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Museums
In the galleries: Paintings reflect light’s luminous effects
Details are soft and nearly vaporous in renditions of Earth and sky.
Museums
At the National Gallery, a history of aquatint, from neoclassical fantasy to the horrors of war
‘Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya’ looks at the expressive potential of a single printmaking process.
Museums
In the galleries: The grid is the primary motif but subject to subtle change
Two artists explore spaces between abstraction, ornamentation, and physical reality.
Music
‘Friday’ singer Rebecca Black is all grown up
A decade after her viral hit, Black is kicking off her first headlining tour in D.C. at Union Stage.
Movies
The movies that wowed Post critics in 2021 — and where to watch them
These 33 films — from drama to comedy and from musical to documentary — earned top marks.
Museums
In the galleries: A rock-and-roll odyssey through sex, race and religion
Artists examine rebellious American Protestantism and its extensive reach into our culture.
Theater & Dance
‘Rent’ alum Adam Pascal takes ‘Pretty Woman: The Musical’ on the road
The ever-youthful actor talks about his latest ‘big-boy’ role, and other recent cameos.
Museums
In the galleries: Works draw on feeling, seeing and a penchant for jazz
Artist aims for rhythm between influences of music and visual arts on each other.
Museums
How to survive a pandemic? Courage, resiliency and resistance to bad ideas.
A Cooper Hewitt exhibition, “Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics,” explores the evolving architecture of health care.
Theater & Dance
At Studio Theatre, the plight of Afghan orphans comes alive in miniature dioramas
Glasgow’s Vox Motus brings its innovative and emotional storytelling to D.C.
Museums
At the Hirshhorn, Toyin Ojih Odutola’s ‘Countervailing Theory’ will leave you transformed
The Nigerian American artist’s first D.C. exhibition is an otherworldly experience.
Theater & Dance
Broadway’s ‘Flying Over Sunset’ comes in for a crash landing
The new musical about celebrities in the 1950s taking LSD trips over its conceits.
Music
‘. . . (Iphigenia)’ is an opera in the form of a question
Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter’s new take on Greek myth compels and confounds at the Kennedy Center.
Museums
In the galleries: Expansive exhibit celebrates a beloved late artist
Tribute to Nancy Frankel incorporates a common thread dedicated to her life and artistic outlook.
Theater & Dance
What’s next for Britney Spears fans? A Shakespeare Theatre musical that may be headed to Broadway.
“Once Upon a One More Time” has Broadway hopes and a Dec. 17 opening night at Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Theater & Dance
The musical ‘A Strange Loop’ is boundary-pushing — even for Woolly Mammoth
The adventurous D.C. theater, which isn’t known for musicals, puts on Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer-winning show.
Music
Neil Young made ‘Barn,’ his new album, in a barn
At 76, Young is following his instincts. They led him to record in a building with no doors, no bathroom and no headphones.
Museums
Best visual art of 2021: Jasper Johns in two venues, Medici portraits and text-based artist Barbara Kruger
The art world began to normalize, with major shows — and smaller crowds — returning.
Entertainment
Best movies of 2021: Almodóvar just gets better, family films make a comeback
Movies made during the coronavirus pandemic conveyed the reflective, memory-drenched mood of the era.
Music
Best classical music of 2021: Noseda reunites with the NSO, ‘Fire’ lights up the Met
The return of live music was the sweetest sound of the year, but it wasn’t the only high note.
Arts and Entertainment
Razzle takes on new dazzle in Broadway-ready ‘A Strange Loop’
Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize winner gets a vivacious tryout at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
Arts and Entertainment
Best of theater 2021: ‘Come From Away’ on the Mall, Macbeth in London and a streaming movie
Even in a year of recovery, theater hit some high notes, onstage and on-screen.
Theater & Dance
Best of dance 2021: Paul Taylor live at the Kennedy Center, Ashwini Ramaswamy and Jacob Jonas’s short films
Despite the covid confinement, dance artists found many ways to unleash their creativity.
Entertainment
Kennedy Center Honors: A toast to tradition
The Opera House ceremony, to be televised Dec. 22, recognizes Bette Midler, Justino Diaz, Lorne Michaels, Berry Gordy and Joni Mitchell.
Arts and Entertainment
Minus Robin Williams, ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ is not quite herself
A new musical version of the 1993 film comedy ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ has its official Broadway opening
Music
New opera by Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter remakes myth without sacrificing music
The Grammy-winning duo’s “. . . (Iphigenia)” opens Dec. 10 at the Kennedy Center.
Music
At the Howard Theater, R&B singer Giveon stretches his vocal chops before a sellout crowd
The multi-Grammy-nominee performed with a full-bodied yearning.
Theater & Dance
At the Kennedy Center, Michelle Dorrance’s tappers pay homage to Ella Fitzgerald and Christmas
World premiere of “An Ella’quent Holiday Swing” turns the Eisenhower Theater into a swinging jazz party.
