MAY CALENDAR house, 201 F St. NE. 202-558-6900. ebenezerscoffeehouse.com Kate Klim and the 2nd Story Band. June 1, 8:00 PM. Kate Klim, the winning singer/songwriter from the Kerrville FolkFest returns to the Corner Store for an encore performance. Great musician, earthy lyrics, beautiful voice, not to miss. $20. Corner Store, 900 So. Carolina Ave. SE. 202-544-5807. cornerstorearts.org New Music at the Atlas-Deviant Septet. June 2, 8:00 PM. The mission of the Deviant Septet is to fulfill the vision Igor Stravinsky had for his “L’histoire du Soldat” ensemble. By commissioning modern composers, the Deviant Septet will complete its primary goal of creating a repertoire for this unique ensemble which is otherwise nearly non-existent. $15-$25. Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. 202-3997993. atlasarts.org HR 57 Weekly Jam Sessions. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8:00 PM-midnight. Since 1993, HR-57 has provided a place where aspiring musicians gather to learn the history and cultures of the genres of jazz and blues. It’s a venue for the exchange of ideas and information between aspiring and professional musicians, students, aficionados and the general public. $8. (Tuesday, draft beer $3.) 816 H St. NE. 202-253-0044. hr57.org Jazz Night (and fish fry) in Southwest. Fridays, 6:00-9:00 PM. Every Friday night. Expect a large, fun and friendly crowd. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW (Fourth and I, south side of intersection). The cover is $5. Children are welcome and free under 16 years old. 202-484-7700. westminsterdc.org/jazz Blue Monday Blues. Mondays, 6:00-9:00 PM. Westminster Presbyterian Church. Local musicians perform, and the Southwest Catering Company provides a fish fry from 5:30-8:30 PM. $5/ general; free/children under 16. Modestly priced food. 400 I St. SW. 202-484-7700. westminsterdc.org/blues
THEATER AND FILM AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD The Seafarer at H Street Playhouse. Through May 20. Witness a group of Irish lads playing cards at a boozy Christmas party. When they run out of things to wager, they bet their souls. Yet, there is hell to pay when the devil comes to collect. $10-$20. H Street Playhouse, 1365 H St. NE. 703-684-7990. scenatheater.org Taffety Punk Theatre Company-“Oxygen”. May 7-19 (Wed-Sat), 8:00 PM, Sat matinees at 3:00 PM. Russian playwright Ivan Vyrypaev sets up two actors and a DJ to take on ten language intense tracks about love and suffocating, and suffocating in love. Directed by Lise Bruneau with music by the Caribbean. $10. CHAW, 545 7th St. SE. taffetypunk.com. The Secret Garden at St Marks. May 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18 and 19; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 4:00 PM. A musical based on
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the 1911 novel of the same name is set in the early 20th century. A young English girl raised in India is sent to England to live with relatives she has never met. Her own personality blossoms as she and a young gardener bring new life to a neglected garden, as well as her sickly cousin and uncle. St Marks, 301 A St. SE. 202-546-9670. stmarksplayers.org
poetry and prose, and received numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, an American Book Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award. In this reading, Snyder will share favorite poems by other poets in addition to reading from his own work. $15. Folger Elizabethan Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. 202-5447077. folger.edu
The Music Man at Arena. May 11-July 22. Having exhausted all 102 counties in Illinois, “Professor” Harold Hill gives Iowa a try and soon enough convinces River City of its trouble with the “sin and corruption” of the pool hall, trouble that can only be stopped by forming a boys’ band. Marian the librarian suspects he’s a con man, but she begins to trust him after seeing how he’s given confidence to her shy younger brother. Soon, this “Music Man” has transformed the entire town, not only turning the bickering school board into a barbershop quartet, but himself into an honest man. When the stage erupts with “76 Trombones,” you’ll be cheering along with River City for Harold Hill! Arena Stage, 1101 6th St. SW. 202-488-3300. arenastage.org
International Literature-Herta Müller Reading. May 15, 6:30 PM. Nobel Laureate Herta Müller will read from her work, followed by a conversation with Georgetown University Professor Peter Pfeiffer. This event is free and open to the public. Book sales and a signing will follow. Co-sponsored by the European Division of the Library of Congress, and presented in collaboration with the Goethe Institute. Free. Montpelier Room, James Madison Building (sixth floor), 101 Independence Ave. SE. 202-707-5394. loc.gov
Documentary Screening: Dinah Washington. May 20, 3:00-4:30 PM. Join them for the BBC documentary screening for Dinah Washington Evil Gal Blues followed by a discussion by the author of Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington, Nadine Cohodas. $5 suggested donation. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-549-4172. hillcenterdc.org NoMa Summer Screen. May 23-Aug 8. Bring a blanket, Frisbee and picnic cooler starting each Wednesday at 7:00 PM and connect with friends as you enjoy great films under the stars. All films start at 9:00 PM. Subtitles will be provided for all movies. Summer Screen, 2nd and L sts. NE. nomabid.org The Taming of the Shrew at the Folger. Through June 10. The battle of the sexes wages on as the arrogant Petruchio and the headstrong Kate face off in Shakespeare’s comedic examination of the institution of marriage and the journey toward love. $30-$65. Folger Elizabethan Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. 202 544 7077. folger.edu Suicide, Incorporated at H Street Playhouse. May 30-June 23. The DC premiere of a this tragicomic story about a business that helps its customers to perfect their suicide notes, and the new employee who might have other motivations. Come see the show that was hailed in the Chicago Tribune as, “…a hugely exciting new play,” and “a deeply moving inquiry into what lives are worth.” $25. H Street Playhouse, 1365 H St. NE. norulestheatre.org
