1ST STAGE

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

• Betrayal — Harold Pinter turns a seven-year affair inside out, beginning with its aftermath and moving backward to its tentative start. As Emma, her husband Robert, and his best friend Jerry revisit the lies binding them together, what remains unspoken proves as revealing as what is confessed. Directed by Alex Levy (10/8-10/25)
• The Tall Girls — In a Dust Bowl town emptied of men and opportunity, a newly arrived teacher introduces a group of high school girls to basketball. Meg Miroshnik’s Depression-era drama follows the team as the game offers a taste of freedom — and exposes how little freedom young women are actually allowed. Directed by Madeleine Regina (12/3-12/20)
• The Travelers — At a California monastery surrounded by migrant-worker communities, aging monks shelter a wounded stranger while facing the loss of their church funding. Luis Alfaro’s funny, humane drama sets faith and duty against the practical question of how to keep a vanishing community alive. Directed by José Carrasquillo (2/11-2/28)

THE ALDEN THEATRE

1234 Ingleside Ave.
McLean, Va.
703-790-0123
mcleancenter.org

• The Addams Family — McLean Community Players stages the macabre musical comedy, in which Wednesday Addams falls for a thoroughly “normal” young man, throwing both of their families into chaos (10/9-10/18)
• Treasure Island Reimagined: Jane Hawkins and the Pirate’s Gold — Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure becomes a live-action graphic novel, with three performers supplying the characters’ voices and sound effects as more than 1,200 illustrations follow 12-year-old Jane Hawkins into a world of pirates, skeletons, and buried treasure (10/13)
• Rotten Apples — The Alden’s professionally produced youth staging of Tracy Wells’ mystery brings together beloved storybook characters and several familiar villains (3/13-3/14)

ARENA STAGE

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

• The Fruits of Our Labor — Step Afrika! marks America’s 250th anniversary with a world premiere combining stepping, percussion, and vivid visual imagery. The new work examines patriotism, resilience, and the unfinished struggle to define the American experience (Now-11/1, Fichandler)
• Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? — Drawn entirely from original transcripts, Eric Bentley’s docudrama revisits the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings that forced prominent artists to choose between their principles, their careers, and their colleagues. Featuring the testimony of Arthur Miller, Paul Robeson, Lillian Hellman, Elia Kazan, and others. Directed by Anna D. Shapiro (10/17-12/6, Kreeger)
• Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show — DJ Nutcracker and his Arctic friends return for a spirited seasonal celebration filled with high-energy stepping, music, dancing, and family-friendly fun (12/4-12/23, Fichandler)
• Prima Facie — Tessa is a formidable criminal defense attorney who has built her career representing men accused of sexual assault. After finding herself on the other side of the legal system, she is forced to reconsider everything she believed about evidence, truth, and justice. Suzie Miller’s acclaimed one-woman drama receives its first U.S. regional production (1/8-3/7, Kogod Cradle)
• Purpose — The Jaspers are a formidable Black political dynasty of civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen. When the family’s youngest son arrives home with an unexpected guest, simmering resentments and buried secrets threaten its carefully maintained legacy. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ family drama won both the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize (3/12-5/2, Fichandler)

AVANT BARD

2700 S. Lang Street
Arlington, Va.
703-418-4808
avantbard.org

• Ronald Reagan and the Ontological Paradox of Intent — Arlington playwright Shawn Northrip’s irreverent punk-rock musical uses live music, humor, and theatrical rebellion to confront the Reagan era and its continuing political legacy. A staged reading directed by Jenny Frederick (9/20, Solace Outpost Ballston)
• 11th Annual Scripts in Play Festival — Avant Bard’s free new-play laboratory returns to Arlington galleries and public spaces with Every Single Ophelia by Ryan Stevens, in which Shakespeare’s doomed heroine realizes she is a fictional character; Three Sisters by Suneeta Misra, a Chekhov-and-Austen-inspired satire set in 1970s India; and Gracie vs. the People by Shoshannah Boray, an absurdist response to Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People. Visit avantbard.org for individual dates and venues (10/2-10/18)
• Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth — Tom Stoppard pairs two ingenious plays that place Shakespeare in radically different worlds: schoolboys perform Hamlet in an invented language, while Czech actors stage Macbeth in secret under the threat of political surveillance. Together, they turn Shakespeare into a darkly funny examination of communication, censorship, and resistance (2/11-3/6, Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two)

