FILM

BEANPOLE

Russia’s official entry for this year’s Oscars, Kantemir Balagov’s film also earned the 28-year-old director the prize for Best Director at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Beanpole focuses on the intense bond that forms between two women, both anti-aircraft gunners during World War II, who struggle to readjust to a haunted world and life in Leningrad after the war. The drama deals with the persistent scars of war. Friday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 29, at 5:30 and 8:20 p.m., Sunday, March 1, at 12:30, 3:20, and 6:10 p.m., and Tuesday, March 3, through Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m. Cafritz Hall, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $9 to $13. Call 202-777-3210 or visit www.jxjdc.org.

CAPITAL IRISH FILM FESTIVAL

Irish identity, culture, and artistry will be explored through a slate of roughly 18 comedies, dramas, documentaries, shorts, and animation in the 14th annual Capital Irish Film Festival, presented by Solas Nua. It kicks off Thursday, Feb. 27, with a screening of Shelly Love’s sweet and sassy mother-daughter tale A Bump Along The Way followed by an Opening Night Reception hosted by the Northern Ireland Bureau. Winner as Best Debut Irish Feature at the 2019 Galway Film Fleadh, A Bump Along the Way is one of five films this year from Northern Ireland, also including Ethan McDowell’s Lúbtha [Queer], about growing up gay in 1990s Northern Ireland, which screens as part of the “CIFF 2020 Shorts Program” on Saturday, Feb. 29, at noon. At 1:45 p.m. that same day comes Seamus Heaney and the Music of What Happens Next, a look at the life and work of the late Nobel Prize-winning poet, followed by a post-screening Q&A with Northern Ireland Bureau Director Andrew Elliott and literature expert Christopher Griffin. The festival closes Sunday, March 1, with two more documentaries: Tom Burke’s Shooting the Darkness, about a group of Irishmen who unwittingly became war photographers on the streets of their own towns during the Troubles in Northern Ireland; and Aodh Ó Coileáin’s bilingual tribute Cumar: A Galway Rhapsody, followed by a closing party featuring fiddlers Susan Collins and Michael Wynch. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $13 per screening, or $120 for a CIFF All-Access Pass. Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi.com/Silver.

CATVIDEOFEST 2020

Seattle-based filmmaker Will Braden has assembled an all-new, 70-minute program that’s a fancy feast for cat lovers, chock-full of cat videos both popular as well as new and undiscovered. CatVideoFest, a compilation of shorts culled from hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and Internet classics, is styled as a communal experience where feline fanatics can bond over cute cat cinema and learn more about cats in need in D.C. and beyond. Saturday, Feb. 29, at 10, 11 a.m., and noon. Alamo Drafthouse One Loudoun, 20575 Easthampton Plaza, Ashburn, Va. Tickets are $10. Call 571-293-6808 or visit www.drafthouse.com/northern-virginia.

DC SHORTS WINS!

DC Shorts has packaged several acclaimed short films in two shows that run approximately 90 minutes and are suitable for those 18 and up. Show A screens Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 29, at 10 p.m., while Show B is Friday, Feb. 28, at 9 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m. The Miracle Theatre, 535 8th St. SE. Tickets are $15 per showcase , or $25 for a Double Header of both, plus Ticketleap fees. Call 202-400-3210 or visit www.wins.dcshorts.com

DRIVING MISS DAISY

Plenty of other movies have depicted the complicated but nonetheless genuine relationship that can develop between a white homeowner and a black servant in her employ. But few have portrayed it as powerfully and convincingly as Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy, which was originally developed for the stage. Shortly after winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1988, Uhry got to work writing a cinematic adaptation overseen by director Bruce Beresford. And then along came Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy, both giving indelible portrayals of their characters Hoke and Daisy. Both actors earned Oscar nominations but only Tandy took home an acting trophy. The film also won Best Picture. Thirty years later, Driving Miss Daisy remains a strong, superbly rendered story that’s touching and resonant. It screens at Landmark’s West End Cinema Capital Classics series on Wednesday, March 4, at 1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 p.m. 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour is from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

EMMA.

Jane Austen’s classic comedy of manners gets reimagined as a satire of social class and teen angst in a new film adaptation by first-time director Autumn de Wilde. Stylized as a period piece (hence the punctuation), the film stars Anya Taylor-Joy, a 23-year-old best known for work in horror (The Witch, Split). Taylor-Joy plays Emma Woodhouse as “a restless queen bee without rivals in her sleepy little town.” With Rupert Graves, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, Gemma Whelan, and Josh O’Connor. Opens Friday, Feb. 28. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

THE TRUTH: LOST AT SEA

Documentaries focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict screen free as part of Voices from the Holy Land series, now in its sixth season and sponsored by an interfaith coalition of more than 40 area organizations. This weekend’s offering tells the saga of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in 2010, when 10 aid workers and activists were killed after Israeli naval forces raided and blocked ships carrying humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza. Filmmaker Rifat Audeh was part of the flotilla and lays out what transpired. Mubarak Awad, founder of Nonviolence International, will moderate a Q&A after the screening. Sunday March 1, at 2 p.m. Washington National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues NW. Free. Call 202-537-2228 or visit www.nationalcathedral.org www.voicesfromtheholyhland.org.

