I have been fighting the Catholic Church since I first argued with a nun at St. Catherine Labouré Elementary School in 1962. I don't recall being smacked with a ruler, but Sister Mary Margaret gave intimidating glares.

I remembered her, and the scorn of the parish's Monsignor W. Joyce Russell toward liberal priests during 1968's uproar over the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae, when I helped win D.C. marriage equality over objections by the Archdiocese of Washington several decades later. The Archdiocese wanted various exemptions enabling them, for example, to receive government contracts for adoption services while turning away gay couples. They lost. They then withdrew from public adoption services and were replaced by another contractor.

Those past battles came to mind last week with the news that Mark Zmuda, the vice principal fired last year from a Seattle-area Catholic school after marrying his same-sex partner, has filed an employment-discrimination lawsuit against the school and the Seattle Archdiocese.

Zmuda is unlikely to win his case. The U.S. Supreme court unanimously upheld the "ministerial exception" to nondiscrimination laws in its 2012 decision in Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Chief Justice Roberts cited a string of rulings going back to 1872.

Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain has a constitutional right to impose Catholic teachings in church-run schools. I disagree with those teachings, but I also respect and cherish the First Amendment. It does not, in my view, give a baker or a photographer the right to refuse service to a customer (this is being litigated), but it does protect a church in its core religious functions. That does not mean the church is entitled to discriminate using public funds.

President Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists in 1802 that the First Amendment built "a wall of separation between Church & State." That wall has taken a battering in the ensuing centuries, yet it persists, and it protects those on both sides.

Leah Ward Sears and David Blankenhorn write in Time, "Does any religious conviction justify denying lesbians and gays a basic legal promise of non-discrimination in hiring, public accommodations, and housing? Surely the answer to this question is no." Blankenhorn was a witness for the anti-gay side in the Proposition 8 trial. He has had a change of heart, and now supports civil marriage equality.

Our fight is not over, but we are winning. The fact that our opponents overreach by seeking to extend faith-based discrimination into the public square with conscience clauses and the like does not mean that we should reciprocate by telling religious organizations whom they can and cannot fire.

Neither need we be silent. Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, writes of those who fired Zmuda, "Though they may have had a legal right to fire Zmuda, did they stop to think what lesson they would be sending to students with such an action?" The outspoken defense of Zmuda by his former students is the latest example of Catholic laity heeding their well-formed consciences over the knee-jerk dictates of bishops.

People of faith, from high school students to dissident clergy, are waging the fight for gay-affirming policies from within their denominations. That is where that part of the fight should be waged. "Gays Not Welcome" signs should no more be allowed in shop windows than "Blacks Not Welcome" signs; on the other hand, "All Are Welcome" signs outside houses of worship must be placed there by the religious groups themselves, not imposed by the state. I have the Constitution and the ACLU on my side, and if you fight us on this point we will win. Holler all you want. The First Amendment is a sturdy thing.

Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist. He can be reached at rrosendall@starpower.net.

''Bach is my favorite composer, hands down,'' Chase Maggiano says, when asked what he listens to in his spare time. But in addition to baroque Bach and Tchaikovksy, his favorite Romantic, Maggiano cops to more current sounds. ''I also like Top 40,'' he says. ''It's fun, and that's what music should be, right?''

Chase Maggiano

(Photo by Todd Franson)

Maggiano is executive director of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, so it would be unusual if he didn't like pop music. ''Yeah, our chorus can get away with doing the fun, poppy stuff,'' he says, adding that his pitch when reaching out to other local, classically minded arts organizations, exploring future collaborations, is, ''Come let your hair down with us.''

Oftentimes, the best way to let your hair down with the Gay Men's Chorus is by donning a wig. For example, take Maggiano's description of this weekend's chorus offering, Von Trapped.

''Think of the Mother Abbess in drag, or a six-foot Gretl,'' he suggests. ''It's a hilarious, smart, gay parody of The Sound of Music. We're back to our campy roots.''

Leading a gay arts organization isn't exactly the career path Maggiano thought he might pursue. As a teenager in Vienna, Va., he traveled to Germany, Brazil and Argentina playing violin with a small local orchestra. But Maggiano -- who, incidentally, is not related to the American-Italian restaurant of the same name -- opted for a career outside of the arts. ''I didn't want to make my bread and butter doing something that I loved so much,'' he says. ''So I just decided in high school to leave music as an avocation.''

Chase Maggiano

(Photo by Todd Franson)

But after a few years post-college working in Virginia's high-tech field, Maggiano got the arts itch. He spent a couple years exploring, including a gig in the pit orchestra for a national tour of South Pacific. Eventually, he decided arts management would be a good fit. Now 30, Maggiano came to the chorus after a stint fundraising and managing programs for the Washington Performing Arts Society.

When asked if he enjoys fundraising, Maggiano responds vividly. ''If there's something I'm passionate about, like music and equality, then I'll spill my blood on the floor for it.'' He'll also apparently devote every fiber of his being to it, at least at the start. ''Let's just say I'm married to my job. It's a very busy year.''

Only six months into his first year, Maggiano is certainly fired up by the chorus's prospects. GMCW is one of the largest choruses by size in D.C., widely regarded as the choral capital of the country. And the 33-year-old organization is also one of the largest and most successful choruses in the national gay choral movement. Much of the chorus's success can be attributed to Jeff Buhrman, who will step down after 14 seasons as GMCW's artistic director. A search for Buhrman's replacement is in its beginning stages.

Once a new artistic director has been selected, Maggiano intends to build on the chorus's strong track record -- in part by working with more arts groups, and performing at more venues, around Washington.

''I want to actually share directors and share repertoire and share stages,'' he says, rattling off a few of his bold ideas. ''To kind of come together as a whole city to say, 'We're all here to sing in support of equality for everybody.' We can't do that sitting alone in isolation on stage. We really need to reach into other communities.''

Chase Maggiano

For the record, Maggiano doesn't sing himself. ''I studied voice in college, and I know what to listen for,'' he explains. ''My instrument's just not very good.''

He's better suited to championing those with better instruments. And championing the chorus is something he seems to relish, even down to every last concert, such as the final offering this season, A Gay Man's Guide to Broadway. This May show-tunes revue finds the chorus performing at the Kennedy Center and with a special guest, Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti.

But in many ways it's conceived as a toast to the departing artistic director Jeff Buhrman. Says Maggiano, ''This concert is really his baby. It's an opportunity to really celebrate Jeff and his great work with the chorus.''

The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington performs Friday, March 14, and Saturday, March 15, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, March 16, at 3 p.m. Lisner Auditorium, The George Washington University, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets are $59. Call 202-293-1548 or visit lisner.org or gmcw.org.

You may know John Waters best as a wacky, beloved Baltimore filmmaker, but these days he's spending more time on the standup circuit -- which is why you'll find him in this, Metro Weekly's et cetera arts category. Waters, who appears at The Birchmere in May, is in good company this season: Lily Tomlin at Strathmore, Lewis Black at the Warner and Loni Love at the DC Improv are just three of our favorites. But it's not all fun and games in "Above and Beyond," which includes lectures, cooking demonstrations, even off-the-beaten-runway drag shows. From several discussions about serious global issues at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Center, to a book signing with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone at Sixth and I, to storytelling event after storytelling event, you'll find all the live talk and action you could possibly want this side of Baltimore, Hon.

You may know John Waters best as a wacky, beloved Baltimore filmmaker, but these days he's spending more time on the standup circuit -- which is why you'll find him in this, Metro Weekly's et cetera arts category. Waters, who appears at The Birchmere in May, is in good company this season: Lily Tomlin at Strathmore, Lewis Black at the Warner and Loni Love at the DC Improv are just three of our favorites. But it's not all fun and games in "Above and Beyond," which includes lectures, cooking demonstrations, even off-the-beaten-runway drag shows. From several discussions about serious global issues at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Center, to a book signing with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone at Sixth and I, to storytelling event after storytelling event, you'll find all the live talk and action you could possibly want this side of Baltimore, Hon.

THE ALDEN

McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. McLean, Va. 703-790-0123 aldentheatre.org

· Code 20: Proceed To Improv - A free monthly coffeehouse-style night of improve and open mike (4/10, 5/8) · Midday Movie Musicals: The Producers - Free screenings of the Alden staff's favorite movie musicals (4/16) · Charlie Chaplin 125th Birthday Celebration (4/16) ·  Midday Movie Musicals: Meet Me In St. Louis - Free screenings of the Alden staff's favorite movie musicals (5/28)

ARLINGTON CINEMA N' DRAFTHOUSE

2903 Columbia Pike Arlington 703-486-2345 arlingtondrafthouse.com

· ThreeGuysOn presents The Final Draft -- Hosts of popular podcast present this comedy show every Friday night ·  Porkchop Volcano -- This short-form improv troupe offers a show of rapid-fire laughs based on audience suggestions (3/15, 3/29) ·  Open Mic Stand-Up Comedy -- Every Saturday night in the Green Room ·  Cool Cow Comedy Showcase -- Every Thursday night in the Green Room · Randolph Terrance (3/21-22) ·  Rachel Bloom - Named a comic to watch by both Time Out LA and Backstagemagazine (3/21-22) · Comedian Mitch Fatel Live (3/28-29)

BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

1645 Trap Road Vienna 703-255-1900 wolf-trap.org

· The Second City - Happily Ever Laughter(4/18-19) · 27th Annual Evening of Comedy -- Murray "The Unknown Comic" Langston, Brett Leake and Dave Goldstein are part of this year's lineup (5/2-3)

BLACK CAT

1811 14th St. NW 202-667-4490 blackcatdc.com

· Dr. Who Happy Hour -- One free episode of Dr. Who and drink specials (3/14, and every Friday) · And I Am Not Lying - A night of storytelling, comedy and burlesque. (3/15) · Breadcrumb Trail - A Slint Documentary screening followed by a Q&A with director Lance Bangs (3/16) · Cabin Fever Burlesque(3/21) · Gay/Bash! - A queer night of rock & pop gems w/DJs Joshua and Dean (3/22) · Joe Mande -#Bitchface Mini World Tour (3/25) · Awesome Con-Cert! - Andrew W.K. offers a solo set at a show from D.C.'s comic-con, also featuring Adam Warrock and Rare Candy (4/19)

BLACK FOX LOUNGE

1723 Connecti cut Ave. NW blackfoxlounge.com

· La-Ti-Do -- Regie Cabico and Don Mike Mendoza host this spoken word & musical theater show every Monday night (3/17) ·  The Academy of Washington -- A night of drag in the lounge (5/18)

THE BIRCHMERE

3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria 703-549-7500 birchmere.com

· Kathleen Madigan - Madigan Again: The comedian makes her annual stop at the Birchmere (3/21, 3/23) · John Hodgman - "I Stole Your Dad" is the latest standup show by this droll comic and The Daily Showalum (5/15) · John Waters - The famous Baltimore filmmaker offers a night of his "This Filthy World" standup (5/16)

BUSBOYS AND POETS

2021 14th St. NW 202-387-POET busboysandpoets.com

· Sunday Kind of Love Open Mic Poetry -- Featuring emerging and established poets in an open-mike segment · Tuesday Night Open Mic Poetry -- Wide-ranging topics and speakers for two hours every Tuesday, hosted by Pages Matam · SPARKLE Queer Open Mic -- Queer-friendly, queer-focused reading series the first Sunday of the month, hosted by Regie Cabico and Danielle Evennou (4/6)

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

University of Maryland College Park 301-405-ARTS claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

· Anthony Romero -- One of Time's "Most Influential Hispanics in America," the gay Romero, head of the American Civil Liberties Union, stops by for a talk as part of the Arts & Humanities Dean's Lecture Series (4/16) · Creative Dialogue: Fast Food, Slow Food and Food Justice: Global Policies Creating Global Hunger - WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi hosts a panel discussion about both the local and global issues surrounding public policy and food (4/21) · Creative Dialogue: Homer's Iliad: An Anti-War Manifesto?- Could the oldest surviving work of European literature be considered anti-war? That's the focus of this discussion moderated by WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi and including actor Denis O'Hare, who stars in a production of the one-man show at the Clarice Smith Center (5/1)

DAR CONSTITUTION HALL

1776 D St. NW 202-628-1776 dar.org/conthall/

· Capital Comedy Festival - Bruce Bruce, Earthquake, Dominique, Arnez J and Gary Owen appear (3/15)

DC IMPROV

1140 Connecticut Ave. NW 202-296-7008 dcimprov.com

· Flip Orley -- Billed as America's premier comic hypnotist (3/13-17) · Pablo Francisco (3/20-23) ·  DC Improv Comedy School Comics -- A night of improv comedy starring the house-grown troupe (3/21) · John Heffron (3/27-30) · Judah Friedlander (4/3-6) · Kyle Kinane (4/10-13) ·  Dean Edwards (4/17-19) · Bill Bellamy (4/24-26) · Russell Howard (5/1) · Kevin Nealon (5/2-4) · Frank Caliendo (5/8-10) · Aaron Karo (5/14) · Aries Spears (5/15-18) · Kevin Pollak (5/23-25) · Michael McDonald (5/30-6/1) · Loni Love - The gay favorite full-figured comedian, one of the best regulars on Chelsea Lately(6/13-15) ·  Mick Foley (6/19) ·  Steve Rannazzisi (6/20-22) · Bobby Slayton (6/26-29) · John Witherspoon (7/10-13) · Jack Johannsen (8/7-10) · Dan Cummins (8/28-31) LaVell Crawford -Probably the biggest (literally) funny man in the business (9/5-7)

FILMFEST DC

The Washington, DC International Film Festival 202-274-5782 filmfestdc.org

Filmfest DC is back for a 28th year -- though also probably its final, according to recent press. The program, still to be fully announced, will include 80 features, documentaries and shorts from all over the world (4/17-27, various venues)

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

201 East Capitol St. SE 202-544-7077 folger.edu

· The Voice of Women in American Poetry: Hailey Leithauser and Shara McCallum - Poets reflect on the poetry of Marianne Moore and Elizabeth Alexander as well as read from their own works (3/24) · Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture 2014: Brian Cummings -- University of York professor discusses the problem of writing the biography of Shakespeare (4/3) · Shakespeare's Birthday Open House -- Jugglers, jesters, musicians and actors all re-create the time and stories of Shakespeare for this party, complete with a birthday cake and tour of the reading rooms (4/6) · The Literary Legacy of Seamus Heaney - Folger pays tribute to the man once called "the most important Irish poet since W.B. Yeats" a year after his passing (4/7) · The 34th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Ceremony -- America's largest peer-juried literary prize (5/4) · James Shapiro - A reading and reception for new bookShakespeare in America: An Anthology from the Revolution to Now (5/12)

FORD'S THEATRE

511 10th St. NW 202-397-7328 ticketmaster.com

· History on Foot Walking Tour -- "Investigation: Detective McDevitt" follows a detective investigating the Lincoln assassination (Runs through October)

HILL CENTER

Old Navy Hospital 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE 202-549-4172 HillCenterDC.org

· Mark Haskell: Hot Oven Baking: Way Beyond Pizza - A hands-on baking lesson about the Mediterranean root dishes that eventually led to the pizza (3/15) · Why Can't I Sleep? - Dr. Francisco Hoyos, medical director of the Sleep Center at Providence Hospital, is the featured speaker and presenter, including techniques for getting a good night's sleep (3/17) · Talk of the Hill with Bill Press: Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen - Authors of HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton (3/20) · Documentary Fridays: Cowboys & Outlaws - The Real Billy The Kid - Featuring a post-screening discussion and Q&A with director Pip Gilmour (4/11) · Stephen Grant and John Andrews: Collecting Shakespeare: The Story of Henry and Emily Folger - A signing and conversation about the first biography of the Folgers (4/13) · The Life of a Poet: Edward Hirsch - The Washington Post's Ron Charles moderates a discussion with this poet, who's also president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in New York (4/23) · Rebecca Mead: My Life in Middlemarch - The Atlantic'sHanna Rosin moderates this discussion with New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead about her new book (4/25) · Historic Cooking and Baking with Amanda Moniz: Presidential Parties - This professional historian and former pastry chef offers a hands-on history class about First Family foods (4/26, 4/30) ·  John R. Wennersten: The Historic Waterfront of Washington, D.C. - A discussion and signing of this new book (4/29) · Film Screening: The New Black - Co-presented by ITVS Community Cinema, this documentary tells the story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of marriage equality and the fight over civil rights (5/20) ·  Urban Foraging: Finding Wild Food in Your Own Backyard - Traditional Foodways' Bill Schindler offers foraging treks around Capitol Hill and a cooking class (6/7)

THE HOWARD THEATRE

620 T St. NW 202-588-5595 thehowardtheatre.com

· Funny-In-Stilettos: A Diverse All-Female Comedy Tour -- Cocoa Brown, Shep Kelly, Dana Fleitman and Ayanna Dookie perform on this tour presented by Queen Aishah (3/19) · Paul Mooney (5/8)

LYRIC OPERA HOUSE

140 West Mount Royal Ave. Baltimore 410-547-SEAT lyricoperahouse.com

· Mike Birbiglia - A night of standup from this veteran, still basking in the glow from 2012's Sleepwalk With Me, the film adaptation of his one-man show that was a hit at Sundance (4/4) · Jean Robertson - Speaker heard daily on Sirius/XM Radio's Family Comedy Channels (4/6) · Scooby Doo! Live Musical Mysteries (4/12) · Sommore - The first female host of BET's Comicview performs on her hopefully named Standing Ovation Tour (5/10) ·  The Tenderloins - The truTV Impractical Jokers Tour offers interactive comedy and improv, plus never-before-seen videos inspired by the hit TV show (6/13) · Kathleen Madigan - Longtime comedian tours in support of Madigan Again, which iTunes named one of the Best Comedy Albums of 2013 (7/10)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE!

Grosvenor Auditorium NGS Headquarters 1600 M St. NW 202-857-7700 nglive.org

· Where The Wild Things Live - Photographer Vincent J. Musi shares his forays into the world of pets, from common to rare (3/14) · St. Patrick's Day Concert - The band Runa offers a mix of traditional and contemporary Celtic sounds (3/17) · Vanished: The Search for Michael Rockefeller - Carl Hoffman reveals the truth behind Rockefeller's 1961 disappearance in his book Savage Harvest (3/19) · FameLab: Exploring Earth and Beyond - National Geographic Explorer and cave diver Kenny Broad is your host as aspiring young scientists compete to become science's next star (4/5) · Jet Set Pets with Kelly E. Carter -- A cocktail event featuring the author discussing traveling with canines in conversation with Gary Weitzman of WAMU's Animal House (4/9)

RAM'S HEAD ON STAGE

33 West St. Annapolis 410-268-4545 ramsheadonstage.com

· Rita Rudner - Gentle-voiced comedian who can shock like the brassiest and toughest gals around (3/21)

SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE

600 I St. NW 202-408-3100 sixthandi.org

· Daniel Jones - Love Illuminated: Exploring Life's Most Mystifying Subject - With the Help of 50,000 Strangersfeatures observations from the editor of The New York Times' "Modern Love" column (3/20) · Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd - authors of Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran (3/24) · Todd Barry- Comedian and actor known for his decidedly low-key stage persona (5/8) · Biz Stone - The co-founder of Twitter shares stories on the power of creativity in Things A Little Bird Told Me: Confessions of A Creative Mind (4/2) · Carla Hall - D.C. native and co-host of ABC's The Chew and former Top Chefcontestant talks about the international flavors of comfort food in her latest cookbook (4/7) · Barbara Ehrenreich - Nickel and Dimed author offers reflections in her latest, Living with a Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search for the Truth about Everything (4/10) · James and Deborah Fallows (4/16) ·  Mark Leibovich (4/30)

SPEAKEASYDC

240-888-9751 speakeasydc.com

Local, non-competitive storytelling powerhouse, with upcoming shows: 

· Tales of the Unleavened - Passover-themed stories (3/30, Tikvat Israel Synagogue, Rockville) · Cats Out of the Bag - Stories about slips of the tongue, spilling the beans and gossip (4/8, Town Danceboutique) · After-School Special - A call for stories by and about educators in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week (5/7, Atlas) · Close Call - Stories about near misses and narrow escapes (5/13, Town) · Born This Way - Stories about queer culture (6/8, Human Rights Campaign Headquarters) · You Just Don't Understand - Stories about generation and gender gaps (6/10, Town) · SpeakEasyDC's Story Showdown - An interactive storytelling game show with games adapted from The Price Is Right (6/27-28, Dance Place) · Happy Accidents - Stories about unexpected outcomes (7/8, Town)

THE STATE THEATRE

220 North Washington St. Falls Church 703-237-0300 thestatetheatre.com

· $5 Comedy Night (3/15) · Gilded Lily Burlesque presents Limelight Cabaret (3/21) · Matt Kazam featuring Tim Miller and Marc Stern - A night of comedy led by Kazam, as heard on SiriusXM Radio 106.7 The Fan (4/11)

STORY LEAGUE

storyleague.org

· A competitive storytelling organization with the following upcoming shows: Story League All-Stars: Tournament 7 (3/14, U Street Music Hall) · "Sticky" Story Contest -- Storytellers will have seven minutes to tell a true, personal on the theme of "sticky" - whatever it means to the storyteller -- with judges picking a winner (3/27, Busboys & Poets) · "Saucy" Story Contest (4/16, Busboys & Poets) · "Shady" Story Contest (5/21, Busboys & Poets) · "Stinky" Story Contest (6/18, Busboys & Poets) · Story League All-Stars: Tournament 8 (6/27, U Hall)

STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda 301-581-5100 strathmore.org

· Lily Tomlin - One of America's foremost comedians returns to the area for a night of standup (3/28, Music Center) ·  Cirque Ziva - Strathmore presents this circus, offering eye-popping fun for the whole family, prior to an expected Broadway run (4/9, Music Center) · Beyond Text and Line: A Discussion on the Art of Comic Books - In conjunction with its A Shared Universe: The Art of Comic Books, Strathmore offers a panel discussion moderated by Greg McElhatton of the Small Press Expo, Wizard andiComics.com (4/27, Mansion) · Mother's Day Brunch - Treat your mother to a majestic brunch at Strathmore, if you can get tickets to this quick-to-sell-out annual tradition (5/11) · Historic Home Tour- Another quick-to-sell-out tradition is a monthly guided tour for adults illuminating the history, architecture and personal stories of the Mansion at Strathmore (6/13)

WARNER THEATRE

513 13th St. NW 202-397-SEAT warnertheatre.com

· Max Jobrani - A night of comedy from this Iranian-American actor and comedian, part of the "Axis of Evil" comedy group (3/28) · Lewis Black -- The acerbic one, best known for his "Back in Black" segment from The Daily Show, returns for another hometown string of shows on "The Rant is Due" tour (4/10-11) · Brian Regan (4/25-26) · Eddie Izzard - The British comic actor, whom John Cleese once called the "Lost Python" (5/1-2) · John Pinette (6/22) · We Will Rock You -- British comedian Ben Elton's musical revue featuring Queen's rock standards (6/3-7)

WOLF TRAP

1645 Trap Road Vienna 703-255-1900 wolf-trap.org

· A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor -- The old-timey public radio celebrity once again kicks off the season at Wolf Trap's gorgeous amphitheater, the Filene Center (5/23-24) · Disney's Beauty and the Beast (6/7-8) · Wolf Trap's 25th Annual Louisiana Swamp Romp -- Re-creating the exuberant New Orleans spirit alongside mouthwatering Cajun food (6/14) ·  Sing-A-Long Grease (6/21) · Sing-A-Long Sound of Music (8/23)

This week's Out On the Town appears online at metroweekly.com/arts_entertainment/oott/

American culture dominates the global stage. Whether film, TV, music or theater, New York and Hollywood control the world to the point where it can be difficult to access foreign media without specifically seeking it out. For Alicia Adams, vice president of international programming at the Kennedy Center, that's part of the joy of her job. "As I've traveled around the world researching other festivals, I've come across a lot of wonderful work," she says. "America often misses out on some of the great theater in the world."

