EVENT CATEGORIES

Passport Takes Over Town

It’s the one time of year when dozens of Washington’s embassies fling their doors open to the public for a global tour around town. The wildly successful Passport DC, now in its 8th year, presents a month-long celebration in May of international programs and cultural events that regularly attract hundreds of fans.

“Passport DC is a profound way for people to learn by experience. It provides a unique opportunity for people to uncover the similarities among nations across the globe and compare their art, dance, music, textiles, food and so much more,” said Steven Shulman, executive director of Cultural Tourism DC, the nonprofit that organizes the citywide event. “Passport DC is the next best thing to international travel. It showcases a fascinating array of customs from around the globe.”

Among the highlights:

The National Cathedral Flower Mart– May 1-May 2, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Each spring, gardening and flower aficionados throughout the mid-Atlantic flock to the Flower Mart at the Washington National Cathedral to see floral creations from more than 20 embassies. This year, Flower Mart honors the continent of Asia and will include over 80 vendors displaying artisanal gifts, festival foods, international musical and dance performances, children’s rides and cathedral and garden tours.

Around the World Embassy Tour – May 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Participants travel the globe at the Around the World Embassy Tour as they experience the food, art, dance, fashion, music, innovations and manufactured goods of different countries from Azerbaijan to Morocco to Ukraine. More than 50 embassies opened their doors to visitors last year, allowing guests to pet alpacas, taste international cuisines, learn indigenous dances and more.

Shortcut to Europe: European Union Embassies’ Open House – May 9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The European Union Delegation to the U.S. and the embassies of the EU member states invite visitors to experience the authentic music, dance, food, film and art of these 28 distinctive nations.

www.EUOpenHouse.org

National Asian Heritage Festival: Fiesta Asia Street Fair – May 16, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Asia Heritage Foundation’s annual festival, held on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, between 3rd and 6th Streets, features outdoor craft exhibits, cooking and martial arts demonstrations, a talent show, flash mob dancing and much more. Voted numerous times as the Best Street Fair in Washington, Fiesta Asia highlights over 1,000 performers on five stages representing more than 20 cultures.

www.AsiaHeritageFoundation.org

Embassy Chef Challenge – May 20, 6 to 9 p.m.

Cultural Tourism DC’s annual fundraiser gives you access to one of D.C.’s best-kept secrets: world-class embassy chefs. More than 10 embassy chefs will present small plates of their countries’ signature delicacies and battle in D.C.’s premier international culinary competition, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. A panel of celebrity chefs and food critics will select the winner of the Judge’s Choice Award, while guests vote for their favorite chef as the People’s Choice winner. The evening will conclude with a live and silent auction, featuring unique D.C. experiences.

For information, visit www.CulturalTourismDC.org.

ART 

Through May 1

Fordlandia: The Lost City of Henry Ford

This series of photographs, completed in 2012, reveals what has become of Fordlandia, the American town built in the Brazilian rainforest by tycoon Henry Ford. Today, the town is a post-industrial wasteland, complete with prefabricated industrial sheds from Michigan and American clapperboard houses. More curious still is that, in spite of no new economy or employer in the area, Fordlandia is coming back to life.

Art Museum of the Americas

Through May 1

gute aussichten: new german photography 2014/2015

In its eleventh year, the eight “gute aussichten 2014/2015” award winners are hot on life’s heels. This young generation of photographers is after the most basic and existential questions of life: the banality of death and what remains — or follows the deceased and vanishes without a trace — migration, discrimination, loneliness, isolation and desperation, all of which are put face to face with happiness, cognizance, diversity and creative energy.

Goethe-Institut

Through May 3

Piero di Cosimo: The Poetry of Painting in Renaissance Florence

The first major retrospective exhibition of paintings by the imaginative Italian Renaissance master Piero di Cosimo features 44 of the artist’s most compelling paintings, including fanciful mythologies, powerful religious works (one on loan for the first time from the church in Italy for which it was created 500 years ago), and sensitive portraits.

