This month’s column’s a little different. To celebrate summer and the cornucopia of exceptional talent we’re lucky enough to enjoy in DC, we’ve compiled a list of what we think are the best pop-up performances across the city over the next few months. From punk rock in a church to classical music in a forest, from opera to exhibitions and musicals, we’ve got it all. Read on for our curated selection.
On the Lawn
Dance on the Lunar Lawn
Dance Institute of Washington
Hillwood Estate and Gardens
Aug 13, 5:30-8:30pm
hillwoodmuseum.org
The Hillwood Estate served as the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post from the 1950s until her death in 1973. Perched atop a wooded rise in the Forest Hills neighborhood of NW DC, the fabulously wealthy cereal heiress filled her home with art and antiques, much of which can still be enjoyed during visits to the estate’s museum today. Arguably one of the estate’s main attractions are the gorgeous gardens which Post designed as a series of outdoor rooms. On August 13th you’ll be able to take in the beauty of the famous Lunar Lawn at the front of the main house while also enjoying a performance by students of the Dance Institute of Washington as part of Hillwood’s Dance on the Lunar Lawn programming. Tickets range from $5 for children between 6 and 18, and $30 for non-Hillwood members. Pack and picnic basket and bring your lawn chair.
On the Walls
Beautiful, also are the souls.
Anacostia Arts Center
Opening Aug 14
anacostiaartscenter.com
thedapproject.com
Everyone east of the river knows the Anacostia Arts Center. Containing exhibition space, a black box theater, shops and a business hive, it’s a hub for neighborhood events, festivals, church services, exhibitions and activations. Wacif, the owners of the Arts Center since 2021, recently announced a multi-million-dollar renovation and redevelopment project for the Center. In recognition of the cultural, social and historical importance of the institution, Wacif have tasked Rhonda Henderson of The Dap Project to curate an exhibition honoring the lives of everyone that’s been irrevocably changed by their time spent at the Center.
Materials for the exhibition were gathered through oral history and photographic workshops that highlighted special moments and contributions from participants 2013 until the current moment. Henderson says that the exhibition title, Beautiful, also, are the souls, is a tribute to the Langston Hughes poem My People and was chosen to evoke the Center’s ethos of community. Henderson is still soliciting donations of photographs for possible inclusion in the exhibition, so go to www.thedapproject.com to share a special moment you’ve experienced at there.
In the Park
To Wong Foo – The Musical
Root Family Stage at Omi’s Pavilion
Showing August 21, 8pm
olneytheatre.org
For a few months in summer, Olney Theatre Center in Maryland’s Montgomery County returns to its historic roots as a summer playhouse by hosting a series of concerts, musicals, plays and performances on its outdoors stage at Omi’s Pavilion. This month, the Olney Outdoors 2025/26 season of musical theater offers up glitz, glamor and impossibly high heels in Douglas Carter Beane’s musical adaptation of the cult classic 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Who can forget jaded NYC drag queens Vida Boheme, Noxeema Jackson and Chi Chi Rodriguez’ inadvertent detour to the tumbleweed town of Snydersville, USA? With lyrics by Lewis Flinn, this rip-roaring musical farce is just what’s needed to “Make America Drag Again.’ Buy yourself an all-access pass to the whole lineup of Olney Outdoor shows running from July 31st to August 24th. It’s only $175 and includes additional show discounts.
In the Basement
American Idiot in Concert
Spooky Action Theatre
Showing August 22-24
monumentaltheatre.org
With a name inspired by one of Albert Einstein’s most famous observations of the effects of quantum entanglement, Spooky Action Theatre hosts equally intriguing performances by emerging and experimental artists that are meant to challenge and provoke. Reclaim the misspent days of your youth by channeling your inner Punk-Rock emo at American Idiot in Concert, a nostalgic return to early noughties America as told through the powerful, high-energy lyrics of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool.
On the Stage
IN Series St. John the Baptist
Theater Alliance pop-up
340 Maple Dr SW
Showing October 2 – 5
inseries.org
Thanks to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Pop-Up Permitting Pilot Program, Theater Alliance and its creative partners have transformed a vacant retail space in SW DC into an energetic hub for the performing arts. IN Series, a long-time friend of Theater Alliance, will transform the black box theater into the court of King Herodes for the stage premiere of St. John the Baptist. Co-produced with Catapult Opera with music by Alessandro Stradella and text by Bari Biern, this biblical tale of the vengeful stepdaughter of King Herod and her insatiable bloodlust features the iconically scandalous Dance of the Seven Veils, which many sopranos refused to perform and that got the opera censored in Vienna and London.
In the Garden
Tregaron Unplugged
Washington Performing Art
Tregaron Conservancy
Showing October 4, 3pm
washingtonperformingarts.org
Within walking distance of the National Cathedral, nestled between the Cleveland and Woodley Park neighborhoods, is 13 acres of lush parkland designed by renowned landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman. Originally part of two summer estates dating back to 1880 and 1911 respectively, the Tregaron Conservancy is an oasis of pastoral calm that was laid out by Shipman according to Beaux Arts principles and designed to serve as the backdrop to uniquely DC summer estate architecture by Charles Adams Platt. This October, the Conservancy (in partnership with Washington Performing Arts) will host Tregaron Unplugged, an afternoon and evening of musical programming by quartets, ensembles and vocalists inspired by the serene tranquility of the estate. Amble from one recital to another while enjoying the fall foliage and the soothing notes of Jazz, Classical and Americana. Best of all? It’s free. The full lineup of musical artists is still to be announced, so follow @tregarondc on social media for updates and make your reservation right now.
At the Church
Wu Han, David Finckel, Benjamin Bielman Trio
Takoma Park SDA Church
6951 Carroll Ave.
Showing October 4, 7-9pm
ahwconcerts.org
The Takoma Park Seventh Day Adventist Church congregation is over 120 years old. With its vaulted ceiling, intricate carved wooden fretwork, bronzed chandeliers and a rose window to die for, it’s the ideal location to enjoy the musical stylings of Wu Han on piano and David Finckel on the cello, accompanied by Benjamin Bielman on violin. The chances are good that you’ve already heard recordings of Han and Finckel. They’ve performed across the country and the world and are the Artistic Directors for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. They’ve redefined Chamber music for an entire generation and will be performing this fall as part of the Anna H. Wang Presidential Concert Series, with tickets starting at $35 for general admission and running up to $100 for VIP seating. Students get in for free.
