Theater Shorts

Now Playing
Julius Caesar—Director Robert Richmond fiddles with Shakespeare’s classic play about power and war in ancient Rome. The staging is at once compelling and a little crazy. It’s overcooked, but it sizzles. The play is familiar, but you don’t know just how familiar until you see it like this. The Shakespearean lines and the fast-moving plot comes through with powerful clarity. Plus, it’s a top-notch cast headed by a bristling, cagey Maurice Jones as Mark Antony, the stirring Michael Sharon as Caesar and Louis Butelli, almost channeling John Malkovich as Cassius. At the Folger Theatre through Dec. 7.

Absolutely! {Perhaps}—For all you fans of the 20th-century’s great avant-garde playwright Luigi Pirandello, and we know you’re out there, here’s a production of his comedy about spies, love affairs and paranoia. At Constellation Theatre through Nov. 9.

Elmer Gantry—This musical version of the Sinclair Lewis novel about a huckster preacher in the 1920s has Eric Schaeffer at the helm. Burt Lancaster won an Oscar for playing Elmer. At Signature Theatre through Nov. 9.

Sex with Strangers—A cross-generational love story of sorts in a new play by Laura Eason, in which an older woman becomes involved with a blogger. Starring Holly Twyford, a Washington gift to theatre. At Signature Theatre through Dec. 7.

Our War—A unique and varied take on the Civil War in the Kogod Cradle at Arena Stage. Actors perform monologues by 30 top playwrights, with the participation of local notables, including Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Georgetown University President Dr. John J. DeGioia, Mark Ein and council members Jack Evans and David Grasso. At Arena Stage through Nov. 9.

The Little Dancer—A ground-up, much-anticipated musical at the Kennedy Center, centered on the relationship between painter Edgar Degas and 24-year-old Paris Opera Ballet budding dancer Marie van Goethem. This production has talent to burn—book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen

Flaherty (“Ragtime”) and direction by Susan Stroman, who gave us the stirring dance piece “Contact,” as well as the recent “Bullets Over Broadway.” With Boyd Gaines as Degas and New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Tiler Peck as the young Marie. At the Eisenhower Theaer through Nov. 30.

How We Got On—An new across-the-generations play by Idris Goodwin set to the lively, edgy music of rap and hip hop. At the Forum Theatre through Nov. 23.

Fiddler on the Roof—Arena Artistic Director Molly Smith continues her exploration of the American musical with this production, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the show, by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harrick with original choreography by Jerome Robbins, the original director. Jonathan Hadary stars as Tevye, the much put-upon shetl milkman who sings “If I Were a Rich Man,” among many classic songs. At Arena Stage through Jan. 4.

Coming Soon
The Gift of Nothing—At the Kennedy Center’s Theater for Young Audiences, a world-premiere production of a play conceived and written by Patrick McDonnell, Aaron Posner and Erin Weaver with music and lyrics by Andy Milton. Directed by Posner, based on the book by Patrick McDonnell. Based also on characters from the comic strip “Mutts” (Mooch, the tuxedo kitty, and his pal Earl, the small mutt with a big heart). At the Kennedy Center’s Family Theater, Nov. 22–Dec. 28.

The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures—When Tony Kushner writes, you always have to pay attention. The author of “Angels in America” always has something to say. In this production of a new play by Kushner, directed by John Vreeke, a longshoreman and lifelong Communist confronts his offspring. At Theater J, Nov. 13–Dec. 21.

Diner—A world premiere of a new musical by Sheryl Crow and Barry Levinson, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. Based on Levinson’s classic movie about a group of Baltimore friends preparing for a wedding, At Signature Theater beginning Dec. 9.

Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol—A adaptation by prolific playwright Ken Ludwig (with Jack Ludwig) of Dickens’s tale of Scrooge and Tiny Tim, directed by Jerry Whiddon. At Adventure Theater, Nov. 14–Jan. 1.

Five Guys Named Moe—A paean to the music of Louis Jordan, king of the jukebox, with a modern feel—all rolling out at the Funky Butt Club with tunes like “Let the Good Times Roll.” At Arena Stage, Nov. 14–Dec. 28.