November Culture Guide: 58 Things to Do in the DC Area

Happy November, DC!

If you’re looking to plan ahead for the month’s cultural events, we’ve got you covered with this listing of upcoming concerts, art openings, and other fun activities. Also, you can mark the start of the holiday season with the opening of ZooLights, holiday markets, and more glowing attractions. Here’s what to expect:

10 Best Things to Do in DC

by Pat Padua

Theater

Six

November 12–December 1

Who needs historical accuracy when you have Broadway songcraft? This hit musical imagines the six wives of Henry VIII as pop icons, taking the phrase “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” and turning it into a girl-power hook. Whose head will roll next?

Books

Richard Price

November 13

From crime novels (Lush Life) to screenplays (The Color of Money) and television (The Wire), Bronx-born Price captures a distinct inner-city malaise. He’s in town to read from his long-awaited new novel, Lazarus Man, about the aftermath of an East Harlem tenement collapse.

Music

Abdullah Ibrahim Trio

November 13

Ibrahim, the 90-year-old Cape Town jazz pianist who once went by the stage name Dollar Brand, has performed his spirited, spiritual music during a career that has spanned almost eight decades. He’s touring behind a vital live trio al-bum, titled 3, which is by turns somber and celebratory.

Washington stage veterans Holly Twyford and Kate Eastwood Norris star in David Auburn’s period piece set in a 1970s college town where a freewheeling artist and a conservative woman are required to deal with each other thanks to their daughters’ friendship.

Music

Berliner Philharmoniker

November 15

Violin star Hilary Hahn joins the august orchestra–which is returning to the Washington area for the first time in 21 years–for a performance of Korngold’s violin concerto. The program, conducted by Kirill Petrenko, also includes Rachmaninoff’s “Isle of the Dead” and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7.

An exhibit on Miki Hayakawa (above), Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo–Americans of Japanese descent working around World War II–includes remarkable paintings of life in Japanese American internment camps.

Music

Sounds of Us

November 16

Fortas Chamber Music Concerts artistic director Jennifer Koh (above) curated this all-day festival of music and visual art that asks participants to imagine the country’s future for the next 250 years. More than 40 works will premiere, including those by Carlos Simon, Vijay Iyer, and inti figgis-vizueta.

Museums

“The Print Generation”

November 16–April 27

Historically, each stage of Japanese printmaking–designing, carving, printing–was handled by a different craftsperson specializing in that element. This exhibit chronicles the sōsaku hanga movement, which arose in the early 20th century among Japanese artists who wanted to break out from traditional printmaking and take control of each aspect of the process themselves.

The singer-songwriter–best known as the vocalist for indie-rock stars Big Thief–makes music that’s both melancholy and optimistic. She brings her smoky, sensitive voice to the Anthem to promote her latest solo album, Bright Future.

Theater

Leopoldstadt

November 30–December 29

Tom Stoppard’s Tony Award–winning gut punch of a play follows the struggles of a Jewish family in Vienna over the course of 60 years, leading up to the Holocaust and beyond. Director Carey Perloff is bringing the powerful work, produced in association with Boston’s Huntington Theatre, to the stage in Washington for the first time.

Want More Things to Do?

by Briana Thomas

Arts and culture:

• Visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art after dark to attend a glowing Diwali Festival featuring a dance party, live music, and art talks (November 1, free, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art).
• Book-lovers can find reads from regional Black authors at Blk Author Expo (November 2, free, Suitland).
• View works from major artists Sam Gilliam, Paul Klee, Georgia O’Keeffe, Sylvia Snowden, and others in “Breaking It Down: Conversations From the Vault” at The Phillips Collection (November 2 through January 19, $20, Dupont).
• Investigative reporting and visual storytelling come together at the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival at The John Hopkins University Bloomberg Center (November 7-10, $85+ pass, Penn Quarter).
• Watch movies and films from local creators at the Alexandria Film Festival (November 7-10, $80 pass, Alexandria).
• Attend panel discussions, keynote addresses, and master classes with industry professionals and HBCU graduates at HBCU First LOOK Film Festival (November 8-10, $30 pass, Howard University).
• Observe 82 sculptures created between 1792 and 2023 at the exhibit “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture” (November 8 through September 14, 2025, free, Smithsonian American Art Museum).
• Wheaton Film Festival, back for its 10th year, spotlights short films, creates a space for industry networking, and hosts educational talks (November 9, $14+ pass, Wheaton).
• Umbrella Art Fair, a massive gathering at Union Market, connects local and global art makers and vendors (November 15-17, prices vary, Union Market).
• The National Museum of Women in the Arts presents artist Samantha Box’s first solo exhibition in DC (November 20 through March 23, free for ages 21 and under, $16 for adults over 21, Downtown).
• International musicians Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East perform at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art (November 21, $6, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art).

