Ford's Theatre Museum Reopening After nearly two years and millions of dollars in renovations, the Ford's Theatre Museum has reopened. Shhhh! The official reopening isn't until Wednesday, but through Sunday, you can get a sneak peek at the exhibitions detailing the night Lincoln died, from the...

Potomac Whitewater Festival If you have ever visited Great Falls Park, you have probably been in awe of the raging Potomac as it crashes through huge boulders. It might not seem like the best place to take a dip, but for whitewater kayakers it's heaven, and on Saturday and Sunday you can watch them...

Summer-fair season won't start for a few weeks, but if you're already desperate for funnel cake and face painting, this weekend's Reston Festival is where it's at.

The Weekend section is now on Twitter! Follow us @washpostweekend, and we'll tweet all week with fun goings-on around town.

Swish. The fencer's epee cuts through the air in a salute to the more seasoned opponent about 10 feet away. The metal mesh of the masks makes it difficult to see the competitors' faces, but one can make out glares and an unspoken promise -- the first lunge will make contact with more than air.

Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" is raunchy with none of the timeliness of "Borat."

T he buzz: When anyone asks for the perfect spot to take a new date, go out with the guys or bring out-of-town friends, my repeated answer lately has been the H Street Country Club.

Life might have turned out differently for Fertile Ground's James Collins, if he hadn't crossed paths with singer Navasha Daya in 1998. "I was on my way to medical school," he remembers. "And when I heard her sing -- specifically, when I heard her interpret some songs that I wrote -- from that point...

Fertile Ground will appear tonight as part of Neo Soul Night, sponsored by The Post's Weekend section at Carter Barron Amphitheatre, 16th Street and Colorado Avenue NW. The free concert starts at 7:30.

Prices listed where available. WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA'S OPERA INSTITUTE Friday at 7. Students ages 15 to 18 perform scenes from Bernstein's "Candide" and Verdi's "La Traviata." American University, Katzen Arts Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW. 202-885-2787 or http://www.american.edu/katzen ....

THE DEAD WEATHER "Horehound" Kindred Spirits: The White Stripes, the Raconteurs, Black Keys

BERES HAMMOND "A Moment in Time" Kindred spirits: Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Marvin Gaye, Seal Show: Sunday at Wolf Trap with other reggae performers. Show starts at 4 p.m. 703-255-1900. http://www.wolf-trap.org. In 1995, Beres Hammond recorded a copy of Luther Vandross's "A House Is Not a Hom...

HANDSOME FURS "Face Control" Kindred spirits: The Most Serene Republic, Wolf Parade Show: Tonight at the Black Cat. Show starts at 9. 202-667-4490. http://www.blackcatdc.com. The Handsome Furs haven't fallen prey to a sophomore slump: The husband-and-wife Canadian duo's second album, "Face Contro...

ALL TIME LOW "Nothing Personal" Kindred Spirits: Jimmy Eat World, Plain White T's Show: Saturday at Towson Center Arena, Towson University. Show starts at 6 p.m. 202-397-7328. http://www.ticketmaster.com. The songs on "Nothing Personal" are what pop-punk is all about -- or should be, anyway. The ...

PAUL TAYLOR "Burnin' " Kindred Spirits: Junior Walker, David Sanborn, Richard Elliot. Show: Tonight at Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis. Shows start at 7 and 10. 410-268-4545. http://www.ramsheadonstage.com. It doesn't take an arson squad to discover the source of ignition for "Burnin'." The influen...

BG & THE MOJO HANDS Friday at 11:30. Kings Contrivance Village Center, 8600 Guilford Rd, Columbia. 443-367-5123.

Prices listed where available. BLACK CAT Handsome Furs, Dri, the Cinnamon Band, Friday, $12; Trophy Wife, Saturday, $8; Velvet, the Public Good, Tuesday, $8; Wreckless Eric, Amy Rigby, Wednesday, $12; Grand Duchy, Thursday, $15. 1811 14th St. NW. 202-667-7960, 202-397-7328 or...

KABOB N KARAHI (**) 15521 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring; 301-879-0044. Entrees $7.49-$11.49

ARIA TRATTORIA Taylor Carson, Friday; Ted Garber, Thursday. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-312-1250.

"The Oresteia" involves infidelity, murder and the judgment of the gods: the grand themes of Greek tragedy, in other words. How perfect, then, for a rock-music adaptation, complete with laughs, that incorporates dramatic monologues, dance and knife-throwing.

Thanks to the work of politically minded comedians, it usually doesn't take long before a president can be boiled down to a single derogatory word. But with Barack Obama, the comedy world is still trying to figure out how best to go after the leader of the free world.

