It may feel as though the theater season is winding down, but there are still plenty of great shows to come from all the major houses. Highlights include what is perhaps the funniest play Christopher Durang has ever written, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, at Arena Stage, Aaron Posner’s take on Tom Stoppard’s absurdist comedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Folger, and a return of The Book of Mormon to the Kennedy Center. Speaking of musicals, The Shakespeare has a significant new mounting of Man of La Mancha, Signature welcomes everyone to the Cabaret, and Studio thoroughly lampoons Silence of the Lambs with the musical Silence! Chianti, anyone?
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — A modern take on the L. Frank Baum classic, adapted by Jacqueline E. Lawton and starring Paige Hernandez(4/3-5/25)
Garfield, the Musical with Catitude — The sarcastic, tubby cat is brought to life in a book by its creator, cartoonist Jim Davis, and Michael J. Bobbit (6/19-8/23)
Oliver! — The bittersweet Lionel Bart musical, based on the Dickens novel, about the porridge-demanding orphan. Directed by Joseph Ritsch and starring Felicia Curry and Rick Hammerly. More, please? (7/24-8/16)
AMERICAN CENTURY THEATER
Gunston Theater II 2700 South Lang St. Arlington, Va. 703-998-4555 americancentury.org
Twelve Angry Men — In 1994, Reginald Rose’s jury drama was the very first TACT show. It will also serve as its very last (7/17-8/8)
The Originalist — Molly Smith directs this World Premiere drama by John Strand, starring Ed Gero as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (3/6-4/26, Kogod Cradle)
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike — The brilliantly funny, Tony Award-winning comedy by Christopher Durang turns Chekhov on his ear. Directed by Aaron Posner (4/3-5/3, Fichhandler)
The Blood Quilt — Four disconnected sisters reunite to create a family quilt honoring their recently deceased mother in this World Premiere by Katori Hall (4/24-6/7, Kreeger)
Arden of Faversham — Brave Spirits Theatre presents this riff on Elizabethan plays, incorporating actual Shakespearean passages, as a housewife plots to murder her husband(4/2-4/18)
Happiness (and other reasons to die) — A suicide pact is thrown into chaos when one of its members offs themselves ahead of schedule. Presented by The Welders (5/27-6/13)
Sweeney Todd: Prog Metal Version — Landless Theatre revives its unusual take on the Sondheim classic (7/9-8/2)
CENTER STAGE
700 N. Calvert St. Baltimore, Md. 410-332-0033 centerstage.org
4000 Miles — A grandmother and grandson bond in this Amy Herzog drama (4/1-5/24)
Marley — A World Premiere Musical based on the life and music of Bob Marley (5/6-6/14)
Freedom’s Song: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War — An epic, concert-style musical featuring the words of Abraham Lincoln and music inspired by those who lived through the Civil War. Directed Jeff Calhoun (3/13-5/16)
FORUM THEATRE
Round House Silver Spring 8641 Coleville Road Silver Spring, Md. 240-644-1390 forumtd.org
Mariela in the Desert — A examination of what happens to a family when creativity is forced to dry and wither away by Karen Zacarías. Directed by Abel Lopez (4/16-5/10)
Las Polacas: The Polish Girls of Buenos Aires — The dreams, losses, and struggles of Polish-Jewish women who were lured into prostitution in Argentina by an international slave trading organization in the early 1900s. By Patricia Suárez Cohen, with music by Mariano Vales (6/4-6/28)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof — To open its 18th season and christen the space it now calls its permanent home, Keegan Theatre revives the show that started it all for them (June)
Dogfight — A musical based on the 1991 Warner Bros. film, featuring lyrics and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (August)
The Book of Mormon — The hit musical from the creators of South Park makes another pass, for a solid two-month run. (6/16-8/16, Opera House)
Once — Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Once features an ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments onstage, and tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who’s about to give up when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs (7/7-8/16, Eisenhower)
METRO STAGE
1201 North Royal St. Alexandria, Va.\ 703-548-9044 metrostage.org
Dame Edna: The Final Farewell Tour — So long as it’s fond (4/21-4/26)
Disney’s Newsies — A band of underdogs who become unlikely heroes when they stand up to the most powerful men in New York. Score by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman, book by Harvey Fierstein (6/9-6/21)
OLNEY THEATRE CENTER
2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road Olney, Md. 301-924-3400 olneytheatre.org
Carousel — The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic about a carnival barker who attempts to set things right in his life (4/15-5/10, Mainstage)
The Price — In this Arthur Miller classic, two estranged brothers reunite to dispose of their late father’s belongings (5/13-6/21, Theatre Lab)
The Producers — The zany Mel Brooks musical, based on the zany Mel Brooks film (6/24-7/26, Mainstage)
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia, Md. 443-518-1500 repstage.org