National Gallery of Art

May 3 to July 26

Drawing in Silver and Gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns

This first comprehensive exhibition to examine the history of metalpoint — the art of drawing with a metal stylus on a specially prepared ground — presents some 90 drawings from the late Middle Ages to the present, from the collections of the British Museum, the National Gallery of Art and other major museums in the United States and Europe.

National Gallery of Art

May 3 to July 26

In Light of the Past: Twenty-Five Years of Photography at the National Gallery of Art

Highlighting exquisite 19th-century works and turn-of-the-century pictorialist photographs; exceptional examples of international modernism from the 1920s and 1930s and seminal mid-20th-century American photography; as well as photographs exploring new directions in color and conceptual art from the 1960s and 1970s, the exhibition demonstrates the richness of the National Gallery’s photography collection.

National Gallery of Art

May 3 to Sept. 13

The Memory of Time: Contemporary Photographs at the National Gallery of Art

In the decades since 1990, the concepts of time and memory have been frequently explored by photographers who seek not simply to reflect the world but to illuminate how photography constructs our understanding of it. This exhibition explores the work of 26 contemporary artists who investigate the complex and resonant relationship of photography to time, memory and history.

National Gallery of Art

May 4 to May 15

Go West

In the last couple of centuries people came to the so-called New World for very different reasons. In the context of the project “Go West 2015,” artists and scientists Jutta Fischel, Markus Kupferblum and Konrad Stania paint a vivid collage of opinions and history on why people “go West.” The centerpiece of the installment will be projections of recorded interviews with Austrians and others who have already gone west.

Embassy of Austria

May 5 to July 3

Take It Right Back: Works by Paula Doepfner

In her graphic and sculptural pieces, Berlin-based artist Paula Doepfner works with natural shapes, materials and products such as flowers and ice, alongside iron and glass, as material ways of conveying stories, processes, feelings and utopias.

Goethe-Institut

May 8 to 25

Dance of Light

This solo exhibition features 70 radiant, spiritual works that evoke an abstract vision of the natural world by Bang Hai Ja, celebrated as being among the first generation of professional artists from Korea to embrace abstract art in the modern era (The artist and French art critic Valère Bertrand will offer introductory talks at the free public opening reception on May 8 at 6:30 p.m.; RSVP at www.KoreaCultureDC.org).

Korean Cultural Center

Through May 10

Man Ray—Human Equations: A Journey from Mathematics to Shakespeare

Highlighting the multimedia work of the legendary Surrealist artist, “Man Ray—Human Equations” explores the intersection of art and science that defined a significant component of modern art on both sides of the Atlantic at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Phillips Collection

Through May 10

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Conceptual Forms and Mathematical Models

This exhibition features approximately five photographic works and three sculptures by Hiroshi Sugimoto — one of Japan’s most important contemporary artists — inspired by Man Ray’s 1930s photographs.

The Phillips Collection

Through May 15

Francesco Nonino: Selected Works

Francesco Nonino is one of few Italian photographers whose work has been acquired by both the Library of Congress and the Phillips Collection. The exhibit at the Embassy of Italy will include some recent works from two series: “Come La Vergogna” and “Atmospheres.” As an homage to his mother, Italian traditions and to introduce the theme of the upcoming EXPO 2015, some photos of his mother’s hands making pasta will also be on display. Viewings are by appointment only; for information visit www.iicwashington.esteri.it.

Embassy of Italy

Through May 15

Hands-On Urbanism. The Right to Green

The research-based exhibition is dedicated to the history of the idea of appropriating land in urban space. Since the shockwave of modernization that accompanied industrialization, towns and cities worldwide have had to face some very significant challenges. City-dwellers, who have always found a number of solutions in crisis situations, are involved in bottom-up urban development, as fruit and vegetable gardens led to other forms of collective cohesion, neighborliness and fair distribution.