WHERE’S MY ROY COHN?

An incisive chronicle of Cohn’s path from Commie-hunting, homo-hating attack dog of Senator Joe McCarthy, to mobbed-up New York City attorney and mentor-in-chief to Donald J. Trump, Where’s My Roy Cohn? screens as part of the American Film Institute’s “2019: A Second Look.” Friday, Feb. 28, at 5:15 p.m., Sunday, March 1, at 11:45 a.m., and Monday, March 2, through Wednesday, March 4, at 5:15 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Tickets are $8 to $13. Call 301-495-6720 or visit www.afi.com/Silver.

STAGE

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

The lives of two Afghan women are inextricably bound together in a play adapted by Ursula Rani Sarma from the best-selling novel by Khaled Hosseini (Kite Runner). Carey Perloff directs Hend Ayoub and Mirian Katrib leading a 12-member cast at Arena Stage in a show billed as a “gripping and heart-rending fight for survival [that] will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.” To March 1. Kreeger Theater in the Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Call 202-488-3300 or visit www.arenastage.org.

ADA AND THE ENGINE

Playwright Lauren Gunderson (Shakespeare Theatre’s Peter Pan and Wendy) offers a whimsical and inspirational scientific history lesson about Ada Lovelace, best known as the only legitimate child of the poet Lord Byron and also as wife to Charles Babbage, called “the father of the computer.” In fact, Gunderson’s tale posits that Babbage may have invented the hardware, or “analytic engine” of the machine, but Lovelace is responsible for inventing “the language, the song, the soul of the thing, the programming.” Ada and the Engine rotates dates with Suddenly Last Summer. Previews begin March 8. To April 5. Gunston Arts Center, Theater Two, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $40. Call 703-418-4804 or visit www.wscavantbard.org.

BANDSTAND

A year after Andy Blankenbuehler won the 2016 Tony Award as Best Choreography for Hamilton, he would repeat the feat, this time for his work on Bandstand, which he also directed. And he’s continued in that dual capacity with the touring production of the poignant musical by Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor. Bandstand centers on a group of American soldiers, newly returned from World War II, who form a band to enter a national competition seeking music’s next big thing. Tuesday, March 3, through Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 6, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8, at 2 and 8 p.m. National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $54 to $99. Call 202-628-6161 or visit www.thenationaldc.org.

BOY

In the 1960s, a well-intentioned doctor convinces the parents of twin boys to raise one as a girl following a surgical accident. Inspired by true events, Anna Ziegler’s play explores the beauty of finding love, the complexity of gender identity, and the consequences of the choices we make for those we love. Susan Marie Rhea directs Keegan’s production starring John Jones, Lida Marie Benson, Karen Novack, Mike Kozemchak, and Vishwas. To March 7. 1742 Church St. NW. Call 202-265-3767 or visit www.keegantheatre.com.

DESSA ROSE

The title was the name of a young enslaved woman in pre-Civil War America determined to gain her and her child’s freedom. In this chamber musical from the creators of Ragtime, Dessa is aided in her cause by a disaffected Southern belle named Ruth. The unlikely pair’s adventure is brought back to the stage for a one-night-only production at Olney Theatre Center. Awa Sal Secka and Gracie Jones star. Friday, March 6, at 8 p.m. Mainstage, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Tickets are $60. Call 301-924-3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org.

EXQUISITE AGONY

A 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winner for his drama Anna in the Tropics, Nilo Cruz directs GALA Hispanic Theatre’s new production of his magical realist romance Exquisite Agony. The cast includes GALA veteran Luz Nicolas, starring as opera singer Millie Marcel, a widow who fixates on the young transplant recipient now living with her dead husband’s heart. Joel Hernandez Lara plays Amer, the object of Millie’s obsession and desire. In Spanish with English surtitles. To March 1. 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $55. Call 202-234-7174 or visit www.galatheatre.org. (André Hereford)

QUEENS GIRL: BLACK IN THE GREEN MOUNTAINS

With this world-premiere production at Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre, playwright Caleen Sinnette Jennings completes the Queens Girl trilogy she launched in 2015 with Queens Girl in the World at Theater J. Chronicling the adventures of bright-eyed, brown-skinned Jacqueline Marie Butler, the first play explored the young girl’s dawning sense of self as a young black girl in the Civil Rights era. It was followed by last year’s Queens Girl in Africa, exploring her family’s move to Nigeria in the wake of the assassination of Malcolm X. Now, Butler returns to the U.S. for college in Vermont in the era of a raging Vietnam War and heightened tensions on college campuses after the Kent State killings. Felicia Curry stars and Paige Hernandez directs. The play christens a new, 211-seat performance space in Everyman’s complex. March 3 through April 12. Upstairs Theatre, 315 West Fayette St. Baltimore. Tickets are $59 to $69. Call 410-752-2208 or visit www.everymantheatre.org.