BALTIMORE CENTER STAGE

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

• Bocking — Two children repeat something overheard at home and summon their mortified parents to the principal’s office, setting off a raunchy, farcical reckoning with respectability, desire, guilt, and shame. Preston Crowder’s world-premiere comedy throws in a preacher, a so-called gay exorcism, and a mysterious chicken named Danalana Parmesana (Now-9/13)
• Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares — Tony Award winner Benanti combines original songs with sharply observed comedy in a candid solo show about motherhood, people-pleasing, aging, and life after ingenuehood (9/18-9/26)
• Mama I’m a Big Girl Now — Original Hairspray stars Kerry Butler, Laura Bell Bundy, and Marissa Jaret Winokur reunite in Baltimore to revisit the musical that launched their careers and friendship, sharing songs and stories about Broadway, motherhood, and growing up after years of playing teenagers (10/2-10/4)
• Pete the Cat — A groovy blue cat meets Jimmy Biddle, an exceptionally organized second-grader who has drawn a blank on his final art assignment. Their search for inspiration sends the unlikely friends all the way to Paris and back in a VW bus (10/31-11/1)
• CHARMZ: The Other Reindeer — A determined reindeer who longs to shine as brightly as Rudolph discovers her own worth in a new family musical set in a Motown-inspired North Pole (11/13-12/27)
• Liberation — In 1970s Ohio, Lizzie gathers a group of women determined to change their lives and the world. Decades later, her daughter steps into the memory of their unfinished revolution to understand what freedom meant to them — and what they left unresolved. Bess Wohl’s drama won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Directed by Taibi Magar (1/16-2/7)
• Betty Buckley in Concert — The original Grizabella draws from Broadway standards, the American Songbook, and her storied career on stage and screen. Accompanied by French jazz pianist Christian Jacob (1/22-1/23)
• King Hedley II — In 1980s Pittsburgh, a man struggling to build a future in a world that has given him few chances becomes caught in the recurring cycles of survival, love, and violence. August Wilson’s rarely produced drama stars Maryland Poet Laureate Lady Brion and forms part of the citywide Baltimore August Wilson Celebration. Directed by Ken-Matt Martin (3/11-4/11)

BROADWAY AT THE NATIONAL

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

• Dirty Dancing — In the stage incarnation of the beloved 1987 film, a Catskills summer awakens Frances “Baby” Houseman to forbidden romance, social inequity, and the pulse-quickening moves of dance instructor Johnny Castle. Eleanor Bergstein adapts her original screenplay, with direction by Lonny Price and choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie (9/29-10/4)
• Maybe Happy Ending — In a near-future Seoul, two obsolete helper robots discover that being discarded might not preclude one last adventure — or even love. Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical (10/6-11)
• The Carpenters Songbook: A Live Celebration — A full band and vocalists Christina Hélène Braa and Kevin Lausche summon the soft-rock sounds of Karen and Richard Carpenter (10/17)
• Mamma Mia! — Catherine Johnson’s buoyant comedy turns ABBA’s pop catalog into a celebration of love, friendship, and chosen family (10/27-11/15)
• Hell’s Kitchen — Alicia Keys’ songs propel the coming-of-age story of Ali, a fiercely independent 17-year-old finding her voice amid the family, artists, and restless energy of 1990s Manhattan (11/24-12/6)
• Waitress — Jenna, a gifted pie maker trapped in an unhappy marriage, finds an unexpected opportunity to reignite her life. Adapted from Adrienne Shelly’s film and featuring music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles (12/8-13)
• Hamilton — Lin-Manuel Miranda’s revolutionary phenomenon returns, recounting Alexander Hamilton’s rise and ruin through a propulsive fusion of hip-hop, R&B, jazz, and traditional Broadway (12/16-2/7)
• Oh, Mary! — Cole Escola’s gleefully deranged historical comedy imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as a frustrated, hard-drinking would-be cabaret star in the weeks before her husband’s assassination. J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot, Kinky Boots) dons Mary’s hoop skirt for the national tour of the Tony-winning production, directed by Sam Pinkleton (2/9-21)
• A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical — The pop legend’s life unfolds to the soundtrack of “America,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” “Sweet Caroline,” and other hits (3/2-7)

CHESAPEAKE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

7 S. Calvert St.
Baltimore, Md.
410-244-8570
chesapeakeshakespeare.com

• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein — Shelley’s creation of her gothic masterpiece is intertwined with Victor Frankenstein’s disastrous attempt to bring the dead to life, blurring the boundaries between storyteller, scientist, and monster. Directed by Ian Gallanar (10/9-11/1)
• A Christmas Carol — Laura Rocklyn’s adaptation relocates Dickens’ ghostly tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s redemption to 19th-century Baltimore. Directed by Quāé Simpson (11/28-12/23)
• The Crucible — In 1692 Salem, rumors of witchcraft ignite mass hysteria, turning neighbors against one another as accusation becomes the surest means of survival in Arthur Miller’s scorching drama (2/12-3/7)

CHEVY CHASE PAVILION

5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW
bob-bartlett.com

• The Living Dead — Local playwright Bob Bartlett reimagines George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead against the racial and political upheaval of late-1960s America, centering Ben and Barbra in a new take on the survival story that has haunted horror fans for nearly six decades. Starring Bru Aju and Camille Pivetta. Directed by Marvin Brown (10/8-11/8)

