Thursday, July 9, 2026
Celebrate our country’s 250th birthday with some of the DMV’s best theater. You don’t need a UFC boxing ring or no-talent concert to show your patriotism. Spend a few bucks at one of the following box offices and keep free speech alive!
PIPPIN
Signature Theatre
Through July 26
sigtheatre.org
Brayden Bambino is a handsome, winning Pippin and Erik Teague’s costumes sparkle in this Fosse-faithful production of “Wicked,” composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz’s Broadway musical hit. Naomi Jacobson scores again as Pippin’s wiry grandmother, all under the loving direction of Matthew Gardiner. Choreographer Rachel Leigh Dolan does a nice job reshaping the original movement for Signature’s in-the-round performance space, while musical director Jon Kalbfleisch hews close to the original orchestrations. Leading Player Cedric Neal pushed a little too hard for my tastes, but an appreciative audience gave the production the hoots and hollers it deserved.
FEELING AFRAID AS IF SOMETHING TERRIBLE IS GOING TO HAPPEN
Studio Theatre
Through July 12
studiotheatre.org
Marcelo Dos Santos stars in this one-man show about a permanently single, professionally neurotic stand-up who finally meets Mr. Right and then proceeds to do everything wrong. His dark journey through self-awareness and self-sabotage leads him– and perhaps some of us as well—to choose between love and that killer punchline, delving into the anxieties of modern life from the fear of intimacy to the terror of vulnerability.?
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG
Keegan Theatre
Through July 12
keegantheatre.com
Those well-meaning thespians at the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society are presenting another old chestnut when things go rather swiftly from bad to utterly disastrous. Whether it’s the unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, or actors who trip over everything including their lines, the show must go on, despite the hilarious consequences.
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NO EXIT
Through July 19
Atlas Performing Arts Center
atlasarts.org
Scena Theatre’s offers up Jean-Paul Satre’s existential drama about three fraught souls seemingly locked in a room together. Force to confront their pasts and each other, they (and we) come to the conclusion that psychological torture can be far worse than physical pain.
WHAT BECAME OF US
Through July 26
Signature Theatre
sigtheatre.org
Signature employs two separate casts from very different backgrounds to tell this story about two siblings—one an immigrant, the other native-born—who remain connected across oceans over the course of a lifetime. Each pair’s disparate perspective lead to both fractures and forgiveness as they witness each other’s story in Signature’s intimate Ark space.
CRAZYSEXYCOOL — THE TLC MUSICAL
Arena Stage
Through Aug. 9
arenastage.org
Storming the ’90s music scene and topping the charts, the world-renowned vocal trio TLC created the look, the sound, and the soul of a generation with their unforgettable anthems, fly dance moves and head-turning style. Now their journey comes to the stage in this fresh new musical by writer/ director Kwame Kwei-Armah, who brings TLC’s (mostly true) story of unshakable sisterhood to the stage with multi-platinum hits from “Waterfalls,” and “Creep,” to “Unpretty,” and “No Scrubs.”
SLEEPING BEAUTY: THE TIME TRAVELER
Through Aug. 23
Adventure Theatre MTC
adventuretheatre-mtc.org
The renowned children’s theater company in Glen Echo Park—celebrating its 75th birthday—adds a contemporary spin to the classic tale. There’s still an evil curse and a hidden spindle—but that’s about all you’ll recognize in this new musical about girl power and breaking out of your “castle” to see the world, no matter the risks. As always, Adventure MTC offers an easy bridge for young theatergoers to navigate as they grow from sixty minute musicals about their favorite fairy tales (this one with a computer game twist) and grown up fare like “Wicked” or “The Sound of Music.”
“Sleeping Beauty” at Adventure Theatre MTC. Photo by Cameron Whitman.
BETTLEJUICE
Through July 19
National Theatre
broadwayatthenational.com
Say the title three times and you’re in big trouble. The musical that refuses to die has been touring the country with occasional stops back on Broadway since it opened in 2019, following a try-out here at the National (talk about returning from the dead!). Based on Tim Burton’s film about an unusual teenager whose life changes when she meets a demon with a thing for stripes, this is one wacky musical.
ADRIFT
July 16 through Aug. 2
Round House Theatre
roundhousetheatre.org
Happenstance Theater melds music, comedy, magic and puppetry in a post-apocalyptic voyage that channels the paintings of Hieonymous Bosch and tarot card icons. Follow along as this pod of eccentrics drifts thru their shared hopes and fears, ultimately finding a way forward.
Mark Edelman is a playwright who loves writing about theater. He is a lifetime member of the Broadway League and a Tony voter. Catch his monthly podcast at onstagedmv.org.