Metro Weekly

Fall Arts Preview 2022: Stage

The theater season in Washington, D.C. returns to robust pre-pandemic levels with an astounding array of dramas, comedies and musicals.

Michael Urie in ‘Jane Anger,’ coming in December to The Shakespeare Theatre

We have long argued there is no better theater city in America than Washington, D.C. And the forthcoming season at all of our local theaters more than proves it. The plays and musicals on offer are broad, diverse, and delve deeply into the human condition with drama, with humor, with heart.

More and more theaters are co-producing, and, in the case of The Folger, which won’t have its official Elizabethan home back until 2023, a partner was found in Round House, as the two will usher in a Tempest for the ages.

We’re excited for almost every season offering, but the one thing that fills us with an embarrassment of joy? The return of the Broadway Center Stage series to the Kennedy Center. Prior to the pandemic, the series routinely blew the roof off the national arts center with its extraordinary staged concerts that, in some cases, felt Broadway-ready.

Other highlights of the 2022-2023 season include the returns of Les MiserablesChicagoWicked and — why not? — Cats; an Olney Kinky Boots; a Bountiful moment with Nancy Robinette at Ford’s; the return of Michael Urie and husband Ryan Spahn to the (boldly, beautifully rebranded) Shakespeare Theatre; Arena Stage tackling Tony Kushner’s gay masterpiece Angels in America; and the long-anticipated “Till Trilogy” at Mosaic. Buy stock in Kleenex now.

Editor’s Note: This column has been modified slightly from the magazine edition.

1ST STAGE

1524 Spring Hill Rd.
Mclean, Va.
703-854-1856
www.1ststage.org

  • Mlima’s Tale — The story of an elderly “big tusker” elephant from a protected reserve in Kenya. When Mlima is poached for his glorious ivory tusks, the tusks begin a journey across the world, introducing us to a string of characters, each with their own goals and struggles surrounding the ivory trade. By Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage. Directed by José Carrasquillo (Now-10/2)
  • The Rainmaker — The Curry family farm is paralyzed by a devastating drought. A charming, confident trickster named Starbuck comes to town and promises to bring rain in exchange for $100 (11/17-12/11)
  • How the Light Gets In — Four disparate people who build a community of healing and hope. Set against the inviting backdrop of a Japanese garden, the play is told like a fairytale. Directed by Alex Levy (3/2-19)
  • Mojada — Luis Alfaro takes the chilling ancient Greek tale of Medea and re-imagines it in a Los Angeles Mexican-American immigrant community (4/20-5/7)
  • The Last Match — Played out under the bright lights of the U.S. Open Semifinals, rising Russian star Sergei Sergeyev is pitted against American great Tim Porter in an epic showdown that follows two tennis titans through pivotal moments in their lives both on-and-off the court. Directed by Alex Levy (6/8-25)

ARENA STAGE

1101 Sixth St. SW
202-488-3300
arenastage.org

  • Holiday — An up-and-coming Wall Street lawyer from a working-class family aspires to quit his job and enjoy life once he’s made enough money to do so. The prospect doesn’t thrill his wealthy, well-born fiancée, but excites her more unconventional sister (10/7-11/6, Fichandler Stage)
  • My Body, No Choice — In June 2022, reproductive rights took a giant leap backward when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Molly Smith directs monologues by eight of America’s most vital female playwrights, who share what choice means to them. Monologues by
    Lee Cataluna, Fatima Dyfan, Lisa Loomer, Dael Orlandersmith, Sarah Ruhl, Mary Hall Surface, V (formerly Eve Ensler), and “Anonymous” (10/20-11/6, Kogod Cradle)
  • Sanctuary City — Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok’s powerful story of two young DREAMers who fight to establish a place for themselves in America. Directed by David Mendizábal (10/21-11/27, Kreeger)
  • Ride the Cyclone — The lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. A mechanical fortuneteller invites each to tell their story of a life interrupted, offering the chance to come to terms with their fates in this cult musical (1/13-2/19, Kreeger)
  • Angels in America: Millennium Approaches — Part one of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning opus, one of the finest gay plays ever put to paper. Directed by Hungarian filmmaker János Szász (3/24-4/23, Fichandler)

