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More than 20 productions offer $25, $45 and $65 tickets, Sept. 18 – Oct. 5
POTUS Among Us © WIT/DJ Corey Photography
Sometimes you want to see a modern twist on a story you know and love; fortunately, Theatre Week has a few. Check out EL BESO DE LA MUJER ARAÑA (Kiss of the Spider Woman) in Spanish with English surtitles at GALA Hispanic Theatre. You can also try a modern spin on Shakespeare with Julius X at Folger Theatre, which weaves together the stories of Julius Caesar and Civil Rights leader Malcolm X. Fresh off an award-winning season with Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, playwright Jaclyn Bioh sets Merry Wives in Harlem at Shakespeare Theatre Company's Harman Hall. DC history is blended with Shakespeare with Play On! at Signature Theatre, a delightful musical based on Twelfth Night and set to the syncopated soundtrack of Duke Ellington’s greatest hits.
Roz White © Chris Banks
There’s no better place to dive into American history on stage than in the nation's capital. These plays tell different stories about our American past to help us think about, and shape, America’s future. The Great Privation by Nia Akilah Robinson at Woolly Mammoth Theatre is a multi-generational family drama set at Philadelphia’s African Baptist Church in 1832 and in the present that reminds us to find joy, even as we exhume our nation’s buried past. The American Five at Ford’s Theatre brings five of our nation’s Civil Rights heroes – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Bayard Rustin, Stanley Levison and Clarence B. Jones – as they plan the March on Washington. An epic, two-part theatrical event, The Inheritance by Matthew López at Round House Theatre follows a group of young gay men in the shadow of the AIDS crisis and asks: What do we owe those who came before us and what will we leave behind?
The Helen Hayes Awards are “DC’s Tonys” – or as we like to say, The Tonys are the Helen Hayes Awards of New York. During Theatre Week, you can see the work of some of the recent recipients of this prestigious award on stage. Musical theatre star Rob McClure (recipient of the 2024 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Performer, Visiting Production) leads the cast of Damn Yankees at Arena Stage. The company of NextStop Theatre’s Dream Hou$e features three recent Helen Hayes Award recipients: performer Leela Aviles-Dawson, director Dylan Arredondo and lighting designer Alberto Segarra. Everything is Wonderful at Keegan Theatre is directed by Josh Sticklin, stars Susan Rhea and has lighting design by Hailey LaRoe – all recent recipients of the Helen Hayes Award. The shows you see during Theatre Week will be the nominees you hear about in 2026.
How do we find joy and light? Through the arts, through culture, through theatre and through connection. Feel the energy of the great artists of DC theatre in Lights Up!, Theatre Week’s free musical theatre concert that celebrates the power of performance, which takes place Sunday, Sept. 28 on the floating stage at District Wharf. You’ll hear some of your favorite musical theatre classics and new songs you’ll come to love. Best of all, you’ll meet some of the area’s most talented performers – the heart of our theatre community. Register for free beginning Sept. 9.
Discover more about DC's spectacular theater scene and check out some of the most exciting productions in DC this fall.
