The doldrums of August are notorious in D.C. – the politicians leave, the lobbyists take vacation, and overtaken by humidity, the city doesn’t pulse with as much life as it normally does. The theater world is often no exception, with many houses remaining dark during the month. Luckily, a couple companies are intrepid enough to mount productions regardless, and here are some of the highlights:

The always thoughtful Journeymen Theater tries its hands at Getting Out, a work that looks at starting your life over after prison. (Aug. 22)

Open Circle’s production of Evita last year was a formidable one; we’re anxious to see what the company, which highlights actors with disabilities, does with Songs For A New World, which we recently saw at Strathmore (August 9).

Get cool, boy! Beat the heat in August with Wolf Trap’s production of West Side Story (August 28). It beats renting the movie, forgetting to return it, and then having to buy it off Blockbuster because your fines are so high, like I did one summer…