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER

This one-act play Tennessee Williams has all the hallmarks you’d expect from the playwright: exotic locales, tortured psyches, lyrical language, and Williams’ knack for creating vivid, unforgettable characters. The focus is on an elderly New Orleans socialite mourning the death of her poet son while trying to squelch details about his mysterious death. Of course, it doesn’t exactly work, although the truth of what exactly happened remains vague. The prevailing theory, and certainly most sensational, suggests that her son’s homosexuality was a factor. Christopher Henley directs. In rep with Ada and the Engine. To April 5. Gunston Arts Center, Theater Two, 2700 South Lang St. Arlington. Tickets are $40. Call 703-418-4804 or visit www.wscavantbard.org.

SUICIDE.CHAT.ROOM

Taffety Punk Theatre Company, a bold, ragtag collective that aims to bring theater artists, dancers, and musicians together to ceate and collaborate in ways beyond the typical, reprises one of its early successes — an original, provocative “dance play” incorporating elements from documentary theater, even using real-life dialogue, and shedding some much-needed light on the dark, taboo subject of suicide. The original creative team behind the devised work suicide.chat.room returns for a short, four-performance reboot honoring the 10th anniversary of its premiere. Thursday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m., with a matinee on Saturday at 3 p.m. Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 7th St. SE. Tickets are $15. An album of the show’s music is available as a download for $12, or a vinyl recording for $20. Call 202-547-6839 or visit www.taffetypunk.com.

THE 39 STEPS

Actors cast in this comedic adaptation of one of Alfred Hitchcock’s early works certainly can’t phone in their performance — particularly not those, such as Gwen Grastorf and Christopher Walker, cast in Constellation Theatre Company’s new production as what the program simply lists as a “Cast of Dozens” (there are over 100 roles in all). Constellation’s production stars Drew Kopas as a British everyman who gets ensnared in a spy ring, then proceeds to have romantic dalliances along the way to clearing his name. Patricia Hurley does triple duty as his three paramours. Extended to March 15. Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets are $19 to $55. Call 202-204-7741 or visit www.constellationtheatre.org.

THE AMATEURS

Up-and-coming gay playwright Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime) offers a mind-bending journey from the 14th Century to the present day — or, in plague terms, from the Black Death to the AIDS crisis by focusing on a troupe of bumbling actors staging “Noah’s Ark.” Olney’s production stars Emily Townley, Michael Russotto, Evan Casey, Rachel Zampelli, John Keabler, and James Konicek. March 4 through April 5. Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Tickets are $59 to $64. Call 301-924-3400 or visit www.olneytheatre.org.

THE CAKE

A devout and conservative cake baker in North Carolina tries not to think too hard, or much at all, about the complexities of things or the discrepancies of religious teachings. Until the girl she helped raise returns home to marry another woman. Bekah Brunstetter’s play was inspired by the U.S. Supreme Court case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Dawn A. Westbrook directs. Through March 7. Richmond Triangle Players, The Robert B. Moss Theatre, 1300 Altamont Ave. Richmond. Tickets are $10 to $35. Call 804-346-8113 or visit www.rtriangle.org.

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

Aaron Posner helms a Folger Theatre production of the delightful comedy of love, money, deception, and the power of women, as the ladies of Windsor serve Falstaff his comedic comeuppance. To March 1. 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $27 to $85. Call 202-544-7077 or visit www.folger.edu.

MUSIC

A CAPPELLA LIVE!

AMP, Strathmore’s intimate cabaret venue, presents a modern twist on the classic touring Motown revue next weekend when four a cappella acts share the stage. The lineup includes the charming, boy band-inspired the Filharmonic, established gospel/R&B group Committed, American Idol-popularized electronic/dance artist and beatboxer Blake Lewis, and the international collective Women of the World. The concert is overseen by Deke Sharon, a leading force behind NBC’s The Sing-Off, which gave the world Pentatonix. Sharon was also the arranger and music director of the Pitch Perfect movies. Friday, March 6. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Amp by Strathmore, 11810 Grand Park Ave. North Bethesda. Tickets are $42 to $68. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.ampbystrathmore.com.

ARLO GUTHRIE

The 70-year-old son of folk’s founding father, Woody Guthrie, returns to the area for two performances on the 20/20 Tour featuring “Alice’s Restaurant” with Folk Uke. Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, Feb. 29, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $65. Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

BEAU SOIR ENSEMBLE

With a goal of making classical music accessible and enjoyable, the local female trio, founded in 2007, plays all over the region and all types and eras of classical music. In a performance at the Athenaeum in Old Town, the chamber ensemble will celebrate what would have been the 250th birthday of Ludwig Beethoven by performing a transcription of his trio Serenade that swaps out the violin for the Beau Soir signature the harp, played by the ensemble’s founder Michelle Lundy, who will be accompanied by Ruth Wicker Schaaf on the viola and Carol Bean on the flute. J.S. Bach’s Trio Sonate will also be rendered in a flute/viola/harp transcription made for Beau Soir by Alex Jacobsen of the National Symphony Orchestra. A local premiere from Miguel del Aguila will round out the main concert program, and the concert will conclude with a little Irish music as an early toast to St. Patrick’s Day. Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. 201 Prince St., Alexandria. Tickets are $15. Call 703-548-0035 or visit www.nvfaa.org.