BALTIMORE CENTER STAGE

700 N. Calvert St.
Baltimore, Md.
410-332-0033
www.centerstage.org

  • Our Town — Thornton Wilder’s classic Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, helmed by Obie Award winner Stevie Walker-Webb (Now-10/9)
  • Ain’t No Mo’ — Jordan E. Cooper’s masterful no-holds-barred comedy is a surreal journey through Black America as Peaches, a narrator and flight attendant, invites Black Americans to board African American Airlines’ one-way Flight 1619 back to Africa for a mass exodus. A co-production with Woolly Mammoth (10/27-11/20)

CONSTELLATION THEATRE

1835 14th St. NW
202-204-7741
www.constellationtheatre.org

  • Once On This Island — On an island where people are separated by color and class, the four Gods (Earth, Water, Love and Death) place a bet on a young girl, who leaves her humble upbringing to pursue her true love, the Prince, only to be faced with an impossible choice. Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Music by Stephen Flaherty (9/29-11/6)
  • Incognito — Nick Payne’s fascinating, transatlantic mystery spans the 20th century, interweaving three stories and 21 characters, played by an ensemble of four actors. Allison Arkell Stockman directs (2/9-3/12)
  • The School for Lies — In the heart of Paris, a beautiful, young widow hosts a posh salon and entertains her guests with satiric impressions of society’s dilettantes. An adaptation of Molière’s The Misanthrope by playwright David Ives (4/27-5/28)

EVERYMAN THEATRE

315 West Fayette St.
Baltimore, Md,
410-752-2208
www.Everymantheatre.org

  • Dinner and Cake — Mylinh has the chance to boost her career and make important connections in her new home in Washington, D.C. All she has to do is translate a simple dinner meeting between her friends’ parents, American and Vietnamese in-laws. Written by Tuyết Thị Phạm. Directed by Paige Hernandez (Now-10/2)
  • The Lion in Winter — James Goldman’s searing drama, set during Christmas 1183, tells the wickedly amusing tale of King Henry II, his imprisoned queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their three entitled, double-dealing sons who vie for the throne. Starring Deborah Hazlett, Hannah Kelly, Zack Powell, and Jefferson A. Russell (10/18-11/13)
  • Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery — A fast-paced comedy about everyone’s favorite detective solving his most notorious case (12/6-1/1)
  • Jump — An unexpected bond connects two strangers who meet on a bridge and have more in common than they could have imagined (1/24-2/19)
  • The Sound Inside — A suspenseful drama set in an Ivy League university. Adam Rapp’s play was nominated for six Tony Awards. Directed by Vincent M. Lancisi (3/7-4/2)
  • Harvey — Everyone’s favorite six-foot-tall invisible rabbit is back in this new production of Mary Chase’s sweetly affecting classic (4/25-5/21)
  • And the World Goes Round — A Kander and Ebb songbook, highlighting some of the duo’s greatest hits from their greatest shows, including “Maybe This Time,” New York, New York,” and “All That Jazz.” A co-production with Olney Theatre (6/6-7/2)

FOLGER THEATRE

202-544-7077
www.folger.edu

  • The Tempest — Adapted and Directed by Aaron Posner and Teller (of Penn & Teller), Shakespeare’s tale of betrayal, reconciliation, and love is part fairy tale, part romance–and all magic (11/23-1/1/23, Round House Theatre)

