULDRON CABARET

The 9th annual summer cabaret series at ArtSpace Falls Church continues with: Jim Van Slyke in two different shows: a tribute to the pop music of Neil Sedaka in “Sedaka is Back!” offered Friday, Aug. 17, at 8 p.m., and “Just Me and the Boys,” a toast to Mel Torme, Nat King Cole, Bobby Darin, and Sammy Davis Jr., on Saturday, Aug. 18, at 8 p.m. 410 South Maple Ave. Tickets are $18 to $22 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, presented in collaboration with Girls Rock DC. This year’s lineup includes hard-hitting rockers Black Dog Prowl, the self-described 10-piece “hip pop psych rock” act Allthebestkids, the grunge-blues trio Fellowcraft (“Alice in Chains meets the Black Keys”), funky blues rockers Pebble to Pearl, and Northern Virginia’s indie-folk/rock five-piece Kid Brother. Saturday, Aug. 18. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $15. Call 202-265-0930 or visit 930.com.

HOT AUGUST MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Revivalists, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, and Nikki Hill are the headliners across the three stages at this folk and bluegrass festival, now in its 26th year and presented by Stages Music Arts. Other acts set to perform include Trampled by Turtles, Psycho Killers, the Marcus King Band, Cris Jacobs Band, Omari Banks, Whiskey Shivers, the Dirty Grass Players, Selwyn Birchwood, and Hall Williams Band. Also, the orchestral folk duo the Clavicles will perform in between sets in the VIP section.

Saturday, Aug. 18. Gates at 11 a.m. Tickets are $68 in advance or $85 on the day of, or $199 for VIP including parking, alcohol, two meal tickets, special viewing area, and restrooms. Oregon Ridge Park, 13401 Beaver Dam Rd. in Cockeysville, Md. Call 877-321-FEST or visit hotaugustmusicfestival.com.

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN: 3DIVAS

The National Gallery of Art offers free outdoor concerts immediately after work every Friday through late August. Bands offering a range of jazz styles, from swing to Latin to ska, perform amidst the museum’s collection of large-scale sculptural works while patrons enjoy food and drink, including beer, wine, and sangria, from Pavilion Cafe and outdoor grill. The 2018 series continues with the 3Divas, the swinging Maryland trio of drummer Sherrie Maricle, bassist Amy Shook, and pianist Jackie Warren, on Aug. 17, performing from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sculpture Garden, between 7th and 9th Streets NW. Call 202-289-3360 or visit nga.gov.

NEEDTOBREATHE

This South Carolina-rooted, four-piece rock band, fronted by the Rinehart brothers, puts on an impressive and stirring live show, courtesy of strong group cohesion, uplifting music, and especially Bear Rinehart’s powerhouse pipes, showcased to greatest effect in a recent pairing with R&B belter Andra Day on the band’s rousing anthem “Hard Love.” A more recent powerhouse anthem from Needtobreathe is “Forever On Your Side,” a collaboration with Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano Ramirez, known together as Johnnyswim. The married, L.A.-based duo tours as an opening act for Needtobreathe along with Billy Raffoul, a promising Joe Cocker-esque 22-year-old from Canada. Friday, Aug. 17. Doors at 5:30 p.m. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Tickets are $46 to $76. Call 202-888-0020 or visit theanthemdc.com.

SHEILA E.

Sheila Escovedo came to fame more than three decades ago as Prince’s drummer, songwriter, musical director, and paramour. In recent years, Sheila E. has toured through the area with her electrifying solo show featuring her Latin-flavored soul/pop hits (“The Glamorous Life,” “Love Bizarre”) as well as the-hits-that-should-have-been — with a focus on songs from 2013’s Icon. Her first studio album in 13 years, Icon fully displays the artist’s skill at songcraft and prowess in percussion, even the vocal kind known as beatboxing, per the impressive, all-vocal track “Don’t Make Me (Bring My Timbales Out).” Her timbales will definitely be out and used to full effect in her return to the Howard Theatre next weekend. Saturday, Aug. 25, at 8 p.m. 620 T St. NW. Tickets are $49.50 to $79.50, plus $10 minimum per person for all tables. Call 202-588-5595 or visit thehowardtheatre.com.

READINGS

RISK!

