Lectures, Readings and Films

Alden Theatre

1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. All events 7:30 p.m. Free; tickets at door at 7 p.m. Limit four per person. Information at 703/324-8428, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library or www.mcleancenter.org

• Discussion: Conservative Cal Thomas and liberal Bob Beckel talk about their new book, “Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America.” May 6.

Arthur Miller Festival

Arena Stage and Theater J’s tribute to a giant of American dramatic literature. Anchoring the festival are three of Mr. Miller’s plays: “The Price” at Theater J and Arena’s repertory performances of “Death of a Salesman” and “A View From the Bridge” (see Theater listings). Rounding it out are film screenings, discussions and readings listed here. Various venues. Through May 19. Free unless otherwise noted. www.chinaarenastage.org, www.theaterj.org

• Theater J post-matinee readings “5x5: Playwrights Responding to the Work of Arthur Miller.” Five original, newly written five-minute plays reflecting on “The Price.” Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW. Following 3 p.m. performance of “The Price.” April 13.

• Arena film: “Miller, Kazan and the Black List: None Without Sin.” This 2003 PBS documentary chronicles Arthur Miller’s and Elia Kazan’s experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee and discusses the emergence of “Death of a Salesman” and “A View From the Bridge.” AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. 7 p.m. May 5. Reservations through Arena Stage sales office, 202/488-3300.

• Arena panel: “The Political Impact of Arthur Miller on 21st Century American Theater.” Playwright Emily Mann, artistic director of the McCarter Theatre; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Henry Hwang; Ari Roth, playwright and artistic director of Theater J. Arena Stage senior dramaturg Mark Bly, moderator. Gonda Theatre, Georgetown University, 37th and O streets NW. 7 p.m. May 12. Reservations through 202/687-ARTS or performingarts.georgetown.edu.

• Arena reading: Selected Arthur Miller Prose Works. Readings from Mr. Miller’s autobiography, essays, letters and books examine the playwright’s art, his politics and his personal life. Directed by Georgetown University Theater Program Director Derek Goldman. Georgetown University Performing Arts Center, 37th and O streets NW. 7 p.m. May 19. Reservations through 202/687-ARTS or performingarts.georgetown.edu.

Bethesda Literary Festival

Various venues. Sponsored by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, 301/215-6660, www.bethesda.org.

• More than 20 events — discussions, signings, writing contests, a poetry slam, a children’s book party — in downtown Bethesda. Participating authors include reporters Helen Thomas and Marvin Kalb, novelist Alice Hoffman, poets Stanley Plumly and E. Ethelbert Miller, comedian Matt Kazam and more. April 18-20. For complete schedule see the Web site.

Busboys and Poets

2021 14th St. NW. 202/387-7638, www.busboysandpoets.com

• Jody Rosen, music historian, on Jewish dialect songs and novelty hits performed by vaudeville’s “Hebrew comedians.” Part of the Washington DC Jewish Community Center’s Nextbook series. 7:30 p.m. April 17. $6, $8.

Catholic University

Spring Architecture Lecture Series: “An Exploration of Irish Design Culture and Built Heritage,” exploring Irish design in the city of Dublin, in County Mayo and in the United States. All events at Koubek Auditorium, Crough Center for Architectural Studies, 620 Michigan Ave. NE, unless otherwise noted. All at 5:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Through April 14. 202/319-5188, architecture.cua.edu

• “Ruthless Optimism.” Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects, Los Angeles. April 14.

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China

2300 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202/328-2500, www.china-embassy.org/eng. Program ticket and photo ID required to be admitted to the embassy.

• Lecture: “Inside the Rings: The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.” A program in the Smithsonian Resident Associates’ series “China: An Incomparable Journey.” Lecturer Lisa Delpy Neirotti, a longtime student of the Olympic movement, focuses on China’s emerging athletes and the training and preparation for this summer’s Games. Reception follows. 7 p.m. May 8. $40, $50. Tickets and information at 202/633-3030, www.smithsonianassociates.org

Embassy of Sweden

The Discover Sweden program. 2900 K St. NW. Free; no tickets required. 202/467-2600, www.swedenabroad.com/washington

• Lessons: Crash Course in Swedish. Learn the language — or at least the necessary words to get around the country — in 30 minutes. 1-5 p.m. April 19 and 20.

Folger Shakespeare Library

201 East Capitol St. NE. 202/544-7077, www.folger.edu

• Annual Shakespeare’s Birthday Lecture: Alan Stewart, professor of English and comparative literature, Columbia University: “How Shakespeare Made History.” 8 p.m. April 21. Free.

Gadsby’s Tavern Museum

134 N. Royal St., Alexandria. Hours April 1-Oct. 31: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday and Monday. 703/838-4242, www.gadsbystavern.org

• Lecture: “I Can”t Tell A Lie: Myths About George Washington That Should Be Discarded.” Peter Henriques, associate professor emeritus of history, George Mason University. 7:30 p.m. April 16. $10, $12.

Goethe-Institut of Washington

812 Seventh St. NW unless otherwise noted. 202/289-1200, www.goethe.de/washington

• Shorts-Courts-Kurz. An afternoon of new short films from France and Germany, from the 2008 Clermont-Ferrand and the 2007 Dresden festivals. English subtitles. 2-5 p.m. April 12. $7, $10.