That's the inspiration behind this year's International Theater Festival, World Stages. The festival imports 22 theatrical offerings from 19 countries to the Kennedy Center, with a mixture of full-scale productions, installations, staged readings and forums. Giving locals the chance to access as much international culture as possible is something Adams is passionate about, and it's what inspired her to move this year's festival from a region-specific program -- as it has been in the past -- to a truly global offering. "It's something that I've always tried to work on here at the Kennedy Center," she says. "I thought this would be a great time to bring as much theater as we could afford from every continent, except Antarctica, to the Kennedy Center."

Not By Bread Alone: Nalaga'at Theater; Deaf, Blind, Acting Ensemble at Kennedy Center

Both seasoned theatergoers and newcomers alike will be well-catered for. Adams makes sure that whatever production is being staged, it is as accessible as possible for those willing to take the plunge. "We surround everything in a contextual way," she says, "so that people can dive into it from wherever they choose to enter."

Of course, the festival itself would be nothing without Adams. She curates it, hand-selecting the content and overseeing the production of each piece. It is her love letter to international culture, a passion she hopes many will share as they enjoy all the festival has to offer.

METRO WEEKLY: I've been looking through the program -- it's an incredible selection. There are 22 productions this year. Are they all productions you've personally experienced, or are some chosen based on their significance?

ALICIA ADAMS: I've seen 90 percent of them. Savannah Bay hadn't yet been done. A Midsummer Night's Dream I saw the workshop for. Rupert hadn't been created when I was visiting Australia and programming the festival.

MW: When you're watching a production, what's the experience of seeing it performed in its native country, compared with how it's then staged at the Kennedy Center?

ADAMS: That's something that's really important for me to know and to understand. I need to see what the local audience response is to the work, because often things read well in one place, but not another. It might read very well in Iceland, but not in the United States. I want to be able to pick up those cues and understand from the people around me as to why they think this is either fantastic or not, and why it's representative and reflective of their culture. I'm trying to bring as authentic a representation as I can. Of course, that means it's not always work I personally like, but it is work I feel is resonant and appropriate to have at the Kennedy Center.

MW: With that, are there any performances that particularly stand out to you?

Adams: Sure. A Midsummer Night's Dream -- the Handspring puppets are involved with that piece and I've been working with them for a long time. Solomon and Marion, the South African production, because it's a post-apartheid piece and I think it has a lot of resonance for this country, but also for what's going on in South Africa now. It's all about reconciliation, misunderstandings and how they continue to heal a country and, therefore, the people.

Not by Bread Alone, the Israeli piece, is one I find to be the most emotional for me, in that all of the performers are deaf and blind. These people are telling their stories and working together as an ensemble, and it's just intriguing that they can do it. You feel very grateful for all of the gifts that you have when you see performers like this. At the end of the performance they invite the audience onto the stage so that the performers actually know that they're there, because otherwise they don't, so they want people to touch them and partake in the eating of the bread. It's very moving.

One of the readings I selected, A Great Wilderness by Samuel Hunter, is about this whole notion of counseling people who feel that they are gay into being straight. As we know from this past year, all of that kind of therapy has been thrown out the window as being invalid. So I thought it was a very timely piece to present here.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Bristol Old Vicin association with Handspring Puppet Company at Kennedy Center

MW: What is it like to have your job? To be able to visit all of these countries and experience all of these productions, it seems to be the most interesting thing in the world.

ADAMS: It's a fascinating way to learn a lot about the history of the world through the lens of arts and culture. For me, the challenge -- and what I particularly like doing -- is to have people experience here, at the Kennedy Center, that which I am able to experience abroad. I try to do it in a variety of ways so that people are really able to feel, when they walk in the door, that they've immersed themselves in a very different world. I want to contextualize it as much as I am able to in terms of history. One example was the Arab festival, Arabesque. As I was doing the research -- which was based on the 22 countries of the Arab world -- I realized there was no way that I could put performances on the stage without somehow talking about the Arab contribution to the world. The 13th and 14th centuries with Baghdad, the House of Wisdom, everything that occurred with medicine and math and astronomy, science in general. So much of what was learned then has really influenced and been imparted to the rest of the world. Given that history, I created something called an Exploratorium where we crafted a 12-minute film so that people could see some of the ancient manuscripts, doing so in a very creative way. There was a dark room, the film was in the ceiling, people sat in beach chairs to watch it -- it became a place that people went to rest, and while they rested they were able to look up and think about the Arab contribution to the world.

MW: In your experience, is there anything that particularly sets apart an American audience experiencing a piece of work to, say, a Chinese or Australian audience? Are there any marked differences?

ADAMS: That's a hard question to answer. I think it depends on what piece they're watching, and whether the enthusiasm is there. One of the things I do notice that's different in some audiences around the world, say Australia or in Europe, is that regardless of whether the audience likes the piece or embraces the piece or not, for them it inspires a dialogue, a conversation. I see people turn to their friends afterwards to have a discussion about it, such as, "Well I like this but I didn't like that," and they would go on and on.

Americans, I find that if they don't like the piece, they don't like it. [Laughs.] That's it, no discussion, they're out of there! I wish that it provoked more dialogue and more thought about the piece, because artists spend a lot of time creating this work and it does have value and meaning. To be able to tease some of that out is really important. It's why we have the post-performance discussions, so that audiences are able to gain more insight into the work. I would like to see more conversations about the production happen post-show in the U.S.

MW: I know from personal experience that a lot of Americans don't leave the United States, don't vacation in other countries. Many don't have passports. Is it important then, to you, to try and bring as much international culture into America as possible?

ADAMS: Absolutely. I think that the arts are the best tool we have for bringing people together. What I hope for is that by being able to see the arts and culture of the world, people will be able to see themselves in these countries and see the humanity that we share. I think that's something we do miss here in America, because we don't know these people, we don't know who the people are in Africa and in Latin America and in Asia. I know that after many of the festivals people are very interested in traveling to the countries they've experienced here -- and I hope that it does have an impact on people.

World Stages: International Theater Festival 2014 runs through March 30 at the Kennedy Center. It includes free and paid events. For more information or tickets, visit kennedy-center.org/worldstages or call 202-467-4600.

One of the biggest concerts this spring will be Adam Lambert filling in for the late, great Freddie Mercury performing with Brian May and Roger Taylor. Queen's tour-ending stop in July at Merriweather Post Pavilion is also its only outdoor show. But Lambert is only the biggest among several American Idol finalists to appear locally this season, and he's not the biggest among several gay acts hitting town -- Hello, Boy George, and welcome to the 9:30 Club. To name only four more: Morrissey at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Melissa Ferrick at Rams Head On Stage, Brandy Clark at the Birchmere, and D.C.'s own Tom Goss graduating to play Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. Certainly, that makes for plenty of queer pop musical merriment to be had, beyond all the gay divas, new and especially old. Why, both Cher and Diana Ross will be in our midst. Pitter-patter.

9:30 CLUB

815 V St. NW202-265-0930930.com

· Typhoon w/Lady Lamb The Beekeeper, Wild Ones (3/19) · Rac w/Prides, Speak - A U Street Music Hall presentation at the 9:30 Club (3/20) · Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. w/Chad Valley (3/21) · Drive-By Truckers w/Blitzen Trapper (3/23) · 2 Chainz w/August Alsina (3/24) · We The Kings w/This Century, Crash The Party (3/28) · The Infamous Stringdusters w/Fruition (3/29) · Real Estate w/Pure X (4/2) · Gramatik (4/5) · Shpongle w/Desert Dwellers (4/6) · The Hold Steady w/Cheap Girls (4/7) · Carolina Chocolate Drops w/David Wax Museum, Birds of Chicago (4/8) · Flight Facilities w/Will Eastman - A U Street Music Hall presentation at the 9:30 Club (4/11) · The Sounds w/Blondfire, Ghost Beach - More Swedish pop/rock goodness (4/12) · Bro Safari w/Des McMahon, RaceCarBed, Massacat (4/12) · London Grammar (4/14) · Pat Green (4/16) · The War on Drugs, White Laces (4/18) · The Revivalists (4/19) · Tycho w/Gardens & Villa (4/20) · Boy George - The seminal gay pop star tours in support of his first all-original album in 18 years, This Is What I Do (4/21) · Galantis (4/24) · Alabama Shakes w/Lee Baines & The Glory Fires (4/25-26) · Better Than Ezra w/Jon McLaughlin (4/27) · Band of Skulls (4/28) · Future Islands w/Ed Schrader's Music Beat (5/1) · The Both (Aimee Mann & Ted Leo) w/Nick Diamonds of Islands (5/2) · Wye Oak w/Braids (5/6) · Mogwai w/Majeure (5/7) · Papadosio (5/9) · Elbow w/John Grant (5/11) · Mastodon w/Gojira, Kvelertak (5/13) · You Me at Six (5/18) · Augustana w/Twin Forks (5/19) · The Faint (5/20) · Tegan and Sara w/Lucius, The Courtneys -- The great lesbian Canadian twins duo performs on its ''Let's Make Things Physical Tour'' (5/21) · Conor Oberst w/Dawes (5/23-24) · Rusted Root and the Wailers (5/29) · Old 97's w/Lydia Loveless (5/31) · Jamie Cullum (6/3) · Die Antwoord (6/11)

ARTISPHERE

1101 Wilson Blvd.Arlington703-875-1100artisphere.com

· Gangstagrass w/special guests The Walkways and Wes Tucker & The Skillets - A Brooklyn-based band mixing bluegrass and hip-hop, responsible for the Emmy-nominated theme song to FX's Justified (3/21) · Luisa Maita - Fans of Bebel Gilberto, Ceu and Seu Jorge will find much to love in this Sao Paulo native's tropical sound (3/29) · Tiempo Libre - Three-time Grammy-nominated Cuban music group based in Miami (4/4) · Belo - Presented in partnership with the Francophonie Festival 2014 (4/11) · Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars w/Elikeh -- Formed in West African refugee camps, Newsweek raves, ''It's as easy to fall in love with these guys as it was with the Buena Vista Social Club'' (5/2)

ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

1333 H St. NE202-399-7993atlasarts.org

· Martha Redbone - Known for blending Native American elements into a musical bed that includes funk, Appalachian folk and Piedmont blues (4/25) · I Draw Slow - This five-piece band from Dublin has drawn comparisons to Alison Krauss and Union Station with its blend of traditional Irish music and modern Americana (5/3) · Nnenna Freelon - An accomplished jazz vocalist whom The New York Times has credited with ''unstinting vivacity'' (5/8) · Darcy James Argue's Secret Society -- Swing Era-style 18-piece big band, which earned a Grammy nod for its record Infernal Machines, returns to the Atlas for a third time (5/10)

BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

1645 Trap RoadVienna703-255-1900wolf-trap.org

· Southside Johnny & The Poor Fools - New Jersey band offering covers of Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters and Emmylou Harris (3/15) · David Crosby (3/16, 3/25) · Tom Principato Band (3/20) · Pearl and the Beard w/Bombadil (3/21) · Crystal Bowersox - An American Idol finalist from a few years ago (3/26) · Red Molly (3/27) · Linda Eder (4/3) · BandHouse Gigs' George Harrison Tribute - Naked Blue, Todd Wright, Margot MacDonald, Mike Clem, Nate Ihara, Cal Everett, Patty Reese and more pay tribute to the late underrated Beatle (4/4-5) · Simon Townshend (4/9) · Al Stewart (4/10 · John McCutcheon (4/24) · Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival - Featuring slack key masters including Dennis Kamakahi, LT Smooth, Paul Togioka (4/25) · Tom Paxton (4/26)

BETHESDA BLUES & JAZZ SUPPER CLUB

7719 Wisconsin Ave.240-330-4500bethesdabluesjazz.com

The Lloyd Dobler Effect (3/14) · Daryl Jr. Cline w/Julia Nixon & The Recliners (3/15) · Blue Moon Big Band (3/16) · Zan McLeod & Celtic Borders (3/17) · The Mycah Chevalier Experience (3/19) · Southern Soul Tribute - NewMyer Flyer presents a tribute to Muscle Shoals/Stax-backed soul legends from some of D.C.'s best talents, including Julia Nixon, the Soul Serenaders featuring Billy Price and Tommy Lepson, Tom Principato and Soul Crackers (3/21) · Bobby Caldwell -- ''Perfectly Frank: Big Band Hits of Sinatra & Beyond'' (3/22) · Kyle Eastwood (3/23) · Linda Oh ''Initial Here'' Quartet (3/26) · Nick Moss - Album-release tour (3/27) · Arlen Roth & The Cordobas feat. Lexie Roth (3/28) · Roberto Pomili Tango Concert - Album-release party (3/29) · Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys (3/30) · Ori Naftaly Band (4/2) · John Nemeth and the Bo-Keys featuring Percy Wiggins (4/4) · The Legendary Peggy King & The All-Star Jazz Trio (4/6) · Lyndsey Highlander (4/9) · Live at the Fillmore -- A tribute to the Allman Brothers Band, presented by Next Best Thing (4/10) · Frank McComb (4/13) · Jazzfunk United (4/16) · Soundconnection (4/18) · Memphis Gold, Jay Summerour & Howlin' at the Moon - A benefit concert for Big Brothers-Big Sisters (4/23) · Four Freshman (4/24) · Landau Murphy Jr. - America's Got Talent winner performs with the James Bazen Big Band (4/26) · The Soul Serenaders featuring Tommy Lepson & Billy Price (4/26) · In Gratitude: A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire (5/2) · Junior ''The Wailers'' Marvin and I&I Riddim (5/3) · Side By Side (5/14) · Tribute to Simon & Garfunkel - AJ Swearingen & Jonathan Beedle perform as the iconic folk duo in this tribute presented by Next Best Thing (5/15) · Janiva Magness -- A benefit for Child Welfare League of America (5/17) · Doors Wide Open (5/21) · Still Surfin': A Tribute to the Beach Boys (5/23) · Tribute to Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 (5/25) · Zoe (6/4) · Satisfaction: The International Rolling Stones Show -- As presented by Next Best Thing (6/5) · Bad Influence w/special guest Mary Shaver (6/12) · Hot Club of Detroit (6/19) · Daryl Jr. Cline w/Julia Nixon & The Recliners (6/20) · David Bach Consort (6/26) · King Soul (6/27) · Diane Marino w/the James Bazen Big Band (6/29) · Alex Hamburger w/Paul Carr (7/17) · Phillip ''Doc'' Martin & Friends featuring Chelsey Green & The Green Project (7/19) · Larry Brown Quintet (10/4)

THE BIRCHMERE

3701 Mount Vernon Ave.Alexandria703-549-7500birchmere.com

· Dwele w/special guest Raw Beauty - A 10-year anniversary concert (3/16) · Don Williams (3/18) · The Marshall Tucker Band (3/19) · Bob Schneider & Hayes Carll (3/20) · Walter Beasley (3/28) · Cheryl Wheeler & John Gorka (3/29) · Christopher Cross (3/30) · Hugh Masekela - A 75th birthday celebration (4/2) · Renaissance (4/3) · The Manhattan Transfer -- This ''Best Vocal Group Winner,'' 2013 Jazz Times Readers' Poll, performs ''The Living Room Sessions'' (4/4) · Tom Rush (4/5) · Regina Carter - ''Best Violinist Winner,'' 2013 Jazz Times Readers' Poll (4/6) · Candy Dulfer (4/9) · Jim Brickman - A 20th anniversary tour (4/10) · Iris Dement (4/11) · Hiroshima (4/12) · Ashley Moore (4/13) · Gary Burton & Makoto Ozone (4/14) · Joan Osborne (4/15) · Phil Perry (4/18) · Cleve Francis (4/19) · Johnnyswim (4/23) · Earl Klugh (Band) (4/24) · Delbert McClinton (4/25) · Najee (4/26) · Pickin': A Bluegrass Allstar Jam - Featuring Dale Ann Bradley, Steve Gulley, Missy Raines, Sammy Shelor and Michael Cleveland (4/27) · The Milk Carton Kids (4/29) · Three Dog Night (5/1) · Steve Tyrell (5/2) · Pat McGee Band - A reunion show with Michael Tolcher (5/3-4) · The Winery Dogs - A supergroup of vocalist/guitarist Richie Kotzen (Poison, Mr. Big), bassist Billy Sheehan (David Lee Roth, Mr. Big), drummer Mike Portnoy (co-founder of prog-metal band Dream Theater) (5/7) · Steve Wariner (5/8) · Suzanne Vega w/Ari Hest (5/9) · Gary Taylor (5/10) · Mother's Day with Mother's Finest - Another year, another concert for the mothers (5/11) · Jay Farrar (Duo) (5/14) · Maysa (5/17) · Blackmore's Night (5/20) · Syleena Johnson (5/22) · 10,000 Maniacs with Jenn Grinels (5/23) · Eric Roberson (5/24-25) · Brandy Clark - Lesbian artist writes some of the sharpest, edgiest country songs you've ever heard (5/28) · Sheila E (5/29) · The Fab Faux - The Beatles re-creators perform ''Meet The Beatles'' plus a set of their favorites (5/30-31) · Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis w/special guest Dale Watson & The Lonestars (6/6) · Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra (6/7) · Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (6/13) · The Four Bitchin' Babes - The funny folky females return to the Birchmere, where it all began (6/14) · Fourplay (6/19) · Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun and the Nighthawks featuring Billy Price (6/20) · The Bacon Brothers - Kevin and his one-degree-of-separation sibling (6/21-22) · The Subdudes (6/25) · Norman Brown & Jonathan Butler (6/26) · Peaches & Herb (6/27) · The Seldom Scene - Celebrating the bands new Smithsonian Folkways Recording, Long Time…Seldom Scene (6/28) · Marcus Miller (6/29) · Sarah Jarosz (7/11) · 8th Annual Mike Seeger Commemorative Old Time Banjo Festival - Featuring Tony Trischka, Richie Stearns, Rick Good, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer (7/12) · Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin with the Guilty Ones (7/17) · Edwain McCain (7/18) · emmet swimming (7/19) · The Dan Band (7/26) · Hal Ketchum (8/2) · Pure Prairie League & Firefall (8/9) · Kim Waters (8/22) · Larry Graham & Graham Central Station (8/27)

BLACK CAT

1811 14th St. NW202-667-4490blackcatdc.com

Billy Woodward & The Senders (3/14) · Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault (3/14) · Swearin' w/Title Tracks, Beach Week (3/17) · Dum Dum Girls w/Blouse (3/22) · Adam Faucett and the Tall Grass (3/23) · YIP Deceiver (3/27) · Eighties Mayhem - An '80s Dance Party. (3/28) · Fairweather (3/29) · Cosmonauts (3/31) · W.C. Lindsay (4/2) · Elikeh w/Alma Tropicalia, Backbeat Underground - A night of Afro-beat and global pop. (4/4) · Those Mockingbirds (4/9) · Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (4/11) · Trust (4/13) · Odonis Odonis (4/14) · Black Lips w/Natural Child (4/15) · Cloud Nothings w/Ryley Walker (4/18) · We Are Scientists - A night of music and comedy. (4/17) · Chuck Ragan & The Camaraderie (4/24) · Dot Dash (4/26) · Toadies - The Rubberneck 20th Anniversary Tour (4/27) · Say Hi (5/1) · Chelsea Peretti (5/2) · Matt Pond PA (5/3) · Graveyard (5/10) · Metronomy w/Cloud Control (5/11) · Tokyo Police Club (5/13) · Swans (5/14) · Guided by Voices (5/24) · The Shondes (6/2)

BLACK FOX LOUNGE

1723 Connecticut Ave. NWblackfoxlounge.com

· Emy Tseng - A free monthly evening of Brazilian jazz with this vocalist and an ensemble (3/14, 4/11) · Yoshi Nishio Trio (3/15, 4/19) · David Lighton Trio - A free biweekly Sunday night of jazz (3/17) · Bill ''Magic'' Lavender Bey Ensemble - A free biweekly night of ensemble jazz (3/18) · Jeff Weintraub (3/19, 4/2, 4/16) · Butch Warren Memorial Band (3/20, 4/17, 5/1) · Jon Rooks (3/21, 4/4, 4/18) · Aaron Myers and the Black Fox Lounge Jazz Ensemble (3/21, 4/4, 4/18) · DC Jazz Singers Jam (3/23, 3/30) · Joe Vetter Duet (3/24, 4/28) · Herb Scott (3/26, 4/9, 4/23) · James Benson Trio (3/27, 4/24) · M-Law and the Prophets of Jazz (3/28) · Amanda Ashely (3/29) · Julie Mack Trio (3/31, 4/29) · Nobody's Business (4/3) · WED Jazz Trio (4/5, 5/3) · Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (4/8) · Herb Scott (4/9) · Gay Men's Chorus of Washington – GMCW hosts a monthly open-mike night (4/10, 5/8) · Christian Perez Trio (4/12) · Open Mic with Faheem -- Once a month this pianist accompanies guests singing show tunes and standards (4/22, 5/27) · Oren Levine's Vocal Showcase - A jazz ensemble accompanies vocalists Barbara Papendorp and Russwin Francisco (4/25) · Corey Kennedy (4/26) · UpaTrio (5/2) · Tammy Knight (5/3) · David Schulman Duet (5/10)

BLUES ALLEY

1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW703-549-7500bluesalley.com