Museums
In the galleries: Artist’s works criss-cross the paths of U.S. colonialism
Raises questions about who has access to resources, citizenship, and the right to sovereignty.
Theater & Dance
For actor Michael Anthony Williams, offstage day jobs have sharpened his craft onstage
Working in philanthropy, criminology and disaster relief have imbued his work in Arena Stage’s “Seven Guitars” with greater humanity.
Theater & Dance
Mason Alexander Park brings star power to Olney’s ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’
The “Cowboy Bebop” actor’s glam-rock radiance shows the high-octane musical in a new light.
Museums
In the galleries: Delicate works show concern about the footprints we leave on our planet
Intricately constructed sculptures sidestep chaos with a strong and harmonious vision.
Theater & Dance
Don’t share the lipstick! How ballet companies are planning covid-free ‘Nutcrackers.’
No kids under 12? Virus-tested tykes in custom-designed masks? Protocols vary. But please don’t breathe on the musicians.
Theater & Dance
At Met premiere, ‘Eurydice’ offers a beguiling visit to the underworld
Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl’s operatic adaptation of her 2003 play debuts at the Metropolitan Opera.
Theater & Dance
Lynn Nottage sets ‘Clyde’s’ in a truck stop cafe, and feisty comedy is on the menu
The new Broadway play by the two-time Pulitzer winner gives actress Uzo Aduba another terrific role.
Museums
Stephen A. Geppi’s trove of vintage comics and collectibles is on view at the Library of Congress
“Geppi’s Gem’s” will delight superhero buffs and connoisseurs of comic-book history.
Theater & Dance
How starring in ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ helped one actor understand their own sense of gender identity
Mason Alexander Park plays the genderqueer glam rocker in Olney Theatre’s production, and a trans version of Gren in Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop.”
Museums
Baltimore loves Matisse. That’s one more reason to love Baltimore.
The Baltimore Museum of Art credits one of the city’s great daughters, Etta Cone, as it launches a major Henri Matisse love-in.
Theater & Dance
Akram Khan delivers a powerful indictment of war in ‘Xenos’ at the Kennedy Center
The London-based choreographer is on his final tour of this searing solo performance.
Museums
In the galleries: Artists pair up to create a third identity, or when 1+1 equals one.
Collaborative show teams 20 artists into 10 pairs for works that combine their respective views.
Theater & Dance
Theater J’s tear-jerking two-hander ‘Tuesdays With Morrie’ imparts enduring life lessons
Cody Nickell and Michael Russotto star in the fact-based play, adapted from sportswriter Mitch Albom’s best-selling memoir.
Theater & Dance
Full-court banter and intensity mark a gripping ‘Great Leap’ at Round House Theatre
A stellar cast embodies the idiosyncratic characters in the Lauren Yee play.
Museums
At the Phillips Collection, a visual ‘conversation’ between the art of Europe, Africa and Japan
Sanford Biggers’s “Mosaic’ installation engages in a dialogue that borrows from several cultures.
Theater & Dance
Olney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ succeeds with a Belle who brings complexity to the role
Jade Jones leads a cast in a thoughtful, if occasionally flawed, take on a Disney megahit.
Music
With the NSO, French piano duo Katia and Marielle Labèque brew up a storm (and some stress)
Guest conductor Juanjo Mena leads the National Symphony Orchestra in a program of Schumann, Brahms and Bryce Dessner.
Museums
In the galleries: A century apart, Khalil Gibran and contemporary artists explore questions of home and displacement at MEI Art Gallery
Works by Arab diaspora artists challenge preconceived notions of the Middle East in “Converging Lines: Tracing the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S.”
Museums
Two Smithsonian glass shows highlight the medium’s eye-popping variety
Venetian glass steals the spotlight at the American Art Museum, while contemporary glass dazzles at the Renwick.
Music
Strathmore reaches agreement with ticket-sellers to end two-year standoff
If ratified, the agreement could mean the return of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to the North Bethesda venue.
Theater & Dance
In London, the shows go on — but apathy is unmasked
A laissez-faire attitude prevails in London’s theaters, unlike those in New York and Washington.
Theater & Dance
A galvanizing ‘Rent’ raises pulses as it welcomes audiences back to Signature Theatre
Jonathan Larson’s 1996 hit musical remains fresh and vivacious in first live production at Signature in months.
Theater & Dance
Prolific playwright Lauren Yee bounces back from pandemic cancellations with two area productions
Yee’s ‘The Great Leap’ at Round House will be followed by Arena’s ‘Cambodian Rock Band’ next spring
Museums
In Jeff Wall’s photographs, it’s all about the details. But are they important?
Glenstone surveys the work of one of our most creative and conceptual photographers.
