MONDAY, JUNE 17
FOOD To honor World Refugee Week, local DC restaurants are hosting refugee and asylum-seeking chefs in conjunction with Tables Without Borders. These chefs—from Afghanistan, El Salvador, South Sudan, Syria, and the Xinjiang Uyghur region—will cook dinner at five local spots (A Rake’s Progress, Himitsu, Espita, Maydan, and Little Sesame) to raise money for HIAS, an organization that helps refugees resettle. Each restaurant will host a dinner one or two nights this week. Through June 22. Food prices vary; make reservations here.
BOOKS With the hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh fresh in our minds, judicial journalist and Supreme Court reporter Michael Bobelian harks back to a different contentious nomination: that of Abe Fortas, the first Jew ever nominated for this office. In his new book, Battle For The Marble Palace: Abe Fortas, Earl Warren, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and the Forging of the Modern Supreme Court, Bobelian recounts the fierce battle between the Democratic Party and the GOP over Fortas’s nomination. Hear more from Bobelian at Kramerbooks. Free, 6:30 PM.
TUESDAY, JUNE 18
THEATER Signature Theatre presents the world premiere of Blackbeard, a musical tribute to the Seven Seas staged entirely on a pirate ship and written by the creators of The Witches of Eastwick, Brother Russia, and The Fix. Once Blackbeard learns that he’s wanted by the British army, he and his crew set sail on a journey across the seas to raise an undead pirate army. Through July 14. $40-$98.
YOGA Enjoy free weekly outdoor vinyasa yoga classes, sponsored by The Canopy by Hilton at The Wharf, Yoga Factory & Endeavor Athletics, on Tuesday nights on the Lawn at the Canopy (just off the hotel’s main lobby). After class, stick around to watch the sun set over Smirnoff Seltzers (must be 21+). The classes are free to attend (or register in advance to reserve a mat if you don’t have one), 6:30 PM.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19
FILM The documentary film festival AFI Docs runs for five days at the AFI Silver Theatre and other locations, featuring 72 films from 17 countries. This year’s centerpiece film is American Factory (6/21, National Museum of American History), which follows the highs and lows of a Chinese auto glass company that takes over a former GM plant in Dayton, OH; the screening will be followed by a conversation with directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert with NBC/Meet The Press’s Chuck Todd. Other films include Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (6/20, Navy Memorial), Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins (6/23, Navy Memorial), and Ruth – Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words (6/22, Navy Memorial). Through June 23. Opening night: $50, Individual films: $12-$15; film pass: $150.
THEATER Mosaic Theater presents Twisted Melodies, a one-man show based on the life of ‘70s soul singer/songwriter Donny Hathaway. With a special focus on his final day alive, the play shows the struggle between his creative genius and his paranoid schizophrenia. The play runs through July 21 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. $10-$68 (6/19 is Pay What You Can).