• Film series: “Coming to America: Hopes and Challenges of a ’Promised Land.’ ” “Germans in America II: Little Germanies / A People Disappears.” The television series, in English. 6:30 p.m. April 14. $4, $6.

Hispano-American Poetry Marathon

Teatro de la Luna and more than 15 poets from Central and South America and Europe in “La Puma y la Palabra” or “The Pen and the Word,” in the theater’s 16th annual marathon. Various venues. All readings in Spanish. Admission free. April 11 and 12. 202/882-6227, 703/548-3092, www.teatrodelaluna.org

• The Library of Congress. Readings in the Mary Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, Independence Avenue and First Street SE. 2-4 p.m. April 11.

• Casa de la Luna, 4020 Georgia Ave. NW. 2-8 p.m. April 12.

International Spy Museum

800 F St. NW. Unless otherwise noted, advance registration required; tickets do not include admission to the museum. Tickets through Ticketmaster at 800/551-SEAT, online at ticketmaster.com, in person at the museum or through 202/393-7798. www.spymuseum.org.

• “Spy vs. Spy: FBI and KGB Secrets From the Cold War.” Oleg Kalugin, former KGB acting Washington station chief, and David Major, FBI director of counterintelligence, on how their careers intersected. 6:30 p.m. April 16. $20.

Library of Congress

Various venues. Great Hall, exhibitions and sales shop in the Jefferson Building closed and all public tours canceled April 3-11 to prepare for the opening of the new Library of Congress Experience. 202/707-4604, 202/707-5664, www.loc.gov.

• Poetry at Noon series: Poem in Your Pocket Day. Open-mike event featuring poetry readings by anyone who can show a published poem (not his or her own) at the door to the theater. Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Noon April 17. Free; no tickets required.

• Poetry at Noon series: “Shakespeare’s Birthday.” Professional actors read sonnets or passages from the Bard’s work, followed by audience members reading brief excerpts from Shakespeare. Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Noon April 22. Free; no tickets required.

• Lecture: “Internet: the Private Mind?” Second in a series exploring the technological world of “digital natives,” the generation born and raised with computers. Steven Berlin Johnson is the author of “Everything Bad Is Good for You.” Montpelier Room, sixth floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. 4 p.m. May 12. Free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations needed. 202/707-2692.

• Lecture: “The Anthropology of YouTube.” Third in a series exploring the technological world of “digital natives,” the generation born and raised with computers. Michael Wesch is assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University. Montpelier Room, sixth floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. 4 p.m. June 23. Free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations needed. 202/707-2692.

• Lecture: “Screenology.” Fourth and last in a series exploring the technological world of “digital natives,” the generation born and raised with computers. Douglas Rushkoff is the author of “Playing the Future: What We Can Learn From Digital Kids.” Montpelier Room, sixth floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE. 4 p.m. June 30. Free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations needed. 202/707-2692.

The Lyceum

201 S. Washington St., Alexandria. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed holidays. 703/838-4994, www.alexandriahistory.org

• “The Cold War: A Son”s Perspective.” Francis Gary Powers, Jr., son of the U-2 pilot shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, will discuss the nearly half-century of stalemate between the United States and the Soviet Union. 7:30 p.m. May 28. Free. Information: 703/683-2636, www.alexandriahistorical.org

Meridian International Center

Brubeck Festival discussions and concert. Scholars, public diplomacy experts and jazz enthusiasts share their knowledge of the State Department tours and examine the implications of these efforts for the present. Tickets required through 202/993-5543 or e-mail publicprograms@meridian.org.1630 Crescent Place, NW. 202/667-6800, www.meridian.org

• Panel: The future of jazz musicians as cultural diplomats. 3 p.m. April 11.

• Panel: Looking back at jazz in cultural diplomacy. 4:45 p.m. April 11.

• Jazz concert: The Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio from Poland with special guest Dave Brubeck. 6:30 p.m. April 11.

National Air and Space Museum

Independence Avenue and Fourth Street SW. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. Metro: L’Enfant Plaza. 202/633-1000, www.nasm.si.edu. Imax theater schedule: 877/932-4629.

• “The Audubon Prints.” Presented by Joan Boudreau. Noon April 16.

National Gallery of Art

East Building Auditorium, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Events free. First come, first seated. 202/737-4215, www.nga.gov

• The 57th A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts 2008: “Bosch and Bruegel: Parallel Worlds.” Joseph Leo Koerner, professor of history of art and architecture, Harvard University. “Enmity,” April 13; “Devilries,” April 20; ” ’Self’ Portraiture,” April 27; “Epiphanies of Human Making,” May 4; “In Pursuit of the Ordinary,” May 11. Free; tickets and registration not required.

• “Jean Eustache: Film as Life, Life as Film.” Works by the French filmmaker (1938-1981) who saw himself as an archivist or ethnographer: “The Mother and the Whore” (“La maman et la putain”) (1973), 2 p.m. April 12; “La peine perdue de Jean Eustache” (1997) and “Numero zero” (1971/2003), 4:30 p.m. April 13.

