Two Tony Award-winning musicals. A wickedly funny and poignant East Coast Premiere. A world premiere musical. See all this and more in our 85th Season!
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Co-produced with and performed at Round House Theatre in Bethesda
August 30 – September 24, 2023
London, 1969. A brash young Australian named Rupert Murdoch approaches journalist Larry Lamb with a staggeringly ambitious proposition: to turn the struggling paper The Sun into the best-selling tabloid in the UK…within a year. An unexpected partnership is born as Lamb and Murdoch assemble a team of scrappy underdog journalists and begin to transform The Sun into a populist juggernaut. Once they discover the formula to success, the consequences are thrilling and terrifying. This “riveting” (The Guardian) Tony Award-winning Broadway and West End hit depicts the birth of our hyper-partisan news culture in a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction drama that will have you on the edge of your seat.
The Brothers Paranormal
Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab
September 27 – October 29, 2023
London, 1969. A brash young Australian named Rupert Murdoch approaches journalist Larry Lamb with a staggeringly ambitious proposition: to turn the struggling paper The Sun into the best-selling tabloid in the UK…within a year. An unexpected partnership is born as Lamb and Murdoch assemble a team of scrappy underdog journalists and begin to transform The Sun into a populist juggernaut. Once they discover the formula to success, the consequences are thrilling and terrifying. This “riveting” (The Guardian) Tony Award-winning Broadway and West End hit depicts the birth of our hyper-partisan news culture in a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction drama that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Fiddler on the Roof
Roberts Mainstage
November 8 – December 31, 2023
Tradition! The word itself is synonymous with this most classic of American musicals, set in the tiny shtetl of Anatevka. People all over the world continue to find universal truths in the story of Tevye and his headstrong, tradition-bucking daughters (just Google “Fiddler on the Roof, Japan”). Now Olney Theatre creates a rich and re-imaginedFiddlerfor a new generation to embrace through unforgettable songs like “If I Were a Rich Man,” “To Life,” and “Sunrise, Sunset.” Like Tevye himself, thisFiddlerknows the power of its traditional highlights, but like his daughters Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava – it also may surprise you with new ways of carrying forward its spirit.
Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor
Roberts Mainstage
February 7 – March 10, 2024
Master of comedy and farce, Ken Ludwig, has adapted his Tony Award-winning Broadway hitLend Me A Tenorfor a new generation, with the genders swapped. The hilarious result isLend Me A Soprano! It’s 1934, and world-famous Italian soprano Elena Firenzi, the biggest star of her era, is in town for a one-night-only concert with the Cleveland Grand Opera Company. The gala performance is the apex of general manager Lucille Wylie’s career, and she’s given her assistant Jo one job – keep Elena away from men and liquor until the curtain rises. But when events spiral out of Jo’s control, she’s got one chance to set everything right.
AVAAZ
Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab
March 6 – April 7, 2024
Avaazinvites you to meet Roya, our fabulous hostess, as she welcomes you into her home to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. She’s preparing dinner, but the true feast is the story of her life: beginning in Iran as part of that country’s small but ancient Jewish community, her epic journey out of Tehran after the revolution, and the challenges she faces as an immigrant and the single mother of a queer son in “Tehran-geles” (formerly known as Westwood). As a Jew in Iran and an Iranian in America, Roya relies on a heavy dose of humor, both in her storytelling and her survival. Most significantly, Roya is portrayed by her adult son and the author ofAvaaz, Michael Shayan, in a solo performance that combines masterful storytelling with a loving tribute.
Islander: A New Musical
Roberts Mainstage
April 11 – April 28, 2024
Winner of Best New Musical at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival,Islandertells a modern myth featuring two actors who use live mixing and looping technology to create a sonic landscape as dramatic as the Scottish coastline. Eilidh is the only child on Kinnan Island, where most of the dwindling population has moved to the “Big Land.” The government has proposed to resettle the rest, and the town must vote soon on whether or not to accept the offer. But the day after a baby whale beaches itself, Eilidh discovers a young girl named Arran along the shore, who seems straight out of Scottish folklore. As the two form a friendship,Islandertakes audiences on a magical journey to transcend loss, recover hope, and find community.
Long Way Down
In association with TheaterWorksUSA and Edgewood
Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab
April 11 – April 28, 2024
Growing up, Will’s big brother taught him three iron-clad rules of how to behave when gun violence claims someone close: Don’t cry. Don’t snitch. Get revenge. So when his brother is himself gunned down, Will is determined to follow the code and gets in the elevator on the top floor of his apartment building, armed and ready to hit the streets in search of vengeance. What happens on the way down is an emotional hip-hop journey through the cycles of violence that have plagued Will’s family and too many others. This Rolling World Premiere musical is based on the Newberry Medal Honor-winning Young Adult novel by DMV native Jason Reynolds. This powerful story is being developed in partnership with The Apollo through their New Works Program, and will be presented in Apollo’s new Victoria space after its limited Olney Theatre engagement.
Beautiful The Carol King Musical
Roberts Mainstage
July 3 – August 25, 2024
Before Carole King became the legendary singer-songwriter who helped define an era, she was a 16-year-old Brooklyn kid named Carole Klein trying to sell her songs to the big hitmakers in Times Square. When she meets a fellow Queens College student named Barry Goffin, she gains the perfect lyricist for her music – and the love of her life. Soon Carole and Barry are churning out hits like “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Up On A Roof, ”and “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow” for acts like the Shirelles and The Drifters. But success in music doesn’t necessarily bring happiness, and as Barry spirals out of control, Carole will need to find the strength to take back control of her life and career.
For more information about the upcoming season and memberships, go to the website.