Theater:

• Dance Like There’s Black People Watching is a new comedy production at Woolly Mammoth Theatre (November 6 through December 22, pay-what-you-can $15+ tickets, Penn Quarter).
• Watch Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse accompanied by a live score of the soundtrack (November 8-9, $65+, National Theatre).
• Groove to soulful oldies but goodies at Signature Theatre’s I’ll Take You There: Stax Records Co. (November 12-24, $46, Arlington).
• Washington National Opera takes on Verdi’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (November 13-23, $45+, Kennedy Center).
• Ford’s Theatre’s seasonal classic A Christmas Carol returns this month (November 17 through December 31, $49+, Ford’s Theatre).

Shows and performances:

• Comedian and actor David Cross delivers funny quips at Warner Theatre (November 1, $47+, Downtown).
• Hits from Ed Sheeran meet the sounds of Coldplay at Miracle Theatre’s Candlelight concert (November 6, $52+, Eastern Market).
• After an eight-year standup hiatus, comic icon Martin Lawrence is back on tour with a message to his fans: “Y’all Know What It Is!” (November 7-9, $105+, National Harbor).
• Baltimore comedian Jess Hilarious does standup at the Warner Theatre (November 15, $40+, Downtown).
• Comedian Julie Kim is live at DC Improv (November 15-17, $22, Downtown).
• Viral TikTok jester Matt Rife brings his biggest world tour to date to the DC area (November 22-23, $473+ from third-party sellers, National Harbor).
• Sarah Silverman’s signature silliness—and her latest special, Postmortem—arrives at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall (November 22, $39+, Kennedy Center).
• Get into the holiday spirit at The Washington Ballet’s beloved tradition, the Nutcracker (November 30 through December 29, $62+, Warner Theatre).

Music:

• R&B singer Tinashe fills the Anthem with dance-pop tunes (November 1, $39+, Wharf).
• You’ll hear an energetic blend of hip hop, jazz, and R&B at Masego’s Kennedy Center debut (November 3, $59+, Kennedy Center).
• Nikka Costa returns to the music scene with a groovy disco concert (November 8, $25+, Wharf).
• Who’s your favorite pop star? Decide at Union Stage’s Taylor Swift vs Olivia Rodrigo Dance Party (November 9, $17+, Wharf).
• Go on a sonic journey with music icon André 3000 (November 9, $79+, Kennedy Center).
• There’s still time to snag a ticket to Orion Sun’s sold-out 9:30 Club show (November 9, $57+ on third-party resellers, Shaw).
• Go-go groups Rare Essence and Junkyard Band celebrate Howard Theatre’s 114th birthday (November 10, $55, Shaw).
• Dorado Schmitt and his sons, Samson and Amati, play a lively jazz manouche concert at Strathmore (November 10, $28+, Bethesda).
• Alma Laprida plays trembling sounds from a tromba marina at Tonal Park (November 15, $15+, Takoma Park).
• Producer Leon Thomas arrives at Union Stage to promote his new album, Mutt (November 19, $25+, sold out but limited tickets available from third-party sellers, Wharf).
• Listen to guitarist Hayden Pedigo’s post-rock songs at Songbyrd (November 20, $15+, Northeast DC).
• Vocalist Xavier Omär brings his lush melodies to Howard Theatre (November 21, $30+, Shaw).
• Award-winning jazz pianist Robert Glasper performs at Howard Theatre (November 24, $55, Shaw).
• Soul singer-songwriter Fousheé promotes her latest project Pointy Heights at Union Stage (November 27, $35+, Wharf).
• DC R&B crooner Raheem DeVaughn will perform with a full band (November 29, $35+, Howard Theatre).

Holiday:

• Take a nighttime stroll through more than 1,000 Chinese lanterns, and catch a live performance by the Zigong Acrobatic Troupe at Winter Lantern Festival (October 31 through January 12, $27 for adults, $17 for children, free for toddlers ages 3 and under, Tysons).
• A Charlie Brown Christmas is the theme of this year’s ICE! attraction at National Harbor (November 15 through December 28, $27+, National Harbor).
• Shop local goods and treats at the new DC Holiday Market (November 22 through December 15, free, Dupont).
• ZooLights brings dazzling decor to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo (select nights November 22 through January 4, $6, National Zoo).
• ‘Tis the Sea-son begins at Hillwood Museum with sparkling Christmas tree displays inspired by the “Fragile Beauty: Art of the Ocean” exhibition (November 26 through January 5, $18, Northwest DC).
• Run for a good cause at SOME’s 23rd Annual Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger 5K (November 28, $45 for virtual, $65 for in-person, Downtown).

Things to do with kids:

• Children accompanied by adults can take a guided tractor trail ride through Mount Vernon’s landscape and learn the process of forest regeneration (November 1-5, $28, Mount Vernon).
• Toddlers and babies can explore live performance art with a string at Sailing on String (November 2-5, $15, Kennedy Center).
• The Sculpture Garden Ice Rink reopens at the National Gallery of Art (November 23, through March 2, $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and children under 12, National Gallery of Art).

A version of this article appears in the November 2024 issue of Washingtonian.