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Can't Miss

1. RECOGNIZE! HIP HOP AND CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITURE

[EXHIBIT] Hip-hop long has been more than just a musical movement. Its ubiquity in pop culture has inspired all manner of art, fashion, dance and more. The National Portrait Gallery explores the genre's influence on portraiture with a show that includes photographs of Public Enemy, the Pharcyde and De La Soul, paintings of LL Cool J and Ice-T based on classic works, and four murals by a pair of D.C.-based graffiti artists.

Opens Friday. Through Oct. 26. National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F streets NW. Free. 202-633-1000.

2. SHINTOKU-MARU

[ON STAGE] The Kennedy Center's two-week celebration of Japanese arts, "Japan! Culture + Hyperculture," has many noteworthy events, but if you're going to experience just one, consider the American debut of award-winning director Yukio Ninagawa's tragic love and revenge fable. This play, based on an ancient tale, features Tatsuya Fujiwara as a young man haunted by the memory of his dead mother yet drawn to his new stepmother. The performance is presented in Japanese without subtitles, but a detailed synopsis is in the program. A taped audio synopsis read by Alan Rickman will be played after everyone is seated.

Thursday-Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera House, 2700 F St. NW. $15-$35. 202-467-4600 or 800-444-1324.

3. TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE

[MOVIE] Director Alex Gibney ("Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room") helms another gripping documentary, this time an Oscar-nominated one about the death of a taxi driver at Bagram air base in Afghanistan. Melding images from inside the prisons of Bagram, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay with interviews of former government officials, interrogators, prison guards and the families of tortured prisoners, Gibney puts the Bush administration's policy on torture under the microscope.

Opens Friday. Landmark's E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. $7-$9.75. 202-452-7672.

4. DAVE BARRY

[ON STAGE] After 25 years of humor writing and a sitcom based on his life, this seasoned performer needs no introduction. The Pulitzer Prize winner's latest book, "Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far)," came out in September. No word on the theme of his show at the Lisner, but one topic's a given: He'll be sure to joke about politics (and his perennial bid to be president).

Wednesday at 8 p.m. George Washington University, Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. $27-$125. 202-994-6800 or 202-397-7328.