Onstage, Georgetown: April
By • April 1, 2026 0 231
Spring is upon us in all its color and warmth. It’s great to be outside, I know, but let’s not forget all of the sparkling theater to be had inside our performing arts venues. Check out these shows, all in bloom around the D.C. area this month.
As You Like It
Folger Theatre
Now through April 12
Some of the Bard’s most beautiful language—all the world’s a stage—and the Seven Ages of Man speech bejewel a rather complicated plot wherein two cousins are banished from court by mean old Duke Frederick (their uncle/father), only to find love and merriment in the nearby forests of Arden, where Frederick’s kindly brother Duke Senior (their father/uncle) presides over a mellow, more laid back life than royals enjoy. It wouldn’t be Shakespeare without a little gender switching, so cousin Rosalind dons boys’ clothing to escape Frederick and find the handsome Orlando who—wouldn’t you know it—befriends her lad-attired self, while they get chased around the stage by the lusty Phoebe. Folger Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels envisioned this modern take on the proceedings, frenetically staged by Director Timothy Douglas and a rollicking cast led by Manu Kumasi as Orlando and Tsilala Brock and Sabrina Lynne Sawyer as cousins Roz and Celia. Ahmad Kamai’s Touchstone applies the foolishness, engaging the audience all the way, and Jefferson A. Russell does a nice job assaying both Dukes, one menacing, the other a sweetheart, though the doubling prevents the onstage reconciliation playwright Will had in mind. With everything else going on, it wasn’t missed. Tickets at www.folger.edu.
Inherit the Wind
Arena Stage
Now through April 5
Based on the real-life Scopes “Monkey Trial,” this electrifying courtroom drama pits two towering legal minds against each other in a small-town battle over science, religion and the right to think freely. As the town becomes a stage for national attention, personal conviction clashes with public opinion in a trial that transcends its time. Inherit the Wind, the American classic by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, is a searing, deeply human portrait of a country still wrestling with the cost and courage of progress. Tickets at www.arenastage.org
Beauty and the Beast
National Theatre
Now through April 5
Be their guest at this beloved Tony Award winning musical, the show that brought Disney to Broadway. A wonderful score by Alan Menken and smart yet lush romantic lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice—Tim finishing Howard’s work after the former passed far too young—makes this a great family musical. Tickets at www.broadwayatthenational.com.
Eddie Izzard’s Hamlet. Photo by Amanda Searle.
Eddie Izzard in the Tragedy of Hamlet
Shakespeare Theatre Company: Klein Theatre
Now through April 11
Shakespeare Theatre Company presents the Prince of Denmark’s tragic tale of revenge, told onstage, alone, by the remarkable Eddie Izzard, who performs all 23 roles including men, women, ghosts, scholars, tyrants, courtiers, lovers and fools direct from triumphant engagements in Chicago and London. Find out why Eddie’s buddy Dame Judi Dench calls Izzard’s performance “spectacular.” Tickets at www.shakespearetheatre.org.
Hamnet
Shakespeare Theatre Company: Harman Hall
Now through April 12
The esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company visits Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall with this stage adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel about parents Will and Agnes Shakespeare, whose 11-year-old son is taken by the plague. “Life of Pi” playwright Lolita Chakrabarti crafted this moving tale of love and loss, proving that out of great suffering, wonder can emerge. Tickets at www.shakespearetheatrecompany.org
Travesty
Woolly Mammoth
Now through April 12
Actor, theater maker and drag queen Sasha Velour takes us on a one person journey through secret queer history, one spot at a time. We meet a witch burning in a field, a clown building a theater and an underground gay bar rising up against the police as Velour channels each character through the cycle of existence, resistance and camp. Tickets at www.woollymammoth.net.
Safety Not Guaranteed
Signature Theatre
Now through April 12
Curious about a classified ad inviting readers to go back in time, journalist Darius sets out to find its author. When she agrees to take the writer up on his offer, Darius finds herself in way over her head on a time-traveling odyssey. Indie-rocker Ryan Miller of Guster fame joins actor and playwright Nick Blaemire to craft this new musical based on the hit movie. Tickets at www.sigtheatre.org .
Jonah
Studio Theatre
Now through April 19
Ana is on her own, a scholarship student at a boarding school, until she meets day student Jonah. What begins as an exploration of new and joyful desire shifts into more complex negotiations of intimacy and survival, covering decades in one woman’s life. A story of rage, resilience and the radical possibilities of trust, playwright Rachel Bonds returns to Studio Theatre for this D.C. premiere. Tickets at www.studiotheatre.org.
A Good Day to Me Not to You
Arena Stage
Now through May 3
Drama Desk Award winning actor Lameece Issaq teams up with Obie-winning director Lee Sunday Evans on Issaq’s new play, which centers on the chaotic life of a 40-something dental lab tech who gets fired and moves into a woman’s rooming house run by nuns. While there, she must come to terms with her unfulfilled path to motherhood and the untimely death of her younger sister, all while fending off her unpredictable and sometimes deranged cohabitants. Tickets at www.arenastage.org.
1776
Ford’s Theatre
Now through May 16
Just in time for the country’s 250th, this musical is an insightful, often humorous take on our founding fathers’ determination to do the right thing for their fledgling nation. As members of the Second Continental Congress struggle to reach consensus, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson debate the issues that will define our country. Who knew that the composer of “Johnny Get Angry” would win the Tony Award for Best Musical with this Broadway hit? Tickets at www.fords.org.
The Minutes
Keegan Theatre
April 4- May 3
Tony and Pulitzer prize winning playwright Tracy Letts’ dark comedy about a small town City Council that’s got more on its mind than stop signs and sewer leaks. As their meeting unfolds in real time, tensions rise, alliances shift and a routine agenda veers into chaos. What begins as civic procedure spirals into a chilling question: how far would you go to protect your version of the truth? Tickets at www. keegantheatre.com
Caesar and Cleopatra
April 9 – May 3
Undercroft Theatre at Mt Vernon Place United Methodist Church
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Washington Stage Guild offers up its take on George Bernard Shaw’s historical drama, adapted by WSG artistic director Bill Largess. A riveting exploration of power, politics, vengeance and mercy, Shaw introduces the aging Caesar to the teenager who would become queen of Egypt under his tutelage. Managing the headstrong Cleo turns out to be more than he can handle. Tickets at www.stageguild.org.
44: THE MUSICAL
April 15 – May 10
Shakespeare Theatre Company: Klein Theatre
This is a wacky send-up of our 44th president’s special place in history. If you miss Barack crooning “How Black Is Too Black” over a Motown groove, Sarah Palin screaming “Drill Me Baby” like Ozzy Osbourne, or Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz rapping “Green Eggs and Ham,” this is for you. Note: Not for fans of Alex Jones or Stephen Miller. 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. Catch his monthly podcast at onstagedmv.org.
