The winter season is a great time to see the theater scene in Washington, DC With dozens of performances in the capital region, here is the schedule of the best shows for the 2016-2017 season. Enjoy a variety of live theater performances ranging from Broadway-style musicals to dramatic productions and children’s shows.
Tickets are available directly from the specific venue or through Ticketmaster.com.
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins – Kennedy Center – December 22-31, 2017. Based on the book by Richard and Florence Atwater. In the small town of Stillwater, the painter and decorator, Mr. Popper is a personable, practical and predictable person who periodically sighs for polar adventures. But when a quirky package on the Poppers’ porch produces a penguin, chaos creeps into their lives! Soon, the Poppers open their home and their hearts to not one, not two, but a bunch of boisterous black and white birds.
- At your feet! – Kennedy Center – January 9-28, 2018. From their humble beginnings in Cuba, Emilio and Gloria Estefan came to America and broke all barriers to become a crossover sensation at the top of the pop music world. But just when they thought they had it all, they almost lost it all.
- Sovereignty – Arena Stage – January 12 to February 18, 2018. Sarah Ridge Polson, a young Cherokee lawyer fighting to restore her nation’s jurisdiction, must face the ever-present ghosts of her grandparents. With shadows stretching from the Cherokee Nation of the 1830s (now present-day Georgia) through Andrew Jackson’s Oval Office to the Cherokee Nation in present-day Oklahoma, Sovereignty asks how high the flames of anger can rise before that they finally consume the truth.
- Jefferson Garden – Ford’s Theater – January 19 – February 11, 2018. In this dramatic drama, Christian, a Quaker pacifist, challenges his family to fight in the American Revolution. Susannah, an enslaved woman, is tempted to fight for the British when they promise liberation. The two meet and cross paths with Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Sally Hemings. These encounters force them to confront the commitments that the United States makes after the promise of equality. Wertenbaker creates a dazzling world, taking us from the revolutionary battlefields to Paris to Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. Part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival.
- The Great Society – Arena Stage – February 2 to March 11, 2018. As the United States is divided by civil rights protests and the anguish of the Vietnam War, LBJ struggles to maintain its relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., keep his political opponents in check and complete a series of impossibly ambitious social policy projects.
- Riverdance – Warner Theater – February 2-4, 2018. The international phenomenon of Irish dance is back by popular demand with Riverdance – The 20th Anniversary World Tour.
- Disney On Ice Presents Frozen – Capital One Arena – February 14-19, 2018. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse take audiences through a magical story based in Arendelle, with special appearances by beloved Disney princesses and favorite characters from Disney / Pixar’s Toy Story and Disney’s Finding Nemo and the Lion King , teaming up to prove that true love is the greatest power of all.
- Broadway Center Stage: Chess – Kennedy Center – February 14-18, 2018. The pawns in this dramatic rock opera form a love triangle: the cunning American chess star, the sincere Russian champion, and the wizard debating each other. Follow the machinations and manipulations from Bangkok to Budapest in a semi-staged concert.
- Hold These Truths – Arena Stage – February 23 to April 8, 2018. Recovering from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and driven by fear and prejudice, the United States placed its own citizens of Japanese descent in internment camps. A play for our times, Hold These Truths tells the true story of Gordon Hirabayashi, the American who defied an unjust court order to defend the values on which America was founded.
- The Wiz – Ford’s Theater – March 9 to May 12, 2018. The Wiz is a musical festival featuring soul, gospel, R&B and pop, as well as exuberant choreography. Advance down the road with Dorothy and her friends Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion on their quest to meet The Wiz. In this adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s magical novel, a tornado takes Dorothy to the fantastic land of Oz. There, she and her cronies encounter munchkins, flying monkeys, and a power-hungry witch named Evillene who vows to destroy them.
- More to be announced
See also, Spring Theater in Washington, DC.
Looking for more entertainment in Washington DC? View our monthly event calendars and plan ahead for the next few months.
