ONSTAGE, OLD TOWN: NOVEMBER
By Mark Edelman
The holiday season begins in earnest—there are even two snowman musicals on the horizon—as DMV stages haul out their Christmas finery. Whether it’s plays or musicals you fancy, there are gifts of all kinds coming your way this month. RI
Through the 15th
GREASE
Little Theatre of Alexandria
Once upon a time, it was the longest running musical in Broadway history. Now it’s a happy reminder of the glory days of souped-up hot rods and bouffant hairdos. If you’re hopelessly devoted to the tale of the Pink Ladies and the Burger Palace Boys, shine up your 57 Chevy and make like a drum and beat it over to Alexandria for this happy hit. Tickets at http://www.thelittletheatre.com
Through the 16th
THE WILD DUCK
Shakespeare Theatre Company
STC Artistic Director Simon Godwin takes on Ibsen’s classic about the tragic toll truth can take when an idealist returns to his home town to expose the hidden truths and self-deceptions of his friend’s family. A wounded bird in the family’s attic symbolizes their fragile existence which is shattered by the newcomer’s well-intentioned though destructive crusade. Tickets at http://www.shakespearetheatre.org
Through the 23rd
FREMONT AVENUE
Director Lili-Anne Brown, who gave us Signature Theatre’s rollicking Play On! last month, helms this world premiere that moves across three generations of Black men who come face-to-face with each other across a card table. What begins as a game devolves into a reckoning with masculinity, identity, and the weight of silence passed down. Tickets at http://www.arenastage.org
Through the 23rd
AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
Theatre J
Henrik Ibsen’s social-minded polemic about an honest public servant who’s thrown under the bus by his fellow citizens rings true today, I’m afraid. This new adaptation by award-winning playwright Amy Herzog– well-received on Broadway last season—follows the story of a small-town doctor who makes a catastrophic discovery that imperils the financial fate of the community. Guess who wins out. Tickets at http://www.edcjcc.org/theater-j
Through the 23rd
FURLOUGH’S PARADISE
Theater Alliance
On a three-day furlough from prison, Sade returns to a changed world—and to Mina, the cousin who isn’t sure how to let her back in. A tender, lyrical portrait of Black kinship, memory and the pursuit of freedom, this two-hander kicks off a new performing space in SW around the corner from Arena Stage– soon to become a center of gravity for the performing arts in DC. Tickets at http://www.theateralliance.org
Through the 30th
LIZZIE: THE MUSICAL
Keegan Theatre
A ferocious punk-rock musical that rips the lid off the legend of Lizzie Borden. Fueled by rage, retribution, and a blistering all-female rock score, our heroine wields the ax once again in a show that combines gothic horror and riot grrrl rebellion. Tickets at http://www.keegantheatre.com
4th – January 25th
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Signature Theatre
Tevye, a poor milkman, has a few problems. Foremost on his mind are three daughters for whom he must find husbands. He wonders whether or not his wife Golde really loves him and the Cossacks are threatening to burn down the neighborhood. What’s a milkman to do? Will a shared community and history provide some solace in the face of a changing world? It’s not surprising that Tevye’s tale keeps coming back every few years to remind us what hope and humanity really mean. A classic. Tickets at http://www.sigtheatre.org
12th – December 21st
THE MOTHER PLAY
Studio Theatre
DC favorite Kate Eastwood Norris plays the eponymous parent in Pulitzer Prize-winning (and DMV native) playwright Paula Vogel’s touching odyssey through the DC suburbs from one roach-infested apartment to another. Life with Mother never sounded so frustratingly funny in this wry, savage, and surprisingly tender tome. Tickets at www.studiotheatre.org
13th – December 21st
HO HO HO HA HA HA HA
Woolly Mammoth
Funny lady Julia Masli returns to Woolly with a festive edition of her award-winning show, direct from a wacky engagement at New York’s Public Theatre. As usual –unusual is more like it; unpredictable, too– Masli invites audiences to bring their holiday problems to the stage for a hilarious and surprising solution. A completely different show every night keeps Juli on her toes—or someone’s toes. Tickets at www.woollymammoth.net
13th – December 7th
A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Atlas Theatre Center
Mosaic Theater presents an ontological take on the Christmas season by noted playwright and MacArthur “Genius grant” honoree Samuel D. Hunter. In a small office in Southern Idaho, two men struggle to understand the confounding terms of a mortgage loan while connecting over the joy and pain of fatherhood. Will they find community in the face of loneliness? Tickets at http://www.mosaictheater.org
18th – 23rd
HADESTOWN
National Theatre
Two mythological tragedies—the tales of young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice and King Hades and his wife Persephone—join forces in this beguiling musical from pop songstress Anais Mitchell. Doubt vs faith and fear against love drive this Tony® Award winning Best Musical, the first of a knockout pair at our town’s premier Broadway touring house. Tickets at http://www.broadwayatthenational.com
25th – December 7th
SOME LIKE IT HOT
National Theatre
Fun at the National continues with this Broadway hit based on Billy Wilder’s classic film. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s terrific score elevates the material; and the new book by Amber Ruffin and Matthew Lopez—the latter the creator of Round House’s recent hit “The Inheritance”—update the story in a surprising yet meaningful way. Tickets at http://www.broadwayatthenational.com
21st- December 31st
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Ford’s Theatre
The holiday classic returns for another season of soul-searching and merry making with Scrooge, the Cratchit Family and three ghosts who remind us to appreciate what we have and be kind and generous so others may have as well. Tickets at http://www.fords.org
22nd – January 4th
THE SNOWMAN AND THE SNOW DOG
Imagination Stage
If you love the short “Snowman” video, you’ll enjoy this expanded tale of a boy who’s lost his beloved dog. In the garden he builds that famous snowman and then, to keep it company, an icy canine, too. Both come to life after dark, and the three embark on a fantastic journey in this spirited new musical for kids of all ages. Tickets at http://www.imaginationstage.org
26th – January 11th
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
Adventure Theatre MTC
Everybody’s favorite watery life form springs to life for one day of adventures before he melts away. Fun is had by all in this merry wintertime romp, chock-full of chuckles and comic antics, as Frosty gallops into the hearts of kids and adults alike- through his uproarious antics. Tickets at http://www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org.
About the Author: 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 http://www.onstagemdv.org.
Photo credits: Hadestown by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade; Wild Duck by Gerry Goodstein; Fremont Avenue by Ambe J Ha Ha Ha…by Cameron Whitman; Some Like It Hot by Matthew Murphy.