Kennedy Center

Strike the red and black—the Eisenhower Theater’s facelift has changed the auditorium’s colors to blue and gold. To celebrate the theater’s reopening after 16 months, the Kennedy Center presents “Broadway: Three Generations,” an evening of three abridged musicals—George and Ira Gershwin’s Girl Crazy, first performed on Broadway in 1930; Bye Bye Birdie from 1961; and 1997’s Side Show. October 2 through 5; Eric Schaeffer directs. For tickets ($25 to $90), call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

Galway’s Druid theater company stops here October 22 through 25 to perform J.M. Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World and Shadow of the Glen. The first is about a man who has run away from home because, he says, he has killed his father; the second is a look at marital fidelity. Both dramas use lyrical language with plenty of laughs—they are Irish. For tickets ($65), call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.

Synetic Theatre at Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre

Because of the crisis in their native Georgia, Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili canceled their production of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in favor of reviving Host and Guest, a dramatization of an epic Georgian poem about a Muslim and a Christian who become friends. The show closes November 9. For tickets ($20 to $40), call 800-494-8947 or 703-824-8060 or visit synetictheater.org. 1611 N. Kent St., Arlington.

Shakespeare Theatre at the Lansburgh

The Way of the World, a comedy of manners by William Congreve, was first performed in London—the city it satirizes—in 1700. It has come to be considered the greatest Restoration comedy. Love, wealth, and the search for a suitable mate are its themes. Veanne Cox—hilarious in another Restoration comedy at the Shakespeare, The Beaux’ Stratagem—returns. Floyd King, Andrew Long, and Nancy Robinette are also in the cast; Michael Kahn directs. September 30 through November 16. For tickets ($23.50 to $79.75), call 202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org; 450 Seventh St., NW.

Folger Theatre

Delaney Williams, familiar to viewers of HBO’s The Wire, in which he played a homicide cop, is returning to his DC roots. Williams plays Falstaff in Henry IV, Part One, directed by Paul Barnes, October 8 through November 16. For tickets ($25 to $55), call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu/theatre; 201 E. Capitol St., SE.

Studio Theatre

A Beautiful View, written and directed by Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor—a fringe-theater favorite whose work is being recognized more and more by the mainstream—runs October 8 through November 2. It’s about two women who have known each other for 30 years. For tickets ($30), call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org. 1501 14th St., NW.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

MacHomer is writer/performer Rick Miller’s take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, done in voices modeled on TV’s The Simpsons. October 8 through 12; for tickets ($40), call 202-393-3939 or visit woollymammoth.net. 641 D St., NW.

Signature Theatre

The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh—known for stark dramas with black humor—is about a man who flirts with murder but weeps for his deceased cat. Jeremy Skidmore directs; closes November 16. For tickets ($44 to $52), call Ticketmaster at 703-573-7328 or visit signature-theatre.org. 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington; 703-820-9771.

Arena Stage at Crystal City

Citizen Josh, an autobiographical monologue written and performed by Josh Kornbluth, takes on, in an often comic way, democracy and the right to vote. October 9 through 26; for tickets ($47 to $66), call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org. 1800 S. Bell St., Arlington.