By Mark Edelman
Spring is upon us in all its color and warmth. 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 some of these shows, all in bloom around the DMV this month:
AS YOU LIKE IT
Folger Theatre
Now thru 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 he/she gets chased around the stage by the lusty Phebe. 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 the handsome Manu Kumasi as Orlando and Tsilala Brock and Sabrina Lynne Sawyer as cousins Roz and Celia. Ahmad Kamai’s Touchstone applies the Fool-ishness, 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 thru 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 thru 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 the family musical the kids will love and mom will swoon over. You can’t beat that combo, Dad. Tickets at http://www.broadwayatthenational.com
EDDIE IZZARD IN THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET
Klein Theatre
Now thru April 11
STC presents the Prince of Denmark’s tragic tale of revenge, told onstage, alone, by the remarkable Eddie Izzard, who perfoms all twenty-three roles– 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 http://www.shakespearetheatre.org
HAMNET
Harman Hall
Now thru April 12
The esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company visits STC’s Harman Hall with this stage adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel about parent Will and Agnes Shakespeare whose eleven 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 thru- April 12
Actor, theater maker, 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 that IS drag. Counting on lip synching, too. Tickets at http://www.woollymammoth.net
SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED
Signature Theatre
Now thru April 12
Curious about a classified ad inviting readers to go back in time– “bring your own weapons; you’ll get paid after we get back”—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/playwright Nick Blaemire to craft this new musical based on the hit movie. Tickets at http://www.sigtheatre.org
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
Little Theatre of Alexandria
Now thru April 18
The 1967 romantic comedy, directed by Stanley Kramer, gets the Little Theatre treatment. When an Upper East Side affluent (need I say “white”?) family welcomes daughter’s new boyfriend, social constraints and unearthed prejudices rock an otherwise predictable dinner party. Sidney Poitier played the bf in the movie, which coincidentally came out the same year the Supreme Court decided Loving v Virginia, striking down our anti-miscegenation laws. Tickets at http://www.thelittletheatre.com
JONAH
Studio Theatre
Now thru 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 the Studio for this DC premier. Tickets at http://www.studiotheatre.org
A GOOD DAY TO ME NOT TO YOU
Arena Stage
Now thru 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 http://www.arenastage.org
1776
Ford’s Theatre
Now thru 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 http://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 fortieth 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 (not the one four block south at
the DOJ), 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 http://www.stageguild.org
44: THE MUSICAL
April 15 – May 10
Klein Theatre
A wacky send-up of our 44th president’s special place in history. If you miss Barak 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 the special engagement for you. Not for fans of Alex Jones or Stephen Miller. Tickets at www.shakespearetheatre.org.
About the Author: 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.onstagedmv.org.
Photo credits: As You Like It by Brittany Diliberto; Hamnet by Kyle Flubacker; Eddie Izzard’s Hamlet by Amanda Searle; Inherit the Wind by Daniel Rader; Safety Not Guaranteed by Christopher Mueller.