Don’t let humidity and scattered downpours keep you away from all there is to do this week. Catch a screening of a 1964 Cuban drama, head to a mini-festival full of exciting jazz musicians, and see a spirited comic opera about Persian king Xerxes. Read the latest arts news and reviews and see the hot tickets going on sale at the end of To Do This Week. —Kayla Randall
FRIDAY
I Am CubaCuba has long been a leader in Latin American cinema for envelope-pushing films, a testament to both the island’s artistic talent and not particularly effective censorship authority. Strawberry and Chocolate, a movie about a friendship between a gay man and a straight man, came out not many years after the Cuban government had been imprisoning or expelling gay people. More recent examples are Habanastation, which takes on Cuban inequality, and Juan of the Dead, which mocks the misinformation of government broadcasts and state ineffectiveness in the face of a zombie apocalypse. But among the best Cuban films remains Soy Cuba/I Am Cuba, a 1964 film by Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov. Read more>>> The film screens at 5 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $8–$13. (301) 495-6700. afi.com/silver. (Mike Paarlberg)
The Kennedy Center Opera House hosts Ballet Across America with performances from Dance Theatre of Harlem and Miami City Ballet. 7:30 p.m. at 2700 F St. NW. $29–$119.
Reggae icons Toots and the Maytals perform at The Fillmore Silver Spring. 8 p.m. at 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $36.
Comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm legend J.B. Smoove performs at The Warner Theatre. 8 p.m. at 513 13th St. NW. $33.
SATURDAY
Spirits RiseIn 1959, Ornette Coleman had a prophecy. That prophecy was his landmark album The Shape of Jazz to Come, which helped establish the free jazz movement and, later, the avant garde jazz movement, that really took off in the ’60s and ’70s. These days, both subgenres of jazz are thriving, thanks to new generations of musicians who took the ideas Coleman (and others) planted and pushed them to new levels. At the forefront of the contemporary free jazz revolution is the Austin, Texas-based label Astral Spirits. Since 2014, Astral Spirits has been releasing some of the heaviest and most forward-thinking free jazz, electronic, and experimental records and tapes from musicians around the world. At Rhizome, the label presents a mini-festival with some of the most exciting musicians from its roster. Read more>>> The festival begins at 5 p.m. at Rhizome DC, 6950 Maple St. NW. $20. rhizomedc.org. (Matt Cohen)
Latin jazz bassist Carlos Henriquez performs at Sixth & I with his ensemble. 8 p.m. at 600 I St. NW. $35.
D.C. dance rock band Mystery Friends performs at Black Cat. 8 p.m. at 1811 14th St. NW. $15.
Marc Cohn, a Grammy-winning folk rock singer-songwriter, performs at The Birchmere with pop artist Chelsea Williams. 7:30 p.m. at 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. $49.50.
SUNDAY
The Tale of SerseSerse is the only comic opera by George Frideric Handel, a composer not known for his sense of humor. An irreverent retelling of the rule of Xerxes, the king of Persia who led a war against the ancient Greeks, it’s ostensibly informed by Herodotus’ Histories but is about as wedded to history as the movie 300. So it’s keeping with the ahistorical spirit that the In Series, which specializes in sometimes obscure, often silly chamber operas, is reimagining it as a love story by Rumi, the Persian Sufi poet who lived nearly a thousand years later. Read more>>> The opera begins at 3 p.m. at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. $20–$45. (202) 204-7763. inseries.org. (Mike Paarlberg)
One More Page Books presents a contemporary young adult book panel featuring the launch of author Christina June‘s No Place Like Here, which puts a modern twist on Hansel and Gretel. 2 p.m. at 2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington. Free.
The Miracle Theatre screens superhero romp Shazam!, starring Zachary Levi as the titular goofball hero. 5:45 p.m. at 535 8th St. SE. $8.
Jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold performs at Blues Alley. 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $25–$30.
MONDAY
Archiving EdenAt the National Academy of Sciences, Phillip K. Smith III abstracts one of his site-specific works, a 2013 installation in the Mojave Desert in which he partially covered a homesteader’s shack with mirrors. The original work, featured in his exhibition From Lucid Stead, on view to Sept. 13, is smart with crisp reflections of the surrounding scrub in the mirrors contrasting bracingly with the shack’s original weathered wood. But most impressive at the National Academy of Sciences is Dornith Doherty’s exhibition Archiving Eden, an exploration of the little-noticed but vital network of seed banks that harbor crucial agricultural fodder for a rainy (or dry) day. Read more>>> The exhibition is on view to July 15 at the National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW. Free. (202) 334-2415. cpnas.org. (Louis Jacobson)
Talented bluesman Fantastic Negrito performs at Union Stage. 8 p.m. at 740 Water St. SW. $20–$35.
Indie rock group Local Natives perform at 9:30 Club. 7 p.m. at 815 V St. NW. $36.
Politics and Prose at The Wharf presents an author panel featuring the likes of Elizabeth Acevedo, Robin Benway, and Meg Medina, for a discussion about their writing processes and what influences their work. 7 p.m. at 70 District Sq. SW. Free.
