Weekly Arts Round Up, May 13, 2021


In and around Georgetown this weekend: a “makers market” at Dumbarton House on Saturday and live jazz at Glover Park Grill on Sunday. Starting May 21, you can visit Xiao Qi Ji, the National Zoo’s “Little Miracle,” in panda (so to speak).

Signature Theatre: On-Demand Musical

Signature Theatre is making “Midnight at the Never Get,” an Off-Broadway hit in 2018, available for on-demand streaming through June 21. Set in Greenwich Village in 1965, the show — conceived by Sam Bolen, Max Friedman and Mark Sonnenblick with book, lyrics and music by Sonnenblick — follows cabaret crooner Trevor (Sam Bolen) and his songwriter and love interest Arthur (Christian Douglas) as they create an act in the back room of the Never Get, an illegal gay bar. The production is directed by Matthew Gardiner with music direction by Angie Benson. Tickets are $35.

Dumbarton House: Makers Market

On May 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Dumbarton House, at 2715 Q St. NW in Georgetown, will hold a Spring Makers Market on the grounds of the museum. Vendors will include: iconsDC, Lita+Ro, Mayapple Soaps, the Wellness Apothecary, Black Vinegar Collection, T&U Mongolian Cashmere, Karen La Du Art, Elly Jane Collective, Inner Loop Coffee Roasters, Monat, Flip Flop Caravan and Gallery from Mars. Capacity is limited, masks are required and social distancing will be enforced. Admission is free but advance registration is required.

Glover Park Grill: Live Jazz

Michael Schlow’s Glover Park Grill, located in the Glover Park Hotel at 2505 Wisconsin Ave. NW, will launch a Jazz on the Terrace series on May 16. A duo led by drummer Joey Antico will offer fresh takes on jazz, pop and hip hop tunes, along with originals, from 5 to 8 p.m. on the newly renovated outdoor patio. Featured bottles of wine will be available at half price. The series will continue on Sunday evenings all summer long.

Politics and Prose: Online Conversation

On May 18 at 6 p.m., Politics and Prose bookstore will host an online conversation between author and NBC News Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss and three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig about her new book, “Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service.” The book details how, by Barack Obama’s presidency, the once-proud Secret Service was beset by mistakes and lapses in judgment. Then, following the inauguration of Donald Trump, promised reforms were cast aside and the agency was used for political and personal gain. Admission is free. Click HERE to purchase the book.

Tudor Place: Online Talk

Tudor Place will present “Jockeying for Position: Horseracing Among the Early Washington Elite,” a free online talk by Curator Rob DeHart and historian Lindsey Apple, Ph.D., professor emeritus of history at Georgetown College in Kentucky, on May 18 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Among the topics to be discussed: correspondence between Tudor Place’s Thomas Peter and Secretary of State Henry Clay of Kentucky about the sale of a prized racehorse.

Smithsonian Associates: Online Class

On May 19 from 10 to 11:15 a.m., Smithsonian Associates will offer an online class, “Historic Boundary Markers of the Federal District,” taught by historian Dakota Springston. Using maps and visuals, Springston will examine the northern and western boundary markers, which may be among the oldest vestiges of the Federal era in the District. At George Washington’s direction, and with great ceremony, the first of 40 stones was placed on April 5, 1791. Tickets are $30 ($25 for members).

American Indian Museum: Online Talk, Reopening

The National Museum of the American Indian will offer a free online talk, “Native American Code Talkers: A Lasting Legacy,” on May 19 at 2 p.m. Missouri State University anthropologist William C. Meadows will describe the role of Native American “code talkers” in the two world wars. A Q&A hosted by Alexandra Harris, NMAI senior editor and co-author of “Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces,” will follow. Registration is required. The museum, at Third Street and Maryland Avenue SW, will reopen on May 21. Admission will be by free timed-entry pass reserved in advance (starting May 14), with face coverings required for visitors aged 2 and older. Hours will be Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Planet Word: Online Course

Anna Shuster, digital media manager at Planet Word, the new museum of language in the historic Franklin School building, will teach a four-session course, “Poetry Cafe: Iconic American Poets,” on four Thursdays from 3 to 4 p.m. starting May 20. The course will offer close readings of the work of Maya Angelou (May 20), William Carlos Williams (June 3), Langston Hughes (June 17) and Elizabeth Bishop (July 1), four poets represented in the museum’s immersive galleries. Tuition is $40. Located at 925 13th St. NW (enter on K Street), Planet Word is open Thursday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Solas Nua: In-Person Play

The first in-person production in more than a year by Irish contemporary arts organization Solas Nua will be “In the Middle of the Fields” by Deirdre Kinahan, running from May 20 to June 12. Directed by Laley Lippard, the play centers on Eithne (Jessica Lefkow), who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Stepping out of her house and into the nearby fields, she wonders what her life will be like on the other side of recovery. Performances for socially distanced audiences will take place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. in the P Street Beach park, 1414 22nd St. NW. Tickets are free with a Solas Nua Summer Theatre Membership ($55), available HERE.

American History Museum: Reopening

The National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW, will reopen on May 21. Admission will be by free timed-entry pass reserved in advance (starting May 14 at 12:30 p.m.), with face coverings required for visitors aged 2 and older. Hours will be Friday to Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Among the exhibitions returning to view are two commemorating the centennial of woman suffrage: “Creating Icons” and “Girlhood (It’s complicated).”

National Zoo: Reopening

Also reopening on May 21, with free timed-entry passes available starting May 14, will be the National Zoo, located at 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW. Hours are to be announced. A separate timed-entry pass is required for the Asia Trail, the home of the still very small giant panda Xiao Qi Ji, often asleep, who will turn nine months old on reopening day. Asia Trail passes will be released daily, throughout the day, on site. Note: Visitors planning to park at the zoo must pay for parking ($30) in advance.

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