Risk! True Stories People Thought They’d Never Dare to Share is a diverse collection of uncensored, confessional, and at times funny personal stories compiled by Kevin Allison of MTV’s comedy troupe, The State. The stories are mostly drawn from the podcast and live show Allison created and that Rolling Stone has touted as “The Moth‘s scrappier, freakier little sibling.” Allison will read from and sign copies of the book next week, two days before a Risk! show featuring D.C.-area storytellers to be recorded for the hit podcast. The reading is Thursday, Aug. 16, at 6:30 p.m. Kramerbooks, 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-387-1400 or visit kramers.com. The live show is Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Doors at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. Call 202-667-4490 or visit blackcatdc.com.

MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

BLACK OUT: SILHOUETTES THEN AND NOW

The National Portrait Gallery presents the first major museum exhibition to explore silhouettes. Curated by Asma Naeem, Black Out reveals the complexities of this relatively unstudied artform’s rich historical roots and the contemporary relevance of silhouettes today. Ranging in scale from three inches to nearly 40 feet, the exhibit features mixed-media installations in a presentation of approximately 50 unique objects, dating from 1796 to the present, in particular with the inclusion of large works by four contemporary women artists: Kara Walker, with her panoramic wall murals, Camille Utterback via an interactive digital installation that reacts to visitors’ movements and shadows, Kristi Malakoff’s life-size cutouts of children dancing around a Maypole, and Kumi Yamashita’s intricate, shadowy installations. Also notable is a section illuminating silhouettes previously “blacked out” in historical narratives — those featuring same-sex couples, cooks, activist women, enslaved individuals, and the disabled. On display to March 24, 2019. National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Streets. NW. Call 202-633-8300 or visit npg.si.edu.

CAESURA OBSCURA

An installation of screen-printed banners bursting with color, pattern, and energy fills the tiny outdoor space that has become known as Takoma Park’s Pump House Pop-Up Gallery. Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center created the gallery with funding from the city government. The works in the exhibition are a combination of photographic and cut paper patterns, assembled in such a way as to transform what might be considered ordinary images and objects into something magical. Through Aug. 18. Hilltop Road between Maple and Geneva Avenues, Takoma Park. Call 301-608-9101 or visit pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.

POP: RECALL

Paintings and sculptures reminiscent of popsicles, ice creams, and other frozen treats from childhood are the focus of a solo exhibition by a nostalgia-steeped pop culture artist who teaches at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and American University. Corey Oberndorfer’s works are set up in the window displays of the experimental Metro Micro Gallery in Arlington that, among other things, bills itself as “a 24/7 viewing space” — with exhibited works visible at night via the gallery’s interior spotlights. Founded by and adjacent to the studio of visual artist Barbara Januszkiewicz, the gallery further styles itself as a shared space nurturing a community of emerging artists and curators. To Aug. 24. Metro Micro Gallery, 3409 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Visit metromicrogallery.com.

FRACTAL WORLDS BY JULIUS HORSTHUIS

The latest installation at D.C.’s unique art-meets-technology gallery ArTecHouse is billed as the first immersive art exhibition bridging the gap between the real and the virtual world. This visual “journey of discovery” explores mind-bending sci-fi worlds and infinite 3D geometric patterns, transporting viewers to another dimension. Horthuis, whose work was featured in the 2016 Oscar-winning film Manchester by the Sea and has been seen in collaborations with American EDM duo Odesza among other musical artists, incorporates both projection and virtual reality elements. To Sept. 3. 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Tickets for timed-entry sessions are $8 to $15, with evening admission for those over 21 years of age, including exhibit-related Augmented Reality Cocktails available for purchase. Visit artechouse.com.

PICTURES OF THE YEAR: 75 YEARS OF THE WORLD’S BEST PHOTOGRAPHY

The Newseum celebrates one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious photojournalism competitions with a show featuring just a sampling of the more than 40,000 award-winning images in the archives of Pictures of the Year International. Tracing the evolution of photojournalism from World War II to today, the images on display depict the people and events that have defined the times, capturing war and peace, disaster and triumph, and the social and cultural shifts that have shaped the past 75 years. Founded in 1944 at the University of Missouri, POYi recognizes excellence in photojournalism as well as multimedia and visual editing. To Jan. 20. Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $22.95 for general admission. Call 888-NEWSEUM or visit newseum.org.

FOOD & DRINK

BREWERS ON THE BLOCK

Gina Chersevani, one of D.C.’s longtime leading mixologists, hosts this fifth annual event at Buffalo & Bergen’s outdoor beer garden in Union Market as a Spotlight event of DC Beer Week (see separate entry). Guests can get unlimited pours in a souvenir tasting glass from nearly 40 participating area craft brewers, with representatives on hand in a “Meet The Neighbors”-themed event. The lineup includes popular DMV breweries, including 3 Stars, Atlas, Blue Jacket, the Brewer’s Art, DC Brau, Denizens, Evolution, Manor Hill, and Port City, cideries, from D.C.’s own Anxo to Bold Rock from Virginia, and Jack’s from Pennsylvania, and meaderies such as Baltimore’s gluten-free Charm City Meadworks. Saturday, Aug. 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. Suburbia, 1309 5th St. NW. Tickets are $55, or $75 for VIP including entrance at 5 p.m. with exclusive food and reserved seating. Call 202-543-2549 or visit 5thbrewersblock.eventbrite.com.

