Have a Valentine’s month so romantic you exude heart shaped bokeh. Photo: Jeff Gamble/flickr
Roses are boring, chocolates are (deliciously) overplayed—you can do so much better than having a basic Valentine’s Day this year. Consider catching a play this month instead; not only will you get some culture points from your guy or gal, you don’t even have to see something romantic. We’ve got everything from secret agents in World of Warcraft to a Civil War Odyssey on the agenda:
NOW PLAYING
>> PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE: Steve Martin’s now 20-year-old (!) Off Broadway tale finds Picasso and Einstein holed up in the same French bar; things rapidly get absurd. From Keegan Theater through February 13.
>> THE CRITIC and THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND. Here’s what we said last month: “Let’s get meta.” The Critic is an update to an 18th century tale about that most dastardly villain in the theater world: critics. The Real Inspector Hound is a Tom Stoppard play-within-a-play. Both run with the same cast, back-to-back. At Shakespeare Theatre Company through February 14.
>> I SHALL NOT HATE: Based on the memoirs of Izzeldin Abuelaish, this one-man show is performed by Gasan Abas in Hebrew and Arabic. From Mosaic Theater Company playing at Atlas Performing Arts Center through February 14.
>> A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Presented with Indonesian shadow puppetry and a full orchestra at WSC Avant Bard . Disclosure: regular DCist theater contributor Jonelle Walker is involved in the production. Recently extended through February 14.
>> EQUUS Our reviewer found this play about nudity and killing horses a lot more thoughtful and sensitive than that flippant description would suggest. Playing at Constellation Theatre at Source through February 14.
>> AGENTS OF AZEROTH: Did you know that government agents expanded their world of spycraft into the World of Warcraft? They really, really did. This play investigates that silly-yet-frighteningly-serious corner of reality. From the Washington Rogues at Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint through February 14.
>> FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS I, II, AND III) Our reviewer found that this play, a Civil War-era retooling of The Odyssey, speaks volumes about the world we live in today. Read the review here. It plays at Round House Theatre through February 21.
>> THE GLASS MENAGERIE: This Tennessee Williams family drama left our reviewer hoping for someone to root for. Playing at Ford’s Theatre through February 21.
>> THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG: Sara, Pfeni, and the totally-normally-named Gorgeous are three middle-aged, Jewish sisters with very different lives who gather for a party. At Theater J through February 21.
>> SWEAT By way of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (which most recently gave us Pericles at Folger), this play from Lynn Nottage focuses on the lives of residents of a factory town in the grip of massive layoffs. At Arena Stage through February 21.
>> BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY. This dark comedy about fighting city hall was the winner of a 2015 Pulitzer Prize. At Studio Theatre through February 28.
>> SENORITA Y MADAME: THE SECRET WAR OF ELIZABETH ARDEN AND HELENA RUBINSTEIN: Most of the plot of this play is in its mouthful of a title, which features these two giants of the cosmetics industry, who, ah, didn’t quite like each other all that much. At GALA Hispanic Theatre through February 28. In Spanish with English surtitles.
>> WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING: Several generations of a family have put each other through hell; in 2039 they finally find a chance to break the cycle of hurt, just in time for the possible end of the world. At 1st Stage in Tyson’s Corner; Michael Dove directs. Through February 28.
>> THE CITY OF CONVERSATION: A political parlor play that follows the lives of a D.C. family over the years. We interviewed two of the stars of the show. At Arena Stage through March 6.
>> SHAKE LOOSE: A MUSICAL NIGHT OF BLUES, MOODS AND ICONS: A full length revue of music from MetroStage favorites, Thomas W. Jones, William Hubbard, and William Knowles. Plays through March 6.
>> A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Director Aaron Posner finds new life and a whole lot of modern humor in one of Shakespeare’s most approachable plays. At Folger through March 13 (recently extended).
>> GUARDS AT THE TAJ This two-hander comedy follows, of course, two guards at the Taj Mahal, who are forbidden from looking at the building they’re charged with protecting. Through February 28 at Woolly Mammoth.
OPENING SOON
>> COLLABORATORS: This comedy—from Trainspotting writer John Hodge—covers (an imagined) relationship between Stalin and a famous Russian writer. At Spooky Action Theater from February 11 through March 6.
