2021

Diverse, multi-abled Omnium Circus to debut under big top in Tysons

The world’s most inclusive and accessible circus opens live November 18.

Free outdoor all-star concert to celebrate the musical legacy of NYC’s Tin Pan Alley

On Saturday, October 23, from noon-4 pm, Tin Pan Alley Day will be celebrated with a free public concert in the Flatiron District honoring the official New York City landmark designation, in 2019, of...

Colonial Players to present Lynn Nottage’s ‘By the Way, Meet Vera Stark’

This spritely, sly satire is a sharp take on race and culture in the past and today.

Kate Rockwell previews NYC’s live and online ‘Broadway Booker @ Birdland’ concert

On Monday, October 18, beginning at 7 pm, Broadway Booker – a mobile-friendly website that allows you to book your favorite Broadway stars for both virtual and in-person events – is bringing some...

Synetic Theater’s ‘Madness of Poe’ is deliciously horrific

Neatly combines Poe’s gift for Victorian horror with the brilliance that Synetic is known for.

One traveler’s delirious soul-searching rumination on socio-economic disparity in ‘The Fever’ at Off-Broadway’s Minetta Lane Theatre

The first live in-person play to reopen Off-Broadway’s Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village since the pandemic shutdown is a limited-engagement revival of the unsettling 1990 solo show The Fever...

Unabashed comfort and joy in ‘The Book of Mamaw’ at 1st Stage

A solo performer’s tribute to his maternal grandmother, who raised him and gave him the tools he needed to engage with life.

Maryland’s AngelWing Project takes audiences to Beale Street

A 1950’s family drama, the play follows two Black cousins from Mississippi who struggle to make a life for themselves in spite of secrets threatening to invade and interrupt their peace.

Spooky Action’s unrealistic ‘Realistic Joneses’ is a complete treat

The text keeps us off-kilter in a way that tickles us silly even as a sobering undercurrent churns.

Jim Caruso and Billy Stritch return to NYC’s legendary Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle

Beginning this month, Jim Caruso (the recipient of six MAC Awards and nine BroadwayWorld Awards for his nightclub and virtual performances) and Billy Stritch (who recently toured with Tony Bennett as...

For Folger’s Karen Ann Daniels, the Bard’s big O stands for opportunity

The new artistic director and director of programming has her sights set on equity and community.

‘Proof’ from Peter’s Alley does the math on real-life loss

The prize-winning play grapples with issues of trust and faith in relationships.

A desperate shift from childhood game to agonizing reality in ‘1-2-3 Manhunt’ at Off-Broadway’s Theater for the New City

It’s no longer 1979, but Alex – a gritty middle-aged New Yorker of Italian descent – can’t handle the changes and the vodka doesn’t help. Stumbling on a tenement rooftop on the Lower East Side, he...

How to be a hero: The lesson of ‘Remember This’ at Shakespeare Theatre

David Strathairn’s spectacularly affecting performance as Jan Karski becomes not only an emotional but a moral experience.

How a new NOVA theater will go on with the show despite a hit

The lead was struck by a car—but Nightsky Theater will open its outdoor ‘Picnic’ on schedule.

Providence Players of Fairfax premiere youthful ‘The Beatle Club’

It’s the summer of 1965 and these Teaneck club kids really dig the rock band.

Immersive choose-your-own-adventure ‘Assemble’ is back in Brooklyn

Following a successful inaugural run as part of The Exponential Festival in January 2020, the immersive choose-your-own-adventure sound performance Assemble has returned for a limited engagement...

With ‘Flyin’ West,’ Everyman Theatre delivers on its commitment to EDI

Pearl Cleage’s groundbreaking play features pioneering Black women overcoming daunting odds.

Paul Taylor Dance Company opens Kennedy Center dance season with verve

Two familiar works ease us back into the theater on a high note.

The wives of Henry VIII rock a histo-remix of herstory in ‘SIX’ on Broadway

What began as a student show in a 100-seat venue during the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival has become an international sensation, first on London’s West End, then in regional and touring productions,...

‘My Lord, What a Night’ becomes truly thrilling at Ford’s Theatre

Imagined musings on the historically real friendship between Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein, two powerful voices for freedom.

Herndon’s Misha Mullany sees theater dreams come alive in NYC

She stars in and helms her own musical making its Off-Off-Broadway debut.

Lincoln Center’s free ‘Passport to the Arts’ offers virtual and in-person events for people of all ages with disabilities

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ annual Passport to the Arts returns for its Fall 2021 season, running October 16-December 19, with free classes, performances, and custom-designed experiences...

‘Becoming Dr. Ruth’ returns to Theater J and welcomes us in

The evening encourages us to engage with Dr. Ruth’s memories as well as to contemplate what might be our own.

A concert of ‘The World to Come’ podcast is coming to NYC’s The Green Room 42

The final installment of the epic futuristic dystopian podcast The World to Come, set in the post-apocalyptic world of “Fiveboro,” with no internet or electricity, was released on Monday, October 4...