DC BEER WEEK

When this promotion was launched 10 years ago, there weren’t any breweries based in D.C. — just a dedicated crew of craft beer aficionados with a dream. Now there are a dozen breweries in D.C. proper and the whole region has seen an explosion in the craft. DC Beer Week has grown by leaps and bounds, with more than 50 events taking place over the course of the next week, all kicking off with the 8th Annual Cask Night on Friday, Aug. 17, and the 4th Annual Cask Day on Saturday, Aug. 18, both at the Brewer’s Lounge at the District Chophouse. Other notable events on tap: the 1st Annual Lager Fest at City Winery on Sunday, Aug. 19; Churchkey’s Total Tap Takeover featuring all-D.C. brews, on Tuesday, Aug. 21; Beers and Brats at Denizens Brewing Company on Thursday, Aug. 23; DC Beer Royale, a battle for the title of D.C.’s “Most Beloved Beer” presented by Roofers Union on Thursday, Aug. 23; a guided tour of three D.C. breweries organized by City Brew Tours DC on Saturday, Aug. 25; and Brewers on the Block outside Union Market on Sunday, Aug. 25. Runs to Sunday, Aug. 26. Visit dcbeerweek.net for a full schedule of events.

TABERNA DEL ALABARDERO:CHILLED SUMMER SOUPS

Summer isn’t ideal soup season — unless you’re talking gazpacho and other cold varieties popularized in Spain. In that case, now through Labor Day, D.C.’s oldest traditional Spanish restaurant offers five varieties, rotating them by weekday: from Monday with Gazpacho Andaluz, the traditional tomato-based soup with cucumbers and red and green peppers, to Friday’s Salmorejo Cordobés, a tomato and bread puree with Serrano ham and hard-boiled egg. Garlic and almond soup with grapes, carrot and orange soup with orange, and tomato and watermelon soup round out the midday options. All soups are $13. 1776 I St. NW. Call 202-429-2200 or visit alabardero.com.

DRAG

BAR ROUBAIX: SASSY DRAG BRUNCH

Over the past year, the local Hilton brothers have expanded well beyond Marvin and The Brixton and their original U Street base. None of the additions, however, stand out as much as Bar Roubaix in Columbia Heights with its racing bike theme, complete with chains dangling behind the bar and wheels serving as light fixtures. Named after the French city sponsoring one of the world’s oldest and most iconic professional bike races and housed in the former Acre 121 space, Roubaix features a menu of European-inspired bites from Chef Rafael Nunez. And now, Roubaix stands out even more thanks to a drag brunch the third Sunday of each month, organized by Josael Abraham Gutierrez. Sassy Drag Brunch features Desiree Dik as the “master of sassiness” along with her sassy sisters Laronica Vegas and Paula, in addition to special guests, next round Rose and Mariah Black. Drink specials include $18 Bottomless Mimosas, Bloody Mary’s, and Bloody Maria’s, $9 Margaritas, and $9 Irish Coffees. Sunday, Aug. 19, from noon to 2 p.m. 1400 Irving St. NW. Ste. 109. Tickets are $21 inclusive of show, one entree, and 18-percent gratuity, or $10 for show with no food. Call 202-560-5721 or search “Sassy Drag Brunch” on eventbrite.com.

NIGHTLIFE

DC9: PEACH PIT

Named after the diner on Beverly Hills, 90210, Peach Pit was started by DJ Matt Bailer more than eight years ago at Dahlek, the former Eritrean restaurant that also birthed Mixtape. Bailer describes the party as a “kind of sweaty mosh pit of guys and girls, straights and gays, black people and white people, old people and young people — all just dancing and singing at the top of their lungs.” Peach Pit is very strictly ’90s, as Bailer only plays and takes requests for tracks released between Jan. 1, 1990, and Dec. 31, 1999. Saturday, Aug. 18. Doors at 10:30 p.m. DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. Cover is $5, or $8 after midnight. Call 202-483-5000 or visit dcnine.com.

