| | | | | Last Chance! Apply to be a 2026 Judge
by October 31!
Helen Hayes Awards Judges typically attend an average of between 40-60 shows throughout the year. Ideal candidates are collaborative, knowledgeable about theatre, critical thinkers, inquisitive, sensitive to artistic design, appreciative of varied and diverse artistic expressions, receptive to new forms of storytelling, maintain a commitment to the celebration and support of Washington theatres and a personal commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression.
| | | 2026 VSLA Nominations Are Now Open!
This annual award recognizes outstanding and creative leadership that has strengthened the regional theatre community through initiative, collaboration, advocacy, and personal generosity, in a specific moment or over an extended period of time. Submit your nomination for the 2026 Award by November 18th!
| | | Please keep in mind that performance dates are subject to change. Be sure to check in with individual theatres about their schedules. For a full list of current and upcoming productions, please visit our Show Selector. | | An Enemy of the People at Theater J
By Henrik Ibsen
In a new adaptation by Amy Herzog
Directed by János Szász
October 29 - November 23 Drama Desk Award winner for Outstanding Adaptation and recent Broadway sensation, Amy Herzog's work unearths the relevance of Ibsen's tale for our time, weighing the cost of standing up to power when pressured into silence. Ibsen's tale highlights the reverberating power of citizens who go against the status quo to do what's right by their community. The story raises powerful questions around the importance of keeping society healthy over economic gain, integrity within influence, and the personal cost of speaking up. | | | Fifth Date at Nu Sass Productions
By Lori Boyd
Directed by Lynn Sharp Spears
October 24 - November 15 Dating in the 30s comes with baggage. Especially when the voice in your head, the one saying all the things you'd never actually say or do, is getting louder. There are expectations that come with a fifth date but if those alter egos in your head get too much control, will it help the relationship flourish or stomp it out? Jil and Ted are about to find out in this comedy set in 1999. | | | Red Pitch at Olney Theatre Center
By Tyrell Williams
Based on the original direction by Daniel Bailey
Now playing through October 26 Bilal, Joey, and Omz have been boys their whole lives, growing up together playing soccer on their small pitch outside their south London apartments. But change is coming. Professional teams are signing up prospects, and they all harbor dreams to be chosen. Moreover, the neighborhood is changing, with lots of new apartments and franchise coffee shops pushing out longtime residents and local favorites. Can their friendship survive the threatened demise of their beloved "red pitch" and all it represents? | | | The Turn of The Screw: The Musical at Creative Cauldron
Adapted from the Novella written by Henry James
Music by Matt Conner
Libretto & Lyrics by Stephen Gregory Smith
Directed by Matt Conner
Music Direction by Paige Rammelkamp
Now playing through October 26 This musical adaptation of the Henry James classic ghost story follows a governess who takes a position caring for two children on a remote country estate. She soon has experiences, eerie encounters and becomes convinced that her wards are being haunted by the spirits of two former employees. | | | Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare at Folger Theatre
By Al Letson
Directed by Nicole Brewer
Now playing through October 26 This bold new play takes Shakespeare's classic tragedy Julius Caesar and reworks it through the lens of the American Civil Rights Movement, focusing on the story of Civil Rights leader Malcolm X and drawing parallels between ancient Rome and 1960s Harlem. | | | Héctor, el niño eléctrico (Héctor, The Electric Kid) at GALA Hispanic
Book & Lyrics by Cornelia Cody
Music by Aldo Ortega
Directed by Mauricio Pita
Now playing through November 1 In this family-friendly bilingual musical, shy 10-year-old boy Héctor meets a wizard in the auto shop where his mother works. After this mysterious encounter, Héctor finds he has a special power: Now Héctor is electric. Can Héctor manage his new power? | | | Fair Play at 1st Stage
By Ella Road
Directed by Deidra LaWan Starnes
Now playing through November 2 The clocks are set. The line is drawn. Ann and Sophie have a chance to be champions. As their relationships, their bodies and their very identities are pulled into public scrutiny, does being exceptional come at too high a price? A gripping exploration of the underside of women's athletics, Fair Play is the new work from Ella Road (The Phlebotomist), "the most promising young playwright in Britain." – The Telegraph | | | Doctor Moloch at Flying V
By Carla Milarch
Directed by Madeleine Regina
Now playing through November 2 It's 2029. A Silicon Valley tech genius finishes development on the first humanoid medical AI, Doctor Moloch. There's just one problem: the good doctor lacks empathy. Enter Serena Blaise, an award-winning actress in the twilight of her career, hired to teach Doctor Moloch how to "be human". With a multi-million dollar contract on the line, can she afford to fail? | | | The Heart Sellers at Studio Theatre
By Lloyd Suh
Directed by Danilo Gambini
Now playing through November 2 Luna, an outgoing immigrant from the Philippines, and the more cautious Jane, recently arrived from South Korea, meet in a near-empty grocery store on Thanksgiving Day, 1973. Their husbands are working. Alone in a country they don't know, they join forces to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Over wine and a stubbornly frozen turkey, these new Americans and even newer friends discuss Soul Train and Jane Fonda, chart the shape of their homesickness, and consider the cost of pursuing an American dream. | | | The Inheritance, Part One and Two at Round House Theatre
By Matthew López
Inspired by the novel Howards End by E.M. Forster
Directed by Tom Story
Now playing through November 2 The Inheritance, which premiered in London in 2018, reimagines E.M. Forster's classic novel through a contemporary lens, tracing the lives of three generations of gay men in New York City in 2015 as they grapple with themes of love and legacy, and the enduring shadow of the AIDS crisis amid a turbulent and changing America. Both deeply moving and sharply funny, the play poses powerful questions: What do we owe those who came before us, and what will we leave behind? | | | SO LATE INTO THE NIGHT at Rorschach Theatre
By Shawn Northrip
Directed by Jenny McConnell Frederick
Music Directed by Nathan Nichipor
Now playing through November 2 at The Stacks @ Buzzard Point Take a seat at the table as Mary Shelley gathers her friends and lovers to look into the afterlife. On the precipice of writing her masterpiece Frankenstein, Mary discovers someone from the future is looking back. SO LATE INTO THE NIGHT is an unforgettable rock séance in DC's iconic Buzzard Point neighborhood. | | | Evil Dead the Musical at Workhouse Arts Center
Book and Lyrics by George Reinblatt
Music by Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris, George Reinblatt
Music Supervision by Frank Cipolla
Now playing through November 2 Five college students go to an abandoned cabin in the woods, and accidentally unleash an evil force that turns them all into demons. It's all up to Ash (a housewares employee, turned demon-killing hero), and his trusty chainsaw to save the day. Blood flies. Limbs are dismembered. Demons tell bad jokes… and all to a rockin' musical score. | | | Not Your Mother's Goose! at Adventure Theatre MTC
By Michael J. Bobbitt and Sandra Eskin
Based on traditional English nursery rhymes
Directed by Serge Seiden
Now playing through November 2 Not Your Mother's Goose! is a high-energy, laugh-out-loud romp through Gooseville, where nursery rhymes come to life—and fall apart in the most delightful way! Full of clever wordplay, wild schemes, magical mishaps, and heartwarming lessons about friendship and community, Not Your Mother's Goose! is a fast-paced theatrical adventure that turns childhood classics upside down—and right-side up again. | | | | | | |
