HERE & NOW
Sunday, April 15, 2007; Page N03
ART
HERE'S THE OFFICIAL LINE: The old distinction between craft and art doesn't apply anymore. "Fine" artists use craft materials and skills, and great "craftspeople" rank as high as anyone in the art world. Of course, none of that's quite true, yet. Craftspeople don't always push beyond fussy handiwork, and fine artists tend to keep their tongues firmly in their cheeks when they use turned wood or basketry. To gauge how close today's good craft is coming to fine art, it's worth checking out next weekend's 25th Smithsonian Craft Show. More than 100 exhibitors have been chosen to represent the full range of handcrafted objects. Just showing up at the fair counts as a kind of good deed: The price of admission goes to fund special projects at the Smithsonian.
-- Blake Gopnik
Held in the Great Hall of the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, then 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 22. $15, $12 for students, seniors and the military; children 12 and under free. Tickets for a preview and 25th-anniversary celebration Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. can be purchased in advance for $175. Call 888-832-9554 or visithttp:/
THEATER
IN A SEA OF SHAKESPEARE , what would the capital's festival flotilla be without the RSC? The venerable Royal Shakespeare Company returns to the Kennedy Center for the final installment of its five-year partnership with one of the Bard's less often performed Roman tragedies, "Coriolanus." William Houston plays the hero and the estimable Janet Suzman his granite-willed mother.
-- Peter Marks
Through May 6 at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater, 2700 F St. NW. Buy tickets online atwww.kennedy-center.org, by phone at 202-467-4600 or visit the box office. $25-$78.
FILM
HE'S BEST KNOWN for the head-butt heard 'round the world, but until his notorious skirmish with an opponent during last year's World Cup soccer competition, Zinédine Zidane ("Zizou") was known as one of the greatest -- and most modest -- players on the pitch. "Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait" may well remind viewers that, before he was the focal point of an international scandale, the Marseille-born Zidane was simply an athlete, albeit one of uncommon grace and physical prowess. Artist Douglas Gordon has made a real-time video portrait of Zidane during an April 23, 2005, match between Real Madrid (Zizou's team) and Villareal. Advance screeners of the film, which Gordon made with Philippe Parreno, showed only the first tantalizing 10 minutes, but if that intro is any indication, Gordon has made a mesmerizing study in both dynamic movement and quiet focus.
-- Ann Hornaday
"Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait" (in French and English with subtitles) will be shown Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Hirshhorn Museum's Ring Auditorium, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is free. Call 202-633-1000 or visithttp:/
CLASSICAL MUSIC
THE PRICE IS HIGH but ought to be well worth it -- you never want to miss the wondrous Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin when he comes to town. This time he will be playing late works by Brahms (the Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118), youthful music by Beethoven (32 Variations on an Original Theme), as well as Chopin's Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante (in the solo piano version) and Schubert's Piano Sonata in E-flat. Gorgeous music deserves gorgeous pianism, and that is likely to be what Kissin delivers.
-- Tim Page
At the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Wednesday at 8. Remaining tickets $60-$115. 202-467-4600.