FORD’S THEATRE

511 Tenth St. NW
202-347-4833
www.fordstheatre.org

  • The Trip to Bountiful — Carrie Watts dreams of escape from the bustling city and of a return to simpler times in her beloved Bountiful, Texas. So she sets out on a risky journey to her beloved hometown, with her family in hot pursuit. Michael Wilson directs a dream cast: Nancy Robinette as Carrie, Joe Mallon as her son, Ludie, and Kimberly Gilbert as her daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae (9/23-10/16)
  • A Christmas Carol — Craig Wallace dons his Scrooge nightcap yet again and returns as the miser who would spoil Christmas (11/18-12/31)
  • Shout Sister Shout! — A new musical about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of America’s most influential rock, R&B, and gospel crossover singers and guitarists (see our Yola interview at the start of this issue). Written by noted playwright Cheryl L. West. Directed by Kenneth L. Roberson (3/15-5/13)

GALA HISPANIC THEATRE

3333 14th St. NW
202-234-7174
www.galatheatre.org

  • Revoltosa (The Troublemaker) — The story of an outspoken woman who upturns traditions with her neighbors and delights in exposing social hypocrisies. This entertaining zarzuela, the most performed in Madrid, reveals the different perspectives of men and women in relationships at different stages of love (Now-10/2)
  • La llamada de Sylvia Méndez — Can an eight-year-old girl make a difference? Learn how at that age Sylvia Méndez became the face of the landmark case to desegregate California schools to Latinx children in the 1940s and inspired people of all ages to fight for change (10/11-22)
  • Fuego Flamenco Festival — The 18th annual festival featuring local, regional, and international artists in an expanded three-week run (10/29-11/13)
  • Jardín Salvaje (Native Gardens) — In a northwest DC neighborhood, two families — one a young Latino couple new to the neighborhood, the other a pair of older conservatives — clash over a garden dispute that soon turns into much more. A hilarious world premiere in Spanish places the cultural and generational conflict in the context of the Latinx community. Directed by Rebecca Aparicio (2/2-26)
  • Love to Love You Baby — A moving play with music that tells the story of Dolores, an Afro-Puerto Rican woman victim of physical and psychological violence by men. Her only refuge is in the music of disco queen Donna Summer. Starring Lorraine Vélez of Broadway’s RentFame, and Miss Saigon (3/31-4/2)

KEEGAN THEATRE

1742 Church St. NW
202-265-3767
www.keegantheatre.com

  • Elegies: A Song Cycle — A celebration of life and music, penned by the Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist William Finn (Falsettoland), which commemorates the lives of people both real and fictional, from Finn’s friends, to his mother, to his dogs, to the victims of the World Trade Center collapse (10/22-11/20)
  • An Irish Carol — A Keegan holiday tradition by Matthew J. Keenan (12/15-31)
  • The Lifespan of a Fact — Jim Fingal is a fresh-out-of-Harvard fact checker for a prominent but sinking New York magazine. John D’Agata is a talented writer with a transcendent essay about the suicide of a teenage boy — an essay that could save the magazine from collapse. When Jim is assigned to fact-check D’Agata’s essay, the two come head to head in a comedic yet gripping battle over facts versus truth (1/28-2/25)
A Soldier’s Play coming to The Kennedy Center

KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600
www.kennedy-center.org

  • Dear Evan Hansen — Winner of six Tony Awards including Best Musical and the 2018 Grammy Award, Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it (Now-9/25, Opera House)
  • Shear Madness — The interactive comedy whodunit returns after its prolonged pandemic hiatus for a year-long run. With more than 13,500 performances at the Kennedy Center, Shear Madness is the second longest-running play in the history of American Theater (10/4/22-10/1/23, Theater Lab)
  • Broadway Center Stage: Guys & Dolls — Frank Loesser’s Tony-winning musical follows a rowdy bunch of gamblers, gangsters, and sassy showgirls in a wild game of chance—then love sneaks in (10/7-16, Eisenhower)
  • The Improvised Shakespeare Company — Based on one audience suggestion (a title for a play that has yet to be written), The Improvised Shakespeare Company creates a fully improvised masterpiece right before your very eyes, using the language and themes of William Shakespeare (12/6-18, Theater Lab)
  • Wicked — Stephen Schwartz’s brilliant Broadway sensation looks at what happened in the Land of Oz from a different angle. An astounding musical in every respect (12/8-1/22, Opera House)
  • A Soldier’s Play — Norm Lewis stars in Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning thriller. In 1944, on a Louisiana Army base, a Black sergeant is murdered, triggering a gripping barrage of questions about sacrifice, service, and identity in America. Directed by Kenny Leon (12/13-1/8, Eisenhower)
  • Broadway Center Stage: Sunset Boulevard — Stephanie Block takes on the role of Nora Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s searing musical adaptation of the Billy Wilder film (2/1-6, Eisenhower)
  • Les Misérables — In 1986, the Kennedy Center hosted the pre-Broadway run of what has become one of the world’s most popular musicals, seen by over 130 million people worldwide. They’ve now brought the epic home (4/11-29, Opera House)
  • Broadway Center Stage: Kiss of the Spider Woman — Winner of seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman revamps a compelling tale of oppression into a dazzling spectacle with Kander and Ebb’s luminous score (5/15-21, Eisenhower)

MOSAIC THEATER

Atlas Arts Center
1333 H St. NE
202-399-7993, x501
www.mosaictheater.org

  • The Till Trilogy — Ifa Bayeza’s trio of plays — The Ballad of Emmett Till, That Summer in Sumner, and Benevolence — explore the life and legacy of Emmett Till, whose murder in 1955 remains one of the most pivotal moments in American history. Under the direction of Talvin Wilks, the plays will star 10 actors performing in rotating repertory for the first time. Filled with music, poetry, and imagination, this rare theatrical event will honor the ongoing fight for racial justice in our country and offer audiences of all ages an opportunity for collective reckoning, reflection, and response (10/4-11/20)
  • Bars and Measures — Eric, a classical pianist, and Bilal, a jazz musician, are brothers by blood, united through a love of music but separated by prison bars. When Bilal’s trial reveals hidden secrets and unexpected truths, the young men are forced to ask whether their love and music can withstand betrayal. By Idris Goodwin. Directed by Reginald L. Douglas (2/2-26)
  • Unseen — In Mona Mansour’s drama, an American conflict photographer wakes up in her ex-girlfriend’s Istanbul apartment, but doesn’t recall how she got there. The contents of her camera might shed some light (3/30-4/23)
  • One in Two — Three Black queer men sit in an ethereal waiting room inviting audiences to join them in a whimsical theatrical experiment that is equal parts harrowing, hilarious, and hopeful. Inspired by his own HIV diagnosis and the resilience of the LGBTQ community, award-winning playwright Donja R. Love shines an honest light on the people behind the statistics (6/1-25)
Chicago the Musical, coming to The National Theatre

NATIONAL THEATRE

1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
202-628-6161
www.thenationaldc.org

  • Tina: The Tina Turner Musical — This new musical reveals a comeback story like no other, of a woman who dared to defy the bounds of racism, sexism, and ageism to become the global Queen of Rock n’ Roll (10/4-23)
  • New Jack City Live — Based on the film, and set to the soundtrack of key songs from the film (11/10-13)
  • Chicago — After 25 years, the Kander-Ebb classic is still packing in crowds with its show-stopping numbers and innovative staging (11/15-27)
  • Cats — Andrew Lloyd Webber’s jellicle beauties purr their way back into the National, where they first christened its re-opening in 1984 (1/11-22)
  •  Jagged Little Pill — A musical based on Alanis Morissette’s world-changing music, with a Tony-winning book by Diablo Cody (Juno) and Grammy-winning score (3/14-26)
  • My Fair Lady — Lerner & Loewe’s classic, directed by Bartlett Sher and boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t it be Loverly” and “On the Street Where You Live (4/6-9)
  •  Disney’s Aladdin — The flying carpet alone will blow your mind (4/19-30)
  • Beetlejuice — It got its pre-Broadway tryout at The National and now it’s back to stir up the oddball haunts inspired by Tim Burton’s classic (5/16-28)
  • Hadestown — Anaïs Mitchell’s musical intertwines two mythic tales, that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone, as it ventures to the underworld and back (6/6-18)