· Jimmy Cobb, Mike Stern w/Sonny Fortune & Buster Williams - ''4 Generations of Miles'' (3/13-16) · Colie Williams (3/17) · Our Mood Swings - Neo-jazz twist (3/18) · Patrick Cooper & Phillip 'Doc' Martin (3/19) · Kevin Eubanks - The jazz guitarist and former band leader on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno (3/20-23) · Kaori Kobayashi (3/24) · Miss Jessica (3/25) · Christopher Linman Jazz Ensemble (3/26) · Stanley Jordan (3/27-30) · Chihiro Yamanaka Trio (3/31) · Martha Kato - ''The New School Night'' (4/1) · Mao Sone Quintet - ''Berklee School of Music Night'' (4/2) · Cheikh Ndoye & Friends w/Karen Briggs, Kazumi Watanabe & Arshak Sirunyan (4/3-6) · Chick Corea (4/7-8) · Florian Hoefner (4/9) · Cyrus Chestnut (4/10-13) · Claude Diallo (4/14) · Bowie State Jazz Band (4/15) · Steve Fidyk feat. Terrell Stafford & Tim Warfield (4/16) · Triumphant Trumpets - Featuring Jon Faddis, Terrell Stafford and Lew Soloff (4/17-18) · Triumphant Trumpets - Featuring Jon Faddis, Terrell Stafford and Tom Williams (4/19) · Bob Mintzer & Andrew White (4/22) · Nasar Abadey & Super Nova (4/23) · Yellowjackets (4/24-27) · Roni Ben-Hur (4/28) · The Columbia Jazz Band (4/29) · Moonlight Jazz Orchestra (4/29) · Christiana Drapkin (4/30) · John Pizzarelli (5/1-4) · Donato Soverio (5/8) · Benny Sharoni (5/7) · Azar Lawrence Quintet (5/9-10) · Michael Fineberg - Humblebrag CD release party (5/12) · Althea Rene (5/13) · Dee Lucas (5/14) · Karla Chisholm (5/23) · Lena Seikaly - Local jazz vocalist who often channels Ella Fitzgerald in her stylings – ain't nothing wrong with that (5/24) · Sharon Clark (5/25) · Nicole Henry (5/27) · Pieces of a Dream (5/29-6/1) · Pharoah Sanders (6/5-8) · Karrin Allyson - Jazz vocalist, who The New York Times raves is ''one of the most charismatic figures on tour today,'' makes her annual stop at Blues Alley (6/19-22)

BOHEMIAN CAVERNS

2001 11th St. NW202-299-0800bohemiancaverns.com

· Siné Qua Non - Local jazz quintet with classical leanings (3/14) · Integriti Reeves - Celebrated local jazz vocalist (3/15) · Jen Chapin Trio (3/16) · Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra – Esteemed big band performs every Monday night · Thad Wilson Quintet - Artist in Residence (3/18, 3/25) · Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith (3/21-22) · Eri Yamamoto Trio (3/23) · Mickey Bass and his Manhattan Burn Unit (3/28-29) · Leena Conquest (3/30) · Jesse Fischer (3/3) · Russell Gunn & Dionne Farris - The Grammy-winning R&B vocalist (best remembered as the ''Tennessee'' female singer in '90s hip-hop group Arrested Development) returns to the Caverns once again with this Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter (4/4-5) · Carolyn Malachi (4/8) · Jeremy Pelt (4/11-12) · Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures (4/13) · Braxton Cook (4/18-19) · Soul Understated ft. Mavis 'Swan' Poole (4/24) · Matthew Shipp Trio - A tribute to Duke Ellington (4/27) · Ron Carter - A former member of the Miles Davis Quintet, one of the most original, prolific and influential bassists in all of jazz (5/23-25)

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT UMD

University of MarylandCollege Park301-405-ARTSclaricesmithcenter.umd.edu

· Somi - East-African vocalist and songwriter tours in support of her forthcoming new release The Lagos Music Salon (3/28) · Yolanda Adams featuring Eleanor Roosevelt Gospel Choir (4/6) · Kenny Barron Platinum Quintet - One of the elder statesmen of jazz piano celebrates 70 years (4/25)

CORNER STORE ARTS

900 South Carolina Ave. SE202-544-5807cornerstorearts.org

· Joe Craven - A local musician with national acclaim, having performed with the David Grismanb Quintet, Jerry Garcia and Bonnie Raitt among others (3/14) · Stephen Simmons -- Tennessee native whose sound has been compared to Johnny Cash and Ryan Adams (3/22) · Tattletale Saints & 10 String Symphony -- Two duos blending Americana with jazz, soul and pop (3/28) · Heather Maloney (3/30 · Gina DeSimone & the Moaners (4/4) · Kelly McFarling -- A hometown show from singer-songwriter whose style is ''original rhythm and bluegrass'' (4/10) · King Street Bluegrass Band (4/25) · Rachael Sage - Inspired by the new Carole King Broadway musical Beautiful, this bisexual artist wrote the groovy, upbeat ''New Destination,'' title track to a new EP due in May (5/2) · Roy Schneider & Kim Mayfield (5/4)

DAR CONSTITUTION HALL

1776 D St. NW202-628-1776dar.org/conthall

· Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds w/Nicole Atkins (7/23) · Tori Amos - A tour in support of Unrepentant Geraldines, Amos's first all-pop set in years, due in May (8/16) · Il Divo - ''A Musical Affair: The Greatest Songs of Broadway Live'' (5/14) '

DC9

1940 9th St. NW202-483-5000dcnine.com

· Peach Pit - DJ Matt Bailer's '90s-themed gay dance party (3/15) · The Mostly Dead (3/16) · Greys (3/18) · No, Reuben & The Dark, and The Darcys (3/20) · Loud Boyz (3/22) · Vertical Scratchers (3/23) · Tops (3/25) · INVSN - Featuring Dennis Lyxzen from Refused & The International Noise Conspiracy (3/26) · The Ocean, Scale The Summit (3/27) · Dead Heart Bloom, Tone (3/29) · Yellow Ostrich (4/2) · Dave Hause (4/3) · Silver Palms (4/4) · The Pack a.d. (4/5) · Eisenore (4/6) · Stout (4/8) · The Love Language (4/9) · Summer Camp (4/11) · Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs (4/13) · I Break Horses (4/15) · Kadavar (4/16) · Local H (4/19) · Acid Mothers Temple (4/24) · Nathaniel Rateliff (4/25) · Perfect Pussy (4/26) · Steve Gunn (4/27) · Chrome Sparks (4/30) · Bad Veins (5/2) · A Minor Forest (5/4) · Leopold and His Fiction (5/6) · Blood Red Shoes (5/7) · Matt Pryor of the Get Up Kids (5/8) · Little Hurricane (5/14) · Breton (5/18) · Ex-Cult (5/20) · Stone Jack Jones (5/23) · Ki: Theory (6/19) · Lowland Hum (6/20)

ECHOSTAGE

2135 Queens Chapel Road NE202-503-2330echostage.com

· Cut Copy w/Jessy Lanza, Turkish Prison -- Second of two nights is not sold out, which means even stragglers can ''Meet Me In A House of Love,'' as a superb new Cut Copy track puts it (3/20) · Phoenix -- After a stunning show as headliner at last year's Sweetlife Festival, IMP Productions brings back these French pop/rockers to fill this club venue (6/7) · Lindsey Stirling (6/24)

FILLMORE SILVER SPRING

8656 Colesville RoadSilver Spring301-960-999fillmoresilverspring.com

· Gordo Brega (3/14) · The Glitch Mob (3/15) · Asking Alexandria - Breaking Down The Walls Tour. (3/19) · Switchfoot (3/20) · Children of Bodom (3/21) · AER (3/22) · The Ataris - So Long, Astoria Reunion Tour 2014 (3/28) · Kap Slap (3/29) · The Wanted - If there were justice in the pop world, the Wanted would be as big or bigger than that other one-dimensional British boy band (4/9) · Carcass, The Black Dahlia (4/13) · Kid Ink, King Los, Bizzy Crook (4/18) · Badfish, a Tribute to Sublime (4/19) · 5 Seconds to Summer (4/21) · The Used, Taking Back Sunday (4/22) · YG, DJ Mustard (4/25) · Zucchero (4/29) · Vinnie Paz with Army of the Pharoahs (5/1) · Iggy Azalea - Monster Energy Outbreak Tour (5/2) · Black Label Society (5/4) · Blackberry Smoke w/The Delta Saints (5/9) · Paul Potts (5/11) · Ghost (5/14) · Eric Hutchinson - Ones to Watch with Skype presents this artist on a Tell The World Tour (5/23) · Manchester Orchestra w/Balance and Composure, Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band (5/27) · Brand New (7/13) · Mint Condition (7/25) · Boyz II Men - More than two decades since these R&B crooners topped the pop charts, apparently they still haven't found the end of the road (8/15)

THE HAMILTON

600 14th St. NW202-787-1000thehamiltondc.com

· Chopteeth AfroFunk Big Band - One of the area's best live performing acts (3/14) · The Danger Zone (3/14, 4/12) · The Nine Songwriter Series - The traveling showcase of local songwriters (3/15) · Lloyd Dobler Effect (3/15, 4/11) · Royal Southern Brotherhood (3/19) · Eddie Money - Take him home tonight and be his little baby (3/21) · 19th Street Band (3/21, 4/18) · Wheeler Brothers (3/22) · Harris Face (3/22, 4/26) · The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band (3/27) · John K Band (3/28) · Justin Trawick Trio (3/28) · Red Baraat - Festival of Colors with Mandeep Sethi, Falu (3/29) · Steve and Annie Sidley (3/29, 4/19) · Bonerama (3/30) · Los Lonely Boys (4/1) · Moonshine Society (4/4, 4/25) · Commander Cody (4/5) · The Grandsons (4/5) · A Tribute to George Harrison - BandHouse Gigs presents this traveling tribute to the underrated Beatle (4/6) · Laura Mvula - British slow soul newcomer (4/8) · Larry Carlton (4/10) · Dave Barnes (4/11) · Dirty Dozen Brass Band (4/12) · Horse Feathers (4/17) · Keller Williams with Gibb Droll and Jeff Sipe (4/18) · Gospel Brunch featuring the Gospel Persuaders (4/20) · Spottiswoode & His Enemies - Other ''enemies'' include Laura Tsaggaris and Django Haskins of the Old Ceremony (4/24) · Alejandro Escovedo & The Sensitive Boys w/Amy Cook (4/26) · Rodney Crowell featuring Steuart Smith and Friends (5/1) · Katie Herzig (5/2) · Priscilla Ahn (5/3) · The Nels Cline Singers (5/4) · Elephant Revival (5/13) · Howie Day (5/14) · Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd and the Monsters (5/15) · Paul Barrer and Fred Tackett of Little Feat. featuring the New Orleans Suspects (5/17) · Lisa Loeb (5/25) · Yacht Rock Revue (6/12) · Simone Felice (6/13) · Griffin House (6/19)

THE HOWARD THEATRE

620 T St. NW202-588-5595thehowardtheatre.com

· Anthony David (3/14) · Bohannon - ''The return of the legendary rhythm funk master'' (3/15) · Howard Gospel Brunch featuring the Harlem Gospel Choir (3/16 and every Sunday) · Steven T. Herrion -- DMW Honors presents the Icon Award ceremony also featuring Biz Markie and Junkyard Band (3/16) · Get The Led Out -- The American Led Zeppelin (3/21) · Young Thug (3/21) · SWV (3/22) · Marsha Ambrosius - From Floetry to the ''Friends & Lovers Tour'' (3/23) · ''Sassy'': Celebrating Sarah Vaughn -- Indigo Love & The Renaissance Trio featuring Nasar Abadey, Allyn Johnson and James King (3/26) · DJ Dave Paul: The Prince and Michael Jackson Experience (3/27) · Jon Batiste & Stay Human - WPAS presents. (3/29) · RAWKUS by Pumpstation (3/29) · Mack Wilds (3/30) · Erica Campbell -- Mary of Mary Mary fame (4/2) · El Gran Combo (4/4) · Uncalled4 Band - UCB Reunion Show. (4/4) · Juicy J (4/6) · Gato Barbieri (4/10) · Jesse Cook (4/11) · Southern Soul Assembly - Featuring J.J. Grey, Luther Dickinson, Anders Osborne and Marc Broussard (4/12) · Go-Go Mickey's Birthday Bash feat. Familiar Faces (4/12) · The Trillest Tour featuring Bun B & Kirko Bangz (4/14) · Los Amigos Invisibles (4/19) · William Fitzsimmons w/Ben Sollee (4/20) · Tech N9ne (4/23) · Musiq Soulchild (4/24) · Kindred The Family Soul (4/26) · Raul Midon w/AverySunshine (4/28) · Strunz & Farah (4/29) · The Lox - Styles P, Sheek Louch & Jadakiss (4/30) · The Foreign Exchange (Phonte + Nicolay) (5/2) · Sevendust Acoustic (5/3) · Noa (Achinoam Nini) (5/7) · Robben Ford (5/13) · Roy Ayers (5/16) · Melanie Fiona & Black Alley (5/18) · Mobb Deep - Still going after more than two decades of hip-hopping, or rather, mobb-deeping? (5/23) · Chanté Moore (5/24) · Capleton (5/29) · White Ford Bronco (5/30) · Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (6/11) · Trina & Backyard Band (6/20) · Luciano - One of today's most celebrated Jamaican roots reggae musicians returns to the Howard (6/25) · Ginger Baker - Featuring Pee Wee Ellis, Alec Dankworth and Abass Dodoo (6/27) ·

THE IN SERIES

202-204-7763inseries.org

· The Romantics: Schubert & Goethe - A salon-style concert celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the German art song, or lied, and a discussion of early-German Romanticism (4/11-12, Heurich House) · Carousel Latino - A romp through cabaret, congas, tango, zarzuela, bolero and opera (5/29-6/1, Source) · Verdi's La Traviata - The InSeries steps out of its usual presentation of pocket operas to celebrate its 25 years of performances and the 200th birthday of Verdi (6/14-28, GALA)

JIFFY LUBE LIVE

7800 Cellar Door DriveBristow, Va.703-754-6400livenation.com

· Avicii - The young Swedish megastar DJ/producer stops by on his #TrueTour with special guests (4/12) · 2014 Moe's Southwest Grill Country Megaticket - Many of the biggest names in country set fire to this oily amphitheatre: Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley · Luke Bryan w/Lee Brice and Cole Swindell - That's My Kind of Night Tour 2014 (5/30-31) · Journey & Steve Miller Band w/Tower of Power (6/1) · Foreigner and STYX w/Don Felder (6/20) · OneRepublic w/The Script, American Authors (6/27) · Dave Matthews Band - Billed as ''A Very Special Evening,'' performing two sets, one acoustic, the other electric (7/26) · James Taylor (7/31) · Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band - ''This One's For You'' Tour 2014 (8/16) · Motley Crue w/Alice Cooper - ''All Bad Things Must Come to an End'' (8/22)

JOSEPH MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL

1212 Cathedral St.Baltimore410-783-8000ticketmaster.com

· The 70s Soul Tour with the Whispers -- The bill also includes the Stylistics, Dramatics and Howard Hewett (4/19) · MPT's Best of Doo Wop -- Charlie Thomas's Drifters, Jay Siegel & the Tokens, the Coasters, Shirley Alston Reeves and the Legendary Teenagers are just some of the acts on this year's bill (5/3) · The Temptations, the Four Tops -- A double bill of old-school soul harmonizing (5/10) · Morrissey - After storming the Music Center at Strathmore, the British mopey pop crooner makes it even more of a trek for tears -- unless you live and cry in Baltimore (6/10)

KENNEDY CENTER

2700 F St. NW202-467-4600kennedy-center.org

· KC Jazz Club: The Revive Big Band - Trumpeter Igmar Thomas leads this New York band that blends contemporary grooves from hip-hop and R&B into traditional jazz sounds (4/5) · KC Jazz Club: Kevin Mahogany - Jazz vocalist returns to the Kennedy Center with a blues-heavy set celebrating 20 years as a performing artist (4/26) · KC Jazz Club: Justin Kauflin - Young jazz pianist returns to the Kennedy Center as part of the venue's Discovery Artist series (5/2) · Barbara Cook's Spotlight: Megan Hilty - From Broadway's Wicked and 9 to 5 to TV's Smash to an NSO Pops concert last season, Megan Hilty is keeping busy (5/2) · Terence Blanchard Quintet - Famed trumpeter celebrates the 75th anniversary of storied Blue Note Records (5/9) · Listening Party: Blue Note at 75 - Jazz greats Jason Moran, also Kennedy Center's jazz adviser, and Terence Blanchard discuss and sample their all-time favorite Blue Note Records (5/10) · Blue Note at 75: The Concert - Norah Jones, Wayne Shorter and Jason Moran are just some of the special guests paying tribute to the storied jazz label in a concert at the Kennedy Center (5/11) · 19th Annual Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival -- Today's top jazz artists perform over two nights and demonstrate the contributions women have made to jazz (5/23-24)

LINCOLN THEATRE

1215 U St. NW202-328-6000thelincolndc.com

· A Ca Challenge - Alexandria Harmonizers present this competitive a cappella show featuring the George Washington University Vibes, the University of Mary Washington Symfonics, the Noctonals, the Chromatics, Capital Blend and Word of Mouth (3/22) · Steve Hackett - A tour by Genesis's guitarist, in support of his second album, Genesis Revisited II, reinterpreting songs from the British band that also spawned Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins Genesis Revisited (3/26) · Experience Hendrix -- Band Fuse presents this tribute to the late, great Jimi Hendrix and featuring Billy Cox, Buddy Guy, Johnny Lang, Bootsy Collins, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Gales and Ana Popovic, among others (3/30) · Dream Theater (4/1) · Emmylou Harris w/Daniel Lanois, Steven Nistor, Jim Wilson (4/11) · Neil Finn w/Midlake -- Dizzy Heights Tour (4/12) · Rufus Wainwright w/Lucy Wainwright Roche -- Two of Loudoun Wainwright III's musical progeny (4/16) · Stephen ''Ragga'' Marley (4/17) · Johnny Hallyday (5/8) · Morcheeba -- The British trip-hop pioneers return (5/14) · Ingrid Michaelson w/Storyman, Sugar + the Hi-Lows (5/24) · Eels w/Chelsea Wolfe (5/31) · Andrew Bird & Hands of Glory w/Luke Temple -- The Chicago-based dramatic pop singer-songwriter and film composer tours in support of the acoustic set Hands of Glory (6/9)

LISNER AUDITORIUM AT GWU

730 21st St. NW202-994-6800lisner.org

· Tomatito Sextet - A group of young musicians sharing the intangible magic of flamenco (3/18) · The Ravi Coltrane Quartet (3/26) · Johnny Clegg - This South African artist has become an international music sensation (3/29) · Ben Folds Solo (4/28) · Lawrence Brownlee & Kevin Murphy in recital (5/13)

LYRIC OPERA HOUSE

140 West Mount Royal Ave.Baltimore410-547-SEATlyricoperahouse.com

· Brit Floyd -- Billed as ''the World's Greatest Pink Floyd Show'' (3/26) · The Ten Tenors (4/26) · Il Divo (6/4) · Diana Ross - The ultimate Supreme is on a tear this summer, also reprising last year's stop at Wolf Trap's outdoor amphitheater the Filene Center (6/28)

MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION

10475 Little Patuxent ParkwayColumbia, Md.800-551-SEATmerriweathermusic.com

· MC Rock Festival – Day One: Kix, Extreme, Lita Ford, Winger (4/25); Day Two: Tesla, Night Ranger, Sebastian Bach, Queensryche, Slaughter, Stryper, L.A. Guns, Jack Russell's Great White, Keel, Autograph, Femme Fatale, John Corabi, Heaven's Edge (4/26) · DC101 Kerfuffle -- 311, SOJA, Cage the Elephant, Foals, Kongos, Semi Precious Weapons, Brick + Mortar, J Roddy Watson & The Business (5/3) · Sweetlife Festival – I.M.P. and sweetgreen present Lana Del Ray, Foster the People, Bastille, Fitz and the Tantrums, Chromeo, 2 Chainz, Capital Cities, St Lucia, Bombay Bicycle Club, Gems, Hozer, Astr, Spirit Animal, Nicky Blitz, That Work (5/1) · Jack Johnson w/Amos Lee (6/5) · Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas w/Kacey Chambers -- A not-to-be-missed show for any quality country fan (6/14) · Fall Out Boy, Paramore (7/18) · Queen + Adam Lambert -- The almost American Idol is now almost Freddie Mercury and the queen of Queen, at least for a month this summer (7/20) · Vans Warped Tour -- A Skylit Drive, Air Dubai, Alive Like Me, Anberlin, Attila, Bad Rabbits, Beartooth, Beebs and Her Money Makers, Born of Osiris, Chelsea Grin, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Courage My Love, Crown The Empire, Cute Is What We Aim For, Echosmith, Enter Shikari, Every Time I Die, Falling In Reverse, For Today, I Fight Dragons, I The Mighty, Ice Nine Kills, Issues, Less Than Jake, Mayday Parade, MC Chris, Mixtapes, Motionless in White, Neck Deep, Nit Grit, Parkway Drive, Plaque Vendor, Real Friends, Saves The Day, Secrets, State Champs, Stray From the Path, Survive This!, Tear Out The Heart, Teenage Bottlerocket, Terror, The Color Morale, The Devil Wears Prada, The Ghost Inside, The Main, The Protomen, The Ready Set, The Story So Far, The Word Alive, TheCityShakeUp, This Wild Life, To The Wind, Vanna, Volumes, We Are the In Crowd, Yellowcard (7/22) · Neutral Milk Hotel (7/25)

NATIONALS PARK

1500 South Capitol St. NE.202-675-6287livenation.com

· Jason Aldean w/Florida Georgia Line, Tyler Farr (7/25) · Billy Joel - It wouldn't be summer without another concert from Billy Joel at Nationals Park (7/26) · One Direction - Where We Are Tour 2014 (8/11)

PATRIOT CENTER

George Mason University4500 Patriot CircleFairfax703-993-3000patriotcenter.com

· Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour - Cirque du Soleil's re-creation of a King of Pop concert extravaganza (3/21-22) · Sonu Nigam - ''Klose to My Soul'' is the name of this show from the Indian singer (5/9)

RAM'S HEAD LIVE

20 Market PlaceBaltimore410-244-1131ramsheadlive.com

· Clockbreaker - BaltSoundManagement presents this band's CD-release party (3/15) · Mindless Self Indulgence (3/20) · Shoop: A 90s Hip-Hop Dance Party featuring DJ Lil'E (3/21) · The Legwarmers (3/22) · The Infamous Stringdusters (3/28) · John K Band (3/29) · Cher Lloyd - Last year's Capital Pride headliner (4/3) · Crowded Streets: Dave Matthews Band Tribute (4/4) · Aaron Lewis - Lead vocalist for Staind performs a solo show (4/9) · Wild Eyes (Tool Tribute) (4/11) · Railroad Earth (4/12) · Pat Green (4/17) · Lotus (4/18-19) · The Polish Ambassador (4/24) · Ani DiFranco w/Eric Himan - The DIY folk-rock pioneer with the gay troubadour (4/26) · Beats Antique (5/1) · Rob Zombie (5/5) · Seether (5/6) · Bad Suns & Skaters (5/11) · Killswitch Engage (5/15) · Dark Star Orchestra (5/18) · Maryland Deathfest 2014 - Four nights of killer local sounds headlined by Immolation, Asphyx, Aeternus and Coffins (5/22-25) · The Head and the Heart w/Lucius (6/4) · Neko Case w/Laura Veirs (7/1) · Neon Trees (7/11)

