Discover DC theater: a rich performing arts scene filled with variety, history, acclaimed productions and plenty of innovation.
While the nation’s capital is famously home to monuments, memorials and museums that are free to enter, the city also features an incredible theater scene, populated by a theater community 6,000 strong and a diverse set of performance spaces spread throughout the DC metro area. Arts and culture enthusiasts can witness pre-Broadway premieres downtown, catch original and touring productions at venues like the Kennedy Center, revisit classics by the Bard with Shakespeare Theatre Company and Folger Theatre, experience powerful and political plays from independent companies such as Woolly Mammoth Theatre or enjoy heart-stopping and historic tales inside Ford’s Theatre, Arena Stage and so many others.
Go behind the scenes of DC’s theater scene with director, actor and playwright Psalmayene 24, who details the city’s boundless playhouse possibilities.
Read on for a deep dive into the origins of DC theater, an in-depth look at a living memorial and cultural landmark, and an introduction to purposeful playhouses and companies that take the stage.
DC Theater: A Gateway to Broadway
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Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company hosted a second staging of "A Strange Loop" before it moved to Broadway and won Best Musical, plus 10 other 2022 Tony Awards. Credit: Playbill
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Written by SNL alum Tina Fey, the musical rendition of the classic teen comedy premiered at the National Theatre on Oct. 31, 2017 and then traveled to New York City. Credit: Playbill
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With revivals still on stage on Broadway today, "West Side Story" premiered in DC at the National Theater on Aug. 19, 1957. Credit: Playbill
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Before it racked up three Tony Awards, the musical had its world premiere on July 10, 2015 at Arena Stage. Credit: Playbill
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Debuting at Arena Stage in December 1967, the play put the new theater on the map and helped launch the career of actor James Earl Jones. Credit: Playbill
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Opening on Sept. 2, 2016, Ford’s Theater held a pre-Broadway run of this Tony Award-winning musical set in a small Canadian town amid the 9/11 crisis. Credit: Playbill
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Premiering at National Theater on Nov. 4, 2018, the musical interpretation of Tim Burton’s 1988 dark comedy had a two-week DC run. Credit: Playbill
Ford's Theatre: An Historic, Still-Active Playhouse
Site of the 1865 Lincoln assassination, the museum and playhouse attract about 650,000 people annually
Today, good theater is synonymous with multiculturalism, brilliant creativity, diversity and cutting-edge productions. And you'll even find all of that at Ford's Theatre, one of the nation's most historic theaters and the site of one of the most shocking and consequential moments in American history.
On the night of April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln settled in to see a show in the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre. The commander-in-chief and his wife were attending Our American Cousin, a comedy that featured an acclaimed and much-discussed performance by actress Laura Keene. Tragically, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln as part of an assassination plot he crafted with several co-conspirators (the group had also overseen a failed plan to kidnap the president).
Today, when you visit the theater, you can learn about Lincoln’s assassination thanks to the on-site museum. Exhibits cover Lincoln’s presidency, his meetings with famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the night of his tragic death. John Wilkes Booth’s background and the details of his conspiracy to dismantle the U.S. government are also featured, as are artifacts related to the assassination, including weapons Booth used. You can also tour the historic theatre yourself and visit Petersen House once it reopens.
Of course, Ford’s Theatre is also still a playhouse, where you can see historically themed and engaging productions throughout the year. A popular annual showcase is the theater’s staging of Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, with local and acclaimed actor Craig Wallace as the lead. Ford’s Theatre also hosts One Destiny, a one-act play about the Lincoln assassination that fully immerses you in the fact, sequencing and setting of that fateful night. This fall, the theater hosted a free performance of the Tony Award-winning Come From Away on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, five years after the musical had a pre-Broadway run at Ford's Theatre. Make sure to check out upcoming performances that Ford’s Theatre.
Credit: Library of Congress
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Amy Austin, President & CEO, theatreWashington