Once upon a time under the stars at Wolf Trap: Shakespeare Theatre’s gala

On the scene at the company’s buzzed-about fundraiser.

Rorschach Theatre plots next immersive story, ‘Chemical Exile’

Following the success of ‘Distance Frequencies,’ a new season-long experience.

Book releases on Shakespeare, a classic courtroom drama, and plays by Caryl Churchill

Three recently released reading selections for theater-lovers offer a variety of themes, from the Elizabethan era to mid-century America to a compendium of short plays by an acclaimed contemporary...

Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre opens its ‘Fall Forward Festival’ with the streaming of a new audio musical

During the long pandemic closure of live in-person performances, Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre commissioned five innovative artists to create a series of new works of alternative theater. That...

A captivating personal perspective on the immigrant experience and inter-generational disconnect in ‘The Nosebleed’ at NYC’s Japan Society

The world-premiere production of The Nosebleed, written and directed by Tokyo-born Brooklyn-based theater-maker Aya Ogawa and presented by the Japan Society and the Chocolate Factory Theater, offers...

We Happy Few presents ‘A Midnight Dreary Episode 3: Etched in the Wall’

Chilling audio plays adapted from the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Keegan Theatre to stage ‘N,’ a drama about first Black actor on Broadway

A hundred years ago he made history. Now a descendant reveals his story.

A playful and poignant ‘Defying Gravity’ at Aldersgate Church Community Theater

The quirky dramatic comedy is based tangentially on the Challenger disaster.

FJK Dance to perform ‘RESET: Season 2021’ this week at New York Live Arts

Founded by New York-based Artistic Director Fadi J. Khoury (who grew up in Iraq and Lebanon) and Associate Artist Sevin Ceviker in 2014, FJK Dance is dedicated to creating a unique fusion of visual...

A grand night of singing in ‘A Familiar Melody’ at NextStop

A revue of beloved showtunes makes for a giddy reunion of artists and audience.

Woolly adds a Brit hit to its season of artists ahead of their time

Jasmine Lee-Jones’s ‘seven methods of killing kylie jenner’ offers a Gen Z take on Black womanhood, colorism, and the politics of social media activism.

‘Black Flute’ from IN Series to screen free Friday on National Mall

Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ reconceived with Black voices central to performance and production.

A.J. Holmes takes a revealing look at himself in his one-man musical ‘Yeah, But Not Right Now” at Off-Broadway’s SoHo Playhouse

Broadway’s A.J. Holmes (who tells us he has legally added the preceding show-biz identifier to his name) has an impressive list of credentials on the stage and screen, from his 1000+ performances as...

‘Red Bike’ by Caridad Svich to get DC debut in a block party

Reimagined by Pan Underground, the play will be an immersive experience at the center of a community celebration.

Non-stop hilarity in ‘A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet’ at Off-Broadway’s DR2 Theatre

Struggles with creativity, aging in a youth-oriented society, and the fleeting nature of fame are the underlying serious themes of A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet, the first new musical to...

Reston Community Players kick off apprentice program with musical sendup

A production of ‘The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)’ providing local students hands-on experience.

A hedge-fund battle between fraud and ethics in ‘F.I.R.E.’ online at New Normal Rep

Streaming from NYC: A world premiere by emerging playwright Julia Blauvelt.

Shavian wit meets its match in ‘Dear Liar’ from Washington Stage Guild

Lively and brilliant letters between George Bernard Shaw and the original Eliza Doolittle from before there was Zoom.

Opera for everybody: Catching up with Baltimore Concert Opera’s Julia Cooke

The Artistic and General Director on BCO’s appeal to people who are new to opera and to aficionados who have been fans their entire lives.

Enter ‘This Is Broadway’s Ultimate Ticket Giveaway’ now through October 15

To celebrate the return of Broadway, The Broadway League (the national trade association for the theater industry), in partnership with Audience Rewards (Broadway’s first and only official rewards and...

A look inside Capital One Hall, the DMV’s grand-new venue

Fairfax Symphony Orchestra to be first local arts organization to perform there.

‘Bright Star’ shines at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

A powerful and transformative story full of heartbreak and hope.

Tony winner Kelli O’Hara launches the premiere ‘Diamond Series’ at Feinstein’s/54 Below

After COVID-19 forced the postponement of its originally scheduled date in May 2020, Tony Award winner and Emmy and Grammy nominee Kelli O’Hara launched the premiere Diamond Series of top-of-the-line...

One mother’s personal story of a child with special needs in ‘Brilliant’ at Theatre Row

Playing a five-performance world-premiere engagement in the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival at Off-Broadway’s Theatre Row, Brilliant follows the journey of a mother struggling to care for a child on...

Teshonne Powell on terror and healing in the lives of Black women

The second production from Welders 3.0 is her audioplay horror story, ‘Girls’ Night (with Spirits).’