D.C.
(Maryland / Virginia)

A NIGHT OF MUSIC, MEMORY, AND MADNESS: PARADISE FOUND The Studio Theatre’s Victor Shargai stage has been strikingly transformed into a 1949 jazz club for Paradise Blue, Dominique Morisseau’s haunting and lyrical drama. Director Raymond O. Caldwell’s bold concept places the audience right inside the Paradise Jazz Club of Black Bottom, Detroit — immersing us…

KING JAMES SCORES BIG AT ROUND HOUSE THEATRE Rajiv Joseph’s King James—which opened last night at Round House Theatre—isn’t a revival of the 1611 Bible translation, but a contemporary comedy named for a different kind of king: LeBron James. Structuring the play like a basketball game in four quarters, Joseph uses the rise and fall…

A WORLDPRIDE CELEBRATION OF QUEER IDENTITY, DISCO, AND SHAKESPEAREAN DELIGHT Folger Theatre’s 2025 production of Twelfth Night, directed by Mei Ann Teo, is a visually sumptuous, sonically electric, and emotionally resonant reimagining of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy. Framed through the lens of WorldPride and running through June 22, this staging boldly transforms the shipwrecked romances and mistaken…

NOT THE MONSTER YOU EXPECT: VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN IS THE VILLAIN Based on Mary Shelley’s iconic novel, a bold retelling of Frankenstein opened last night at STC’s Klein Theater in Washington D.C. It’s not the story you might expect — and in this case, that’s a good thing. This ambitious adaptation by Emily Burns refreshes the…

THREE HOURS IN THE CHURCH OF QUEER LOVE: A COMPLICATED DANCE AT ARENA STAGE Tarell Alvin McCraney (Oscar winner for Moonlight) returns to the stage with We Are Gathered, a lyrical and immersive exploration of love, commitment, and the weight of legacy. Directed by Kent Gash at Arena Stage, attending the play feels like an…

Upon entering the Ark Theater, one is immediately transported to a grungy, offbeat club where Hedwig and her band, The Angry Inch, are about to take the stage. Richie Ouellette’s set design leans into the grit and rawness of the story — with dismembered mannequin body parts strewn about, it evokes a world held together…

BAD BOOKS IS GOOD NEWS Nothing beats the thrill of watching great performers bring a playscript to life, moment to moment, right before your eyes, sharing their space as they breathe the same air you are breathing into their lines. The good news is that Bad Books at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, MD, is fueled…

A BEAUTIFULLY SHABBY, STARKLY HUMAN TRIUMPH From the moment the house opens, Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Uncle Vanya, directed by Simon Godwin and starring Hugh Bonneville, signals that this is no ordinary Chekhov. The “pre-show” is a quietly brilliant touch: actors drift onstage, greet the audience, lace up their boots, and half-slip into character as if the…

HAUNTING, URGENT, AND SPEAKS VOLUMES Priyanka Shetty’s #Charlottesville, currently running at the Keegan Theatre, is a searing and deeply personal exploration of one of the darkest moments in recent American history—the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. More than a mere recounting of the events, the production offers a visceral and emotionally charged portrait…

BENEATH THE SCHMALTZ IS A JOYFUL NOISE Fun, uplifting, and yes, frivolous, Sister Act is a musical remake of the famously successful 1992 hit movie starring Whoopi Goldberg. The historic Ford’s Theater, which also houses a museum based on Abraham Lincoln’s legacy, is a tourist destination and is known for producing non-controversial shows for the…

FORBIDDEN LOVE AND THE GILDED AGE GLOW IN ARENA’S DAZZLING PRODUCTION, BUT THE AGE OF INNOCENCE LINGERS Playwright Karen Zacarías (Destiny of Desire which premiered at Arena in 2015, Native Gardens) breathes new life into Edith Wharton’s 1920 classic The Age of Innocence, blending period drama with sharp social commentary. Set in Gilded Age New…

MORE THAN JUST A REVIVAL, THIS INTIMATE IN THE HEIGHTS IS A JOYFUL TRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY AND DREAMS Before Hamilton changed the face of Broadway, there was In the Heights—Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first revolution. Bursting onto the scene in 2008, it infused hip-hop, salsa, merengue, Broadway, and street-smart storytelling into a genre that never saw it…

URINE LUCK WITH THIS NUMBER ONE MUSICAL Sarah Silverman’s The Bedwetter splashes onto Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater with a gleeful irreverence that belies its emotional depth. Adapted from Silverman’s 2010 memoir, this musical—co-written with Joshua Harmon, with music by the late Adam Schlesinger—turns childhood mortification (incontinence, self-acceptance, and family dysfunction) into comedy gold. Under Anne…