CONSTELLATION THEATRE COMPANY

202-204-7741
constellationtheatre.org

• The Old Man and the Old Moon — When his wife follows a mysterious melody out to sea, the caretaker responsible for replenishing the moon’s light abandons his post and embarks on an epic voyage to find her. An ensemble of actor-musicians conjures towering ships, flying sharks, and an overstuffed hot-air balloon in this imaginative blend of folk-rock music and fantastical storytelling. Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman (11/19-12/13, Sprenger Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center)
• Dial M for Murder — Margot’s affair with crime novelist Maxine supplies her calculating husband with the motive for an ingeniously engineered murder. But when his supposedly perfect crime goes awry, the conspirator scrambles to turn the evidence against his intended victim. Jeffrey Hatcher’s suspenseful, queer revision of Frederick Knott’s classic thriller (2/19-3/21, The Writer’s Center)

CREATIVE CAULDRON

127 E Broad St.
Falls Church, Va.
703-436-9948
creativecauldron.org

• Monsters of the Villa Diodati — On a storm-lashed night beside Lake Geneva, Lord Byron challenges his celebrated guests to devise the perfect tale of terror. Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith’s gothic musical imagines the passions, rivalries, and private demons that helped give birth to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Polidori’s The Vampyre (10/8-11/1)
• The Emperor’s New Clothes/El Traje Nuevo del Emperador — A vain ruler and his sycophantic court insist they can see the magnificent garments fashioned by two scheming weavers — until a courageous child exposes the naked truth (11/6-22)
• Madeline’s Christmas — When Miss Clavel and her classmates fall ill on Christmas Eve, the smallest and bravest girl in their Parisian boarding school comes to the rescue with help from a magical rug merchant. Based on Ludwig Bemelmans’ book, the returning holiday musical features a book and lyrics by Jennifer Kirkeby and music by Shirley Mier (12/4-20)
• 9 to 5: The Musical — Pushed past their limits by a sexist, lecherous boss, office workers Violet, Judy, and Doralee concoct a wild plan to take control of their workplace. Based on the hit 1980 film and featuring music and lyrics by Dolly Parton (2/11-3/7)

DC THEATRE WEEK

Various Locations
theatreweek.org

Theatre Washington’s region-wide celebration offers $25, $45, and $65 tickets to more than 30 productions across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, encompassing musicals, dramas, comedies, and theater for young audiences. Free events include pop-up performances at Dulles and Reagan National airports and Make a Scene!, an outdoor musical-theater concert at the Wharf on Sept. 29 (9/24-10/11)

EVERYMAN THEATRE

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

• Kim’s Convenience — Appa, the stubborn and fiercely proud Korean immigrant behind a Toronto convenience-store counter, confronts a changing neighborhood, his children’s competing ambitions, and the uncertain future of the family business. Ins Choi’s warmhearted comedy, which inspired the Netflix series, is directed by cara hinh in a co-production with Indiana Repertory Theatre and Portland Center Stage (Now-9/27)
• Different Words for Happiness — A late-night call from a former lover forces Ava to reckon with her past and brings her into the life of Eleanor, an accomplished older woman questioning the choices that shaped her own. Katie Kleiger’s world-premiere play explores regret, forgiveness, and the elusive terms of a fulfilling life (10/18-11/15)
• Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d — A glamorous Hollywood star’s summer party brings murder to the seemingly placid village of St. Mary Mead. Miss Marple must sift through jealousies, concealed histories, and a gathering of plausible suspects before the killer strikes again. Directed by Brandon Weinbrenner (11/29-12/30)
• The Mountaintop — Hours after delivering his final speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. retires to Room 306 of Memphis’ Lorraine Motel, where an encounter with a mysterious maid turns into an intimate confrontation with mortality, unfinished work, and the man behind the monument (1/31-2/28)

EXPATS THEATRE

Atlas Arts Center
1333 H St. NE
ExPatsTheatre.com

• Coming to America: An Immigrant Cabaret — Four immigrant artists turn the challenges and absurdities of building a new life in the United States into an evening of songs, stories, humor, and satire. Created for America’s 250th anniversary, the show draws on experiences rooted in Germany, India, Peru, and Senegal to explore bureaucracy, assimilation, belonging, and the contradictions of American life. Conceived and directed by Karin Rosnizeck, and featuring work by Rosnizeck, Erick Acuna, Vidyuth Sreenivasan, and Jacqueline Youm (9/30-10/18)

FLYING V THEATRE

Silver Spring Black Box Theatre
8641 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, Md.
flyingvtheatre.com

• The Royale — In Jim Crow-era America, ambitious Black boxer Jay “The Sport” Jackson sets his sights on the reigning white heavyweight champion. Loosely inspired by barrier-breaking boxer Jack Johnson, Marco Ramirez’s rhythmic, hard-hitting drama considers the price of becoming a cultural hero when the consequences extend far beyond the ring (10/12-10/31)

FOLGER THEATRE

201 E. Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
folger.edu

• Measure for Measure — Shakespeare’s dark comedy moves to the American South of the 1950s, where a crackdown on public morality becomes cover for corruption and sexual coercion. When the sanctimonious Angelo condemns her brother to death, novice nun Isabella faces an appalling bargain for his freedom. Psalmayene 24 directs (9/22-11/1)
• Hamlet — A grieving prince searches for the truth behind his father’s death as Denmark’s royal court descends into surveillance, betrayal, madness, and revenge. Acclaimed Broadway director Kate Whoriskey makes her Folger debut (3/2-4/11)