OLNEY THEATRE CENTER

2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd.
Olney, Md.
301-924-3400
www.olneytheatre.org

  • Dance Nation — Clare Barron’s explosive off-Broadway smash, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, revolves around a tweenage dance team from Liverpool, Ohio (9/28-10/30, Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab)
  • Disney’s Beauty and the Beast — A return of last winter’s hit production, featuring original cast members Jade Jones and Evan Ruggiero (11/9-1/1, Mainstage)
  • A Christmas Carol — Paul Morella’s one-man adaptation of the Dickens’ holiday classic returns (11/25-1/1, Theatre Lab)
  •  Kinky Boots — The uplifting Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit by superstar Cyndi Lauper, with a book by Harvey Fierstein (2/10-3/19, Mainstage)
  • A Nice Indian Boy — Madhuri Shekar’s play deals with the fallout from an Indian family’s gay son bringing home a white boyfriend. An inter-generational, inter-cultural comedy about acceptance (3/8-4/9, Theatre Lab)
  • And The World Goes Round — A Kander and Ebb songbook, conceived by David Thompson, Scott Ellis, and Susan Stroman, highlighting some of the duo’s greatest hits from their greatest shows, including “Maybe This Time,” New York, New York,” and “All That Jazz.” A co-production with Everyman Theatre (4/19-5/21, Mainstage)

REP STAGE

10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, Md.
443-518-1500
www.repstage.org

  • Songs for a New World — A song cycle from Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown that celebrates life, love, and the choices that we make. Directed by Joseph W. Ritsch (9/22-10/2)

RICHMOND TRIANGLE PLAYERS

1300 Altamont Ave.
Richmond, Va.
804-346-8113
www.rtriangle.org

  • The Rocky Horror Show — You can never get enough of the Time Warp, again (10/5-22)
  • Christmas on the Rocks (11/16-12/18)

ROUND HOUSE THEATRE

4545 East-West Highway
Bethesda, Md.
240-644-1100
www.roundhousetheatre.org

  • Nine Night — Family matriarch Gloria has died, and her family gathers for the traditional Jamaican Nine Night, a multi-day celebration full of food, revelry, and a nonstop parade of mourners. Natasha Gordon’s debut play explores the tensions of inhabiting two cultures and the many layers of grief (Now-10/9)
  • The Tempest — Shakespeare’s classic tale of mysticism on an island, directed by Aaron Posner and Teller. A co-production with the Folger Shakespeare Theatre (11/23-1/1)
  • On the Far End — Muscogee leader Ella Jean Hill traces her family’s history from the Trail of Tears to her grandfather’s allotment in central Oklahoma in this astonishing one-woman play (3/28-5/7)
  • Jennifer, Who is Leaving — A familiar and hilarious exploration of the expectations placed on women, the physical, mental, and emotional labor of being a caregiver, and what happens when we reach our breaking point. Written and directed by Morgan Gould (3/30-5/7)
  • Radio Golf — The final entry in August Wilson’s extraordinary play cycle chronicling 20th-century Black life in America decade-by-decade. Directed by Reginald Douglas (6/7-7/2)

SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

Sidney Harman Hall
610 F Street NW
202-547-1122
www.shakespearetheatre.org

  • The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci — Tony Award winner and MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient Mary Zimmerman brings the writings of Leonardo da Vinci to life in this stunning revival of one of her earliest creations (9/29-10/23, Klein, 450 7th St. NW)
  • Much Ado About Nothing — Shakespeare’s cherished romantic comedy lands in a cable newsroom, where sparring co-anchors Benedick and Beatrice trade barbs behind the news desk (11/10-12/11, Harman)
  • Jane Anger — It’s 1606 and Shakespeare (Michael Urie) is plagued with writer’s block. In through the window climbs Jane Anger (Amelia Workman), a Cunning Woman and a writer of her own merit with a dream to change history (12/13-1/8, Klein)
  • King Lear — Patrick Page (HadestownThe Gilded Age) returns to STC as the once-revered king caught in an emotional hurricane ravaging his home, head, and heart (2/23-3/26, Klein)
  • The Jungle — An extraordinary panorama of the people suffering, dreaming, and surviving in a camp of stateless citizens in Calais, France. A co-presentation with Woolly Mammoth (3/28-4/16, Harman)
  • Goddess — Inspired by the myth of Marimba, who created beautiful songs from her heartbreak, Goddess is a rousing tale of romance, the supernatural, and the quest of stepping into one’s true identity (5/25-6/25, Harman)

SIGNATURE THEATRE

4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, Va.
703-820-9771
www.sigtheatre.org

  • The Color Purple — A triumphant musical adaptation of the Pullitzer-winning novel of human fortitude, redemption and love, illuminating the lives of Southern Black women in breathtaking scope (Now-10/9, Max Theatre)
  • No Place to Go — Sardonic wit merges with clever jazz, blues and bluegrass music for an irreverent capitalist critique of the personal cost of doing business (Now-10/16, Ark Theatre)
  • Into the Woods — Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s sophisticated, darkly humorous musical twist on beloved childhood fables (11/8-1/29, Max)
  • Which Way to the Stage — A playful yet profound comedy about friendship, ambition, and what happens when dreams fall just out of reach (12/6-1/22, Ark)
  • Selling Kabul — A suspenseful drama about family and sacrifice from an exciting new voice (2/21-4/2, Ark)
  • Pacific Overtures — A stunning exploration of tradition and transformation based on historical events, this innovative epic of East meets West is one of Sondheim’s most ambitious and rarely produced musicals (3/7-4/9, Max)
  • Passing Strange — Music is the freight train to ride for this electrifying Tony Award-winning travelogue of identity, acceptance and love (4/25-6/18, Ark)
  • Sweeney Todd — Sondheim’s masterpiece is a savory Victorian melodrama, as a barber’s thirst for vengeance against the corrupt judge who sent him away leads him on a murderous spree (5/16-7/9, Max)

STUDIO THEATRE

1501 14th St. NW
202-332-3300
studiotheatre.org

  • Heroes of the Fourth Turning — White conservatives try to make sense of where they, and their country, stand in Will Arbery’s incisive yet personal look at the intelligence and despair of the Catholic right (9/21-10/23, Mead)
  • People, Places & Things — A theatrical tour-de-force that evokes the vivid and disorienting world of intoxication and lies. An actress in rehab decides whether to fight for her recovery and the people, places, and things she’ll face there (11/9-12/11, Victor Shargai)
  • English — A comedy of miscommunication and a look at the ways speaking a new language can expand your world and change your voice (1/11-2/12, Milton)
  • Clyde’s — Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage’s sweet and savory comedy trades in wonder, Wonder Bread, and the healing powers of food (3/1-4/2, Victor Shargai)
  • Good Bones — Pulitzer Prize-winner James Ijames explores gentrification and belonging, displacement and upward mobility, and being haunted by a legacy you’re only just beginning to understand (5/10-6/11, Milton)
  • Fun Home — The Tony Award-winning story of a daughter and father, of coming out and coming to terms with a life shaped by a family’s secret (6/24-7/19, Milton)

SYNETIC THEATER

1800 South Bell St.
Crystal City, Va.
800-494-8497
www.synetictheater.org

  • Host & Guest — A Synetic classic based on a Georgian epic poem. An ancient family takes in a lost stranger, only to discover he is from an enemy clan (Now-10/2)
  • Dracula — Bram Stoker’s classic tale rises again in Synetic’s bold and bloody adaptation of the world’s most iconic horror story (10/13-11/6)
  • Snow Maiden — A story of love, hope, and the transformative power of dreams, as a lonely man in a frozen world builds a woman from snow (12/1-23)
  • War of the Worlds — In a world premiere, Synetic Theater brings its stunning and immersive style to H.G. Wells’ renowned novel of devastation and faith in the midst of catastrophe (3/1-28)

