Spend your mid-September weekend observing portraits and watching shows. Be the first to visit the reopened National Portrait Gallery Friday, watch a Star Wars movie at an outdoor theatre then tune into a livestreamed performance of “King Lear” from the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.
Friday
National Portrait Gallery Reopening
The National Portrait Gallery is opening back up Friday. In addition to permanent collections like “America’s Presidents” and “The Struggle for Justice,” you can check out new temporary exhibitions on the history of American female writers and a series of portraits of national and global leaders like Neil Armstrong and Toni Morrison. When you’re done, walk over to the Sculpture Garden for a picnic.
National Portrait Gallery, 8th and G streets NW, Wednesdays through Sundays, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., free timed-entry passes available online.
Saturday
Outdoor Movie Screening in Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia, is sponsoring a slate of free outdoor movie screenings each Saturday in September. This Saturday, bring a chair or blanket to watch “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” The show begins “at dusk,” and visitors are requested to sit at least six feet apart, wear face masks and frequently wash hands or use hand sanitizer.
John Carlyle Square Park, 300 John Carlyle St., Alexandria, Virginia, September 19, movie begins at dusk, free, information here.
Sunday
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s “King Lear”
To combat the spread of coronavirus, the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s annual “Shakespeare in the Park” will be called “Shakespeare at Home” and held online. Each performance of “King Lear,” Shakespeare’s classic tragedy about a king’s choice to leave land to two out of three daughters, will be livestreamed from the actors’ homes and broadcasted on the festival’s YouTube channel.
Online, September 20, 4 p.m., free, more information here.