• “Max Ophuls in Hollywood.” Films by an exile from Nazi Germany and occupied France who arrived in Hollywood in 1941: “The Exile” (1948), 2 p.m. April 19; “The Reckless Moment” (1949), 4:30 p.m. April 19; “Letter From an Unknown Woman” (1948), 4:30 p.m. April 20; “Caught” (1949), 4:30 p.m. April 27.

National Geographic Society

NG Live! at Grosvenor Auditorium, 1600 M St. NW. 202/857-7588, www.nationalgeographic.com

• “Hip Hop in the City of God.” Film, music and conversation on music as an instrument of social change. Public Enemy founder Chuck D; National Geographic Emerging Explorers and cultural storytellers Sol Guy and Josh Thome; Brazilian hip-hop star MV Bill. With a preview of the National Geographic TV program “4Real,” a documentary series that follows actors and musicians around the world. The program will be filmed for TV broadcast. 7:30 p.m. April 11. $30, $35.

• Film and discussion: “Right to Risk.” New film documents the journey of eight disabled people as they navigate 225 miles of Colorado River white-water rapids through the Grand Canyon. Talk follows with filmmakers Kathleen Jo Ryan and John Ryan and expedition participants Susan Yim and Daniel Deng. 7:30 p.m. April 23. $15, $18.

Donald W. Reynolds Center

The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery’s American Pictures Distinguished Lecture Series. Each of four well-known figures in American contemporary culture deconstructs a single image to illustrate how works of art reveal American identity. Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium, Eighth and F streets NW. 4:30 p.m. Saturdays; doors 4 p.m. Free. First-come first-served tickets 3:30 p.m. at G Street lobby information desk; limit two tickets per person. 202/633-1000, americanart.si.edu/reynolds_center

• Historian Garry Wills on Thomas Eakins’ painting “William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River.” April 26.

• Actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith on Ruth Orkin’s photograph “Member of the Wedding, Opening Night, Ethel Waters, Carson McCullers, and Julie Harris, New York City, 1950.” May 10.

S. Dillon Ripley Center of the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Resident Associates’ series “China: An Incomparable Journey” at 1100 Jefferson Drive SW. Through late June. 202/633-1000, www.si.edu/visit/whatsnew/Ripley.asp. For tickets and information, 202/633-3030, www.smithsonianassociates.org

• Illustrated lecture: “Wildlife of China: Endangered Treasures.” William McShea, wildlife ecologist and research scientist for the National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, talks about his experiences in the Sichuan reserves, with a focus on the giant panda. 6:45 p.m. April 17. $10-$20.

• All-day seminar: “Beijing: Ancient City, Modern Outlook.” Looking beyond the Olympics to the richness and complexity of one of the world’s great cities, with Robert Daly, director of the Institute for Global Chinese Affairs, University of Maryland. 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. June 14. $85, $131.

Signature Theatre

Kander & Ebb Celebration: Signature’s four-month salute to the Broadway songwriting partners John Kander and Fred Ebb. All events at 2800 S. Stafford St., Arlington. 703/820-9771, www.sig-online.org

• Film: “Kander & Ebb at the Movies.” Screenings of “Funny Lady” April 14, “Cabaret” June 2, and “Chicago” June 16. Max Theatre, all at 7:30 p.m. Free.

• Conversation: “One on One With John Kander,” the songwriter’s talk with Signature Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer. 7 p.m. May 12. $50. Seating limited.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

600 I St. NW. 202/408-3100, www.sixthandi.org, www.ticketmaster.com

• “Are the Simpsons Jewish?” A lighthearted look at how Judaism is portrayed in popular animated comedy. Moment magazine Editor Nadine Epstein with Mark Pinsky, author of “The Gospel According to the Simpsons,” 7 p.m. April 14. $6.

• Geraldine Brooks: “People of the Book.” The Pulitzer Prize-winning author imagines Australian rare-book expert Hanna Heath’s travels to war-torn Sarajevo to examine the illuminated pages of the 15th-century Sarajevo Haggadah. 7 p.m. April 22. $6.

• Jhumpa Lahiri. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Interpreter of Maladies” vividly evokes the dislocations of the Indian-American diaspora. 7 p.m. April 23. $6. Tickets through Politics & Prose at 202/364-1919 or www.politics-prose.com.

Temple Beth Ami

14330 Travilah Road, Rockville. 301/340-6818, www.bethami.org

• Screening and concert: “The Golem” (1920), the German Expressionist silent masterpiece, with a live soundtrack of Sephardic and Ashkenazic music performed by four musicians from the early- and traditional-music group Hesperus, singing and playing renaissance and traditional instruments. 3 p.m. April 13. $10 at the door.

Washington DC Jewish Community Center

1529 16th St. NW. 202/518-9400, washingtondcjcc.org

• Nextbook Series: Amy Bloom, author of “Away,” about a 22-year-old immigrant from Lithuania who arrives in the Lower East Side in New York. 7:30 p.m. May 20. $6, $8. Information at 202/777-3251; tickets www.nextbook.org