Weekly Arts Round Up, May 6, 2021


This weekend, PostClassical Ensemble will present two outdoor performances of Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale” in Flint Hill, Virginia. As part of the Smithsonian’s phased re-emergence, the Renwick Gallery will reopen on May 14 with “Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020.”

Round House Theatre: On-Demand Show

“Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up” by Lucy Alibar is being streamed on demand by Round House Theatre through May 30. Directed by Artistic Director Ryan Rilette, the show — a series of heartfelt and irreverent vignettes performed by Beth Hylton — is a one-woman love letter to family, the South and the belief that even death-row inmates deserve a defender. Digital access is $32.50.

Phillips Collection: Virtual Workshop

In partnership with Gateway Media Arts Lab in Mount Rainier, Maryland, the Phillips Collection will present a virtual workshop, “Your Inner Doll: Honoring Our Mothers and Our Ancestors,” on May 8 from noon to 12:30 p.m. Sherri Roberts Lumpkin, founder and executive director of the Ragbaby Exchange, will lead participants aged 16 and over in a process of self-discovery, creating a doll in their own image using fabric, glue, stuffing and beads. Admission is pay-what-you-wish. Those registering will need to schedule pickup (recommended) or delivery of a materials kit.

NMAAHC: Online Conversation, Reopening

College of William & Mary anthropologists Michael Blakey and Joseph Jones and cultural projects consultant Peggy King Jorde will take part in a free online conversation, “The African Burial Grounds 30 Years Later: Impacts on Black Cemeteries,” on May 8 from noon to 1:30 p.m. The three will look back at how the creation of the African Burial Ground National Monument in Lower Manhattan, a project on which they worked, changed what we know about slavery in the North and how we engage with descendant communities, also discussing the current understanding of what can be learned from Black cemeteries. The presenter of the event, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1400 Constitution Ave. NW, will reopen to the public on May 14.

Atlas Performing Arts Center: Virtual ‘Wrap Party’

On May 8 at 6:30 p.m., the Atlas Performing Arts Center’s free virtual wrap party will feature SiriusXM Radio Host Laura Coates and artists from the Atlas Arts On Air Performance Series, who will share their creative process and insights. Ticket holders will receive a promo code to receive up to $35 off an Uber Eats order (does not apply to taxes and fees) placed between 5 and 11:59 p.m. that evening from one of several participating H Street NE restaurants, including Cane (Caribbean), Maketto (Cambodian and Taiwanese) and Thamee (Burmese).

PostClassical Ensemble: In-Person Concerts

Music Director Angel Gil-Ordóñez will conduct PostClassical Ensemble in two outdoor concerts — with attendees bringing blankets, lawn chairs, picnic items and coolers — at Stone Hill Theatrical Foundation, 40 Spring Wish Lane in Flint Hill, Virginia, on May 8 at 6:30 p.m. and May 9 at 3 p.m. On the program are: an adaptation by Executive Producer Joseph Horowitz of Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale,” featuring actor Edward Gero and bass trombonist David Taylor; Daniel Schnyder’s “Two Duos for Saxophone and Bass Trombone,” performed by Schnyder and Taylor; and Schnyder’s “Berlin Suite 1920.” Tickets are $20.

National Philharmonic: Streamed Concert

“In Memoriam,” the next in the National Philharmonic’s season of free online concerts originating from Strathmore, will be streamed on May 9 at 2 p.m. Music Director Piotr Gajewski will conduct Adolphus Hailstork’s “Essay for Strings,” Janice Hamer’s “For the Uprooted” and Richard Strauss’s piece from the closing months of World War II, “Metamorphosen, Study for 23 Solo Strings.” The concert is meant to offer those who mourn the missing an opportunity to celebrate them through classical music.

Folger Shakespeare Library: Virtual Reading

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, who recently published “Whale Day: And Other Poems,” will be this year’s Folger Poetry Board reader, sharing selections from his own work and some of his favorite poems by others, on May 10 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. This virtual reading is free, but registration is required. The program began 30 years ago with a reading by Seamus Heaney, in later years featuring such poets as Octavio Paz and Rita Dove.

Classical Movements: In-Person Concerts

On May 13 at 5:30 and 7 p.m., Classical Movements will present “Bolero, Barcarola and Bomba,” a pair of socially distanced in-person concerts in its Sounds of Hope & Harmony series in the Secret Garden at the Rectory, 711 Princess St. in Alexandria, Virginia. Puerto Rican conductor Diana Sáez will lead performances of choral repertoire by Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández, Venezuelan composer Inocente Carreño, Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla and others. Tickets are $42.

Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum: Reopening

The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which share the renovated Old Patent Office Building at 8th and F Streets NW, will reopen to the public on May 14. Hours will be Wednesday to Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission will be by free timed-entry pass reserved in advance, with masks required for visitors aged 2 and older. Back on view at SAAM: “Alexander von Humboldt and the United States” (through July 11) and “¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now” (through Aug. 8). On view at the Portrait Gallery: “Recent Acquisitions: Gifts from the Corcoran Gallery of Art.”

Renwick Gallery: Reopening

The Renwick Gallery, at Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street NW, the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s branch for contemporary craft and decorative arts, will reopen to the public on May 14. Hours will be Wednesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission will be by free timed-entry pass reserved in advance (starting on May 7 at 12:30 p.m.), with masks required for visitors aged 2 and older. “Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020” will be on view through Aug. 15.

National Gallery of Art: West Building Reopening

Also reopening on May 14, the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, on Constitution Avenue between 4th and 7th Streets NW. Admission will be by free timed-entry pass reserved in advance (starting on May 10 at 10 a.m.), with masks required for visitors aged 2 and older. Passes are not required to visit the adjacent sculpture garden, between 7th and 9th Streets NW, open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum’s East Building is “coming soon.”

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