Onstage, Georgetown: Getting Hot for Plays, Musicals
By • April 24, 2024 0 530
By Mark Edelman
Summer is on its way. Before it gets too hot in Washington, buy your tickets (and air-conditioned comfort) to these plays and musicals around town.
AMM(I)GONE Woolly Mammoth Theatre Now through May 12
Creator and performer Adil Mansoor invites his Pakistani mother to translate Antigone into Urdu as a means of exploring the tensions between family and faith in this eighty minute piece. Should he hide his true self from his devout Muslim mother? Through Greek tragedy, teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his mother, Mansoor creates a compelling personal story about locating love across faith and sexuality. Tickets at www.woollymammoth.net
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Ford’s Theatre Now through May 18
Roger Corman’s trashy B movie about a man-eating plant and the boy who loved it becomes a Broadway musical favorite thanks to a Tony-Award winning score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Tickets at www.fords.org
SING DOWN THE MOON Adventure Theatre MTC Now through May 26
Four traditional “Appalachian Wonder Tales” weave their magic and original mountain music into a keepsake quilt of hill country lore and downhome wisdom for the whole family. For young audiences and their families. Tickets at www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org
BEAUTY & THE BEAST Toby’s Dinner Theatre Now through June 16
Menken and Ashman knock it out of the park again with Disney’s first Broadway hit, a tale as old as time for the whole family to enjoy. Tickets at www.tobysdinnertheatre.com
Noah Israel (Woof), Mason Reeves (Berger) and Keenan McCarter (Steve) in “Hair” at Signature Theatre. Photo by Christopher Mueller.
HAIR Signature Theatre Now through July 7
The dawning of the Age of Aquarius and then some as America’s tribal love-rock musical returns in all its psychedelic glory. Tickets at www.sigtheatre.org
REEFER MADNESS Next Stop Theatre May 3 to June 2
Decadence and mayhem descend on this Herndon, Virginia, venue — a stoned-throw from Dulles — when a wholesome set of American teens fall victim to the dangers of the evil weed. Based on the 1936 black and white movie, it’s a cautionary tale and a musical to boot! Tickets at www.nextstoptheatre.org
DIXIE’S TUPPERWARE PARTY Kennedy Center May 7 to June 2
Everybody’s favorite fast-talking, gum-chewing, ginger-haired Alabama gal brings Granny’s Tupperware party into the 21st century. Filled with outrageously funny tales, heartfelt accounts, audience participation, and a little bit of empowerment and homespun wisdom, “Dixie’s Tupperware Party” leaves your heart a little bigger and your food a little fresher. Tickets at www.kennedy-center.org
METAMORPHOSES Folger Theater May 7 to June 16
MacArthur “genius” grant winner Mary Zimmerman transforms Ovid’s tales of joy and heartbreak among the gods into a thrilling theatrical event. We’re reminded, in the process, that these mythological stories of Aphrodite, Midas, and Cupid, among others, were devised to point out our own follies and foibles. Tickets at www.folger.edu
PROBLEMS BETWEEN SISTERS Studio Theatre May 8 to June 16
Julia May Jones’ distaff take on Sam Shepard’s “True West” tracks two pregnant sisters — one a visual artist, the other an artist of the con variety — who converge on a remote family cabin in Vermont. The eponymous problems flare into a collision of family baggage, personal morality, and artistic taste in this funny and savage take on the elusive demands of the Primal Female. Tickets at www.studiotheatre.org
THE RETURN OF EVA PERON Gala Hispanica Theatre May 9 to June 9
Subtitled “Momia en el closet” and performed in Spanish with English subtitles, this dark musical chronicles the intense love affair between the First Lady of Argentina and the working class — the descamisadoes — mesmerized by this iconic figure. Tickets at www.galatheatre.org
MEXODUS Mosaic Theatre May 16 to June 15
History meets hip-hop in this groundbreaking theatrical experience that explores the untold stories of Southern slaves who sought freedom in Mexico. Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson use live-looping to create a musical in real time, mapping a different route on the Underground Railroad that highlights the power of Black and Brown unity. Tickets at www.mosaictheater.org
LITTLE WOMEN Capital One Hall May 17 to 19
Louisa May Alcott’s classic becomes a touring Broadway musical as we follow the bittersweet adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March, each determined to live life on her own terms. Tickets at www.capitalonehall.com
Jack Hopewell in the North American Tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Photo by Evan Zimmerman.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR National Theater May 17 to 19
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s celebrated rock opera makes a DMV stop for five performances only. Tickets at www.broadwayatthenational.com
THE MATCHBOX MAGIC FLUTE Shakespeare Theatre May 21 to June 16
Talk about a gift from the gods — Washington gets another Mary Zimmerman opus, this one a brand new theatrical adaptation of Mozart’s beloved opera. Playful and imaginative, this “matchbox” presentation follows the fantastic adventures of Prince Tamino and Princess Pamina as they consort with dragons, a man who is a bird, trials by fire and water and a battle between Day and Night. Tickets at www.shakespearetheatre.org
The writer is a playwright who loves writing about theater. He is a lifetime member of the Broadway League and a Tony voter.