BRUCE HORNSBY & YMUSIC

You can always count on Bruce Hornsby to perform in concert his sentimental, richly textured ’80s pop hits, including “The Way It Is,” “Mandolin Rain,” and “The Valley Road.” But the singer-songwriter from Williamsburg, Virginia, has a vast catalogue that goes well beyond the tried and true. His newest album, Absolute Zero, is a wide-ranging set that includes forays into experimental jazz fusion, avant-garde classical as well as progressive rock. The 2019 album finds Hornsby collaborating with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on a couple of strong selections, and roughly half of the tracks feature yMusic, the extraordinary Brooklyn-based contemporary classical chamber ensemble featuring a string trio, flute, clarinet, and trumpet. Next week at Strathmore, both acts will perform individual sets, but the key attraction is to see them join forces and jam together. Friday, March 6, at 8 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Md. Tickets are $38 to $88. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

DRIVE BY TRUCKERS

The alt-country/Southern rock band tours in support of The Unraveling, a followup to 2016’s American Band, a politically charged set intended as a warning shot hinting at a coming storm. The new set, written in the wreckage and aftermath, is as political as it is personal, as lead vocalists and songwriters Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood — white Southerners — grapple with the challenges of our times, as captured in song titles, from “Babies in Cages” to Armageddon’s Back in Town” to “Awaiting Resurrection.” Buffalo Nichols opens. Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturay, Feb. 29. Doors at 8 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $35. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

GINA CHAVEZ

You might call singer-songwriter Gina Chavez a missionary for intersectionality. Chavez, who describes herself as “half-Mexican, half-Swiss German, and fully Texan,” touches on issues related to her faith, religion, and love in her folk-pop songs, which she performs live accompanied by a five-piece band of fellow Austin-based musicians. Friday, March 6. Doors at 7 p.m. Jammin Java, 227 Maple Ave. E. Vienna. Tickets are $20. Call 703-255-3747 or visit www.jamminjava.com.

LIV WARFIELD

Hand selected by Prince to be a part of his backing bands New Power Generation and 3rdEyeGirl, the Purple One even executive-produced Warfield’s second solo set, 2014’s The Unexpected. Warfield, who cites Nina Simone, Etta James, Sade, Tina Turner, and Mary J. Blige as chief influences, is also a Soul Train Award-winning artist whose style merges alt-soul with touches of rock. In 2014, VH1 Soul featured her as a Soul You Oughta Know artist. Six years later, it’s not too late to hop on the Warfield wagon. Fortunately, the next stop is a solo concert next week in the intimate, acoustically rich Barns at Wolf Trap. Thursday, March 5, at 8 p.m. 1635 Trap Road, Vienna. Tickets are $27. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit www.wolftrap.org.

MACY GRAY

Two decades after her first hit “I Try,” Gray continues to record and perform a distinctive blend of R&B, pop, funk, and jazz. Gray continues to tour to celebrate a more than 20-year repertoire that includes “Buddha,” drawn from Ruby, her tenth and most recent full-length album. Monday, March 2, and Tuesday, March 3. Doors at 6 p.m. City Winery DC, 1350 Okie St. NE. Tickets are $55 to $70. Call 202-250-2531 or visit www.citywinery.com.

MARCIA BALL & SONNY LANDRETH

East Texas blues meets southwest Louisiana swamp rock with Ball, a Grammy-nominated pianist and singer-songwriter who offers tastes of roadhouse rock, jump blues, R&B, soul, and zydeco. This weekend, she’ll be paired on the Hamilton stage with kindred spirit Landreth, the Grammy-nominated slide guitarist whose unique style of guitar picking and his mix of Cajun and blues transports audience members to his home in the heart of Louisiana. Saturday, Feb. 29. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $30 to $45. Call 202-787-1000 or visit www.thehamiltondc.com.

NPR’S FROM THE TOP: LIVE TAPING FEAT. ANDERSON & ROE

The nationally distributed NPR program and podcast that celebrates the voices and talents of America’s brightest young classical musicians comes to George Mason University for its next live taping. Greg Anderson (a From The Top alum) and Elizabeth Joy Rose of the acclaimed piano duo Anderson & Roe will interview and perform with each of the exceptional young artists, ages 12 to 18. Four of the 10 featured pre-collegiate musicians hail from the greater D.C. area, including Ella Kim, a Supernova Piano Duo of Jialin Tso and Alexander Suh, Kiesse Nanor, and Lira Masuda. From The Top is heard Sundays on WETA 90.9 FM as well as 200 other stations across the country, with this live event airing during the weeks of April 20 and May 11. Saturday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m. GMU Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax. Tickets are $34 to $53. Call 888-945-2468 or visit www.cfa.gmu.edu.