RAM'S HEAD ON STAGE

33 West St.Annapolis410-268-4545ramsheadonstage.com

· The Oak Ridge Boys (3/14) · Mac McAnally (3/15) · Larry Braggs & The Sideguys feat. Special Guest Davy Knowles - Former Tower of Power lead singer and his new band (3/16) · Lee Dewyze - The American Idol from Season 9 (3/18) · In Gratitude: A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire (3/19) · Matt Schofield (3/20) · Rita Rudner (3/21) · Mike Doughty: Question Jar Show (3/22) · Wheeler Brothers (3/23) · Todd Rundgren - Billed as ''An Unpredictable Evening,'' so, you know, you just never know (3/23) · Jake Shimabukuro (3/24) · Crystal Bowersox - Yet another American Idol finalist from Season 9 at Rams Head On Stage this season (3/25) · Nicole Atkins (3/26) · Will Downing (3/27) · Brian Culbertson - Long Night Out 20th Anniversary Tour (3/28) · Los Lonely Boys (3/29-30) · Hugh Masekela (4/1) · The Lone Bellow (4/2) · The Manhattan Transfer (4/3) · Over The Rhine (4/4) · Charo - Yes, the Charo! (4/5) · Tom Rush (4/6) · Candy Dulfer (4/8) · Al Stewart (4/9) · Iris Dement (4/10) · The Flamingos feat. Terry 'Buzzy' Johnson (4/11) · Joan Osborne (4/12) · Hiroshima (4/13) · In The Vane of…Tom Petty - Annapolis Musicians Fund for Musicians presents this covers concert (4/14) · Ben Taylor (4/16) · Keller Williams with Gibb Droll & Jeff Sipe (4/17) · Livingston Taylor (4/18) · Delbert McClinton (4/19) · Hotel California: A Salute to the Eagles (4/20) · Alejandro Escovedo & The Sensitive Boys w/Amy Cook (4/22) · Edwin McCain Trio w/Mark Bryan (4/23) · Four Bitchin' Babes -- The funny folky female foursome (4/24) · Earl Klugh (4/25) · Locash Cowboys (4/26) · Maceo Parker (4/27) · Bret Michaels (4/28) · Rodney Crowell feat. Steuart Smith & Friends w/special guest Shannon McNally (4/30) · Steve Tyrell (5/1) · Elayne Boosler (5/2) · Katie Herzig w/Elizabeth & The Catapult (5/4) · Little Barrie (5/6) · Suzanne Vega w/Ari Hest - The ''Luka'' folk pop singer-songwriter with rich baritone opening act (5/8) · Judy Collins - The female folk legend stops for two shows at Rams Head (5/9) · Dwight Twilley & Pezband - The American Power Pop Tour (5/10) · David Bromberg Band (5/11) · Todd Park Mohr -- The lead from Big Head Todd and the Monsters (5/16) · Tom Wopat (5/17) · Syleena Johnson (5/21) · Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues (5/22-23) · 10,000 Maniacs (5/24-25) · Official Blues Brothers Revue (5/29) · The Nighthawks (5/3) ) · World Party w/Gabriel Kelley (5/31) · Kristian Bush of Sugarland (6/1) · Sergio Mendez (6/4) · Pablo Cruise (6/5) · Melissa Ferrick - The fiery lesbian folk-rocker (6/6) · John Ford Coley & Terry Sylvester (6/7) · Ottmar Liebert (6/8) · Experience Unlimited (E.U.) featuring Sugar Bear - Go-go goodness (6/12) · Dan Wilson - ''Words & Music'' (6/14) · Jamie Lynn Spears - Yes, it's true: Britney's baby sister is performing at the Annapolis folk-oriented venue (6/15) · Greg Adams & East Bay Soul (6/15) · Tommy Emmanuel (6/17-18) · Fourplay (6/20-21) · Griffin House & Toby Lightman (6/25) · The Subdudes Reunion Tour (6/26) · America (6/27-28) · Marshall Tucker Band (6/29) · 2U - ''The world's 2nd best U2 show'' (7/5) · The Bacon Brothers - Another year, another visit by Kevin and his one-degree-of-separation sibling (7/18-19) · The Dan band (7/25) · Micky Dolenz - Hey, hey, it's the former Monkee (7/29) · Crack The Sky (8/30-31) · Walter Beasley & Lynne Fiddmont (9/7)

ROCK AND ROLL HOTEL

1353 H St. NE202-388-ROCKrockandrollhoteldc.com

· Redline Graffiti w/Lowercase Letters (3/14) · The Deadmen w/The Lawsuits (3/15) · The Jim McCourt Memorial Concert (3/16) · Osage (3/19) · Ghost Hotel (3/20) · Shearwater w/Death Vessel, Jesca Hoop (3/21) · Lydia (3/22) · Betty Who w/The Lawsuits - Woo, somebody loves gay D.C. so much, she's returned only a few months since her last trip (3/23) · And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead (3/27) · White Ford Bronco (3/28) · Protest The Hero (4/2) · Skaters (4/3) · The Very Small (4/4) · Beware of Darkness (4/8) · Go Mod Go! w/the Yachtsmen, the El-Rays (4/10) · The Walking Sticks (4/11) · Wild Child (4/12) · S. Carey (4/13) · The Jezabels (4/17) · Kill Lincoln (4/18) · Rye Coalition (4/19) · Dan Croll (4/21) · Ema (4/24) · Nicole Atkins (4/25) · Woods (4/26) · Timber Timbre (4/27) · Connan Mockasin (4/28) · Jessica Lea Mayfield (4/30) · The Whigs (5/2) · Typefighter w/Shark Week, Sunset Guns, Teen Mom - A CD-release party (5/3) · Margot & The Nuclear So and So's (5/5) · Sohn (5/7) · Ben Kweller (5/9) · Eagulls (5/14) · Angel Olsen (5/15) · Uh Huh Her - The indie-rock duo of Leisha ''The L Word'' Hailey and Camila Grey returns (5/16) · Chad Vangaalen (5/17) · Maximo Park (5/20) · Pains of Being Pure at Heart (5/21) · Deleted Scenes (5/22) · Fu Manchu (5/23) · Channels (5/30)

SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE

600 I St. NW202-408-3100sixthandi.org

· The Internet - A soul band created by Matt Martians and Syd ''The Kyd'' of Odd Future (3/18) · Tinariwen - The Saharan blues band performs hypnotic and electrifying guitar rock (3/22) · Flagship, Little Daylight, Terraplane Sun - Three of Clubs Tour showcasing the sounds of these three emerging bands (3/25) · WRGW Spring Showcase: River City Extension - This eight-member indie-rock ensemble performs in a showcase with Paperhaus and Sun Cycle (3/29) · Bumper Jacksons - A bold mix of traditional jazz and pre-war country with a modern DIY-style (3/30) · James Vincent McMorrow w/Aidan Knight - Irish singer-songwriter explores new sounds and textures on second album Post Tropical (4/8) · Hurray for the Riff Raff (4/9) · Daniel Rossen - The Grizzly Bear guitarist performs solo (4/13) · Cloud Cult - A very stirring and inspiring hazy rock band from Minneapolis, akin to Bon Iver, but deeper (4/19) · Brad Mehldau Trio (4/24) · Lo-Fang - Nearly two months after his stirring set last week as opening act for Lorde at Echostage, this Columbia, Md.-native returns home for a headlining show (4/26) · Keren Ann - Well-known Israeli pop singer (5/11) · Hamilton Leithauser - The Walkmen frontman performs from his solo debut Black Hours (5/17) · Tom Goss - The local gay troubadour takes to the acoustic-rich Sixth & I to perform songs from his latest, Wait (5/31) · Carsie Blanton (7/20)

THE STATE THEATRE

220 North Washington St.Falls Church703-237-0300thestatetheatre.com

· Queensryche -- Featuring original lead singer Geoff Tate (3/13) · Almost Queen (3/14) · Passafire w/Lullwater (3/28) · The Psychedelic Furs (4/3) · Jorge Gonzaelz of Los Prisoneros (4/18) · The Dreamscapes Project - After nearly two decades on the D.C. scene, this group offers a final farewell show (4/19) · Ozomatli (5/7) · The Hackensaw Boys w/Bryan Elijah Smith (5/8) · Buddy Guy - One of the most celebrated blues guitarists of all time (6/10) · Leon Russell (6/12) · English Beat w/Nappy Riddem (6/15) · Here Come The Mummies (6/19)

STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman LaneNorth Bethesda301-581-5100strathmore.org

· Julie Brown w/Us and Us Only - Dreamy pop tracks from this Maryland native (3/14) · Estrella Morente - The flamenco singer (3/19) · Meklit (3/20) · Pat Metheny Unity Group - Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez, Ben Williams and Giulio Carmassi (3/21) · Stone Kawala, Juneau Sky & Paul Pfau (3/21) · Brad Kolodner (3/26) · Nils Frahm with Douglas Dare (3/28) · Keb' Mo' - A solo acoustic performance by this three-time Grammy-winning blues guitarist (4/3) · Ploy, Beyond Modern - D.C.-based indie-rock groups perform as part of the Mansion at Strathmore's Friday Night Eclectic series (4/4) · Buika (4/6) · Atomic Yacht Fax (4/11) · Gabriel Kahane & Rob Moose Duo (4/17) · Julio Iglesias - The featured performer at the 2014 Spring Gala at Strathmore (4/26) · 4 Girls 4 - Four leading show-tune ladies - Maureen McGovern, Andrea McArdle, Donna McKechnie and Faith Prince - team up for a mega-cabaret show, presented by Strathmore (5/2) · Elijah Jamal Balbed (5/14, 5/28) · Neil Sedaka (5/16) · Quiet Nights: Ron Kearns Quartet with Michael Thomas - Part of Strathmore's Jazz Samba Project (5/30) · Smokey Robinson - When Smokey sings… (6/4) · Amadou Kouyate (6/4, 6/18) · Romero Lubambo, Duduka da Fonseca and Friends - Brazilian/Jazz Connection (6/5) · Sergio Mendes & Eliane Elias (6/6) · John Prine (6/13)

U STREET MUSIC HALL

1115A U St. NW202-588-1880ustreetmusichall.com

· Julio Bashmore w/South London Ordnance, Hugo Zapata (3/14) · When Irish Eyes Are SMYALing Fundraiser - DC Progressive Dinner presents this event benefiting SMYAL and featuring Team Peaches DC, DJ Chord Bezerra and Sierra Braxton (3/15) · Penguin Prison and Cassian w/Caleb L'Etoile (3/15) · Sabina Sciubba of Brazilian Girls - The only ''girl'' and lead singer of the New York-based band Brazilian Girls stops by for a solo show, presented by the 9:30 Club at U-Hall (3/18) · Moombahton Massive XXXV - Nadastrom, Sabo, Branko (3/19) · Cashmere Cat w/Trippy Turtle - As part of U Street Music Hall Anniversary Week (3/20) · The Colourist (3/21) · Magda w/DJ Tennis, Beautiful Swimmers - A Red Fridays event during U Street Music Hall Anniversary Week (3/21) · How To Dress Well & Forest Swords (3/22) · Bliss w/Dusky (3/22) · Bass Nation DC feat. the Hospital Records Tour w/Danny Byrd, Fred V & Grafix, S.P.Y. and RenderOne - A U Street Music Hall Anniversary Week event (3/23) · Classixx (Live) - A U Street Music Hall Anniversary event. (3/24) · Michal Menert - Local act Fort Knox Five opens with a DJ set (3/25) · Gui Boratto (3/26) · Rufus Du Sol (3/27) · Kerri Chandler - Red Fridays presents a set by this deep house music purveyor, who performs an open-to-close set (3/28) · Tiger and Woods + Poolside (3/29) · Melo-X and Jasmine Solano (3/30) · Pig Pen Theatre Co., The Spring Standards - Co-presented by the 9:30 Club and Brindley Bros. (4/2) · UZ (4/2) · Eisley (4/3) · Dean Wareham w/The Vacant Lots (4/4) · Grandmaster Flash -- The hip-hop innovating legend (4/5) · AN21 and Third Party (4/6) · Shiftee (4/9) · The Hood Internet (4/10) · GoldLink -- The God Complex release show (4/12) · Fred Falke - French house master (4/12) · Singularity + Mutrix (4/13) · Kill Paris & Candyland (4/17) · Mark Farina - Red Friday presents this Chicago-based chillout/house producer (4/18) · Jacques Greene (4/19) · Baths (4/22) · Claude VonStroke (4/23) · Factory Floor (4/24) · Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks (4/25) · Fanfarlo w/Lilies on Mars (4/26) · Pegboard Nerds (5/1) · Broods (5/2) · Tensnake - German progressive house producer stops by on his Glow album tour (5/3) · Stu Larsen (5/7) · The Haxan Cloak (5/9) · Tobacco w/Stargazer Lilies (5/10) · Chet Faker (5/15) · The Weeks & Apache Relay (5/17) · Simian Mobile Disco - A DJ set (5/21)

VERIZON CENTER

601 F St. NW202-628-3200verizoncenter.com

· Paul Simon & Sting (3/13) · Cher w/Pat Benatar - Dressed to Kill Tour (4/4) · Miley Cyrus (4/10) · Lady Gaga - ArtRave: The Artpop Ball (5/15) · Katy Perry w/Capital Cities - The Prismatic World Tour (6/24-25) · Arcade Fire (8/17)

WARNER THEATRE

513 13th St. NW202-397-SEATwarnertheatre.com

· Rain - A Tribute to the Beatles (3/14-15) · The Piano Guys (3/29) · Boz Scaggs (5/16) · Celtic Woman - The Emerald Tour (5/22)

WASHINGTON WOMEN IN JAZZ FESTIVAL

washingtonwomeninjazz.com

· Integriti Reeves (3/15, Bohemian Caverns) · Jessica Boykin-Settles presents Shirley Horn: Her Life and Music (3/16, Anacostia Community Museum) · Jen Chapin w/Transparent Productions (3/16, Bohemian Caverns) · Carol Morgan with the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra (3/17, Bohemian Caverns) · Brandee Younger (3/18, Hill Center) · Mary Halvorson, Allison Miler, Sarah Hughes, Jaimie Branch, Karine Chapdelaine, Amy K. Bormet (3/19, Union Arts) · Leigh Pilzer/Jen Krupa - Playing the music of Melba Liston (3/20, Smithsonian American Art Museum) · Shannon Gunn and the Bullettes - An all-female big band (3/21, Jazz Night in SW) · Allison Miller (3/22, Levine School of Music) · Young Artist Contest and Jam Session (3/22, Levine) · Isabelle DeLeon Trio (3/22, Wesley United Methodist Church)

WOLF TRAP

Diana Ross

1645 Trap RoadVienna703-255-1900wolf-trap.org

· Under the Streetlamp/Gentleman's Rule (5/30) · Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band (6/12) · John Butler Trio w/Allen Stone (6/18) · Daryl Hall & John Oates - Yes, the '80s blue-eyed soul duo is back together (6/19) · Diana Ross - The original Supreme returns for a second year at Wolf Trap's Filene Center (6/29) · Crosby, Stills & Nash (7/3) · Straight No Chaser - A cappella innovators harmonize through an upbeat, eclectic songbook (7/17) · Huey Lewis & The News - It's hip to be square, again (7/20) · Lionel Richie, CeeLo Green -- No, that's not a typo; the old crooner will tour with one of today's leading voices (7/21-22) · Sarah McLachlan (7/26) · Darius Rucker (7/27) · Heart (7/29) · Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra w/Wynton Marsalis (7/30) · Dark Star Orchestra (8/3) · Pat Metheny Unity Group, Bruce Hornsby - Campfire Tour 2014 (8/6) · Boney James, Eric Benet (8/14) · Yanni (8/15) · ABBA - The Concert - Tribute band to the world's great pop ensemble (8/16) · Lyle Lovett & His Large Band (8/22) · Boston (8/24)

Find more venues and listings online at metroweekly.com.

At least two of the region's major orchestras will perform a toast to the 150th birthday of German composer Richard Strauss, while two local Bach-focused ensembles are toasting the 300th birthday of C.P.E. Bach, the son of the great German Johann Sebastian. But this season in classical music-rich Washington, several organizations are toasting American-grown composers, from Barber to Bernstein to Bayolo, including the Capital City Symphony at Atlas, the National Chamber Ensemble at Artisphere and the Choral Arts Society at the Kennedy Center. But of course no spring and summer would be complete without classical takes on movie music -- and musicals -- led by the Gay Men's Chorus and especially the National Symphony Orchestra Pops's starry sounds, under starry skies, outside at Wolf Trap.

Yefim Bronfman

(Photo by Frank Stewart)

THE ALDEN

McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. Mclean, Va. 703-790-0123 aldentheatre.org

· Pro Musica Washington - Husband-and-wife duo Hidetaro Suzuki on violin and Zeyda Ruga Suzuki on piano perform with guest artists a recital co-sponsored by the Music Friends of the Fairfax County Public Library (4/13) · Young Soloists Recital - Co-sponsored by the Music Friends of the Fairfax County Public Library, a performance featuring violinist Kenneth Ryu Naito, and pianists David DiMeglio, Eric Lin, Ann Liu and Miyabi Saito (5/25) · McLean Symphony -- Forty-three-year-old, all-volunteer chamber orchestra presents its fourth and final concert of the season, "Ultimate Mix: Palette Pleasers," including pieces by Weber, Tchaikovsky, M. Arnold and Enesco (5/31) · John Eaton and Tommy Cecil -- Selections from the Great American Songbook by this pianist/professor and bassist (6/21)

ARTISPHERE

1101 Wilson Blvd. Arlington 703-875-1100 artisphere.com

· National Chamber Ensemble: Mother's Day Concert - American Classics - Pianist Burnett Thompson joins to perform American jazz standards, in a season-finale program that also includes a toast to the best of America's classical composers. (5/10)

ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

1333 H St. NE 202-399-7993 atlasarts.org

· Congressional Chorus - New York, New York: An American Cabaret features music that has captured the spirit of the Empire City for centuries, including songs by Leonard Bernstein, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim and Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. (3/20-23) · Capital City Symphony - "American MusicFest Part I" features works by Scott Pander, Jennifer Higdon, Steven Gerber and Howard Hanson (3/23) · Andriessen75 - Five D.C. area organizations, including the National Gallery of Art and Strahtmore, have teamed up for a week-long festival celebrating the music of 75-year-old Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. Armando Baylo, founder of the Great Noise Ensemble and new music curator at the Atlas, developed the festival, which features the Brad Linde Ensemble and Bang on a Can All-Stars, among other performers (4/6-13) · So Percussion - Brooklyn-based quartet, called an "experimental powerhouse" by Village Voice, performs Where do we live?, an interactive composition incorporating video, paintning and dance (4/26) · Capital City Symphony - "American MusicFest Part II" features Barber's Adagioa for Strings and Knoxville, Summer of 1915 plus Brahms's Symphony No. 2 (5/4)

BACH SINFONIA

Cultural Arts Center at Silver Spring Montgomery College Silver Spring 301-362-6525 bachsinfonia.org

· C.P.E. Bach's Sensitive Side - Douglas Poplin on violoncello and Adam Pearl on harpsichord join the Bach Sinfonia in an exploration of the wide-ranging, unpredictable and intense "sensitive style," in honor of the 300th birthday of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (4/5) · Mozart's Journey from Prague to Jupiter - Paul Hopkins on baroque horn joins the Sinfonia for a rare performance on period instruments of some of Mozart's best and moved love symphonic works (5/10)

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

410-783-8000 bsomusic.org

· Bach's Brandenburgs -- All six of Bach's supreme Brandenburg Concertos with soloists from the BSO (3/13-14, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; 3/15, Strathmore) · Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras (3/16, Carver Center; 3/17, Meyerhoff) · Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto - Yan Pascal Tortelier conducts violinist Baiba Skride (3/21, 3/23, Meyerhoff; 3/22, Strathmore) · BSO SuperPops: Stayin' Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees (3/27, Strathmore; 3/28-30, Meyerhoff) · Schubert & Mendelssohn (3/28, Weinberg Center) · Bugs! (3/29, Meyerhoff; 4/5, Strathmore) · Andre Watts Returns! - Star pianist returns to the BSO to perform Grieg's Piano Concerto conducted by Jakub Hrusa(4/3-4, Meyerhoff; Strathmore, 4/5) · Itzhak Perlman (4/10, Strathmore, 4/12-13, Meyerhoff) · Mahler's Titan (4/24, 4/27, Meyerhoff) · Yefim Bronfman - Marin Alsop conducts this pianist in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (5/2, 5/4, Meyerhoff; 5/3, Strathmore) · BSO SuperPops: All That Jazz: A Symphonic Celebration of Kander and Ebb (5/15, Strathmore; 5/16-18, Meyerhoff) · Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (5/22-23, Meyerhoff; 5/24, Strathmore) · A Midsummer Night's Dream - A Concert - Maestro Alsop leads the BSO, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and actors in Edward Berkeley's concert adaptation of Shakespeare's popular magical comedy with incidental music by Felix Mendelssohn (5/29, Strathmore; 5/30-6/1, Meyerhoff) · Beethoven's Ninth (6/5-6/6, 6/8, Meyerhoff; 6/7, Strathmore) · Casablanca - Movie and Music - Emil de Cou conducts the BSO in a performance of Max Steiner's soundtrack as one of the greatest films of all time screens (6/12-13, Meyerhoff, 6/14, Strathmore)

BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

1635 Trap Road Vienna 877-WOLFTRAP wolftrap.org

· Brentano Quartet - A Late Quartet, part of Wolf Trap's Discovery Series (3/28) · Pamela Frank, Nobuko Imal and Clemens Hagen -- Violinist, viola player and cellist perform The Goldberg Variations as part of Wolf Trap's Discovery Series (4/11) · Wolf Trap Opera Company: Handel's Giulio Cesare (6/27, 6/29, 7/1) · Wolf Trap Opera Company's Aria Jukebox -- Company director Kim Witman accompanies singers performing favorite opera highlights selected by the audience (7/13) · Steven Blier with Wolf Trap Opera Company -- A Houseful of Song recital led by New York Festival of Song director (7/19-20) · Wolf Trap Opera Company: Les Six - Fine Tuning recital (7/27) · Wolf Trap Opera Company - Milhaud's Le pouvre matelot, Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tiresias (8/8, 8/10, 8/16)

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

University of Maryland College Park 301-405-ARTS claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