University of Maryland

May 16 to Jan. 2

Peacock Room Remix: Darren Waterston’s Filthy Lucre

“Peacock Room REMIX” centers on “Filthy Lucre,” an immersive interior by painter Darren Waterston who reinterprets James McNeill Whistler’s famed Peacock Room as a resplendent ruin, an aesthetic space that is literally overburdened by its own excesses — of materials, history, and creativity. Like “Filthy Lucre” and the original Peacock Room, this exhibition invites viewers to consider the complex relationships among art, money and the passage of time.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

May 18 to Sept. 20

Shirin Neshat: Facing History

This major exhibition of works by Iranian-born, New York-based video artist, photographer and filmmaker Shirin Neshat is the first to place Neshat’s work in the context of the history of modern Iran, a significant influence on her career.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through May 24

Remembrances of Voices Past

“Remembrances” features paintings by Indian artist V. Ramesh, for whom an act of devotion, or Bhakti, seems not only an apt social response to existential tragedies, but also a quest for freedom. Painting primarily with oils on large-scale canvas, his oeuvre reveals a preoccupation with meditative terrain, incorporating voices from medieval poetry and images culled from mythology to explore the relationship between states of transcendence and the realities of culture and personal experience.

American University Museum at Katzen

Through May 25

Lost and Found: Young Art from Lithuania

Curatorial practice students from American University and the Vilnius Academy of Arts are developing their skills in the management of art as well as promotion of the artistic ambitions of their fellow students through this international exchange of exhibitions. Young Lithuanian artists exhibiting are working in a wide range of media varying from traditional craftsmanship to unique technological solutions, and demonstrate the varied influence of the Vilnius Academy of Arts on the creativity of its students.

American University Museum at Katzen

Through May 30

25 Years / 25 Artists

This visual arts exhibition celebrating the Mexican Cultural Institute’s first 25 years presents works from several generations and artistic movements. From the contemporaries of the third stage of Mexican muralism, to the members of the “Ruptura” in the 1960s, this exhibit explores art that proposed new forms of expression and changed the way art was seen in Mexico.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Through May 31

Style in Chinese Landscape Painting: The Yuan Legacy

Landscape painting is one of the most outstanding achievements of Chinese culture. Key styles in this genre emerged during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) and are still followed today.

Freer Gallery of Art

Through May 31

The Traveler’s Eye: Scenes of Asia

Featuring more than 100 works created over the past five centuries, “The Traveler’s Eye: Scenes of Asia” provides glimpses of travels across the Asian continent, from pilgrimages and research trips to expeditions for trade and tourism.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through June 7

Libertad de Expresión: The Art Museum of the Americas and Cold War Politics

Following the creation of the Organization of American States in 1948, its Visual Arts Section, under the direction of Cuban José Gómez Sicre, began an ambitious exhibition program that would further awareness of the art of the Caribbean and Central and South America in the United States. Sicre’s support for international modernism also allied him with U.S. Cold War Warriors, who used freedom of expression as a tool in the cultural and intellectual struggle against the Soviets.

Art Museum of the Americas

Through June 7

Perspectives: Chiharu Shiota

Performance and installation artist Chiharu Shiota, Japan’s representative at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015, will recreate a monumental yet intimate work in the Sackler pavilion that amasses personal memories through an accumulation of nearly 400 individual shoes, each with a note from the donor describing lost individuals and past moments.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through June 7

Splendor and Surprise

More than 80 remarkable boxes, coffers, chests, and other containers reveal the beautiful and unexpected ways that cultures have contained their most treasured items and everyday objects from the 17th through the 20th century.

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

Through June 7

Unearthing Arabia: The Archaeological Adventures of Wendell Phillips

Wendell Phillips, a young paleontologist and geologist, headed one of the largest archaeological expeditions to remote South Arabia (present-day Yemen) from 1949 to 1951. Through a selection of unearthed objects as well as film and photography shot by the expedition team, the exhibition highlights Phillips’s key finds, recreates his adventures (and misadventures), and conveys the thrill of discovery on this important great archaeological frontier.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through June 14

Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan

Zen Buddhism, tea and ink painting — well-known expressions of Japanese culture — have their roots in Chinese arts and ideas brought to medieval Japan from the late 12th to the 16th century. Chinese and Japanese paintings, lacquer ware and ceramics illuminate this remarkable period of cultural contact and synthesis.

