Our Picks

Exhibits

AUTUMN COLORS-- Opens Tuesday. Through Dec. 1. Photography by Jack Nevitt and turned wood by Patrick O'Brien. Artists' Undertaking Gallery, 309 Mill St., Occoquan. 703-494-0584. FREE

POLITICAL CRAFT-- Opens Tuesday. Through Nov. 30. Works of social commentary created with traditional craft materials. Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd., Laurel. 301-953-1993. FREE

SYMMES GARDNER-- Opens Tuesday. Through Dec. 28. A new video installation by the Maryland artist. Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd., Laurel. 301-953-1993. FREE

PUBLIC SPIRIT: THE HIRSHHORN PROJECT-- Opens Wednesday. Through March 22. The story of the original proposal for the Hirshhorn Museum, which founder Joseph Hirshhorn envisioned as the centerpiece of a utopian "town of culture" in the wilds of Canada. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. 202-633-1000. FREE

AIMEE HELEN KOCH: UNDRESSED-- Opens Thursday. Through Dec. 20. A collection of photographs that depict clothes without the distraction of a wearer. McLean Project for the Arts, McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. 703-790-1953. FREE

GEORGIA GOLDBERG: LIGHT, SHADOW AND AIR-- Opens Thursday. Through Dec. 20. An entire gallery installation is focused on making the invisible visible. McLean Project for the Arts, McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. 703-790-1953. FREE

HOME PLATES-- Opens Thursday. Through Dec. 13. In partnership with the All Fired Up ceramic studios, 60 local artists were given a blank dinner plate to make personal yet functional art. D.C. Jewish Community Center, Bronfman Gallery, 1529 16th St. NW. 202-518-9400. FREE

INSIDE AND OUT: RECENT TRENDS IN THE ARTS OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-- Closes Friday. Works by eight contemporary Dominican artists. Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Cultural Center, 1300 New York Ave. NW. 202-623-3774. FREE

ONE LIFE: THE MASK OF LINCOLN-- Opens Friday. Through July 5. Next year's bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth is marked with an exhibition that draws on the gallery's extensive collection of Lincoln portraits, charting his journey from Illinois congressman to president. National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F streets NW. 202-633-8300. FREE

TRANSPORTED-- Closes Saturday. A solo exhibition of new paintings by New York artist David FeBland. Fraser Gallery, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. 301-718-9651. FREE

VANITAS: NICHOLAS AND SHEILA PYE-- Opens Saturday. Through Dec. 20. The Canadian husband-and-wife duo explores the nature of intense relationships through film and photography. Curator's Office, 1515 14th St. NW. 202-387-1008. FREE

DELIBERATIONS-- Through Nov. 9. Recent paintings by Michael Weiss, a Maryland Institute College of Art faculty member who uses traditional painting methods to create oblique images. Maryland Institute College of Art, 1300 Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore. 410-225-2300. FREE

Miscellaneous

VOTE-- Tuesday. In case you needed a little reminder. FREE

MUSEUM SHOP AROUND-- See Can't Miss.

Movies

Films open Friday and are in general release unless otherwise noted. Opening dates subject to change. Checkhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/moviesor Friday's Weekend section for details and complete movie listings.

PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE-- Playing daily through Thursday. A lyrical, stream-of-consciousness documentary about the venerated rocker. Check http://www.afi.com/silver for showtimes. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. 301-495-6720. $5-$10.

I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG-- Thursday at 7 p.m. Kristin Scott Thomas delivers a career-best performance as a secretive woman just released from a 15-year prison sentence. In French with English subtitles. This opening-night selection for the European Union Film Showcase, which runs through Nov. 25, is followed by a reception by the EU Delegation Commission. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. 301-495-6720. $10-$15.

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS-- A forbidden friendship forms between Bruno, the son of a Nazi commandant, and Shmuel, a Jewish boy held in a concentration camp. Though the two are separated by a barbed-wire fence, their lives become inescapably intertwined. Landmark's Bethesda Row, 7235 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda. 301-652-7273. $7.50-$10.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN-- A fragile and anxious boy is regularly bullied by classmates but never strikes back. His wish for a friend seems to come true when a girl named Eli moves in next door. It's not long before he figures out that Eli is a vampire! In Swedish with English subtitles. Landmark's E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. 202-452-7672. $7.50-$10.

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA-- Watch cuddly animated animals make $100 billion at the box office.

THE ORDER OF MYTHS-- The first Mardi Gras celebration in the United States was in Mobile, Ala., in 1703. In 2007, the event is still racially segregated. Filmmaker Margaret Brown, herself a daughter of Mobile, escorts us into the parallel hearts of the city's two carnivals. Landmark's E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. 202-452-7672. $7.50-$10.

ROLE MODELS-- Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play two men who face a choice: Do hard time or work 150 hours in a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn't look half bad.

SOUL MEN-- The late Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson team up to play estranged soul singers traveling cross-country to perform at a tribute concert in honor of their former band leader.

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK-- See Can't Miss.

On Stage

BOOM-- See Can't Miss.

EDGEWORKS DANCE THEATER-- Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m. A multimedia performance by an all-male contemporary dance ensemble led by award-winning choreographer Helanius J. Wilkins. Dance Place, 3225 Eighth St. NE. 202-269-1600. $22, seniors and students $17, 17 and younger $8.

HOUSE AND GUEST-- Through Nov. 9. Synetic Theater presents an adaptation of the Georgian epic poem by Vazha Pshavela. Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre, 1611 N. Kent St., Arlington. 703-228-1850 or 202-397-7328. $15-$40.

TEMPTATION-- Through Nov. 9. The Constellation Theatre Company presents this retelling of the Faust story written by playwright and former Czech President Vaclav Havel. Allison Arkell Stockman directs the play, which mixes an exploration of the divine with political satire. Source, 1835 14th St. NW. 202-315-1305 or 866-811-4111. $20, $15 seniors and students.

Sports

CAPITALS-- Thursday at 7 p.m. against the Carolina Hurricanes. Saturday at 7 p.m. against the New York Rangers. Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. 202-397-7328. $25-$225.

WIZARDS-- Friday at 7 p.m. against the New York Knicks. Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. 202-397-7328. $40-$275.