OF MONTREAL

Despite its name, Of Montreal was founded and is led by singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Kevin Barnes, who is based in the indie-rock hotbed of Athens, Ga. Barnes named his five-piece after a woman he once dated from Montreal. The odd name hasn’t stopped the eccentric ensemble, whose music is all over the psychedelic rock map, from gaining a devoted following. The band’s 16th studio set, UR FUN, was put together by Barnes in a way where every song was designed to be a potential single. Lily’s Band opens. Monday, March 2. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

ON A WINTER’S NIGHT: 25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

Cliff Eberhardt, John Gorka, Patty Larkin, Christine Lavin, and Cheryl Wheeler reunite to perform and celebrate a “moveable feast of song,” also dubbed a mini-folk festival. Ultimately, the concert pays tribute to the 1994 compilation that Lavin assembled featuring winter love songs from some of her favorite singer-songwriters. Saturday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Tickets are $$45. Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

RED BARAAT W/ANJALI TANEJA

Jazz artist Sunny Jain conceived of and leads the bhangra-rooted party band Red Baraat, a Brooklyn-based ensemble returning to D.C. on their annual Festival of Colors tour. This year’s party, which celebrates spring rites as well as the South Asian Diaspora in America, features an opening set from Anjali Taneja, a D.C.-based R&B singer-songwriter who weaves together soulful melodic elements with South Asain rhythmic influences. Friday, March 6. Doors at 6:30 p.m. The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $25. Call 202-787-1000 or visit www.thehamiltondc.com.

SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

A rotating musical collective founded by the arranger and pianist Bradlee in 2009, PMJ became a YouTube sensation through amusing reworkings of recent pop and rock songs, sung in the style of vintage swing and jazz. Also including original tunes, this “traveling band of throwback minstrels” returns to the area with another stop on its “Welcome to the Twenties 2.0 Tour,” a year-long run of shows to help prepare fans for a new decade of music, chiefly by channeling the musical style birthed in the 1920s — namely, jazz. As Bradlee puts it in the tour’s promotional materials: “Get ready for the most sensational ’20s party this side of The Great Gatsby.” Tuesday, March 3, at 8 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Md. Tickets are $36 to $86, or $139 to $189 for VIP Packages. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

THE LUMINEERS

The five-piece Americana-steeped folk-rock act, best known for the 2012 inescapable chanting hit “Ho Hey,” returns to the area for a show at Capital One Arena. Opening is the Kenyan-born artist J.S. Ondara. Friday, Feb. 28. Doors at 7 p.m. 601 F St. NW. Call 202-628-3200 or visit www.capitalonearena.com

THE VICTORIAN LYRIC OPERA COMPANY: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE

Maryland’s Victorian Lyric Opera Company presents a new take on the beloved Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. Director Amy Sullivan helms a Classic Hollywood-inspired production, fully staged with a 1940s-esque set intended to evoke the glitz and glamour of movie musicals of the era — though the action still takes place over Leap Day in the Victorian Era. Expect to hear the classic songs “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” and “Poor Wand’ring One.” Remaining performances are Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m. F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre at the Rockville Civic Center, 603 Edmonston Dr. Rockville. Tickets are $20 to $24. Call 240-314-8690 or visit www.vloc.org.

UMD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: OUR RIGHTS, AND NOTHING LESS

To mark the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the University of Maryland School of Music presents a world premiere of a work by Maria Newman. Written in honor of Susan B. Anthony’s 200th birthday, Our Rights, and Nothing Less will be presented featuring UMD Voice Professor Carmen Balthrop as speaker. Music Director David Neely will lead the UMSO in a program that also includes Clara Schumann’s Concerto in A Minor for Piano and Orchestra featuring soloist Miko Kominami and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E Minor. Friday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. Dekelboum Concert Hall in The Clarice, University Boulevard and Stadium Drive. College Park. Tickets are $10 to $25. Call 301-405-ARTS or visit www.theclarice.umd.edu.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA: DON GIOVANNI

The protagonist in Mozart’s anti-hero classic Don Giovanni fashions himself a real Don Juan, aiming to seduce and conquer all of the beautiful women he encounters, whatever it takes. Eventually, however, “time’s up” for Giovanni in this celebrated tragicomedy. Ryan McKinny takes on the title role in a Washington National Opera production directed by E. Loren Meeker and choreographed by Eric Sean Fogel. WNO Principal Conductor Evan Rogister will lead the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra accompanying the vocalists, who will sing in Italian with projected English titles. Performances begin Saturday, Feb. 29. To March 22. Opera House. Tickets are $45 to $299. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