FORD’S THEATRE

511 10th St. NW
202-347-4833
fords.org

• Come From Away — After 38 planes are diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, the small town welcomes nearly 6,600 stranded passengers with food, shelter, and friendship. Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s Tony-winning musical finds humor, humanity, and a rousing folk-rock score amid the uncertainty following the attacks. Kevin S. McAllister directs (Now-10/18)
• A Christmas Carol — Craig Wallace is back as Ebenezer Scrooge in Ford’s music-filled staging of Dickens’s enduring tale of ghosts, generosity, and second chances. Adapted by Michael Wilson and directed by Michael Baron (11/19-12/31)
• The Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions: A First Look — The fifth annual festival presents readings of developing plays that recover overlooked people and events in America’s history of civil rights, equality, and social justice. Titles and specific dates will be announced (1/2027)

GALA HISPANIC THEATRE

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

• Garbo: El actor que salvó al mundo (Garbo: The Actor Who Saved the World) — A frustrated theater dreamer becomes one of World War II’s most ingenious double agents, using performance and invention to create an elaborate deception that misleads the Nazis. Gustavo Ott’s world premiere considers art not merely as escape, but as an instrument of resistance. Directed by Carlos Celdrán. In Spanish with English surtitles. (Now-9/27)
• Pancho Villa y los niños de la bola (Pancho Villa and the Children of the Revolution) — An old man, a young man, and a child summon Pancho Villa through memory, corridos, and folklore, discovering how revolutionary history becomes myth in the telling. Directed by Mauricio Pita (10/17-10/31)
• Nueva Era: New Play Festival — GALA launches a festival of staged readings devoted to new and previously unproduced works by Latino playwrights in the United States. Presented in English and Spanish (12/11-12/13)
• Eva Luna — Born into poverty, a fearless young storyteller repeatedly reinvents herself while navigating political upheaval, unexpected love, and a world determined to dictate her fate. Caridad Svich adapts Isabel Allende’s novel for this Spanish-language production with English surtitles. Directed by José Zayas (2/4-2/28)

HAPPENSTANCE THEATER

happenstancetheater.com

• Fools Named ‘O’ & La!La! — Veteran physical comedians Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell unleash a family-friendly assortment of knockabout antics, whimsical music, and inevitable pie-related mayhem. (Now-10/25, Maryland Renaissance Festival, Crownsville, Md.)
• Death & the Fool — Tarot figures, medieval music, puppetry, and slapstick collide as a Fool confronts Death and seeks guidance from an eccentric assortment of mystics and healers (10/3-10/4 & 10/10-10/11, Maryland Renaissance Festival, Crownsville, Md.)
• Barococo — Six extravagantly costumed aristocrats cling to manners, ornamentation, and oblivious privilege as their gilded world approaches extinction (10/29-11/14, Baltimore Theatre Project)
• Juxtapose: A Theatrical Shadow Box — Four eccentric residents of a magical-realist tenement face the planet’s sixth mass extinction until a human shooting star crashes through their roof. Inspired by Joseph Cornell’s shadow boxes and the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Jacques Tati (12/20, Leila Gordon Theatre, Reston, Va.)

HIPPODROME THEATRE

France-Merrick Performing Arts Center
12 N. Eutaw St.
Baltimore, Md.
800-343-3103
baltimore.broadway.com

• Maybe Happy Ending — The Tony-winning musical launches its national tour with the story of two robots whose chance encounter sparks connection, adventure, and possibly love. Directed by Michael Arden (9/13-9/19)
• Six — The six wives of Henry VIII seize the microphone and remix five centuries of heartbreak into an irreverent pop concert celebrating their survival and resilience (10/25-11/1)
• Hell’s Kitchen — Alicia Keys’ music fuels the coming-of-age story of a rebellious 17-year-old who clashes with her protective mother and discovers a mentor through the piano (11/17-11/22)
• ‘Twas the Night Before… — Cirque du Soleil gives the familiar Christmas poem an acrobatic new spin in a family spectacle celebrating friendship and the joy of sharing (12/17-12/27)
• The Sound of Music — Maria and the von Trapp family return in a new tour of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic directed by Jack O’Brien (1/5-1/10)
• Clue — Six suspicious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for an increasingly frantic evening of murder, blackmail, and comic mayhem. Based on the 1985 film and classic board game (1/23-1/24)
• Death Becomes Her — Rival frenemies Madeline Ashton and Helen Sharp take their feud beyond the grave after drinking a mysterious potion promising eternal youth. Based on the 1992 film. Directed by Schmigadoon choreographer Christopher Gattelli (2/2-2/7)
• Hamilton — Lin-Manuel Miranda’s cultural phenomenon recounts Alexander Hamilton’s rise and turbulent legacy through a groundbreaking fusion of hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway (3/9-3/28)

