May Onstage, Georgetown
By • May 1, 2025 0 192
By Mark Edelman
It’s May, which means Mother’s Day is just around the corner. I can’t think of a better gift this month to remember mom than live theater. Mamma Mia! What better way to say I love you (and thanks for putting up with me at 2 years old, 13 years old and last week, too!) than a visit to one of these nurturing plays or musicals.
Now through May 4
Fake It Until You Make It
Arena Stage
Renowned playwright Larissa FastHorse’s comedy about a collision of friends and foes, ensnaring colleagues and bystanders and unraveling secrets that highlight the absurdities of ambition and authenticity. Amidst the laughter, genuine connections form, emphasizing the value of unexpected paths to success. Tickets are available at arenastage.org.
Now through June 1
Head Over Heels
Constellation Theatre
Here’s a kicky idea: mash up a famous Elizabethan romantic comedy with the catalogue of 80s girl group The Go-Gos, Belinda Carlisle’s old band. Blame it on conceiver/book writer Jeff (“Avenue Q”) Whitty and the creative folks at Constellation. Tickets are available at constellationtheatre.org.
May 4 to June 1
Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt…
Woolly Mammoth
Renowned filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (or an actor who looks like him) explains his iconic filmography, brilliant mind, the thrilling world of movies, and “culture.” But… why can’t he stop talking about yogurt? In this whimsical world premiere, playwright Julia Izumi weaves through media and memory to examine cultural imperialism, “healthy” consumption, and why we make art. Tickets are available at woollymammoth.net.
May 7
The Story of a Rose
Ruth Schlesinger Concert Hall
Sub-titled “A Musical Reverie of the Great War,” Broadway star Melissa Errico debuts her newest original concert-theatre piece in a one-night-only performance in Alexandria. Here she takes the real life role of her Aunt Rose, a Ziegfeld Follies star and Italian immigrant living during the Great War. Accompanied by a jazz ensemble, Errico is joined by Broadway actor-musician George Abud in this tribute to love and sacrifice. Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/story-of-a-rose-tickets.
May 8 to June 8
Footloose
Next Stop Theatre
Head to Herndon for the stage version – complete with those great pop songs—of the 1980s movie about a city-born teenager who shakes up a small town’s uptight moral code and dance ban as he fights for freedom and self-expression. And guess who wins the heart of the town minister’s daughter? Tickets are available at nexstoptheatre.org.
May 10 to June 15
Falsettos
Keegan Theatre
The Tony Award-winning musical about family, relationships, bar mitvahs and baseball, among other life lessons. When Marvin leaves his wife Trina and son Jason to be with his lover Whizzer, tempers flare, problems escalate and everyone learns to grow up fast. Tickets are available at keegantheatre.com.
May 16 to June 15
We are Gathered
Arena Stage
Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (“Moonlight”) offers a contemporary twist on one Shakespearean’s wedding plays. Do Free and W. Tre make it to the altar? As they approach a milestone anniversary, each wonders if he’s met Mr. Right or had a long one-night stand with a lovely Mr. Maybe. Tickets are available at arenastage.org.
May 20 to June 1
Kimberly Akimbo
National Theatre
This Tony Award-winning musical about growing up and growing old welcomes us into the world of 16-year-old Kimberly, who is forced to navigate family dysfunction, first crush, a rare genetic disorder and possible felony charges on her road to happiness against all odds. Tickets are available at broadwayatthenational.com.
May 23 to 31
Porgy & Bess
Kennedy Center
The Gershwin Brothers Great American opera, torn from the tales of the marginalized people who lived through and found love and redemption in their suffocating confines. Washington National Opera artistic director Francesca Zambello reminds us why the Kennedy Center is so important to this community for the diverse, moving histories revealed on its stages. Tickets are available at kennedy-center.org.
May 27 to June 22
Frankenstein
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Mary Shelley’s gothic masterpiece is reimagined as a chilling exploration of what it means to create new life. Redefining the legend we know and the name we fear, this new adaptation asks us to reconsider the monstrous act at the heart of the tale. Tickets are available at shakespearetheatre.org.
Mark Edelman 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.