Freer Gallery of Art

Through June 20

Latvian-American Artist Laimons Eglitis: Retrospective

This retrospective of Latvian-American artist Laimons Eglitis (1929-2007) is a tribute to his prolific life. Born in Latvia, the artist fled his homeland during World War II, settling in Philadelphia and later painting and teaching in the Baltimore area. He was a semi-abstract painter who worked in oils, acrylics and watercolors, whose paintings won many prizes over the years and are represented in museums and private collections all over the world. “Mysticism and symbolism is mainly having fun with forms,” Eglitis once said, “but it is also the desire to involve the viewer in the painting process by offering the opportunity to look for a translation of the symbolism and the meaning of the mysticism.”

Embassy of Latvia Art Space

Through June 28

Moving Forward, Looking Back: Journeys Across the Old Spanish Trail

During A road trip across the Southwest, Spanish photojournalist Janire Nájera AND her assistant Matt Wright followed IN the footsteps of trader Antonio Armijo, who opened the route of the Old Spanish Trail between the states of New Mexico and California in the 19th century. Nájera captured her experience along the route in a daily log, a book and a photography exhibition that will travel across the U.S. and premieres in D.C.

Former Spanish Ambassador’s Residence

Through July 2015

War & Art: Destruction and Protection of Italian Cultural Heritage during World War I

This photographic exhibition illustrates the Italian people’s struggle to protect their cultural patrimony from the ravages of war. A century later, the images not only document early preservation efforts, but have become works of art in their own right, reminding us of the enduring struggle to save the highest expressions of the human spirit from the degradations and savagery of war.

Woodrow Wilson House

Through Aug. 2

From the Library: Florentine Publishing in the Renaissance

This exhibition presents a variety of books from the late 15th through the early 17th century and explores the development of publishing related to the artistic and scholarly community in Florence.

National Gallery of Art

Through Aug. 9

Jacob Lawrence: Struggle … From the History of the American People

Produced between 1954 and 1956, Jacob Lawrence’s “Struggle … From the History of the American People” portrays scenes from American history, chronicling events from the Revolutionary War through the great westward expansion of 1817.

The Phillips Collection

Through Aug. 23

Ships, Clocks & Stars: The Quest for Longitude

To mark the 300th anniversary of the passing of the Longitude Act in 1714, this landmark exhibition tells the extraordinary story of the race to determine longitude (east-west position) at sea, helping to solve the problem of navigation and saving seafarers from terrible fates including shipwreck and starvation.

Folger Shakespeare Library

Through Aug. 30

Hot to Cold: An Odyssey of Architectural Adaptation

On the heels of its summer blockbuster “BIG Maze,” the international design firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) returns to take visitors from the hottest to the coldest parts of our planet and explore how BIG’s design solutions are shaped by their cultural and climatic contexts. More than 60 three-dimensional models will be suspended at the second-floor balconies of the museum’s historic Great Hall in an unprecedented use of this public space.

National Building Museum

Through Sept. 7

Watch This! Revelations in Media Art

This exhibit of pioneering and contemporary artworks that trace the evolution of a continuously emerging medium celebrates artists who are engaged in a creative revolution — one shaped as much by developments in science and technology as by style or medium.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Through Sept. 13

Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria

This retrospective showcases the work of noted Nigerian photographer Chief S.O. Alonge, the first indigenous photographer of the Royal Court of Benin, in conjunction with royal arts from the Benin kingdom. The collection of historic photographs was captured on Kodak glass-plate negatives and documents more than 50 years of the ritual, pageantry and regalia of the obas (kings), their wives and retainers.

National Museum of African Art

DANCE

May 6 to 17

The Washington Ballet: ALICE (in wonderland)

“ALICE (in wonderland)” was an instant hit when it premiered in 2012. A work of rich and impressive creativity that is full of whimsical charm and a feeling for the absurd, the visual splendor and imaginative choreography of the Washington Ballet’s production was highly popular with adults as well as children. Tickets are $46 to $135.

Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

May 13 to 15

The Washington Ballet: Tour-de-Force: Serenade

The company’s third “Tour-de-Force” gala-style program of classical and contemporary ballets includes audience favorites and masterworks from the canon, star-turns by The Washington Ballet’s international dancers and displays of virtuosity. Tickets are $41 to $135.

Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

DISCUSSIONS

Tue., May 19

Milan at the Center of the World: A Report from the Expo

Milan has captured the attention of the world as the site of its Expo from May 1 to October 31. This is the first such fair to have a specific theme — “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” — that looks to the future of sustainability in the context of taste, health, culture and pleasure. Fred Plotkin, world-renowned expert on everything Italian, will speak at the Expo on its opening weekend and then comes to Washington to describe to Americans the great variety of offerings at the Expo as well as the U.S. role in it.

Italian Cultural Institute

Fri., May 29, 6:30 p.m.

Robert Dassanowsky: Arts Gratia Austriae

Professor Robert Dassanowsky discusses the current debate over the nature of Hollywood’s pre-war relationship with Nazi Germany, cinema under “Austrofascism” (1933-38) and its positive American reception, which has been unaccountably overlooked. During this era, Vienna turned to Hollywood to strengthen its independent film production. Admission is free but registration is required and can be made at http://acfdc.org.

Embassy of Austria

GALAS

Sat., May 2, 6 p.m.

Washington Performing Arts Gala & Auction

Always a highpoint of the busy D.C. cultural and social calendar, this year’s Washington Performing Arts Gala & Auction will focus on the 40th anniversary and the proposed expansion of the Embassy Adoption Program, a partnership between Washington Performing Arts and D.C. Public Schools that each year currently pairs fifth- or sixth-grade classes with approximately 50 embassies for an academic year’s worth of cross-cultural learning and enrichment activities. In recognition of the Embassy Adoption Program, WPAS will present D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson with its inaugural Leadership in Arts Education Award. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a Kentucky Derby Watch Party, followed by cocktails, silent auction, dinner and performances. Tickets are $700; for information, visit www.washingtonperformingarts.org/support/gala.aspx.

Marriott Marquis

Mon., May 11, 5:30 p.m.

Annual Dinner and Mock Trial

This marks the 20th year that the Shakespeare Theatre Company has put on its Mock Trial, which this year will be presided by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg accompanied by Justice Stephen Breyer, as well as Chief Judge Merrick Garland and Judge Patricia Millett. Following dinner, a special session of the Supreme Court of La Mancha will review the decisions of the Family Court to declare Don Quixote mentally incompetent and his subsequent placement under the guardianship of his niece, Antonia. Tickets are $350.

Sidney Harman Hall

Fri., May 15

Birds of a Feather Gala

Join art lovers, philanthropists, diplomats and artists for the sumptuous Birds of a Feather Gala to celebrate American art and a spectacular new work. Guests start their evening at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery with a champagne reception and an exclusive preview of “Peacock Room REMIX: Darren Waterston’s Filthy Lucre,” on view for the first time in Washington. The dazzling event continues over dinner at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. Guests then “flock together” at the after-party and enjoy drinks, dessert and dancing with a special performance by BETTY, the rock band that composed and recorded the mesmerizing soundscape for “Filthy Lucre.” Tickets are $1,000; for information, visit www.asia.si.edu/events/galas/birds-of-a-feather/.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Sat., May 16

The Kreeger Museum 2015 Gala

The Kreeger Museum Gala, held under the patronage of Belgian Ambassador Johan Verbeke, raises needed funds to support its educational initiatives and public programs. This year, half of the participating schools in our programs were from underserved communities of Washington, D.C., and 70 percent of all participating schools were Title I recipients. Join us as we strive to provide art education for all. Tickets are $300.

Kreeger Museum

MUSIC

Sun., May 3, 4 p.m.

The Cambini-Paris Quartet

A period instrument quartet known for their exploration of rare and forgotten scores, the Cambini-Paris Quartet presents the music of Hyacinthe Jadin and Félicien David, two 19th-century French composers who remain virtually unknown outside of France. Tickets are $30.