IRON CROW THEATRE

Baltimore, Md.
443-637-2769
ironcrowtheatre.org

• The Rocky Horror Show — Brad and Janet’s roadside misadventure leads them into the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Nicholas Miles) in Richard O’Brien’s musically rich, gender-bending cult musical. Sean Elias directs an all-new immersive staging — complete with a live rock band, audience callouts, and prop-tossing chaos — to inaugurate Iron Crow’s new permanent home (10/16-11/7)

KEEGAN THEATRE

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

• A Beautiful Blue Morning Sky — Duane Richards II’s world-premiere song cycle revisits September 11 through chamber music, intimate vignettes, and personal moments unfolding chronologically. Proceeds benefit Northern Virginia Family Service, a local organization responsible for managing the 9/11 Pentagon attack’s primary long-term response plan, providing trauma recovery services to survivors (Now-9/13)
• Hundred Days — The Bengsons turn their own love story into an urgent folk-punk musical about mortality, uncertainty, and loving as though time were running out (10/10-11/15)
• An Irish Carol — Matthew J. Keenan’s comic, cheerfully profane spin on Dickens relocates the redemption tale to a modern Dublin pub, where a hardened owner confronts his past, present, and potentially lonely future on Christmas Eve (12/5-12/31)
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again] — Three actors tear through all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 97 minutes in Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield’s breathless, irreverent comedy (1/30-2/28)

M&T BANK EXCHANGE

France-Merrick Performing Arts Center
401 W. Fayette St.
Baltimore, Md.
mtbankexchange.com

• All Things Equal: The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg — Rupert Holmes’ one-woman play welcomes audiences into the Supreme Court justice’s chambers as she recalls the personal losses, professional obstacles, and landmark battles that shaped her life (9/16-9/19)
• Christmas with C.S. Lewis — Hosting a group of American visitors at his Oxford home on Christmas Eve, C.S. Lewis recounts how his friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien helped transform him from an atheist into one of Christianity’s most influential writers (11/28)
• Sister’s Christmas Catechism — The tart-tongued nun behind Late Nite Catechism investigates what happened to the Magi’s gold, recruiting audience members and a local choir to assemble her own living Nativity (12/19)

MOSAIC THEATER

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

• Somewhere Over the Border — Brian Quijada reframes The Wizard of Oz through the true story of his mother’s 1970s journey from El Salvador to the United States. Reina travels north while longing for the young son she left behind, propelled by a score blending cumbia, mariachi boleros, rock, and hip-hop. Raymond O. Caldwell directs (Now-10/4)
• My English Persian Kitchen — In Hannah Khalil’s one-woman play, an Iranian woman who has fled an abusive husband rebuilds her life in England and Belfast, finding comfort and connection in her mother’s recipes. Traditional ash-e-reshteh is cooked live onstage in this U.S. premiere presented in association with Solas Nua (11/12-12/6)
• Natural History — In the wildfire-ravaged America of 2169, two activist outlaws attempt to steal a taxidermied bison from the American Museum of Natural History. The world premiere of Collin Van Son’s comic caper about who controls history and what remains worth saving. Chelsea Radigan directs (1/21-2/7)

NU SASS

202-627-0558
nusass.com

• Brontë Sister House Party — Emily, Charlotte, and Anne Brontë are trapped in purgatory, condemned to host one disastrous party after another until they achieve the perfect celebration (Now-9/12, Van Ness Main Street)
• Cluelesque — The Sirens of Sin combine a musical murder mystery with their gender-inclusive brand of burlesque in the return of this bawdy whodunit (10/11 & 10/18, The Bier Baron)

OLNEY THEATRE CENTER

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

• Some Like It Hot — Two jazz musicians fleeing the mob disguise themselves as women and join an all-female band in the Tony-winning musical comedy based on the classic film. Directed by Jason Loewith (9/18-11/8, Bernard Family Theatre)
• Les Misérables — Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s sweeping epic of injustice, redemption, revolution, and love in 19th-century France based on the novel by Victor Hugo. Directed by Stephen Brackett (10/30-1/31, Roberts Mainstage)
• A Christmas Carol — A single performer conjures Scrooge, the spirits, and Dickens’ entire gallery of characters in a new adaptation of the enduring holiday ghost story (11/27-12/27, Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab)
• Crowns — After suffering a devastating loss, a Brooklyn teenager is sent south to stay with relatives and discovers strength in the stories, music, movement, and magnificent church hats of generations of Black women. Directed by Kevin S. McAllister (1/28-3/7, Bernard Family Theatre)
• Churchill — Daniel Payne portrays Winston Churchill in a solo drama written and created by his father, David Payne. Set after Churchill receives honorary American citizenship in 1963, the former prime minister looks back on his wartime leadership, personal relationships, and eventful life (2/4-3/21, Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab)

