Thursday: Billy Dee Williams at MLK Library

If the mere mention of the movies Brian’s Song, Lady Sings the Blues, and Mahogany makes you break out into Eddie Murphy’s Nutty Professor II hand-clapping “Billy Dee! Billy Dee!” then the arrival of Billy Dee Williams’ autobiography, What Have We Here? Portraits of A Life (out now), will turn your palms beet red. In the fantastic memoir, Williams explores his life and wide-ranging career. He’ll also be discussing this with NBC’s Jummy Olabanji at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library on Feb. 15. “My life has been very interesting in that it’s been an eclectic life,” Williams tells City Paper. “I’ve been very fortunate and I have had the opportunity to witness and be a part of a lot of experiences that probably most people never have.” Williams’ history with D.C. goes back decades, starting with the actor performing in productions by the Washington Theater Club (which closed in 1974), opening “I Have a Dream” at Ford’s Theater in 1976, attending the premiere of The Empire Strikes Back at the Kennedy Center in 1980, and having his paintings exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery. But it’s another Washingtonian, Duke Ellington, who had an immense impact on Williams. “I’ll never forget when I first met him,” says Williams. “All of these ladies were from wall to wall waiting for him to come into the room. He and his father used to compete with each other to see who was most charming … He made each woman feel like she was the only woman in that room and I was busy taking notes.” Now more than 50 years after his breakthrough role in Brian’s Song, Williams’ varied portrayals, from the swashbuckling Lando Calrissian (“I always enjoy the idea of the hero as the vulnerable hero … I wanted to bring a dubious kind of charm.”) to Batman’s Harvey Dent, have cemented his iconic sex symbol, leading-man status. Although he does admit to being unaware of that Nutty Professor II scene. “I’ve never seen it,” Williams admits. “I think I heard about it.” When told of the scene, where Murphy’s Mama Klump calls her son “dashing” and compares him to Billy Dee, Williams shrugs and says with a sly smile, “I’m used to that.” A conversation with Billy Dee Williams starts at 7 p.m. on Feb. 15 at MLK Library, 901 G St. NW. dclibrary.org. Free. —Christina Smart

Friday: Jamila Woods at the Howard Theatre

Jamila Woods’ third album, 2023’s Water Made Us, was a commercial and critical success due to her lush, neo-soul vocals and to her clever lyrical takes on the ups and downs of love and relationships. The Chicago-based R&B singer, who grew up listening to R&B and indie rock, and singing in a church choir, first started establishing her name reciting poetry at open mic events at Young Chicago Authors, where a not-yet-famous Chance the Rapper also performed. After attending Brown University, Woods and a classmate formed a band, and soon Woods was back in Chicago collaborating with Chance and his buddy, trumpeter Nico Segal. Her first album, 2016’s Heavn, which quotes from the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven,” includes the political “Blk Girl Soldier,” where Woods emotes “Look at what they did to my sisters/ (last century last week).” On Woods’ second album, 2019’s Legacy! Legacy!, she titled each song after her artistic heroes, from Basquiat to Giovanni, Sun Ra and Frida Kahlo. The more personal Water Made Us features Woods noting in “Tiny Garden” that her shyly expressed love will be constant but not a big production; in “Thermostat” she addresses relationship struggles, and in “Backburner” she confesses to jealousy. Throughout the album, which offers some spoken word interludes, Woods sparkles the most when she cleverly and effortlessly shifts from orated to soaring vocals and dispenses catchy melodies such as on the upbeat “Boomerang.” Jamila Woods plays at 8 p.m.  on Feb. 16 at the Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. thehowardtheatre.com. $27.50–$50. —Steve Kiviat

Friday: Big Head Todd and the Monsters at the Fillmore

If a musician is late to an interview, one might assume it’s rock star behavior in play. Todd Mohr, lead singer of alt-rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters, has a very good reason for his delay. “I got a French bulldog puppy who’s three months old,” explains Mohr, a bit wearily. “So that’s why I’m a little late—he puked all over the stairs. I mean all over it.” Puppy puke aside, Mohr and his band have a lot to celebrate. “Her Way Out,” a new single from the band was released in January and a forthcoming album—their first studio production since 2017—is set for release on May 25. The band is currently touring including a show at the Fillmore on Feb. 16. Temporarily suspending their Monsters Music Monthly project (where the band released a song and music video each month for over two years), Big Head Todd and the Monsters decided mid-pandemic to focus their attention on creating a full-length album. While the details of the album are still under wraps, Mohr was able to provide some clues on the new material. “There’s a lot of historical, kind of Americana themes,” says Mohr. “There’s a song about Annie Oakley. There’s a song about King Kong. Our song ‘Thunderbird” is about the movie American Graffiti. Just sort of touchstone things like that. Like all my material it’s more relationship oriented. I’m pushing 60 so I have something to say about relationships.” Big Head Todd and the Monsters play at 8 p.m. on Feb. 16 at Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. livenation.com $48–$77. —Christina Smart

