What We’re Excited to Read, Watch, See, and Listen to Right Now

1. Musical | Hadestown at the Kennedy Center

Anaïs Mitchell’s Tony-dominating Broadway hit—a jazzy Greek-myth musical—arrives for a short KenCen stint beginning October 13, the first stop on a national tour.

2. Music Festival | All Things Go

Music fests are back! Broccoli City was recently canceled, but All Things Go is, at press time, a go. This year’s event—October 16 at Merriweather Post Pavilion—features the likes of Haim, St. Vincent, and Charli XCX.

3. Book | Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa

BoWo meets RoCo for a WaPo team-up. Following Woodward’s Fear and Rage, it’s another account of Trump-era chaos, this time tracking the end days and transition to Biden.

4. Exhibit | “New Glass Now” at the Renwick Gallery

Opening October 22, it has (sorry) a clear goal: to capture the wide spectrum of modern glassmaking. Entries range from the beautiful to the bizarre—or manage to be both.

5. Book | Stones by Kevin Young

Young, a poet who also runs the National Museum of African American History & Culture, is a busy guy: This new collection finds him ruminating on his past.

6. Concert | Hilary Hahn With the NSO at the Kennedy Center

The string superstar joins Gianandrea Noseda for Brahms’s Violin Concerto (September 30 through October 2). Also on the program is Florence Price’s intriguing Symphony No. 3.

7. Exhibit | “Laurie Anderson: The Weather” at the Hirshhorn

Running September 24 into next summer, it’s the biggest exhibition of Anderson’s work to date, showcasing ten new pieces as well as art from throughout her career. Plus, there will be live performances, of course—stay tuned.

8. Book | Admit This to No One by Leslie Pietrzyk

The Alexandria author’s latest book is an unflinching collection of linked short stories involving a fictional but dismayingly believable speaker of the House. Insidery, insightful, and deftly executed.

9. Album | Conversation Peace by Damu the Fudgemunk

DC musician and producer Damu the Fudgemunk was given unlimited access to the massive archives of the British company KPM—a trove of old recordings used for films and TV shows. The result is an atmospheric sample-fest.

10. TV Show | Fiasco on Epix

Leon Neyfakh’s 2020 podcast about the Iran-Contra scandal hits the small screen, adding visuals to what was already an engrossing examination of a weird chapter in American history.

This article appears in the October 2021 issue of Washingtonian.