THEATER J

1529 16th St. NW
202-777-3210
www.theaterj.org

  • Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story — Sex, religion, and refugees feature in this funny and edgy love story interwoven with a high-energy klezmer concert (Now-9/25)
  • Intimate Apparel — A moving portrait of love, resilience and the triumph of the human spirit. An African American lingerie seamstress gains intimate looks into the love lives of her clients, but yearns for a romance of her own (10/19-11/13)
  • The Pianist of Willesden Lane — The true and inspiring story of Lisa Jura, a young Jewish pianist whose dream of making her concert debut is dashed by the onset of World War II. Starring pianist Mona Golabek (12/6-18)
  • Two Jews Walk Into a War… — Ishaq and Zeblyan are the last remaining Jews in Afghanistan and they share the only remaining synagogue that has not been destroyed by the Taliban. Part The Odd Couple and part Waiting for Godot, Seth Rozin’s play is a ripped-from-the-headlines, modern day vaudeville full of schtick, sorrow, and survival. Directed by Adam Immerwahr (1/11-2/5)
  • Gloria: A Life — Holly Twyford directs Emily Mann’s celebration of Gloria Steinem (3/8-4/2)
  • One Jewish Boy — In this bittersweet, sophisticated and quick-fire new British comedy about antisemitism, Jesse, a nice Jewish boy, falls in love with Alex, a nice mixed-race girl. The play received a massive antisemitic response when the UK production opened in 2018 — posters were defaced, and playwright Stephen Laughton received death threats (6/7-7/2)

WASHINGTON STAGE GUILD

900 Massachusetts Ave. NW
240-582-0050
www.stageguild.org

  • The Good Doctor — Chekhov’s short stories, by turns hilarious and touching, adapted for stage by Neil Simon (9/29-10/23)
  • Major Barbara — The arms trade and the Salvation Army collide in George Bernard Shaw’s play about faith, morality, and family battles (11/14-12/11)
  • Endgame — A quartet of characters inhabit a nearly empty room, seemingly surrounded by nothing, in Samuel Beckett’s profound and eerie masterpiece (1/26-2/19)
  • Ben Butler — When a runaway slave makes an eloquent plea for sanctuary in not-yet-seceded Virginia, whose laws must a Union general follow? (3/23-4/16)

WOOLLY MAMMOTH

641 D St. NW
202-393-3939
www.woollymammoth.net

  • Ain’t No Mo’ — Jordan E. Cooper’s vibrant, no-holds-barred comedy examines the lives of Black Americans in the aftermath of the election of a Black president — and hurtling toward the point of no return. A co-production with Baltimore’s Center Stage (Now-10/9)
  • Is This A Room — Tina Satter’s play recounts the true story of Reality Winner, accused by the FBI of leaking evidence of Russia’s election interference. Using actual FBI transcripts, Winner’s witty exchanges under interrogation come to life in this gripping drama (11/30-12/23)
  • Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner — After Cleo calls out white women who co-opt and profit from Black culture, online discourse spills into reality, blurring the tenuous lines between internet personas and real life (2/4-2/26)
  • The Jungle — An extraordinary panorama of the people suffering, dreaming, and surviving in a camp of stateless citizens in Calais, France. A co-presentation with Shakespeare Theatre (3/28-4/16)
  • The Nosebleed — Aya Ogawa’s absurd autobiographical vignettes delve into the sh*tshow of parenthood, as both parent and child, and what it takes to forgive (3/31-4/23)
  • Incendiary — Tanya is a Black mother determined to break her son out of prison — or die trying. A collision of the hilarious and tragic, harnessing comic books and video games to explore generational trauma and daring heroism (5/29-6/25)

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