compiled by: Mai Nguyen and Svetlana Legetic

If you’re anything like us, you’ll want to go to the theatre and throw yourself into the vortex of emotions only a live performance can provoke in you. So, to paraphrase that old theatre reviewer stand-by line “YOU’LL LAUGH, YOU’LL CRY…” we figured we’d walk you through some choice offerings this season of DC has to offer (and blessedly, no CATS in sight)

• THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR @ SHAKESPEARE THEATRE CO. (June 12-July 15) – A poor knight attempts to woo two girls at once, but his plan backfires because they find out and then seek revenge.
• THE TAMING OF THE SHREW @ SYNETIC THEATRE (March 31-April 22) – The eight installment in the Silent Shakespeare series with a special alliance to the Shakespeare Theatre Company.
• Puerto Rico…¡fuá! @ GALA THEATRE (June 7-July 1) –
• MEIN KAMPF @ H STREET PLAYHOUSE (July 6-August 19) – “Visit a flophouse in old Vienna, where Herzl and Lobkowitz befriend a young, down-and-out painter named Hitler. Be among the first in DC to see this savagely funny black comedy.”
• THE ADDAMS FAMILY @ KENNEDY CENTER (July 12-July 29) – Watch events unravel (in song) with the Addams family when Wednesday gets a “normal” boyfriend.

(photo from: ADDAMS FAMILY)

• STRANGE INTERLUDE @ SHAKESPEARE THEATRE (March 27 – April 29) – How’s this for a pick-me-up: Nina, the protagonist, loses her fiance in the war. Afterward, she becomes a nurse and gives her body to wounded soldiers. The plot follows her life of getting married, being pregnant, having an abortion, having affairs, and other love drama that ensues.
• LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT @ ARENA STAGE (March 30-May 6) – Follows the Tyrones, a typical American family. However, as they get drunk one night, they each have to “confront the demons that plague them individually” to save their family from being torn apart.
• Two Othellos: Ballet ADI’s Othello and Mo(or)town/Redux @ AMERICAN DANCE INSTITUTE (May 5-6) – A modern dance reconstruction of the classic Shakespearean tragedy.

(photo from: Strange interlude)

• THE NORMAL HEART @ ARENA STAGE (June 8-July 29) – A politically thrilling story that follows a group of friends in New York during the AIDS crisis. They’re trying to spread the truth about the epidemic while politicians, doctors, and the media try to hide it.
• THE ANIMALS AND THE CHILDREN TOOK TO THE STREETS @ STUDIO THEATRE (June 8-July 1) – Agnes Eaves and her daughter arrive at Bayou, which is described as a “dystopian metropolis.” Does their arrival signal hope in a desolate place, or will they be consumed by the horror that lies there?
• GOD OF CARNAGE @ SIGNATURE THEATER (April 10-June 24) – The Jodie Foster/Kate Winslet movie based on Yasmina Reza’s award winning play was a disappointment but left us wanting to see it in its natural setting: The story takes place in Brooklyn as two upper-middle-class couples meet to talk after an incident at the playground when both of their sons got into a fight. The conversation starts politely but then heats up.

(photo from: The Normal Heart)

• THE SEAFARER @ H STREET PLAYHOUSE (April 6- May 20) – “Witness a group of Irish lads playing cards at a boozy Christmas party. When they run out of things to wager, they bet their souls. Yet, there is hell to pay when the devil comes to collect.”
• MR. BURNS-A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY @ WOOLLY MAMMOTH (May 28-July 1) – Survivors of a post-apocalyptic America invent a new entertainment industry after Armageddon hit and destroyed. How do they do it? BY RE-ENACTING EPISODES OF “THE SIMPSONS”, naturally.
• Crown of Shadows: the wake of odysseus @ ROUND HOUSE THEATRE (April 11-May 6)- A modern remake of The Odyssey.
• BACHELORETTE @ STUDIO THEATRE -(May 23-July 1) – A group of high school girls throw a bachelorette party for their friend, but they’re bitter that their “fat” friend is getting married first, so they ruin the party before their friend even gets there.

• ARIAS WITH A TWIST @ WOOLLY MAMMOTH (April 8-May 6)-two iconoclasts: Joey Arias and Basil Twist join forces to bring DC  a drag queen/A musical puppet show that travels through time and space. Nothing not to like.
• BROTHER RUSSIA @ SIGNATURE THEATER – (playing now)-aka YOUNG RASPUTIN-the musical. Read our full review here.
• BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON @ STUDIO THEATRE (July 11-August 5) – the Broadway smash comes to DC.

(photo: original BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON cast)

• 1776 @ FORD’S THEATRE (now – May 19) – as DC as a musical can get: Watch the birth of our nation through song as George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson try to separate our country from the British.
• XANADU @ SIGNATURE THEATER (May 8-July 1) – previously immortalized in a (horrible but amazing) movie starring Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelley: Kira, one of seven Greek muses, follows three rules: inspire mortals, never reveal her identity, and never fall in love. However, that might change as she encourages a struggling mortal artist, Sonny, to create the first roller disco.
• THE MUSIC MAN @ ARENA STAGE (May 11-July 27) – “Professor” Harold Hill goes to River City and transforms the entire town from a place plagued with “sin and corruption” into a better community through the formation of a boys’ band.
• MEMPHIS @ KENNEDY CENTER (June 12-July 1) – Inspired by true events, the Broadway hit follows a white radio DJ who wants to change the world and a black club singer who is ready for her big break.

(photo: Original MEMPHIS cast)

• Shen Yun: Reviving 5,000 Years of Civilization @ KENNEDY CENTER (now through April 1) – get transported to China through their traditional song and dance.
• The Washington Ballet’s ALICE @ KENNEDY CENTER (April 11-April 15) – New music. New choreography. OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD costumes and art direction. Everything about this production is going to be so fabulous we can barely stand it. Keep an eye out for a fully blown behind-the-scenes preview.

(photo: The Washington Ballet’s ALICE)

• COME FLY AWAY @ KENNEDY CENTER (April 18-April 29) – Watch four couples fall in and our of love while they dance and sing.
• The Washington Ballet’s: Once Upon a Time @ THE ARC (May 19-20) – A production inspired by fairytales from all over the world and world premieres for TWB’s David Palmer, Monique Meunier, Elaine Kudo, Lucy Bowen McCauley and Andile Ndlovu.
• Paris Opera Ballet: GISELLE (July 5-July 8) – The Paris Opera Ballet returns to the Kennedy Center for the first time since 1993 to perform Giselle.

(photo: PARIS OPERA Ballet’s Giselle)

• Check out the League of Washington Theatres website for updates on specials.
• If You Are Under 35 and have a valid ID to prove it, tickets to Shakespeare Theatre Company are only $15 for you. Start using and abusing that fact NOW.
• Before each show in DC opens, there is inevitably one or two of pay-what-you-can nights. Tickets are usually only available for in-person purchase but just keep an eye out (the calendar on top should come in handy here).
• Studio Theatre, one of our favorites in town offers all sorts of useful discounts: Student Rush: $15 tickets day of show, must present Student ID when picking up.  or just plain Rush Tickets: $30 tickets on sale 30 minutes before curtain time as available. or Nov 2, Dec 1, Feb 29, May 23, Jun 13. Ticket Price: $20 for patrons who live or work in the Studio District, with proof of address. Tickets only available day of event. What is the Studio District? The area between 11th and 17th Streets NW, and from N ST NW to Florida Ave NW.

Let us know in the comments if you feel we missed anything unmissable and keep and eye out for more SPRING/SUMMER GUIDES TO COME! (FILM+MUSIC+FOOD have already been published)