MONDAY, APRIL 1
DISCUSSION Sixth & I has been (ahem) the room where it happens for 15 years, and the venue is celebrating this anniversary with a series of events, starting with a visit by Hamilton star Daveed Diggs on Monday night. In addition to his time on Broadway, the Tony and Grammy award-winning actor is also a member of the hip-hop group clipping.; he’ll be in conversation with All Things Considered co-host Ari Shapiro to talk about his career, Jewish heritage, and creative endeavors. Sixth & I’s 15th anniversary celebrations continue with a home repair service project on April 14 and a post-Passover pop-up featuring Call Your Mother bagels on April 28. Daveed Diggs (4/1): $150-$1,000, 7:30 PM. Service project (4/14): $36, 9:30 AM. Brunch (4/28): Free to attend (food prices vary), 11 AM.
THEATER The Peculiar Patriot, which opens Monday at Woolly Mammoth, is a story inspired by its writer/performer Liza Jessie Peterson. The play’s protagonist makes regular visits to penitentiaries and works to show the issues in our criminal justice system, much like Peterson, who has spent several decades working with prison populations, including at Rikers Island. Through April 20. $20-$75 (4/1 and 4/2 are pay-what-you-will).
TUESDAY, APRIL 2
THEATER The musical Grand Hotel—based on the 1929 novel Menschen im Hotel—follows a group of hotel guests in 1920s Berlin. Follow the intersections of guests such as a fading ballerina, a doctor, a typist with Hollywood dreams, and a dying bookkeeper, all enjoying a taste of the high life. Through May 19 at Signature Theatre. $65-$109.
DANCE The New York City Ballet will perform two different programs over the next week at the Kennedy Center Opera House. One program, “Works by Balanchine, Robbins & Reisen” (April 2, 3, 7), highlights the works of choreographers Gianna Reisen, George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins. The other program, “New Works & New Productions” (April 4, 5, 6), will highlight two Kennedy Center premieres, including choreographer Warren Carlyle’s “Something To Dance About,” which features dance sequences from On the Town, West Side Story, and more. The other KenCen premiere piece, “The Runaway,” brings a modern flair to a classical performance with music from Jay-Z and Kanye West. Through April 7. $29-$99.
FOOD The 11th annual Events DC Embassy Chef Challenge brings chefs from over a dozen embassies to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center to compete for a “Golden Pineapple” award. Attendees can cast votes for the People’s Choice Prize by tasting authentic flavors from countries as varied as Barbados, Botswana, and Sri Lanka and sipping on native cocktails, beers, and wine. $95, 6:30 PM.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3
THEATER Studio Theatre’s world premiere of P.Y.G. or The Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle finds inspiration from Shaw’s Pygmalion and MTV’s The Real World. A Canadian pop star seeks the help of a Chicago rap duo (Pretty Young Goons, or P.Y.G.) to get a more streetwise image, all set within the context of a reality show — complete with confessionals, commercial breaks, and ubiquitous microphones. Through April 28. $20-$55.
DANCE The Washington Ballet brings Three World Premieres to the Shakespeare Theatre’s Sydney Harman Hall. These works—choreographed by former San Francisco Ballet soloist Dana Genshaft, American Ballet Theatre star Ethan Stiefel, and ballet choreographer Trey McIntyre—are set to music by Kennedy Center Artist-in-Residence Mason Bates, the Danish String Quartet, and Johann Strauss, showing the Washington Ballet closing out its season with dedication to developing original works. Through April 7. $25-$100.
