Onstage, Georgetown: February
By • January 28, 2026 0 109
It’s Valentine’s month, time to take that special someone out for dinner, flowers, chocolates and how about a night of theater? There’s a lot of great work happening on DMV stages. You’re bound to earn points with your main squeeze—or even a first date—by popping for a pair of tickets to one of these fine productions:
Paranormal Activity
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Now through Feb 7
The terrifying film franchise of the same name spawned this onstage thriller, a shared production between prestigious theaters in Los Angeles, Chicago and now Washington, DC. Be prepared to be scared. Tickets at http://www.shakespearetheatrecompany.org.
Dracula..A Comedy of Terrors
Now through Feb 15
Atlas Performing Arts Center
Bram Stoker’s vampire tale morphs into outrageous new life as a madcap comedy full of camp, lusty encounters and outre spectacle. Five actors shapeshift thru multiple roles, transforming this tale of Gothic horror into a feast of physical comedy and unhinged seduction, carried off as only the folks at Constellation Theatre can do. Tickets at www.constellationtheatre.org.
Balloonacy
Imagination Stage
Now through Feb 15
The 1956 French cinema classic The Red Ballon inspired this sweetly funny piece of clownery starring Matthew Pauli with accordion accompaniment by Tori Boutin. Gone is the little boy following his red balloon around Paris. Now he’s a befuddled big lunk of a guy, navigating his lonesome apartment just ahead of that interloping scarlet sphere, artfully operated by puppeteer Enzo Leone. At about forty minutes, the show runs just the right amount of time to keep the kiddies engaged—and by that I mean yelling to the poor guy onstage to watch out for that balloon. If my three year old grandson is any indication, it’s a great way to start a life of theatergoing. Tickets at www.imaginationstage.org.
Octet
Studio Theatre
Now through Feb 22
From Dave Malloy, the inventive creator of the Broadway confection “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of1812,” comes this chamber musical about eight people who meet in a church basement. Deprived of their cellphones and other digital devices, the group bond over their struggles with digital dependency, charting their compulsions using only the analog vibrancy of their voices. In the process, they Octet face the many ways we escape into our screens and how to be present with each other. Tickets at www.studiotheatre.org.
Drowner [RENWORD]
Next Stop Theatre
Now through Feb 22
Two black college students land what appears to be a cushy summer gig—watching a retired college professor swim. But something’s not right with their elderly charge as she struggles to dredge up her troubled past, pulling the young women into unsettling conclusions in this horror-comedy. Tickets at www.nextstoptheatre.org.
John Doe
Keegan Theatre
Now through Feb 22
This world premier revolves around anthropophobia, the fear of people. Zia claims the affliction, while her friend Doe suffers from being dead. Brought together by chance, fate, or potentially ghostly revenge, the two set out on a journey to uncover Doe’s forgotten life while Zia faces perhaps a fate worse than death… socializing. Tickets at www.keegantheatre.com.
Chez Joey
Arena Stage
Now through March 15
Rodgers and Hart’s slick Broadway musical Pal Joey gets a jazzy upgrade in this “revisical” about a fast-talking, velvet-voiced songster who gets caught between a bright-eyed chorus girl and a wealthy baroness who can bankroll his big break, Starring Tony® Award winner (for MJ The Musical) Myles Frost, co-directed by ace choreographer Savion Glover and with a passel of Main Steam designers, this one feels pre-Broadway, like Arena’s recent Damn Yankees. Add in Rodgers and Hart chestnuts like “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “This Can’t Be Love” and “The Lady Is a Tramp,” and you’ve got another great Broadway musical down in Southwest. Tickets at www.arenastage.org.
The World to Come
Woolly Mammoth
Feb 3- March 1
The residents of the SeaBreeze Hebrew Home for the Aging carry on as usual– knitting, playing scrabble, fighting and falling in love.– as the outside world threatens their way of life, Fighting to protect the community they’ve built together, these plucky seniors find joy in each other’s company, revealing in the process how powerful friendship can be a form of resistance. Tickets at www.woollymammoth.net.
Little Miss Perfect
Olney Theatre Center
Feb 8- March 8
High school senior Noelle is under a lot of pressure. She’s lived up to expectations of perfection her whole life, blending in as one of the few Black students at her predominantly white school. A scholarship to Howard University is within her reach —if she can demonstrate she has what it takes in this new musical by Joriah Kwame, Tik-Tok star whose title track has garnered millions of views. Tickets at www.olneytheatre.org.
Stereophonic
National Theatre
Feb 10- March 1
The Tony® Award winning best play of the year tells the tortured tale of an up-and-coming rock band—loosely based on Fleetwood Mac—and the pressure and pain they face in coming up with a follow up hit—loosely based on the multi-platinum Rumors. Arcade Fire’s Will Butler wrote a terrific score, though it’s not a musical. It’s a play about making music and art told with fall-on-the-wall intimacy by the musicians who birthed it. Tickets at www.broadwayatthenational.com.
Nothing Up My Sleeve
Round House Theatre
Feb 11- March 15
Fans of illusionist Dendy and playwright/director Aaron Posner’s previous collaboration The Tempest will be happy to see the daunting duo pull back the curtain on the history of magic and Dendy’s own journey to the land of make-them-believe. If you enjoy spellbinding prestidigitation, you will, too. Tickets at www.roundhousetheatrre.org
On Beckett
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Feb 11- March 15
Tony Award-winning actor and master clown Bill Irwin, a funny hat and a podium is all it takes to mine the comedy and tragedy of Irish playwright Samuel Beckett’s iconic work. If you’re a fan of Waiting for Godot (or even understand it), you’ll enjoy this nonstop display of jovial verbal and physical comedy that has become Irwin’s signature and Nobel Prize winner Beckett’s gift to the theater. Tickets at www.shakespearetheatrecompany.org.
FreckleFace Strawberry the Musical
Adventure MTC
Feb 13- March 29
The eponymous Freckleface learns that everyone is different and that’s what makes us special in this brand new musical based on the best-selling book by actress Julianne Moore. Ms. Strawberry will do anything to get rid of her freckles – from scrubbing them with soap to wearing a ski mask to school. With the help of an talented ballerina, cute jock, charming ditz and kooky teacher, Freckleface and her family learn an important life lesson. Tickets at www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org.
Rent in Concert
Strathmore Music Center
February 25
Jonathan Larson’s always touching, always life affirming Tony® and Pulitzer® Prize winning musical gets a concert rendition in Bethesda at the Strathmore’s elegant Music Center. Tickets at www. strathmore.org
The writer is a playwright who loves writing about theater. He is a lifetime member of the Broadway League and a Tony® voter. Catch his monthly podcast at www.onstagedmv.org.