PUBLICK PLAYHOUSE

5445 Landover Rd.
Hyattsville, Md.
301-277-1710
pgparks.com/PublickPlayhouse

• Around the World — Bright Star Touring Theatre takes young audiences on an interactive trip through global cultures and folktales, including stories of Anansi and Pourquoi (10/25)
• Nuestra Navidad: La Pastorela — Corazón Folklórico DC presents the Mexican holiday tradition, following the shepherds’ journey in a colorful blend of comedy, music, folklórico dance, and the battle between good and evil (12/12)
• Barococo — Happenstance Theater’s elaborately costumed ensemble comedy sends up aristocratic excess and oblivious entitlement on the brink of extinction (2/6)

RICHMOND TRIANGLE PLAYERS

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

• BLKS — Aziza Barnes’ raucous comedy follows three queer Black women confronting sex, self-medication, and a world indifferent to their feelings (9/16-10/10)
• Georgia Rogers Farmer: FLOOZIE — RTP’s resident cabaret diva marks 15 years of songs, stories, crafts, and prizes with an all-new show (10/15-10/17)
• The Real Housewives of the North Pole — Santa and the North Pole’s other power players have been indicted for fraud, leaving their pampered wives scrambling to avoid financial ruin. Enter Andy Cohen, ready to turn their desperation into reality-TV fame in David Cerda’s holiday comedy (11/11-12/19)
• Messy White Gays — Brecken and Caden have murdered their boyfriend and stuffed his body inside a Jonathan Adler credenza. Unfortunately, brunch guests are coming and they’re out of limes. Drew Droege’s farce turns a savagely funny gaze on throuples, status, and affluent white gay dysfunction (2/10-3/6)

RORSCHACH THEATRE

202-399-7993 x180
rorschachtheatre.com

Rorschach Theatre had yet to reveal its new season, but has announced plans for a full production in October and November, followed by another in April and May, as well as a new multi-chapter Psychogeographies project.

ROUND HOUSE THEATRE

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

• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom — August Wilson’s drama follows the trailblazing blues singer and her band through a tense 1920s Chicago recording session, where conflicts over music, money, race, and control build toward tragedy. Directed by Lili-Anne Brown. Co-produced with Olney Theatre Center (Now-10/11)
• Cult of Love — Four adult siblings bring their partners, secrets, resentments, and clashing beliefs home for Christmas Eve in Leslye Headland’s darkly funny, music-filled family drama. Directed by Ryan Rilette (11/18-12/27)
• Chinese Republicans — A group of Chinese American women in corporate finance trade strategies for success and survival at their monthly lunch — until the youngest among them begins questioning the personal cost of climbing the ladder. Alex Lin’s comedy examines ambition, assimilation, and the compromises demanded of women of color. Directed by Desdemona Chiang (1/27-2/21)

SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

Sidney Harman Hall
610 F St. NW
Klein Theatre
450 7th Street NW
202-547-1122
shakespearetheatre.org

• The Score — Brian Cox stars as Johann Sebastian Bach in Oliver Cotton’s drama, set in 1747, as the reluctant composer visits the court of Frederick II and receives a musical challenge that tests his willingness to accommodate power. Trevor Nunn directs the production’s only American engagement (Now-10/25, Harman Hall)
• Frida…A Self Portrait — On the eve of Frida Kahlo’s death, writer and performer Vanessa Severo embodies the celebrated Mexican painter in a solo work confronting the pain and passion of her extraordinary life. Directed by Joanie Schultz (10/8-11/8, Klein Theatre)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream — Four young lovers wander into a fairy-ruled forest, a love potion runs amok, and an amateur actor acquires a donkey’s head in Shakespeare’s enchanted comedy. Directed by Simon Godwin, with puppets designed and directed by the incomparable Basil Twist (12/4-1/10, Harman Hall)
• A Raisin in the Sun — After a life-insurance check arrives, a family must decide whether it can fund a shared future or expose the competing dreams already straining their South Side Chicago home in Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark drama. Produced in association with Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Directed by Tim Bond (1/23-2/28, Klein Theatre)

SIGNATURE THEATRE

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

• Merrily We Roll Along — Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical rewinds twenty years in the lives of three longtime friends, moving from the disappointments of adulthood back to the optimism of their youth. Directed by Matthew Gardiner (Now-11/1, The MAX)
• Something Wonderful: Broadway’s Leading Ladies — Tracy Lynn Olivera salutes Golden Age stars including Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, Mary Martin, Barbara Cook, and Judy Holliday in a cabaret featuring classics such as “Till There Was You,” “I Have Confidence,” and “The Party’s Over.” (Now-9/20, The ARK)
• All the World’s a Stage — In Adam Gwon’s musical, a closeted high school math teacher mentors a student for a theater competition in 1996. Their exploration of Angels in America alarms their small town and places both outsiders in the path of mounting intolerance. Directed by Matthew Gardiner (10/20-12/20, The ARK)
• The Secret Garden — After losing her parents, 11-year-old Mary is sent to live with a reclusive uncle on the English moors, where she uncovers a dormant garden whose restoration begins emotionally transforming the household in Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman’s Tony-winning musical. Directed by Ethan Heard (12/8-2/21, The MAX)
• The Monsters — A mixed martial artist reunites with his younger sister and begins training her to fight, only to find their relationship changing as her abilities and ideas about the sport develop. Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene (2/2-3/21, The ARK)