Museums
Glamour, gossip, sex, scandal: Man Ray’s portraits captured Paris between the wars
A major exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond focuses on the portraiture of the great surrealist.
Music
In ‘Unknown,’ a composer and a poet offer new perspectives on war and 100 years of soldiers with names lost to time
Shawn Okpebholo and Marcus Amaker mark the centennial of Tomb of the Unknowns with a new song cycle.
Music
How a dispute with a handful of Strathmore ticket-sellers led to impasse with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, canceled concerts
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has gotten involved in the stalemate, pushing for resolution that would allow the orchestra to perform again in the North Bethesda concert hall.
Museums
In the galleries: Renaissance influences synchronize with Magic Realism
Artist pushes a skillful illusionism of master painting to the contemporary edge
Theater & Dance
Broadway is off to a shaky start, but a last-minute reprieve for two acclaimed plays lifts spirits
Anemic ticket sales initially led producers to cancel “Is This a Room” and “Dana H.”
Museums
‘We are in crisis mode’: Museum workers are turning to unions over conditions they say are untenable
“These are the workers who often balance the realities of paying their rent with their career choice. That’s a sad commentary for many arts organizations,” an arts management expert said.
Museums
For beloved D.C. artist Alma Thomas, beauty wasn’t just about art. It was essential to life, too.
With new exhibition “Everything Is Beautiful,” the Phillips Collection shows the breadth of the artist’s achievement.
Music
Sarah Hughes is getting inside her sound by getting outside herself
The intrepid Maryland saxophonist will improvise solo at Rhizome on Tuesday.
Music
4 concerts to catch in the D.C. area over the next several days
Shallou, JP Saxe, Spill Tab and Abe the Kid perform this week.
Theater & Dance
At Olney Theatre, casting ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with an eye to inclusion
Disney’s musical fairy tale about looking beyond lookism takes on added resonance.
Music
Yan Pascal Tortelier and the NSO find their own voices in ‘Daphnis et Chloé’
The renowned French conductor led a Kennedy Center program of Bizet and Ravel, along with an East Coast premiere from Angélica Negrón.
Museums
In the galleries: Biennial survey celebrates Mid-Atlantic artists of many mediums
The retitled “(Not) Strictly Painting” has depth, breadth and sparks of innovation.
Theater & Dance
The pandemic was the final blow for some dance companies. How do the survivors stay nimble?
Advocates see troubling signs that the art form, routinely under financial stress, may be shrinking and its structures drastically changing.
Music
4 concerts to catch in the D.C. area over the next several days
Nation of Language, Medium Build, Emmit Fenn and Carmen Canedo perform this week.
Theater & Dance
She might get top billing, but ‘Celia and Fidel’ at Arena Stage shortchanges the female revolutionary
World premiere run of Eduardo Machado’s play about Celia Sánchez and Castro was shut down immediately after opening night at the start of pandemic.
Theater & Dance
Mosaic Theater tackles climate change, with a play that spans nine consecutive autumns
Anna Ouyang Moench’s ‘Birds of North America’ uses the passage of time to tell its story.
Museums
Umar Rashid’s narrative paintings collapse past, present and future into a darkly comic vision of colonialism
The Los Angeles-based artist’s ‘Culinarialism’ exhibition is on view in Cultural DC’s mobile art gallery.
Museums
Some cars are more seductive than art. Should they be included in art museums?
A MoMA exhibition is almost overwhelmed by the thing it tries to dissect.
Theater & Dance
The sound of Constellation Theatre’s ‘Mysticism & Music’ transcends its script
Chinese-dulcimer virtuoso Chao Tian and percussionist Tom Teasley infuse an age-old quest with new energy.
Entertainment
Interlochen has been building an arts-education hub for almost a century. Now it’s all about building artists.
The elite arts academy and camp announces it has finished with a 30-year master plan.
Theater & Dance
Ronald K. Brown/Evidence rises to a spiritual level in performance at the Kennedy Center
In “Grace” and “Mercy,” love and connection are central in unexpected ways.
Entertainment
At Middleburg, the pandemic pause yields a crop of thoughtful, deeply personal movies
Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” which won the audience award, was one of many films reflecting on the past.
Theater & Dance
How Broadway’s set-making guru is tackling the comeback — from mold in stage fog to costumes that don’t fit anymore
As show openings pile up, there’s a flurry of deadline, behind-the-scenes work for Neil A. Mazzella’s Hudson Scenic Studio.
Entertainment
The movie business may be struggling, but you wouldn’t know it at these thriving independent theaters
Across America, art houses aren’t just bouncing back, they’re renovating and expanding.
Theater & Dance
Peloton’s Cody Rigsby is powerfully predictable on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
The fitness guru, who lacks a connection with his partner, could learn from the show’s same-sex couple, Jojo Siwa and Jenna Johnson.
