Things to Do

Things to Do in DC This Week (April 8-10): Puppies Playing Hockey, Chelsea Clinton, and the Mariinsky Ballet

The Mariinsky Ballet will perform “Le Corsaire” at the Kennedy Center, 4/9-4/14. Photograph by Natasha Razina.

MONDAY, APRIL 8

THEATRE Signature Theatre’s “SigWorks” series, which presents readings of new and emerging playwrights, continues this month with a reading of Christine Evans’s Torgus & Snow. This play features talking appliances and mischievous trolls, all inspired by the real story of Sweden’s “apathetic children,” refugees who lapsed into comas when on the brink of deportation. Free, 7 PM.

MUSIC Former Lumineers cellist/vocalist Neyla Pekarek left the folk-rock group last year to pursue a solo career. Her debut, Rattlesnake, diverges from her previous band: It’s a concept album inspired by the 1920s figure “Rattlesnake Kate,” who allegedly killed over 100(!) rattlesnakes in one day. Pekarek will perform with opening acts Molly Parden and Louisa Hall at Union Stage. $18 (in advance) or $20 (day of show), 7:30 PM.

HOCKEY The Capitals’ playoff run officially kicks off Thursday with the team’s series against the Carolina Hurricanes, but if you can’t wait until then to get your hockey fix, tune in to the Caps’ Facebook page for the inaugural Capitals Puppy Playoffs. Puppies (available for adoption from Homeward Trails Animal Rescue) will face-off in a game of “hockey,” called by Caps’ play-by-play voice John Walton and NBC Sports Washington analyst Craig Laughlin. Many of the pups are available for adoption, so prepare yourself for a lifetime of love. 7 PM.

TUESDAY, APRIL 9

DANCE The Mariinsky Ballet will present its production of Le Corsaire at its annual Kennedy Center performance. Dive into the world of pirates, betrayal, and a shipwreck. The performance dates back to the 1800s and is based on a poem by Lord Byron. Through April 14. $49-$209.

LECTURE Learn about the origins of the comic strip in late nineteenth century America at the Library of Congress’s James Madison Building. American Studies Ph.D. candidate Joshua Kopin (University of Texas at Austin) will give an illustrated lecture, “Comics in Nineteenth Century Time and Space,” that will show how the comic strip evolved from caricature and cartoon and will place it in context of other technological advances, such as early film and sound recording. Free, noon.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10

BOOKS Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton has recently written a new children’s book, Don’t Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe, and is celebrating with two events at the National Zoo in conjunction with Smithsonian Associates. In the morning, Clinton will lead a family program where she will read from her work and lead hands-on activities inspired by the book’s animals. In the evening, she will chat about her inspiration for writing about endangered animals with Washington Post video host Anna Rothschild (of “Anna’s Science Magic Show Hooray!“). Morning family program (at Conservation Pavilion): $25 per adult (one child free; additional children $2 each), 10 AM. Evening program (at National Zoo Theatre, inside the Visitor Center): $30, 6:45 PM.

FILM The Smithsonian has dubbed 2019 the Year of Music, and the celebration continues with a tribute to Jazz Appreciation Month with a Jazz Film Festival at the National Museum of American History. The fest kicks off with the Charlie “Bird” Parker biopic Bird starring Forest Whitaker; the series also includes Chicago, La La Land, Whiplash, and Some Like It Hot. Each film: $12.