Friday, March 31, 2006

The Week of April 7

A Druid priestess in ancient Gaul is torn between her duty to her people and her love for a Roman general in Bellini's "Norma," sung by the Virginia Opera April 7 and 9 at George Mason University's Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Tickets cost $44 to $84. Call 888-945-2468 or 703-993-8888. . . . Floats, balloons, marching bands and other entertainers are all part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade April 8 along Constitution Avenue NW, followed by the Sakura Matsuri Japanese street festival around Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th Street NW. Call 202-547-1500 or visit http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org . . . . Explore thousands of rare prints, drawings, watercolors and maps at the 24th annual Washington International Print Fair April 8-9 at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn, 1900 N. Fort Myer Dr., Arlington. Call 202-333-8635.

Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen, Timothy Goebel, Irina Slutskaya, Victor Petrenko and other international stars are scheduled to skate at Champions on Ice April 15 at Verizon Center. Tickets cost $30 to $175. Call 202-397-7328 or 202-628-3200. . . . Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company stages "The Canterbury Tales," Part 1 and Part 2, in rotating repertory April 15-May 7 at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets cost $25 to $78. Call 202-467-4600. . . . Details are pending about the White House Easter Egg Roll April 17 on the South Lawn of the White House. Call 202-208-1631. . . . The National Zoo hosts the annual Easter Monday African American Family Celebration April 17, with an Easter egg hunt, gospel music, storytellers and food vendors. Call 202-633-4800. . . . New American and foreign films will be screened in theaters across town April 19-30 during the 19th annual Washington International Film Festival, also known as Filmfest DC. Call

202-628-3456 or http://www.filmfestdc.org . . . . About 120 artists and artisans display their creations in 12 juried media categories at the Smithsonian Craft Show April 20-23 at the National Building Museum. Call 202-357-4000 or

888-832-9554.

Tour homes, gardens and historic sites in Historic Garden Week in Virginia April 22-29 across the state. Call 804-644-7776 or visit http://www.vagardenweek.org . . . . The Volvo Ocean Race, an around-the-world sailing competition that will make a stop in Baltimore, is the centerpiece for the Baltimore Waterfront Festival, a weekend of entertainment and family activities, April 27-30 in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Call 877-225-8466. . . . Explore in-water and on-land displays of new and used powerboats and sailboats, and exhibits by vendors of related products and services at the Bay Bridge Boat Show April 27-30 at the Bay Bridge Marina near Annapolis. Call 888-435-9746 or 410-268-8828.

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 from Tickets.com and at the box office for the 2006 summer season in the Filene Center at Wolf Trap Park. Highlights among more than 100 performances include shows by Blondie, Jewel, Elvis Costello, Sin Bandera, B.B. King, the Doobie Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, the Gipsy Kings, Celtic Woman, Paul Anka, the Beach Boys, Trisha Yearwood, Chicago, Peter, Paul & Mary, Eddie From Ohio and Lyle Lovett ; nine concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra, some accompanied by film classics; the productions "Riverdance," "Annie," "Chicago: The Musical" and "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" ; two evenings with Garrison Keillor ; the Louisiana Swamp Romp festival; and dance by Alonzo King, Ronald K. Brown, Philadanco, the Trey McIntyre Project and Noche Flamenca . Prices vary by show and seat location. To order, call 877-965-3872; for information, call 703-255-1860 or visit http://www.wolftrap.org . . . . On sale from Ticketmaster (202- 397-7328): Friday at 10 for Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary April 20 at DAR Constitution Hall ($500); Saturday at 9 for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill June 29 at Verizon Center ($38 to $88); Saturday at 10 for the Warped Tour June 15 at Merriweather Post Pavilion ($29.75); Saturday at 10 for Ben Harper and Damian Marley Sept. 10 at Merriweather Post Pavilion ($25 to $40); Saturday at 10 for Melissa Etheridge Aug. 10 at DAR Constitution Hall. . . Now on sale from Ticketmaster: New Edition and K-Ci and Jo-Jo, April 29 at DAR Constitution Hall ($75.75). . . . On sale now from Tickets.com: Mobb Deep May 3 at the 9:30 club ($35). Call 703-218-6500.

On sale now, on stage soon: The musical "Body Language: Featuring the Songs of Patti LaBelle" is about an aerobics instructor seeking love, April 7-9 at the Warner Theatre . Tickets cost $27.50 to $42.50; call 202-397-7328. . . . The 18th-century French comedy "The Game of Love and Chance" finds an engaged couple engaged in a little spying, April 7-May 14 at the Folger Theatre . Tickets cost $29 to $49; call 202-544-7077. . . . Shakespeare's historical drama "Richard II" chronicles the fall of a corrupt king, April 13-May 14 at Washington Shakespeare Company 's Clark Street Playhouse. Tickets are $22 to $30; call 800-494-8497.

Opening April 7: Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon

Heder form a three-man baseball team in "The Benchwarmers." . . . Mo'Nique stars as a struggling fashion designer in "Phat Girlz." . . . In "Take the Lead," a former professional ballroom dancer (Antonio Banderas) teaches dance in a New York public high school. . . . A Californian high schooler (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) plunges into a secret underworld of crime and punishment to find his girlfriend in "Brick." . . . A case of mistaken identity thrusts Slevin (Josh Hartnett) into a war between rival crime bosses (Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman) in "Lucky Number Slevin," also starring Bruce Willis. . . . In the documentary "The Beauty Academy of Kabul," a group of American women go to Afghanistan to train beauticians after the fall of the Taliban. . . .

Stephen Woolley directs "Stoned," about the mysterious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones. Opening dates may change.

Closing on stage this weekend: "Rameau's Nephew," by Spooky Action Theater at Flashpoint (800-494-8497). . . . "Haroun and the Sea of Stories," by Theater Alliance at H Street Playhouse (800-494-8497 or 202-396-2125).

Spring is supposed to bring nothing but fever, but for a certain sector of the gardening world, especially those in the black thumb set, it inspires only trepidation. Weekend examines this floral phobia and, more important, prescribes some antidotes: new plants and a new attitude.