WPA GOSPEL CHOIRS & ALFRED STREET BAPTIST CHOIR: I AM A MAN: RECLAIMING BRILLIANCE IN THE MIDST OF BROKENESS

Members of the gospel choirs of Washington Performing Arts are joined by Alexandria’s Alfred Street Baptist Church Choir and special guests to be announced for a concert in which 100 male voices sing in tribute to African-American men. The main focus is on those who have died untimely deaths in the last decade or so, many of them slain as a result of altercations with trigger-happy white police officers. With a title, I am a man!, that stems from a slogan popularized by the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike that unfortunately, ultimately led to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the program is centered on the oratorio by Atlanta-based composer Joel Thompson, The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed. With a nod to Haydn’s Last Words of Christ, Thompson’s work features the last utterances of men whose names have become well-known posthumously, including Michael Brown, Kenneth Chamberlain, John Crawford, Amadou Diallo, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, and Trayvon Martin. Styled as a moving memorial as well as a reminder of the need for greater social justice, the concert, overseen by the director of WPA’s adult gospel choirs Theodore Thorpe III, also celebrates the accomplishments of African-American men who continue to thrive and enrich our community. Sunday, March 1, at 7 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Tickets are $25 to $70. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

DANCE

DEMO BY DAMIAN WOETZEL: NOW 2020

The former New York City Ballet Principal Dancer and now president of the Juilliard School curates and hosts a new installment in his genre-blurring collaborative series featuring some of the most creative voices in dance and music today. Collaborators at this new DEMO program include Tony Award-winning Broadway star and former NYC Ballet principal Robert Fairchild, current NYC Ballet principal Lauren Lovette and rising star Roman Mejia, modern dance dynamo Melissa Toogood, emerging tap dancer Dario Natarelli, the Memphis Jookin phenomenon Lil Buck and fellow hip-hop/street dance sensation Jon Boogz (who together are co-founders of Movement Art Is (M.A.I.), an organization working for social change through greater recognition of dance), cutting-edge string quartet Brooklyn Rider, and the versatile guitarist Alberta Khoury. Monday, March 2, at 8 p.m. Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $29 to $69. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE: ODEON

The twin energies of hip-hop/social dance forms and Afro-Brazilian rhythms careen and collide on stage for a work created by choreographer Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie and her twin brother, jazz musician Ehud. In the New York-based native Israelis’ collaborative work Odeon, Ephrat’s signature style, largely drawn from social and street dances, converges with Ehud’s arrangements for piano, upright bass, and percussion, all to tell a story about relationships: between siblings, between music and movement, and between classical traditions and contemporary sound and movement. Seven dancers stomp, clamp, bend, and leap in a series of vibrant duets, trios, and quartets, a stylistic shuffle of ballet and modern dance as well as movement language drawn from hip-hop, house, breaking, and voguing. The varied choreography is all set to the buoyant rhythms of a score inspired by the work of early 20th-century Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth, who blended what he called “Brazilian tangos” and other popular rhythmic styles of his era a century ago into traditional late-Romantic style classical compositions. Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday March 4, at 8 p.m. Kay Theatre in The Clarice at the University of Maryland, University Boulevard and Stadium Drive. College Park. Tickets are $10 to $30. Call 301-405-ARTS or visit www.theclarice.umd.edu.

FRUITS BORNE OUT OF RUST BY TABAIMO AND MAKI MORISHITA

Internationally renowned Japanese visual artist Tabaimo collaborates with fellow compatriot and award-winning choreographer Maki Morishita for a whimsical, even mischievous multimedia work exploring the notion of moving from states of stability to instability, and back again. Marking Tabaimo and Morishita’s Kennedy Center debuts, Fruits borne out of rust follows a solo female dancer as she moves with Tabaimo’s immersive, animated video projections, going from a wood-floor apartment, to a large birdcage with a dove, to a line of tatami mats that swallows her whole. All the while, two on-stage musicians perform original music composed by Yusuke Awazu and Keisuke Tanaka. Morishita’s choreography blends subtle movements of the dancer’s fingers and toes with the dynamic drive of her torso and limbs as a way to enhance Tabaimo’s peculiar world. Tuesday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. Terrace Theater. Tickets are $35 to $45. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: THE EVE PROJECT

For its return to the Kennedy Center, the dance company named after the woman widely regarded as the mother of modern dance presents a collection of new commissions inspired by the late Graham’s work plus several of her signature classics. Another celebratory nod to the 19th Amendment’s centennial, the EVE Project features new works including Untitled (Souvenir) by Pam Tanowitz and Lamentation Variations by Aszure Barton, Liz Gerring, and Michelle Dorrance, each riffing on Graham’s iconic solo of the same name. Repertory works to be presented at various performances include Graham’s Diversion of Angels, Ekstasis, and Chronicle. Thursday, March 5, through Saturday, March 7, at 8 p.m. Performances are followed by a free talk with company artists, collaborators, and creative team members. Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $25 to $69. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

RUSSIAN NATIONAL BALLET

The grand national tradition of major Russian ballet works is the bread and butter of this 50-member company, which returns to George Mason University to present four classics over the course of a weekend: Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, and Cinderella. Under the direction of legendary Bolshoi principal Elena Radchenko, the company kicks things off Friday, March 6, at 8 p.m., with its only performance at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on GMU’s Science and Technology campus. There, the troupe will bring to life Tchaikovsky’s beloved fairytale Sleeping Beauty through exquisite choreography originally created by Marius Petipa and presented in an opulent production that is touted as charming for the whole family. 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, Va. Tickets are $33 to $55. Call 703-993-7759 or visit www.hyltoncenter.org.