The Phillips Collection

Mon., May 4, 6:45 p.m.

Concert: Julia Vari

Julia Vari is a jazz singer, pianist and arranger whose thoughtful and unique musical interpretations have her garnered high praise and afforded her the opportunity to perform at festivals and venues throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. She’s joined by pianist Fred Hughes and bassist Amy Shook. To attend, email rsvp@instituteofmexicodc.org.

Mexican Cultural Institute

Mon., May 11, 7:30 p.m.

Redbrick Duo

Formed in New York City by Irish guitarist Damien Kelly and American flutist Jessica Lipstone, Redbrick Duo brings a fresh approach to the guitar-flute combo, enticing audiences of all musical tastes with their sheer virtuosity and musical sensitivity. Tickets are $150, including buffet dinner and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.

European Union Residence

Fri., May 15, 7:30 p.m.

Rock Concert – Suspicious Package: Austria Rocks!

Long-rumored in existence but kept tightly shrouded in the secrecy of political cartoonist Tom Toles’s basement, Suspicious Package finally exploded onto the D.C. music scene in 2008 with its mix of rock, blues, punk, funk, pop, alternative and originals. Admission is free but registration is required and can be made at http://acfdc.org.

Embassy of Austria

Sat., May 16, 4 p.m.

Children’s Chorus of Washington: Vive la France!

With “Vive la France!” the Children’s Chorus of Washington (CCW) continues its French-themed season in anticipation of its tour to France this summer. CCW’s performing ensembles, comprised of 160 choristers ages 9 to 18, will present a celebration of French music, language and culture. Audience members will be treated to a wide range of choral styles from Edith Piaf’s beloved “La Vie en Rose” to Cole Porter’s “I Love Paris.” Tickets are $30 (at the door) to $50; for information, visit childrenschorus.come.

National City Christian Church

Sat., May 16, 8 p.m.

Kayhan Kalhor

The U.S. does not boast many kamancheh (Persian spike fiddle) performers, let alone any in the same league as Kayhan Kalhor, who uses the instrument to produce a broad range of sounds, from an almost percussive bark to a sweet, throaty tone. The Tehran-born Kalhor closes out the Washington Performing Arts Society’s season-long exploration of the Silk Road. Tickets are $30.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

Fri., May 19, 8 p.m.

A.R. Rahman: The Intimate Concert Tour

From Bollywood to Hollywood, this Grammy and Academy Award-winning musician is one of the world’s most prolific film composers — he was the mastermind behind “Slumdog Millionaire’s” award-winning score and he mixes genres spanning Eastern classical, pop, world music and rap to create his astonishing compositions. Tickets are $45 to $175.

Wolf Trap Filene Center

Fri., May 22, 7:30 p.m.

Julian Schwarz, Cello

Marika Bournaki, Piano

Born 1991 into a musical family, Julian Schwarz is already being recognized as one of the finest cellists now before the public, winning first prize in the inaugural Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong in 2013. Tickets are $70, including wine, hors d’oeuvres and sweets; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.

Embassy of Austria

Sat., May 23, 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Live Broadcast: Eurovision Song Contest

The 60th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Vienna between May 18 and 23, 2015 under the motto Building Bridges. Join 40 countries and 600 million viewers in celebrating the grand finale of the world’s largest music contest when the Austrian Embassy hosts the Eurovision Song Contest Finale 2015 broadcasted live from Stadthalle Vienna in Austria. Tickets are $13.50 and include food and drinks.

Embassy of Austria

Thu., May 28, 7:30 p.m.

Evening of Fado

Pedro Botas performs an evening of fado, a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with sentiments of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia (loosely captured by the word saudade, or longing). Tickets are $150, including reception and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.

Portuguese Residence

THEATER

May 1 to 23

Ecuador Magico / Magical Ecuador

From afar Anita of the Rivers arrives, the beautiful queen of fountains and flowers, both depraved and eloquent. She will confront her ancestors from a lost city in the Andes; she will find herself among her peers from the newspaper “The Broom,” those characters who shaped an era of Ecuadoran journalism. Tickets are $25; for information, visit www.teatrodelaluna.org (in Spanish with live English dubbing).