TRADE: GAY/BASH

Josh Vogelsong started his monthly alternative drag-focused party more than six years ago at the Black Cat, but it wasn’t until it moved to Trade that it became what he had long envisioned it could be. “People show up in looks, everybody comes dressed up,” Vogelsong says. “Everybody gets crazy during the show. You can just spray beer on the crowd, and they’d cheer and love it. It’s wild.” Miss LaBella Mafia is the featured guest performer at this month’s event, with additional shows to come from Vogelsong per his drag alter-ego Donna Slash, Jaxknife Complex, Salvadora Dali, and Jane Saw, with jams from Diyanna Monet. Saturday, Aug. 18. Doors at 10 p.m., with shows at 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. 1410 14th St. NW. Call 202-986-1094 or visit facebook.com/gaybashdc.

TRADE: SISSY THAT TUESDAY

Don’t let the drag name fool you: Jason Barnes may be Pussy Noir, but inside and out he’s as hot pink as the next Janelle Monáe-loving queer. And for the August edition of his popular monthly party, the aim, a la the Electric Lady, is to turn Trade “pink like the paradise found.” Wes the DJ will be behind the decks playing glam house tunes and Chaz Sonique behind the camera snapping glamour poses. Tuesday, Aug. 21. Doors at 8 p.m. 1410 14th St. NW. Call 202-986-1094 or visit tradebardc.com.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

BEN’S CHILI BOWL: BLOCK PARTY, 60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Next Wednesday, Aug. 22, marks 60 years to the day when Ben Ali first started serving up the chili half-smokes that has made him and his original counter store an internationally acclaimed local landmark. Ali and his family, including wife Victoria Ali, will kick off a day-long to-do at Ben’s U Street HQ with an 11 a.m. press conference that will undoubtedly draw most of the city’s biggest movers and shakers. Things continue moving and shaking right on into the afternoon with Ben’s Block Party featuring performances by Maysa, Rare Essence, EU featuring Sugarbear, Soul Searchers, DJ MelloT, and Ozone. And the festivities don’t stop until after an official gala at the Lincoln Theatre — the historic venue next door, right across Ben Ali Way. Billed as “A Tribute to Virginia Ali” benefitting the Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation, the gala, starting at 7:30 p.m., will feature the Ali Family and “Special Guests” — among them Faith Evans, Kenny Lattimore, Rayshun LaMarr, and BSlade. Given the institution’s large and loyal celebrity fan base — from the Obamas and Oprah to Dave Chappelle and Taraji P. Henson — it seems reasonable to expect even more starry surprise guests. 1213 U St. NW. Tickets to the gala are $60 to $150. Call 202-733-1895 or visit benschilibowl.com.

CIRQUE ITALIA

“The water, it kind of gives us a new type of animal in the business, I like to say,” says Chanté DeMoustas, the chief operating officer and producer of Cirque Italia. Dubbed the “Water Circus,” it’s a first-of-its-kind traveling production currently touring the states. Although unaffiliated, comparisons between the Florida-based Cirque Italia and Quebec-based Cirque du Soleil often arise, given their similar focus on presenting multi-varied and animal-free staged shows. Additionally, Cirque Italia’s gravity-defying physical artists — including clowns, contortionists, trampolinists, and roller skaters — often perform in or with water via a “custom-built, high-tech design stage.” The setup features a digital water curtain, used to display graphics and images while the artist is performing. Naturally, front-row spectators are liable to get a little wet. Thursday, Aug. 16, and Friday, Aug. 17, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 18, and Sunday, Aug. 19, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m. Under the White & Blue Big Top Tent near Marshalls, 2700 Potomac Mills Circle, Woodbridge. Tickets are $10 to $50. Call 941-704-8572 or visit cirqueitalia.com.

THE DC WEIRDO SHOW: SPECTROCIRCUS!

Held the third Friday of every month, the Weirdo Show bills itself as a “cult favorite for freaks, geeks, and exposed buttcheeks.” Lights and zany visual treats are the guiding theme of the latest romp, which will be enhanced by patrons donning glow-in-the-dark bracelets. Mark Shufflemaster Anduss helms the production lights and sound and Dr Torcher serves as host for the whole spectacle, with highlights including a glowing belly dance from Rin Ajna, fire play with Coryn Rose and Pyrate, Lottie Ellington’s Blacklight Burlesque, Coffin & Eon of OhYesYo performing Blacklight Yo-Yo Stunts, and Blaq Milk’s Liquid Performance Art Friday, Aug. 17, at 9 p.m. Bier Baron Tavern, 1523 22nd St. NW. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door. Call 202-293-1887 or visit dcweirdoshow.com.