Best Music 1. National Symphony Orchestra: Christoph Eschenbach conducts Schubert’s Symphony No. 9. Clarinetist/composer Jorg Widmann performs Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, and Christa Schonfeldinger performs the NSO premiere of “Armonica” by Widmann on the glass harmonica.
Where: Kennedy Center Concert Hall
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday
Info: $20 to $85; 202-467-4600, 800-444-1324; kennedy-center.org
2. “One Man Lord of the Rings Trilogy”: Canadian actor Charlie Ross has performed his show off-Broadway and around the world impersonating all characters from Frodo to Gollum.
Where: The Birchmere
When: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday
Info: $35; 703-549-7500, 800-745-3000; birchmere.com
3. Stephane Wrembel & His Django A Go-Go Festival: This celebration of the life and music of Django Reinhardt features a rare U.S. appearance by guitar virtuosos Howard Alden and Biel Ballester, and violin masters Kyle Dillingham and John Intrator.
Where: The Birchmere
When: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday
Info: $29.50; 703-549-7500, 800-745-3000; birchmere.com
4. Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel: “Russian Rapture” features music by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.
Where: George Mason University Center for the Arts
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Info: $19 to $38; 888-945-2468; cfa.gmu.edu
5. Maysa: There’s something for every musical taste in the songs by the specialist in soul, jazz and R&B.
Where: The Birchmere
When: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday
Info: $45; 703-549-7500, 800-745-3000; birchmere.com
Best Family
1. “The Snowy Day”: This simple tale is of a boy waking up to discover that snow has fallen during the night. Peter celebrates the snow-draped inner city with a day of adventures everyone can relate to.
Where: The Adventure Theatre, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo
When: Through Feb. 12
Info: $18; 301-634-2270; adventuretheatre.org
2. “Peter and the Wolf”: This one-man show, performed by puppet master Christopher Piper, is based on Russia’s popular tale of good versus evil. The performance starts with an introduction to musical instruments used to signify each of the characters, then blends in the story of Peter and his animal friends.
Where: The Puppet Co., 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo
When: Through Feb. 19
Info: $10; 301-634-5380; thepuppetco.org
3. Winter Wonderland Walk: Families with children 5 and older can visit the woods while most creatures are nestled away for the cold months. Look for signs of animals that are still out and moving around. Dress warmly, as this program is outside the whole time.
Where: Long Branch Nature Center, 625 S. Carlin Springs Road, Arlington
When: 11 a.m. to noon Saturday
Info: $5; registration required, 703-228-4747; program No. 622952-N
4. Under the Ice: Suspended animation! Voracious predators! No, it’s not the latest sci-fi movie: It’s winter in the pond. Learn what lurks in that cold, dark water. For kids ages 7 and older.
Where: Gulf Branch Nature Center, 3608 Military Road, Arlington
When: 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday
Info: $3; registration required, 703-228-4747; program No. 622822-P
5. Sneak a Peek: Are you curious about what’s behind the scenes? So are scientists! Come find out some ways naturalists spy into the secrets of the natural world. For kids 6 and older.
Where: Gulf Branch Nature Center, 3608 Military Road, Arlington
When: 3 to 4 p.m. Sunday
Info: $3; registration required, 703-228-4747; program No. 622822-Q
Best Brainfood
1. Mark Morris Dance Group: The full-evening work “L’allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato” is performed.
Where: Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday
Info: $19 to $69; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org
2. “The Gaming Table”: Susanna Centlivre’s Restoration-era drama peeks at independent, card-playing women and the men who adore them.
Where: The Folger Shakespeare Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St. SE
When: Through March 4
Info: $30 to $65; 202-544-7077; folger.edu
3. “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”: Neil Simon’s off-the-wall work inspired by his experience as a young staff writer on Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows,” this comedy depicts the harried writing staff as they frantically scramble to top each other with gags.
Where: The Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW
When: Through Feb. 18
Info: $30 to $35; 703-892-0202; keegantheatre.com
4. Introductory Tour: 1900 to Now: Take an introductory tour at the museum and learn what “new” means at the National Gallery.
Where: National Gallery of Art, East Building, Ground Floor, Constitution Avenue Northwest between Third and Fourth streets
When: 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Info: Free; 202-737-4215; nga.gov
5. “HOT (Human Origins Today)”: Join an informal discussion with Dr. Connie Bertka, co-chair of the museum’s Origins Program’s Broader Social Impacts Committee and Dr. Caitlin Schrein, postdoctoral fellow of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program, regarding the relationship between scientific and religious perspectives on human evolution.
Where: 1st Floor, Natural History Museum, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
When: 3 to 4 p.m. Friday
Info: Free; 202-633-1000; mnh.si.edu
Best Gatherings
1. “Wanted Women”: Author Deborah Scroggins offers a fresh perspective on political Islam and the war on terror by profiling two very different women.
Where: Politics and Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Info: Free; 202-364-1919; politics-prose.com
2. “La Cage aux Folles”: The lighthearted musical about the inhabitants of a glitzy nightclub in St-Tropez and how love triumphs over politics.
Where: The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW
When: Through Feb. 12
Info: $65 to $130; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org
3. “Macbeth” and “The Importance of Being Earnest”: Aquila Theatre present Shakespeare’s bloody tragedy and Oscar Wilde’s outrageous coming-of-age comedy.
