Thursday, Jan. 15 National Symphony Orchestra 7 p.m. WHERE: Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. N.W. METRO: Foggy Bottom-GWU (blue and orange lines) INFO: Conducted by Ilan Volkov, famed pianist Leif Ove Andsnes will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, and the NSO will also play pieces by Stravinsky and Crumb. COST: $45-$80
"Mary Cassatt: Friends and Family" 10 a.m.-5 p.m. WHERE: National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. N.W. METRO: Metro Center (red, green and yellow lines) INFO: This showcase of Cassatt's work evokes the tenderness of familial bonds. COST: $10
Friday, Jan. 16 "West Side Story" 8 p.m. WHERE: National Theater, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. METRO: Metro Center (red, blue and orange lines) INFO: Director Arthur Laurents transforms the traditional staging of this tragic love affair into a thought-provoking performance with a number of scenes performed in Spanish. COST: $46.50-$151.50
Tornadoes 9 a.m.-5 p.m. WHERE: National Academy of Sciences, 2100 C St. N.W. METRO: Check wmata.com for bus routes INFO: Storm-chaser and artist John Brosio depicts giant-canvas sized depictions of Midwestern storms with pointed commentary on human apathy. COST: Free
Saturday, Jan. 17 The Raveonettes with Nickel Eye 9 p.m. WHERE: Black Cat, 1811 14th St. N.W. METRO: U St./African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (green and yellow lines) INFO: Lusting for a good show? The popular Danish rock duo brings their electric sound to D.C. COST: $15 adv/$17 dos
"How Theater Failed America" 8 p.m. WHERE: Woolly Mammoth Theater, 641 D St. N.W. METRO: Gallery Place-Chinatown (red, green and yellow lines) INFO: Mike Daisey performs a searing and critically acclaimed monologue on the state of the modern theater industry. COST: $25
Sunday, Jan. 18 "The Rebel Set: Film and the Beat Legacy" 12:30 p.m. WHERE: National Gallery of Art, 4th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W. METRO: Smithsonian (blue and orange lines) INFO: This artistic documentary - part of a four-part film series - pieces together film with modern day photography and music to explore the avant-garde film movement of the 1950s and 1960s. COST: Free
Sunday Kind of Love (open mic poetry) 3:30 p.m. WHERE: Busboys & Poets, 14th and V streets N.W. METRO: U St./African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (green and yellow lines) INFO: To celebrate the inauguration, Busboys & Poets will host a special Sunday open mic session featuring poems from "Poetic Voices Without Borders 2." The recently released collection strives to use poetry to transcend cultural divides. COST: Free
Monday, Jan. 19 The Big Shoulders Inauguration Ball 7 p.m. WHERE: Black Cat, 1811 14th St. N.W. METRO: U St./African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (green and yellow lines) INFO: Ted Leo, Andrew Bird and the Waco Brothers headline a packed showcase of bands to celebrate the inauguration. Check out the Black Cat Web site at www.blackcatdc.com for the full list of bands. COST: $50
"A Queen Honors a King" 6 p.m. WHERE: Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. N.W. METRO: Foggy Bottom-GWU (blue and orange lines) INFO: Free tickets for Aretha Franklin's birthday tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. will be distributed starting at 4 p.m. in front of the Concert Hall. COST: Free, tickets required
Wednesday, Jan. 21 IV Inter-American Biennial of Video Art 11 a.m.-6 p.m. WHERE: Inter-American Development Bank's Cultural Center, 1300 New York Ave. N.W. METRO: Metro Center (red, blue and orange lines) INFO: New media art from the Caribbean and Latin America comes to life in this exhibit, which continues through Jan. 30. COST: Free
"Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power" 10 a.m.-5 p.m. WHERE: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St. N.W. METRO: Farragut North (red line) INFO: This exhibit pieces together Avedon's portraiture of the powerful and the ordinary. COST: $14
