GRACE, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME, EVERY BRILLIANT THING & More Lead Washington, DC's May Theater Top 10

Washington, D.C. is never lacking outstanding theatre, whether epic Broadway shows, engrossing dramas or bold fringe offerings. BroadwayWorld is rounding up our top recommended theatre every month.

Die, Mr. Darcy, Die!

Best Medicine Rep Theater Co - through May 22nd, 2022.

A young woman gives up on men because they can never live up to the hero of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, particularly his embodiment by Colin Firth. A smart, zany comedy written and directed by Artistic Director John Morogiello. Contains adult language and themes.

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Memoirs of a Forgotten Man

Washington Stage Guild - May 5th through May 29th, 2022.

A 2018 hit at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Gregorys play portrays the determination of a totalitarian regime to erase history, and the tragic effect that has on a man who can forget nothing. Based on a true story, a man with a photographic memory finds himself and those around him in peril under an authoritarian regime that erases its political enemies. The play, by D.W. Gregory, takes place in the Stalinist Soviet Union, where this mans inability to forget those whom the government has erased becomes increasingly problematic for him and his family.

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Shear Madness

Kennedy Center - now through October 2nd, 2022.

Figure out whodunit at this wildly popular record-breaking comedy. Audiences all over the world have spotted the clues and questioned the suspects amid much hilarity. But dont be surprised if you think youve cracked the case... Shear Madness is different every night, so audiences keep coming back for more! The fun bubbles up at the Kennedy Center where shrieks of laughter rock the halls. The Huffington Post says Shear Madness is downright hilarious. It would be madness to miss it!

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Grace

Ford's Theatre - through May 14th, 2022.

Created by celebrated D.C. composer Nolan Williams, Jr., with a book by Nolan Williams, Jr. and Pulitzer-prize nominated writer Nikkole Salter, "Grace" examines the little-told history of African-American culinary tradition and the challenges faced by Black-owned businesses. The musical captures a day in the life of the Mintons, a Philadelphia family who gather to mourn the loss of their matriarch and deal with the future of their family restaurant in a changing neighborhood. Heartfelt and hopeful, timely and timeless, "Grace" is the new American musical where, although family comes first, everyone has a seat at the table.

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Freestyle Love Supreme

Kennedy Center - May 10th through May 15th, 2022.

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME features six talented performers providing non-stop action throughout this fast-paced evening, spinning cues from the audience into humorous bits, instantaneous songs and riffs, and fully realized musical numbers. The electrifying vocals of the performers - from singing to rapping to beat-boxing with harmonies and freestyle flow - are backed by tight tunes from keyboards and human percussion.

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Every Brilliant Thing

Virginia Stage Company - begins performances May 21st, 2022.

An immersive storytelling experience that blends comedy, improv, and audience interaction to tell the story of an adult growing up in the shadow of mental illness, and learning to grapple with his own experiences with love, loss and depression. Every Brilliant Thing provides a life-affirming jolt of humanism, reminding us that hope comes from The Miracles of life's minutiae.

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On Your Feet

GALA Hispanic Theatre - begins performances May 5th, 2022.

World renowned concert performer and recording artist Gloria Estefan has announced plans for the 2015 Broadway debut of a new jukebox musical based on her music, life and career titled ON YOUR FEET.

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Drumfolk

Arena Stage - begins performances May 31st, 2022.

Electrifying percussive dance fused with contemporary art forms fuels Step Afrika!'s latest production, "Drumfolk," inspired by the Stono Rebellion of 1739 and the Negro Act of 1740 in South Carolina. State laws mandated that enslaved Africans could not assemble or use their drums which were used to signal the uprising. They took away the drums, but they could not stop the beat. This is the rich story of a movement that could not be stopped and transformed African American culture from then to the present day. The immersive production will be the first of three as part of a multi-year collaborative partnership between Step Afrika! and Arena Stage.

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The Joy That Carries You

Olney Theatre Center - begins performances May 11th, 2022.

A drama about an interracial couple in crisis by local playwriting team Awa Sal Secka and Dani Stoller (Signature's Easy Women Smoking Loose Cigarettes) that melds sharp comic dialogue and moving spoken-word poetry. This new play about love and family, privilege and responsibility, introduces us to Shiri and Alaia, navigating their first year together as a couple. Over the course of a few days, their relationship is tested by events that underline the radically different ways each of them, one Black, one Jewish, experiences the world. Strikingly personal in its intimacies, this World Premiere is a poetic reckoning with love and the pain woven through it.

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