From left: Charlie Kevin, Dezi Bing, and Rick Hammerly in Round House’s “The Legend of Georgia McBride.” (Photo by Kaley Etzkorn)
Spend your weekend enjoying music and film before the DC Jazz Festival and AFI Docs close on Sunday. Plus, keep the Pride spirit going, see dance inspired by art, or get creative for an outdoor movie that’s fancier than most. (PS: There’s plenty of concerts this weekend, too, in our weekly music agenda.)
FRIDAY, JUNE 15
HOW EMBARRASSING: We promise we’re laughing with you, not at you. Mortified celebrates all the weird stuff we made as kids: emo poetry, bad music, and angsty teenage journal entries included. Gather ‘round while a few bold individuals let go of their shame by sharing it with a crowd of strangers. (The Black Cat, 8 p.m., $17-20)
PRIDE: The beat goes on, and so does Pride Month. The Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs presents District of Pride, a celebration of local LGBTQ talent. The evening will include performances by the Love Gospel Choir, fire-twirling troupe Pyroxotic, drag queens and kings, rock-soul band The CooLots, and more. (Lincoln Theatre, 7 p.m., FREE)
A SHOW IN A SHOW: Sometimes it’s okay to drag out the party. In Round House Theatre’s The Legend of Georgia McBride, a Florida bar has seen better days. To save his business, the owner hires a drag show to attract more customers, putting Elvis impersonator Casey out of a job…unless he can change up his act. Friday is free beer night at Round House, and patrons under 30 can save a few bucks by buying tickets to this comedy in-person at the box office. (Round House Theatre, 8 p.m., $45-56)
JAZZ IN THE GARDEN: Yes, it’s crowded. Yes, it’s hot. Yes, the line for sangria is too damn long. But it’s a D.C. tradition, and if you haven’t been yet, grab a blanket and head on over to the Sculpture Garden on summertime Fridays for some jazz, or jazz-adjacent, music. This week, you can expect traditional jazz from the Michael Thomas Quintet. (The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, 5-8:30 p.m., FREE)
LET THEM EAT POPCORN: Summer nights in D.C. are for outdoor movies. Break out your Chanel bug spray (not actually a thing), dress up like the queen you are, and lay out a picnic fit for royalty—or at least one that will impress the judges at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. They’ll be looking for costumes, props, and snacks that pay homage to the evening’s feature film, Marie Antoinette. Try not to lose your head, but the winner will snag an annual membership to the venue. Before the film starts at 8:45 p.m., be sure to tour the mansion, and check out the new eggshibit Fabergé Rediscovered. (Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 7-11 p.m. $20)
MORE: Bloomsday (Upshur Street Books, 5 p.m., FREE), Party for the Planet (National Geographic, 6-10 p.m., $25)
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company celebrates its 25th Anniversary with “After 1001 Nights” and other works at its Kennedy Center performance. (Photo by Jeffrey Watts)
SATURDAY, JUNE 16
BOTTOMLESS SQUATS: Work out your body instead of your liver this Saturday morning. The SweatCon Rally is sort of like a bar crawl, but with barre, stationary bikes, and bicep curls instead of booze. Sweat your way from one boutique fitness studio to another with three back-to-back-to-back, thirty-minute classes. The NoMa, Dupont Circle, and Shaw neighborhood crawls are sold out, but you can still sign up for 14th Street or Downtown circuits, or join a waitlist. (Various neighborhoods, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., $81.24)
MODERN DANCE: Back in 2016, Dana Tai Soon Burgess became the Smithsonian’s first-ever choreographer in residence at the National Portrait Gallery. Two years later, his dance company is celebrating its 25th anniversary with Portraits, a program of three new works Burgess choreographed during his time at the museum. The dances explore our shared humanity through emotive movement. (The Kennedy Center, 7:30 p.m. $30-75)
MORE: 4th International Day of Yoga (The U.S. Capitol West Lawn, 8:30-11 a.m., FREE), Columbia Heights Day Festival (11th Street between Park Road and Irving Street, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., FREE), 10th Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival (Downtown Silver Spring, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., FREE), Now & Then: Takoma Park Folk Festival 40th-Year Celebration (Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium, 2-4 p.m., FREE)
SUNDAY, JUNE 17
FATHERS DAY: Call your dad. (Your Phone, Ideally Before 3ish?, FREE)
INSERT EMOJI HERE: Chicago’s The Second City arrives in D.C. this weekend for its eight-week run of a new show created just for the Kennedy Center. Generation Gap…Or, How Many Millennials Does It Take to Teach a Baby Boomer to Text Generation X? is a two-act satirical exploration of work, life, and texting mishaps. When exactly were the good old days? Come find out, or have a good laugh trying. (The Kennedy Center, 8 p.m., $49-59)
DOCS: Sunday is the last day of the annual AFI Docs Film Festival, but you can make up for lost time with a full schedule of cinematic entertainment and education. See documentaries about Olympic gymnasts, whistleblower cops, “industrial musicals,” and more. The festival closes with a 6:30 p.m. screening of United Skates, a documentary about the role of roller-skating in African-American culture, and the fight to save rinks in communities across the country. (Various Locations, Various Times, $15)
ART IMITATES ART: Start your Sunday at The Phillips Collection, then see if anything seems familiar in Step Afrika!’s The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence. The production, which closes Sunday, blends step, dance, spoken word, and projected images of Jacob Lawrence’s famous paintings depicting the Great Migration. (Catholic University, 4 p.m., $45-60)
FREE CONCERTS: It’s the last day of the DC Jazz Festival, and you can enjoy it without spending a penny. Head to the Wharf for performances by jazz musicians from all over the world. Sunday’s lineup includes Jihye Lee Orchestra feat. Sean Jones and Ted Nash, José André Band, Melissa Aldana, Ancestral Memories and Hess Is More. (The Wharf, 12-8 p.m., FREE)
