1. Musical | Hadestown at the Kennedy Center
Anaïs Mitchell’s Broadway hit Dominating Tony, a jazzy musical about Greek myth, arrives for a short stint at KenCen starting October 13, the first stop on a nationwide tour.
2. Music festival | All is well
Music festivals are back! Broccoli City was recently canceled, but All Things Go is, at press time, a departure. This year’s event, October 16 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, features Haim, St. Vincent and Charli XCX.
3. Book | Danger by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa
BoWo meets RoCo for a WaPo team. Following Woodward Fear and Rage, it’s another tale of the chaos of the Trump era, this time following the End of Days and the transition to Biden.
4. Exhibition | “New Glass Now” at the Renwick Gallery
Opened on October 22, it has (sorry) one clear goal: to capture the broad spectrum of modern glassware. The entrees range from beautiful to bizarre, or manage to be both.
5. Book | Rocks by Kevin Young
Young, a poet who also runs the National Museum of African American History & Culture, is a very busy guy: this new collection finds him ruminating on his past.
6. Concert | Hilary Hahn with ONS at Kennedy Center
The string superstar joins Gianandrea Noseda for Brahms’ Violin Concerto (September 30 to October 2). Also on the program, the intriguing Symphony No. 3 by Florence Price.
7. Exhibition | “Laurie Anderson: The Weather” at the Hirshhorn
From September 24 until next summer, this is the largest exhibition of Anderson’s work to date, showcasing ten new pieces as well as works of art throughout his career. Plus there will be live performances, of course, stay tuned.
8. Book | Don’t admit it to anyone by Leslie Pietrzyk
The Alexandria author’s latest book is an unwavering collection of related short stories involving a fictitious but incredibly believable House speaker. Initiated, insightful and skillfully executed.
9. Album | Peace Conversation by Damu the Fudgemunk
DC musician and producer Damu the Fudgemunk had unrestricted access to the massive archives of British company KPM, a trove of old recordings used for movies and TV shows. The result is a festival of atmospheric samples.
10. TV show | Fiasco on Epix
Leon Neyfakh’s 2020 Iran-Contra scandal podcast is coming to the small screen, adding visuals to what was already a gripping examination of a bizarre chapter in American history.
This article appeared in the October 2021 issue of Washingtonian.