· Annual Men's Chorus Invitational (3/28) · American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras (3/30) · Cantare: Baroque and More (3/30) · UMD Chamber Singers: A Celebration of Benjamin Britten (4/4) · Evelyn Elsing - This faculty artist gives a recital playing cello (4/5) · Maryland Opera Studio - Die Fledermaus (4/11, 4/13, 4/19) · University Chorale: Spring Concert (4/11) · Maryland Opera Studio - A Night in Old Vienna (4/12, 4/15) · Robert DiLutis - This faculty artist gives a recital playing clarinet (4/13) · Chamber Music Showcase (4/15) · Excelsa Quartet: Classic to Contemporary - Exploring more modern works for string quartet in conjunction with the classics (4/16) · Korean Percussion Ensemble (4/19) · UMD Repertoire Orchestra: In The Hall of the Mountain King (4/23) · UMD Japanese Koto Ensemble (4/27) · UMD Men's Chorus & UMD Women's Chorus: An American Portrait (4/27) · Tempo (4/28) · UMD Wind Orchestra: Contrasts (5/2) · The Left Bank Quartet - A program of Haydn, Beethoven and Webern from this Maryland ensemble. (5/3) · Annual Pops Concert UMD Wind Ensemble, University Band, Community Band team up for this 38th annual audience favorite (5/3) · UMD Symphony Orchestra: Appalachian Spring (5/4) · Bach Cantata Series (5/8) · PostClassical Ensemble: Mexican Revolution (5/10) · Prince George's Philharmonic (5/17) · National Festival Orchestra Pops Concert (5/31) · National Festival Chamber Orchestra (6/7) · Chamber Music Marathon Concerts (6/8) · Annual Pops Concert --(5/4) · Prince George's Philharmonic (5/11) · National Orchestral Institute and Festival -- Selected talented young musicians from around the country partake in a month of professional development and music-making, culminating in several concerts, including: James Ross conducting Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (6/14); Christopher Seaman conducting Holst's The Planets (6/21); and Leonard Slatkin conducting Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony (6/28)

CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY

202-244-3669 choralarts.org

· Tango! Soul and Heart: A Celebration of Argentine Music and Dance - Scott Tucker leads the vocal ensemble and accompanists in the Pan American Symphony Orchestra in traditional and classic Tango songs and dance (4/27, Kennedy Center) · Made in America: Three Generations of Master and Emerging American Composers - A concert version of Leonard Bernstein's Mass is on the bill as is the world-premiere performance of a commission by Great Noise Ensemble's Armando Bayolo, all part of the Kennedy Center's festival Voices of Our Nation: Celebrating the Choral Tradition and including the Washington Chorus and the Children's Chorus of Washington (6/11, Kennedy Center)

THE CITY CHOIR OF WASHINGTON

202-495-1613 thecitychoirofwashington.org

· Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin - Murry Sidlin leads the City Choir of Washington and soloists in a multimedia performance of Verdi featuring video testimonials to the courageous Jewish prisoners in the World War II Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (5/1, Strathmore) · Mozart: Grand Mass in C Minor (5/18, National Presbyterian Church)

COOLIDGE AUDITORIUM AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Thomas Jefferson Building 10 First St. SE 202-707-8000 loc.gov/concerts

· Scharoun Ensemble Berlin (3/15) · Kwuon/Smirnoff/Robinson/Babayan (3/21) · Mahan Esfahani (4/4) · The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (4/10) · "The President's Own" United States Marine Band (4/12) · Daniel Muller-Schott and Simon Trpceski (4/24)

D.C.'S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

202-269-4868 dcdd.org

· Capital Pride Symphonic Band Spring Concert: Dances -- The Capitol Pride Symphonic Band offers a festive, upbeat performance, and the last for its director of the past six years Joe Bello (3/29, Columbia Heights Education Campus) · DC Swing! Spring Concert (5/25) · Marching Band: Capital Pride Parade (6/14) · DC Swing!: Capital Pride (6/15) · Marching Band: Baltimore Pride Parade (6/21) · Marching Band Palisades Parade (7/4) · Marching Band Monumorial Tour (7/14)

THE EMBASSY SERIES

202-625-2361 embassyseries.org

This 20-year-old series offers public access to foreign embassies and diplomatic homes in D.C. via classical concerts, followed by receptions, aimed at "uniting people through musical diplomacy" · Claudia Galli, Gregory Moulin - Luxembourg-born soprano opera star performs Schumann, Strauss, Brahms, Wolf, Zemlinsky and Berg with piano accompaniment (3/22, Embassy of Luxembourg) · Adrian Daurov, Di Wu - St. Petersburg-born, New York-based cellist, who regularly performs with pop stars including Alicia Keys, the Roots and Sigur Ros, performs a classical program with paino accompaniment (3/28, Embassy of the Russian Federation) · Mendelssohn Piano Trio - Multi-cultural group is currently the Ensemble-in-Residence for the Embassy Series as well as Messiah College and the Chamber Music in Grantham summer festival (4/25, Embassy of Slovenia) · Operetta Evenings: Michael Heim, Krisztina David - The Embassy Series revives its popular operetta series with the Austrian tenor and Hungarian soprano featuring works by Austro-Hungarian composers such as Kalman, Lehar and Strauss (5/15, Embassy of Austria; 5/16, Embassy of Hungary) · The Arabella String Quartet - New quartet formed in Boston that has created a stir through performances in the Northeast and D.C. (5/20, European Union Ambassador's Residence) · Ann Schein, Earl Carlyss, Darret Adkins: Chamber Music of Ravel & Debussy - A recital featuring the trio of a pianist, violinist and cellist (5/22, Embassy of France) · Bergthor Palsson - An American-educated baritone who mainly sings with the Icelandic Opera (6/6, Icelandic Ambassador's Residence) · Avguste Antonov, piano (6/12, Bulgarian Ambassador's Residence) · A Tribute to Nelson Mandela - Music from South Africa, with artists to be announced, in a gorgeously renovated residence (6/20, Residence of the South African Ambassador)

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

703-563-1990 fairfaxsymphony.org

· Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony in D Major - Christopher Zimmerman conducts the orchestra and tenor William Hite in a program that also includes Varese, Britten and Mozart (3/22-23) · Mahler's Fifth Symphony (4/26) · Orff's Carmina Burana - Zimmerman closes out the season leading the FSO, violinist Guillermo Figueroa and the Fairfax Choral Society in a program of Orff's masterpiece that also includes Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (5/10)

FOLGER CONSORT

Folger Elizabethan Theatre 201 East Capitol St. SE 202-544-7077 folger.edu

· Le Jardin Chinois: Music of 18th-Century France - Exploring the allure of China in the musical imagination of Rameau, Marias and others (3/21-23) · A Polish Renaissance: Music of Poland's Golden Age - Accompanied by vocal ensemble the Western Wind, a performance of the rarely heard, extraordinary musical art of what was then Europe's largest kingdom (4/11-13)

GAY MEN'S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

202-293-1548 gmcw.org

· Von Trapped - A gay parody of The Sound of Music (3/14-16, Lisner) · Forte: Potomac Fever and Rock Creek Singers - The chorus's two stellar select vocal ensembles are showcased (4/11, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church; 4/19, Arena Stage's Kogod Cradle) · A Gay Man's Guide to Broadway w/Laura Benanti - Everything you need to know about Broadway musicals courtesy of the chorus and this Tony Award winner for Gypsy, most recently seen on NBC's live The Sound of Music (5/18, Kennedy Center)

KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600 kennedy-center.org

· The Nash Ensemble of London - A Fortas Chamber Music Concert focused on one of music literature's timeless cornerstones, Brahms's Clarinet Quintet (4/1) · 35th Young Concert Artist Series: Cicely Parnas, cello (4/7) · Augustin Hadelich, Joyce Yang & Pablo Villegas: Tango, Song and Dance - A violinist, pianist and guitarist join forces for this Fortas Chamber Music Concert, a multimedia recital featuring wide-ranging works by Previn, Rodrigo, Falla, Piazzolla and Villa-Lobos (4/21) · Carlo Grante - HH Promotions London LLC presents this pianist, one of today's most active and popular recording artists (5/14) · Marc-Andre Hamelin with the Pacifica Quartet - Quartet makes its Fortas Chamber Music Concert debut performing Leo Ornstein's rhythmically engaging Piano Quintet with this acclaimed pianist (5/20) · Organ Recital: Iveta Apkalna - the NSO presents this Latvian organist, a leading performer steeped in the traditions of Eastern Europe (5/21) · Kennedy Center Chamber Players - Musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra perform J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations arranged for string trio (6/1) ·

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Music Center at Strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda 301-493-9283 nationalphilharmonic.org

· Bach Mass in B Minor - Stan Engebretson conducts the Chorale and Orchestra and four outstanding soloists in a concert to thrill listeners with its lofty design, scope and expression, one week before Easter (4/12-13) · Sarah Chang Plays Vivaldi's Four Seasons - Piotr Gajewski leads the orchestra and Chang in a program that also includes Strauss's Metamorphosen (5/17-18) · Strauss Masterpieces - Maestro Gajewski leads a toast to Strauss in this, the 150th anniversary of his birth (5/31)

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Kennedy Center Concert Hall 202-467-4600 kennedy-center.org

· Danill Triffonov plays Rachmaninoff, Kelly O'Connor sings Falla - Pianist performs Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and mezzo-soprano offers El amor brujo in a program led by Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos (3/13-15) · Celebrating Richard Strauss at 150 - Soprano Irene Theorin and bass-baritone John Relyea join Christoph Eschenbach and the NSO in this salute to Strauss that includes selections from Don Juan, Elektra and Salome (3/20-24) · NSO Pops with rapper Nas - Steven Reineke leads the NSO in an unusual venture into hip-hop, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Nas's debut album Illmatic as part of the Kennedy Center's weeklong celebration One Mic: Hip-Hop Culture Worldwide (3/28-29) · Gil Shaham plays Korngold - Violinist with what the New York Times calls "flawless precision and gleeful command" plays Korngold's Violin Concerto on a program led by renowned conductor James Conlon and includes masterpieces by Brahms and Zemiinsky (4/10-12) · Nikolai Lugansky plays Prokofiev - Russian pianist performs the Piano Concerto No. 3 in a program helmed by young Cornelius Meister in his NSO debut (4/17-19) · Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony - Renowned conductor Osmo Vanska leads Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in a program that also includes Sibelius's Symphony No. 3 and Aho's Clarinet Concerto featuring the NSO debut of Martin Frost (4/24-26) · NSO Pops: Rajaton: The Music of ABBA - The genre-crossing Finnish ensemble Rajaton joins the NSO Pops in a tribute to ABBA (5/30-31) · Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" - Maestro Eschenbach leads the NSO in a performance of Tchaikovsky's classic symphony plus Brahms's famed Double Concerto featuring two rising young stars, violinist Nicola Benedetti and cellist Leonard Eischenbroich (6/5-7) · Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 - Maestro Eschenbach concludes the NSO's classical season with the titanic and awe-inspiring Symphony No. 8 (6/12-14) · NSO Pops: The Midtown Men - The four original stars of Broadway's Jersey Boys showcase their trademark sounds, choreography and chemistry in this grand finale to the NSO Pops season (6/27-28)

SIXTH & I HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE

600 I St. NW 202-408-3100 sixthandi.org

· A Winged Victory for the Sullen w/the American Contemporary Music Ensemble - A neo-classical collaboration between composer Dustin O'Halloran and Stars of the Lid's Adam Wiltzie. (3/19)

STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda 301-581-5100 strathmore.org

· Escolania de Montserrat - Spain's premiere boys' choir and one of its oldest music schools in Europe performs in the U.S. for the first time in its history (3/16) · Peter Minkler & Jeremy Gill - Baltimore Symphony Orchestra violist performs works by Gill, who will accompany at the piano (3/30) · Parker Quartet - One of the preeminent new ensembles offer a program including the Washington premiere of Jeremy Gill's Capriccio (3/31) · Avi Avital - German-based Israeli mandolin player returns to the area. (4/3) · Piotr Pakhomkin - Russian-American guitarist performs acrobatic works by Paganini and Mertz (4/9, 4/23) · Trio Cloisonne - A trio of Baltimore Symphony musicians perform music by Ravel and American composers Robert Paterson and Jan Bach (5/1) · Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra - Vladimir Spivakov, one of the world's most prominent violinists and conductors, leads this orchestra, returning to Strathmore to celebrate the orchestra's 35th anniversary (5/10) · Aaron Grad & Gus Mercante (5/15) · Evermay Chamber - Based at the D.C. mansion that gives it its name, this marks the first engagement outside Evermay of this exciting new nine-member ensemble assembled by violinist Tamaki Kawakubo (6/5) · Denis Matsuev (6/17)

WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT

National Presbyterian Church 4101 Nebraska Ave. NW 202-429-2121 bachconsort.org

· The St. John Passion - One of Bach's works based on the four gospels, long overshadowed by the monumental St. Matthew Passion (3/16) · Revolution & Evolution: The Music of C.P.E. Bach - Celebrating the birth of Bach's most famous son, whose "sensitive style" dazzled the courts of Europe (5/4)

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA

Kennedy Center Opera House 202-295-2400 dc-opera.org

· The Elixir of Love - Donizetti's loveable comic opera (3/20-29) · An Evening with Paul Appleby and Joshua Hopkins - A chance to hear the American tenor and Canadian baritone, with piano accompaniment, before they make their Washington National Opera debuts in Mozart's The Magic Flute (4/6) · The Magic Flute - Mozart's final opera in what the San Francisco Chronicle calls a "zesty and imaginative new production" (5/3-18) · An American Soldier - The second season of the American Opera Initiative continues with this hour-long, world-premiere opera composed by Huang Ruo with a libretto by David Henry Hwang (6/13-14)

WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY

202-833-9800 wpas.org

· Los Angeles Philharmonic - Gustavo Dudamel directs (3/18, Kennedy Center) · Israel Philharmonic Orchestra - Gianandrea Noseda conducts (3/30, Kennedy Center) · Minguet Quartett - German ensemble takes its name from the 18th-Century Spanish philosopher Pablo Minguet, who tried in his writings to make the fine arts accessible to the masses (4/2, Kennedy Center) · Louis Lortie - French-Canadian pianist appears as part of the Piano Masters series (4/11, Kennedy Center) · Of Thee We Sing: The Marian Anderson 75th Anniversary Celebration (4/12, DAR Constitution Hall) · Hilary Hahn (4/23, Strathmore) · Benjamin Grosvenor - The youngest-ever winner of the Keyboard section of the BBC's Young Musician of the Year in 2004 - at the age of 11 (4/29, Kennedy Center) · Martin Helmchen - This young German artist is a rapidly rising star in the piano world, presented as part of the Hayes Piano Series (5/10, Kennedy Center) · Stefan Jackiw and Anna Polonsky - A recital by this star violinist and pianist (5/21, Kennedy Center) · Chris Botti (5/22, Kennedy Center) · Sam Haywood (5/31, Kennedy Center)

WOLF TRAP

1645 Trap Road Vienna, Va. 703-255-1900 wolf-trap.org

· Il Volo (6/13) · NSO @ Wolf Trap: Pixar in Concert (6/20) · The Philadelphia Orchestra: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (6/28) · NSO @ Wolf Trap: Matthew Morrison (7/10) · NSO @ Wolf Trap: Fantasia (7/11-12) · NSO @ Wolf Trap: Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano (7/18) · NSO @ Wolf Trap: 2001: A Space Odyssey (7/19) · NSO @ Wolf Trap: Bizet's Carmen - The Wolf Trap Opera Company kicks off its season with one of the genre's most popular (7/25) · NSO @ Wolf Trap: Mary Chapin Carpenter (8/1) · NSO @ Wolf Trap: Yo-Yo Ma (8/2) · Josh Groban (8/19-20) Find more venues and listings at metroweekly.com.

Dance Place will conclude its season, in which its Brookland home venue has undergone extensive renovations, by presenting performances elsewhere by many of dance's leading lights, including gay choreographer Kyle Abraham at Howard University and pioneering transgender choreographer Sean Dorsey, who worked with the LGBT Elders Oral History Project for his latest piece, to be presented at Joe's Movement Emporium in May. But that's just the tip of what's on offer this season. From the National Symphony Orchestra "New Moves: Symphony + Dance" series to Wolf Trap presenting the final D.C. performance of the Trey McIntyre Project, movement fans will find plenty to move them.

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion

(Photo by Steven Schreiber)

THE ALDEN

McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave. McLean, Va. 703-790-0123 aldentheatre.org

· Christopher K. Morgan & Artists: Dissolving -- D.C.-based contemporary dance company, led by gay namesake, is in its third season as Alden's resident dance company; the company offers an evening of mixed repertory including the world premiere of a piece that artfully explores themes of water pollution and conservation, incorporating locally accumulated and collected rainwater into the performance (3/14-15)

AMERICAN DANCE INSTITUTE

1501 East Jefferson St. Rockville 301-984-3003 americandance.org

· Kidd Pivot/Crystal Pite: The Tempest Replica - Based on motifs from Shakespeare's The Tempest, Pite's new dance piece features a game of revenge and forgiveness, reality and imagination (3/14-15) · Yvonne Rainer - Assisted Living: Good Sports 2 from 2011 and Assisted Living: Do You Have Any Money? from 2013 are two recent dances from this choreographer, who was a founder of the influential, experimental Judson Dance Theater a half-century ago (4/25-26) · John Jasperse: From once between - ADI National Incubator Showcase (5/9-10) · Tere O'Connor: Bleed - The culmination of a two-year endeavor, this choreographer collapses three of his works in a single hybrid creation (5/16-17) · Christopher K. Morgan & Artists: By The Inch - ADI resident artist concludes his company's season with an evening of mixed repertory (5/30-31) · Ballet ADI: Carmina Burana - Ballet ADI Director Runqiao Du creates a new ballet set to sections of Carl Orff's iconic masterpiece inspired by the majestic music, text and context (6/13-14)

ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

1333 H St. NE 202-399-7993 atlasarts.org

· Aparna Ramaswamy: Sannichi (Sacred Space) - Acclaimed Bharatanatyam soloist and choreographer Ramaswamy brings together Indian-American artists of the next generation in her new work, merging the spiritual and the secular into one (3/29-30) · Camille A. Brown & Dancers: Mr. Tol E. RAncE - Seeking to defy boundaries between dance and theater, this choreographer offers a piece inspired by Spike Lee's 2002 film Bamboozled exploring the sustained racial archetypes of black performers while celebrating their tenacity and perseverance (4/5-6) · Adele Myers: Einstein's Happiest Thought - A multidisciplinary piece by this New England-based dancer and choreographer working with L.A.-based filmmaker Emmy Picket and composer Josh Quillen of So Percussion, inspired by Myers's struggle with a fear of heights while attending NY Trapeze School (5/31-6/1)

BALTIMORE THEATRE PROJECT

45 West Preston St. Baltimore 410-752-8558 theatreproject.org

· Deep Vision Dance Company: The Traveling Feet - Deep Vision dives into the flavor of the ragtime era, showcasing live music and social dance with a twist (4/11-13) · Mara Neimanis/In-Flight Theater: Air Heart - A 60-minute solo aerial performance about the life, mystery and final flight of Amelia Earhart, taking place on a 12-foot-tall spinning metal plane sculpture (4/24-5/4)

CITYDANCE

CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda 202-347-3909 citydance.net

· Children & Youth Concert - Young talents of CityDance showcase techniques they've mastered throughout the year (6/15) · Conservatory Concert (6/16)

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

University of Maryland College Park 301-405-ARTS claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

· UMD Dynamic Dance Team: Rip The Floor 2014 -- Campus hip-hop team hosts a regional battle for bragging rights as "the hottest dance team on the East Coast," as selected by a panel of locally grown, widely known choreographers and dancers (3/29) · Sam Mauceri: Seagirl - Set to feminist punk music, Sam Mauceri's original work utilizes theater, dance and movement to explore a young woman's attempts at unpacking her own prejudices in a discouraging world (3/29-30) · Shared Graduate Dance Concert (4/12-13) · UMOVES: Undergraduate Dance Concert (4/24-27)

DANCE PLACE

3225 8th St. NE 202-269-1600 danceplace.org

· Rennie Harris RHAW - Harris's second company meant to forge new paths for young hip-hop hopefuls and present the genre in its "RHAW-est" forms (3/22-23, Edgewood Arts Center, 3415 8th St. NE) · Telephone Dance Project - Four female choreographers led by Katie Drake of D.C. demonstrate the improvisational skills they use to collaborate via long distance as well as present a site-specific dance experience at the National Portrait Gallery and a salon-style show (3/28-29, Brookland Artspace Lofts) · Companhia Urbana de Danca - An ensemble of street performers founded in Brazil a decade ago by dancer Tiago Sousa and choreographer and artistic director Sonia Destri Lie (4/5, Edgewood Arts Center) · Dance Place's NEXTgeneration Showcase - Showcasing the talents of Dance Place's Kids on the Move students and Coyaba Dance Theater's students in African, ballet, tap and hip-hop (5/10, THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE) · Step It Up DC - Special step workshops and an informal performance by the Dance Place Step Team (5/16, Edgewood Arts Center) · Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion - Live! The Realest MC is a new ensemble work by noted gay choreographer, who was inspired by Pinocchio in this exploration of gender roles in the black community and hip-hop celebrity (5/17-18, Ira Aldridge Theater, Howard University) · Step Afrika! - Green Is The New Black explores the notion of taking the energy of dancing and stepping and reusing it to power devices and communities (5/29-6/1, Hartke Theatre at Catholic University) · DanceAfrica 2014 - The 27th annual festival celebrating the dance and music of the African Diaspora, and marking the re-opening of Dance Place's main venue after a season-long revitalization (6/2-8) · Sharon Mansur and Nick Bryson - Insert [ ] Here is an evening of site-situated performance featuring Washingtonian Mansur, Irishman Bryson and guests Daniel Burkholder, Naoko Maeshiba and sound artist Tara Rodgers (6/21-22)

JANE FRANKLIN DANCE

703-933-1111 janefranklin.com

· Mouse In House - Adapted from the book by Elizabeth Spires, The Mouse of Amherst (3/16, Atheaneum) · The Big Meow -- Adapted from the book by Elizabeth Spires (3/29-30, 4/5, Theatre on the Run) · Sway - An evening of new and recent repertory (3/29, 4/5, Theatre on the Run) · Forty+ - Jane Franklin's performing group of community-based dancers past age 40 (4/1, Theatre on the Run)

JOE'S MOVEMENT EMPORIUM

3309 Bunker Hill Rd. Mount Rainier, Md. 301-699-1819 joesmovement.org

· The Art of Social Dance - Joe's Annual Gala (3/15) · Deviated Theatre: VaVaVoom - A late-night performance featuring burlesque dancers, aerial artists and more (3/29) · Nancy Havlik's Dance Performance Group - A joint venture with Daniel Barbiero's Subtle Body Transmission Orchestra and Mt. Rainier Student Group in a lively dance/music celebration (5/3) · Sean Dorsey Dance: The Secret History of Love - Dance Place presents the first acclaimed transgender modern-dance choreographer in the U.S. and his company, performing The Secret History of Love, a piece that grew out of a two-year LGBT Elders Oral History Project (5/9-10, Joe's Movement Emporium)

