We recommend using your first wish on spring weather that actually feels like spring. (Photo by Kevin Harber)
April showers bring May showers awful winter weather lots of new plays! Don’t get stuck out in the freezing cold; give one of these nice, climate-controlled plays a try:
LAST CHANCE
>>AMERICAN IDIOT: Remember when politics were way simpler, but also kind of just as angsty, in the distant past of the Bush administration? Keegan Theatre does (and so did our critic), with this Green Day musical. Through April 9
>>MARJORIE PRIME: Here’s what we said last month. From Black Mirror to The Stepford Wives, tales of robotic spouses tend not to end terrifically well. Marjorie doesn’t care; in Jordan Harrison’s comedy, she lives with the hologram of her dead husband who is (bonus) set to look 50 years younger. At Olney Theatre Center through April 10
>>THE LION: Benjamin Scheuer plays six guitars (alas, not all at the same time) in his one man show, a project he kicked off in the midst of a fight against cancer. At Arena Stage through April 10
>>1984: This international touring production is an adaptation of the classic novel about a society under constant surveillance from Big Brother. At Shakespeare Theatre Company at Lansburgh Theatre through April 10
NOW PLAYING
>>THE FLICK: Four characters spend three hours in a movie theater talking about not much at all in this surprising, Pulitzer-winning comedy from Annie Baker. Our critic says that you can feel every minute pass by—and that it is “very, very good”. At Signature Theatre through April 17
>>FALLING OUT OF TIME: If you’re a frequent visitor of the internet— and we suspect you are— you may have encountered some of Junji Ito’s body horror manga featuring masses of people falling to an obsession that ultimately ends in body horror? This is like that, if the genre was depressing tragedy instead of gore horror. On the plus side, you may get soup at the end. At Theater J through April 17
>>AFTER THE WAR: We spoke with Ari Roth and Peter Sinai about their first artistic collaboration since Theater J, this drama by Israeli playwright Motti Lerner. Plays via Mosaic Theater at the Atlas Performing Arts Center through April 17.
>>MOMENT. Here’s what we said last month: Another contemporary Irish crime drama— perhaps Ireland’s chief export these days—this one a deep exploration of family from playwright Deirdre Kinahan. At Studio Theatre through April 24.
>>CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF: The Tennessee Williams classic, starring Gregory Wooddell and Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan. We spoke with Wooddell about his acting off and on the stage in preparation for the classic role. At Round House Theatre through April 24.
>>PROOF: Another Pulitzer winner, this drama from David Auburn is about mathematical geniuses and (in Broadway and movie form) has starred the likes of Neil Patrick Harris, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal. We spoke with the stars of this performanceat 1st Stage Tysons, through May 1.
>>ALL THE WAY: Playwright Robert Schenkkan has this Tony winning deep dive into the life of LBJ himself, Lyndon Johnson. At Arena Stage through May 8.
>>110 IN THE SHADE: If you can’t stand the heat, get out of Texas. This musical based on The Rainmaker has been singing through the sweltering heat since the 60’s. Our reviewer found that the charming performances overcame a somewhat stifling script. At Fords Theatre through May 14
OPENING SOON
>>THE MYSTERY OF LOVE AND SEX: Jinkies, gang. Can two childhood friends take the plunge into romance and survive the experience? It probably doesn’t help that they have lots going against them— including the fact that they’re not even sure they’re that into each other. Opening tonight at Signature Theatre through May 8.
>>THE NETHER: This show promises to employ the most extensive use of projections that Woolly Mammoth Theatre has ever seen, which is really saying something. Starring Edward Gero in his first play at Woolly. Currently in previews; opens Friday April 8, through May 1.
LATER THIS MONTH
>>THE RAT PACK at Signature Theatre, from April 19 through April 23.
>>JERSEY BOYS at National Theatre, opening April 6, through April 24.
>>DIAL ‘M’ FOR MURDER at Olney Theatre Center, opening April 6, through May 1.
>>CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD at GALA Hispanic Theatre, opening April 7, through May 8.
>>THE REDUCED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S LONG LOST PLAY (ABRIDGED) At Folger Theatre, opening April 21, through May 8.
>>JOURNEY TO THE WEST at Constellation Theatre at Source. Opening April 21, through May 22.
>>BLACK PEARL SINGS at MetroStage from April 21 through May 29.
>>DISGRACED at Arena Stage from April 22 through May 29.
>>THE BODY OF AN AMERICAN at Theater J from April 27 through May 29.
>>TOO MUCH LIGHT MAKES THE BABY GO BLIND, from the New York Neo-Futurists, at Alden Theatre at the McLean Community Center. April 16 only.