LITERARY EVENTS AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD 2nd Annual Literary Hill BookFest. May 6, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM. Impressive line-up of Capitol Hill authors. Free. North Hall, Eastern Market, 7th St. and No Carolina Ave. SE. Folger Poetry Board Reading-Gary Snyder. May 14, 7:30 PM. Snyder has published 16 books of
Close Readings in Contemporary Poetry. Tuesdays, May 15-June 19, 6:30-8:30 PM. Close readings of recent books by three contemporary poets will examine how the poems are made and explore how poets manage to find and transform the matter of our ordinary world. $215. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-549-4172. hillcenterdc.org Literary Birthday Celebration-Walt Whitman. May 31, noon. Poets Joshua Beckman and Stanley Plumly celebrate the birthday of American poet Walt Whitman by reading selections from his work and discussing his influence on their own writing. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Free. Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building (ground floor), 10 First St. SE. 202-707-5394. loc.gov
EXHIBITIONS AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD “It’s a Wonderful World?” Exhibition at CHAW. May 12-June 1. Opening reception, May 12, 5:00-7:00 PM. The Capitol Hill Art League proudly presents its third annual metro DC open juried exhibit. The juror for the exhibit is F. Lennox Campello, DC area art critic, award winning artist, and supporter of the visual arts. CHAW, 545 7th St. SE. 202-547-6839. chaw.org. Art Exhibition at Hill Center Galleries. Through May 20. The new exhibition will showcase works including colored pencil drawings, digital prints, acrylic paintings, glass mosaic paintings and watercolor paintings. The exhibit also features a bold collection of wood and metal sculpture. In celebration of the Cherry Blossom Festival, several exquisite hand embroidered kimonos, obis and silk paintings will also be on display. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-5494172. hillcenterdc.org Shakespeare’s Sisters: Voices of English and European Women Writers, 1500–1700. Through May 20. Virginia Woolf famously evoked Shakespeare’s sister in A Room of One’s Own as she tried to imagine the difficulties women writers faced during the early modern period. In
fact, Woolf was not aware of how many women actually were writing during that time, because many of their works were never published, and those that were, lay in relative critical neglect. This exhibition explores those women who were, in fact, writing during Shakespeare’s time. It reimagines the “conversations” of these early women writers: with each other as members of families or groups; with the Bible; with spiritual and secular ideas; and with male writers of the time. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. 202-544-4600. folger.edu “Sakura: Cherry Blossoms as Living Symbols of Friendship” Exhibition at Library of Congress. Through Sept 15. The Library of Congress will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the gift with this exhibition. In 1912 the city of Tokyo gave Washington, DC, a gift of 3,000 flowering cherry trees (“sakura” in Japanese), as a symbol of enduring friendship between Japan and the United States. Despite a war, the friendship has prevailed, and the trees every spring have bestowed upon the US capital a graceful beauty and a time-honored tradition of gathering and admiring the pink blossoms. Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. loc.gov Pastels by Ellen Cornett. Through May 27 (view by appointment). Opening, May 6, 5:00-8:00 PM. Corner Store, 900 So. Carolina Ave. SE. 202544-5807. cornerstorearts.org Rosetta DeBerardinis Exhibition. June 2-July 8 (view by appointment). Opening June 2, 6:008:00 PM. Corner Store, 900 So. Carolina Ave. SE. 202-544-5807. cornerstorearts.org Snapshot: Painters and Photography, Bonnard to Vuillard. The Phillips Collection’s. 1600 21st St., NW. Washington, DC 20009. www.phillipscollection.org
MARKETS AND SALES Southeast Library Book Sale. May 12 (monthly on the 2nd Saturday), 10:30 AM. 403 Seventh St. SE. 202-698-3377. dclibrary.org/southeast Great Brookland Yard Sale. May 12, 10:00 AM2:00 PM. Dozens of yard sales all around Brookland neighborhood. Get details and a map at brooklandblog.blogspot.com. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church “It’s History” Sidewalk Sale. May 12 (rain or shine), 8:30 AM-3:00 PM. Donations will be accepted at the Chapel on the west side of the church, May 7-11 from 6:00-8:00 PM. Donations of household goods, seasonal decorations, clothing and accessories, children’s toys, sports equipment, furniture, office equipment and supplies, books, music and electronics are welcome. For more information or questions about donations to the sidewalk sale, send your inquiry to activitieschpc@gmail.com or contact the church at 202-547-8676. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 201 4th St. SE. St. Peter’s Annual Yard Sale. May 19, 9:00 AM1:00 PM. Capitol Hill’s biggest yard sale features