Things to do the week of Sept. 15-18, 2025
We've gathered up things to do across the nation's capital, including museum exhibits, concerts, only-in-DC events and much more. Don't miss our things to do this weekend and things to do this month as well.
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Monday
Experience Art Ave
Don’t miss this free outdoor art gallery from Golden Triangle BID, featuring 13 stunning, large-scale sculptures and window artworks by acclaimed artists, just steps from the White House. Discover interactive elements during the day or visit in the evening to see the artworks colorfully illuminated.
Free to Access | More Info
800 Connecticut Avenue – 1050 Connecticut Avenue NW, including Farragut Square
Walkingtown DC
On September, Events DC showcases the incredible walkability of the nation’s capital during this free, week-long public tour program. In total, dozens of guided walking tours will be held throughout the District, including neighborhood showcases, themed excursions, historical journeys and many more. Historians, licensed tour guides, community leaders and business owners, among others, host these adventures that will take you to both well-known and hidden gems across DC.
With Passion and Purpose: Gifts from the Collection of Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson
A collection that spans 100 years of Black creativity comes to the National Gallery of Art’s East Building Mezzanine thanks to Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson. The largest group of objects by Black artists to enter the museum’s collection at one time includes 175 works. These range from lyrical abstractions to intricate sculptures to well-known paintings. Featured artists include Jacob Lawrence, Archibald Motley, Vivian Browne, Mildred Thompson, Alison Saar and many others.
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Free Admission
National Gallery of Art, 4th Street & Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20565
Tuesday
Photo by Matthew Murphy
The Sound of Music
The Kennedy Center stages a production of one of the great musicals with three-time Tony Award® winner Jack O’Brien as director. The Sound of Music transports the audience to the hills of Austria for unforgettable songs and a tale of resilience, love and resistance.
Tickets
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20566
Merry Wives
Shakespeare Theatre Company hosts the regional premiere of a hilarious take on one of The Bard’s most famous farces. The infamous Falstaff is dropped into modern Harlem low on money and decides to pursue the purses of two West African wives. Schemes are launched to thwart the prospective thief and plenty of hilarity ensues.
Tickets
Harman Hall, 610 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
Play On!
Does a musical based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night set to the music of Duke Ellington sound like a good time to you? Us too. Signature Theatre’s latest production follows Vy, who discovers that the doors of opportunity in 1930s Harlem are closed to her. She then disguises herself as a man to sing her songs for the Duke himself. A tale packed with intrigue, mistaken identity and incredible jazz tunes ensues.
Tickets
Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206
Wednesday
National Museum of Women in the Arts
NMWA Nights
The National Museum of Women in the Arts' after-hours series returns with an evening focused on bold expression and community through the lens of radical feminism. Inspired by current exhibitions, the event will feature tarot, palm and kiss mark readers, a community installation, a DJ set and guided spotlight tours of the museum.
Tickets
National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005
Damn Yankees
The minds behind this new adaptation of an American classic include Lortel Award winner Will Power, Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright and Tony Award winners Lynn Ahrens and Sergio Trujillo. From its pure love of baseball to its femme fatale and fateful pact with the Devil, Damn Yankees promises to be a crowd-pleaser at Arena Stage.
Tickets
Arena Stage, 1101 6th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
The Great Privation
Timelines jump and collide in this innovative production at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. The Great Privation shows a mother and daughter guarding the grave of their husband and father to prevent resurrectionists from tampering with it, circa 1832. On the same grounds in the present, another mother and daughter are summer camp counselors. The two stories intersect in fascinating ways.
Tickets
Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
Thursday
Theatre Week
Theatre Week
Celebrate the theatre season in the Washington, DC region with a weeks-long promotion from TheatreWashington which includes $25, $45 and $65 tickets to highly anticipated productions at venues all over the DC area. There are musicals, dramas, comedies, theatre for young audiences and much more. In addition to discounted tickets, Theatre Week also includes special events (most of which are free) designed to entertain, educate and inspire, including the free Kickoff Fest. Plan your stay: Book a hotel today.
Photo by Anne Colliard
Cirque Du Soleil: LUIZA
Poetically guided by light (‘luz’ in Spanish) and rain (‘lluvia’), LUZIA details the adventures of a parachuted traveler with the culture, nature and mythology of a dreamlike land inhabited by a menagerie of characters. Refreshing and unexpected, LUZIA dazzles with the incorporation of water into the acrobatic presentation – a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production.
Tickets
8025 Galleria Drive, Tysons, VA 22102
Keegan Theatre
Everything is Wonderful
The Keegan Theatre stages acclaimed playwright Chelsea Marcantel's stirring and thought-provoking of grief, faith and family. After a tragic accident, a young woman returns home to her Amish roots to confront the life and relationships that she left behind. Wounds will be reopened and secrets will emerge as our protagonist's boundaries between forgiveness and forgetfulness are blurred.
Tickets
Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
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