Found World Beauty of Orozco’s Everyday Images Lies in Stark Simplicity by Michael Coleman Gabriel Orozco creates photographic images that are rich in mood and stunning in their simplistic beauty. Thirty-four of the Mexican-born artist’s most gripping color photographs are currently on display in Washington as part of the Hirshhorn Museum’s “Directions” series. Orozco’s photographs, taken in Mexico, New York, India and other locations around the world, reveal his interest in familiar objects and images as symbols of social interaction, as well as his fascination with the lyrical beauty of the everyday. Windows Into Heaven Hillwood’s Russian Icon Collection Examines Romanov Dynasty by Heather Nalbone The former residence of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post is a marvel when it comes to private museums in the Washington region. Now comes “Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs,” a temporary exhibit that tells the story of Russian icons and their societal placement during 300 years of czarist rule. Mexican Family Album ‘Diego and Frida’ Documents History of Lovers, Mexico With Photos by Deanna Murshed The Mexican Cultural Institute’s latest exhibit titled “Diego and Frida: A Smile in the Middle of the Road” is somewhat of a mixed bag. It is hard to know categorically what one is looking at—whether it is an artistic display of photographs, a pictorial timeline of the tumultuous lives of two lovers, or a selection of artifacts documenting the history of early 20th-century Mexico. The best answer is simply, yes—it is all of these, and that is what gives “Diego and Frida” its prismatic appeal. See Also: Landscape Influential in Exhibit of Three Costa Rican Artists Posh P orcelain Freer Exhibit Offers Glimpse Into Life in China’s Ming Court by Heather Nalbone Most of the 48 pieces in the Freer Gallery of Art’s new “Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court” exhibit are made of blue-and-white porcelain, but that doesn’t limit the level of the exhibit’s charm. See Also: 'Work and Commerce' Spotlights Common Folk of Ancient China Atomic Dud Olney Theatre’s ‘Copenhagen’ Informs but Fails to Tantalize by Lisa Troshinsky The impetus to write the Tony Award-winning “Copenhagen,” now playing at the Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, is enticing. The play explores what happened during real-life German physicist Werner Heisenberg’s clandestine visit in 1941 to his longtime Jewish friend and mentor, Niels Bohr, in occupied Denmark. Reading Between the Lines ‘Book as Art XV’ Features Works by Women on Contemporary Events by Gary Tischler “Book as Art XV” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts is a dazzling exhibition is a brainteaser, a formidable, virtuoso challenge, and a kind of maze in the sense that it makes you look at language and come up with a redefinition of words and ideas. Bonus Points Studio Theatre’s Version of The Who’s ‘Tommy’ Rocks by Christine Cubé The stage comes alive in the musical performance of The Who’s “Tommy” at the Studio Theatre in Washington. The energized, 80-minute show at the theater’s Secondstage revisits the rock opera concept double-album “Tommy,” which debuted on the U.S. charts in 1969.

Events Listing Featuring art, dance, lectures, music, receptions and theater, our comprehensive listing offers an array of options for those interested in international events. Included is a list of all major event locations in the Washington, D.C., area... Events Locations Discovering America Wife of Cameroonian Ambassador Makes Washington Home by Gail Scott Louisette Mendouga came to America for the first time with her husband Jerome, the ambassador of Cameroon, and their 3-year-old daughter more than 10 years ago. It was March and their three young boys had to remain behind in Paris with their nanny to finish the school year. That was rough, leaving the boys, but rougher still, she said, was landing here not knowing anyone or anything about the American way of life. Inner Vision ‘Focus on Soul’ Shows Jacobi as Brilliant Portrait Photographer by Gary Tischler In photography and art, and photography as art, Lotte Jacobi talked a good game—and her photographs spoke even louder. A Trio of Art Three Embassies Display Diverse Photos, Sculpture, Drawings and Paintings by Lisa Carroll Three embassy exhibitions offer viewers three very different art experiences this month, with one taking you to the pool, another on an examination of the human form, while the third travels to South America. International Film Clips Film Locations Mule With Grace of Madonna ‘Maria’ Depicts Account of Woman’s Transformation Into Drug Carrier by Ky N. Nguyen “Maria Full of Grace,” American writer-director Joshua Marston’s debut feature, provides a remarkable account of a young Colombian woman’s transformation from a flower plantation worker to a drug mule. See Also: The Sweet Life End of the World Family Business What Would Cary Grant Do? Repertory Notes A Brilliant Debut ‘Maria’ Director Talks of Difficulties Putting Film Together by Ky N. Nguyen Colombian actress Catalina Sandino Moreno and American writer-director Joshua Marston have been busy promoting “Maria Full of Grace”— a brilliant debut feature film for both of them. Moreno won Best Actress at the Berlin (shared with Charlize Theron of “Monster”) and Seattle Film Festivals, while Marston won the Best First Feature prize at Berlin and Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance. The Washington Diplomat spoke with them at the Four Seasons, as Marston was trying to catch a bite to eat.