image credit: Scott Suchman>> Red, opening at Arena Stage, drops you squarely inside the world of painter Mark Rothko. Follow the artist as he struggles with a series of grand-scale paintings and confronts his demons. Also at Arena Stage, Elephant Room, which examines the childlike wonder of three deluded illusionists who choose to live their off-center lives by sleight of hand. Both are opening January 20.
>> At the end of the month, Signature Theater explores the “Me Generation” in Really Really. The play takes place on the campus of an unnamed university and deals with a startling accusation. Events quickly devolve, leaving every man for himself. Opening January 31.
>> Opening at Ford’s Theater this month, Necessary Sacrifices explores the two documented encounters between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln during a period of national crisis. January 20.
>> Time Stands Still follows an injured photojournalist who returns home from the battlefields of Iraq only to learn that some images can never be erased. Studio Theater, opened January 4.
>> La Cage aux Folles tells the story of the owner of a glitzy nightclub and his partner as they navigate their way hilariously through a visit from their son’s fiancée’s conservative parents. Opening at the Kennedy Center on January 17.
Also this month:
- Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint presents A Commedia, Romeo and Juliet. This high-octane take on the classic star-crossed lovers features five actors in a one-hour cutting, highlighting the tragedy by juxtaposing it with humor. Opening January 12.
- Two Gentlemen of Verona (a rock opera) centers on the relationship between two friends, Proteus and Valentine, as they battle for the affections of the same woman. Shakespeare Theater Company, opening January 27. Running at the same time, get a more traditional take on the same play, at the same theater — Two Gentlemen of Verona starts January 17.
- The thrills of the gaming table stylishly play out against the eccentricities of English manners in this comedy at Folger Shakespeare Library. The Gaming Table opens January 24.
- Josephine Tonight opens at Metro Stage on January 26. This musical biography draws on the early life of the singer, actress and nightclub sensation in the U.S. and Europe in the first part of the 20th century.
- Adventure Theater opens a play based on the popular children’s book The Snow Day. This simple tale is about a boy waking up to discover that snow has fallen during the night and the wonder and excitement a snow day can bring. The Snowy Day opens January 20.
- At Round House Theater see Dance Exchange’s lost, left, found & borrowed featuring works about dementia, memory and the shifting role of caretakers and caregivers. January 13.
- Laughter on the 23rd Floor takes a look at the backstage chaos that goes into writing and producing a show during the 1950’s golden age of television. Opens at Keegan Theater on January 21.
- Theater J opened The Religion Thing on January 4, a comedy about relationships, faith and compromise.