SOLAS NUA

765-276-8201
solasnua.org

• Crocodile Fever — A free reading of Meghan Tyler’s grotesque black comedy reunites two estranged sisters in 1989 Northern Ireland, where they confront their tyrannical father’s legacy with the aid of gin, ’80s music, and a chainsaw. Directed by Jeda de Bri (10/17, Atlas Performing Arts Center)

SPOOKY ACTION THEATER

1810 16th St. NW

202-248-0301

spookyaction.org

• Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights — A tyrant takes a new bride each day and kills her by morning, leaving five women awaiting their turn. In Hannah Khalil’s feminist reimagining of The Arabian Nights, the brides wield funny, bawdy, and defiant stories in a fight to save themselves and one another. Directed by Mekala Sridhar. Presented in association with Solas Nua (9/24-10/18)

STRAND THEATER

5426 Harford Rd.
Baltimore, Md.
443-874-4917
strand-theater.org

• Blood of the Lamb — Rapid Lemon Productions presents Arlene Hutton’s drama about a pregnant traveler detained at a Texas airport, where a court-appointed attorney has been assigned to represent her fetus — even though the baby has died and the woman’s life is in danger. Directed by Jalice Ortiz-Corral (Now-9/13)
• Mary: Before the Word Became Flesh — A newly conceived work directed by Sandra L. Holloway and e’-Marcus Harper-Short, with choreography by Holloway (12/4-12/20)
• Patterns and Petunias — A play by Cat Chupein, directed by Lee Conderacci (3/5-3/21)

STUDIO THEATRE

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

• Wish You Were Here — In 1978 Karaj, five friends celebrate one woman’s impending marriage. Over the next decade, the Iranian Revolution transforms their country and splinters the lives they imagined together. Sanaz Toossi’s drama considers diaspora through the women who leave and those who remain. Directed by Sivan Battat (9/23-11/1, Mead Theatre)
• Handle with Care — Belgian collective Ontroerend Goed eliminates actors and technicians, leaving the audience with a box of objects, questions, and instructions for creating a performance that can happen only once (10/14-10/25, Stage 4)
• Wilderness Generation — Four cousins return to their grandmother’s Tidewater Virginia home to pack it up. Over a weekend of board games, private jokes, and revelations, James Ijames’ comedy examines family legacy and the difference between preserving the past and making room for something new. Directed by Taibi Magar (11/18-1/3, Victor Shargai Theatre)
• We Had a World — A dying grandmother asks her playwright grandson to turn their volatile family history into a play and spare no one. Joshua Harmon trains his comic eye on mothers and daughters, addiction, inherited cruelty, and enduring love. Directed by Jess Chayes (1/13-2/21, Milton Theatre)

SYNETIC THEATER

125 S. Old Glebe Rd.
Arlington, Va.
703-824-8060, x117
synetictheater.org

• Sleepy Hollow — Synetic resurrects its wordless, movement-driven take on Washington Irving’s ghost story, plunging Ichabod Crane into a surreal world of gothic dread, American folklore, and the Headless Horseman. Adapted by Nathan Weinberger. Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili and directed by Paata Tsikurishvili (10/7-11/1, Olney Theatre Center; 11/6-11/22, Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre)
• Snow Maiden — The company’s 45-minute, family-friendly fairy tale returns for the holidays, spinning a wintry story of magic and friendship through Synetic’s signature physical storytelling (12/4-12/20, Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre)

THEATER ALLIANCE

340 Maple Dr. SW
202-241-2539
theateralliance.org

• Cold War Choir Practice — In 1987, ten-year-old Meek wants a nuclear radiation detector for Christmas. Her father, a former Black Panther, runs a roller disco; her uncle works for the Reagan administration; and a peace choir has developed a nationalist streak. Ro Reddick’s Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning play-with-music follows a Black girl coming of age amid Cold War panic, family secrets, and 13 original songs. Directed by Tom Story (11/19-12/13)
• Fool for Love — Sam Shepard’s volatile drama is reimagined through the lens of the Black experience, with Renea S. Brown and Yao Dogbe as former lovers Eddie and May, whose obsessive reunion exposes a family secret that makes their bond even more dangerous. Directed by Shanara Gabrielle (2/11-3/7)

THEATER J

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

• The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk — Before Marc and Bella Chagall found fame, they were two young dreamers whose love sustained them through revolution and upheaval. Daniel Jamieson’s play draws on music, movement, and theatrical invention to evoke the painter’s vividly imagined world. Music by Ian Ross and Sarah O’Halloran. Directed by Hayley Finn (10/7-11/1)
• Tropical Secrets — Fleeing Nazi Germany, a young Jewish refugee arrives in Havana and befriends a Cuban girl carrying painful secrets of her own. LM Feldman’s adaptation of Margarita Engle’s novel follows the two children as they confront borders, violence, and family separation while trying to help others escape. Directed by Elena Velasco (12/2-12/27)
• Avaaz — Writer-performer Michael Shayan transforms into his mother, Roya, as she hosts a Nowruz dinner and recounts her life as a Jewish woman in Iran, a Persian immigrant in America, and the single mother of a queer son. Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel (1/27-2/14)