Sunset Baby — In Dominique Morriseau’s drama, a former black revolutionary and political prisoner decides to reunite with his daughter and discovers that fatherhood is the most challenging revolution of all. Directed by Joseph Ritsch (4/29-5/17)
The Norwegians — C. Denby Swanson’s bitter comedy about women scorned in Minnesota who hire Norwegian hit men to kill their ex-boyfriends stars Brian Hemmingsen and Nanna Ingvarsson. Directed by Robert McNamara (Anacostia Playhouse, now-4/19)
SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY
Harman Center for the Arts 610 F St. NW Lansburgh Theatre 450 7th St. NW 202-547-1122 shakespearetheatre.org
Man of LaMancha — As Miguel de Cervantes presents his tale of knight errant Don Quixote, his journey comes alive in a play-within-the-play in this timeless musical, starring opera singer Anthony Warlow in the title role and directed by Alan Paul (3/17-4/26, Harman Hall)
Soon — Matthew Gardiner directs this World Premiere musical by Nick Blaemire (3/10-4/26, Ark)
Simply Sondheim — An original tribute celebrating Stephen Sondheim and Signature Theatre’s special partnership over the last 25 years, directed by Eric Schaeffer (4/2-4/19)
Cabaret — Matthew Gardiner directs one of Broadway’s most electrifying treasures, featuring Wesley Taylor as the Emcee (5/12-6/28, Max)
Laugh — A World Premiere of Beth Henley’s newest play, a slapstick comedy of mishaps and moxie (3/11-4/19)
Jumpers for Goalposts — Set in a Yorkshire fishing city, Tom Wells’ play about romance, resilience, taking chances, and moving on makes its stateside debut (5/13-6/21)
Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love — Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are Grace’s only friends, and she’s just market research for them in this comedy directed by Holly Twyford (6/3-6/21, 2ndstage)
Silence! The Musical — A musical spoof based on the 1991 Oscar-winning thriller, The Silence of the Lambs (7-8/9, 2ndStage)
A Tale of Two Cities — The Everett Quinton revamp — emphasis on vamp — of the Dicken’s classic. Directed by Serge Seiden and starring Alex Mills (5/13-6/21)
G-d’s Honest Truth — Rene Calarco’s comedy asks how far we would go to believe a story that’s too good to be true (3/18-4/19)
The Call — When Annie and Peter decide to adopt, they set their sights on a child from Africa in this drama directed by Jennifer Nelson (5/6-5/31, Atlas)
The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife — Charles Busch’s raucous comedy (6/3-7/5)
Light Rises on Grace — Chad Beckim’s play is an examination of race, sexuality, and family as unconventional as the relationships it depicts (3/30-4/26)
The Totalitarians — Howard Shalwitz directs Robert O’Hara’s warped sci-fi thriller about a zombie attack in 2063. Featuring the first openly gay President of the United States!(5/25-6/21)
Modi Rosenfeld, better known as simply the mono-monikered Modi, does not consider himself political. Primarily, he's Jewish. Then gay. His role as a comedian is near the top. But political?
"100 percent not," Modi insists. "Not at all."
Still, the Israel-born, Long Island-raised Modi knows his way around a political arena. His turn at roasting the famous in the service of Commentary magazine is testament. During the Donald Trump administration, the guest of honor was former senator Joe Lieberman. The best line, however, was aimed at one of Lieberman's senatorial siblings, in that period of Senate confirmation hearings for Trump's raft of Supreme Court nominations.
"Voiceover work is difficult," declares Tobias A. Young, with a knowing grin. The award-winning actor is currently giving his voice a fierce workout performing the role of the singing, extraterrestrial carnivorous plant Audrey II in Ford's lively Little Shop of Horrors.
"I definitely went into this process thinking, 'Oh baby, I'll just be backstage singing a song, and it'll be a good old time,'" says Young, who performs from a booth offstage. "And that's not the case. It takes a lot of work."
It also takes a lot of puppets to bring Audrey II to life onstage, as the plant grows to gigantic proportions throughout the show. While cast members Ryan Sellers and Jay Frisby manipulate Audrey II's gaping trap and grasping tendrils, it's Young's voice that gives the monstrous plant, created by Monkey Boys Productions, its killer character.
In a genius move at the behest of both director Simon Godwin and Ralph Fiennes, the drama of the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Macbeth starts long before the action. A first view of the production's Brentwood venue -- a giant warehouse with an imposing "M" over its gaping maw and a few huge satellite dishes aimed at the heavens -- and you know you're not in Kansas anymore.
This cleverly portentous vibe continues inside with a vast and gloomy space cut by thick, black draping, and a floor marked by signature projections. Even the (gasp) army of Portaloos manage some mystery behind their billowy shroud. As curtain time nears, a fog rolls into the dimly lit bar, and the trendy cocktail score is replaced by an ominous wartime soundscape heralding the coming concept: a Macbeth set in some parallel universe of the here and now.
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