Hollywood stars to pack Washington

By Melissa Arseniuk

Friday, Jan. 16, 2009 | 5 p.m.

Who said politics aren’t glamorous? An ever-growing list of bold and beautiful stars would seem to disagree, as more than 160 celebs have headed east in anticipation of Barack Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday.

Judging from the collection of celebrity-studded performances and appearances, Hollywood will be a relative ghost town this weekend.

Here is a list of who will be where and when in Washington this coming week:

Saturday

The Hip-Hop Caucus will host an afternoon roundtable with featuring legendary hip-hopper Chuck D.

The Hip-Hop Caucus will throw a party at D.C. nightspot, Ibiza, featuring Common and Mary J. Blige. Nelly is also rumored to be on the set list, though his appearance has not yet been confirmed.

Project Runway” finalist Korto Momolu will appear at the International Inaugural Ball at L’Enfant Plaza.

Wyclef Jean will perform at the “Maximum Celebration, Minimum Impact” green inaugural party at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.

Diddy will host an all-night inaugural event at LOVE from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m.

Sunday

Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyoncé, Sheryl Crow, Renée Fleming, Heather Headley, Bettye Lavette, Jennifer Nettles, Usher, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Herbie Hancock, Will.i.am, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Josh Groban, John Legend, and James Taylor will perform at the “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration" at the Lincoln Memorial. Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah, Jack Black, Steve Carell, Rosario Dawson, Tom Hanks, Laura Linney, Kal Penn, Forest Whitaker, and Tiger Woods will also be there, as will the Obamas. The stargazing will begin at 2:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. PDT and the entire event will be broadcast on both HBO and HBO.com. HBO has requested all cable providers broadcast this event for free, regardless of subscribers’ cable packages. Encore presentations will follow later in the day, at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. local time.

Mary J. Blige, Magic Johnson, Gabrielle Union, Queen Latifah, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker, and Joss Stone will be at the Warner Theater for a BET Honors event.

Dave Chapelle and Fallout Boy will appear at the “Welcome to D.C.” event at the 9:30 Club.

Angela Bassett and Danny Glover will appear at the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s “Gospel Hill” cast party at Charlie Palmer’s steakhouse.

Jessica Alba, John Legend, Maroon 5 and Lindsay Lohan’s DJ girlfriend, Samantha Ronson, will appear at the “Declare Yourself” party at the Renaissance Washington.

Alicia Keys, Macy Gray and LL Cool J will perform at the “Dreams of My Father” American Scholars Inaugural Ball at the Four Seasons.

Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Rosario Dawson, Tony Plana and Wilmer Valderrama will appear at Voto’s “Celebrando El Cambio – Renewing America’s Promise” Latino-themed inaugural party at Union Station.

Akon will host an inauguration party at LOVE featuring performances by T.I. and Young Jeezy.

Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Tucker and John Singleton will appear at the Washington Post-owned Root.com’s “Root Ball” at the National Museum of American History.

Monday

Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, T.I. and Young Jeezy play the Hop-Hop Summit Action Network’s Inaugural Ball at the Harmon Center.

REM frontman Michael Stipe, Rosario Dawson, and Heather Graham will host MoveOn.org’s inaugural party at the Manifest of Hope art gallery. Performers will include Santogold, De La Soul and Moby.

Jamie Foxx and “friends” (rumored to include Will Smith and Denzel Washington) will host a Jay-Z after party/inauguration eve soirée at Ibizza

Sting and Will.i.am will perform at the Huffington Post’s pre-inauguration party at the Newseum. A-list guests will include Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Shakira, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry, and Ashton Kutcher.

Al Gore will host a Green Inaugural Ball at the Portrait Gallery. Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas is among the environmentally conscious guests expected to attend.

Muhammad Ali will be at the Kentucky Inaugural Ball at the Marriott Wardman Hotel.

Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon, Kerry Washington, Dana Delany, Ellen Burstyn, Alan Cumming, Barry Levinson, Alfre Woodard, Josh Lucas, Matthew Modine, Richard Schiff, Connie Britton, Marcia Cross, Maura Tierney, Sue Kramer, Rachael Leigh Cook, Gloria Reuben, Wendie Malick, Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield, Giancarlo Esposito, Kim Raver, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jane Krakowski, Tamara Tunie, and Tom Fontana will all partake in a three-course inaugural eve dinner featuring Hawaiian cocktails, including the Obama Poma (rum mixed with lemon and pomegranate juices) hosted by Moët & Chandon, 10 Cane Rum, and The Creative Coalition at Teatro Goldoni restaurant

Old school hip-hoppers Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick and Biz Markie will perform, along with DJ DJ Tiz, at a “Legends Ball” at Club 1223.

The Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow, Justin Jones, and Citizen Cope will play the “America Feels Kinda Cool Again Inaugural Gala” at the always-hip D.C. music spot, the 9:30 Club.

Spike Lee will discuss Obama’s impact on Black America with students at Howard University. The actor will also host an inauguration after-party on Tuesday.

Jay-Z will play “In Concert on the Eve of Change” at the Warner Theater.

Aretha Franklin will give a free concert at the Kennedy Center.

Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Bow Wow will play the “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” party at the Verizon Center. Along with their families, incoming First Lady. Michelle Obama and vice-president-elect Joe Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, will host the event, which will be broadcast on the Disney Channel.

Oprah Winfrey will tape the first of episodes of her popular program at the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. The daytime talk show queen is also expected to attend the Creative Coalition’s Inaugural Ball on Tuesday night, though she has not yet confirmed any Inauguration Day appearances.

Tuesday

Elvis Costello and Sting will play for a solar system of stars at the Creative Coalition’s Inaugural Ball at the Harmon Center, including Tim Daly, Tony Goldwyn, Anne Hathaway, Ron Howard, Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon, Kerry Washington, Marisa Tomei, Trudie Styler, Stevie Wonder, Dana Delany, Ellen Burstyn, Alan Cumming, Alfre Woodard, Josh Lucas, Matthew Modine, Richard Schiff, Connie Britton, Marcia Cross, Maura Tierney, Sue Kramer, Rachael Leigh Cook, Gloria Reuben, Wendie Malick, Adrian Grenier, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phillip Bloch, Tom Cavanagh, Bradley Cooper, Hill Harper, Ashley Judd, Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Giancarlo Esposito, Kim Raver, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jane Krakowski, Tamara Tunie, and Tom Fontana. Director Barry Levinson will also be there, filming final scenes of his documentary film, rumored to be titled “Poliwood,” which focuses on Hollywood’s role in politics.

Mariah Carey, Jay-Z- Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill, Shakira, Stevie Wonder and Mary J. Blige will perform at “The Neighborhood Ball” at the Washington Convention Center. The event will be broadcast on ABC.

Fall Out Boy and Kanye West will play MTV and LiveNation’s “Youth Ball” at the Hilton. The event is one of the officially-sanctioned inaugural parties, meaning recently inaugurated President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will also be there.

Muhammad Ali is expected to celebrate both inauguration and his 67th birthday at the Kentucky Society Bluegrass Ball at the Marriott Warman Park Hotel.

Il Divo will perform for Ashley Judd, Patricia Arquette, John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Ed Harris, Josh Lucas, Amy Brenneman, Brendan Fraser, Susan Sarandon, and Lisa Marie Presley at the Purple Ball, which will be held at the Fairmont Hotel.

Dionne Warwick will host the American Music Legends Ball at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel featuring Chaka Khan and George Clinton.

Ludacris will host the American Music Urban Ball at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel featuring Cedric the Entertainer and Monica.

Wyclef Jean will perform at BET’s inauguration party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge and Rufus Wainwright will play the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Ball at the famed Mayflower Hotel.

Harry Belafonte will host the Inaugural Peace Ball at the Smithsonian Postal Museum. Joan Baez, Graham Nash and Jackson Brown are expected to attend.

Rihanna will give a convert at the Recording Industry Association of America’s inaugural soirée, Heroes Red, White and Blue Inaugural Ball in support of Feeding America.

NAS, Josh Groban, Slash and Robert Randolph will perform at the Heroes Red, White and Blue Inaugural Ball at the Warner Theater benefitting military families and veterans.

Spike Lee will host a late night “Welcome to 1600” party at Josephine from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m.

Star Jones and Chris Tucker will be among those at an invite-only inauguration after party at the Georgetown Pub. The event won’t start until after midnight but it will continue until 4 a.m. and since organizers are anticipating widespread midnight munchies, they have arranged for breakfast to be served.

Wednesday

Oprah Winfrey will tape a second, post-inaugural installment of “Oprah” at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.