KENNEDY CENTER

2700 F St. NW 202-467-4600 kennedy-center.org

· One Mic: Breaking Form: Global Urban Contemporary Dance - Hip-hop artist and director of the U.K.'s Breakin' Convention, Jonzi D hosts this showcase of hip-hop dance featuring Project Soul from South Korea, Sebastien Ramierz and Honji Wang from France and Companhia Urbana from Brazil (4/6) · Wayne McGregor and Random Dance - British choreographer brings his company to the Kennedy Center to present the multimedia work Far, with a score by Ben Frost and visuals that includes a computerized pin board of 3,200 LED lights (5/1-3) · National Symphony Orchestra's New Moves: Symphony + Dance series, featuring: Keigwin + Company, with new choreography by Larry Keigwin set to selections from Bernstein's On The Town and On The Waterfront and Schuman's New England Triptych (5/7-8); New Ballet Ensemble, featuring a dance performance by Memphis Jookin' artists performing to music by Duke Ellington, plus Barber's Souvenirs, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and a concerto featuring timpani Javon Gilliam (5/10-13); Jessica Lang Dance, featuring original choreography set to Adams's Violin Concerto plus Copland's Appalachian Spring (5/16-17) · National College Dance Festival 2014 - The American College Dance Festival Association presents three programs featuring some of the finest dance works performed by a total of 33 participating schools (6/5-7)

LISNER AUDITORIUM AT GWU

730 21st St. NW 202-994-6800 lisner.org

· Momix: Botanica - Co-presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society, this show features an eclectic score ranging from birdsong to Vivaldi that shows off the endlessly renewable energy of the performers, aided by costumes, projections and custom-made props and puppetry (4/25-26) · Todo Tango - DC Tango Festival presents the Pan American Symphony Orchestra and a Tango music spectacular featuring an international cast of dancers (5/3)

NEXT REFLEX DANCE COLLECTIVE

703-927-0073 nextreflexdc.com

· On the edge of things and other notes... - The audience moves in, around and through dancers, changing their perspective as the choreography, by artistic director Roxann Morgan Rowley and company member Tina Fratello, unfolds (3/23, Jack Guidone Theater, Joy of Motion Dance Center Friendship Heights) · University of Mary Washington Faculty and Student Dance Concert (4/4-5, Dodd Auditorium, University of Mary Washington) · 2nd Annual Shepherdstown on Site (SOS) Dance Festival (6/6-8, Shepherdstown, W.V.) · Clean Sweep - A collaboration with Dance Performance Group and Moveius Contemporary Ballet (6/17, National Portrait Gallery)

STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda 301-581-5100 strathmore.org

· Asanga Domask/Serendib Dance: Rhythm of Lanka - Asanga Domask's new company is dedicated to preserving an ancient tradition and brings a daring collection of Sri Lankan traditional and folk dance to Strathmore's Backyard Theater Series this summer (7/31)

THE WASHINGTON BALLET

202-362-3606 washingtonballet.org

· Peter Pan - A new production of Septime Webre's dazzling ballet adaptation of J.M. Barrie, a whimsical adventure told through vibrant dance (4/16-20, 4/26-27, Kennedy Center) · Tour-de-Force: Balanchine! - A gala-style program of provocative and engaging, showstopping classical and contemporary ballets (4/23-25, Kennedy Center) · Who Cares? - The Washington Ballet Studio Company performs an exuberant ballet set to the music of George Gershwin (5/17-18, THEARC)

WOLF TRAP

1645 Trap Road Vienna 703-255-1900 wolf-trap.org

· Trey McIntyre Project (6/11) · Pilobolus (7/1) · Noche Flamenca (8/12) · Pacific Northwest Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre - A Face of America Production (8/27)

Find more dance venues and listings at metroweekly.com.

The theatre season may be half over, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty left to see on D.C. stages, starting with the Kennedy Center, whose impressive World Stages: International Theater Festival kicked off this week (see page 44). If you desire some political high drama, head over to Arena for Camp David. Crave a bit of sexual rompery? No Rules is happily going Boeing Boeing. Fancy a little Falstaff? Shakespeare is presenting both Henrys in rep. What about a macabre musical? Look no further than Signature's Threepenny Opera. Are foul-mouthed puppets your thing? Olney takes us for a spin on Avenue Q. And for those who crave a silence with their Shakespeare, Synetic is reviving its acclaimed Hamlet. Prepare to be thespianized.

Beaches

(Photo by Margot Schulman)

ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC

7300 MacArthur Blvd. Glen Echo, Md. 301-634-2270 adventuretheatre-mtc.org

· The Jungle Book - Based on the story by Rudyard Kipling, follow the adventures of boy-cub Mowgli and his animal pals (4/4-5/25) · Pinkalicious - A girl with an affinity for pink cupcakes turns pink from head to toe and surprisingly does not launch a pop music career (6/20-8/31)

AMERICAN CENTURY THEATER

Gunston Theater II 2700 South Lang St. Arlington 703-998-4555 americancentury.org

· Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad -- An absurdist black comedy by Arthur Kopit (3/21-4/12) · Judgment at Nuremberg -- A stage version of the acclaimed live TV drama from the '50s (5/30-6/28) · The Great American Century Songbook - A cast of seven present an evening of American folk, popular and stage music from the first third of the 20th century (7/18-8/16)

ARENA STAGE Mead Center for American Theater

1101 6th St. SW 202-488-3300 arenastage.org

· Loveland -- Ann Randolph's one-woman comedy (3/18-4/13, Kogod) · Camp David -- Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright pens this dramatization about the historical meeting between President Jimmy Carter, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. A world premiere directed by Molly Smith (3/21-5/4, Kreeger) · Smokey Joe's Cafe -- Randy Johnson stages this rock classic celebrating the songs of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, including "Jailhouse Rock," "Hound Dog," "Stand by Me" and "On Broadway" (4/25-6/8, Fichandler) · Healing Wars -- Bill Pullman stars in Liz Lerman's piece combining dance and narrative and exploring the healers who treat the physical and psychological wounds of battle (6/7-29, Kogod)

CENTER STAGE

700 N. Calvert St. Baltimore 410-986-4000 centerstage.org

· Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike -- A co-production with Kansas City Repertory Theatre of Christopher Durang's hilarious look at a very odd set of siblings (4/16-5/25) · Wild with Happy -- Colman Durango's wild comedy focuses on Gil, who's boyfriend has just left and mother has passed away. Enter boisterous Aunt Flo, who pulls him out of his funk (5/28-6/29)

CONSTELLATION THEATRE

1835 14th St. NW 202-204-7741 constellationtheatre.org

· The Love of the Nightingale -- Playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker adapts Ovid's myth about Philomele, Procne and Tereus, in which family loyalties, desire and violence merge and erupt (4/24-5/25)

FOLGER THEATRE

201 East Capitol St. SE 202-544-7077 folger.edu

· Fiasco Theater's The Two Gentlemen of Verona -- New York's inventive theater company brings its whimsical version of Shakespeare's light comedy (4/17-5/25)

FORD'S THEATRE

511 10th St. NW 202-347-4833 fordstheatre.org

· The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee -- William Finn's delightful crowd-pleasing musical is a natural, obvious fit for Ford's (3-5/17)

GALA HISPANIC THEATRE

3333 14th St. NW 202-234-7174 galatheatre.org

· Living Out -- A lawyer and her Salvadoran nanny, both mothers, struggle to make better lives for their children in this play by Lisa Loomer. Directed by Abel Lopez (4/24-5/18)

KEEGAN THEATRE

1742 Church St. NW 703-892-0202 keegantheatre.com

· Hair -- The classic rock musical lets the sun shine in at Church Street (3/15-4/12) · Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight -- A loud, boisterous screwball comedy by Peter Ackerman. Directed by Colin Smith (5/3-24) · A Midsummer Night's Riot -- A one-man tour-de-force from Irish playwright Rosemary Jenkinson (5/6-25)

KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600 kennedy-center.org

· World Stages: International Theater Festival -- Works from 20 countries, including staged readings and installations (Now to 3/30; see page 44) · Side Show -- Directed by Bill Condon, this is a Kennedy Center-produced revival of the hit musical about conjoined twins (6-7/13, Eisenhower) · Disney's The Lion King -- Julie Taymor's lavish, inventive adaptation of the popular animated film returns with a roar (6/17-8/17, Opera House)

METRO STAGE

1201 North Royal St. Alexandria 703-548-9044 metrostage.org

· Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song -- Maurice Hines directs and choreographs this celebration of the legendary jazz singer (Now to 3/16) · The Thousandth Night -- An actor is arrested and avoids his fate by playing 38 characters from the Arabian Nights. Directed by John Vreeke (4/3-5/18) · Underneath the Lintel -- Glen Berger's play concerns a Dutch librarian, a returned library book 113 years overdue and the obsession to locate its owner (4/17-5/25)

NATIONAL THEATRE

1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW 202-628-6161 nationaltheatre.org

· Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight -- Yes, he's still doing it, and nope, there's no finer personification of Twain (4/4-5) · West Side Story -- One of the greatest musicals of all time in a new revival (6/3-8)

NO RULES THEATRE CO.

4200 Campbell Ave. Arlington 571-527-2159 norulestheatre.org

· Boeing Boeing -- A playboy juggles three fiancées, all of whom are flight attendants. Chaos ensues when there's a weather delay (6/4-29, Signature Theatre)

OLNEY THEATRE CENTER

2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road Olney, Md. 301-924-3400 olneytheatre.org

· I and You -- Two students unravel a Walt Whitman poem and find romance (2/26-3/23, Theatre Lab) · Once On This Island -- A jubilant musical set in the Caribbean (4/9-5/4, Mainstage) · The Piano Lesson -- The August Wilson classic (5/7-6/1, Theatre Lab) · Avenue Q -- Puppets say the most adult things (6/11-7/6, Mainstage)

POINTLESS THEATRE

Mead Theatre Lab 916 G St. NW 202-733-6321 pointlesstheatre.com

· Sleeping Beauty -- A puppet ballet (4/9-5/3)

REP STAGE

10901 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia, Md. 443-518-1500 repstage.org

· The Fantasticks -- The Tom Jones-Harvey Schmidt musical still enchants after all these years. Features the classic song, "Try to Remember" (4/30-5/18)

ROUND HOUSE THEATRE

4545 East-West Highway Bethesda 240-644-1100 roundhousetheatre.org

· Two Trains Running -- August Wilson's portrait of African-American life in the '60s (4/2-27) · Ordinary Days -- Adam Gwon's musical is about "growing up and enjoying the view" (5/28-6/22)

SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

Harman Center for the Arts 610 F St. NW Lansburgh Theatre 450 7th St. NW 202-547-1122 shakespearetheatre.org

· Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 -- Michael Kahn directs the epic history plays, running in rep and starring Stacy Keach as Falstaff (3/25-6/8, Harman Hall) · Private Lives -- Maria Aitken directs Noel Coward's sublime comedy of manners (5/29-7/13, Lansburgh)

SIGNATURE THEATRE

4200 Campbell Ave. Arlington 703-820-9771 signature-theatre.org

· Beaches -- Eric Schaeffer directs this musical adaptation of the beloved book by Iris Rainer Dart (2/18-3/23, Max) · Tender Napalm -- Matthew Gardiner directs this edgy, new battle-of-the-sexes drama by Philip Ridley (3/18-5/11, Ark) · The Threepenny Opera -- Matthew Gardiner directs the audacious Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical (4/22-6/1, Max)

STUDIO THEATRE

1501 14th St. NW 202-332-3300 studiotheatre.org

· Water by the Spoonful -- In this 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winner, the lives of four addicts collide with an ex-Marine in North Philly (3/5-4/13) · Moth -- The friendship between an anime-obsessed teenage boy and an emo-Wiccan girl is forever changed by a huge event on the athletic field (4/9-5/4, 2ndstage) · Cock -- A gay man on break from his boyfriend meets the woman of his dreams in Mike Barlett's provocative work (5/14-6/22) · Beats -- Kieran Hurley performs his one-man show about a teen sneaking off to a rave. A hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (6/11-29) · classic about a playwright and his complicated relationship with his wife. Directed by David Muse (Opens 5/22/13) · Carrie: The Musical -- Keith Allen Baker directs this over-the-top musical (that failed spectacularly on Broadway when it first debuted) with a (hopeful) eye toward extreme camp (7/9-8/3, 2ndstage)

SYNETIC THEATER

1800 South Bell St. Crystal City Arlington 800-494-8497 synetictheater.org

· Hamlet -- A revival of the production that started it all for Synetic (3/14-4/6) · Three Men in a Boat -- Three men take a holiday from work and encounter all manner of misadventures. Directed by Derek Goldman (5/8-6/8)

THEATRE J

1529 16th St. NW 800-494-8497 theaterj.org

· The Admission -- An Israeli homage to All My Sons set in Haifa during the first Intifada. Directed by Sinai Peter (3/20-4/27) · Freud's Last Session -- Serge Seiden directs Mark St. Germain's play in which Freud engages with C.S. Lewis in an exchange about God, love, sex and life (5/14-6/29) · The Prostate Dialogues -- John Spellman performs his own work, commissioned by Theater J, in which he explores masculinity and mortality in the face of cancer. Directed by Jerry Whiddon (5/30-6/29)

WASHINGTON STAGE GUILD

Undercroft Theatre 900 Massachusetts Ave. NW stageguild.org

· Elling -- Oddly matched roommates must cope with the real world and each other (4/24-5/18)

WOOLLY MAMMOTH

641 D St. NW 202-393-3939 woollymammoth.net

· Arguendo -- The innovative company Elevator Repair Service applies its unique theatrical style to the Supreme Court, tackling the 1991 First Amendment case where a group of go-go dancers petitioned for their right to perform completely naked (3/31-4/20) · The Totalitarians -- The ambitious speechwriter for a rich housewife's vanity campaign for public office stumbles upon a perfectly patriotic slogan and it produces campaign gold. Directed by Robert O'Hara (6/2-29)

For more listings, visit MetroWeekly.com.

Blockbuster season nears, and for every webslinger, mutant and giant lizard, there seems to be fare more intimate and potentially interesting -- a sex-hungry woman, terminally ill teenagers in the thrall of romance, a bear family making its way across Alaskan tundra. There are also Muppets, dragons, Greek gods, biblical legends and Jon Hamm. So, something for everyone.

March

NEED FOR SPEED -- We kick off our list with a film based on an incredibly popular series of video games. Great start, no? Look, it's a film about cars with a thin plot weaved in between the driving sequences. Aaron Paul cashes in on his Breaking Bad notoriety in a movie that will please the Fast and the Furious crowd, who'll drive their pimped out '90s Honda Civics to see it and likely love every minute. (3/14)

Veronica Mars

(Photo by Robert Voets)

VERONICA MARS -- Fans of the canceled CW series Veronica Mars wanted a film so badly they paid for it themselves. One year after the most successful Kickstarter funding campaign in history and seven years after the show went off the air, Kristen Bell and company return in this noir drama, which will feature copious amounts of fanservice. Good or bad, it doesn't matter -- it's a success story befitting the digital age. (3/14)

BAD WORDS -- Oh, Jason Bateman. Your film career has never quite matched the brilliance of playing Michael Bluth. Perhaps, then, starring in a film you're also directing will improve matters? Bad Words, about a middle-aged man who uses a loophole to enter a spelling bee, could be just the success Arrested Development fans have been hoping for. Come on! (3/14)

Muppets Most Wanted

MUPPETS MOST WANTED -- Dear Gods of Film: Please, please, please don't let this suck. The Muppets' comeback was so brilliant I don't think I could handle a lackluster sequel. Trailers and synopses point to an absolute train wreck, but I have faith. (3/21)

DIVERGENT -- I feel like the only one who had never heard of Divergent, the young-adult novel set in near future where society is divided into five factions as determined by their personalities. No matter, as it's now an $80 million blockbuster starring Kate Winslet as the head of one faction who is intent on destroying all "divergents," those who don't fit into any one category. Finally, I can be that person who sees the film instead of reading the book. (3/21)

NYMPHOMANIAC: PART 1 -- Don't let Shia LaBeouf's current bout of insanity stop you from seeing Nymphomaniac. It follows one woman's erotic journey from birth to age 50, the self-diagnosed nymphomaniac Joe. Featuring un-simulated sex, the film is a two-fingered salute to slut-shaming -- so probably not one to take your mother to see. (3/21)

NOAH -- Russell Crowe takes the lead in this fantasy epic based on the biblical tale of Noah. With a huge budget, all-star cast and copious amounts of CGI, it's typical pre-summer blockbuster fare. God wasn't given a token producer's credit, but he's likely too busy looking after Matthew McConaughey to notice. (3/28)

SABOTAGE -- Arnold Schwarzenegger. Guns. Explosions. Action thriller. That should be enough to make up your mind on this one. (3/28)

April

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER -- Superhero season kicks off with the sequel to 2011's Captain America. Come for Chris Evans (or Scarlett Johansson), stay for the popcorn-friendly, big-budget thrills typical of Marvel's cinema offerings. (4/4)

RIO 2 -- With above-average reviews and above-average box office returns, someone at Blue Sky Studios thought animated film Rio worthy of a second outing. Good for them, but I still won't be watching. (4/11)

ST. VINCENT DE VAN NUYS -- Very little has been leaked or shown of this comedy, starring Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Chris O'Dowd. That cast alone, though, should be enough to pique your interest. The screenplay, about a boy whose parents have recently divorced striking up a friendship with his war-veteran neighbor, was rumored to be one of Hollywood's best unproduced films, but we'll have to wait and see. (4/11)

TRANSCENDENCE -- Christopher Nolan's cinematographer steps behind the camera for the first time with this sci-fi thriller starring Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman. Depp plays a researcher intent on creating the first sentient machine. He incurs the wrath of extremists opposed to technological advancement. Maybe they just really like Windows XP? (4/18)

BEARS -- Disneynature gets ready to make us laugh, cry and squeal like delighted children with a documentary that follows the lives of a mother and her cubs over the course of a year in Alaska's wilderness. It's going to be breathtaking, and arrives in theaters in time for Earth Day. (4/18)

HEAVEN IS FOR REAL -- No, it isn't. That's the skepticism facing Colton Burpo, who wakes up from emergency surgery and shares details on the procedure and his family history that he claims to have learned by visiting heaven. Based on the best-selling Christian novel, Greg Kinnear stars as Colton's father, navigating his family through the drama of coming to terms with their religious beliefs. For non-believers, Neil deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey airs April 20 on TV. (4/18)

WALK OF SHAME -- Elizabeth Banks is incredibly watchable. That alone should help this comedy rise up from what seems like a rather middling premise. Banks stars as a reporter stranded in downtown L.A. after a one-night stand, who has eight hours to reach a job interview with no ID, car or phone. Let's hope the walk is all that's shameful about this film. (4/25)

THE OTHER WOMAN -- Cameron Diaz teams up with Leslie Mann and Kate Upton to seek revenge on her boyfriend, who transpires to be Mann's wife and who's also Upton's lover. They're all the other woman... get it? (4/25)

May

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 -- If this sequel follows the trajectory of the Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man trilogy, it will be even better than the first, while the second sequel, due in 2016, will be more The Mediocre and Uncomfortably Awkward Spider-Man. Presumably, they'll avoid calling the third sequel, greenlit for 2018, The Rather Shit Spider-Man, but you never know. (5/2)

NEIGHBORS -- Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen are new parents. They're young, they want to go out, but all that baby stuff is cramping their style. What could make things worse? Why, a fraternity moving in next door, that's what! Okay, so the premise sounds cringe-inducing, but the actual film looks to be a pretty decent R-rated comedy. Zac Efron gets shirtless a lot, if that's your thing. (5/9)

GODZILLA -- If your mind immediately jumped to a hulking dinosaur stampeding through Japan, please leave. Your outdated references have no place in this modern reimagining of the oft-told tale. Anyone remember the 1998 film of the same name? No? Okay, then this is probably for you. Expect all the CGI destruction you could possibly want as this giant beast stomps its way past the $160 million budget. (5/16)

Million Dollar Arm

MILLION DOLLAR ARM -- Jon Hamm is all the reason you need to see this. I think there's a really uplifting and inspiring true story about a sports agent recruiting Indian cricketers to play Major League Baseball, but I'm not sure as I was too busy looking at Jon Hamm. Did I mention Jon Hamm is in it? Jon Hamm. (5/16)

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST -- This film carries a lot on its mutant shoulders. Attempting to be a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: First Class, it'll also follow-on from Wolverine. How is this possible? Time travel, of course! Present day Wolverine travels to the '60s, and meets the gang from First Class in an attempt to stop a war occurring in both timelines which threatens to destroy mutants. Heavy stuff, but there's an incredible cast on offer here, so it should be pretty decent watching. (5/23)

BLENDED -- When Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler team up for a comedy, you know it's going to be incredible. Said no one, ever. (5/23)

MALEFICENT - Yes. Angelina Jolie takes on the role of one of Disney's most formidable antagonists, Maleficent, who cursed Princess Aurora to die by the prick of a spinning wheel's spindle. A live-action re-imagining of the original animated tale, it will follow the chain of events that led to Maleficent's pure heart turning to stone. Jolie was reportedly so scary in full make-up that only her own daughter was able to play young Princess Aurora, as she wasn't frightened of her mother. This is going to be good. (5/30)

A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST - Family Guy, American Dad, Ted. All good. The Cleveland Show. Bad. Dads. Atrocious. A slice of Seth MacFarlane's canon, but it shows that his content can vary greatly in quality. A Million Ways to Die in the West could be a golden nugget, it could be horse droppings. (5/30)

June

EDGE OF TOMORROW -- Tom Cruise will run a lot, that much we can be sure of. This sci-fi action film is a bit like Groundhog Day, in that its main character is stuck in a time loop, forced to repeat each day. It slightly differs from Bill Murray's comedy in that Cruise repeats his last day in a battle between humanity and aliens. Okay, it differs quite a lot. Still, it's a nice, CGI-filled take on the old ''humanity is dooooooomed'' humans vs. aliens premise of many sci-fi films. (6/6)

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS -- Hazel, a 16-year-old cancer patient, meets and falls in love with 17-year-old amputee and cancer survivor Augustus at a support group for children living with cancer. Be ready to cry in front of strangers. (6/6)

22 JUMP STREET -- Sequel to surprise hit 21 Jump Street, starring Channing Tatum and double-Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill. (No, we didn't think we'd ever write that, either.) Expect more R-rated antics as the duo find themselves undercover at a local college. (6/13)

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 -- I'll go ahead and say it, How to Train Your Dragon is my favorite non-Disney/Pixar animated film. The original had everything: humor, heart, action and it was beautifully animated and scored. I didn't want Universal to turn it into a cash cow, but here we are. I hope it's as brilliant as the first one. If not, I'm taking my pitchfork and torch to L.A. (6/13)

TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION -- Blah blah, Michael Bay, blah blah, big explosions, blah blah, CGI, blah. (6/27)

July

TAMMY -- Melissa McCarthy, who's lost her job and found her husband cheating on her, hits the road with her profane, alcoholic grandmother, played by Susan Sarandon. Not quite Thelma and Louise, but we'll take it. (7/4)

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES -- This will mark the eighth film in the Planet of the Apes franchise, proving above all else that when there's nothing original to make, Hollywood will beat that dead horse for every last cent. (7/18)

JUPITER ASCENDING -- Mila Kunis, starring in a big-budget sci-fi film, written and directed by the Wachowskis. Something about this all sounds very good. Kunis is a lowly janitor, discovered to have the same genetic make-up as the Queen of the Universe. This makes her a prime target for assassination, and this film a prime launchpad for more Mila Kunis in our theatres. (7/25)

HERCULES: THE THRACIAN WARS -- Dwayne Johnson stars as Hercules, Zeus and Achilles in this film centered on the Grecian demi-god (Hercules, not Johnson). It's like The Nutty Professor, but with more death and classical references. (7/25)

August

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY -- A film with a premise so fantastic it's a wonder Disney greenlit production, but I'm glad they did. Chris Pratt takes the lead (with his new, rippling torso in a supporting role) as Peter Quill, who finds himself hunted after stealing an orb coveted by the film's antagonist, Ronan. Quill, along with Groot, a tree-like humanoid; Rocket, a genetically engineered raccoon; Drax the Destroyer, a muscular warrior; and Gamora, a bright green former-associate of Ronan. Together, they'll save the galaxy -- and we'll all have a true spectacle to behold. (8/1)

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY -- Will the same bored housewives who loved the saucy novels be willing to watch the film? Who cares? They forced the beautifully scruffy Jamie Dornan to shave for his role as Christian Grey, so I'm already out. (8/1)

THE GIVER -- Stop chuckling at the title. This is a very serious film based on an award-winning book, and stars Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges. It follows 12-year-old Jonas, who lives in a utopian society free from racism, sickness or conflict. However, he gradually learns that his world is a dystopia, one devoid of emotional depth -- the price paid long ago for a seemingly perfect society. (8/15)

SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR -- The sequel to 2005's Sin City features an incredible cast, and takes its inspiration from the second book in Frank Miller's series of graphic novels. Several characters return from the original film, while newcomers such as Eva Green, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lady Gaga round out the rest of the cast. Fans of the first film's slick visual style will likely find much to love. (8/22)

THE LOFT -- We end our list with a pretty good pick. The Loft is a remake of a Belgian film of the same name, and follows five married friends who share an upmarket loft apartment. They each use the space to meet and sleep with their mistresses, until the body of a murdered woman is discovered in the bed. The men's lives unravel as they accuse each other and those around them of the murder, with the film utilizing flashbacks to tease the plot to its end. An interesting concept -- let's hope it doesn't join the list of ''remakes that were inferior in every way to the film that preceded them." Hollywood has a lot of them. (8/29)

Seven local groups that deal with LGBT rights issued a combined response Thursday to findings of the Anti-Defamation League's Hate Crimes Assessment Task Force (HCATF) as well as to the Metropolitan Police Department's (MPD) response to recommendations made in the HCATF report, which was released Feb. 26.

