THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16
DISCUSSION The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum presents a discussion about how different religious communities reacted to the rise of the Nazi regime. This panel, “What Did Faith Communities Stand For? Doctrine and Deed in Nazi Europe,” will feature three history professors and will be moderated by Victoria Barnett, director of the program on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Free (with registration), 7 PM.
BOOKS Reach Incorporated is a nonprofit that pairs high school students with elementary scholars in a tutoring program. Seeing a deficit of children’s books with minority protagonists, the organization created a summer program for its teenage tutors to pen children’s books; the launch party for four of these books is at Pepco Edison Place Gallery. $50, 6 PM.
THEATRE Ford’s Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol rings in the holiday season with its tale of transformation and redemption. Tickets $32 to $105. Through December 31.
BOOKS Author Elizabeth Rosner’s new book Survivor Café: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory examines how we carry stories forward after survivors of monumental events have passed on. Rosner explores the legacies carried on by descendants of survivors of the Holocaust, Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, and the Killing Fields, striving to understand the inheritance of trauma and memories of these atrocities. She will speak about her book at Kramerbooks. Free, 6:30 PM.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17
MUSEUMS The National Portrait Gallery showcases new additions to their collection in an annual exhibition titled “Recent Acquisitions.” The 27 new pieces this year include portraits of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, fashion designer Ralph Lauren, and actress Rita Moreno. Through November 4, 2018.
WORKOUT Balance out the propensity to over-consume at the holidays with free pop-up workouts presented by DPR and November Project, a fitness movement aimed to encourage healthy choices during the cold months. This week’s #FitDCFriday workout will take place at the Wharf; workouts highlight a different part of the District each week. Free, 6:30 AM.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18
THEATRE/KIDS The Kennedy Center presents the world premiere of its newly-commissioned musical Me…Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall. The play shows humanitarian Jane Goodall as a young girl with a toy chimpanzee named Jubilee; the pair’s outdoor adventures pave the way for Goodall’s career as a conservationist and animal activist. Tickets $20 to $25. Through December 10.
MUSEUMS The shift in demographics and lifestyles in America has been drastic: today, nuclear families account for only 20% of America’s households, while that figure was at 40% in 1970. The housing market has been slow to adapt to the needs of modern living arrangements. The National Building Museum’s new exhibit Making Room: Housing for a Changing America explores developments by housing entrepreneurs who are working to provide new and varying living options. The exhibit features a presentation of The Open House, a flexible, 1,000-square-foot home that features movable walls and multipurpose furniture. $10. Through September 16.
MUSEUMS The Hirshhorn features five contemporary film and video installations in its new exhibit The Message: New Media Works. These installations appropriate methods of communication—the sermon, the web lecture, the concert, the music video, and the online sex chat room—to draw attention to the common problem of information overload in our digital age. The exhibit features the work of Camille Henrot, C.T. Jasper, Joanna Malinowska, Frances Stark, Hito Steyerl, and Arthur Jafa. Through April 22.
ICE The Gaylord’s annual holiday celebration, Christmas on the Potomac, will feature a tribute to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in its ICE! exhibit, which incorporates more than two million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures. In addition, guests can slide down two-story tall ice slides. Tickets $32 to $39. Through January 1.
RUN/WALK VIDA’s third annual 5K run/walk will benefit Thrive DC, a local non-profit dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in the DC area. The race starts at East Potomac Park and travels around DC’s waterfront. $54, 8 AM.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19
MUSEUMS The National Gallery of Art spotlights two American artists in its East Building. Tower 3 will feature the artistic development of Anne Truitt (1921-2004) through several media: sculptures, paintings, and works on paper. On the Upper Level Bridge, Jackson Pollack’s Mural will make its Washington, DC, debut; the piece is Pollack’s largest work at nearly 20 feet long and was commissioned by Peggy Guggenheim for her NYC residence. Truitt: through April 1; Pollack: through October 28.
THEATRE The Broadway musical A Night with Janis Joplin pays tribute to American rock singer Janis Joplin and her influences. Dive into Joplin’s biggest hits, including “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Piece of My Heart,” at Strathmore. Tickets $45 to $95, 8 PM.
ARCHITECTURE The Washington Architectural Association and the Capital Area Food Bank are hosting a CANstruction event at the National Building Museum. Competing teams will use food cans to construct their own creative designs inspired by this year’s theme, CANnect with Nature. The builds will be on display through November 26 at the NBM’s Great Hall for the week leading up to Thanksgiving; at the end of the event, the cans will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. Free, noon to 6 PM.
