THURSDAY, APRIL 13
BOOKS The New Yorker staff writer Ariel Levy’s new memoir The Rules Do Not Apply tells her story of building an unconventional life–and watching it fall apart. In 2012, the author went to Mongolia on a reporting trip pregnant, married, financially secure, and successful on her own terms. Within a month, none of that was true. Levy will be in conversation with newyorker.com writer Jia Tolentino at Sixth & I. $12, 7 PM.
COMEDY Author and humorist David Sedaris will perform at Strathmore on Thursday night. His wealth of accolades (including Grammy nominations for his spoken word albums and stretches on the New York Times best-selling list) and his numerous essays and books–including his upcoming collection of diaries, Theft By Finding–give him plenty of life experience and stories to pull from on stage. $35 to $75, 8 PM.
SPORTS The Capitals and Wizards each have home advantage in the playoffs, which kick off this weekend for both teams. The Caps host the Maple Leafs at the Verizon Center on Thursday and Saturday nights, while the Wizards take on the Hawks on Sunday afternoon. Thursday night Capitals: $53 to $813, 7 PM.
FRIDAY, APRIL 14
THEATER The new play Smart People investigates whether our beliefs and prejudices come from our environment or whether they’re hard-wired, told via the perspective of four intellectuals–a doctor, an actress, a psychologist, and a neurobiologist. The play, inspired by an academic paper and developed via interviews with 40 local doctors and professors, runs at Arena Stage through May 21. $40 to $71, 8 PM.
MUSIC British indie-rock band The Wedding Present has had a long career since forming in 1985; beloved by influential BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the band had nearly twenty top-40 UK hit singles, thanks to their catchy post-punk/alternative-rock sound. The band’s ninth and most recent album, Going, Going…, is a twenty-song, two-disc multimedia album, including films that frontman David Gedge made as he traveled across America with photographer Jessica McMillan. The band will perform at the Rock & Roll Hotel with indie-pop musician Colleen Green Band. $20, 8 PM.
SATURDAY, APRIL 15
MUSIC Singer/songwriter Pete Seeger will be remembered not only for his beautiful folk songs (“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” “Turn! Turn! Turn!”) but also for his devotion to social change, including the civil rights movement in the 1960s and environmental and antiwar causes in the 1970s and beyond. The Kennedy Center pays homage to Seeger’s music with the program Pete Seeger and the Power of Song: Tribute to a Folk Legend featuring Roseanne Cash with John Leventhal, Judy Collins, Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul & Mary), and more. $39 to $135, 8 PM.
FILM The Library of Congress has partnered with BrightestYoungThings and the District of Columbia Library Association on Bibliodiscotheque, featuring a variety of films that portray the evolution of dance culture from the Disco era to the present. Saturday’s feature is a 7-hour Queer as Folk marathon, showcasing the British television show that portrays gay urban life in the late 1990s. The marathon will be shown at the LOC’s Mary Pickford Theatre; 17+ only. Free (with registration), 10 AM – 5 PM.
FOOD Following its pop-up shop at Union Market, the Mason Dixie Biscuit Co. is opening a drive-thru and roadside kitchenette in Gateway/Bladensburg to showcase their biscuits, fried chicken, and milkshakes (courtesy of DC’s ice creamery Milk Cult). 9 AM.
SUNDAY, APRIL 16
KIDS The traditional White House Easter Egg Roll seems a bit disorganized this year, but kids have another option with the first-ever Easter Egg Hunt at Nationals Park on Sunday. After the Nats take on the Phillies, fans aged 3 to 8 will have a chance to hunt for eggs in the outfield, and each will receive a commemorative Nationals-themed wooden Easter egg and a basket. Both parents and kids must have a required special ticket for access to the field after the game. $30 to $60 (game and Easter egg hunt), 1:35 PM.
ART A Creative DC artist-in-residence Malissa Wilkins will be hosting a photography exhibit at A Creative DC: Brookland from Sunday through April 18. This exhibit, CATALYST, celebrates black female entrepreneurs and attempts to shatter the glass around the roles women have been assigned in contemporary society. The exhibit opens with a reception on Sunday afternoon. Free (with RSVP), 4-8 PM.