Saturday: Speak Softly, a Gatsby Party at Union Station

Finally, an excuse to dig out your best vintage/thrifted/costumed Gatsby-inspired suits and tassels. This exclusive, one-night only event hosted by Morris American Bar will transform the Beaux-Art columns and archways of Union Station into a Roaring ’20s-style saloon, complete with secret speakeasies and a live big band trumpeting swinging versions of all the greatest Jazz Age hits. The immersive experience also includes aerialist performances, a burlesque show, and a DJ, plus champagne floats and finger foods to fuel the evening. (If the glamorous photos from last year’s event are any indication, you can expect literal fire from the artisanal bartenders on this night of time travel). With plenty of photo opportunities to capture the night’s bubbles and glitz, you can focus your sights on the feathered flappers and dapper derby hats of the fellow guests. That said, we recommend grabbing a flock of friends and investing in matching felted cloches which, though named for their teardrop shape, are sure to inspire nothing but laughing and shimmying, made all the more dramatic thanks to the sartorial backdrop of fringe and glitter. Speak Softly, a Gatsby Party starts at 9 p.m. on Feb. 17 at Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE. morrisbardc.com. $75. —Emma Francois

Sunday: Living the Dream … Singing the Dream at the Kennedy Center

“Dr. King’s legacy has long served as the catalyst for this joyous collaboration with Choral Arts,” shares Theodore Thorpe III, artistic director of the Washington Performing Arts’ Men and Women of the Gospel Choir. Thorpe is talking about this year’s 36th-annual tribute concert to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Living the Dream …Singing the Dream. “Through the spirit of our community and the power of the human voice, we hope to honor Dr. King’s indelible impact and instill a sense of resilience, action, and peace in our audience, as we have done for the thousands of Living the Dream… attendees over the years.” Co-presented by Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Washington Performing Arts, the evening honors Dr. King’s legacy with his inspirational messages and performances of such favorites such as “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” “Birmingham Letter,” “Promised Land,” and “If I Can Help Somebody.” The evening’s featured performers include Ralph Alan Herndon, pianist and vocalist; Simone Paulwell, soprano; hip-hop artist Konshens the MC; and actor David Anthony Johnson. This year, beloved D.C. restaurateur José Andrés will receive the 2024 Humanitarian Award from Choral Arts, for his organization World Center Kitchen—a global response center providing meals to people in crisis. Living the Dream … Singing the Dream, A Choral Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. starts  at 7 p.m. on Feb.18  at the Kennedy Center,  2700 F St. NW. washingtonperformingarts.org. $25–$75. —Colleen Kennedy

Opens Wednesday: Swan Lake at the Kennedy Center

American Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake is back at the Kennedy Center, where it had its 2000 world premiere, for the first time since 2017. It seems Washingtonians are eager for its return: at the time of writing, all seven performances were sold out, but the Kennedy Center website encourages would-be audience members to check back or call for availability as “[a] limited number of seats could become available closer to performance time.” Prince Siegfried celebrates his 21st birthday by hunting, only to discover the swan he pursues is a cursed princess, Odette. They swear the eternal love necessary to lift the sorcerer’s curse, but the forces of evil will not let Odette go so easily. The familiar story diverges depending on the production. Over the ballet’s 140-year-history numerous changes have been made by different directors and choreographers. Nowhere are the differences greater than in the ending, ranging from joyful, with the lovers living happily ever after, to heartbreaking, with the alienated lovers dying. American Ballet’s production in two acts is based on the 1895 Mariinsky Theatre revival and has a similar bittersweet ending. With choreography by Kevin McKenzie, following the work of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov for the Mariinsky production, American Ballet’ Swan Lake promises a “romantic fable…of ill-fated passion, dreamlike transformation…[and] forgiveness” set amid “grand sets” that “[evoke] a Renaissance court at a lakeside castle” and replete, of course, with white tutus. Swan Lake runs from Feb. 21 to 25  at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW. kennedy-center.org. Check the website or call (202) 467-4600 for last-minute ticket availability. —Allison R. Shely