THURSDAY, MARCH 8
CIRCUS The Big Apple Circus will celebrate its 40th anniversary season with a nearly four-week stint at National Harbor. The circus will feature 10-time Guinness world record-holding high wire artist Nik Wallenda as well as roller-skating daredevils Dandino & Luciana, trapeze artists The Flying Tunizianis, contortionist Elayne Kramer, and world record-holding acrobats The Anastasini Brothers. The circus has a strict policy against wild animals; trainer Jenny Vidbel performs with horses and rescue dogs. Through April 1. Two specific performances–Circus of the Senses on March 9 and Embracing Autism on March 10–offer special experiences for audiences. $27.50 – $109.
MUSEUMS The March edition of the National Gallery of Art’s “Evenings at the Edge” program celebrates the NGA’s exhibit Outliers and American Vanguard Art. Learn about these works by self-taught artists via pop-up talks, and watch a performance by Lonnie Holley, whose work is featured in the exhibit. Free (registration required), 6 PM.
BOOKS Celebrate International Women’s Day at East City Bookshop with a reading from graphic novelist Pénélope Bagieu. Bagieu’s newest book, Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World, profiles the lives of feisty female role models such as Nellie Bly and Josephine Baker. She will be in conversation with Neema Roshania Patel, deputy editor of The Lily. Free, 6:30 PM.
FRIDAY, MARCH 9
MUSEUMS Thirty-six artists challenge the stereotype of the home as the feminine realm in the National Museum of Women in the Arts’s new exhibit Women House. The exhibit is inspired by the 1972 feminist installation Womanhouse and features photography, sculpture, installation, and video works organized across eight themes, by artists from the 1960s to today. Through May 28. $10.
THEATER Tony Award-winning musical The Wiz is based on L. Frank Baum’s story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and follows the adventures of Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion in the fanciful land of Oz. This 1974 musical features soul, gospel, and R&B tunes in a new production running at Ford’s Theatre. Recommended for ages 8 and older. Through May 12. $27-$71.
SATURDAY, MARCH 10
FITNESS Get free health and wellness information at the NBC4 Telemundo 44 Health & Fitness Expo at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. In addition to over 250 exhibitors, the expo will feature forums on healthy cooking and exercise and celebrity guests such as actress and cancer survivor Fran Drescher. Through March 11. Free.
THEATER The Keegan Theatre presents a month-long run of the Tony Award-winning musical Chicago. Set in the 1920s, the play follows the life of a devious vixen, Roxie Hart, who murders her lover and tries to set her husband up to take the blame. Once she’s convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another murderess, Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and seek fame and fortune behind bars. Through April 7. $45-$55.
SCIENCE Smithsonian Associates presents a full day exploration into the works of scientist-writers that moved scientific development forward over the centuries. Historian Susan Wise Bauer, author of The Story of Western Science: From the Writings of Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory, will walk attendees through the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and more at the S. Dillon Ripley Center. $160, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM (lunch is provided).
SUNDAY, MARCH 11
COMEDY The monthly “Improv Brunch” is an open-mic of sorts for local improv comedy groups. March marks the event’s one-year anniversary, so enjoy six local improv groups alongside the Pinch’s Sunday brunch menu. Free to attend, noon.
KIDS The Hirshhorn’s Storytime series introduces children to contemporary art through stories and movement. At this session, visitors will look closely at Lorna Simpson’s series of photographs Five Day Forecast. Museum staff will read aloud the book Why Am I Me? by Paige Britt and then let young visitors play with shapes and colors to create their own self-portraits. Nursing moms welcome; stroller parking available in the lobby. Free to attend, 11 AM.