Theater & Dance
Synetic Theater’s ‘The Madness of Poe’ delivers a haunting mash-up from the father of American horror
Stylishly staged, though at times incongruent, Paata Tsikurishvili’s largely wordless production fuses “The Fall of the House of Usher” with “The Raven.”
Theater & Dance
Washington Ballet kicks off its return to in-person performance with two shows at the National Building Museum
The company opens its “season of gratitude” with a showcase of contemporary and classic works.
Music
At the Kennedy Center, songs you haven’t heard and cellphones you wish you hadn’t
Tenor Jonas Kaufmann and pianist Helmut Deutsch shed light on the art songs of Liszt.
Theater & Dance
A harrowing hostage story is told with stunning subtlety in Broadway’s ‘Dana H.’
Deirdre O’Connell turns lip-syncing into an absorbing synthesis of interviewee and actor.
Theater & Dance
With the opening of ‘The Lehman Trilogy,’ Broadway just got smarter — and more exciting
The epic saga of Lehman Bros. becomes a sublime 3 1/2-hour dash through the history of American capitalism.
Theater & Dance
With MacArthur ‘genius’ grant, this 70-year-old choreographer has big plans for the future
“Age doesn’t matter if you keep evolving,” says Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, founder of the Urban Bush Women dance troupe.
Theater & Dance
‘Hadestown’ ushers Broadway back to the Kennedy Center in style
The first musical in 19 months starts up in the Opera House.
Museums
Suzanne Valadon modeled for some of the world’s greatest artists. Then she became one.
The Barnes Foundation presents what it calls the first major U.S. exhibition of Valadon’s masterful work.
Museums
In the galleries: Exhibits explore the many meanings of blue
Our collective experience of sadness, loss, serenity and calm is embodied in the color.
Theater & Dance
On Broadway, ‘Thoughts of a Colored Man’ and ‘Lackawanna Blues’ deliver stories that defy stereotypes
Individual perspectives are at the heart of crowd-pleasing works by Keenan Scott II and Ruben Santiago-Hudson.
Theater & Dance
As ‘Hadestown’ comes to the Kennedy Center, the show’s creators explain the magic behind one great song
The Tony Award-winning musical, inspired by Greek myth, includes the showstopper ‘Wait for Me.’
Museums
Pyramid Atlantic Art Center celebrates 40 years of art-making with the exhibition ‘Reflecting Back to the Future’
The Hyattsville center for print-, paper- and bookmaking brings together 40 works by art luminaries from near and far.
Theater & Dance
Reality Winner’s arrest transcript becomes a scintillating Broadway show in ‘Is This a Room’
The gut-grabbing drama stars Emily Davis as the NSA contractor convicted of leaking classified documents.
Theater & Dance
Soul-searching and suspense carry a riveting ‘Lesson of Jan Karski’ at Shakespeare Theatre
A virtuosic David Strathairn plays the real-life Holocaust witness and diplomat in solo show written by Clark Young and Derek Goldman.
Music
Kennedy Center stagehands reach agreement with the performing arts venue, sparing ‘Hadestown’ from cancellation
A proposed strike had threatened the run of the Tony-winning musical and other performances.
Music
At Rhizome, French horn player Abe Mamet anchors a wonderful jazz quartet
The outdoor concert celebrated what would have been the 100th birthday of French horn player Julius Watkins.
Entertainment
For performers trying to get back onstage, it’s been a struggle to balance covid safety and the show
“You wake up every day, cross your fingers that they’ll open a door, turn on the lights and we’ll have a rock show,” says the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl.
Theater & Dance
Paul Taylor Dance Company makes a triumphant return to Kennedy Center
First in-person dance performance at the arts complex since the pandemic feels like a celebration of perseverance through deprivation.
Museums
In the galleries: Intellectually engaging, visually striking and open to interpretation
Artist’s multiple techniques recognize and appreciate that materials have meaning.
Theater & Dance
Albert Einstein and Marian Anderson were good friends. But a new play at Ford’s Theatre only scratches the surface.
Deborah Brevoort’s “My Lord, What a Night” restarts a hallowed D.C. institution, while at Woolly Mammoth, “Teenage Dick” reimagines Shakespeare.
Entertainment
Kennedy Center stagehands authorize strike, putting ‘Hadestown’ and other scheduled shows in jeopardy
After a year of negotiations and 18 months of unemployment, stagehands make push to reach deal.
Arts and Entertainment
Laurie Anderson is why we have multimedia art. Her story comes full circle at the Hirshhorn.
“The Weather,” on view at the Hirshhorn, is the largest Laurie Anderson retrospective to date.
Museums
At the Smithsonian, Hung Liu’s portraits offer remembrance of and resistance to Mao’s cultural revolution
The National Portrait Gallery celebrates the late Chinese American painter in “Portraits of Promised Lands”
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