Valentine’s Day is approaching, which means it’s a time of passion….the Passion of the Crawford, that is.Yes, the drag sensation Lypsinka’s ode to the famed movie star, opening at Studio Theater Feb. 7, may be the closest thing D.C. theater has to Valentine’s themed content this month. Well, Arena’s doing Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune, a story of lonely, middle-aged people coming together (Feb. 23)…and that’s about it. We may be a cynical, single city, indeed.

What else is going on? In honor of Shakespeare in Washington, Washington Shakespeare Company is staging the lesser-known Rape of Lucrece; we’re pleased, as the city will likely have its fill of The Tempest et. al. by the time summer rolls around (Feb. 9).

Carnival! is a weird musical. The romantic lead is borderline abusive, the ingenue’s kind of delusional, the story’s pretty old-fashioned. But the thing is, there are puppets! Check out the Kennedy Center‘s production and judge for yourself (Feb. 17).

Georgetown University’s Gonda Theater hosts the world premiere of Swimmy and Other Stories, an adaption of children stories written by Leo Leoni. For the production, the performers involved apparently did everything from study playground games to take cardio belly dancing. (Feb. 21).