THEATRE PROJECT

45 W. Preston St.
Baltimore, Md.
410-752-8558
theatreproject.org

• Titus/Meat Loaf — Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy collides with Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell albums in Motte & Bailey’s campy gothic-rock revenge spectacle, performed with a live band and copious stage blood (10/2-10/10)
• Alone: Tales from Edgar Allan Poe — Daniel Hall Kuhn conjures Poe’s macabre world through “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,” and other poems and stories (10/14-10/18)
• Everything Is OK — In a concert reading of Melissa Sharlat and Rich Espey’s rock musical, a singer-songwriter begins recognizing her charismatic partner’s narcissistic abuse and finds a path toward healing (11/15)
• Drowning and ‘Til Death Do Us Part — New Renaissance Performing Arts Company presents two related works about families confronting pregnancy loss, a father’s grief, uterine fibroids, and the struggle to rebuild a sense of self (12/5)
• Dickens — A One Man Christmas Carol! — Adapter and performer Jimi Kinstle embodies 18 characters in a one-hour retelling of Dickens’ holiday classic (12/8-12/9)
• Out With It — Claire Saxe blends clowning, movement, and found-object puppetry as a fastidious clown confronts the chaos of holding things in and letting them go (12/11-12/13)
• Requiem for a Piano: A Theatrical Autopsy — Happenstance Theater and artist Kristin Putchinski dismantle an unusable piano and transform its remains into a theatrical wake exploring the instrument’s history, music, and emotional associations (3/5-3/21)

THEATRE PROMETHEUS

MoCo Cultural Arts Center
7995 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, Md.
theatreprometheus.org

• Where Dead Women Go to Dance — In Stephen Spotswood’s world-premiere play, Kim uses an old family recipe to resurrect her dead best friend, only to discover that bringing her back is easier than giving her a reason to keep living. Directed by Lauren Patton Villegas (9/25-10/17)

TOBY’S DINNER THEATRE

5900 Symphony Woods Rd.
Columbia, Md.
410-730-8311
tobysdinnertheatre.com

• Summer: The Donna Summer Musical — A jukebox bio-musical traces Summer’s rise from a Boston gospel choir to disco superstardom, powered by more than 20 hits, including “Love to Love You Baby,” “Bad Girls,” “Hot Stuff,” and “Last Dance” (Now-11/1)
• White Christmas — Two World War II veterans turned song-and-dance partners follow a sister act to Vermont, where they mount a holiday spectacular to rescue their former commander’s struggling inn. Irving Berlin’s score includes “Blue Skies,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,” and the title song (11/6-1/10)

WASHINGTON STAGE GUILD

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

• Legend of Sleepy Hollow — John Minigan’s one-actor adaptation ushers audiences into an abandoned tavern for Washington Irving’s tale of overconfident schoolmaster Ichabod Crane and his fateful encounter with the Headless Horseman (9/24-10/18)
• The Last Victorian — Two unsuccessful British antique dealers, partners in business and life, unexpectedly inherit the world’s oldest person and set out to profit from her. But questions about the mysterious woman’s age and origins soon turn the couple against each other in JB Miller’s world-premiere comedy. Directed by Laura Giannarelli (11/19-12/13)
• Crime and Punishment — Three actors perform Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus’s lean, 90-minute adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s novel, tracing Raskolnikov’s journey from intellectual arrogance and murder toward guilt, punishment, and the possibility of redemption (1/28-2/21)

WOOLLY MAMMOTH

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

• Venus — Nicole likes order, clear boundaries, and easy exits. Beth operates on instinct, arrives uninvited, and sweeps Nicole into a midnight date beneath the stars. Their intoxicating collision turns sinister as romance gives way to obsession and both women are haunted by a figure in a red raincoat. Directed by Reggie D. White (Now-10/4)
• Dead Inside — Riki Lindhome returns with a darkly funny musical account of her real-life fertility journey, confronting hormone shots, invasive tests, repeated disappointment, and the expectation that women endure it all with a smile. The limited engagement will be filmed on October 16 and 17 for a new comedy special. Directed by Brian McElhaney (10/13-10/18)
• Hanukkah Spectacular — Four Jewish artists spend a pressure-filled weekend inside a Midtown talent agency trying to manufacture a commercially successful Hanukkah play. What begins as a rehearsal comedy veers into a reckoning with family history, artistic compromise, and collective trauma (11/14-12/13)
• Ten Grand — Employees and customers at a Boston-area Goodwill form alliances, rivalries, and tentative romances among the discarded merchandise. When an unexpected object appears in the donation bin, their ordinary workplace tensions acquire life-or-death stakes in Kate Cortesi’s play about overlooked people and community care. Directed by Reggie D. White (2/1-2/28)