TUESDAY
Hello, Dolly!To play Dolly Gallagher Levi in a professional production of Hello, Dolly! is to become an icon. From the lavish gowns she wears to the near-perfect songs she sings, it’s a primo role for musical theater stars over the age of 50—and every Broadway baby has a favorite portrayal. Some love the original takes of Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey, others prefer the nuance Bette Midler added to the musical’s 2017 Broadway revival, and those raised on Gene Kelly’s film version will go to the grave proclaiming Barbra Streisand the best person to ever don Dolly’s glamorous hats. This month at the Kennedy Center, another legend offers her take on the musical’s title character: Betty Buckley, whose time spent playing Grizabella in Cats inspired many ambitious auditioners and in-shower soloists. Read more>>> The musical runs June 4 to July 7 at the Kennedy Center Opera House, 2700 F St. NW. $49–$159. (202) 467-4600. kennedy-center.org. (Caroline Jones)
The Library of Congress opens Shall Not Be Denied, an exhibition focused on women’s fight for the vote in the U.S. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 10 1st St. SE. Free.
Suns Cinema screens Rafiki, a vibrant love story between two young women set in Kenya. 8 p.m. at 3107 Mount Pleasant St. NW. $10.
New wave pop group Founding Fathers performs at Songbyrd Music House. 8 p.m. at 2477 18th St. NW. $8–$10.
WEDNESDAY
WPGC Birthday BashWhile WPGC spent last year bringing ’88 back with a retro concert, the 32nd edition of this annual tradition returns to au courant action. The five billed acts represent a good survey of the radio station’s programming, and the world of hip-hop and R&B at-large. Near the top of the card is Jacquees, the self-described (if much derided) King of R&B who’s made a name for himself on covers and samples of loverboy crooners past. There’s the DMV’s next-up trap rapper, Q Da Fool, fresh off collaborative efforts with hitmakers Zaytoven and Kenny Beats, and a pair of R&B chanteuses with a megahit apiece, Summer Walker and Kiana Ledé. But no matter when she hits the stage, the main attraction is sure to be Megan Thee Stallion. Read more>>> The show begins at 6 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $30–$40. (202) 265-0930. 930.com. (Chris Kelly)
Irish author Helen Cullen speaks about her novel The Lost Letters of William Woolf, a story about the fate of lost letters and one man falling in love with a mysterious letter writer, at Solid State Books. 7 p.m. at 600 H St. NE. Free.
Synthpop-indie rock band Geographer performs at U Street Music Hall. 7 p.m. at 1115 U St. NW. $15.
Houston indie pop quintet Wild Moccasins performs at DC9. 8 p.m. at 1940 9th St. NW. $10.
THURSDAY
RebeccaSwoon to Rebecca, a classic gothic romance from the master of the macabre. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 Best Picture winner is loaded with foggy atmosphere and rear-projection shots that make it seem like even more of a dream—and a nightmare. Joan Fontaine stars as an insecure young woman who marries Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), a dashing older widower. But when Maxim takes his new bride home to Manderley, his mansion by the sea, the housekeeping staff, especially Mrs. Danvers (a brilliantly creepy Judith Anderson), who was maybe a little hot for her departed mistress, makes sure the newcomer knows she’s a pale substitute for Rebecca, the first Mrs. de Winter. Read more>>> The film screens at 2 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $8–$10. (301) 495-6700. afi.com/silver. (Pat Padua)
Funky Brown Chick presents The Power of the Arts to Create Social Change, in which CEO Twanna Hines moderates a discussion about how arts can improve gender equality with panelists, including Gabrielle Ewing of National Geographic and Briana Green of Mamatoto Village, at Busboys and Poets Anacostia. 6:30 p.m. at 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. Free.
Elizabeth Gilbert, the bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love, comes to The Lincoln Theatre for a chat about her new book, City of Girls, a love story set in the theater world of the 1940s. 7 p.m. at 1215 U St. NW. $38–$55.
Rapper-actor Machine Gun Kelly performs at Echostage. 7 p.m. at 2135 Queens Chapel Road NE. $30.
NEWS & REVIEWS YOU CAN USE
Film: Dane Figueroa Edidi tells a timeless story in Theater Alliance’s Klytmnestra.
Museums and Galleries: The National Museum of Women in the Arts explores massive sculptures and multiples.
Theater: Godzilla: King of the Monsters is more melodrama than monster-drama.
Music: On Greener Grasses, the Keith Butler Trio makes subtlety sublime.
OFFICE OF FUTURE PLANNING
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for indie pop-rock vocalist Molly Burch, performing at Songbyrd Music House on Aug. 6. 8 p.m. at 2477 18th St. NW. $13–$16.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for Chilean pop singer-songwriter Mon Laferte, performing at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Aug. 29. 8:30 p.m. at 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. Prices to be released at the time of sale.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for comedian Preacher Lawson, performing at The Warner Theatre on Sept. 14. 8 p.m. at 513 13th St. NW. Prices to be released at the time of sale.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for comedian Anjelah Johnson, performing at The Warner Theatre on Sept. 21. 7 p.m. at 513 13th St. NW. Prices to be released at the time of sale.
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