Editor’s Picks: In Series’ Women Composers, The Wild Bunch, Dead Kennedys, and more!

THE WILD BUNCH (DIRECTOR’S CUT)

Upon its release in 1969, Sam Peckinpah’s revisionist western disturbed viewers and critics alike for its graphic violence (tame by today’s standards). Starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, and Warren Oates, The Wild Bunch has gone on to earn recognition by the Library of Congress’ U.S. National Film Registry, the American Film Institute’s 1998 list, “100 Years…100 Movies” (where it ranked No. 80), and “AFI’s 10 Top 10: Western” list (No. 6). Landmark’s West End Cinema presents three screenings of the 1995 re-release that restored 10 minutes, filling in gaps from the original American theatrical version. Wednesday, March 11, 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.

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.

DEAD KENNEDYS

It’s been 42 years since one of the first and certainly one of the defining hardcore punk bands formed in San Francisco. Last year, the Dead Kennedys released the live compilation album DK40, which they continue to support on tour. Opening sets from Canadian hardcore act D.O.A. and Maryland’s “poop punk” veterans in Dingleberry Dynasty. Wednesday, March 11. Doors at 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. Tickets are $30. Call 202-265-0930 or visit www.930.com.

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 leads the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. In Italian with English surtitles. To March 22. Opera House. Tickets are $45 to $299. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

FRANK SOLIVAN & DIRTY KITCHEN

Increasingly regarded as one of the genre’s best contemporary bands, the local progressive bluegrass act — or, if you prefer, New Acoustic American Roots Music — earned a Grammy nomination for its 2015 album Cold Spell. Solivan and his Dirty Kitchen crew of banjoist Mike Munford, guitarist Chris Luquette, and bassist Jeremy Middleton next take to Falls Church’s State Theatre for what is billed as “a very special show on Frank Solivan’s birthday weekend.” Pierce Edens and the 19th Street Band will serve as opening acts. Sunday, March 8. Doors at 6 p.m. 220 North Washington St., Falls Church. Tickets are $17 to $20. Call 703-237-0300 or visit www.thestatetheatre.com.

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 IN SERIES: WOMEN COMPOSERS FESTIVAL

With a full weekend of performances, the Women Composers Festival showcases the work of women across various genres, from popular song to spoken word. Yet, opera is at the heart of the festival, with new stagings of two operas. Ana y Su Sombra, Gabriela Ortiz’s tells of a young girl conflicted about her family’s move from Mexico to the U.S. It plays Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8, at 3 p.m. Here Be Sirens is Kate Soper’s take on the three mythical singers of Homer’s Odyssey as they search for the meaning of their own existence. It plays Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8, at 7 p.m. The festival launches with a Gala Concert, featuring excerpts from women-written operas performed by four female singers, on Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m. The festival also offers two themed cabarets: “Dorothy Fields,” a toast to the American lyricist and her standards, including “The Way You Look Tonight,” “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” and “On The Sunny Side of the Street,” performed by Jennifer Timberlake with pianist Reenie Codelka (Friday, March 6, 9:30 p.m.), and “Love Songs,” an experimental, interactive hour-long work by Canadian/Serbian composer Ana Sokolovic, performed by Maribeth Diggle and beatbox artist Shodekeh (Saturday, March 7, at 9:30 p.m.) At GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. Tickets are $25 per program, or $80 for a Festival Pass. Call 202-234-7174 or visit www.inseries.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. Under the direction of legendary Bolshoi principal Elena Radchenko, the company kicks things off Friday, March 6, at 8 p.m., with Tchaikovsky’s beloved fairytale Sleeping Beauty through exquisite choreography originally created by Marius Petipa and presented in an opulent production. At the Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle, in 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 two beautifully tragic one-act ballets — Tchaikovsky’s passionate, star-crossed Romeo and Juliet (choreographed by Radchenko), and an adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen, featuring the work of choreographer Alberto Alonso and composer Rodion Shehedrin. The weekend concludes on Sunday, March 8, at 2 p.m. with Radchenko’s grand take on Prokofiev’s Cinderella. 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.

FANTASTIC FUNGI

Louie Schwartzberg’s entertaining documentary shines a light on the many ways mycelium and mushrooms can heal and save the planet, as responses to pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges. Narrated by actress Brie Larson, the film features insights and observations from bestselling authors and journalists Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eugenia Bone (Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms), medicinal fungi advocate Paul Stramets, and best-selling author and alternative medicine doctor Andrew Weil (Spontaneous Healing). Wednesday March 11, at 8 p.m., followed by post-screening Q&A with Stephen Apkon, an executive producer of the film. At the Avalon Theatre, 5612 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $10.50 to $13. Call 202-966-6000 or visit www.theavalon.org.

BERNARD/EBB SONGWRITING AWARDS CONCERT

Some of the area’s best and most original music artists will perform at this 6th annual competition created by Cathy Bernard in honor of her late uncle Fred Ebb, the legendary lyricist responsible, with his writing partner John Kander, for an abundance of major Broadway musicals, including Cabaret and Chicago. The Bernard/Ebb trophy is open to songwriters working in various genres, all drawn from a local pool of applicants (more than 160 entries were received this year). Produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, the 2020 finalists are Hayley Fahey of Derwood, Md., Genna Matthew of Charlottesville, Eric Scott of North Beach, Md., Maimouna Youssef of Baltimore, and DuPont Brass, a D.C. ensemble. A three-person jury of music industry veterans will give feedback throughout the show and then select the Grand Prize Winner and recipient of $10,000 plus 25 hours of recording studio time. Friday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, 7719 Wisconsin Ave. Tickets are $15 to $20, plus a recommended $20 minimum purchase per person. Call 301-215-6660 or visit www.bethesda.org

HILL CENTER GALLERIES: REGIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION

Over the years, this exhibition, featuring works in various mediums and subjects, has grown to include 85 artists from D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. This year’s juror is Myrtis Bedolla, owner of Baltimore’s Galerie Myrtis. Bedolla selected 94 pieces of original hanging work, in any medium, submitted by 85 artists, including Kasse Andrews-Weller, Olga Bauer, Katherine Becker, Julie Byrne, Sally Canzoneri, Sam Dixon, Sean Dudley, Christopher Fowler, Charles Gaynor, M. Alexander Gray, Tara Hamilton, Wan Lee, Joey Manlapaz,Khanh Nguyen, Felicia Reed, Robert Weinstein, and Alla Zareva. On display to April 18. At the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Call 202-549-4172 or visit www.HillCenterDC.org.