THIS WEEKEND: We're not sure what animals have to do with Halloween, but hey, it gives parents an excuse to hang out somewhere cool while their kids get hopped up on sugar and run around screaming.
Every year, Boo at the Zoo brings approximately a trillion adorable kids in costumes together to learn about animals and eat candy. It's like Halloween, but it happens the weekend before! It's really fun, though, so if you feel like you have the strength to handle two Halloween nights, you should bring the little ones — it's appropriate for kids aged 2-12. Tickets are sold out for Saturday night, but Friday and Sunday spots are still available.
» National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW; Fri., Oct. 23-Sun., Oct. 25, 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., $25; 202-633-4800. (Woodley Park)
Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
JUST IN TIME for Halloween, Landless Theatre Company mounts a production of the finest horror movie ever made. We are speaking, of course, of 1981's "Evil Dead."
Five college students decide to take a weekend vacation at a cabin in the woods, which turns out to be possessed by evil spirits who take over their bodies. Leading man Ash (Clay Comer) manages to stay alive with the help of a chain saw and a shotgun, with no help from his newly zombified girlfriend (Natalie Pyle) and sister (Karissa Swanigan).
FOR THE PAST seven years, Heeb magazine has provided a fresh, often impertinent take on contemporary Jewish culture.
For the mag's first book release, "Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish: A Heeb Storytelling Collection," arts editor Shana Liebman compiled some of the best offerings from the magazine's regular storytelling column.
The tales within capture the full spectrum of modern Jewish experience, from the sex and drugs alluded to in the title to less salacious, but still entertaining accounts of work, family life and growing up.
Liebman talked to Express over e-mail about the origins of Heeb, what makes a story Jewish, and the unfortunate lack of interesting narratives involving gefilte fish.
ZEHRA FAZAL MAY end up offending people by how bluntly she tackles your stereotypes. That's kind of the point. With her latest one-woman show, "Headscarf and the Angry Bitch," the local actress combines her own experiences growing up in an Islamic household with the ones her friends and family had and, lo and behold: a personal comedy that examines what it's like to be a modern Muslim woman, complete with vignettes and folk-rock songs that parody everything from sex to Ramadan.
Before the show's last performances at the D.C. Arts Center Thursday and Saturday, Fazal talked about the parallels between her and the show's main character, Zed Headscarf, and audience's reactions.
» EXPRESS: How did you decide to focus on comedy?
» FAZAL: I have played a variety of roles both comedic and dramatic, but I tend to find myself most often cast in dramatic roles or vixen-type parts. … That's part of the reason I conceived "Headscarf" — I wanted to challenge myself to do a pure comedy.
Continue Reading "Comedian and Actress: Zehra Fazal on Her 'Headscarf and the Angry Bitch'" »
ONGOING: Prepare to smack your forehead: "Evil Dead: The Musical."
Right? A brilliant idea was just lying on the ground like a discarded $50 bill, and Landless Theatre picked it up. A singing, dancing, evil spirit-fighting version of Sam Raimi's 1981 cult gore-fest opens at the D.C. Arts Center on Thursday and runs through Nov. 1. We can't vouch for the catchiness of the songs, but we can pretty much guarantee no one will be rhyming "moon" with "June." "Strewn," maybe ....
» D.C. Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW; through Nov. 1, $25; 202-462-7833. (Woodley Park)
Photo courtesy Landless Theatre
SATURDAY: This year's Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair presented by the Washington City Paper promises to be an impressive celebration of handmade crafts, with food, entertainment and prizes thrown into the mix.
All vendors are handpicked by a jury to keep mass-produced or imported goods far away from items like plush cupcakes, wooly baby slippers and books made out of LEGO pieces. Many vendors will be selling environmentally responsible crafts such as necklaces made out of old zippers and fawn rings made out of recycled metals.
More than 300 vendors didn't make the cut for a booth, which should make gawking at the ones that did quite an outing. All you have to do is try to stop yourself from spending too much money.
» Marie Reed Recreation Center, 2200 Champlain St. NW; Sat., Oct. 3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free; 202-332-2100. (Woodley Park)
Written by Express' Janice Leary
Photo courtesy Heidi Kenney/My Paper Crane
FRUGAL FOODIES HAVE a lot to be happy about lately, as a handful of top area restaurants have begun offering bar menus. Instead of spending big bucks to eat out, try one of these places, and you'll save enough to go out more often.
"The beauty of a bar menu is offering guests a glimpse of dishes that you're most proud of and that have the same level of quality but with a greatly reduced price," said David Varley, executive chef at Bourbon Steak, where you can find burgers, truffle popcorn and lettuce cups in the bar and lounge.
Varley said the rise of "cocktail culture" leads to more "snacking and sharing." Adam Williamowsky, general manager at BLT Steak, agrees.
"We offer items that are easy to eat and share with a group," he said. "Guests at bars like to have something lighter than a full-fare menu. Simple is what we were looking for on the bar menu."
Continue Reading "Fare Better at the Bar: Fancy Eats at Reasonable Prices" »
THE RECENTLY REVAMPED New Heights has added another attraction for penny-pinching drinkers. Beginning this month, gin flights are set to take off for a meager $15. Inspired by the restaurant's extensive 30-bottle gin menu, the flights will change monthly and offer a taste of three varieties of gin.
This month's trio will feature Broker's, a dry-style gin; Krahn, a complex gin with hints of honeysuckle and grapefruit; and Rogue Spruce Gin with olive, spruce and mint flavors.
» New Heights, 2317 Calvert St. NW; 202-234-4110, newheightsrestaurant.com. (Woodley Park)
Photo courtesy Pfau Communications
GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS look back as well as forward this fall with a slew of shows that focus on history -- James Osher's photographs, a look at industrialization in Japan, a visit from China's most famous army. There's even a jaw-dropping Hirshhorn exhibition that's been open for a while but won't be around forever.
William T. Wiley: Multitasker
Contemporary American artist William T. Wiley does it all, from drawing to sculpture to film. This retrospective features 88 of his works from the 1960s and on and takes a look at Wiley's ideas on war, global warming, racial tensions, pollution and practically every other problem facing the world today. Educational -- yes. Depressing -- possibly.
» Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1661 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; opens Oct. 2, through Jan. 24, free; 202-633-2850, americanart.si.edu. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: This weekend marks the 18th anniversary of Asylum's opening, so of COURSE it's the place to be.
On Friday night, get there between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. for 18-cent beers — yes. Between 10 p.m. and midnight, you'll pay $1.80 per beer, which is still hilariously cheap. The music will be metal, of course. It's Asylum.
If you can't make it on Friday, relax there later this weekend with the ongoing John Hughes tribute screenings. This weekend will boast showings of "Sixteen Candles" (pictured) and "The Breakfast Club," starting at 4 p.m. — and all movies are free.
» Asylum, 2471 18th St. NW; various times, free; 202-319-9353. (Woodley Park)
Photo courtesy 1991 Universal City
Addison Road