Gunston Arts Center – Theater Two

Through May 3

Man of La Mancha

As Miguel de Cervantes presents his tale of knight errant Don Quixote, his journey comes alive in a play-within-the-play, featuring loyal friends, troubled maidens, giant monsters and brave knights. Please call for ticket information.

Shakespeare Theatre

Sidney Harman Hall

Through May 3

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Helen Hayes Award-winning director and playwright Aaron Posner, known for his Chekhov-inspired plays, lends his hand to this riotous sendup, which satirizes characters and themes from Anton Chekhov’s classics. Tickets are $45 to $90.

Arena Stage

May 9 to 21

Washington National Opera: Cinderella

Rossini’s retelling of the Cinderella story adds a few twists in a whimsical production featuring two opera singers alternating in the title role: Isabel Leonard, the 2013 Richard Tucker Award winner, and Tara Erraught, making her U.S. debut. Tickets are $25 to $300.

Kennedy Center Opera House

Through May 10

Murder Ballad

Studio Theatre will transform one of its theater spaces into a gritty, immersive dive bar to present this explosive rock musical, staged cabaret-style, about an old flame, a dangerous passion and a love triangle headed for ignition. Tickets are $45 to $80.

The Studio Theatre

May 12 to June 21

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

In a world where heads always wins and pirates can happen to anyone, this fabulously inventive, existentialist tragicomedy thrusts two of Shakespeare’s most incidental characters into the limelight. Tickets are $30 to $75.

Folger Theatre

May 13 to June 21

Jumpers for Goalposts

Hope springs eternal in the post-game locker room of Barely Athletic, an amateur soccer team competing in the five-a-side pub league in Hull, a Yorkshire fishing city that’s seen better days (as have these athletes). Tickets are $44 to $88.

The Studio Theatre

May 13 to June 21

The Price

In an overstuffed New York City attic apartment, two estranged brothers meet to sell off what remains of their deceased father’s furniture and find themselves in an emotional renegotiation of the past in Arthur Miller’s much-lauded 1968 story about story about the cost of the choices we make when caring for our families. Tickets are $38 to $65.

Olney Theatre Center

Sat., May 16, 7 p.m.

Opera in the Outfield: Cinderella

The Washington National Opera celebrates its seventh season of free opera simulcasts at Nationals Park with a performance of Rossini’s charming romantic comedy “Cinderella.” This dazzling production has been acclaimed worldwide for its witty characterizations, rainbow-bright sets and costumes, and easy-to-follow English translation, making it a perfect opera for the entire family. Gates open at 5 p.m.

Nationals Park

Through May 20

Freedom’s Song

This epic musical features the words of Abraham Lincoln and music inspired by the letters of those who lived through the Civil War, evoking the soaring hopes and tragic losses of real people through a series of highly theatrical vignettes. Tickets are $20 to $69.

Ford’s Theatre

May 28 to June 21

The Trap

Ambassador Theater — in partnership with the Polish Embassy and George Washington University Department of Theatre and Dance — presents Tadeusz Rózewicz’s “The Trap,” a collage of events, images and sounds that deeply affected writer Franz Kafka. Fears and nightmares, Kafka’s real-life companions, found their way into many of his short stories and novels, which continue to fascinate and baffle readers all over the world. The play is not only his poetic farewell to Kafka and a psychological portrait of an artist, but also alters conventions of time and space by trapping the artist in the ultimate nightmare of the 20th century: the Holocaust. Tickets are $20 to $40; for information, visit www.aticc.org.

XX Bldg

814 20th St., NW

Through May 31

The Originalist

Four-time Helen Hayes Award winner Edward Gero stars as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in a daring world premiere about the brilliant, but polarizing justice, his bright, new, liberal clerk, and their clash over one of the most incendiary cases ever to reach the nation’s highest court. Tickets are $55 to $90.

Arena Stage