Tickets: Individual tickets to the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival are $15-$35; passes are $50-$300. A Fringe button (a one-time $5 purchase) is also required for admission. Tickets are on sale by phone (866-811-4111), online ( http://www.capfringe.org ) or at the Fort Fringe box office, 607 New York...

It's two weeks before opening night, and the cast of the Capital Fringe Festival's "Pepe! The Mail Order Monkey Musical" is still making do without a finished set, costumes or props. Worse, Rick Hammerly, the Helen Hayes Award-winning actor who plays the titular primate, is out sick, having been...

Venture out to Penn Quarter on Wednesday evening for an inside look at the creative process with one of Washington's theater greats: Shakespeare Theatre Company's artistic director, Michael Kahn. After a question-and-answer session with the audience, Kahn will work on classical monologues and scenes...

A star (*) denotes a show recommended by our critics.

BARACK STARS A comedy revue that lampoons power players from Washington and Chicago, by the Second City, through Aug. 2. Tuesday-Thursday at 8. Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW. 202-393-3939 or http://www.woollymammoth.net .

"War is a drug," writes Christopher Hedges in the epigram that precedes "The Hurt Locker." Someone else described war as "interminable boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror." Director Kathryn Bigelow ("Point Break") comprehends both of those observations and conveys them in this captivating,...

"Bruno," the latest mock-documentary satiric ritual from comic provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen, may count as the summer's biggest misfire. Cohen made a huge hit in 2006 with "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," which simultaneously scandalized and...

The future, as depicted in "Moon," is familiar. Televisions are turned on and off by clapping. Sentient computers use emoticons to convey feeling. And big corporations cut corners at the expense of their employees.

Forty years ago this summer, a man walked on the moon. Later that year, a series of riots around Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn gave birth to the gay rights movement. And filmmaker Costa-Gavras released "Z," his landmark political thriller based on the real-life assassination of Greek peace...

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about "I Love You, Beth Cooper" is that the title is correctly punctuated. Beyond that, the movie is a disappointingly flabby teen flick that reaches for (and spectacularly fails to grasp) both the effective sincerity of a John Hughes film and the irresistible...

1. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" 2. "Confessions of a Shopaholic"

New DVDs you can watch this weekend: -- Knowing (PG-13) Nicolas Cage plays a professor who comes across an old list of numbers that seems to have predicted past major disasters, and a few that haven't happened yet. His crusade to prevent the apocalypse begins. Post critic Michael O'Sullivan said...

Capsule reviews of recent releases playing in area theaters. For older movies, see the Movie Directory. A star (*) denotes a movie recommended by our critics.

An awkward mix of fresh ideas and teen movie cliches, this losing-one's-virginity-after-high-school comedy (screenplay by Larry Doyle, based on his novel) feels like it's about to end several times then lumbers along some more. It lacks charm in a comedy-killing way.

AFI SILVER THEATRE "After the Thin Man," Friday and Saturday at 5, and Sunday at 12:30. "Shoot the Piano Player," Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 3, Sunday at 5:30, Tuesday at 5 and Thursday at 7. "Breakin'," Friday at 9:30 and Monday at 9:45. "The China Syndrome," Saturday at 12:30 and Tuesday at 7....

Prices listed where available. "CIRCUS!" Friday at 10 and 11:30, Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 and 1, and Wednesday-Thursday at 10 and 11:30, through Aug. 2. Christopher and MayField Piper present the "Grandest Show on Strings." Glen Echo Park, Puppet Co. Playhouse, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo....

Armor -- the original power suit. When worn by kings and emperors, if only for pageants and tournaments, it sends an unmistakable message: Don't forget who's boss.

In addition to its strong visual punch, armor often delivers a powerful political message. Take this helmet, which belonged to King Philip I of Castile (a.k.a. Philip the Handsome).

"ALAN BEAN: PAINTING APOLLO, FIRST ARTIST ON ANOTHER WORLD" The Apollo 12 astronaut uses an impressionist style to document his experience on the lunar surface, opening Thursday at the National Air and Space Museum, Sixth Street and Independence Avenue SW. Open daily 10 to 7:30, through Sept. 7....

I've always wanted to fire a gun, just like the glamorous double agent played by Jennifer Garner in "Alias."

Record? What record? If you are a Washington Nationals fan, it isn't about winning or losing -- it's about enjoying the nation's sport in the nation's capital. And if you are a true fan, you will want to be at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on July 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Nationals...

NATIONALS Thursday at 7:05 against the Chicago Cubs. Nationals Park, 1500 South Capitol St. SE. 202-675-6287 or http://washington.nationals.mlb.com . $10-$325.

Prices listed where available. AMERICANS ABROAD Friday at noon. Robert Johnston discusses the recently reinstalled Grand Salon. Renwick Gallery, 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. 202-633-1000 or http://americanart.si.edu . Free.