Antonio Michael Woodard, right, playing Emmett Till, gestures on stage during rehearsal for “The Ballad of Emmett Till,” one of a trilogy of plays that Mosaic Theater Company will put on in October and November. At left is Jason Bowen.

Tyrone Turner / DCist/WAMU

Halloween gives several D.C. theaters the chance to get spooky this October, but there are a ton of season debuts to consider outside of those moody pieces. Our theater preview rounds up what’s opening around town.

DON’T MISS:

TRIPLE THE IMPACT: Mosaic Theater stages not one, not two, but three plays from Ifa Bayeza reflecting on Emmett Till, a Black teenager murdered in 1955 in Mississippi. The third in the series, That Summer in Sumner, is a world premiere. The Till Trilogy brings together ten actors across the trio of works. (Oct. 4-Nov. 20)

ROE REFLECTIONS: Artistic director Molly Smith’s swan song at Arena Stage will be My Body No Choice, a series of monologues from notable women playwrights about reproductive rights. (Oct. 20-Nov. 6)

THEY’RE ROCKING THE BOAT: Sue me; Guys and Dolls may not be the freshest musical around, but what a cast Kennedy Center has assembled for the occasion: James Monroe Iglehart, Jessie Mueller, Steven Pasquale, Phillipa Soo, and Rachel Dratch, to name a few. (Oct. 7-16)

A GHOST GENTLY WEEPS: October feels like the right vibe for We Happy Few’s La Llorona, a play about the titular creepy weepy ghost woman of Latin American folklore; a world premiere. (Oct. 28-Nov. 19)

BREAKING THE MOLD: The Mold that Changed the World from Charades Theatre Company is a musical about the creator of, you guessed it, penicillin. (Oct. 18-23)

LONELY IN THE WRITERS’ ROOM: Latinx TV writer Lucia is not exactly feeling at home at her new job, but her friendship with janitor Abel might get her through it in Unexpected Stage’s Fade. (Oct. 20-Nov. 13)

SORROW, PUT TO SONG: William Finn’s Elegies: A Song Cycle features songs of love and loss (in response to the 9/11 attacks) at Keegan. (Oct. 22-Nov. 20)

ALSO THIS MONTH (SPOOKY EDITION):

It’s Halloween month, which means D.C. theaters are rising to the occasion. Synetic Theater’s doing Dracula (Oct. 13-Nov. 6), and so is Rorschach (Oct. 14-Nov. 6) with the latter doing a feminist revenge take on the canonical work. Creative Cauldron hosts Ichabod (Oct. 6-30), FlyingV has the immersive horror experience Monstress (Oct 22-30), and NextStop’s staging Frankenstein (Oct. 21-Nov. 13).

María Victoria Martínez (G) and Hernán Angulo (B) in the West Coast premiere of Martyna Majok’s “Sanctuary City,” directed by David Mendizábal. Berkeley Reperatory Theatre

ALSO THIS MONTH (NON-SPOOKY EDITION):

  • On the seasonal — but not scary — front, Arena performs Holiday, a festive romantic comedy. (Oct. 7-Nov. 6) 
  • To round out Arena’s October offerings, Sanctuary City follows two DREAMers in this work from Pulitzer winner Maryna Majok. (Oct. 21-Nov. 27)
  • Sewing, lingerie, and romance all play a part in Intimate Apparel at Theater J. (Oct. 19-Nov. 13)
  • The one-man Crossroads/Detours/Exits is briefly back from The Welders. (Oct. 1-2)
  • The private dancer takes the stage in Tina, the Tina Turner musical at the National. (Oct. 4-23)
  • Flying V’s wrestling fighting series Flying V Fights returns with Bowties and Black Eyes. (Oct. 7-8)
  • The kids can take in Spies 2: Flight of the Hawk at Imagination Stage. (Oct. 29-Nov. 20)
  • The U.S. premiere of a play adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine finds its way to Scena. (Oct. 17-Nov. 13)
  • Gala looks at the life of a young integration activist in La Llamada de Sylvia Mendez: Separate is Never Equal. (Oct. 11-22)
  • Two one-nighters over at Atlas include Breaking Ground Presents: Can I Save Me? about LGBTQIA+ youths of color (Oct. 1) and Seedling Events: Right Before I Go about those struggling with suicidal thoughts. (Oct. 8)
  • Pinky Swear Productions will stage Scooby Dooby Die Die Die, which promises fun for fans of cabaret, ’80s cartoons and Weird Al, at Crazy Aunt Helen’s. (Oct. 20-23)
Jessie Mueller and the Company of “Guys and Dolls” rehears in New York. The show’s run at the Kennedy Center begins Oct. 7. Jeremy Daniel / Kennedy Center

STILL PLAYING:

This weekend is the last chance to see Mlima’s Tale at 1st Stage, Songs for a New World at Rep Stage, The Troublemaker from GALA, Host and Guest at Synetic, and Best Medicine’sThe Trip; The one-woman A Night With Jackie’s Mom from Essential, Ain’t No Mo’ at Woolly, the powerful The Color Purple at Signature, Hamilton at the Kennedy Center, and Nine Night at Round House close Oct. 9 weekend; Oct. 16 weekend means goodbye for Signature’s No Place to Go, Einstein’s Wife from Expats, and The Trip to Bountiful at Ford’s; Heroes of the Fourth Turning at Studio, Maple and Vine from Spooky Action, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci at Shakespeare, and Washington Stage Guild’s The Good Doctor wrap Oct. 23 weekend; Oct. 30 weekend means the end for Olney’s Dance Nation, while Constellation’s Once On This Island and Ghost: The Musical at Toby’s run through November.

This post has been updated to correct the author of “The Time Machine.” He is H.G. Wells.

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