It’s followed on Saturday, March 7, at 8 p.m., with a one-two punch of two beautifully tragic one-act ballets — an adaptation by Radchenko set Tchaikovsky’s passionate, star-crossed Romeo and Juliet, and an adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen, a story fueled by unrequited love and obsession, featuring the work of choreographer Alberto Alonso and composer Rodion Shehedrin. The company will pair the two works of tormented love for a program full of its signature graceful and lavish style. The weekend concludes on Sunday, March 8, at 2 p.m. with Radchenko’s grand take on Cinderella, the timeless fairytale rendered with Prokofiev’s jubilant music, gorgeous scenery, and sumptuous costumes. Concert Hall in the Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax. Tickets are $34 to $56 per performance. Call 888-945-2468 or visit www.cfa.gmu.edu.

COMEDY

MICHAEL IAN BLACK

This straight comedian has joked in the past about how gay acting he’s noticed he can be. Familiar from Comedy Central’s Another Period and his commentary on VH1’s I Love The… series, not to mention his sex scene with Bradley Cooper in the 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer, Black has been an affiliated member of the LGBTQ community since birth, raised by his lesbian mother. Friday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 and 10 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 29, at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Arlington Drafthouse, 2903 Columbia Pike. Tickets are $25. Call 703-486-2345 or visit www.arlingtondrafthouse.com.

RIOT! COMEDY EVENT FEATURING MARGARET CHO

The Kennedy Center honors International Women’s Day with a star-studded night of comedy including veteran queer comic Cho, Daily Show with Trevor Noah breakout Dulcé Sloan, Sasheer Zamata of Saturday Night Live fame, Jen Kirkman of Chelsea Lately and Drunk History as well as her multiple hit Netflix stand-up specials, and Catherine Cohen, host of a weekly show at Alan Cumming’s East Village bar Club Cumming. Sunday, March 8, at 8 p.m. Concert Hall. Tickets are $29 to $69. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

SAMPSON MCCORMICK

In 2018, McCormick became the first queer comic to headline an event at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Raised in D.C., McCormick appreciates how the comedy scene overall has become more welcoming and inclusive since he started in stand-up well more than a dozen years ago. Now based in L.A., McCormick returns home with a run of weekend shows at the DC Comedy Loft. Paris Sashay opens. Thursday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 6, at 8 and 10 p.m., and Saturday, March 7, at 7:30 and 9:15 p.m. The Cellar Stage, 1523 22nd St. NW. Tickets are $20, plus two-item food/beverage minimum. Call 202-293-1887 or visit www.dccomedyloft.com.

READINGS & LECTURES

MAIRA KALMAN

An artist and illustrator whose work is frequently featured in the New Yorker, Kalman’s latest project is an illustrated edition of the Gertrude Stein’s classic book from 1933 that shed light on the life and times of her life partner, Alice B. Toklas. Full of color and Kalman’s signature sense of whimsy, the paintings, more than 60 in all, are intended to complement the text, but more importantly to add a new dimension to the work: through depictions of Stein at her desk, following visitors such as Sylvia Beach and Man Ray, and evoking “the unique modernist ferment that was 27 rue de Fleurus.” Sunday, March 8, at 5 p.m. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit www.politics-prose.com.

THE STOOP STORYTELLING SERIES: MOVERS AND SHAKERS AKA BADASS BROADS

Baltimore’s storytelling organization teams up with the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business and its affinity group Women in Business at Carey to showcase seven women touted as “Badass Broads.” Expect to hear stories about taking risks, breaking barriers, fighting oppression, and disrupting the status quo.

Wednesday, March 4, starting at 5 p.m. with complimentary appetizers, beer, and wine, with storytelling at 6 p.m., located on the 24th floor in the Legg Mason Tower in the Harbour East area of Baltimore. 100 International Dr. Tickets are $10 to $15, plus Eventbrite fees. Call 410-234-9200] or visit www.stoopstorytelling.com.

ART & EXHIBITS

ARTY QUEERS: D.C.’S LGBTQ+ ART MARKET

The DC Center for the LGBT Community offers the chance for local LGBTQ and queer-identified artists to showcase and sell their works on the second Saturday of every month, including March 7, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Prospective art buyers can expect to see original artworks in a range of media, including painting, pottery, photography, jewelry, glasswork, textiles, and clothing. Perfect time to pick up a few extra-special gifts! The DC Center, 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. Call 202-682-2245 or visit www.thedccenter.org.

LAYA MONAREZ

With several murals in the D.C. area, many of which were commissioned by the Latin American Youth Center, you’ve likely seen the work of Laya Monarez. The bisexual transgender Latinx artist, who works by day at HRC, gets the spotlight at the art gallery in the DC Center for the LGBT Community through a display of her mixed-media work revealing the influence of famous surrealists ranging from Salvador Dali to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Through February. Center Arts Gallery, 2000 14th St. NW. Call 202-682-2245 or visit www.thedccenter.org.

