MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5
THEATRE The 2018 Women’s Voices Theater Festival continues at Woolly Mammoth with Familiar, written by Tony-nominated playwright Danai Gurira (who you might recognize from The Walking Dead or, most recently, Black Panther). In the play, an immigrant Zimbabwean family is preparing for the wedding of their eldest daughter, who insists on a traditional bride-price ceremony. The resulting familial rift pits the family’s long traditions against its deep secrets. Through March 4. $35-$79.
BOOKS To follow up her biography on Rosa Parks, historian Jeanne Theoharis, a distinguished political science professor at Brooklyn College, turns now to a more comprehensive look at the civil rights movement. Her new book, A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History, challenges the notion that this fight remains in the past—and corrects the fantastical narrative that the movement was acceptable at the time. Theoharis will discuss her perspective at Politics & Prose. Free, 7 PM.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6
THEATRE Tony-nominated musical comedy Something Rotten! follows two playwright brothers in the 1590s who are competing with hitmaker William Shakespeare. After consulting with a local soothsayer about the future of theatre, the two brothers set out to write the world’s first musical. The show runs at the National Theatre through February 18. $48-$98.
BOOKS In the mid-1950s, former Marine Arthur “Nick” Arundel brought two baby gorillas to the National Zoo from the Belgian Congo. His daughter-in-law Kara Arundel has documented these first-generation gorillas and their caregivers in her new book Raising America’s Zoo, which also describes Nick’s transformation from a “gorilla hunter” to an advocate for animal conservation. Kara will discuss her research at Kramerbooks. Free, 6:30 PM.
DANCE New York’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s annual performances at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House kick off on Tuesday night. African-American choreographer Alvin Ailey formed the company in the 1950s, with the goal of connecting all people by common humanity. This performance series will feature a rotating selection of works including several DC premieres. Through February 11. $49-$175.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7
BEER ChurchKey is featuring Perennial Artisan Ales—considered by craft beer fans to be one of the best breweries from St. Louis—on Wednesday night with a massive tap takeover. Included will be several variants of Perennial’s premier stouts: Sump (an imperial stout with coffee) and Abraxas (imperial stout with cocoa, cinnamon, vanilla, and ancho chili peppers). Free to attend (beer prices vary), 4 PM.
COMEDY Local comic Martin Amini can be seen on the new TruTV show Laff Tracks and hosting The Overachievers Comedy Show. This month’s show at Drafthouse Comedy features James Davis, who was a writer for The Late Late Show with James Corden and a recurring character on Kevin Hart’s show Real Husbands of Hollywood. $10, 8:45 PM.
