Things to Do

Plays, Musicals, and Theater Must-Sees in February

More than 30 productions open this month, including Mary Zimmerman’s Tony-winning “Metamorphoses” and David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

Catch Hedda Gabler as part of the Nordic Cool festival at the Kennedy Center. Photograph by Erik Aavatsmark.

January 30 through March 10 at
Studio Theatre, Serge Seiden directs

The Motherf***cker With the Hat
, Stephen Adley Guirgis’s black comedy about a recovering alcoholic torn between the
girlfriend he suspects is cheating on him and his parole counselor.

At
Shakespeare Theatre
, Bethesda native Richard Schiff (The West Wing) starts in Eugene O’Neill’s

Hughie
, a two-man drama about an aging hustler in New York City. January 31 through March
17.

Spooky Action Theatre stages

Kafka on the Shore
, an adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s novel by Frank Galati. January 31 through February
24.

February 1 through 23, Shakespeare’s

Twelfth Night
gets the
Taffety Punk treatment.

February 1 through March 10,
Arena Stage presents

Good People
by David Lindsay-Abaire (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning
Rabbit Hole). Set in South Boston, the show concerns a single mother who forges a plan to escape
her debt.

Toby’s Dinner Theatre, which recently swept the Helen Hayes nominations with its production of
The Color Purple, presents

Fiddler on the Roof
. February 2 through April 28.

Writer/director Joe Calarco returns to Washington with

Shakespeare’s R&J
, his riff on
Romeo and Juliet set at an all-male Catholic boarding school.
At Signature Theatre February 5 through March 3.

No Rules Theatre Company, currently in residence at
Signature, presents Peter Shaffer’s

Black Comedy
, a farce with the lights turned out. February 6 through March 2.

February 6 through 10 at
Arena Stage, Massachusetts-based
Double Edge Theatre has a five-night run of

The Grand Parade
, a world premiere physical theater work exploring
Marc Chagall’s
paintings.

Mitchell Hébert directs
Round House Bethesda’s production of David Mamet’s

Glengarry Glen Ross
, a Pulitzer-winning comedy about four less-than-ethical Chicago real estate agents.
February 6 through March 3.

Another Mamet play,

Race
, comes to
Theater J. The drama features three attorneys asked to defend a wealthy white man against charges
of assaulting a young black woman. February 6 through March 17.

Forum Theatre stages Bill Cain’s

9 Circles
, a psychological drama about war and its aftermath. February 7 through March 3.

February 7 through March 10, Gala Hispanic Theatre presents

La casa de los espíritus (The House of the Spirits)
, an adaptation of the Isabel Allende novel about the
Chilean Trueba
family.

Mary Zimmerman returns to DC, staging her Tony-winning adaptation of

Metamorphoses
at
Arena Stage. February 8 through March 17.

Olney Theatre stages

Spring Awakening
, the Tony-winning rock musical about kids coming of age in 19th-century Germany.
February 9 through March 10.

Woolly Mammoth presents Danai Gurira’s

The Convert
, a drama about a teenage girl in 1980s Africa who escapes a forced marriage by running
away to the home of a missionary. February 13 through March 10.

Pointless Theatre Company presents a puppet adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s

The Canterbury Tales
. February 15 through March 9.

The
Kennedy Center’s
Nordic Cool festival kicks off February 20, bringing National Theatre of Norway’s production
of
Hedda Gabler and Royal Dramatic Theatre, Sweden’s
Fanny and Alexander, among others. Find full details
at the Kennedy Center’s website. Through March
10.

February 21 through March 17,
Washington Stage Guild offers

Inferno
, a one-man adaptation of Dante’s epic adapted and performed by WSG’s Bill Largess.

Opening at
Synetic Theater February 21 is

The Tempest
, the mostly wordless company’s latest installment in its Silent Shakespeare series.
Through March 23.

The
Intersections festival returns to
Atlas Performing Arts Center February 23 through March 10. Faction of Fools participates by staging its
Plays on the American Mask, February 23 through 25.

At
Rep Stage February 27 through March 17 is

Home
, Samm-Art Williams’s Tony-nominated play about a
young man growing up in North
Carolina.

 

Ongoing/Last Chance

Theater J’s

Boged: An Enemy of the People
closes February 3. Read our
review.

Studio Theatre’s

Contractions
also closes February 3. Read our
review.

 

Washington Stage Guild’s production of Karoline Leach’s

Tryst
closes February 10.

Constellation Theatre’s world premiere production of

Zorro
closes February 17. Read our
review.

Rorschach Theatre’s

The Minotaur
also closes February 17. Read our
review.

 

Ford’s Theatre’s production of

Our Town
closes February 24. Read our preview.

Keegan Theatre’s production of

Cabaret
closes March 2. Read our review.

 

The Folger’s

Henry V
closes March 3. Read our
review.

 

MetroStage’s

Ladies Swing the Blues
closes March 17.

 

For Kids

Imagination Stage presents

Anime Momotaro
, a Japanese folktale about a boy found inside a giant peach. The production is by
Hawaii’s Honolulu Theatre for Youth. Through March 10.

February 14 through March 10,
the Puppet Co. stages

Little Red Riding Hood and the 3 Little Pigs.