REPLAY AND RESHUFFLE: PAINTINGS BY KYUJIN LEE

Virginia’s McLean Project for the Arts presents an exhibition by a Korean-born, D.C.-based artist who draws on the world of fairy tales to compose paintings exploring dreams, identity, and personal transformation. Through a cast of characters including mermaids, Pinocchio, and a figurative alter-ego, Lee’s surrealist-inspired illustrations mine symbolic connotations to create narrative works full of tension, adventure, and wisdom. Through Feb. 29. Atrium Gallery in the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave., Virginia. Call 703-790-1953 or visit www.mpaart.org.

MY QUEER VALENTINE

The contemporary exhibitions space of Old Town Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center presents a new group show focused on love and relationships from the LGBTQ perspective — with a diversity in perspective as well as in style, medium, and tone. Andy Johnson, director of Gallery 102 at George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design, served as the exhibition juror, ultimately selecting 16 artists, 8 of them from Virginia or the D.C. area: Veronica Barker-Barzel, Miki Beyer, Aurele Gould, Linda Hesh, Annika Papke, Lucas J. Rougeux, Todd Stonnell, and Matt Storm. Also represented are Adam David Bencomo, Mandy Chesney, and Cat Gunn, all from Baltimore. “My Queer Valentine is as much a love letter to ourselves as it is a disclosing of longing to our community,” Johnson says in a press note about the show. To March 8. Target Gallery, 105 North Union St. Call 703-838-4565 or visit www.torpedofactory.org.

SHE WHO SEES THE UNKNOWN: AISHA QANDISHA BY MOREHSHIN ALLAHYARI

Washington Project for the Arts presents a projected digital animation from Morehshin Allahyari, an Iran-born, New York-based artist who spent two years working to create, or re-create, what she refers to as the “shape-shifting, monstrous, female, supernatural creature from mythology known as Jinn.” Through 3D modeling, 3D scanning, and storytelling, Allahyari “re-figures” this dark goddess to explore colonialism, patriarchy, and environmental degradation in the Middle East. The exhibition, curated by D.C.-based artist Jonathan Monaghan, opens with a public lecture and reading by the artist titled On Monstrosity and Re-Figuration on Thursday, Feb. 27, from 8 to 9 p.m. On display through March 28. WPA, 2124 8th St. NW. Call 202-234-7103 or visit www.wpadc.org.

WORKING WITH THE MUSE: STUDIO ART QUILT ASSOCIATES

More than 3,400 artists, teachers, and quilt-making enthusiasts are members of the Studio Art Quilt Associates, which is dedicated to the production and evolution of contemporary quilt design. A display of member artists’ work will hang in the Mansion at Strathmore, showcasing the craftsmanship of each quilt, many of which incorporate hand-dyed fabrics and surface designs. Opens Saturday, Feb. 29, with a reception set for Thursday, March 5, starting at 7 p.m. The exhibition will be up through April 19. The Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

ATLAS INTERSECTIONS FESTIVAL 2020

Since it opened 15 years ago in a renovated former Art Deco movie palace, the Atlas Performing Arts Center has had a visible impact on its H Street Corridor neighborhood through its regular work in presenting “art that informs, educates, enlightens, and inspires,” as the institution’s executive director Doug Yeuell puts it. That is also essentially the goal of Intersections, a festival that aims to showcase art that makes “a difference in our society, culture and world.” The 11th annual festival, which runs to March 1, offers over 50 performances from artists ranging from musicians to filmmakers, dancers to speakers. 1333 H St. NE. Individual ticket prices vary. Call 202-399-7993 or visit www.atlasarts.org/intersections for a full schedule and details.

KLEZMER BRUNCH WITH SETH KIBEL

The Washington Jewish Music Festival reprises its popular bi-monthly event of klezmer music and a kosher buffet at the newly renovated Edlavitch Jewish Community Center on 16th Street. Seth Kibel and fellow musicians perform new arrangements of traditional Eastern European/Jewish melodies as well as original songs drawing upon jazz, classical, world beat, rock and other genres for an entertaining blend of music. Sunday, March 1, at 11 a.m. Community Hall at 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $15 for the concert only, $30 for concert and brunch, or $35 for Mimosa brunch and concert. Call 202-777-3247 or visit www.jxjdc.org.

THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW

Rayceen Pendarvis launches the ninth season of his free monthly community-focused variety show with performances by R&B duo KiDé and burlesque act Ganja Kitty, as well as a smattering of guest interviews by Pendarvis. The evening will also present the debut of the show’s new announcer Krylios. The evening begins with music by DJ MIM with vendors, artwork displays, and free catered food (while it lasts). Wednesday, March 4. Reception at 6 p.m. HRC Equality Center, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Free. Visit www.AskRayceen.com.

TRIXIE MATTEL: GROWN UP

The veteran of RuPaul’s Drag Race and winner of the show’s third season of All Stars, Trixie Mattel returns to D.C. to promote her third album, Barbara. For the occasion, she’ll be backed by a live band for the first time. Sunday, March 1. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $39.50. Call 202-888-0050 or visit www.thelincolndc.com.