The Anti-Defamation League initially interceded to establish the task force at the request of MPD Chief Cathy Lanier after relations between MPD and several local LGBT groups became strained over concerns related to how MPD responds to crimes involving members of the transgender community. Of particular concern was whether anti-transgender bias may have played a role.

Staff members from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and scholars from Northeastern University and West Virginia University also participated in the task force, which used surveys, interviews and focus groups to gauge the relationship between police and local LGBT communities.

The seven groups – The DC Center, Washington's primary LGBT center; Casa Ruby, a service organization and community center with a focus on the area's Latino LGBT community; the DC Trans Coalition (DCTC); the nonpartisan Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA); Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV), a program of The DC Center; HIPS (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive); and the Rainbow Response Coalition, dedicated to countering intimate-partner violence (IPV) – said they appreciated the work of the members of the task force and thanked Lanier for ''providing a thoughtful and constructive response'' to the HCATF recommendations.

''We see the Task Force's report, MPD's response, and this document as an important starting point to an essential dialogue on improving relations between MPD and our communities,'' the groups wrote in their response. ''We look forward to that effort.''

The coalition also noted that while there have been some improvements with regard to improving police relations, there is need for improvement. The groups pointed to statistics from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey and from their own surveys, including the most recent DC Trans Needs Assessment, indicating LGBT people have largely been hesitant to reach out to police, whether in cases of hate-based violence or intimate-partner violence.

The coalition did acknowledge some positive outcomes, including MPD's adoption of one of the nation's most comprehensive policies regarding police interactions with transgender people, and the efforts of many within the coalition to work with MPD in training police officers in LGBT cultural competency. The coalition cautioned, however, that while some community members reported improvements in interactions with police, others reported interactions ranging from ''outright brutality to verbal harassment.''

Regarding the effectiveness the MPD's Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU), the seven groups were in agreement with most of the task force's recommendations, but also criticized the restructuring of the GLLU from a highly centralized office to an affiliate program.

''Since the 2009 liaison unit restructuring, there has been significant confusion about the role, composition, and responsiveness of GLLU, as the Task Force has well documented,'' the groups wrote. ''Some of our concerns have been the frustration with the loss of access to top MPD leadership, as well as the ongoing difficulty of simply not knowing who to call as responsibilities have continued to shift over the last few years.''

The groups also cited their limited resources and dependence on volunteers in response to MPD's expectation of requiring LGBT groups to promote outreach events. The coalition did recommend that civilian staff, such as a qualified graduate of the Project Empowerment program, could be used to manage outreach, coordination and communication efforts, rather than relying on officers to shoulder the burden.

The coalition of groups recommended that MPD continue detailing affiliate officers to the GLLU for 30-day rotations, and should keep data on which officers have completed that detail. The coalition also recommended post-training testing and other assessments to ensure officers are fluent in GLLU protocols. The groups also demanded transparency on how the largely unspent funds from a grant to MPD from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government are being used to enhance the role of the GLLU.

The coalition agreed with task force recommendations to improve hate-crime data, but was ''skeptical'' of a task force suggestion that there may be over-reporting of anti-LGBT hate crimes.

''Given extensive mistrust of MPD by several segments of our communities, combined with trends in other cities that reflect that LGBTQ communities are generally less likely to report hate crimes, we believe that there is a greater chance that hate crimes are significantly underreported,'' the groups wrote. ''Nonetheless, we look forward to exploring ways to continue to improve data collection.''

The group's response included recommendations regarding police interactions with particular groups, including transgender people, sex workers, youth and victims of intimate-partner violence. The groups emphasized a need for all MPD officers – including veteran officers – to be trained in cultural competency and be knowledgeable of MPD's existing policy on dealing with transgender people, while also asking MPD to set up measures to hold officers accountable, with specific repercussions for when misconduct occurs.

The groups also suggested the D.C. Council take a greater role in this particular dialogue, including repealing ''prostitution-free zones'' and decriminalizing sex work; strengthening the authority of the Office of Police Complaints (OPC); authorizing a standing committee of the Police Complaints Review Board to address biased policing; and holding annual oversight hearings on MPD relations with marginalized communities.

The nonpartisan Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) of Washington, D.C., on March 12 released revised ratings for three candidates running in the April 1 Democratic primary after the candidates provided additional information about their advocacy or work on behalf of LGBT rights.

GLAA members considered the additional information at its March 11 meeting and adjusted all three candidates' ratings upward by a point. GLAA's rating scale ranges from -10 to 10, but the organization does not make endorsements in partisan races.

Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), running for mayor, saw his rating elevated from 8 to 9 after his campaign provided documentation showing that he drafted and moved legislative language through the Committee on Finance and Revenue, which he chairs, that deals with recognizing same-sex married couples as eligible for estate-tax benefits. Because of his work on the legislation, known as the Marriage Equality Estate Tax Clarification Act, GLAA awarded Evans an additional point for ''championship,'' given to candidates who have demonstrated recent leadership on an LGBT issue.

With his revised rating, Evans still ranks third among all mayoral contenders, but moves closer to incumbent Mayor Vincent Gray (D), who received a 10, and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), who received a 9.5.

Calvin Gurley, running for D.C. Council Chairman against incumbent Phil Mendelson (D), submitted a late questionnaire response, according to a press release from GLAA. GLAA also criticized Gurley for answers to its candidate questionnaire that ''are uninformed, argumentative, and lack substance.'' But GLAA did revise Gurley's rating upward for agreeing with the organization on some issues, as well as supporting marriage equality. Gurley's rating was upgraded from zero to 1.

Ward 6 candidate Darrel Thompson was originally rated solely on his questionnaire, which GLAA described as ''weak.'' After submitting more information, he was awarded a point based on his work as a senior staffer for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) and then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on a series of legislative initiatives aimed at advancing LGBT rights. GLAA revised Thompson's rating from 2 to 3.

The progressive political-action organization Democracy for America (DFA) on Wednesday announced it was throwing its support to Del. Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery Co.), one of three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to become Maryland's next governor.

In endorsing Mizeur, a lesbian, DFA has issued its first gubernatorial campaign of the 2014 cycle, although it has endorsed various candidates for U.S. Senate and U.S. House races this year, including incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).

In a statement announcing its endorsement of Mizeur, DFA touted the fact that it has more than 19,000 members in Maryland and 1 million nationwide who can be activated to make donations, make phone calls or volunteer on DFA-backed campaigns.

T. Neil Sroka, communications director for DFA, told Metro Weekly that the organization – founded in 2004 by Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont, 2004 presidential candidate and former chair of the Democratic National Committee – looks at a number of factors in making an endorsement, including candidates' platforms and campaigns, grassroots support, and political viability.

''The first question we ask is: Are they progressive?'' Sroka said. ''That goes, without question, for Heather. She's also running a really strong race based in the grassroots of the Democratic Party.''

DFA Executive Director Charles Chamberlain said in a statement: ''Heather Mizeur won't just make history as Maryland's first woman governor and the first gay governor in American history. She'll make history as an unabashed progressive champion with the vision and leadership needed to get things done in Annapolis. From her fight to raise the minimum wage to her battle to make the Old Line State a leader in marriage equality, Heather has always stood strong for Maryland's working families and, today, Democracy for America's members in Maryland and across the country are proud to stand with her in the race for Governor.''

Mizeur response to the endorsement was included in DFA's March 13 release: ''I am so incredibly excited to have the support of the nation's most progressive grassroots powerhouse. Democracy for America and their enthusiastic members are going to help our campaign return Annapolis to the people, restore integrity in our election process, and send an unapologetic progressive to the Governor's mansion to create transformational change for our communities.''

Mizeur faces Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Attorney General Doug Gansler in the Democratic primary, set for June 24. Like Mizeur, both Brown – who was been endorsed by Equality Maryland PAC – and Gansler have laid claim to the votes of Maryland's LGBT community, as all three supported Maryland's marriage-equality law in 2012 and all three backed SB 212, a bill to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, which is awaiting a vote in a Maryland House of Delegates committee.

The Wanda Alston Foundation, which operates the Wanda Alston House providing housing for homeless and at-risk LGBT youth in the District, announced Tuesday that Ken Pettigrew, formerly the director of programs for the foundation, has been appointed interim executive director following the departure of former Executive Director Brian Watson, who left to pursue other opportunities.

Prior to joining the Wanda Alston Foundation, Pettigrew served as chief of programs at Metro TeenAIDS and as senior program director of Us Helping Us/People Into Living. In addition, Lisa Dupree, the director of operations for the foundation, has been promoted to director of programs and operations.

''The Board is pleased to have Ken and Lisa in their current leadership positions,'' Christopher Dyer, president of the foundation's board of directors, said in a statement. ''Both Ken and Lisa have expressed their passion for the House and making a difference in the lives of the young people it exists to serve.''

''Venues are very important. They really do make the identity of a party,'' says Mike Peyton, producer of New York's Black Party, set for Saturday, March 22, at New York's Roseland Ballroom.

Even so, Peyton is quick to add, venues are not a party's be all and end all.

After all, the Black Party has not only survived the 1988 closure of its original venue, New York's legendary gay club The Saint, it has truly thrived. The rite has become legendary in its own right. Now turning 35, this leather/fetish party, celebrating the start of spring and produced by the Saint-At-Large organization, draws upwards of 5,000 revelers annually to New York.

Black Party

(Photo courtesy of Saint at Large)

But earlier this year developers announced plans to raze Roseland with the intention of building condominiums. That will make the venue in the heart of Manhattan's theater district yet another nightlife victim of the city's endless parade of gentrification.

Though not before one last party.

''There were a lot of memories made in that place for the gay community, both magical and maybe scandalous as well,'' Peyton says, adding, ''The burden is on us to put together a show that's worthy of the last year at Roseland.''

This year's party, with a theme drawing inspiration from India but also paying homage to its ''ruined paradise'' home venue, will feature the kind of ''strange live acts'' the party has become notorious for -- chiefly, live fetish porn shows. DJs Jason Kendig of San Francisco's Honey Soundsystem and ''nd_baumecker'' of Berlin will kick off a night of underground progressive house music, followed by back-to-back sets from sunrise-welcoming headliners Boris, a classic New York big-room DJ, and Tom ''Superchumbo'' Stephan, the gay London-based DJ returning to the Black Party for a second year in a row. New York's Nita Aviance will then takeover late morning until the party's afternoon close.

Especially over the past decade, however, the Black Party has become more than just one singular Saturday night venture. In fact, it's now the biggest party weekend in the Big Apple outside of Pride the last weekend in June. This year Peyton and Stephen Pevner, Saint-At-Large's executive producer/owner, have partnered with Out NYC to be the weekend's official host hotel and also site of three events, including ''24 Years at Roseland: Electronic Installation & Photography Exhibition.'' This special exhibition, which runs Wednesday, March 19, to Monday, March 24, will display original posters and rare images from the parties the Saint-At-Large has thrown at Roseland since 1991. Also on tap at Out NYC: The 8th Annual International Escort Awards, ''The Hookies,'' on Friday, March 21, and a ''fine and frisky'' Black Party Brunch, on Saturday, March 22.

Further confirmation of the Black Party as a full weekend fetish-party affair: On Sunday, March 23, Ric Sena will throw the 14th annual ''Alegria Xtreme,'' a special edition of his famed party Alegria. ''Xtreme is always about edgy,'' Sena says, noting that this year's party at New York's historic Webster Hall revolves around a military theme. ''Boys like to dress up,'' he says, laughing. ''It's a good excuse to put on camouflage.''

This March edition of Alegria is also a toast to its resident DJ, Abel Aguilera. ''Xtreme always celebrates Abel's birthday,'' says Sena, noting that the gay circuit's best and most popular DJ will be turning 51 this year. In addition to the usual surprise ''diva'' performer, Sena has also tapped the great, emerging house DJ Pagano, from Italy via England, to kick off the event this year as he did last. Also worth noting about Black Party Weekend 2014: Viva Saturdays, the weekly party Sena throws with fellow promoters John Blair and Betto Sutter, will celebrate its one-year anniversary. DJ Paulo will once again spin his signature sexy tribal sounds for the party, held at Stage 48.

As for the weekend's main attraction, Peyton wants to reassure fans: The party will go on and on. Roseland's closure ''is something that we've been anticipating for many, many years [and] I think we're in a really good position to make the transition,'' he says, adding for further emphasis: ''This is the last Black Party at Roseland, not the last Black Party.''

The Black Party is Saturday, March 22, starting at 10 p.m. at New York's Roseland Ballroom, 239 West 52nd St. Tickets are $165 in advance, or $180 at the door. Visit blackparty.com for full details on this and all related events.

Alegria Xtreme is Sunday, March 23, starting at 11 p.m. at Webster Hall, 125 East 11th St., New York. Tickets are $80. Visit alegriaevents.com.

There is no argument: Lily Tomlin loves show business. And that love has driven her from stage to screen and back again, countless times.

With her partner -- in life and profession -- Jane Wagner at her side, Tomlin has earned an Oscar nomination, multiple Emmys and Tonys, and so many more accolades. She's played characters from silly -- many of whom are her own creations -- to serious. There's the young Tomlin of Laugh-In yuks, or the grittier Linnea of Nashville. She's shared the screen with Cher, Bette, Jane and Dolly, to name a few. From the frantic battle to grasp the dawn of the AIDS epidemic as Dr. Selma Dritz in the movie version of And the Band Played On, to animated voiceovers, there is range, there is talent and there is dedication.

Lily Tomlin

(Photo by Jenny Risher)

"We're forever wanting to make something," she says of Wagner and herself, offering as an example an effort to produce a show based on Tomlin's precocious 5-year-old persona, Edith Ann. "One time we really wanted to get a series together for Edith Ann, and we wanted to do it in claymation. This was -- oh, God, I don't even know -- before claymation was very popular. And 3D was really prohibitive. We built Edith Ann's whole neighborhood in our garage with clay animators. We could not convince anyone to do dimensional animation like that at the time. It must've been 30 years ago or more.

"And we've done that many times. It didn't matter. You're just so mad to make something that you don't think twice about it."

It's been like that since Tomlin, 74, was not much older than Edith Ann, trying -- unsuccessfully -- to corral her neighborhood peers of inner-city Detroit to put on a show. With an Edith Ann-inspired raspberry to whatever stands in her way, Tomlin has not been deterred, which is why she'll soon be back in the D.C. area for a show. And in Florida for two. And Las Vegas. And an Olivia cruise. Tomlin long ago found the secret to making magic, and she's not about to stop.

METRO WEEKLY: You're back in L.A. for a few days? I'm told you've been doing some filming. Can you tell me what you're working on?

LILY TOMLIN: I was doing a thing for a friend that was just sort of fun. Rocco Urbisci was the producer on a couple of my specials years ago, for one of which we won an Emmy. Anyway, Rocco manages these two young girls that are really interesting. They do kind of satiric songs and comedy. Their names are Carlie and Doni. They'd written a song called "Gangsta Waitress." It's really funny, and they were making a music video of it. I played their, like, top waitress.

MW: A recurring role for you.

TOMLIN: Oh, yeah, right! [Laughs.] But just for this little video. It was hip, dirty, campy and all of that.

MW: But early on, you actually worked as a Howard Johnson's waitress?

TOMLIN: Oh, God, yeah, I did. I worked at the old original one at 49th and Broadway, which was like the first Howard Johnson's in New York. It was a little, tiny, narrow storefront. It wasn't very big. Their bigger one was down near 52nd Street and Broadway, then the big one across town was the HoJo hotel. Mine got shut down. We were not even on the circuit. I don't think the Howard Johnson's people who came to inspect even came to our restaurant. We had really old uniforms, like from the '30s, that were so starched. Their uniforms would stand on their own because of so much starch. We were all wannabe actresses and everybody wanted to be really attractive, so the other girls would hem 'em up real fast every morning, so they could be wearing miniskirts. [Laughs.] I always wore mine totally regulation. Tall and lanky. But those uniforms were cut on the bias and you were supposed to have a lot of hips. Of course, I didn't. You had these big, puffy sleeves and your little arms are hanging out. It was like playing a role. I wanted to be a real Howard Johnson's waitress. I'd wear a hairnet and a paper hat.

I used to duck down behind the counter with a microphone and I'd say, "Attention, diners. Your Howard Johnson's 'waitress of the week,' Lily Tomlin, is about to make an appearance on the floor. Give her a big hand!" And then I'd come out from behind the counter and they'd applaud me. I just used to have fun. Whenever I was doing something, I used to make it into theater.

MW: With your career, and life that's moved from the South to the Midwest, to both coasts, you seem so all-American. You are such a strong piece of our culture. Do you have a strong identity as an American?

TOMLIN: I feel like I'm a human being. I don't have any overly nationalistic pride. I want the nation to be what we have believed in the past, when people were really in love with Americans -- especially after World War II. We seemed special. Maybe we weren't, even then, but we thought we were. We thought we were really good people, a good race of humans. I really identify with just humanity in general.

I was lucky enough to have Southern parents and spend every summer in rural Kentucky. I grew up in inner-city Detroit, grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood. At that time in American society there was more ethnicity. There was a bigger mix of humanity. We lived within blocks of people who were fairly well off, professionals. The streets were very wide and the houses were very large, and I went to school with those kids, too. I'd go to their houses and they were larger, better furnished. We didn't even have a car in our family.

MW: All this before Americans were more mobile, better able to segregate themselves socially?

TOMLIN: Exactly. And that's what happened in poor old Detroit. All the "white flight" left the city destitute, no tax base. It was a fantastic city, a great city. And I think it will be again. It's like a template for a city of the future, because it has hit rock bottom so hard. More and more artists are being drawn there because housing is inexpensive. It's just alive, vibrant -- even now. As bad off as it is, there's a vibrant niche culture there that will spread and spread, I hope.

Lily Tomlin

(Photo by Matt Hoyle)

MW: Have you been back recently?

TOMLIN: I played in one of the suburbs there maybe two months ago. My cousin and her family live there, in one of the suburbs. And I have all my old girlfriends from high school there -- not in the inner city, because it's really destitute. I went to high school with Henry Ford II's widow and third wife [Kathleen DuRoss]. I'm going to play Palm Beach soon, so I'll see her when I go down there.

MW: She's a pal?

TOMLIN: Yeah! I got her on the cheer team. That's the kind of place Detroit is. It was rich. It was an industrial city. With unions, it was a very political city, too. Not so white-bread and diluted down. It was zestier.

MW: With the tour, I don't see a particular title. I'm wondering --

TOMLIN: I don't do a tour like that. I never have. People ask me, "When did this tour start?" I say, "Oh, maybe several decades ago on my back porch." I always put on shows. I don't know where I got the notion. I mean, we didn't go to the theater. But I did take ballet and tap and the Department of Parks and Recreation across the street from my old apartment house. It was kind of a tough neighborhood and we had a lot of programs to keep kids off the street. I pitched for a police athletic baseball team. All these different community groups were involved. And I took ballet and tap, as I said. In the summer, we played all kinds of sports. I was a jacks champion. When I was about 9, I played in the junior division.

MW: Junior division of jacks?

TOMLIN: Yeah.

MW: Sounds like you were involved in everything.

TOMLIN: I was! And in the old apartment house, there were so many different kinds of people. The older people there were professionals, but they were on limited incomes so they couldn't move. They wanted to! All these blue-collar Southerners came up to work, like my mother and dad, so my dad could work in the factory. We had 40 apartments in our building, with a common backyard. It burned down in the '67 riots. You think your backyard's so big, but it's like a postage stamp. But all the kids played in that backyard. People hung their wash on clotheslines. [Laughs.] It was a real community.

MW: Were you precocious?

TOMLIN: You could say precocious in some areas, maybe. [Laughs.] People used to let me babysit their kids when I was 10.

MW: Were you sort of the leader of the local kids?

TOMLIN: I don't know. I took a leader role at some points. I was always producing shows! I wanted to do a show so bad and I would try to get the other kids to be in it, and they wouldn't rehearse or show up. They just didn't have the interest in it, and I did. I did magic tricks. I used to say I was the world's first performance artist. I'd tap dance, I'd do ballet, I'd tell jokes I'd seen on television. I could cut a rope and restore it. I could float a ball under a silk. [Laughs.] What I -- Do you really want to hear this?

