Things to Do

Things to Do in DC this Week (August 22-24): John Oliver, Yoga & Cocktails, and the Science of Harry Potter

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver kicks off an eight-performance run at the Kennedy Center August 24. Photo by Sean Hagwell.

MONDAY, AUGUST 22

BOOKS Writer and filmmaker Elizabeth Cobbs talks about about her latest novel, The Hamilton Affair, at Politics and Prose with Kojo Nnamdi Show producer Ruth Tam. Though it’s a work of fiction, the book explores the life of the founding father (and subject of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s eponymous musical) through the Hollywood-esque love story of him and his wife, Elizabeth Schuyler. Free, 7 PM

DANCE Choreographer, actor, and easily one of the greatest tap dancers in history, Savion Glover, brings his unique brand of dance—which he calls “young and funk”—to the Howard Theatre. Glover’s helped bring tap dancing to the masses through ventures such as the animated film Happy Feet. The film’s animation department used motion capture technology with actual, live dancers performing dance scenes co-choreographed by Glover. $35-$75, 8 PM

 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23

CRAFTS Fans of cocktails and creativity should head over to I Ricchi for Stems + Spritz. This is not your typical craft night: the Dupont-area Italian restaurant is bringing in local florist UrbanStems to show you exactly how to arrange the flower bouquet of your dreams, all while the restaurant provides bottomless Florentine cocktails. Perhaps a Negroni will help spur creativity? $69, 6 PM

FILM This month’s “Can I Kick It?,” Songbyrd’s night of martial arts flicks and hip hop DJing, features the film that gave one of the Wu Tang Clan’s members his rap name: Method Man, also known as Avenging Boxer. While the movie plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones will be scoring the film with an all-Method Man set. Free, 6 PM

DISCUSSION They may seem at odds, but science and the wizarding world of Harry Potter go together like butterbeer and cauldron cakes. At the Smithsonian-presented “Harry Potter and the Wizarding Gene: Scientific Fact and Fantasy Fiction,” Eric Spana, a Duke University biologist, will explore one of the fictional world’s truths that readers may have overlooked: “the ability to use magic is a genetically determined trait.” Spana will explain questions like how Muggle-born witch Hermione Granger has the wizarding gene whereas Argus Filch, a wizard-born character, doesn’t. $45, 6:45 PM

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24

YOGA Grip the Mat is focusing on the mind, body and belly at Soul & Spirits, an evening that kicks off with a “soul-thumping mixed-level yoga class,” followed by cocktails. Whether this is your first yoga class or your five-hundredth, all are welcome to get through the mid-week grind on a high note. $35, $37 including mat rental, 6:30 PM

COMEDY Last August, John Oliver became a surprise hero in Washington when he devoted a 17-minute segment on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight, to ripping critics of the DC statehood movement and congressional meddling in city affairs. He’ll surely revisit these points during this eight-performance run at the Kennedy Center—August 24-27—finally letting us laugh at “taxation without representation” instead of cry. $59 – $79, 7 PM

FILM The Spy Museum presents the hilarious 1972 French espionage comedy, The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe. The film follows a musician who, in a case of mistaken identity, gets wrapped up in the spying antics of the French counter-espionage department. French soda and popcorn will be available to snack on during the film. $10, 6:30 PM