Where: “Macbeth” at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts, Fairfax; “The Importance of Being Earnest” at Hylton Performing Arts Center, Manassas
When: “Macbeth” at 8 p.m. Saturday; “The Importance of Being Earnest” at 4 p.m. Sunday
Info: $20 to $40; cfa.gmu.edu; $24 to $40; hyltoncenter.org
4. “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”: Charlie Brown struggles through another full day of book reports, baseball games, kite flying and philosophy with a little help from his friends. Charles Schulz’s classic “Peanuts” gang takes a leap from the newspaper page onto the stage in this lively musical.
Where: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney
When: Through March 18
Info: $34 to $54; 301-924-4485; olneytheatre.org
5. “Josephine Tonight”: A musical biography of Josephine Baker, focusing on the early life of the singer and actress who entranced audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Where: MetroStage, 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria
When: Through March 18
Info: $25 to $50; 800-494-8497; metrostage.org
Best Outdoors
1. Airplane Flying Lesson for Beginners: Yes, you will take the controls and fly the plane. An expert instructor will offer you an introductory safety class, covering communications with the tower, instruments, takeoff procedures, flying and control. Then you will get 30 minutes in a plane.
Where: Manassas Regional Airport, 105503 Wakeman Drive, Manassas
When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Info: $159; thingstododc.com
2. Zoo in wintertime: Even in the dead of winter, there are things to see at the zoo. If it’s not icy, the elephants sometimes frolic in snow! And of course there are enclosed areas where you can view animals if it’s too cold for them to come outdoors.
Where: The National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW
When: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Info: Free; nationalzoo.si.edu
3. Occoquan Regional Park: This spacious park is located on the Occoquan River diagonally across from the town of Occoquan. It offers 400 acres of recreational space and a touch of the past with its historic brick kilns.
Where: Woodbridge
When: Any day
Info: Free; 703-690-2121; localhikes.com
4. Dumbarton Oaks Winter Stroll. Discover this naturalistic park and learn why it was called Beatrix Farrand’s “crowning achievement.” Ages 8 and older.
Where: Lovers’ Lane on R Street, between 30th and 31st streets NW
When: 10 a.m. Sunday
Info: Free; 202-895-6070; nps.gov/rocr
5. Skate at Reston Town Center: Through the second week in March, the Pavilion floor is transformed into a gleaming ice skating rink. Ice skates and other supplies are available inside the Skate Shop directly beside the Pavilion.
Where: Reston Town Center, 11900 Market St., Reston
When: See website for hours
Info: $7 to $9; 703-709-6300; [email protected]
Best Theater
1. “Necessary Sacrifices”: Richard Hellesen’s play explores two documented encounters between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln during a period of national crisis. During the summers of 1863 and 1864, Douglass challenges Lincoln to bring truth to America’s ideal that “all men are created equal.”
Where: Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW
When: Showtimes vary through Feb. 18
Info: $15 to $52; 202-347-4833; fordstheatre.org
2. “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”: Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity, adolescence and romance transports to a modern setting.
Where: The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Lansburgh Theatre, 450 Seventh St. NW
When: Through March 4
Info: $39 to $90; 202-547-1122; shakespearetheatre.org
3. “Noche de Boleros” (“Night of Ballads”): Teatro de la Luna presents a pre-Valentine’s Day celebration of love through music.
Where: Teatro de La Luna, NRECA Conference Center, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
When: 7 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday
Info: $25 to $30; 703-548-3092; teatrodelaluna.org
4. “Red”: John Logan’s play scrutinizes Mark Rothko, the famed abstract expressionist painter.
Where: Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW
When: Showtimes vary through March 11
Info: $40 to $85; 202-554-9066; arenastage.org
5. “Elephant Room”: Three magicians explore the way they live in a world of illusion.
Where: Arena Stage, 1101 6th St. SW
When: Showtimes vary through Feb. 26th
Info: $40; 202-554-9066; arenastage.org
Best Galleries
1. In the Tower: Mel Bochner: Forty-three “thesaurus paintings” inspired from the bold conceptualist Bochner, a continuation of his ink-on-graph-paper word portraits circa 1966-68. His paintings force a close interrogation of the words we use but seldom examine.
Where: West Building, National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW
When: Through April 8
Info: Free, 202-737-4215; nga.gov
2. Aoife Collins: Tickling the Ivories: Collins takes throwaway items like silk flowers and plastic pots and makes a provocative case that they warrant consideration as objects of art.
Where: Flashpoint, 916 G St. NW
When: Through Feb. 4
Info: Free, 202-315-1305; flashpointdc.org
3. Black Box: Ali Kazma’s “O.K.”: The uncompromising Turkish multimedia artist gets his U.S. museum debut with his most ambitious project to date, a synchronized seven-channel video installation of a notary stamping documents at a pace that makes the viewer assume he’s watching accelerated video. But in fact it’s unmanipulated footage of an Istanbul notary working in real time.
Where: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW
When: Through April
Info: Free, 202-633-4674; hmsg.si.edu
4. 30 Americans: A smartly curated study of work from the last three decades by black artists From Jean-Michel Basquiat to Shinique Smith.
Where: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St. NW
When: Through Feb. 12
Info: $10, students/seniors (62-plus) $8, ages 12 and under free; corcoran.org
5. A New Look: Samuel F.B. Morse’s “Gallery of the Louvre”: The Morse code inventor was also a solid painter. His painting of the Louvre’s Salon Carre depicting the various masterworks that Morse “reinstalled” there has itself been newly restored.
Where: West Building, National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW
When: Through July 8
Info: Free; 202-737-4215; nga.gov
