Top Rated Plays List - The Highest Rated Shows In DC

Ten years after making its Ford’s Theatre debut, Tony Award-winning Come From Away returns to our historic stage and tells the heart-warming true story of how a small Canadian town cared for 6,579 airline passengers stranded there on 9/11. When 38 planes were diverted to its doorstep, the town of Gander doubled in size, playing host to an international community of strangers and offering food, shelter and friendship. Featuring a rousing score of folk and rock, Come From Away honors the better angels of our nature, revealing hope and humanity in a time of darkness.

Based on the film that starred Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe, this Broadway hit gives a classic story new life with music and lyrics from the creators of Hairspray, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The super-smart book and lyrics by Tony Award-winning playwright Matthew Lopez (Inheritance) and Late Night star Amber Ruffin update the vibe to suit 21st-century audiences, telling the hilarious story of two 1930s jazz musicians who go on the run from the mob disguised as women as part of an all-female band headed to California. Just like in the movie, Joe and Jerry become Josephine and Daphne, become "friendly" with the band's star singer Sugar Kane, and find themselves transformed by the experience - and in ways a 1950s film could never make explicit. This tap-heavy, dance-intensive, Prohibition-era spectacle retains a comic heart of pure gold as co-author Lopez reminds us, "we don't think men in dresses are funny, but we think idiots in trouble are always funny." Enhance your experience with seats at a limited number of cabaret tables "inside" the club, complete with champagne service.

In Shakespeare’s rarely staged comedy, human nature and the law collide. Newly enforced regulations penalize the everyday citizens of Vienna, but don’t stop the hijinks of a rambunctious crew of bawdy residents. In this morally lax city, a corrupt official tries to coerce novice nun Isabella to submit to his desires. Can Isabella maintain her vow of chastity and save her incarcerated brother’s life? Measure for Measure offers considerations into societal upheaval and asks whose voices are silenced and whose voices break through.

Told in reverse chronological order, the musical follows three longtime friends as they navigate idealism, loyalty and disappointment over the course of twenty years. The successes and failures of their adulthoods unwind as the cynicism of age erases back to the glowing optimism of youth.

Set in 1920s Chicago and pulsing with rousing blues music, wry comedy, and poetic insight, August Wilson's acclaimed play follows trailblazing singer Ma Rainey and her band during a fraught recording session. As conflicts flare over art, power, and control, the struggle between the musicians and studio executives grows to a shattering finale. Don't miss this explosive and thrilling "genuine American masterpiece" (Chicago Reader)-reuniting two Helen Hayes Award winners for Fela!, director Lili-Anne Brown and actor Melody Betts in the title role-that takes a searing look at the racial exploitation at the heart of the music industry and celebrates the cathartic power of the blues. Co-produced with Olney Theatre Center.  

Dorothy becomes Reina in this fresh take on The Wizard of Oz from Brian Quijada, the award-winning creator and star of Mexodus, which premiered at Mosaic ahead of back-to-back Off-Broadway runs. Inspired by the true story of his mother’s immigration in the 1970s, Somewhere over the Border takes audiences on a musical journey from El Salvador to America featuring cumbia, Mexican mariachi boleros, rock, hip hop, and more! As Reina travels north to the Mexican border, she gathers friends, faces down dangers, and holds tight to the memory of the little boy she left behind to build a better life for them both. With equal parts joyful whimsy and harrowing truth, Somewhere Over the Border is a timely new musical that honors the grit and resilience of the immigrant’s journey and reminds us of the humanity of all our neighbors.

DONNA SUMMER: A girl from Boston with a voice from heaven, who shot to stardom from gospel choir to dance floor diva. Donna Summer risked it all to break through barriers, becoming the icon of an era and the inspiration for every music diva who followed. With a score featuring more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits including: “Love to Love You Baby,” “Bad Girls,” “Hot Stuff,” and “Last Dance,” this electric experience is a moving tribute to the voice of a generation.

In spring 1747, Johann Sebastian Bach (Cox) reluctantly visits the court of Frederick II, Europe's most ambitious and dangerous leader. When the king presents Bach with a musical puzzle, the composer must confront how to rise to the challenge without forsaking his own morality. Brian Cox brings a "volcanic presence" (The Times (UK)) to Bach in the play's only American engagement.