As wine professionals, this is the time of year when we go into overdrive helping you, the consumer, fulfill all of your wine needs for parties and gift giving. As wine lovers, we relish being able to share our love of wine with others. We know that buying wine anytime can be an overwhelming an experience, but possibly more so now that you have to cover your family, friends, co-workers, and a mystery person whose…

>> Tonight’s Girl Talk show at Black Cat is sold-out, but if you’re desperate to go after reading our interview with opener Dan Deacon, craigslist has some options. Also White Williams, 8 p.m. >> The Hall Monitors heated up the DCist servers with their Three Stars appearance a few months back, and tonight they’ll be warming up the stage for Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray’s Heavy Trash and Denmark’s pshychobilly trio Powersolo at the…

When Open Circle Theater company announced it would be reworking Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World to revolve around the Iraq war, it was hard to squelch images of flag-waving, canons booming, and rewritten lyrics resembling “I’m not afraid of anything/be it religious extremists, guns or sand.” Fortunately, Open Circle’s take has much more sincerity, skill and imagination driving their interpretation, though ultimately, the work stands up better unadorned. Songs, which recently was…

The doldrums of August are notorious in D.C. – the politicians leave, the lobbyists take vacation, and overtaken by humidity, the city doesn’t pulse with as much life as it normally does. The theater world is often no exception, with many houses remaining dark during the month. Luckily, a couple companies are intrepid enough to mount productions regardless, and here are some of the highlights: The always thoughtful Journeymen Theater tries its hands at Getting…

MONDAY: Freelance journalist and award-winning author Kieran Doherty will be at Olsson’s in Old Town Alexandria to discuss her latest book, Sea Venture: Shipwreck, Survival, and the Salvation of the First English Colony in the New World, which chronicles the ship that went on to rescue Jamestown, even after most of the crew almost died in a hurricane. 7 p.m. Chasing Che author Patrick Symmes decided to go chasing Fidel Castro’s former classmates when he…

Any wine lover can tell you that when you pick up a bottle from Bordeaux or Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the wine will usually consist of multiple varietals. Red Bordeaux is usually some combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot with perhaps a little Malbec or Petit Verdot. While red Châteauneufs are usually Grenache, Syrah, or Mourvedre based. When you pick up a bottle from California and it says Cabernet Sauvignon on it, you know what it…

When you grow up an obsessive musical theater fan, sometimes it can be a rude awakening when your artistic tastes mature. Appreciation for the best shows’ haunting melodies, clever wordplay, or epic spectacle remains; unconditional love for the shows heavy on the schmaltz factor can fade (suddenly Phantom of the Opera doesn’t seem like the world’s most enduring love story anymore). But for recovering musical theater lovers, enduring lifelong fans, or even skeptics of the…

One of only three art schools in the nation that are affiliated with a world-class museum, the Corcoran College of Art + Design is a powerhouse in the “art schools of America” roster, ranking high in the Princeton Review (but receiving a ‘C’ average among current pupils and alumni). Founded in 1890, the school is the District’s only four-year, fully-accredited college of art and design. The Corcoran Gallery of Art has finally dedicated a gallery…

MONDAY As a part of its ongoing “Face It: We Are Probably All Going To Die or at the Very Least, Suffer Immeasurably” Series, Politics and Prose kicks off the week with a visit from Stephen Flynn, author of The Edge of Disaster, which, apparently, we are teetering on (cf. “all going to die,” “suffer immeasurably”). Also: CSI: Miami is on tonight! 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7 p.m. TUESDAY The art of letter writing is…

As April was the month of 80 zillion new play openings, we kind of thought things would slow down a bit for the theater community in May. Not the case – we’ve got lots of exciting productions to share with you, from post-modern Hamlet comedies to, well, Hamlet itself. Plus, something new from the guy behind “Schindler’s List”. Here’s what’s playing. Catalyst Theater impressed all its larger competitors by taking home the award for best…