This post is submitted by TNG reader Chris, a musician and teacher working in consulting for not-for-profit performing arts groups. He is music director and adjunct faculty member in the theatre and dance department at UMW. Sometimes his living room turns into a piano bar in the wee hours of the weekend and for that he apologizes to his downstairs neighbors.

If anyone ever tries to tell you that DC suffers from a lack of creative, exciting, compelling and meaningful theatre it is your duty to smack them upside the head. Then bring them to a show. In February alone nearly fifty different shows will run throughout the metro area. Yeah, fifty. I find that overwhelming, in the best possible way. Even if you’re the biggest theatre fan on the planet there’s no way to see everything, let alone afford it. At the start of each month, I will happily bring you a Theatre Roundup that attempts to focus on some of the shows happening in and around Washington. I’ve tried to pick shows that I think may be especially interesting for you, the TNG reader. And because we’re all dirt poor until we get some Obamabucks, I’ll toss in some info about pay-what-you-can nights or great deals (and I’ll mark those with a $). In no particular order, here goes…

• A Delicate Balance - Arena Stage
Edward Albee is one of the great American playwrights and, good news, he’s still alive! And because he’s alive he was part of the production process. He worked with director Pam MacKinnon from time to time on this production of one of his great stories about family life and how fragile some of our situations really are. While Arena’s gorgeous new center is under construction, they are performing in Crystal City in temporary space under the Crystal City Marriott in a full theatre they’ve rigged up.

Runs Feb. 6 – March 15

• Dante’s Divine Comedy – Synetic Theatre
Hell, Purgatory and Paradise all in one night? I hope Dante packed a sandwich. This is bound to be quite the show (and rumor has it may be laced with some homo tendencies).

Runs Feb. 6 – March 21

• The Little Dog Laughed– Signature Theatre
Little Dog is staged in Signature’s more intimate Ark Theatre and officially earns a Hottie Alert for the beautiful four-person cast. The story follows a Hollywood actor and the juicy gay gossip surrounding him, endlessly frustrating his agent. Get this – Cutie Actor has a thing for this Rentboy and Rentboy’s Girlfriend is not thrilled. But what if Rentboy likes Cutie Actor? I’m not ashamed to tell you that I dig shows that warn of “brief nudity, sexual content and side-splitting humor.”

Runs until March 8.

• The Dog in the Manger – The Shakespeare Theatre
So, as Aesop’s fable goes, a dog falls asleep in a manger of hay. When the cows wake him up because they are hungry the dog doesn’t let them have any of the hay, even though he can’t eat it himself. We’re left with a moral along the lines of “we often begrudge others what we ourselves can’t enjoy.” From there, 16th century Spanish playwright Lope de Vega’s play is an exploration of class and love. The Shakespeare Theatre is top-notch professional acting that doesn’t disappoint.

Runs Feb. 10 – March 29.
$ – There are tickets available for $10 each week for those under age 35. Click here for details.

• Hell Meets Henry Halfway –Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Woolly Mammoth is one of my all-time, absolute faves in DC. Philadelphia-based Pig Iron Theatre Co. makes a guest appearance on the Woolly stage for a show that will be, without exaggeration, unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The official press blurb has a sentence worth a million bucks, so I’ll just give you that: “…Pig Iron transforms a gothic mystery into an orgiastic celebration of nihilism…An existential classic explodes into delicious darkness and antic acrobatics.” Who can resist that promise of nuttiness?

Runs Feb. 2 – March 1.
$ – There are $15 tickets available to all shows for folks under age 25. They also do $15 “stampede” tickets available 2 hours before any show for those of us who have said goodbye to those tender years. Click here for details.

• Avenue Q – The Warner Theatre
It’s Sesame Street for grown ups who cuss and watch porn. The Warner brings us the hit musical as part of their first Broadway series. With songs like “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist,” “The Internet is for Porn,” and “You Can Be As Loud As the Hell You Want When You’re Makin’ Love” this is a brash, bust-up laughing show for anyone muddling through their quarter-life crisis.

Runs Feb. 10 – 15 (one week only)

• Roundheads and Peakheads – Catalyst Theatre Co. (at the Atlas)
Performing at the snazzy Atlas Performing Arts Center in the equally snazzy H St. Corridor, Catalyst brings us one of Bertolt Brecht’s searing works. If you haven’t seen any Brecht, this is the time. Set in the land of Yahoo, the poor tenants begin to rise up against the greedy landowners. So the landowners do what any sensible, mean, money-grubbing person would…they try to turn the tenants against each other using class and race warfare.

Runs Feb. 11 – March 15.
$ – Get this…all tickets are $10. And pay-what-you-can previews are Feb. 11 – 14.

• The Heavens Are Hung in Black – Ford’s Theatre
After what feels like forever, Ford’s Theatre will reopen this month after a major renovation. In a totally expected, and probably appropriate move, their first show will be about…wait for it…Lincoln! While I think this show will skew a bit sappy, it’s a great opportunity to see the new Ford’s. If you’re the musical theatre type, you may want to wait until March when The Civil War begins its run.

Runs Feb. 3 – March 8.

• The Inspector General – Journeymen Theatre
Playing in a small theatre near Dupont Circle, Journeymen brings a 19th century Russian satire into the heart of Washington, forcing the comparison between the corrupt and dysfunctional government depicted in the play and our own a few blocks away.

Runs Feb. 4 – 28.
$ – Tickets are $20 and each Wednesday is a pay-what-you-can night.

• Les Miserables – Signature Theatre
I can hear what you’re saying. “I’ve seen this 3 times already” or “Mom used to make me watch the concert video over and over.” Yes, yes, I get it. Les Mis wasn’t ever one of my very favorite musicals either. But the uber-talented folks over at Signature have totally re-crafted this huge show and managed to fit it into their intimate black box theatre. You’re nearly sitting in the action and suddenly this becomes a very real and gritty drama. Where other productions go sappy, Signature plays up the realism and violence. If you like the show or music,
you’ll want to see this new production. It’s extremely rare that Les Mis ever gets a break from that damn rotating stage.

The extended run closes Feb. 22.

• The Seafarer – Studio Theatre
Seafarer took the Tony awards by storm last year and is currently running on Studio’s mainstage. Set in Dublin, four friends drink and play cards until the Devil shows up to ruin their fun. What follows is a card game full of humor, inebriation and stabs at redemption mashed up with a “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and Faustian spin.

Runs until Feb. 22.

• The Marriage of Figaro – Constellation Theatre (at SOURCE)
Playing at the hip Source theatre you’ve walked past on the way to Black Cat, Constellation brings us the play that inspired Mozart’s well-known opera. This farce is full of period humor, using bawdiness, mistaken identity, and class conflict. Their promo materials also feature a scantily clad bosom.

Runs until Feb. 22.
$ – Tickets are $20.

---

First time here? See what we're all about... Get involved... Send us a tip!...

---