Cinema, Redux
Before James Cameron (Avatar) and the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix), there was Eadweard Muybridge, a 19th-century photographer and landscape artist who developed new stop-motion techniques with his camera that led to the cinematic experience we know today. The Corcoran Gallery of Art’s (500 17th St., NW; corcoran.org) exhibit Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change explores the breadth of his work, which inspired the likes of modern artists Edgar Degas and Francis Bacon and includes photographs, albums, lantern slides, camera equipment and his only surviving zoopraxiscope—an early device that displayed motion pictures. From April 10 through July 18.
Green Day
Take in the wonders of our planet during the 18th Annual Environmental Film Festival (dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org) from March 16–28 when you watch at least one of its documentary, feature, animated, archival, experimental and children’s films. The focus this year is on the vital connections between food and the environment as more than 120 films debut all over town at museums, embassies, libraries, universities and theaters. Most are free to the public; stick around afterward for discussions with the filmmakers and experts behind the productions.
Unconventional Love
If opera has ever felt inaccessible in its language and setting, give Porgy & Bess a go. The Washington National Opera tells the tale of a beggar and the prostitute he loves in a poor South Carolina community. It’s not the refined love story you’d expect at the Kennedy Center Opera House (2700 F St. NW; kennedy-center.org), and that’s why it’s so wonderful. The uniquely American score, written by the Gershwin brothers for an all-African-American cast, blends classical, jazz, blues and folk sounds that resulted in perennial favorites “Summertime” and “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’.” Who says opera has to be in Italian to be good? For tickets, call 202/295-2400 or visit dc-opera.org. $25 to $300.
Walk This Way
In honor of warmer weather, head outside for one of Ford Theatre’s History on Foot Walking Tours (511 10th St., NW; 202/347-4833; fordstheatre.org). Actors in period garb tell the story of Civil War-era Washington from the angle of two characters: Detective McDevitt delves into the Lincoln assassination (March 24 through May 1; 2-hour tour), and Elizabeth Keckly, a free black woman and confidante to Mrs. Lincoln, reveals how she helped former slaves (April 3 through Aug. 28; 90-minute tour). Each trek is about 1.5 miles. $12.
Gift From Asia
Sure, everyone knows about the cherry blossoms and the festivities around the Tidal Basin to celebrate these pink glories from March 27 to April 11. But don’t miss a chance to explore the culture that brought them to town at the 50-year-old Japanese street festival, Sakura Matsuri (April 10 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; nationalcherryblossomfestival.org). The free, family-friendly day of everything Japanese includes, but is not limited to, sushi, origami, anime, manga and J-POP tunes, as well as traditional dance and music, martial arts demonstrations and two beer gardens, of course. Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 10th streets; 12th Street between Pennsylvania & Constitution avenues.
The lush “jiwari” of Anoushka Shankar’s sitar at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue (600 I St., NW; 202/408-3100; sixthandi.org) is the perfect marriage of sight and sound. The daughter of Indian musician Ravi Shankar blends the classical Indian fare of her heritage with electronica, jazz, flamenco and Western classical genres. She performs solo on April 17 as part of the Sessions @ Sixth series.
Trumpeteer Wynton Marsalis stops by the Kennedy Center Concert Hall (2700 F St., NW; 202/467-4600; kennedy-center.org) on March 1 with a new show featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. According to Marsalis, what you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. $35 to $85.
Clybourne Park, a new show at the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company (641 D St., NW; 202/393-3939; woollymammoth.net), explores the country’s racial divide through parallel stories: an African-American family moving into a white community in 1950s Chicago and a present-day scenario in the same house with very different demographics. March 15 through April 11; $40 to $62 (also: pay-what-you-can performances).
The secretive world of the CIA is fodder for TV, movies and, yes, great local lectures. Learn what goes on behind the scenes from former CIA operative John Kiriakou as he tells all at the International Spy Museum (800 F St., NW; 202/393-7798; spymuseum.org). On March 18 from noon to 1 p.m., he’ll discuss and sign his book, The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA’s War on Terror. Free.