MW: Yes!

TOMLIN: When I was pretty young, maybe 8, I'd come home from school and read a Red Ryder comic book. In the back they had all these joke items, like hand buzzers and dribble glasses. All this bad joke stuff. Plastic vomit. Ice cubes with flies in them. Anyway, it was, "C.O.D., send no money." I'm thinking I'm the only kid hip enough to get this, so I'm going to get all these items for nothing. [Laughs.] I sent for all this stuff. I came home from school one day and my mother meets me at the door and says, "I want to know if you ordered a bunch of old junk from a comic book." Oh, I was just elated and wanted to get my hands on it. She said, "You can have it when you pay me back." I said, "How is a kid supposed to get any money?"

"You could do things for the neighbors."

It was epiphanous. I told my mother later it was the most important thing she ever told me. I started a dime business. In those 40 apartments, I'd take out your garbage for a dime. I'd go to the store for a dime. I'd walk your dog for a dime. I had drawers full of dimes. Then I would take the money downtown to Abbott's Magic Shop and I would learn a magic trick. I was mad for magic. But not sleight of hand. I was totally lazy, so I would buy apparatus. [Laughs.] I didn't stay with it, but I was so fascinated by illusion.

MW: This apartment house was an amazing world for a kid.

TOMLIN: And there was a botanist who lived in the building, one of the retirees who couldn't move. Mrs. Rupert. Mrs. Rupert had decided I was the kid in the building who had the most potential to "rise above my station." Those are her words.

MW: Mrs. Rupert was right, I suppose.

TOMLIN: I was 8, and she got my mother to let me come over every night after supper. Her husband would be out, worked at the railroad. She was terribly, terribly interesting. She was a short woman, very zaftig, and here I was so lanky, but as tall as she was. So she was like a girlfriend almost, like another kid or something.

Lily Tomlin

(Photo by B Patterson)

MW: Have you written many of these memories?

TOMLIN: No, no, I haven't.

MW: Aren't you tempted?

TOMLIN: Sometimes. My partner Jane and I, we sometimes use our backgrounds a little bit in pieces, but really not identifiably. I might reference my neighborhood or something. But, yes, since you said that, you encourage me to do it. I would think, well, everybody's got these stories. They're just time and place, and the players change a little bit.

MW: It's true that everyone has these stories, but so few seem to remember them so expertly.

TOMLIN: I remember this stuff, but not my address. And Mrs. Rupert was such a big part of my life. I'd go by every night and walk her Chihuahuas and I'd get a dime. We would read The New York Times and I had to write down words I didn't understand and look them up.

MW: She was your Auntie Mame.

TOMLIN: Yeah, she was like my Auntie Mame, in a sense. After that, we'd have a little tea and petits fours. [Laughs.]

She was very conservative. She hated Adlai Stevenson. Hated him. She was so pixilated. She told me she had helped capture and indict Alger Hiss when she'd been a phone operator, before she became a botanist.

Every Saturday she would take me downtown to Hudson's, which was the big department store in Detroit, which has been torn down, sadly. She was trying to educate me to marry well and run a big house. To be extremely well off and have a staff. She taught me how to buy linens and tone your wardrobe with your stockings. I thought it was all hilarious. I'd have to wear gloves and a hat and carry a purse. I had to be able to open the purse and retrieve anything I wanted without looking. A lady is capable of this.

So, in the winter, your nose starts to run when you go from the cold outside into a warm tearoom. Hudson's had everything -- a post office, a tearoom.... So, if we were going to stop in for me to get a hot chocolate, we'd duck up a side street and go into a doorway and blow our noses. Mrs. Rupert thought she was very elite. [Laughs.] Blowing our noses. And here we are, both of us in hats, and we'd go into a tearoom. Sure enough, you'd see some poor woman who had not blown her nose. Her nose is running and she's trying to get napkins out of the napkin holder. And Mrs. Rupert would, like, give me the elbow and nod toward that woman. [Laughs.]

MW: Mrs. Rupert is reminding me of a character I just saw you play in a short, The Procession.

TOMLIN: Really? But she's so, you know, bourgeois. Mrs. Rupert thought she was quite superior to everybody else in the building. She wore a hat and fox furs to the garbage can.

Finally what happened, when I was about 12 -- I'd had a long history with Mrs. Rupert by now -- I was doing my shows. I never told her anything about it. One day she tells me that Mr. Rupert is going to be off the next evening and he'd be home. I said, "I'll come over tomorrow and do my magic show for you." And she hit the ceiling. "Don't tell me you've been wasting your money on magic tricks!" I was so insulted. I was really pleased with my act. She said, "Don't you know that's illusion? If you're not careful, you're going to end up in show business." [Laughs.] I was just furious. I stopped going to see her.

Then she tried to entice me and my brother -- he was about 8 -- over to her apartment one evening. She opens the window onto the backyard and invites me over. She says she wants to show us something very special. So my brother and I are thinking we're going to see a dead baby or something. [Laughs.] We go in and she gets [whispering] very quiet. She makes sure all the blinds are down and she brings out a big box -- a wooden, ornate box -- and puts it on the table. She opens that box, and there's another box inside. She takes that box out and opens yet another box. There are three boxes. Then she pulls out this long thing wrapped in a chamois. She unwraps it and says, "This is the knife that killed Mussolini."

MW: What?

TOMLIN: That's what she told us! [Laughs.] And we didn't really know who Mussolini was or whether he'd been killed with a knife or not. We were so disappointed.

MW: That memory must've been going through your head while you were shooting Tea with Mussolini.

TOMLIN: [Laughs.] Yes! Mrs. Rupert might've liked that because Maggie Smith was in it.

MW: The richness of your childhood seems not to have been wasted at all.

TOMLIN: Growing up the way I did, I saw so many different kinds of people. It never occurred to me that I wasn't like all of them, whether I thought they were great or not. I saw everybody as awful, as cruel, as wonderful, as kind, loving, depressed -- all over the map. Different groups of people, different ethnicities, everything. They weren't so different. They seemed different, but they weren't so different. It was really important. It really did make me have an affection and empathy, really, for most all people.

MW: Beyond people, you've also got an affection for elephants?

TOMLIN: I've been advocating for elephants in captivity for a while. And lots of other things. It just happened that that I became kind of focused on that here in L.A. because we had elephants at the L.A. Zoo that were in meager circumstances. Then I began to read about elephants, and people began to tap me for other cities like Seattle and Dallas. I've gone there and I've advocated.

I was friendly with Sheila Nevins at HBO, so I pitched the idea about doing some kind of documentary about elephants in captivity. We managed to do that last year. But there were many people involved. The young woman, Amy Schatz, who was the HBO director/producer, she won a [Directors Guild of America Award] for directing [An Apology to Elephants], and I won an Emmy for narration.

MW: What other efforts have gotten your attention?

TOMLIN: I've always been active in women's rights, the women's movement, gay rights, fundraisers for female politicians.

MW: I think I spotted a Hillary Clinton tweet from you not long ago. Are you part of the Clinton 2016 push?

TOMLIN: Not officially or anything. I so much don't want a right-wing person to be in the presidency. I'm so afraid everything's going to go on this next election, that there's going to be more seats lost. If the conservatives control the Senate and the House, I dread to think what will happen. It won't matter who's the president. It's bad enough with the obstructionist stuff that's going on all these years with Obama. I think many advances could even be repealed overnight.

Lily Tomlin as Tommy Velour

MW: Has your political involvement increased over the years?

TOMLIN: As I said earlier, Detroit was always a political city, a lot of unions. We were conscious of it. My dad was in the union. My dad was a Southern guy, basically a rural kid who grew up with 10 brothers and sisters. A tenant farmer. Really, my dad only went to the third grade. But he was innately intelligent. He would've been a toolmaker, but he really couldn't write to any real extent. But he could read a blueprint and put a machine together. He would come home with these little things that he'd produced and I knew how proud he was that he was able to do that, that the toolmaker would go to him and be able to say, "I need this part. Can you put a machine together?" And he'd say to me, "Babe, this is what the old man did today." [Laughs.] So I knew how much it meant to him. I saw the pride he had in that. So, politically, you just understand about people. You don't intellectualize it. As a kid, you know what it is to have money or not to have money. People scraping by, getting laid-off, not having a job for five or six months.

I remember when my dad was laid off and rebuilt a lot of the porches in our old apartment house. I was really a little kid, but I can remember hanging out on a porch all day while he rebuilt a new porch and banister and steps. I was just so proud of that, that he could build those porches.

MW: Did you and your wife consider having kids?

TOMLIN: Of course we talked about it. But I don't call Jane "my wife" at all. That's a heterosexual stricture. When people used to ask, "Are you and Jane going to get married?" even before it was possible, when everyone was fighting for it, I would say, "Well, I was hoping the gay community could come up with something better than marriage." Jane would say, "You've got to stop being so flippant about it, because the issue of marriage is really serious and important to a lot of people." And I knew that. Especially for friends, same-sex couples, with children. They ran and got married right away.

I lightened up about it, and I do realize it's meaningful. It's meaningful for it to be acknowledged in the culture. I'm astonished at how far the gay movement has come in 20 years. It's staggering.

MW: As culture and politics go, I'm guessing plenty of Washingtonians loved you on The West Wing.

TOMLIN: I loved that, too. When it came on the air, I thought, "How has it happened that I'm not in this?" I had my agent reach out to Tommy Schlamme, and Aaron Sorkin at that time. And then Mrs. Landingham was killed in that episode -- no doing of mine whatsoever, believe me. She was so loved. But they planned to use Mrs. Landingham kind of as a Jiminy Cricket, but it didn't really work for them. Kathryn Joosten became a good friend of mine. I knew her from Murphy Brown, and then later I did a stint with her on Desperate Housewives. I played her sister. We were good friends.

MW: I would think, particularly as a team with Jane Wagner, you'd have enough clout to do any project you like.

TOMLIN: Well, not quite, Will. [Laughs.] Yes, it helps, of course. But not everybody maybe feels the same about me. It happened that Aaron Sorkin liked me and was probably pleased that I wanted to be on the show.

And I am allowed to tell you -- although I usually hold back because I don't like to tell too much about upcoming projects -- that Jane Fonda and I are going to do a project for Netflix. A series.

MW: Netflix is on fire right now.

TOMLIN: And they're just great people, so easy to be with. Marta Kauffman, who was one of the creators of Friends, she's written the first episode.

MW: It's not a 9 to 5 reunion, is it?

TOMLIN: Aw, no. That would've been good. Maybe we can get Dolly in some part. That would be fun!

MW: I know I've got to let you go, but before I do I want to make sure you know there's at least one group of gay fellahs quoting your 9 to 5 Violet Newstead character routinely.

TOMLIN: [Laughs.] "I know just where to stick it."

Lily Tomlin performs Friday, March 28, at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. For tickets, $27 to $81, call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.

We don't glamorize physics. Whether theoretical or experimental, there's very little recognition of the incredible, fascinating work that those dedicated to either side of the physics coin devote their lives to. As we maneuver through our day-to-day routine -- watching TV, clocking in at the office, wondering if we should have that second donut -- physicists are busy unraveling the complex mysteries surrounding the foundations and building blocks which construct the universe we live in. It may not be perceived as sexy, but I'll be damned if someone says it doesn't make for an utterly compelling documentary.

The film in question is Particle Fever (), directed by Mark Levinson, who gained a doctoral degree in particle physics from Berkeley before transitioning to the film industry. Particle Fever follows the lives of six scientists in the years leading up to and surrounding the activation of the Large Hadron Collider -- the giant ring that blasts particles together at velocities close to the speed of light. Edited by Walter Murch, who delivered the final cuts of such cinematic greats as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, the 99-minute doc cuts between breathtaking views of the magnificent grandeur of the facilities buried underground at CERN in Switzerland, personal footage of the scientists going about their day's work, and incredibly well-designed graphics that aim to illustrate dense, complex theories to an audience who may otherwise balk at such ideas.

If you have little to no interest in the subject matter, Particle Fever will likely not change your mind. However, for those willing to dip their toes into the world of advanced physics research and experimentation -- and I highly recommend that you do so -- what will transpire is a front row seat into one of the most important discoveries in modern science. Yes, the elusive Higgs Boson particle, which was oft rumored but never proven, is the main focus here. Watching the drama, humor and elation that comes from condensing five years of work into one film humanizes a field of research otherwise alien to average Joes. Even as they throw concepts at the audience that will likely hurt more than a few brains, the magnificently intelligent scientists who work at CERN or conduct research at Stanford and Princeton prove that, regardless of the perceived or real importance of what we do, we are all inherently human in the way we engage with the world.

When asked what he hoped the audience would take away from the film, Levison responded ''I hope they have a certain appreciation for the wonderful, monumental achievement that is embodied in particle physics.'' You absolutely will.

Particle Fever opens Friday, March 21, at Landmark's E Street Cinema. Call 202-783-9494 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

There are people -- plenty of them -- who absolutely love the maudlin 1988 chick flick blockbuster Beaches, about the platonic love of two women. I'm not one of them. But I suspect haters would come away from Signature Theatre's world premiere musical, an adaptation led in large part by the original novel's author Iris Rainer Dart, singing a new tune. Yes, even a certain old one, as director Eric Schaeffer reversed course from an earlier announced decision, and the show now in fact features the song "Wind Beneath My Wings," the only holdover from the film.

Beaches at Signature Theatre

(Photo by Margot Schulman)

If superbly voiced show star Alysha Umphress's version isn't better than the overplayed one Bette Midler flew away with from the movie, it's certainly every bit as good. Umphress sings the song in the musical Beaches with restraint, and that has the inverse effect of making it more powerful: It's less vocally showy, more emotionally genuine. This ode to her character Cee Cee's lifelong best friend Bertie (appealingly played by Mara Davi) is placed in the musical during a rough patch late in their relationship, and Umphress performs it a bit wistfully, only accompanied by a piano. It's uncharacteristically subtle.

Which, ultimately, is also why the musical, whose book Dart wrote with Thom Thomas, is more compelling. It is too long, clocking in at over two-and-a-half hours, with too many minor plot points and a couple of underdeveloped characters. We don't need to see nearly this much of all that happened between the two leads from childhood to middle age.

But relative newcomer David Austin's fine-tuned original music complements the book, and helps breezily move the show forward. The large cast of actors also advances the cause, with perfectly realized performances from even the tykes playing younger versions of Cee Cee and Bertie. It's notable that even the show's most emotional and touching final scenes, in sharp contrast to the movie, are subtly played, with actions and gestures often standing in for words. This induces more tears, not less, because it's so unexpected. '

Beaches (-1/2) runs to March 30 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Tickets are $56 to $89. Call 703-820-9771 or visit signature-theatre.org.

For his swansong to the DC Different Drummers -- and to D.C. -- Joe Bello has put together a concert focused on dance.

"No, I won't be dancing," laughs Bello, director of DCDD's main ensemble the Capital Pride Symphonic Band. But Bello has hired five dancers to perform at the concert band's spring concert Saturday, March 29. "The whole theme is centered around dance and several different forms of dance, including the tango and the polka," says Bello, who will be performing for the last time as show conductor, a position he's held for the past six years.

Joe Bello

(Photo by Todd Franson)

"I've certainly grown as a person with them, and I wanted my last concert to be a celebration of everything we've accomplished together," he says. Among his accomplishments, Bello helped start the Capital Pride Wind Ensemble. "I've learned a lot about managing a community ensemble, while at the same getting to practice my own conducting on a weekly basis." Having already held auditions, the DCDD board is expected to announce Bello's replacement around concert time.

This fall Bello intends to start a doctorate degree in conducting -- hopefully at Northwestern University in his hometown of Chicago. He'll be solely devoted to that pursuit: After 16 years, Bello has also decided to take early retirement from the Air Force. Bello is a euphoniumist with and the assistant director of operations for the United States Air Force Band's Ceremonial Brass ensemble.

Tying together his work with both organizations, Bello has invited Shanti Nolan, a fellow officer in the Air Force Band, to guest conduct a piece during the DCDD concert. "She's a very energetic, gracious conductor," he says.

But not too energetic: Like Bello, Nolan is expected to save the dancing to the hired professionals.

The Capital Pride Symphonic Band performs Saturday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m., at the Columbia Heights Educational Center's CHEC Auditorium, 3101 16th St. NW. Tickets are $20. Call 202-403-3669 or visit dcdd.org.

Earlier this month, I shared a post on my Facebook wall regarding Dmitry Kiselyov. The post was critical of the anti-Western, anti-LGBT Kiselyov, taking what appeared to be a family holiday in Amsterdam.

I found Kiselyov's Amsterdam outing of interest in that some have called for the Magnitsky Act to be applied to those Russian politicians behind the country's vague 2013 law banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations," blocking their access to Western fun and funds. Since Kiselyov's visit, the Obama administration has actually turned similar screws on some Russian officials -- though not Kiselyov, sadly -- for the sake of Crimea.

Capital Pride 2013 / File photo

Still, seeing an elite, Putin-backing mouthpiece enjoy the dirty West warms my heart, comforting me that they've already lost this global version of our own so-called "culture war."

While some of my Facebook friends took issue with making anything of the Kiselyov clan's Western European vacation, they also took issue with the original post's characterization of Amsterdam as "the world's gay capital."

I've heard the phrase applied to Amsterdam before, but I suppose I'd agree it's time to move on. Not that I don't love Amsterdam. I do! But the world's gay capital in 2014?

Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities for too many reasons to count in limited space. But after a visit, I appreciate returning to Washington. Not only is home where the heart is, it's gayer.

So, as I considered what some posted about Amsterdam, I wondered just which city might be the "world's gay capital."

Though my bias is obvious, I figured it's D.C. Not in a flashy, Sydney Mardi Gras sort of way, or with much Folsom Street flair. But there are arguments to be made.

What a "world's" anything needs is a sense of the global. From embassies to airports, Chinatown to the de facto Little Ethiopia, check.

In the institutional sense, there's the hard-to-miss Human Rights Campaign headquarters. Less visible are the D.C. offices of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality, Immigration Equality, The Council for Global Equality, the Center for Black Equity, the Mautner Project, and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Just to scratch the surface.

More grassroots, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club holds its own. The Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., is one of the nation's -- and the world's -- longest-operating LGBT organizations. D.C. is home to LGBT people of every political stripe -- think Goldwater to Gandhi. But we've also got a gay imam and any number of religious institutions celebrating the spiritual journeys of LGBT people. Our primary LGBT center, The DC Center, is joined by Casa Ruby, Us Helping Us, Khush DC, the Latino GLBT History Project and Asian Pacific Islander Queer Sisters. Again, that's just for starters. Want to play kickball in a gay league? We've got you covered.

What really makes D.C. the world's gay capital is that Center Global, a program of the aforementioned DC Center, has had to quickly find a way to support LGBT refugees seeking asylum here. Because they're coming.

I may not have thought much of Ronald Reagan's application of the "shining city" metaphor, but I see it now in D.C. Despite its faults, it is a beacon for LGBT people. If D.C. is once again a cold war capital, I'm proud to call it home. And to those arriving to make it even better, whether you're from Lubbock or Lagos, as you navigate your new home pay special attention to that voice on the Metro that cautions us to "Step back." Yep, she's family.

Will O'Bryan is Metro Weekly's managing editor. Contact him at wobryan@MetroWeekly.com or follow him on Twitter @wobryan.

While many people will be celebrating the death of Fred Phelps, whose name is synonymous with irrational hate and vitriol, I think that today the world lost someone who did a whole lot more for the LGBT community that we realize or understand.

I know because I have had to deal with the Phelps clan for over 15 years as an activist and countless times have talked with the media about the merits and faults of giving him and his band of hateful protesters any attention at all.

The turning point in how the LGBT community responded to Phelps came in 1999, as he organized a picket outside the Matthew Shepard trials. Phelps had previously protested the funeral and got the most attention he'd ever had until that point. It was appalling. Friends of Matt and community members wanted to not only respond to this protest but shield Matt's parents from the vicious images Phelps and his family brought with them from Kansas. As I stood feet away from Phelps, I saw a parade of a dozen or so angels ­– dubbed "Angel Action" by Romaine Patterson and Jim Osborn, who came up with the idea – turn the corner onto Grand Street and approach the Laramie County courthouse. All the cameras and reporters turned toward them, and I cried as I saw this brave group of people stride toward him with love and strength in their hearts. And that was what made the news – not him, but the amazing response.

Now, remember that only a short time prior, the response to Phelps was not as gracious. At gay journalist Randy Shilts's funeral (picketing funerals of people who'd died of AIDS was a regular shtick for Phelps in the '80s and early '90s), people threw eggs at the protestors and confronted them angrily. I can't blame them, but the truth is that with cameras rolling and the media loving conflict and controversy, the juxtaposition of Phelps's face with the angels surrounding him, turning their backs to him and singing "Amazing Grace" was an image that has impact far beyond the gut reaction of anger. We are better than he is. And the world needed to see that.

After the Angel Action snatched the media attention from Phelps and took the wind out of his sails, we began to see more and more creative and interesting responses to his protests, like the incredible "Phelps-a-thons," where local activists raised money for every minute he protested, and diverse faith leaders coming out more and more to counteract his message with one about God's love. As time went on and Phelps "diversified" and began protesting the funerals of veterans killed in the Middle East and even went so far as to call the Rev. Jerry Falwell a "fag-enabler," the diversity at counterprotests grew. And we joined hands and voices with new allies. I would see a spectrum of everyone from queer kids to biker vets to ministers all singing "Amazing Grace" or "This Little Light of Mine" and driving him and his flock up a wall.

The saddest thing to me is that over the years, I saw his grandchildren grow up. He would have small children holding signs that were grotesque, and as a parent I felt it was not only offensive but abusive. And while his daughter carries on the "family tradition," I am heartened to see that several family and church members have escaped and speak of the horror of being part of what was essentially a small cult.

Nathan Phelps is now an advocate for LGBT rights, and one can hope that now others can break away and heal from what must be a horrifying and abusive situation in that family and in that church.

And as time has passed, the media pays less and less attention to them. I watched a stream of cameras pass by Phelps protestors in Washington, D.C., around the time marriage equality was passed, and their lame attempts to protest The Laramie Project only prove the point of the play. This may well be the last hurrah for Phelps. Let's hope the media moves on now and focuses on the growing support in faith communities and denominations for LGBT rights, including those that have been less than supportive in the past. Judy Shepard has said many times, "We love Fred," because she understands that he has brought along allies who are horrified by the hate. So his legacy will be exactly the opposite of what he dreamed, and I think we should all take a moment to remember the lives of the people he has hurt and not waste a second dancing on his grave. I know I will take a moment to remember those angels turning the corner and think about how our community has turned an even bigger corner to create a world where that kind of hate no longer exists.

Cathy Renna is New York-based, longtime LGBT activist and media expert. Follow her on Twitter @CathyRenna. '